A little girl at a magic school, she's a goofy troublemaker who can do anything.

Song's Meat Pie.

Li Wenyin dragged her heavy suitcase to a small meat pie shop on the street. She stood at the door for a long time before a middle-aged woman holding a rag appeared.

It's a little past four in the afternoon. Lunchtime is long over and dinnertime hasn't arrived yet, so there are usually no customers. The pancakes for dinner haven't been made yet.

So when the middle-aged woman caught a glimpse of someone outside, she instinctively called out, "No more pancakes! Come back later."

Li Wenyin peeked out with a grin, leaning closer to the counter, almost sticking her head in.

She called out to the woman, "Aunt Song!"

Hearing that familiar address, Song He stared blankly over, put down the rag in her hand, wiped her hands on her apron, and quickly walked over.

After seeing Li Wenyin clearly, Song He laughed: "You brat! So you're not dead after all."

"What are you saying..." Li Wenyin pouted, took out a few crisp banknotes from her pocket, and placed them on the table. "Not only am I not dead, but I've also come to return your money."

Song He looked at the banknotes on the table in surprise, then at Li Wenyin, who was grinning in front of her.

-

Song He's Songji Meat Pie Shop has been open for many years. Over the years, business has not been booming, but it has been stable. The shop is not big, but she is not married and has no children, so she can support herself more than enough.

In addition, she is hardworking and diligent, and manages things very well, so her life is quite comfortable.

At first, Song He noticed that the meat patties always seemed to be inexplicably missing a few.

The morning market is the busiest, and it's easy for things to get chaotic when there are so many people buying things. But Song He knows exactly what she's doing and can recognize the faces of everyone in town. By matching them up one by one, she noticed that three or four meat pies had disappeared.

It seems they've been robbed.

Who would steal a meat pie that's only worth a few dollars?

After noticing this, Song He began to pay special attention to the movements of the customers outside. After two days of surveillance, she finally caught a restless little hand.

It was a dirty little girl, not even as tall as Song He's shop counter, but she had a very strong ability to track things. First, she quietly tiptoed and peeked out with her eyes. After tracking Song He's figure and the location of the meat pie, she quickly squatted down, reached over with one hand, grabbed a corner of the meat pie bag, and ran away.

For Song He, this loss was nothing, but being robbed is never a pleasant experience for anyone.

She caught the brat and warned her that if she caught her stealing her cookies again, she would break the hand that was stealing the cookies.

The child ran away without saying a word after hearing Song He's words, which means he must have taken her advice to heart.

The next day, Song He indeed did not notice any restless hands.

She spotted a small, struggling foot.

"..."

Thinking to herself what was going on, Song He, with a slightly speechless attitude, stuck her head out to look.

Then she saw the child she had just scolded yesterday struggling to do a split while holding onto the wall, trying to move his stiff toes and reach for the bag of meat patties.

Their eyes met at that moment.

There was a slight awkwardness in the air.

"...What are you doing?"

"...You didn't say your legs would be broken too."

The little girl's nonsense made Song He laugh in exasperation. She immediately chased the little girl away and warned her not to come back.

A day later, Song He found her near the meat pie shop.

She was tiny, squatting on the ground, holding a small twig, writing and drawing with her head down.

Song He didn't know which family's child had come to steal things time and time again. She didn't recognize her. The child was too young, and her clothes were filthy. She must have been starving.

Looking at her small figure from behind, Song He suddenly thought, "Oh well, it's just a meat pie."

So Song He took a meat pie and went over, but when she got closer, she saw that the woman was writing something with a twig.

Upon closer inspection, the little girl was writing a battle plan.

Unrepentant and undeterred, she planned to use her nimble right foot to hook the straw rope and steal the meat pie in a spectacular fashion!

"..."

At that moment, Song He was really angry, laughing, and heartbroken all at the same time.

The little girl was engrossed in her own world of magic and theft when she was suddenly startled by the shadows that enveloped her. She raised her head and smiled guiltily at Song He.

Song He tapped the little girl on the head, and the girl cried out in pain, clutching her head.

"Don't steal again," Song He scolded.

The little girl squatted pitifully, clutching her head, secretly rubbing her foot against the plan she had written, intending to destroy the evidence.

"From now on, just ask me for it directly."

A meat pie was handed to the little girl, who suddenly looked up and flashed a big smile.

