Chapter 37: Interaction

Chapter 37: Interaction

The next day, the few children appeared at the mountain villa again. Bran was still lying in the rocking chair with that idiotic and rogue look, rocking slowly back and forth without hurry.

Bran was still quietly listening to that gentle little girl talk about her past, repeatedly telling Bran “her name was Zoya, her brother was Zhuoma, her father, her mother, her family…”

And her brother seemed to have a sudden enlightenment after being slapped three times yesterday; today he did not come to disturb his sister’s conversation with her close friend. Instead, he developed a great interest in Bran’s training ground. Upon arriving at the mountain villa, he headed straight for the training ground, and Little Dragon Boy showed the same interest. So these two mischievous kids unexpectedly met at the training ground.

Zhuoma remembered the elders’ warning from yesterday, to stay away from that no-good dragon knight. Faced with Zhuoma’s coldness, Little Dragon Boy felt very ashamed. After all, yesterday they were somewhat in it together, yet one got beaten while the other got off scot-free, which seemed very disloyal.

So the two boys, each with their own thoughts, carefully kept their distance, until Zhuoma couldn’t resist reaching for a weapon on the weapon rack. Then Little Dragon Boy finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up to stop him.

“Hey, don’t touch that!”

“None of your business!”

“Really, don’t touch it. Yesterday my dad said not to touch a Northlander’s weapons; it could cost someone’s life.”

The hand that had already touched the weapon trembled at the sound and quickly pulled back. With a voice on the verge of tears, he asked, “I already touched it, what do I do?”

“No one saw, let’s get out of here fast.”

The two boys ran off together. Their relationship quickly warmed up because of this, and soon they were as close as brothers. What could a pair of boys who had just been beaten do? Of course, they encouraged each other and shared lessons learned.

“Actually, I was careless, otherwise that idiot couldn’t have hit me.”

“I think so too. If you hadn’t been so careless and walked forward too eagerly back then, if you had just stopped, that idiot would never have been able to hit you.”

“What should I do? I’m not convinced!”

“Leave it to me this time, I’ll get revenge for you. Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!”

…

Zoya was in high spirits talking. She found this idiot, no, Bran was really lovely. He always patiently listened to her pouring out her heart, occasionally humming in agreement at key moments, as if encouraging her to continue.

But happiness is always short-lived. Two annoying guys walked towards them, stopped near them, and began to show off their strong muscles and mock Bran’s weakness. Finally, they expanded into a sweeping generalization, extending it to the entire Northlands.

Bran stopped rocking. He thought to himself, young men shouldn’t casually make sweeping generalizations; it’s not advisable now, and even less so in the future. You should be thankful my two brothers aren’t home, otherwise they’d beat you half to death. Even my sisters, any one of them could easily beat you to a pulp. If you’re really that capable, go find them. Does coming to bully a disabled person like me count as skill? Or do you just think I’m too easy to bully.

Under Zoya’s concerned gaze, Bran picked up Huahua just like yesterday and walked towards the training ground. Several girls also heard the commotion and gathered at the training ground.

Bran stood in the middle of the training ground, spreading his hands at his sides and looking at the two boys. Little Dragon Boy, looking full of confidence, patted Zhuoma’s shoulder and walked steadily towards Bran. At the same time, he untied the sword at his waist and tossed it towards Zhuoma behind him, his movements casual and confident. He could hear his sister cheering for him. He could feel Zoya’s worried gaze for Bran from behind. He could even sense the ambiguous looks from Bran’s sisters. Wait, ambiguous? His intuition seemed to be warning him about something. But he had already walked up to Bran…

He saw Bran raise a hand. His gaze followed that hand, his head tilting slightly upward, and he immediately stopped, taking half a step back to create distance. Then he felt a heavy kick land squarely on his abdomen. The training since childhood showed its effect at this moment; he was not knocked back. His feet remained firmly planted on the ground, though he bent over at the waist.

Bending over lowered his head, allowing him to see that the kicking foot was not pulled back but instead stomped heavily forward, completing a step that closed the distance between them. Then, as he forcefully straightened his back, his lifted, proud face felt a gust of wind pass by…

After two crisp sounds and one dull thud, he saw Zhuoma’s wide-open mouth. He heard his sister’s scream. He clearly saw the hidden mockery beneath the ambiguous looks from that idiot’s sisters. He remembered his father’s words: “Don’t bother with those barbarians…” Finally, he saw the ground rushing up to meet him.

Bran spread his hands at his sides and looked at Zhuoma. Then he saw Zoya bravely step in front of her brother, fearlessly meeting his gaze. So, under Zoya’s gaze, Bran’s eyes gradually became empty, lifeless, and he finally lifted his leg, stepped over Little Dragon Boy on the ground, picked up the black cat, and walked towards the rocking chair.

…

That pair of little dragon riders left. When leaving, Little Dragon Girl was holding a lidless cup in her arms. This time it really wasn’t stolen; it was given to her. After her brother was cleanly knocked down, Lily, with a smiling face, held it out with both hands and gave it to her.

Zoya and her brother did not leave. At least Zoya found that Bran was quite good to her. When she stood bravely, though actually a little afraid, in front of her useless older brother, she could feel that faint, intangible pressure gradually dissipate. She could see a faint, barely noticeable smile at the corner of his mouth, just like when he listened to her talk.

Zhuoma sat alone on the railing of the mountain villa’s second floor, far, far away from his sister, at least that’s what he thought. From here, he could only see his sister talking non-stop, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying to that idiot. He didn’t know how his sister could have so much to say. He suddenly felt abandoned, betrayed. Occasionally, the clear sound of his sister’s laughter carried by the wind made him even more irritated. She had never laughed so relaxed, so happily in front of him before, so he began to feel a bit jealous of that idiot.

Several times he wanted to muster his courage, go stand in front of that idiot and flex his muscles, but he gave up every time. Just think of that little dragon rider, pah! Sounds good, ‘combat power not inferior to Northlanders,’ and what was the result? Even worse than me; I only got three slaps, he got one more kick than I did.

When the little girl Zoya reluctantly got up to say goodbye, Bran reached out and stopped her. Then he took out a ring. The top of the ring was shaped like a wildflower common in the Northlands, but this flower looked too real. Then he took the little girl’s hand and, with a bit of mischievous fun, slipped it onto the little girl’s middle finger.

This scene was seen clearly by Zhuoma. He shouted loudly, “Bastard! What are you doing?” and lunged forward, but faced with his sister’s angry glare, he could only slink back sheepishly.

“For me?”

Bran gave a slight nod.

“You’re giving this to me?”

Bran gave another slight nod.

…

Watching the little girl leave happily, Lily moved close to Bran’s side. “Taken a liking to her?”

Bran chuckled. “A little compensation in advance.”

“Compensation for what?”

“Compensation for the day she finds out that the close friend she poured her heart out to wasn’t actually an idiot.”

“You’re just wicked…”