CHAPTER 575: CHAPTER 574 THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY

"Help me call the police," the scar-faced woman pleaded.

Shen Siyuan turned around and glanced at the brightly lit big tent behind him.

The woman’s request to call the police must be related to the circus behind them.

His gaze fell on Taozi beside him, seeing her eyes filled with curiosity, as if she wanted to speak but was hesitant.

His eyes met hers for a moment, and his lips curled into a slight smile, then he lowered his head to look at their interlocked hands.

Following his gaze, Taozi saw a mysterious blue light emitting from Shen Siyuan’s palm, then crawling onto the back of her hand, slithering up her arm, and disappearing into her body.

Taozi was puzzled and was about to inquire when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the scar-faced woman standing opposite and the lion crouching at her feet. She was startled but quickly realized what was happening.

Yet instinctively, she hid behind Shen Siyuan, peering out cautiously.

Seeing her act like this, Shen Siyuan chuckled. Her actions were just like Dou Dou’s—clumsy yet playful.

No, it should be said that Dou Dou was like her. They say nephews often resemble their uncles, but in reality, nephews also resemble aunts.

Seeing Shen Siyuan not responding immediately, but instead turning back to look at the tent behind him.

A trace of resentment flashed in the scar-faced woman’s eyes, but she concealed it well, hiding her emotions the moment Shen Siyuan turned his head.

"If... if you find calling the police troublesome, could you make a call for me?" the scar-faced woman said.

In her mind, the hesitation from the other party might be due to not wanting to invite trouble.

After all, calling the police requires a reason, and there will definitely be questions from the police afterward. How would the other party answer?

Saying it was a ghost who told him? Not everyone can see ghosts, and Shen Siyuan is the first person she has met who can see her.

"Sure, but first you have to tell me what happened—I can’t just call the police for you without reason. When the police ask, I wouldn’t even know what to say," Shen Siyuan said.

"Of course... of course..." the scar-faced woman quickly replied.

"Let’s talk as we walk."

Shen Siyuan pulled Taozi along, walking forward along the beach, with the scar-faced woman hurriedly catching up, walking side by side with them.

The lion, which had initially been crouching on the ground, stood up and followed, but it seemed to perceive Shen Siyuan’s strength, always reluctant to approach, only following distantly behind them.

The scar-faced woman beckoned several times, but it remained unmoved, so she eventually gave up.

The woman scratched her head, seemingly pondering how to begin, and Shen Siyuan did not rush her, continuing to lead Taozi forward, absent-minded.

She frequently turned back to look at the lion trailing behind them.

This was a male lion, its gaze sharp, appearance majestic, moving forward with grace, both dangerous and beautiful.

The reason for determining it was a male lion was because of the pretty mane around its neck, waving gently in the sea breeze.

In the animal kingdom, the males are generally more appealing, like the peacock—it’s the males that spread their tail feathers.

The scar-faced woman contemplated for a while before finally speaking.

"I haven’t introduced myself," she said.

"I’m Zheng Min, from Su Bei," said the scar-faced woman.

"My surname is Shen; you can call me Mr. Shen."

Shen Siyuan said casually, not bothering to introduce himself and Taozi, as it was unnecessary.

The scar-faced woman did not mind, continuing, "That was eight years ago..."

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"Little aunt, what’s wrong?"

Five-year-old Yan Bin bent down, tilted his head, trying hard to look up at Zheng Min who was lowering her head.

Looking at Yan Bin’s cute little face, Zheng Min’s heart was inexplicably filled with disgust.

It’s all because of him that she was scolded by her sister again today.

"Smile, smile and you’ll be happy..."

Yan Bin flashed an innocent smile, unaware of his aunt’s dislike for him.

"Go away."

Zheng Min used her knee to shove him away and walked straight toward the courtyard gate.

Yan Bin, who fell to the ground, didn’t cry. He got up, ran after her quickly on his little legs, wiggling his bottom.

"Little aunt, where are you going? Take me with you, okay?" Yan Bin shouted as he ran.

"You go back, don’t follow me," Zheng Min turned back, glaring angrily at Yan Bin.

"Little aunt." Yan Bin looked at her, aggrieved.

Seeing him like this, Zheng Min softened a little.

Zheng Min’s parents were in business outside, so she had always lived at her sister’s house. The sisters had a good relationship, but there were inevitably many frictions in life, and Zheng Min was particularly sensitive, being an adolescent.

Every criticism and reprimand would be magnified indefinitely.

Especially after Yan Bin learned to walk, these contradictions became sharper. Because Yan Bin was younger, whenever he made a mistake, the first person her sister would criticize was her, the little aunt.

This morning, Yan Bin shattered the family vase, soaking a big pile of clothes under the cabinet in water.

After her sister returned, she lightly spanked Yan Bin’s butt a few times, and then blamed Zheng Min for not taking care of him at home.

Zheng Min felt very wronged. She couldn’t keep an eye on Yan Bin twenty-four hours a day, right? She wasn’t a nanny, after all. What did his mistakes have to do with her?

And it wasn’t the first or second time it happened, so gradually Zheng Min began to intensely dislike Yan Bin.

She felt it was because of him that she received so much criticism and reprimands from her sister.

But Yan Bin was unaware of this. He grew up trailing behind Zheng Min. In this house, besides his mom, his little aunt was the closest person to him, even closer than his dad.

Seeing Yan Bin startled by her, Zheng Min showed a hint of satisfaction, and turned to continue walking forward.

Where Zheng Min lived was a very ordinary small town in Su Bei, spanning north and south, with only about a thousand families, barely as large as some moderately sized communities.

But with frequent traffic passing by from north to south, the town was quite prosperous.

"Zheng Min... Zheng Min..." Just then, someone called out, stopping Zheng Min as she walked with her head down.

Zheng Min looked in the direction of the voice; it was her classmate Xia Xiaoluo.

She was coming out of a restaurant beside them, which her family owned—because of the frequent passing traffic, the town had plenty of restaurants.

"Did you finish your homework?" Xia Xiaoluo asked.

"Finished," Zheng Min replied.

She spent the morning doing homework, so she didn’t keep an eye on Yan Bin, which led him to break the vase.

"Then tonight, do you want to go see the circus performance with me?"

"I don’t have money," Zheng Min said.

Her sister and brother-in-law weren’t well-off, supporting her schooling and living expenses were already hard, let alone pocket money, which was basically out of the question.

"I can lend you some," Xia Xiaoluo said.

Hearing this, Zheng Min hesitated.

Seeing her hesitation, Xia Xiaoluo said, "The circus people are leaving tomorrow, if you want to see it, it’ll be too late."

The circus had been performing in their town for four days, and many people had seen it. This week, it was the most talked-about topic in school.

So Zheng Min no longer hesitated, directly nodding, "I’ll come find you tonight."

"Sure," Xia Xiaoluo said with a smile.

"But no need to borrow money, I have it myself."

"Then why did you say you don’t have money earlier?" Xia Xiaoluo asked.

"It’s what my mom gave me when she came to see me last time, almost spent it all," Zheng Min said.

"Alright, but where are you heading now?" Xia Xiaoluo didn’t press further.

"I’m going to Yu Minmin’s house to see her Persian chrysanthemums in bloom," Zheng Min said.

"Oh, then go ahead, but make sure you keep an eye on Binbin, there are many cars on the road, it’s very dangerous," Xia Xiaoluo said.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Min turned her head and saw the little kid grinning back at her.