Rong Ting met a human trafficker once when he was a child.

At the age of eight, the people in the palace went to the hunting ground to hunt together. Later, everyone went back, but he was deliberately forgotten there.

The hunting ground is close to the deep mountains and old forests.

In the middle of the night, the tigers are subdued in the mountains, the tigers howl and the wolves croak. In the middle of the night, there are wild beasts kept here for the nobles of the imperial city to shoot, kill and play. Every year, it is heard that nearby villagers strayed into the hunting ground and were accidentally injured or eaten by the beasts. news.

He thought someone would come to him.

At the age of eight, he stumbled and rolled out of the mountain with a bloody face. Sure enough, he saw a figure waiting for him on the side of the road.

He was full of joy and thought that it was someone sent from the palace to take him back.

Big mistake.

Queen Jiahe arranged two paths for the eight-year-old.

One, died in the deep mountains, was bitten to death by wild beasts, gnawed and eaten, and there were no bones left, filling the belly of beasts.

On the other hand, even if he climbed out of the hunting mountain, he would be abducted by human traffickers and sold into unknown places, and he would not know what his life would be like in the future.

The trafficker's house is at the foot of the mountain, on the outskirts of the city.

He was imprisoned for two days. One night, through a hole in the wall, he learned that there was a Lantern Festival in Jinling.

The coldness of the wall seeps into the coldness of the bones, leaning against the wall, through the small hole, you can see the dazzling lights on the dark sky outside.

The trafficker brought a little girl back that night.

The little girl was five or six years old, with mud all over her face.

He was too lazy to see what she looked like.

But she saw the jelly beans and bulging pockets in her hands.

He's been hungry for too long.

...

Seeing Rong Ting coming, Jiang Rao stood up and went to help him push his wheelchair.

Rong Ting lowered his head slightly, his expression surging, gloomy and unpredictable.

He looked slack, like a puppy after falling into the water.

...

Huaiqing watched from the side, and said in his heart, let's see, it's true.

The Ninth Highness was able to walk in a wheelchair by himself, and he didn't need help anywhere. As a result, when Jiang Si girl saw him, he began to feel like he had no strength in his hands.

There is no one-handed wheelchair in the academy, and wherever he goes, he looks as comfortable as walking on the ground.

On the contrary, from his expression to his actions, there was an embarrassment that he needed someone to help him.

Such a fairy-like appearance, with such a weak expression...

Who doesn't want to help?

If he didn't know it clearly in his heart, what His Highness Ninth asked for was not his help, he wanted to help.

Huaiqing's stomach was rolling with words, but he remained silent.

He went in behind the two masters.

In exchange for this, the fourth girl Jiang seemed to understand his master's temper and the difficulties of their servants. He never blamed him for not being diligent and clever when serving in front of His Highness the Ninth Highness.

...

After dropping the curtain and entering the back room, Jiang Rao returned to the round table, sat beside Jiang Jinxing, and said to Rong Ting, "How is your Ninth Highness doing in the academy today?"

Rong Ting's mind was still in the memory, listening to her words, raised his eyes gently.

Ninth Highness...

Since returning to the capital, he has never heard her call him Big Brother Ting again.

A bit of irritability was silently suppressed in his sad eyes, and he said slowly, "Everything is fine."

Mr. Yan's fame made other scholars in the academy treat him extremely polite.

In that politeness, there was even a bit of flattery.

All foam.

Those days when he was trampled in the mud, no one would even look at him.

If he can not fall into the trap and step on him with others, he is even considered a good person.

Now that he has only a little nickname, he can be flattered and flattered in exchange for it.

But he always remembered who was the one who pulled him out of the mud.

Just remember that person.

Rong Ting raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Rao.

Jiang Raozheng breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled with frowning eyes, "That's good, that's good."

What she knows best is to use silver to settle favors, and the copper stinks very much.

But buying people's hearts with money is not a long-term plan, nor is it feasible everywhere.

It wouldn't work in Uncle Yan's Egret Academy.

Therefore, she had some unfounded worries, worried that he would be bullied by others.

But if you think about it, you will know that it will not. It is Uncle Yan's academy, how could his own disciples be bullied in his academy.

