Chapter 579: People and People

"You're being too formal!" The man in the vest stepped forward and grabbed Tiantian's arm, and Tiantian didn't avoid it at all. "Sis, we're really not bad guys. You can rest here; I'll see who dares to touch you!"

Tiantian narrowed her eyes and looked at the three men in front of her. Their expressions were all different, each seeming to have their own thoughts.

"This small building can't accommodate so many people," Tiantian said with a smile. "Big brothers, you rest here. We'll make space for you."

"Hey!" The man in the vest still held tightly onto Tiantian without letting go. "Big sis, you're being too polite. The place is small, so you can sit on my lap!"

With that, he sat down right there, one hand gripping Tiantian and the other patting his thigh repeatedly. "Come on, come on!"

"Hey, Lao Fang." The middle-aged man in the suit behind him spoke up to stop him. "Don't get handsy; when will you ever change that bad habit?"

Hearing the man in the suit's words, the man called Lao Fang immediately released his grip and turned back with a laugh. "Hey, I was just joking with the sis. You two know I'm the joking type."

The man in the suit walked straight into the room, then surveyed the interior. After confirming no one else was there, he slowly sat down.

"Sis, sorry about that." He looked up at Tiantian and said, "We don't want to bother you. You go ahead and do your thing."

"Okay, thanks."

Tiantian felt that the man in the suit seemed reasonable enough to talk to, so she nodded in acknowledgment. Then she took Zheng Yingxiong by the hand, and Zheng Yingxiong turned back to grab his backpack.

As the two passed by the three men and were about to leave, the man in the suit suddenly spoke up: "Wait."

Tiantian paused slightly, then turned around and noticed he was staring at the plastic water bottle she had placed on the ground.

"Oh, sis." The man in the suit smiled. "I don't mean anything by it... I just saw you drinking water earlier and wondered if you have any extra?"

The three men were all drenched in sweat, and at that moment, a sip of water was more precious to them than gold.

"I..." Tiantian hesitated, then bent down and asked Zheng Yingxiong, "Little brother, do you have any water left?"

Zheng Yingxiong carefully took off his backpack from his back, rummaged through it, and then looked up. "No."

"Um..." Tiantian nodded and looked at the man in the suit. "Big brother, sorry, we only have one bottle."

"Fine, leave the backpack and go."

Tiantian's brief statement made her pause, but she quickly reacted. After exchanging a glance with Zheng Yingxiong, she took his backpack off his back and carefully placed it on the ground. "There's some food in the backpack. If you want it, take it. We're leaving now."

"Sis, that..."

"It's okay." Tiantian interrupted Zheng Yingxiong and gently touched his head. "These uncles need food too. Since we're not hungry yet, let's give it to them first."

Tiantian's words were firm, as if speaking to Zheng Yingxiong and also making a point to the men.

Zheng Yingxiong nodded understandingly and said no more. The two pushed their bicycle toward the door.

"Leave the bicycle too." The man in the suit, who seemed to be the leader, said.

Only then did Tiantian realize that among the three, the most intimidating one wasn't the tall young man or the sleazy man in the vest, but this man in the suit who looked upright.

The air grew tense for a moment.

"Big brother, our base is a bit far from here," Tiantian said with a smile. "There aren't any safe houses nearby, and we need to get back before dark. We have to use this bicycle."

"I said leave the bicycle." The man in the suit looked up at Tiantian with cold eyes. "I don't care about your reasons; I only care about the result."

Tiantian knew she and Zheng Yingxiong were outnumbered and couldn't resist, so she reluctantly leaned the bicycle against the wall. Then she turned and tried to reason with the man: "These two bicycles are really old and can't carry two adults. Probably only a kid like me and this little friend can use them. You have three people; are you sure you want them?"

Tiantian's words pointed out several practical issues and cleverly drove a wedge between the three men.

At that point, no one knew if the black line would move again, and with three men and only one bicycle that one person could ride, if the man in the suit was truly the leader, he should think it through and realize the best option was for him to take the bicycle.

If it came to a situation where there weren't enough resources, they'd naturally fight among themselves for survival.

That was the consequence of testing friendship with human nature.

"You..." The man in the suit didn't know if he'd seen through Tiantian's tactic, but he just narrowed his eyes and stared at her without speaking.

"I get it." Tiantian didn't give him time to respond and quickly said, "We'll leave the bicycle with you. We're going now."

"Tie them up." The man in the suit said.

"Ah...?"

Tiantian was startled, and the man in the vest eagerly rushed forward: "Ha! I've been waiting for this!"

He reached out with his greasy, dirty hands toward Tiantian's arm.

"Sis, watch out!"

Zheng Yingxiong saw the danger and quickly pulled Tiantian behind him, then stepped forward and swung the "treasure sword" from his waist.

Unfortunately, the "treasure sword" was just made of flimsy newspaper, and when it hit the man's leg, it didn't even straighten the wrinkles on his pants.

"Get lost!" The man in the vest slapped Zheng Yingxiong to the ground and then kicked him. "You think you're still out there? You think anyone's going to spoil a brat like you?"

Zheng Yingxiong was knocked down but still gripped his short sword with a determined face, not making a sound.

The man in the vest kept kicking him, but Zheng Yingxiong slowly crawled toward his crown.

"Brat! Brat!"

Seeing Lao Fang kicking harder and harder, Tiantian mustered her courage and shouted: "Stop!"

Lao Fang paused, panting, and Zheng Yingxiong finally coughed, having been holding it in.

He crawled over first and grabbed his crown, then carefully folded it and stuffed it into his pocket.

The three men looked up at Tiantian, and she knew she couldn't win in a fight.

She bit her lip and said calmly: "Let the kid go, and you can make me do whatever you want afterward."

"Sis..."

Zheng Yingxiong looked up at Tiantian in disbelief. "You should go... I'm the 'hero'..."

(On the 28th, it's my birthday, shamelessly asking for a blessing~)