Chapter 12 Fear

In the twilight, Zheng Fa could clearly see the figure of his younger sister, Zheng Shan, standing under the large elm tree at the entrance of the village.

She was facing three boys, each at least a head taller than her, with the one in the middle clearly being the leader.

Zheng Fa instantly recognized the facial features of the boy in the middle.

Tall and skinny, with a hooked nose, sparse eyebrows, giving off a rather insipid appearance.

This person was Wang Gui, the only son of Manager Wang of the estate.

The predecessor of his current position as Attendant Student.

A few days ago, he had heard from his mother that the lady had beaten Wang Gui and sent him back home; by the time he arrived at the estate, he was still unconscious and unable to get out of bed.

Yet today, he was already able to stand here and bully his younger sister.

Looking at Wang Gui's complexion, it was indeed paler than usual, his face almost devoid of color, which made his expression even more sinister.

His stance was also somewhat unnatural, one arm resting on the boy next to him, appearing somewhat weak.

Zheng Shan had just been speaking to these boys, and it was obvious that there was some conflict between the two parties.

Zheng Shan was alone and petite. Facing several boys who were not only more numerous but also older than her, she had to tilt her head up high.

Her small frame was tense, her fists clenched tightly, with half a pancake still in the palm of her right hand.

The other half of the pancake had been torn off and thrown on the ground, now covered in mud.

Zheng Fa knew this pancake was made by their mother, who had even given a bundle to the old coachman that morning.

This particular pancake was probably something his mother had saved especially for his little sister, a treat.

Although the pancake was inexpensive, for his little sister, such white flour pancakes were not something she could eat every day; they were indeed precious treats, and without the altercation, it would not have ended up half-tossed on the ground.

Because he knew his sister so well, Zheng Fa could see the fear hidden behind her stubborn stance.

He quickened his pace towards the group.

He heard Wang Gui speak in a hoarse voice: "Your brother, what if your brother comes back? You think I'm afraid of him? Are you scared?"

He asked the other boy.

"Not scared," the boy replied with a snicker.

"And you?"

"Who's afraid of him when I have no father?"

Seemingly amused, Wang Gui started laughing, covering his neck as he did so—clearly, his injury hadn't yet healed.

Zheng Shan couldn't help but retort, "When my brother comes back and sees you stealing my food, he'll have the lady beat you again!"

In her mind, being punished by the lady was clearly a severe retribution.

"Pah! What status does your brother have to order the lady around?" Upon hearing 'the lady', Wang Gui stopped laughing, but the anger in his eyes intensified: "You really think, just because I was sent back, your brother can become the Attendant Student to the Seventh Young Master?"

"Your brother, he can't even recognize all the characters! Would the lady fancy him?"

Wang Gui sounded very certain about this.

Zheng Fa realized that Wang Gui genuinely didn't think he had a chance of taking back his position as the Attendant Student.

But today, he seemed even more irritable than usual.

Usually, he would bully Zheng Shan by either ignoring her or occasionally mocking the Zheng family's circumstances right in front of her.

Such a scene as today, with his little sister cornered at the village entrance, was indeed rare.

Moreover, Wang Gui was clearly not in good health.

Zheng Fa thought: it's just because he heard that the lady was choosing an Attendant Student for the Seventh Young Master, and he knew there was no hope for him to return.

Thus, Zheng Fa, who had the opportunity to go to Zhao Mansion, became the target of his displaced anger.

Zheng Fa's little sister also became more of an eyesore to him.

That's why he deliberately came to trouble his little sister today.

He gradually approached, the sound of his footsteps causing both groups to turn their heads towards him.

Zheng Shan had been defiantly confronting Wang Gui and the other two, her small mouth tightly pursed, unwilling to show weakness.

But the moment she saw Zheng Fa, the tears she had been holding back finally began to fall: "Brother, they stole my pancake!"

Wang Gui and the other two also had a trace of panic on their faces.

After all, Zheng Fa was taller than the three of them, and the way he walked over with a stern face subtly carried a bit of authority.

Seeing little Zheng Shan's face full of tears, Zheng Fa didn't pay attention to the three people, but instead, heartachingly pulled Zheng Shan into his embrace and placed the food box the old coachman had given in front of her.

"Look, what did brother bring you?"

Zheng Shan's little nose twitched, as if she had smelled something, and she stared at the somewhat unfamiliar food box through her tear-blurred eyes.

"It smells so good!"

Seeing that she had stopped crying, Zheng Fa opened the lid of the food box.

It was a three-tiered food box; the first tier contained three small plates of snacks, one shaped like petals, one shaped like butterflies, and another round and plump.

"Food!"

"Yes, these are snacks from Juxing Building in the city, someone specifically bought them to give to you!"

"For me?" Zheng Shan extended her slightly chubby hand, pointing to her little nose.

"All yours."

Her little sister's happiness was so simple that she barely had time to wipe the snot and tears on her face before smiling foolishly at Zheng Fa.

"Let's see what's underneath."

Zheng Fa continued to coax his little sister.

"Okay!" The little sister leaned forward, holding her breath as Zheng Fa opened the next tier of the food box.

"Meat! Lots of meat!"

The second tier contained just one dish, a large plate piled high with slices of meat, plain and simple, with no adornment.

But for the little sister, this was probably the most meat she had ever seen piled together at one time.

She even rubbed her eyes.

Zheng Fa then lifted the third tier, which still contained one dish – a plump, greasy roast chicken, sprawling gorgeously, almost irresistibly for the little sister.

"Brother, is all this for me to eat?"

Zheng Fa nodded with a smile, thinking to himself that the old coachman must truly have some depth of character, preferring this method of placing large chunks of meat in front of his little sister over those fancy foods, surely made the little sister happier.

"It's all yours, you better eat quickly, don't cry if it goes bad."

"It's mine, mother's, and brother's, we all need to eat quickly!" Zheng Shan shook her head happily, pointing at the food box: "I'll eat, mother will eat, brother will eat! We'll definitely finish it!"

She suddenly patted her stomach worriedly: "Brother, my stomach is growling, it's telling me it can eat a big half by itself!"

The little sister finally forgot her earlier displeasure.

But the three boys behind Zheng Fa felt very uncomfortable.

Wang Gui was better off, as he had some exposure, with Manager Wang's family being quite wealthy.

But the other two were just ordinary boys from the village, their families were only a bit better off than Zheng Fa's, but they rarely saw so many good foods.

"Wang, have you eaten stuff from Juxing Building?" one of them asked Wang Gui, swallowing.

"As if nobody has eaten it, it's not expensive! Next time I'll bring some for you guys too!" Wang Gui said resentfully.

He was actually more annoyed by Zheng Fa's dismissive attitude when he arrived, not knowing why, from childhood to now, Zheng Fa had never been angry with him.

More so, it was this kind of ignoring and disregarding attitude.

This attitude had always made Wang Gui somewhat timid towards Zheng Fa.

Once he arrived in the city and became a student attendant for a young master, he felt he had seen more of the world and thought Zheng Fa's disposition laughable.

But now seeing Zheng Fa like this again, he felt a bit of fear, similar to facing the adults at Zhao Mansion.

"Why be afraid, even if I go back to the village and can't be a student attendant, am I not better than him, a fatherless boy?" he comforted himself silently, taking two steps forward, wanting to speak.

Outside the village, the sound of carriages arose.

A young man stood on the carriage shouting towards Zheng Fa: "Mr. Zheng, I've come to see you!"

Zheng Fa turned back, and who could it be waving at him from in front of the carriage if not Huang Yu?

Next to Huang Yu, a portly middle-aged man, also smiled towards Zheng Fa.