Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

I don’t know if it’s because of the difference in body temperature between men and women, but Su Xiao was extremely hot when she entered the room.

The back of my school uniform was soaked with sweat, sticking to my body and feeling sticky.

He changed into slippers and stood in front of the living room fan for a while, but still felt unsatisfied, so he simply pulled out a clean pair of shorts and went to the bathroom to take a cold shower.

Su Wan Ning acted as if nothing had happened. She had only sweated a little, sat on the sofa for a while with the fan blowing on her, and then went back to her room for a nap.

The tap was running, and Su Xiao turned the water temperature down to the lowest setting. The cold water poured over his head, making him shiver.

He was applying shampoo when there was a knock on the door.

At first it was normal, three "thump thump thump" sounds.

Then it got faster and faster, harder and harder, and finally it turned into hitting with fists.

Su Xiao was about to go out and see what was going on when she heard the sound of Su Wan Ning's room door opening.

Su Wan Ning came out looking puzzled, walked into the living room in her slippers, and glanced in the direction of the bathroom.

The water was gushing inside; Su Xiao was still washing.

She hesitated for a second, then walked to the door and opened it herself.

A middle-aged man was standing outside the door.

He had a square face, triangular eyes, and wore an old work vest that revealed his two thick arms.

The neighbor who lives in apartment 402 next door.

His wife followed behind, holding the children's bicycle that had been tied to the doorknob in her arms, her face bearing an expression that was a mixture of grievance and self-righteousness.

His mouth drooped, like a mangy dog ​​guarding its food.

"Where are your parents?" the man asked loudly, his voice making the hallway vibrate.

Su Wan Ning frowned. "My brother is busy. Is there something you need?"

"What's the matter?"

The man slammed the shoe cabinet door to the ground, revealing a crack in it—the result of Su Xiao's earlier kick.

He kicked the crack with his toe, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "Did you do this? You broke my shoe cabinet and tied my bicycle to the door? What's wrong with your family? Are you mother-born but motherless?"

Su Wan Ning looked at him without backing away, "You guys blocked my doorway with your stuff first."

"The hallway is a public space, I can put my things wherever I want! What's it to you?"

The man stiffened his neck, spitting out saliva, his triangular eyes filled with arrogance.

"You put it right in front of my house, I can't even squeeze through sideways."

The man probably didn't expect a young girl to talk back like that. He was stunned for a moment, then his voice grew even louder, like a mad dog whose tail had been stepped on.

"What do you know, you little brat! Call your parents out here! I want to see who's so ill-mannered..."

The woman suddenly spoke up, her voice high-pitched and sarcastic, "Oh dear, I heard their parents passed away a few days ago."

The man paused for a moment.

But he only paused for a very short moment, then a strange smile appeared on his face.

The smile started at the corner of his mouth and gradually spread across his fleshy face, with a hint of schadenfreude even showing in his eyes.

"Oh, no wonder. A bastard child without parents, I was wondering why he has such a bad upbringing."

He leaned against the doorframe, looking down at Su Wan Ning, and pointed at her with a short, thick finger. "Since you're already dead, as your neighbor, I'll do you a favor and keep an eye on your family for those two short-lived devils..."

"Snapped!"

Su Wanning slapped him hard across the face.

The sound was crisp, and it bounced back and forth several times in the hallway.

Su Wan Ning's face was filled with anger, her teeth were clenched tightly, her palms were numb and trembling slightly in mid-air.

The man covered his face, his eyes wide like saucers, and it took him less than half a second for his expression to change from shock to rage.

His face turned a deep purplish-red, and the veins on his forehead bulged out, as if he had suffered a tremendous insult.

"You fucking little slut...!"

He grabbed Su Wanning's shoulder and pushed her backward forcefully.

Su Wan Ning instantly lost her balance and fell backward.

She instinctively reached out to grab the door frame, but missed.

The sunlight outside the door pierced her eyes, and the bicycles, shoe cabinets, and little GGs on the wall in the hallway all looked crooked.

She thought she was going to fall to the ground.

Then she crashed into something very hard.

It's not land.

It's the chest.

