Chapter 46 - 46 35 Childhood Sweethearts Beating up Each Other

Words : 1466 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

46: Chapter 35: Childhood Sweethearts Beating up Each Other 46: Chapter 35: Childhood Sweethearts Beating up Each Other Mr. Zhuang was teaching The Analects; he had hand-copied a copy for Manbao, which, added to the previous Thousand Character Classic, meant Manbao now had two “books”. Manbao was overjoyed, as it was her first time being able to sit in the classroom and have lessons with her classmates. She was especially excited, shouting at the top of her lungs while reading, and particularly eager when answering questions. Mr. Zhuang could feel the classroom atmosphere had become much more lively, so he repeatedly praised Manbao, which made someone even more annoyed. He decided he would go bug hunting with his friends after class, and he wouldn’t be satisfied until his annoying cousin and detestable Manbao got into a fight. However, what he didn’t expect was that before he could lift a finger, Manbao had already started fighting with his cousin. It was a sunny and breezy afternoon; in fact, just this afternoon, right after the late afternoon classes. Since the school had students not only from Qili Village but also from two nearby villages, to ensure the children could get home safely, Mr. Zhuang always dismissed the class at the late afternoon so that the children from neighboring villages could hurry home while those from the same village could play with their friends before returning home for dinner. Of course, Manbao didn’t go home either; she hugged her books and ran out. The Zhou Family had always doted on her, and even though the school was in their village, they would definitely send someone to pick her up. Today, the nine-year-old Datou was assigned the pick-up duty. As soon as Manbao ran out, she heard a commotion outside, forgot about looking for her older nephew to go home, and ran straight towards the noise, hugging her books. When she barged in, she saw her second nephew being pinned down by someone she didn’t recognize and being beaten. That made Manbao furious. A stranger dared to bully someone in their village and that someone was her dear nephew. If her uncle could tolerate it, she certainly couldn’t. So Manbao dropped her books and pounced forward, pinning down the stranger, screaming as she fought back for her second nephew. Bai Shanbao had just scored a momentary victory and was yet to enjoy it when he was caught off guard and pinned down. Bai Shanbao was furious. He looked up to see who the shameless attacker was but got slapped in the face before he could take a good look. Bai Shanbao was enraged and immediately flipped the person on top of him, reaching out to strike. Manbao used her arm to block it, but the other’s strength was great. She felt she couldn’t win, and in a moment of desperation, she grabbed his arm and bit down on it. Before Manbao could bite down hard, Bai Shanbao felt the pain, let out a ‘waah,’ and burst into tears, the shrill sound making Manbao pause and then let go. Seeing Bai Shanbao with his eyes closed, crying loudly, she couldn’t help but shout, “Stop crying, I won’t bite you anymore.” At that moment, Bai Shanbao was so absorbed in his pain that he couldn’t hear anyone else; he just felt the bite must have drawn blood, it must have been excruciating. He cried loudly while Bai Erlang, who couldn’t help but laugh aloud, pointed to his face and teased, “A real embarrassment, a big strong boy is beaten by a little girl.” Although Manbao didn’t like the chubby little kid she was fighting, she detested Bai Erlang’s tone even more and threatened him with a waved fist, “You dare to mock us, be careful I’ll beat you up.” Bai Erlang blinked, then angrily said, “Can you even beat me?” “I can’t beat you, but I’ll have my older nephew beat you!” The two kids started arguing back and forth, and Bai Shanbao eventually opened his eyes, his tear-stained face looking at Manbao as he slowly rolled up his sleeve to look at his arm. Seeing no blood, he sighed in relief. Then he glared furiously at Manbao, seemingly also wanting to bite her in retaliation. Manbao then turned her attention back to him and preemptively questioned, “Why did you hit my nephew?” Second Son was quick to tattle, “Auntie, he snatched my stone.” Bai Shanbao angrily responded, “It was clearly mine first; you’re the one who snatched it from me!” “You’re not from our village. The stones of our village belong to us, and you’re not allowed to pick them up.” Bai Shanbao’s face turned red, and before he could reply, Second Son received a smack on the head from Manbao, “So you’re the bad guy. I’m not going to be friends with you anymore.” Second Son was taken aback and then said with a grumble, “He’s the one who bullied me.” “Why did you snatch his stone?” Manbao said. “Ownerless things are up for grabs by anyone. Now that he’s got it, it’s his. Just because it’s in our village, you think you can snatch it? So if you go to the county and pass through another village, does it mean others can stop you from using the road?” Bai Shanbao nodded fiercely, “There’s no such unreasonable person.” Manbao agreed, “Exactly.” The two who were just fighting suddenly became allies. With a wronged face, Second Son looked at his aunt. Manbao asked him to return the stone to Bai Shanbao. Second Son reluctantly handed over the particularly smooth stone to him. Bai Shanbao took it, grunted, and though Manbao spoke up for him, he resolved to dislike her still, considering her a bad person. Bai Shanbao glared at her with wide eyes. Manbao stood up, dusted off her bottom, and called for Second Son to go home. Bai Shanbao, not waiting for her apology, was unhappy and pulled at her, “You haven’t said sorry to me yet.” Manbao was genuinely puzzled, “Why should I say sorry to you?” “Because you hit me!” Manbao retorted, “That’s because you hit my nephew.” Bai Shanbao insisted, “Your nephew was wrong.” Manbao defiantly stated, “But you can’t just hit my nephew. I hit you because you hit my nephew. Anyway, I won’t apologize!” “You’re still a villain, always sneaking attacks!” “I’m not a villain. As long as I win, it doesn’t matter whether you think I ambushed you or not.” Bai Shanbao insisted, “But you’re wrong. Ambushers aren’t true men.” Manbao replied, “I’m not supposed to be a true man; I’m a girl...” The more they argued, the angrier they got, until Bai Shanbao set down the stone and challenged, “How about you fight me fair and square?” “Why not, if you’re so brave?” Manbao promptly shoved him. Bai Shanbao, unprepared for her swift action, lost his temper. Being slightly taller and heavier than Manbao, he stumbled back two steps from the push but, in his wrath, immediately wrestled her to the ground, and in an instant, they tumbled into a scuffle on the dirt. Second Son’s eyes widened in shock, and he hurriedly rolled up his sleeves to help his aunt. His big brother had sent him to fetch her; if he went back and the grandparents, father, and mother learned he let his aunt fight someone, he and his big brother would definitely get a beating. Although Bai Erlang didn’t much care for his sudden cousin, he disliked Manbao even more, so when he saw Second Son helping her, he also stepped in, and the children’s scuffle turned into a brawl. Eventually, someone from the schoolyard called out, and Mr. Zhuang came running to separate the children. Mr. Zhuang was not pleased. He inspected the four children and found that Second Son and Bai Erlang had some red marks on their faces from the scuffle, but no other injuries. Meanwhile, Manbao and Bai Shanbao, who appeared to have fought fiercely, were not hurt, just filthy, most likely from rolling on the ground. Mr. Zhuang weighed his options. It had not been easy for Manbao to be allowed into the school, and he didn’t want to blow things out of proportion, but the commotion with Bai Erlang getting beaten couldn’t be concealed. After a moment’s hesitation, he still took the four children back to the school and asked the students to go and call the parents from both families. Better to deal with the situation openly than in secret; this way, if anyone held a grudge, it could be aired out and resolved.

Chapter 46 - 46 35 Childhood Sweethearts Beating up Each Other

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