There was an ancient stone arch bridge in town, and the town’s bazaar was just past that bridge. Several 24-hour convenience stores were still open.
The trio was hungry after beating people up, so they bought a large pile of snacks. Led by the town bully Shen Feng, they sat on the stone arch bridge in the cold winter breeze, enjoying the calm after their victory.
Shen Xi tore open a packet of spicy tofu skins and handed it to Fu Qingxuan.
Fu Qingxuan looked at it with a disgusted face. He looked cold and refused. “I don’t want it.”
Shen Xi looked at Shen Feng and gave him a wink.
Shen Feng clasped Fu Qingxuan’s arm and held it behind his back.
Shen Xi took this opportunity to stuff the spicy snack into his mouth and smiled smugly. “You have to eat even if you don’t want to! This is to celebrate our victory.”
Fu Qingxuan instinctively wanted to spit it out.
Shen Xi pointed at him and warned him. “If you dare spit it out, I’ll throw you into the river and feed you to the crocodiles!”
Fu Qingxuan glared at her fiercely and did not spit it out. He tried to savor the taste in his mouth. The tofu skin was not so unbearable and was even quite delicious. After taking a bite, his eyes lit up.
Shen Feng smiled and asked, “Isn’t it tasty? We grew up eating this and didn’t die from it. Since you’re already in our hometown, you shouldn’t be so picky.”
Fu Qingxuan was stubborn. “It’s not good.”
Shen Xi ate the spicy tofu skins and tilted her head slightly to look at Fu Qingxuan, then lamented, “Young Master, you’ve gone astray.”
Fu Qingxuan glared at her fiercely again. “Even if I was led astray, you’d be the culprit!”
Shen Xi shrugged and smiled.
‘Am I?’
She was not the one who suggested beating up those scoundrels this time, nor was it Shen Feng.
After Fu Qingxuan ate a packet of spicy tofu skins, he wanted more and took another packet. He ended up eating one packet after another and could not stop.
Shen Feng smirked and trailed his words teasingly. “It’s not good, huh?”
Shen Xi played along and nodded while she laughed. “Not tasty at all.”
Fu Qingxuan was annoyed at the two of them, so he stood up and walked away.
Shen Xi chased after him and called out to him. “Young Master, what are you doing?”
Shen Feng also jumped up and picked up the rest of the snacks. “Wait for me!”
Fu Qingxuan reached the entrance of the convenience store before he looked back at the two of them and said word by word, “I am buying spicy tofu skins!”
Shen Xi and Shen Feng looked at each other and laughed till their stomachs hurt. No one could escape the addictive taste of the spicy tofu skins.
Soon, news spread across the town that the gangsters were all given a hard beating last night and were lying half-dead in the hospital.
These gangsters usually did not do anything good and only knew how to fight and steal. They would dine and dash and take things at will.
Everyone in town hated them, but they dared not provoke them because those gangsters had spent time in jail and their hands were stained with blood. Thus, everyone was afraid to offend them for fear of getting themselves in trouble.
Now, the townspeople were avenged and were in a joyous mood to welcome the New Year. Everyone was clapping and cheering, saying that they should really award the people who had beaten the gangsters. They even wanted to hang up a banner thanking the heroes who eliminated these bad guys for the people.
The trio went home in the middle of the night.
Fu Qingxuan got up early because he was a guest. When he heard Yun Jinping was up, he woke up as well, but she persuaded him to go back to get more sleep. She did not know where the three of them went yesterday.
The townspeople rested early, but certain stalls at the bazaar were still open and were very lively, especially on New Year’s Eve. There were also the dragon and lion dance performances at the night market until after midnight. Perhaps the kids went there to play.
Before lunch.
The “Three Musketeers” finally got together again and were assigned to put up the Spring Festival couplets.
Shen Tang brought the glue and asked them, “What did you three do last night?”
The three of them spoke confidently and frankly in unison. “Eat spicy tofu skins.”
After saying that, they looked at each other and could not help but laugh out loud.
Shen Tang knew her brother well and heard about the gangsters who were beaten up. Among them were a few gangsters that came to their house yesterday to make a fuss. She thought that her brother was probably involved in this matter.
‘But Xixi wouldn’t do this, right? She’s been kind and quiet since she was a child, and so well behaved, never causing trouble.’
The friendship among boys was a magical thing. After fighting side-by-side and hanging out at the bridge eating spicy tofu skins, Fu Qingxuan and Shen Feng, who initially did not see eye to eye, became brothers.
**
On New Year’s Eve, it was very lively with sounds of people and firecrackers everywhere.
In the afternoon, Shen Xi received Li Yuan’s message saying that he was back at the capital, so he could pick Toffeecito up for the New Year and asked for Song Wenye’s address.
Song Wenye was itching to see Shen Xi’s mysterious brother because, at the mention of him, Shen Xi would turn into a shy little girl.
Song Wenye had been waiting longingly from noon till evening. She finally saw a black Rolls Royce Phantom parked in front of her house.
Kun Lun got out of the car and knocked on the door. A girl ran out wearing a white knitted hat. As she was running, the two small pom-poms on the hat flung around, which was an adorable sight. “Hello Ms. Song, I came to pick up Toffeecito.”
Song Wenye smiled and nodded, then poked her head out to look at the car. However, to her disappointment, the car window was tinted, so she could not see anything. She led Kun Lun into the house and while walking, she said, “Toffeecito’s been a good kitty. It’s so playful and gets along well with Song Xiaose.”
‘Sigh…’
‘I didn’t get to see him.’
‘I’m sure that Shen Xi’s brother must be in that car!’
In the living room, Toffeecito was playing with a small puppy. It was very naughty and grabbed the puppy’s tail with its little paws. It whimpered while it bit the puppy.
The puppy was not at all annoyed nor fierce. It only twisted its head to look at the kitten and wagged his tail to play with Toffeecito.
A golden retriever slept lazily in the kennel nearby while a noble-looking pure white Persian cat sat on a cat tower. Song Wenye had quite a lot of pets.
“Toffeecito,” Kunlun called out to the kitten.
Toffeecito was playing rough with the puppy when it heard its name. It stopped and turned to look at Kun Lun. Suddenly, Toffeecito let go of the puppy’s tail and scampered to Kun Lun, hugging his legs and meowing.
Kun Lun was stunned by its agile movements and quick response. Usually, this little thing did not really like him. Every time he touched Toffeecito, it would hiss at him.
Song Wenye was also stunned for a moment. Toffeecito was so smart and could understand everything they said. She felt like this cat’s IQ might be higher than her family’s, so much so that she thought Toffeecito might have been a human in its past life.