Warm, firm, carrying the scent of freshly showered water and soap.

She turned around and saw Su Xiao.

He was shirtless, with water droplets still clinging to his body, his hair plastered to his forehead, and water running down his neck.

One hand rested on her shoulder, supporting her steadily, while the other hand hung at her side.

He looked out the door, expressionless.

Su Wanning was stunned.

Su Xiao let go of her.

He took a step forward, blocking her from the doorway.

His hair was still dripping wet, dripping onto his shoulders and sliding down the muscle lines of his back.

He stood in the doorway, wearing a pair of wet slippers.

The man at the door was still talking.

He spoke very quickly, spittle flying everywhere.

"As expected, having no parents means having no manners. You'll all be going to jail sooner or later, and what about you!"

He pointed his finger at Su Xiao, almost poking her face, and the stench from his breath was unmistakable. "Don't think I don't know. The neighbors all say you're just an uneducated hoodlum. You're a worthless piece of trash who was born but not raised, destined to be a hopeless failure!"

Su Xiao's lips twitched, and she smiled.

It wasn't the usual carefree laugh; it was a very light and faint laugh that flashed across the corner of the mouth.

"So you know I'm a thug?"

He raised his hand and threw a punch.

The movements weren't fast; everyone could see them clearly.

But it was too late for anyone to stop them.

The fist slammed squarely into the man's nose, the bone hitting the fist with a dull thud.

The man tilted his head back, and blood spurted from his nose, splattering onto his work vest.

He was still standing there, his eyes wide open in shock, probably not yet able to process what had happened.

The second punch landed on his cheekbone.

The man swayed as if his bones had been removed, then fell straight down, hitting the corner of the shoe cabinet in the hallway with a dull thud.

The woman froze for a full three seconds, then screamed like a pig being slaughtered, her voice shrill and piercing, echoing throughout the hallway: "Murder! Murder! You little beast, you've killed someone!"

She dropped her bicycle and lunged at him menacingly.

The ten long, sharp fingernails reached straight for Su Xiao's face, which was covered in tears and snot.

"How dare you hit my man! You short-lived, motherless bastard! You bastard who deserves to die a horrible death!"

Su Xiao knew, of course, that this woman was no good; she had cursed his mother quite often.

Su Xiao grabbed her wrist as she swung it, a cold smile still on his lips, his eyes as cold as ice.

"Forgot to hit you, huh? Perfect, I come from an era of gender equality!"

Before he could finish speaking, a punch landed on the woman's face.

The woman screamed and stumbled back several steps, crashing into the wall. She clutched her nose and crouched down, blood seeping from between her fingers. She collapsed there, howling.

Su Wanning stood there, her face pale.

She had never seen Su Xiao like this before.

Every line on his body was taut, like a powder keg that had been ignited.

The ruthlessness that seeped from the very core of her being sent chills down her spine.

But she didn't cry.

She bit her lower lip hard, forcing back the stinging in her eyes.

The next second, she rushed up and hugged Su Xiao's waist from behind.

It wasn't the kind of soft, yielding stop; it was the kind that used all its strength and tightened around the neck.

"Su Xiao".

She didn't call him "brother".

His voice was low and trembling, but each word came out as if squeezed out from between his teeth.

That's enough.

Su Xiao's body stiffened for a moment.

He looked down at the hands wrapped around his waist; they were slender and fair.

His hands were still clenched into fists, his knuckles cracking, and his chest heaving violently, as if something was about to burst out from within.

He looked down at the man lying on the ground, covering his nose, his fierceness undiminished, the redness burning from the corner of his eyes to the depths of his gaze.

The woman's wailing still echoed in the hallway.

Su Wan Ning tightened her arms around him, burying her face in his wet back. She was silent, but Su Xiao could feel her trembling.

He shook the blood off his hands, and droplets of water fell from his wet hair, landing next to the bloodstains on the ground.

Su Xiao, her fist still dripping blood, looked down at the man on the ground, who was covering his nose and howling.

His voice was very soft, as if he were chatting with a neighbor about something trivial.

"Come, get up."

Blood dripped from his fist and onto the ground.

"Let's fight!"