Chapter 100: Vibrant Life
After leaving the dance house, Su Yaoguang remembered that she hadn’t done a makeup trial with the dancers.
Never mind, I’ll go tomorrow! By then, I’ll teach them some emergency makeup looks as a way to thank Chen Buyu for his help just now.
Su Yaoguang moved through the crowd with Zhou Wangshu. They picked out some lanterns and bought a variety of snacks while carrying them. Just as Su Yaoguang was eyeing a small doll on a stall, picking it up to ask Zhou Wangshu how it looked, she noticed Zhou Wangshu was stopped by a young, beautiful girl who was offering him a lantern.
Not sure what Zhou Wangshu said, the young girl looked in Su Yaoguang’s direction.
Su Yaoguang was just watching the scene, when she saw the girl glare at her angrily and turn away, heading toward Zhou Wangshu: "Why did that girl glare at me? Do I know her?"
"I didn’t want her to linger on, so I said you’re my wife, so..."
"No worries, didn’t I also use you as a shield? It’s mutual, no big deal," Su Yaoguang said. "But that girl is quite pretty; don’t you really like her?"
"Am I such a shallow person in Yaoguang’s eyes?" Zhou Wangshu said, feeling wronged.
"Liking good-looking people is not shallow, it’s human nature. When people meet, the first impression is their looks. Attractive people do make a better impression; it’s an undeniable fact. For instance, when I first saw you, didn’t I think you were handsome? So, it’s not strange to be drawn to good looks."
"If I were ugly, would Yaoguang still buy me?" Zhou Wangshu asked.
"No," Su Yaoguang smiled, stuffing a candy into his mouth. "I’m a very shallow person."
Zhou Wangshu: "..."
Su Yaoguang continued to stroll through the night market.
Zhou Wangshu followed behind her, watching her haggle with the vendors. Items they priced at thirty cents, she could get for just five or six cents, truly like a city woman, with nothing elegant about it. Yet, he found such people to be truly lively.
"Don’t run..." A burly man chased a little beggar. "Little bastard, daring to steal from me..."
The little beggar was panting, clearly out of energy, and when he saw Su Yaoguang, he hid behind her.
"Sister, save me."
The burly man saw the little beggar stop running and glared at him viciously: "Hand over the stuff."
"That’s not yours, why should I give it to you?" The little beggar, actually Feng Chaoyang, voiced his protest loudly.
"Chaoyang, what happened?" Su Yaoguang asked.
"Sister, this man is a bully. One day he took Gou Dan’s golden lock and injured him badly. I couldn’t stand it, so I stole it back from him. That golden lock was left by Gou Dan’s biological parents and is the only thing connected to his past, it’s his only hope to live; I can’t let this bully take it away."
"What kind of golden lock?"
Feng Chaoyang hesitated for a moment, then took out a golden lock from his coat.
The golden lock was quite heavy. To a little beggar, just a small piece would be enough to eat well, yet it remained intact and well-preserved, showing how much its owner cherished it, choosing hunger over selling it.
"Is what he said true? This thing belongs to another little beggar, not you?" Su Yaoguang asked the burly man.
"None of your business! Little lady, I advise you not to meddle." The burly man rolled up his sleeves, revealing his robust arms.
"Looks like it’s true," Su Yaoguang said lightly. "Since it’s not yours, you have no right to take it."
"You noisy brat, you’re asking for a beating." The burly man charged towards them.
Feng Chaoyang saw this and pulled Su Yaoguang to run forward. But Su Yaoguang didn’t run; she pushed Feng Chaoyang to Zhou Wangshu and turned to face the burly man.
Under Feng Chaoyang’s stunned gaze, the burly man was beaten into a pulp by Su Yaoguang.
"Stop... stop... owww, I won’t take it, I won’t dare... spare me... aaah..."
Su Yaoguang halted her fists, saying fiercely, "You even injured someone, shouldn’t you pay for medical bills and his recuperation?"
"I’ll pay, I’ll pay." The man took out a pouch from his coat. He intended to get money, but Su Yaoguang snatched the pouch away.
Su Yaoguang examined the pouch and, seeing there was broken silver inside, sealed it back and tossed it to Feng Chaoyang.
She moved her arm slightly and said lightly, "If you dare trouble them again, I’ll cripple your arm so that you can never lift it, let’s see how you bully anyone then."
"I don’t dare..."
"Scram."
The burly man scrambled away.
Feng Chaoyang looked at Su Yaoguang with admiration: "Sister, you are amazing."
Su Yaoguang was tidying her clothes and hair.
Oh no!
Her mother and aunts had dressed her up with great care, but now she looked like a madwoman.
Zhou Wangshu walked over, adjusted the hairpin on her head, tidied her messy clothes, and finally straightened her hair, saying, "There, back to how you were before."
"Sister..." Feng Chaoyang knelt in front of Su Yaoguang. "That man is a troublemaker, he will definitely seek revenge. Please take us in, we don’t want wages, just a bit of food. If there’s no place to stay, any corner will do, we can even sleep in the woodshed."
"You all are too many, sister really doesn’t have the capacity to support you," Su Yaoguang said helplessly. "If sister’s business were larger, I might be able to help. But sister’s business is just starting, I really can’t support so many people."
"Chen Buyu’s place needs people, you can have them go and do some odd jobs, so they can have a place to settle."
This Feng Chaoyang is a martial arts potential. Just now, he escaped easily like a loach. He needed people around him, and this kid could be groomed. However, he couldn’t express his desire to keep Feng Chaoyang, so he used Chen Buyu’s name to first keep him nearby.
"His place is a dance house, it’s not suitable for these young kids to work there, is it?"
"If it’s for young girls, indeed it’s not appropriate, but they’re all boys, doing some odd jobs there to have a place to stay isn’t bad. I’ll have a word with Chen Buyu, asking him to take care of them. You’ve met him; he has a kind heart and won’t trouble these kids."
"That Young Master indeed has a rare kind heart. When I interacted with the dance house girls, they would all sing the Young Master’s praises, none spoke ill of him," Su Yaoguang said. "Chaoyang, are you willing?"
"I am willing," Feng Chaoyang nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, sister, thank you, brother."
"Now, go back to the broken temple and gather your people. We’ll wait for you at the dance house. You’ll only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn; if you’re not there, we’ll leave."