Chapter 99: Reencounter with the Man in Green Clothes
He looked at Zhao Zhitong, his face etched with displeasure. "Zhao Zhitong, why did you invite Zhao Damao and Zhao Huzi to your home for dinner!"
He was actually upset that Zhao Zhitong had invited Zhao Damao and Zhao Huzi, but not him.
Zhao Zhitong blinked, looking at the unhappy Zhao Yue, somewhat puzzled as to why he was annoyed. Then she realized that Zhao Yue had been abandoned by them before, so he must not like them and wouldn't want to go to her house with them.
Before Zhao Zhitong could speak, Qiao Muchen interjected, "Zhao Yue, get it straight. It's Tongtong's house; she can invite whoever she wants. It's none of your damn business." With that, he pulled Zhao Zhitong away.
Zhao Yue, very unwilling, chased after them and said fiercely to Qiao Muchen, "Qiao Muchen, I've tolerated you for long enough! I was talking to Zhao Zhitong, not you. Why are you answering back?"
Zhao Zhitong glanced at Zhao Yue, then at Qiao Muchen. Their eyes met, and sparks seemed to fly. Then she said to Zhao Yue, "I think Qiao Muchen is right."
"Hmph!" Zhao Yue grumbled unhappily before finally catching up with them awkwardly. "Then, why didn't you invite me? Zhao Huzi and Zhao Damao were also going to smear ink on your face."
Zhao Zhitong looked confused. "What are you talking about? Didn't I invite you already?"
"Ah?" Zhao Yue was startled. "When did you invite me?"
Zhao Zhitong gave him a look one might give an idiot. "I said all of you could come. If you want to come, you can."
Zhao Yue felt a surge of happiness inwardly, but he still awkwardly shouted, "Who... who said I wanted to go? I don't want to go at all!"
After saying that, he turned and ran.
Zhao Zhitong looked utterly confused. "...Is he sick?"
Qiao Muchen nodded. "Probably."
Wei Shulan also nodded. "And it's probably quite serious."
"SIGH!"
The three little ones sighed in unison, shaking their heads and turning to leave to find goji berries.
However, after searching the entire school without finding any goji berries, the three of them ended up under the big pagoda tree in the schoolyard. Since they couldn't find any, they simply gave up looking and squatted under the tree, studying the ants climbing it.
"Huh, where did these three kids come from?"
At that moment, a hearty male voice suddenly rang out from above.
The three of them were startled and looked up into the tree. They saw a man in green clothes leaning casually on a branch, a stalk of Foxtail Grass dangling from his mouth, swinging his legs with an air of utter nonchalance.
Upon seeing the sword at his waist, Qiao Muchen immediately became alert. "Who are you? What are you doing in our school?"
However, when Zhao Zhitong saw the man, she exclaimed with joy, "Big Brother! You're that heroic Big Brother!"
Qiao Muchen looked at Zhao Zhitong suspiciously. "You know him?"
The man in green clothes was also taken aback. He flicked his robes and leaped lightly from the tree. He looked at Zhao Zhitong curiously, smiling. "Oh, little girl, you've met me before?"
Zhao Zhitong nodded repeatedly, her eyes full of admiration. "Big Brother, don't you remember me? You saved our whole family back then! The way you fought off those bandits was incredible!"
After hearing Zhao Zhitong's account, Meng Fusheng finally remembered. "Oh, it's you." After he defeated the bandits, he had taken them directly to the county town's yamen. He only recalled that the family he rescued had four children and hadn't paid much attention to how the children in the cart looked.
"Mmhmm." Zhao Zhitong had already become a little fan girl. "Big Brother, my name is Zhao Zhitong. You can call me Tongtong. That's what my daddy and mommy call me."
Looking at this young girl who wasn't shy at all, Meng Fusheng laughed heartily. "Are all of you students of this school?"
The children nodded one after another.
Zhao Zhitong asked curiously, "Big Brother, what are you doing here?" Then, with a look of sudden realization, she added, "Oh, I get it! You came to secretly listen to Teacher's lecture, right?"
Meng Fusheng was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Yes, yes, you're not wrong." He had indeed come secretly, but not to listen to lectures.
Zhao Zhitong felt happy for guessing correctly. "Big Brother, let me take you to meet our Teacher. Our Teacher is very kind. Maybe he'll even agree to let you enroll in the school."
Meng Fusheng's expression stiffened for a moment, but then he smiled. "No need. He probably doesn't want to see me."
Just then, Scholar Meng's voice came from a distance. Class was about to start, but Zhao Zhitong, Qiao Muchen, and Wei Shulan were nowhere to be seen. Worried, Scholar Meng began searching for them around the school.
Upon hearing the voice, Meng Fusheng immediately smiled and said, "Little fellows, I must leave now. Remember, don't tell your Teacher you saw me today." With that instruction to the three of them, he tapped his foot lightly, and in an instant, he vanished from the spot.
Qiao Muchen was already amazed by Meng Fusheng's skills. Of course, Zhao Zhitong and Wei Shulan were equally astounded.
By this time, Scholar Meng had rushed over. He found the three children staring at the treetops in a daze, as if spellbound. This sight alarmed Scholar Meng, and he hurried to call out to them.
Hearing Scholar Meng's voice, the three of them snapped back to their senses. Seeing their Teacher, they all exclaimed happily, "Teacher!"
Seeing that the three children were themselves again, Scholar Meng breathed a sigh of relief. "What were you three looking at that had you so enthralled?"
Because Meng Fusheng had just told them not to mention seeing him, yet they couldn't lie to their Teacher, they all remained silent.
Scholar Meng immediately sensed something was amiss, but he didn't press them further. He just told them to hurry to the school building as class was starting.
The three children exchanged glances and then ran towards the school.
Because all three children had this on their minds, they remained distracted. After school, they returned to the big pagoda tree but couldn't find the man in green clothes again. Unable to find him, the three of them were inevitably disappointed.
When they got home, Zhao Zhitong told Zhao Dong and Sun Mei what had happened that day.
The first thing Zhao Dong and Sun Mei thought of was the chance to repay his kindness. They immediately said, "That's wonderful! If Mr. Meng is here, we must properly thank him."
But Zhao Zhitong tilted her head. "Daddy, why wouldn't Big Brother want Teacher to know about him?"
Zhao Dong pursed his lips and then said, "Perhaps he has some private reasons he can't disclose. Did you tell Teacher about him?"
Zhao Zhitong shook her head. "No."
Zhao Dong pondered for a moment. Although he had only met the man in green clothes once, the man seemed open-minded and willing to help others. He possessed a chivalrous spirit and didn't seem like a bad person. Since he also had the surname Meng, he was likely related to Scholar Meng, but perhaps it was inconvenient for them to meet.
So he said, "Then let's listen to Mr. Meng for now. Don't tell your Teacher about it yet."
Zhao Zhitong nodded, thinking she would go to the big pagoda tree again tomorrow to see if her Big Brother was still there.
The matter should have ended there. Unexpectedly, however, as Zhao Dong was drifting off to sleep that night, he suddenly sat bolt upright and exclaimed, "Ah, I've got it!"