Chapter 6: Protecting My Own! My Child, I Will Defend!

"If you don't come out, we're going to smash your door in!"

Outside the door, Wang Xiaohu’s arrogant and overbearing voice grated against An'an’s fragile nerves.

An'an’s small body trembled like a leaf in an autumn gale. She gripped the corner of Zhou Susu’s clothes tightly, wishing she could shrink into a single point and vanish from this world. Zhou Susu could clearly feel the tiny, shivering strength in that hand. Her heart felt as if it had been viciously squeezed—a sensation both aching and swollen.

She looked down.

Seeing the little one hiding behind her, revealing only a pair of terrified eyes, a surge of unprecedented protectiveness welled up within her.

"Don't be afraid."

Zhou Susu spoke again. Her voice was not loud, yet it carried an uncanny, calming power. She gently patted An'an’s back, as if soothing a startled kitten.

"I'm here."

With that, she stood up straight. Carrying the bowl that was still steaming, she stepped toward the door. She walked slowly, each step steady and firm. There was even a faint, elusive smile on her face. But if one looked closely, they would see that her clear, bright eyes held no warmth at all. Instead, they seemed coated in a thin layer of ice.

Outside, Wang Xiaohu was conducting the final countdown.

"I’m at one! Lu An'an! If you don't come out, we are going to..."

*Creeeak—*

At that very moment, the tightly shut door was pulled open from the inside without warning.

Wang Xiaohu and his two little cronies had been posturing aggressively, ready to smash the door. Seeing it swing open so suddenly, they were all startled and froze in place. Standing in the doorway was a woman who seemed both familiar and strange to them.

It was Lu An'an’s stepmother, the one who looked like a vixen. In the past, whenever this woman saw them bullying Lu An'an, she had always stood by and watched with cold indifference. Sometimes, she would even find Lu An'an’s crying annoying and join in on the verbal abuse. Thus, in the minds of these bratty children, she was "one of them."

"A... Auntie."

Wang Xiaohu faltered for a moment, but then his arrogant expression returned. "We're looking for Lu An'an! Make her come out!"

The smile on Zhou Susu’s face became even more "kind." She glanced at Wang Xiaohu, then swept her gaze over the two monkey-thin sidekicks behind him. Her voice turned cloyingly sweet.

"Oh? Are you little ones here to play with our An'an?"

"Who wants to play with her!" Wang Xiaohu looked disgusted. "She’s a jinx, a total loser! We’re here to make her hand over the steamed buns from her house!"

"Yeah! Hand over the food!" the lackeys chimed in, egging him on.

"So that's how it is."

Zhou Susu nodded in sudden realization. Her smile remained unchanged, but her next words made their skin crawl.

She took a step forward and lowered her voice, speaking with a mysterious, conspiratorial tone, as if sharing a earth-shattering secret: "Little ones, I’m afraid that won't work."

"Why not!" Wang Xiaohu puffed out his chest in defiance.

Zhou Susu sighed, her expression instantly shifting to one of worry and sorrow—her acting was flawless. "Sigh, you don't know. Our An'an fell into a snowdrift two days ago. She barely made it back." She pointed toward the room, her voice dropping lower. "Ever since that day, she’s been suffering from a strange illness."

"A strange illness?"

The curiosity of the three brats was instantly piqued.

"Yes." Zhou Susu nodded solemnly, her eyes filled with a sincerity that suggested, *I’m doing this for your own good.* "The doctor said this illness is called 'The Contagious Unhappiness' disease."

"What?" Wang Xiaohu looked bewildered. Why did that name sound so strange?

Zhou Susu continued her performance, her voice dropping to an eerie, hushed tone. "It means that our An'an is currently extremely weak. Whoever makes her unhappy or makes her cry—the sickness inside her will..." She paused, then suddenly burst out, "...*whoosh* right over onto that person!"

She even accompanied her words with a "flying away" gesture.

"And when that happens, whoever made her cry will have nightmares every night! Their food won't taste good! They’ll trip and fall even on flat ground! And the worst part..." She drew out the final syllable, looking at them hauntingly. "...you'll start wetting the bed at night."

*Wetting the bed!*

For children like Wang Xiaohu, who prided themselves on being "tough guys," those four words were a devastating blow. The faces of him and his two lackeys turned deathly pale in an instant.

"Y-you're lying! There’s no such disease in the world!" Wang Xiaohu jumped back in protest, but his voice was already trembling.

"I’m not lying." Zhou Susu shrugged, looking innocent. "You know that two days ago, my mother—An'an’s grandmother—scolded her a few times at the door. And what happened? That very night, she went home and twisted her ankle. She’s still lying in bed, unable to get up."

This was half-truth, half-lie. Wang Cuifen really had twisted her ankle, though she had accidentally tripped while running away from Lu Zhan the day before. But many people in the courtyard had seen it, and Wang Xiaohu and his friends had naturally heard the rumors.

With that connection made, the three boys' faces turned even paler.

Could it be true?

Zhou Susu watched their wavering expressions and decided to add more fuel to the fire. The smile on her face vanished, replaced by a chilling, scrutinizing gaze.

"So, little ones," she said hauntingly, "do you still want to make our An'an unhappy?"

The look in her eyes, the tone of her voice—coupled with her excessively beautiful face—made her appear, in the eyes of the terrified children, even more frightening than the nurse at the clinic holding a syringe!

"N-no! We don't!" Wang Xiaohu was the first to react, scrambling backward, his chubby face shaking like a sieve. "Auntie, we were wrong!"

"We’ll never dare to do it again!"

The two lackeys also wore miserable expressions, nearly falling to their knees to beg for mercy.

"Then why aren't you leaving?" Zhou Susu’s voice rose slightly, carrying an impatient command.

"Going, going! We're going right now!"

The three brats felt as if they had been granted a pardon. They scrambled away, tripping over themselves as they scattered like birds and beasts. They ran faster than rabbits, as if they were being chased by ghosts.

The world was quiet once more.

Zhou Susu watched their retreating backs, the coldness on her face instantly melting into a smug, faint smile. Dealing with brats required bratty methods. *Trying to mess with me? You’re still too green.*

She turned around in a pleasant mood, preparing to close the door. But as she turned, she met a pair of large, bright, liquid eyes.

An'an had emerged from behind her at some point. She was standing only a step away, tilting her small face up and looking at her without blinking. In those clear eyes, there was no more terror or wariness. Instead, there was a complex light she had never seen before—shock, confusion, admiration... but more than anything, a cautious sense of reliance and curiosity.

It was as if she were asking: *Are you really the "mother" who used to hit me? Were you just protecting me?*

Being watched by such pure eyes, Zhou Susu’s heart instantly softened into a puddle. All her sharp edges and calculations melted away into gentle tenderness.

She squatted down to be at eye level with An'an, a sincere and incredibly gentle smile gracing her face. She held out the empty bowl of steamed egg custard once more, as if nothing had happened and they were simply continuing their interrupted breakfast.

Her voice was as light as a feather, for fear of startling the little one who had just opened her heart to her.

"An'an," she said. "Are you hungry?"