The sky was clear and bright—a perfect day to descend the mountain.
Four-year-old Xiao Asui, carrying a massive backpack nearly as large as herself, took slow, short steps as she trudged over the high threshold of the gate.
In front of the mountain gate, her four masters stood in a row. Their eyes held a mix of affection, coolness, and reluctance as they looked at her.
Xiao Asui tried her best to straighten her small body as she walked up to them and stood still.
First Master, his expression solemn, spoke first.
“After you go down the mountain, do not argue with people carelessly. If someone speaks rudely to you, just take action directly.”
“Old First, I told you not to teach a child like that.”
Second Master interrupted him with a helpless expression. He then leaned down and advised Xiao Asui, “Xiao Asui, children shouldn’t fight randomly. If you really must fight, you must wait for the other party to strike first. That way, it’s justifiable self-defense.”
A Sui only half-understood, but she nodded earnestly nonetheless.
Third Master was a somewhat stout man. At that moment, he was desperately stuffing a bag of food into Xiao Asui’s already bulging backpack. As he stuffed, he instructed her, “Once you’re down the mountain, remember to eat on time. You should also remember to accumulate more Karmic Merit for yourself daily. If you run out of money, go find my brother. He’s very rich; you can spend his money however you like.”
Fourth Master had always been a man of few words, and his advice now was equally concise: “If you can’t handle it, call me.”
A Sui bobbed her little head, taking note of everything very seriously. She only wrinkled her small nose when she heard about accumulating Karmic Merit, appearing somewhat repelled by the idea.
However, she quickly extended her small, fleshy hand and waved to the four masters. Her milky voice was full of gravity as she said, “A Sui is leaving now.”
The four masters watched the little girl descend the mountain. Her tiny figure was almost entirely obscured by the enormous backpack.
The child seemed completely unaware of the weight on her back, her short legs churning along until her small silhouette completely disappeared into the mountain path. Finally, the four men withdrew their gazes. When they looked at each other, their eyes were filled only with mutual disdain and coldness.
“A Sui is gone. Let us disperse as well. In the future, if we meet, let’s act as if we don’t know each other.”
“Nothing would please me more.”
“I’ve truly seen enough of your old faces over these past four years.”
As they spoke, the four of them turned in four different directions without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, each had disappeared.
At the foot of the mountain.
Xiao Asui looked at the black sedan in front of her and the driver standing alone before the car. She blinked and tilted her head up to ask him, “Uncle, are you here to pick up A Sui?”
Xiao Asui was on a trip to reclaim her family.
Four years ago, the Wan family in Beijing had a baby girl, but the child was switched due to a scheme by the family’s rival at the time.
It wasn’t until a few days ago that they unexpectedly discovered the child they had raised for four years was not their biological daughter. They had investigated in a frantic rush and found A Sui.
The driver was shocked when he saw such a small person descending the mountain alone, carrying a backpack larger than herself.
But his shock was quickly replaced by impatience.
“Why so slow? Are you the only one?”
Where were the adults?
How could they let such a small child come down the mountain by herself?
While grumbling internally, he thought about President Wan’s attitude toward this child who had been found halfway through her childhood. His face became even less respectful, and his tone was cold.
“Miss Jiaojiao accidentally fell and was injured. President Wan and the Madam are staying at home to look after her and don’t have time to come pick you up.”
As he spoke, the driver opened the rear door and gestured to Xiao Asui. “Fine, hurry up and get in.”
Xiao Asui looked inside the car, then back at the “scowling” uncle in front of her. She didn’t get in immediately. Instead, she looked up and asked him a question.
“Uncle, did you run into a child on your way here?”
The driver found the question odd. “I did run into a child on the road who wanted a ride. How did you know?”
Could she know the child?
That wouldn’t be strange; after all, that child looked to be about the same age as the little girl in front of him. In a backwater place like this, children of similar ages probably ran around and played together everywhere.
Thinking of this, even though the child before him looked clean, pink, and cute, the driver inexplicably felt that her clothes were a bit dirty.
After he delivered her back, he would have to wash the car.
His car wasn’t meant for just anyone to sit in.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard the child ask, “And did you agree to give it a ride?”
The driver was getting annoyed, his tone clearly impatient. “No! I was in a rush to pick you up. I didn’t have time to pick up some kid on the way. If there’s nothing else, get in the car. If we head back any later, it’ll be dark.”
The driver urged her, wishing he could just pick her up and stuff her into the back seat.
However, just as his hand reached out, he saw the little sprout suddenly turn toward the empty back seat. Her pink, exquisite little face was solemn, and her milky voice was fierce: “You heard him! No ride for you! Get lost!!”
