It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

By this time, streetlights had already appeared on the streets of France, and the security situation in the surrounding streets was relatively good. However, it was still risky for single adult women to go out alone in the dark.

Although Hook's appearance was not as exquisite as that of the two little girls, Newton and Louise, which resembled works of art, nor did it possess the combination of girlish cuteness and adult female allure that Lavoisier and Veronique had.

But her fair and delicate skin, tall and slender figure, and that subtle, aloof, and mysterious aura still hold a strong attraction for men.

It's a pity she's a female ketone, it ...—I have to emphasize this three times.

After changing into his coat and leather shoes, Li Cheng locked the door and headed towards Iris Flower Street with Hook, who was waiting at the door.

On the way, Hook slowly began, "Mr. Orange..."

"Have you considered changing how you address me?" Li Cheng interrupted.

“Sure,” Hook readily agreed. “Mr. Apple…”

Is there even a difference? Puns are going to get you fined, you bastard!

Li Cheng tried to imagine it was a problem with his accent, and then asked, "Is there a problem?"

Hook's lips curled into a faint smile of pleasure, and then he brought up the incident that had occurred earlier that afternoon: "Did you master that drawing style called 'comics' on your own?"

After the initial shock of the new technique and the novelty of subsequent experimentation, a faint sense of dissatisfaction lingered in Hook's heart.

She could accept that someone had better painting skills than her, and that others could create timeless masterpieces, but she found it hard to accept why Li Cheng could master such a completely different skill.

Without hesitation, Li Cheng replied, "Of course it wasn't something I figured out by myself; it's the culmination of countless people's hard work."

"Who else?" Hook breathed a sigh of relief.

“There are many others, like Mr. Bug,” Li Cheng replied earnestly. “Mr. Bug is hailed as the god of comics; it’s said he can provide serials for seven newspapers simultaneously, doing the work of ten people…”

"Hehe, hehe, hehehehe."

Hook scoffed, “Mr. Bug? You’d be more believable if your blond dwarf at home taught you that.”

Because of Halley, she had inquired about some things related to Li Cheng, at least knowing that Li Cheng and Newton lived together, which is why she was able to make such a sarcastic remark.

When Newton's drawing skills were mentioned, Li Cheng fell silent.

It seems that Hooker's famous quote, "Standing on the shoulders of giants," hurt the little girl too deeply, causing her to never give up her ideal of practicing painting to avenge herself. Although there are many maids in the house who can serve as her models, she still drags Li Cheng over every now and then, specifically to ruin his sanity.

Incidentally, since maids often become mentally disoriented for most of the day after working as models, there were once rumors in the castle that Lord Newton had made a deal with the devil and learned to use painting to seduce people's souls. These rumors, along with the torture of excrement in the basement and the wandering figures in the castle at midnight, were known as the Seven Strange Tales.

What the hell? Seven Ghost Stories? How can a shabby castle be turned into seven ghost stories? It's ridiculous.

Mr. Bug's earnest reply caused the conversation to fall silent, and the two didn't talk about anything else afterward.

Unfortunately, nothing unexpected happened along the way, such as a street urchin suddenly jumping out and striking up a conversation with Hook. Li Chenghao took the opportunity to grab Hook's wrist to conduct a control experiment, to see if her so-called "male allergy"—that men feel uncomfortable upon contact, like getting a rash—was just psychological or pure nonsense.

I'm so curious... so curious...

So, filled with resentment towards the idle street urchins (who don't even go out to loiter, which is itself a form of idleness), Li Cheng deliberately chose to walk on deserted side streets on his way home, hoping to encounter a few street urchins who might try to rob him.

Street thugs usually give in to these kinds of reckless and dangerous behavior.

Unfortunately, the street thugs didn't seem interested in a strong, young man like him. Even if they did see him, they'd probably pretend not to—the risk was too high and the reward too low; he might even get killed. Wouldn't it be better to rob some old men and women?

Just as Li Cheng had gone through a long and winding journey, only to find nothing and was about to return to the small courtyard at No. 14 in disappointment, he suddenly heard a cry for help coming from the depths of the alley.

"Help me—"

Chapter 286 The Unprofessional Yellow Hair

A piercing cry for help shattered the silence of the night, and judging from the direction of the sound, the person calling for help seemed to be not far away.

