Chapter 37: The Little Crusader’s Morning Rounds

I slammed on the brakes, and Yingning nimbly leaped from the back seat, darting towards the street corner.

There, several stray cats were looking around, seemingly awaiting something.

The moment Yingning approached, a dozen stray cats immediately surrounded her, meowing affectionately.

Yingning appeared overjoyed, her smile as bright as the sun, as she scooped up a slightly plump black kitten. “Hemingway, you’ve gotten fat again!”

Setting Hemingway down, Yingning then picked up a small white cat with a bald patch on its head. “Newton, have you been fighting with Einstein again? I’ve told you already, that bald spot on your head wasn’t caused by an apple, and it really has nothing to do with the theory of relativity!”

As if truly understanding, the little white cat turned its head and glared at Einstein, a fluffy, curly-haired white cat.

Einstein disdainfully licked a paw.

Gently placing Newton back, Yingning carefully lifted a small calico cat that walked with a limp. “Hawking, is your leg feeling better? Even if it’s not, don’t be disheartened! There’s a human with the same name as you who, despite being unable to move his limbs, became the greatest scientist of this century! You must be as strong as him!”

“Archimedes, you’ve been mischievous again… you’re all wet… have you been rolling in the mud?”

“Copernicus, why do you always bully Galileo? You can’t pick on Galileo just because you’re older!”

“Schrödinger… you’re still so annoying… no scratching Darwin!”

“And Edison, Watt, Faraday, Nobel…”

“In short, everyone is safe and sound today too!”

Yingning called out each stray cat’s name as if taking attendance, then pulled a large bag of cat food from her backpack and scattered it onto the clean concrete pavement.

“Eat slowly! No fighting!”

A satisfied smile gracing her face, Yingning put the bag away and settled back onto the bicycle’s rear seat.

I chuckled in response. “My little crusader, what gear are we in this time?”

“Fifth gear!”

Yingning wrapped her arms around my waist, her chest pressing against my back.

Just as I finally picked up speed, I was forced to hit the brakes hard again, not long after!

“Stop!”

Yingning, like a sprite in summer, leaped off the back seat and trotted towards the street corner, bathed in the morning sun.

There, too, a group of stray dogs awaited her.

“Miss Lu Xun, I repeat! Please do not beat Lao She!”

I was already too weary to comment on Yingning’s naming conventions… Nevertheless, Yingning conjured another large bag of dog food from her backpack as if by magic.

After scattering both bags of cat and dog food, her bulging backpack instantly shed two-thirds of its bulk.

I waited with a smile as Yingning, breathless and dotted with fine sweat on her face, jogged back to the bicycle.

“Here.”

I offered her a wet wipe.

Yingning reached out and took it. “Thanks, driver.”

I shook my head helplessly, then resumed pedaling my Rolls-Royce Phantom 3000… bicycle.

“What gear?”

“Fifth gear!”

“You’re treating me like a horse… constantly in fifth gear, do you want to wear me out?”

“Stop babbling, we’re in a hurry!”

“You want the horse to run fast, but you don’t feed it… Yes, yes, my noble crusader… hold on tight!”

When I slammed on the brakes again, we were less than ten meters from the school.

This time, we stopped beside a small alley just outside the school wall, not entering the alley itself but pausing at its entrance.

Faint curses and cries drifted from within the alley.

I had a rough idea of what the little girl was about to do this time.

The girl turned, fixing me with a serious glare. “Brother, don’t come in! If you do, I’ll be furious with you!”

“Alright…” I spread my hands in a gesture of helplessness.

Yingning, once more, dismounted from the back seat, solemnly pinned her “Duty Student” badge to her chest, and then, clutching her backpack, trotted into the alley.

“Stop right there! Duty Student!”

This was precisely why I called her my little crusader.

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