Chapter 252: A Thrilling Moment of Updating Her Brother's Crown

What are you doing? Let go of Lele! Suddenly, an angry shout came from behind me; I turned and saw Han Duo standing at the doorway, glaring at me.

Ah… don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to hurt her, I'm… I panicked, let go of the little girl's wrist I'd been holding, and stammered an explanation.

Han Duo walked over, gave me a cold glance, squatted down to pat the little girl's head, and said gently and sympathetically, "Lele, be good. You and Xiao Hui' er take good care of Xiao Binbin here. Li Sister will take this brother back to get something, and Mom will come see you soon. You need to obey, okay?"

Han Duo put down the bag in her hand—a bag of fresh bread and fruit. She took them out and gave them to the three children.

The little girl named Lele took the bread, two sweet little dimples appearing on her cheeks as she nodded obediently: "Mm, Li Sister, you and big brother go do your thing; I and Xiao Hui' er will look after Xiao Binbin."

"Mm… good." Han Duo kissed Lele's dirty forehead, then turned and walked out of the ward.

"Aren't you coming with me to get that thing? Why are you just standing there?" Han Duo stopped at the ward door and gave me a cold huff.

Only then did I snap out of it, blankly following Han Duo out of the ward.

When I reached the hospital entrance, I was hungry, so I bought a few small cakes and drinks at the cake shop. I offered them to Han Duo, asking if she wanted any, but she just snorted and shook her head arrogantly; feeling bored, I could only retract my outstretched hand.

I got into the taxi again; Han Duo gave the driver an address, and I sat in the back seat gnawing on bread and drink. Later, unable to curb my curiosity, I edged over to sit beside Han Duo.

"Ah… what's your relationship with those kids? And aren't you called Han Duo? Why do you also go by the name Li Sister?" I asked as gently as I could, but all I got was Han Duo arrogantly turning her head away and huffing disdainfully, "None of your business!"

She seemed always to be that stubborn and arrogant sort, so I just lowered my head and ate, no longer trying to get close to her.

After two bites, I noticed the cake had a stale, overnight taste. Damn, that boss is so unscrupulous, selling day‑old cake. I spat twice, then flung open the window and tossed the bread and drink out.

"You…" Han Duo suddenly leaned over, glanced out the window and uttered a sentence, then gave me a look of utter disgust before swallowing her words. She shifted her whole body to the other side, as if she didn't want to be near me.

"What… what is it? Just say it straight—this bread's gone bad, so of course I threw it away." I said matter‑of‑factly, bewildered: I only tossed a piece of bread; why does Han Duo look at me with such hatred?

"Heh… just a piece of bread! Yeah, it's only a piece of bread." Han Duo gave a self‑mocking smile, turned, crossed her arms and sat firmly on the right side, then murmured softly and coldly: "People like you, who've never wanted for food or clothing since childhood, will never know the pain of hunger."

Her voice was low, yet icy. Was she angry at me for wasting food? I just didn't get it—I only threw away a piece of bread, so why did it suddenly provoke her aversion? Why do her eyes brim with loathing and resentment over a mere expired loaf?

The car crept along, leaving Shenzhen's inner district and entering the outer district. When I met Han Duo, Shenzhen was undergoing rapid development, but it wasn't yet the El Dorado everyone dreamed of.

Because Shenzhen's inner and outer districts are two different worlds. The inner district is a scene of music and peace, rapidly developing, while the outer district grows ever more barren. In the inner district there are bars, skyscrapers, all kinds of industries rising, and workers' wages are far higher than elsewhere. But in the outer district, most areas are heavy‑industry factories; entertainment options are scarce, and even labor pay can't match that of second‑ or third‑tier cities. Sometimes, if you go out onto the street at midnight, you might have money but still can't snag a taxi; most of the outer district is undeveloped land, full of wild hills, graves, and factories. Those with education and assets strive in the inner district; those without either go to the outer‑district factories to work themselves to death, or borrow scraps of money to set up a little stall and scrape a living.

Of course, although the outer district can't compare to the inner district's prosperity, it's not completely devoid of life—it's just that the contrast in prosperity between the two is stark.

The car passed a stretch of road lined with electronic factories on both sides, then continued on the highway.

Suddenly, Han Duo, sitting beside me, bellowed at the driver: "Stop the car!"

Then the car jerked to a halt, Han Duo flung open the door and jumped out in a hurry.

"Hey, wait, miss, you haven't paid yet!" the driver called, waving at Han Duo.

"Don't shout, I'll pay—how much?" I pulled out my wallet and paid the fare. After getting out of the car, I unexpectedly saw Han Duo start jaywalking, sprinting urgently toward the other side of the road.

I followed the direction of Han Duo's run with my eyes, and what I saw gripped my heart with anguish.

A filthy little girl, left hand clutching a black bag, right hand gripping a soda can, was sprinting down the highway; a mixed‑breed big wolf dog chased her relentlessly, its jaws snapping shut just shy of biting her hem.

At the moment the little girl fell, Han Duo finally reached her, throwing her body in front of the big wolf dog to block it—she could see the dog about to lunge at her…

In the nick of time, I grabbed a brick from the road, ran halfway, and lunged forward; the brick struck the wolf dog squarely, hurling it half a meter away, finally saving Han Duo and the little girl.

The wolf dog, flung by my blow, went berserk, baring its fangs and charging at me again. A mad dog is terrifying, especially a half‑wolf, half‑dog beast.

"One two three four five, metal wood water fire earth, tiger descends from heaven…" In the emergency, I chanted the Seal Dog Technique, traced a floral sigil in my palm, and slammed it onto the wolf dog's head.

I've used this Seal Dog Technique N times before—it's never failed. The wolf dog, hit by my sigil, lowered its head and whined twice, then turned and fled.

Han Duo is actually quite kind. After the wolf dog left, I turned to look at her and thought: To risk herself for a stranger's child, her heart can't be all bad, can it?

Just then, the little girl in Han Duo's arms lifted her head and whimpered, "Li Sister, the dog bullied Xin Xin again—it even bit her foot, and Xin Xin hurts so much!"

The girl's words shocked me—she knew Han Duo too. But I had no time to ponder anything else, for according to her, the wolf dog had bitten her on the thigh.

Unlike ordinary dogs, this wolf dog is vicious and hard to tame—half wolf, half dog—and when it goes mad it can kill a person. Naturally, the toxin in its teeth is especially severe.

So I rushed over and urged Han Duo: "What are you standing there for? Hurry and take the kids to the hospital for rabies shots!"

As I finished speaking, a big fat guy came running from the side; when he reached Han Duo's side, he glanced at the bleeding wolf dog and at her, then flew into a rage and snatched up a brick.

"Hey, what are you doing…?" Seeing the hulking fat man charging over with a brick, I feared he'd harm Han Duo, so I quickly stepped in front of her and Xin Xin.

But I never expected Han Duo to suddenly go berserk, shoving me aside, rushing forward to grab the fat man's sleeve, and shouting at the top of her lungs: "You damn fatty, have the orphans' kids ever provoked you? Why, whenever our orphanage kids go to your restaurant to scavenge bottles and cans, you chase them off with a broom and sic your dogs on them."

"We're orphans, but we don't steal or rob, and we've never held out our hands begging from you. Those are just a few bottles left over from customers' drinks, worth a few coins—I ask you… how can you have not a shred of compassion?" Han Duo sobbed hysterically, her eye sockets swelling.

She shouted at the charging fat man: "You want to smash me? Come on, my head's right here—go ahead and hit me."