"Really?! Wait... are you going to have your arms and legs broken?"

"No, I'll eat."

"Could it be poisonous? Are you trying to get rid of me once and for all...?"

"Stop talking nonsense and eat!"

That's how Song He met Li Wenyin.

-

Li Wenyin is a special child. Song He observed that there are many pitiful children here who have no one to care for them. Many of these children have given up on themselves or sought help from others. But this is the first time Song He has seen a child like Li Wenyin who has raised himself up on his own.

Moreover, she also entertained herself in many ways.

One day, Song He saw Li Wenyin's plan again, noticing that she had a very detailed plan for her three meals a day.

For breakfast, we go to Song's Meat Pie Shop; for lunch, we randomly pick a kind person to ask for some food; and for dinner, we go back to the chess and card room.

Song He realized that the little guy had been planning all along, and it turned out he was only going to steal from her.

"Why did you only steal my meat pie?" Song He asked her.

Li Wenyin: "Yours is delicious."

"Then I should thank you?"

"You're welcome. I look forward to a positive review and a cashback reward."

"...What nonsense are you spouting now?"

"Don't worry, you've treated me well," Li Wenyin patted her chest. "Actually, I didn't intend to steal it, but my family recently collected a lot of debt, and we can't squeeze out any money right now. In a couple of days, I should be able to give you some money."

Song He: "Hey, don't steal money from home either..."

Li Wenyin didn't take it to heart and continued to draw her daily meals for her own amusement.

Song He became curious about this whimsical little girl and wanted to find out what kind of situation made her, a little girl, wander around all day.

-

After observing her for many more days, Song He saw that she would wander around outside very early in the daytime, aimlessly, and occasionally run up the mountain. She would only go to that illegal mahjong parlor late at night, and then come out again the next morning.

Song He roughly understood her situation and had some vague guesses in her mind.

One day, when Li Wenyin came to ask for meat pies, Song He asked her, "You're quite smart, and you're still so young. Why don't you find someone to beg to adopt you?"

"Adoption...?" Little Li Wenying frowned and thought for a moment, holding the meat pie, then said, "No, I'm so beautiful, what if someone has ulterior motives..."

"..." Song He was speechless. "What's going on in your head all day, you little brat?"

"Besides, I can't be adopted," Li Wenyin said, taking a bite of her biscuit. "I have someone on my household registration."

She doesn't talk about home, her parents, or her siblings; she only talks about her household registration book.

I can support myself.

-

Later, Song He thoroughly understood Li Wenyin's family situation. She didn't interfere or meddle, and maintained a subtle friendship with her that involved giving her free meat pies. Li Wenyin also came on time every day.

"You need to go to school, right?" Song He asked, propping her head up with her hand.

"No need, I can do it all, and I don't have any money," Li Wenyin said, sitting cross-legged next to her as they chatted. "Where did those two drunkards hide their money...?"

"You think you know everything? You little brat, you've never even read a book!" Song He shouted. "Here's what we'll do: I'll pay your tuition, and you can go to school."

"Huh?" Xiao Li looked at me with wide eyes. "Really, no need. I really know how to do it all. Besides, I can't afford to pay your tuition right now. As the saying goes, one shouldn't accept undeserved rewards. What if one day you try to force me to marry your distant relative's son..."

"Hey you little brat! No, no, no!"

Song He tapped Li Wenyin on the head.

"Why do you always think so badly of people? I didn't give you this for free; it's an investment. If you get into university, you'll have to pay me back a hundredfold for the tuition!"

Little Li Wenying covered her head and cried out, "Extremely high interest rates!"

"Not only that, I'm forcing you to go. You have to go, you have to study!" Song He didn't care.

Li Wenyin covered her head and remained silent for a long time before finally nodding heavily and saying "Mmm".

Later, Li Wenyin started calling her Aunt Song, and Song He attended every parent-teacher meeting of Li Wenyin.

Their relationship was complicated; it wasn't quite friendship, nor was it quite family. They often bickered, one big and one small, pouring out their grievances to the other, and then going back to their separate lives afterward.

It's hard to say what she was to Li Wenyin, but she did watch Li Wenyin grow up.

-

That's what she said, but Song He never thought that Li Wenyin would actually come back to repay the money.

