Across the street, on the second floor, a few men dressed in black were watching the scene below.
One of them noticed Su Xiao Man and the others.
“Boss, those are new faces.”
The one called “boss” turned his head. His brows were like drawn swords, his eyes sharp, his nose high and straight. His facial features seemed carved with an axe. His gaze was piercing.
Following the other man’s eyes, he saw the three little beggars—and then, not far off, Su Manman casually sitting with her legs crossed, eating melon seeds.
He frowned.
“Boss, is something wrong?”
“That woman is with those kids.”
Wu Rongguang heard this and, seeing Su Manman eating seeds, could hardly believe it.
“Boss, you mean… they aren’t beggars?”
“That woman is deliberately making these kids pose as beggars to swindle money?”
“Boss… they wouldn’t dare?”
He didn’t continue—some things were better left unsaid.
“Keep an eye on them.”
..
Meanwhile, Su Manman didn’t realize they were being watched.
Business was going well. In just half an hour, the bowl was already half full, along with some silver coins. Today, the costs for the inn and meals would almost be covered. She wasn’t greedy—planning to keep at it for another half hour before stopping.
At that moment, an elderly woman approached, smiling at the three children.
“Oh, twins, are you?”
Da Bao and Xiao Bao were a boy and girl twin pair. They weren’t identical, but looked very similar.
“These two children are so clever.”
“小兄弟, is this your brother and sister?” she asked, pulling a box of peach pastries from her pocket.
“Here, have some snacks.”
Da Bao and Xiao Bao didn’t move, looking at Su Xiao Man.
On the carriage ride, Su Xiao Man had told the kids many anti-abduction stories, one of which was never to take food from strangers.
Although the pastries smelled delicious, Su Xiao Man resisted the temptation.
“Thank you, grandmother, but we won’t eat.”
The old woman was stunned. She didn’t expect these little beggars to politely refuse.
“Oh, these kids even argue with me,” she said.
“You’re about the same age as my grandson. I feel sad seeing you beg in the streets at such a young age. Please, take this snack.”
She pinched a piece for herself first.
Seeing her eat, Su Xiao Man’s resolve wavered slightly—the pastries smelled so good.
“Brother doesn’t want it, you two eat,” the old woman said, turning to Da Bao and Xiao Bao.
Da Bao quietly stared at her, making the woman feel guilty. She turned to Xiao Bao, who was already salivating.
He wasn’t as wary as Da Bao or Su Xiao Man. He reached out—but a hand suddenly intercepted him.
“What’s this snack? Let me try it too,” Su Manman said, taking the pastries.
Su Xiao Man and Da Bao started to protest but were silenced by a glare from Su Manman.
The woman was shocked—Su Manman had ruined her good deed.
“What’s your problem? If you want to eat, buy your own pastries!”
“These are for my children,” Su Manman said, turning to block her.
The woman tried to snatch them back, but Su Manman dodged gracefully.
With cold eyes, Su Manman said, “Auntie, are you trying to cheat me?”
The woman’s face changed.
Su Manman whispered ominously, “We’re all reasonable people here. If you cut off our profits, my boss won’t let you off.”
The woman thought she had mistakenly picked the wrong target.
“Your boss? Who’s your boss?”
Su Manman crossed her arms. “That’s none of your business. Let’s just keep to our own side of the street. If you don’t like it, we don’t mind settling it here and now.”
She deliberately glanced toward the second floor across the street—implying that she had backup.
The woman looked and saw Wu Rongguang staring back from across the street. Seeing the men with him, she turned pale.
“I… I have things to do. I’ll go.”
She ran off like a mad dog being chased.
Su Manman rolled her eyes. Trying to swindle from her? She’d better learn that she herself was the abduction specialist.
Wu Rongguang, seeing the woman run, was shocked.
“Boss, we’ve been exposed.”
The man across the street stood.
“Grab them.”
“You little brats, do you know if I’d come a bit later, you’d have been kidnapped?”
Su Manman twisted Su Xiao Man’s ear fiercely.
“Didn’t I warn you? Falling for a single pastry would get you into trouble!”
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” Su Xiao Man screamed.
It didn’t really hurt, but she had to cry loudly to keep her sister from going further.
“Only pain teaches you a lesson.”
She glanced at Da Bao and Xiao Bao, who were laughing—they thought this was a game.
“And you two, come here with your ears.”
Da Bao obediently tilted his head and offered his soft ears.
Su Manman twisted them without mercy.
“You usually seem smart, but at critical moments, you falter. Your sister was almost kidnapped—don’t you understand?”
Suddenly, she felt her hands being pinned behind her back.
“That bastard dared to ambush me!”
“Let go of sister! Let go of mother!”
Su Xiao Man and the twins rushed forward, biting and pulling.
Wu Rongguang, the would-be kidnapper, was instantly surrounded.
Hearing them shout “mother,” he let go.
Freed, Su Manman hugged the three kids and stepped back a few paces.
“What are you doing? Bullying a respectable woman in broad daylight?”
Then, she saw a chiseled, knife-carved handsome face approaching.
Actually, she didn’t mind a little rough justice.
Her entire being was screaming with exhilaration—what a rare, top-tier man.
She never expected to encounter such a gem of a man in a book-world.
For the first time, she felt no resentment about being in a story.