The driver froze. Before he could react to what was happening, he felt a gust of cold air blow out from the back seat.
It was a wind much colder than the air conditioning, and it blew straight past the back of his neck, instantly making his spine go numb.
After processing what the little miss had just said, the driver felt a chill rapidly climb from the soles of his feet. Within a second, his entire body was covered in goosebumps.
“Li… Little Miss… just… just now…”
The driver’s previous impatience was nowhere to be found. His voice trembled so much he could barely speak.
Xiao Asui looked curiously at the uncle who had suddenly developed a stutter, but she waved her little fleshy hand anyway. “A Sui chased it away.”
With that, she lifted her short legs and climbed into the back seat.
The driver had already realized who that “it” was. He felt the blood in his body flowing backward, and his lips began to tremble instinctively.
Seeing the little miss’s movements as she boarded the car, his heart skipped a beat. Suddenly thinking of something, he hurriedly said, “Little Miss, wait a moment. There’s a child safety seat in the trunk. Wait for me to install it for you first; it’s more comfortable to sit in.”
His voice was now filled with a hospitality and friendliness completely different from before.
Xiao Asui tilted her head, watching the driver uncle busy himself. Finally, she let him pick her up, place her in the safety seat, and fasten the seatbelt.
Xiao Asui let her tiny body sink into the seat, her eyes blinking.
This strange chair was quite comfortable.
But why didn’t the uncle bring it out from the start?
It must be because A Sui just helped the uncle chase away the Little Ghost that was clinging to him.
Mhm, she was amazing!
The car swayed for over three hours before finally arriving in front of a villa in the city center.
After the driver brought the car to a steady halt, he immediately got out with great enthusiasm to unbuckle the little miss’s seatbelt. A man nearly 1.8 meters tall, his voice now instinctively took on a high-pitched, saccharine tone.
“Little Miss, we’re home~ You get out first, I’ll carry this bag for you~”
As he spoke, he tried to lift the backpack—which was as big as the little girl—from the trunk with one hand.
He pulled, but it didn’t budge.
He quickly added his other hand, and only then did he manage to lift it.
Feeling the weight in his hands, the driver’s face became even more filled with disbelief.
He hadn’t forgotten the scene of the four-year-old little miss carrying this bag down the mountain by herself.
As expected, his family’s little miss was no ordinary person!
Thinking this, the driver’s expression became increasingly full of admiration and respect. He followed almost step-for-step behind the little miss, carrying the bag.
The Wan family’s nanny was already waiting at the door. She knew the child from outside was coming home today. Thinking of Miss Jiaojiao, who had mysteriously fallen and was currently in the hospital, the nanny’s gaze toward Xiao Asui was somewhat unkind.
Even though this was the Wan family’s biological child, Miss Jiaojiao was the one she had watched grow up. The bond was naturally different.
She would not let this new wild child steal the affection that belonged to Miss Jiaojiao!
“This must be the little miss? Look how dirty you are. Miss Jiaojiao’s health is delicate; it wouldn’t be good if she caught some outside bacteria. Xiao Wang, take her to the greenhouse nearby first to wash up and change her clothes before she comes inside.”
The nanny speaking was Auntie Fu. She was a relative of President Wan’s mother’s family and was used to giving orders in the Wan household. Therefore, she wasn’t polite in the slightest, even toward Xiao Asui, the true young mistress.
An ordinary child might have been instinctively terrified or unsettled.
But who was A Sui?
If someone gave her attitude, she was capable of slapping the very skin off their face.
Just as she was about to step forward and speak, someone behind her spoke even faster—
“I say, Auntie Fu, have you gone senile?! This is the little miss’s home! Who are you to tell the little miss what to do when she returns to her own house?!”
Xiao Wang’s tone was very unfriendly. After finishing with a dark face, he looked down at the little miss and quickly softened his voice again. “Our little miss isn’t dirty at all, right?”
Xiao Asui blinked at him, then nodded seriously.
Right, A Sui wasn’t dirty.
On the other side, Auntie Fu was stunned.
Auntie Fu: ??
Had this Xiao Wang been possessed during his trip out?
Xiao Wang, of course, wasn’t possessed.
He was simply repaying a favor and being sensible. Seeing that this little miss was not someone to be trifled with, any fool would know not to offend her.
Seeing that he was unmoved, Auntie Fu opened her mouth to snap back at him when another woman’s voice, clear and cold, drifted from the main door.
“Xiao Wang is right. Auntie Fu, since when does my daughter need your permission to return to her own home?”