Rong Ting's gaze swept across Jiang Rao's face.

A little bit, corresponding to the little girl with a dirty face in my memory.

He believes that he is not a good person, and he is evil in his bones, but he will never feel any guilt because of this.

He was born this way and deserved it.

But then he didn't know that the little girl was her.

The eight-year-old just wanted to survive.

by any means.

even hurting others.

If he had known it was her, he would never have stolen anything from her.

For the first time, Rong Ting felt guilty and uncomfortable because of the bad things he had done, and regretted because he had no way to go back to the past.

He didn't tell the kidnapping

I take it too seriously. From childhood to adulthood, there are too many times when almost lost life.

But if look back, the memory of that time is clear.

That little girl, after being arrested that night, didn't want other children, she cried as soon as she came in. Instead, she was calmer than some people older than her. First, she walked around the room, as if to find a way to get out.

But then her tears did not fall.

When he snatched her jelly beans, she cried a lot, and when he snatched her hairpin, she sat on the ground with her hair in a mess, sobbing, tears streaming down her face, turning the mud on her face into a streak A mud mark.

He felt very noisy at the time.

Feeling distressed now.

Later, she was tired from crying for too long, and fell asleep.

It seemed that he was too scared. After sleeping for a while, he rolled over to him and hugged him for warmth.

Getting in the way, he pushed her away.

But after a while, she was stuck again.

Holding him, relying on the fear of calling his parents.

Her body is small but warm. And soft, like a cloud.

But he hated other people's body temperature, even all living creatures, and even if it was cold at night, he didn't want to hug her for warmth.

Pushed her away three times in total.

When woke up the next day, the first thing that caught eye was a small furry head.

The little girl wrapped her hands and feet on his body, and her two little hands reached into his arms to cover him, and the palms were pressed against his chest.

"..."

It's a place to find a place to warm up.

He pushed her away for the fourth time.

four times.

How annoying and disgusting when pushed it away.

How regretful it is now.

That little girl turned out to be her, and it turned out to be her...

Rong Ting's eyes were filled with depression and despair, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Nian Nian, I heard, just now you said that you were abducted when you were a child..."

Jiang Rao raised her eyes and glanced at him, only to feel that his eyes were more hurt than her brother's.

His eyes were deep and deep, containing emotions that others could not understand.

"It's been many years ago, and I'm not doing well now." Seeing the expressions of the other two, one big and one small, as if they were the ones who were kidnapped back then, Jiang Rao couldn't help laughing, "It wasn't that child. Are you there? I'm well protected."

Rong Ting remained silent and lowered his eyes.

He never thought of saving people at the time.

There was only one thought in his mind that he wanted to keep himself alive.

Saving people is just a coincidence.

Thinking of this, his fingers hidden under his sleeves couldn't help but tremble.

If it wasn't so coincidental then...

"That child is amazing! It can protect my sister." Jiang Jinxing has a natural sense of admiration for this kind of heroic deeds of saving people. He listened with bright eyes and repeated loudly, "It's a big hero."

He climbed to Jiang Rao's lap and raised his little head, who wanted to listen to the story, "Sister, tell me more, I'd like to hear it instead."

Rong Ting frowned when he saw the fat man crawling into Jiang Rao's arms, and there was a vague possessiveness in his eyes.

"Come here, your sister is tired." He said to Jiang Jinxing.

Jiang Jinxing turned his head to look at Rong Ting, "But I want my sister to hug me."

Jiang Rao also hurt him, so he pulled him into his arms and said to Rong Ting, "I'm not tired."

Rong Ting: "..."

He moved his fingers, wanting to stretch his arms and hug Jiang Jinxing into his arms.

But it's too hard.

His arm didn't actually move one bit.

Wrinkling his brows, he hesitated between letting him hold Jiang Jinxing and letting Jiang Rao hold him.

Both are unbearable.

In his bones, Rong Ting was selfish and indifferent, greedy for coolness, and hated the body temperature of others.

So far, have only ever touched one person.

Huai Qing, who was standing by the wall, suddenly fell a line of sight.

Then, he heard the order of his ninth highness: "Huaiqing, come here and give Young Master Jiang a hug."

