Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Standing Up for Her Brother

An Ning’s unique voice suddenly rang out over the alley.

An Guoping was the first to see her. Panicked and afraid, he shouted, "Get out of here!"

He didn’t even dare to call her "Sister."

Of course, An Ning didn’t leave. Instead, she walked toward the group, step by step. Her tone was laced with displeasure, yet it was so calm it made one’s skin crawl.

"Little brother, you should call me ’Sis.’ Remember to be a well-mannered child."

"And you lot, please move aside."

At that moment, An Guoping was trapped in a dead end of the alley. His back was against the wall, facing five other boys.

The five boys all had different hairstyles, but their expressions were identical.

It was that punchable ’I’m the king of the world’ look you see on people with no actual power to back it up.

After An Ning spoke, not only did the five refuse to move, they actually stepped closer to An Guoping.

One of them even slung an arm over An Guoping’s shoulder, tilting his head defiantly at An Ning.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

The boy had barely finished speaking, the disdainful sneer only half-formed on his face, when An Ning was suddenly right in front of him.

Her hand, though fair and delicate, struck like an iron palm, landing with a sharp SLAP on the side of the boy’s head.

The boy felt a massive force slam into his head. The impact drove his head into his shoulder, and he crumpled sideways, unable to stay on his feet.

Without saying a word, An Ning struck again with the same hand. The other four boys didn’t even have time to react before they, too, were slapped sideways to the ground just like the first.

An Guoping stared, dumbfounded, at the boys on the ground. Some of their necks were crooked to the right, others to the left.

For a moment, they looked like scallions planted upside down in a vegetable garden, twisted askew and stretching in every direction, harmoniously not disturbing one another.

An Ning reached out, grabbed the front of An Guoping’s shirt, and led him around the five boys on the ground, stopping at the alley’s entrance.

"Alright, can we talk now?"

There it was again—that calm voice. She wasn’t shouting, but every single person could hear her clearly.

The five boys on the ground, necks aching, exchanged glances, and seemed to come to some unspoken agreement.

"Fuck you!"

The first boy to get up snatched a backpack from the ground and swung it violently at An Ning.

"Sis—a brick!"

An Guoping moved to block it, but An Ning simply raised an arm and easily held him back.

As for her, she had already caught the swinging backpack with her bare hand.

"A brick in a backpack. How creative."

With a CRACK, the backpack—brick and all—split down the middle and fell to the ground.

The other four boys, who had gotten to their feet ready to help, could only watch as a cloth-shoed foot stepped on the brick.

The next second, the brick shattered.

It didn’t just break into a few pieces; it crumbled into dust.

A playful gust of wind blew past, sending the red brick dust into the boys’ faces and making their eyes water.

At that moment, only one thought ran through their minds: ’We must have been out of our damn minds. How the hell are we supposed to fight this?!’

The boy in front, the one with the brick in his backpack, dropped to his knees with a THUD.

"Sis, from now on, you’re my real sister."

Seeing this familiar kneeling posture again, An Ning took the opportunity to learn something new.

"Little brother, what does it mean when he kneels like that?"

An Guoping, having been asked, felt that his sister wasn’t just physically powerful—her psychological attacks were devastating too.

"Sis, it means he can’t beat you, so he’s admitting defeat."

This simple, unvarnished translation was another arrow straight to the boys’ hearts.

An Ning, however, seemed to have an epiphany. ’So there are many reasons for kneeling, not just to honor one’s ancestors.’

"Get up first. I mainly want to talk to you all. It’s... uncomfortable, speaking like this."

The kneeling boy stood up hesitantly and huddled together with the other four. With expressions caught between crying and laughing, they looked at An Ning, and behind her, a somewhat smug An Guoping.

’This kid is so lucky to have such an incredible sister!’

For a moment, they were actually a little envious.

Seeing that the group opposite her was ready, An Ning pulled An Guoping from behind her to the front.

"I heard you say my little brother stole money. What’s that about?"

"No, no! It was a misunderstanding, a total misunderstanding."

"Nothing like that happened! Nothing at all."

The boys’ complete denial forced An Ning to turn her gaze to An Guoping.

"You tell me."

Those three words made An Guoping instinctively stand up straighter.

"Sis, during the lunch break, I was taking the money you gave me to the general store to buy something, but these guys blocked me and insisted I’d stolen their money."

An Guoping took the money from his pocket, unfolded it to show An Ning, and said, "I didn’t. This is the money you gave me, Sis."

An Ning glanced at the money. That’s right, it was the cash she’d given him.

She shifted her gaze back to the standing boys. The pressure immediately transferred to them. It was immense, and they instantly started talking all at once.

"We just saw An Guoping spending money yesterday, so we followed him today hoping to ’borrow’ some to spend."

"We were wrong, Sis! We’ll never do it again."

An Ning understood but said nothing.

For a moment, the alley was filled with an oppressive silence.

"Did you tell people at school that my brother stole money?"

An Ning’s expression changed. The nature of this was far more serious than An Guoping getting into a fight.

"We didn’t mean to!"

The lead boy’s voice cracked, on the verge of tears. An Ning’s gaze was just too terrifying now.

An Ning was angry. Truly angry.

She bent down, picked up a shoulder bag from the ground, and ripped the strap off with her bare hands. She then repeated the action, tearing the straps off the other boys’ bags.

"A person must take responsibility for their words. Just because you ’didn’t mean to’ doesn’t mean we have to forgive you."

"What you said could brand my little brother with a label he might never be able to get rid of. Once a person is labeled like that, it’s very hard to tear it off."

Using the backpack straps, An Ning tied the five boys together. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

One of them tried to be clever and run, but after a quick counter from An Ning, he became much more cooperative.

Once the five were bound, An Ning took hold of one of the straps and began walking toward the school, leading the train of boys behind her.

The spectacle of the seven of them drew a lot of attention along the way. At first, An Guoping felt a little embarrassed, but then he looked at An Ning walking steadily ahead.

He smiled.

His sister was standing up for him. Why should he be embarrassed?

An Guoping straightened his back and walked beside An Ning, guiding her all the way to the school.

When they reached the school gate, An Ning didn’t rush in. Instead, she had An Guoping go inside to get a teacher.

Perhaps because they were making such a scene, it wasn’t just teachers who came out, but the principal and the dean as well.

"What’s all this? Everyone get back, get back! Class is about to start."

A slightly balding dean first shooed away the crowd of onlookers before turning to look at An Ning and the boys behind her.

"It’s you lot again!"

When the dean saw the familiar faces of the students behind her, he couldn’t help but get angry. ’Why don’t they cherish their chance to get an education?’

His gaze then fell on An Ning, who had the face of a model student, and his tone softened.

"Which class are you in?"