Song He glanced at the banknotes Li Wenyin had placed there, but didn't reach for them. Instead, she asked, "Where did you steal them from?"

"What do you mean 'stolen'?" Li Wenyin pouted. "It was from legitimate channels, given to me by a friend."

After hesitating for a moment, Song He asked again, "Have you hooked up with a rich guy?"

Li Wenyin: "..."

The question was impolite, but it wasn't offensive because Song He's eyes were filled with worry and heartache as she spoke. Moreover, Li Wenyin had only been gone for half a year, and it was normal for a woman who had lived in a small mountain town for half her life to subconsciously think this way. Li Wenyin wouldn't blame her for thinking that way.

"You little girl, you, you, you," Song He shook her head and sighed, "how could you go through such channels?"

"No, Aunt Song, please keep it. I'll return it to you as agreed," Li Wenyin urged.

Song He came out of the shop: "I didn't ask you to pay me back like this. You... what are you going to do? Do you have any money left?"

"Don't worry, I have plenty left."

Li Wenyin didn't count the money just now, but she roughly estimated that, based on the 100,000 yuan banknotes being 10 centimeters high, those young ladies and gentlemen who treated money like dirt had indeed stuffed a huge sum of money into her hands.

Upon hearing this, Song He looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, "You really did end up hooking up with a rich guy."

Li Wenyin: "Your thinking is too crude and simplistic, and it urgently needs to be corrected."

"You're just talking nonsense. What ordinary friend would give you that much money?" Song He wouldn't listen and continued, "I'm not trying to stop you from hooking up with a rich guy, but you're not the type to please people. You're bound to suffer. Those rich guys are all unrealistic and have high expectations. I still don't want you to..."

Song He stopped mid-sentence.

"What's wrong?" Li Wenyin asked, looking at her.

Song He smiled and said, "Now I believe you haven't suffered."

"Did you suddenly have an epiphany?" Li Wenyin asked in confusion.

Song He pointed to her ear: "I saw this."

"What is it?" Li Wenyin touched herself.

I touched that cherry ear clip.

She asked in confusion, "What's wrong with this? This is an ear clip that my friend lent me."

"I've seen men and women who hook up with rich men. They might suddenly start wearing a lot of expensive jewelry, but it's all just accessories. Their taste and everything else depends on the master's preferences. They wear whatever the master gives them," Song He smiled. "For example, a necklace that symbolizes wealth and power, or a bracelet engraved with their name, signifies that they've become someone else's property."

Song He continued, "This little ear clip is so girly, the design is clearly your style. You wear red hair ties every day, everyone knows you like red hair accessories. They even considered your pierced ears, so it's not an earring. And it's hidden behind your ear in an inconspicuous place, not for others to see, but just for you. The other person is showing you kindness on an equal footing."

what?

Li Wenyin was stunned.

She explained, somewhat bewildered, "No, this is just a communicator, something that makes it easy to move around. It's very common in our student union. And it wasn't a gift; I borrowed it. I just forgot to return it."

"Common?" Song He asked with certainty, "Have you seen anyone else wearing it?"

this......

Li Wenyin thought for a moment.

Holy crap, there really isn't one.

But then he said it was just a regular telepathic device for their student council to make things easier, that's what he said!

But, but, after careful consideration, Li Wenyin realized that she had never seen anyone else wear any similar magical artifacts. It was supposed to be a very common sound transmission artifact, so why were only she and Yuchi Quan each wearing one?!

Li Wenyin said absentmindedly, "That was borrowed, I have to return it."

"Maybe he doesn't want you to pay it back. Has he urged you to pay it back?" Song He asked.

Li Wenyin shook her head.

"And also..." Song He gently lifted Li Wenyin's hair, carefully examining the cherry ear clips, "How do they feel to you wearing them?"

Li Wenyin: "I didn't feel anything, it was just quite comfortable."

"Ear clips are very particular about ear shape; if they don't fit perfectly, they can hurt a little. This one fits so well..." Song He laughed, "It must be custom-made."

Li Wenyin was dumbfounded. She felt that Song He was right and the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. However, she had never thought about it and had no doubt about Yu Chiquan's story. She still thought, "Wow, the student council has a lot of magical artifacts."

Was Yuchi Quan trying to make amends to me?!

Song He smiled and waved her hand: "She's still just a young girl."