Huaiqing looked at Jiang Jinxing's chubby figure: "..."

Can you hug?

Jiang Jinxing didn't recognize the birth, and immediately opened his hand to Huaiqing, the puppy's eyes were bright, "Brother hugs."

Huai Qing suddenly felt that although this little dumpling was quite heavy to the naked eye, it was so cute.

For the first time, there was a young master from a big family, calling him such a eunuch, brother.

He picked up Jiang Jinxing and squatted down uncontrollably before he stabilized.

Really cute.

...

Jiang Jinxing was hugged by Huai Qing, and his curiosity became very strong. He stared at his sister, and continued to ask, "A sister recognizes who the child who rescued you was?"

Rong Ting held his breath.

Jiang Rao was at a loss for words.

The kid had blood spattered on his shoulder after he killed someone.

When all the children were huddled together and scared to death by his actions, he calmly pushed open the door, faced the rising sun, and walked out.

Don't look back.

But before he left, he threw the bloody hairpin back in front of Jiang Rao.

That was Jiang Rao's last look at him.

But then his face was not only with dry

Bloodstains, and new bloodstains were added, and the eyes were even redder.

From the beginning to the end, she didn't see what he looked like.

She shook her head and said to Jiang Jinxing, "I don't know who he is."

Jiang Jinxing was a little disappointed, "I want to thank him instead."

"My sister didn't even think about looking for him?" he asked.

Jiang Rao shook her head firmly.

As soon as she thought of that child, she thought of the calmness and ferocity that he was beyond her age when he murdered, replaced by... the blood hairpin that he finally threw in front of her.

She has shadows.

"At that time, the child was the first to run away. I was worried that he didn't go back. Later, I asked our family to look for it nearby. There was no child as big as him. Those who lost their children in Jinling said that the child had come back. , he should have gone home."

And she knew that the child was home, and that was enough.

Seemingly aware of the change in Rong Ting's gaze on the side, Jiang Rao glanced at him, always feeling that he was a little strange today.

Seeing Jiang Rao shaking his head, Jiang Jinxing was even more confused, "But that's Sister's life-saver, doesn't Sister want to see him?"

Jiang Rao had to prevaricate him and said, "It's my sister who is stupid, can't remember what he looks like, and can't find him."

Jiang Jinxing pursed his lips, very regretful, "Okay."

...

"Fang Cai, did you hide something from your brother?"

After the maid took away the sleepy Jiang Jinxing, Rong Ting asked aloud.

His eyes were as black as ink, his gaze was deep.

Even though it has been basically concluded that the girl is Jiang Rao, there is still a bit of luck in his heart...

What if she wasn't?

He remembered clearly that when the trafficker died, she curled up in the corner, terrified to the extreme, and her whole body trembled as if she had just been fished out of cold water.

He was young and didn't know what pity was, but now he was thinking about the little girl whose face was wet from crying, but his heart was aching so badly, he didn't want him to frighten her into that.

"I'm hiding something." Jiang Rao turned her head to look at Rong Ting, "I'm afraid my brother will be scared when he hears it."

"The child who saved me that year, he was only seven or eight years old, so..." Jiang Rao gestured slightly at the height in her memory, "You are such a tall child."

She lowered her eyes slightly and recalled, "It was just fierce, grabbing my jelly beans, grabbing my hairpin, like a little robber, using my hairpin to kill people."

The most terrible thing is that this little robber is a borrower and a trader!

After using up the hairpin, she actually threw the bloody hairpin back in front of her!

so horrible

.

A few years later, her legs felt weak when she saw the hairpin, and it took many years to get better.

Jiang Rao said sincerely: "He was the one who killed me with my hairpin and saved me. The two of us have borrowed and exchanged, we are not indebted, we will never meet again in the future, I am afraid, I am really afraid. ."

And she will, in her heart, wish that child a safe life.

Rong Ting's expression showed a little embarrassment.

It turned out that it was really her.

After a while, he lowered his eyes, his expression slowly returning to calm.

But it was a light "um", agreeing with Jiang Rao's words, "I won't meet again."

His tone was firm, but there was a thin layer of sweat on his palms.

He would never let her know that the vicious and cruel little robber who scared her to tears at that time was him.

absolute.