" Are you sure, you want to take us with you ?" Asked Xiao Hua once Yu Dong was done charging up her hp bar after hugging her husbands.
Yu Dong turned to look at him as she led the group outside the shop and frowned " what do you mean?"
Xiao Hua flicked his half up and half down hair behind his shoulder and grumbled somewhat sourly " I mean to say will we be welcomed in your village? You might be bringing us there with you but I don't think anyone will let you bring us inside. We .. are not usually welcome anywhere actually " Xiao Hua finished bitterly, he wasn't lying or exaggerating anything – just because he was from a tavern that did that kind of business, he wasn't allowed to enter anywhere, no matter what it was – a shop, a restaurant. His entry was barred from the temple of the town as well, he had it all. He was beautiful, was smart and he knew almost everything but no one liked to befriend him, those rich madams were willing to welcome him in their beds but nowhere else .. he wasn't even taken to a restaurant to eat because his existence was that shameful in the eyes of others. He might have not sold his body but he was after all a mer who worked in the tavern .. how can he be considered pure? Wasn't this what the nun at the temple told him?
In fact, today was his first time eating in a restaurant with respect. So, he was a bit happy but he hasn't forgotten who he was and from where he came.
Yu Dong blinked her eyes at him, feeling her scorching gaze…Xiao Hua felt a shame like never before the course in his body. Never before did he feel like this.. he wasn't proud of his background but he never felt this small before either like he wasn't worth looking at by Yu Dong. If only he was as pure and naive as those husbands of hers –
' ah Hua Hua, you are beautiful but your ambitions are too great for a mer. Why don't you accept my proposal and move in as my concubine ?'
' Those who sin can never be in the lap of God, dear benefactor- you are not deserving '
' hah, what are you acting smug for? You are nothing but a cheap courtesan, aren't you? So what if I groped you a bit? If you don't want to be groped stay at your tavern silently, you are asking for it by coming out here '
'So what you have money? I don't want to dirty the atmosphere of my restaurant with your presence. Here only good and respectable persons are allowed, do you not know what kind of reputation you have? If not let me break it down to you – a lowly bitch who sells himself to whomever who pays you enough money. Now shoo '
" It doesn't matter does it ?" She said simply breaking the silence that was stretching over the group. Xiao Hua's eyes snapped open as he looked at her " as long as I welcome you, why do you care whether or not anyone else welcomes you or not? As long as I am with you -you can go anywhere you want and if anyone stops you – you just have to tell me, who it is, I will see from there on "
Xiao Hua clenched his fists, those mocking jeers in his ears turned silent and all he could think was Yu Dong's forceful words ' you can go anywhere, you want with me by your side' really, can he really do that ?
———
When the group reached the Big river village it was just as Xiao Hua said .. a group of the old elders of the village together with Mu Xuan were sitting under the big banyan tree that was at the entrance of the village and as soon as they saw them coming, all of them stood up. Yu Dong silently frowned and cursed in her head not because she was afraid of the village head or the elders of the village but because standing next to them was Fang Chi and from the looks of it, he seemed to have cried -son of a god damn mother fucking bitch, who made him cry?
Her pace unconsciously increased as she strode inside the village, seeing her walk towards them yet ignore them made all the elders upset as Mu Xuan silently smirked at Yu Dong .. this time she will see how Yu Dong will be able to get out of this situation.
" Stop right there !" Said an elder as she raised her hand and tried to hold Yu Dong back but the latter didn't stop, instead, she slapped the hand of the elder away and said " my fiancé seemed to be a bit upset, you all better pray that neither of you had a hand in it .. or I will make you rue the day you were born… I don't really care if you are the village elder or not "
Then she ignored the way the old woman turned purple and pointed at her while shaking and sputtering like she was having a seizure, Yu Dong closed the space between her and with a stance as protective as ever she tipped Fang Chi's chin making him look at her in the eyes. She bit back a curse when she noticed just how swollen and red his eyes were " Who made you cry?"
" Yu Dong, it's nothing I am fine -"
" No you are not " wiping his eyes, she softly crooned but the authority in her voice didn't dim in the slightest " I will ask you again sweetheart, who made you cry?"
Fang Chi said nothing just bit his lips and sniffed, it was Grandma Fang who jumped and hollered like Fang Chi her voice was hoarse like she had cried too but she was holding much better than her grandson. She pointed and screamed at the group of elders as if she has finally found her backing "It's them, they are the ones who scolded Chi, saying that he didn't keep a good check on you! They kept saying they will kick you out they even forced Chi to go on his knees to apologize to them "
The elders shifted their position, as they squared their shoulders "it's his fault indeed as your husband, he failed to rein in you causing you to ruin the atmosphere of the village and-"
" Apologize" gritted out Yu Dong, as she turned to face the elders " I really don't care about your bullshit you have to say … but if you made my fiancé cry, made him kowtow to you when I, his fiancee wasn't here for something he didn't have a hand in then I think we have a fucking problem. And which means that if you don't apologize to him in like five seconds, then I will make our problem just your problem "