Although he didn't consider himself a righteous person, Li Cheng still turned around and headed towards the source of the sound.

It's said that when creating popular villainous characters, many directors like to give the seemingly ruthless mastermind some small scenes that can win over the audience, such as rescuing an injured kitten on the street, giving up their seat to an elderly woman on a bus, or anonymously helping children who have dropped out of school...

If there were such a director, then his decisive act of saving lives would probably have been pre-arranged, with the aim of creating a well-rounded image for him as the main villain... No, no, no, the premise is wrong, isn't it? Who is the villain who commits all sorts of evil?!

Ah, I've lost hope in someone who even criticizes themselves when trying to save someone...

Ah, I've lost hope in myself, even to the point of criticizing myself...

While complaining, Li Cheng quickly moved to the source of the cries for help.

It was a dark corner deep in the alley, without any streetlights. By the faint moonlight, he saw two short-haired blond men surrounding a little girl with red hair, muttering something to each other.

The little girl, surrounded by them by the wall, had her head down, trembling all over, and tried to back away, but the wall ruthlessly blocked her way.

Although it was impossible to hear what the two were saying, the situation was already quite clear just by looking at them.

Two street thugs stopped a little girl who was out late at night. It's hard to say exactly what they were doing, but judging from their blond hair, it was probably some kind of vulgar talk that wouldn't pass censorship—how ​​vulgar it was depends on how dedicated they were.

Speaking of dedication, what about this child's parents? Letting their little girl run around outside in the middle of the night is incredibly irresponsible! If I were her brother, I would have protected her perfectly well! I would never have let her encounter such a terrible situation with those blond guys!

Fueled by anger at the irresponsible parents and perhaps a lingering sense of justice, Li Cheng roared at the two blond-haired men, "What do you two want to do?"

In terms of volume, he admitted that although he couldn't compare to the professional speakers of this era, he was still a man who had once dominated half the hall in the Cambridge Auditorium.

The effect of that shout was immediate. The two blond-haired men stopped their lines and turned to look at Li Cheng in shock. From their expressions, one could roughly understand what the line was meant to be—

Why are you yelling so loudly?

Li Cheng was even more satisfied with the effect of his shout. He cleared his throat, lowered his voice slightly, and continued to shout, "You two, let her go!"

The two blond-haired men realized what was happening, frowned, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important," Li Cheng said passionately, with the air of a leading man. "What is important is that if you don't let go of that young lady, you'll be in trouble."

Just then, the red-haired little girl who had been blocked against the wall by the two blond men also came to her senses and raised her frightened face to look in the direction of the person who had suddenly appeared.

Upon seeing Li Cheng's appearance, she first showed a hint of doubt, then suspicion, and finally seemed to have confirmed something. Her previous fear vanished without a trace, replaced by intense excitement.

Finally, the red-haired little girl could no longer contain her emotions and cried out, trembling all over, "Brother!"

Huh? Brother?

Upon hearing this shout, Li Cheng was completely bewildered, then looked at the two blond-haired men with a questioning gaze.

Am I mistaken? Are these two blond men actually her brothers?

But the problem is, if he's the older brother, why did he cry for help earlier? And why did he act so scared just now? And why is her brother's hair yellow when she has red hair...? Could it be that her father actually has green hair?

After calling out "brother," she tried to run away from the encirclement, but was stopped by two blond-haired men who had reacted quickly.

With her movements hindered, the red-haired little girl could only cry out to Li Cheng through tearful eyes, "Brother, save me!"

Huh? Why does it sound like it's calling me? Could it be a mistake...?

Filled with doubt, Li Cheng stared intently at the opposite side.

The dim lighting obstructed his view, and his attention had been focused entirely on the two blond-haired men. The red-haired girl was also looking down, so he couldn't really see what the little girl who was crying for help looked like.

Looking at it closely now, it does look somewhat familiar.

Slightly curled long red hair, bright black eyes, and adorable, delicate features like a porcelain doll... Holy crap, isn't that Louise? Wasn't she in London? Why is she here??

Li Cheng asked with some surprise and uncertainty, "Louise?"

The little red-haired girl nodded frantically, her eyes brimming with tears.

It really is Louise! I'm devastated! I'm devastated by this insignificant world! Why do I keep bumping into acquaintances even when just strolling through a Parisian alley?!

But then again, why does Louise seem so happy to see me? Could it be that Anderson really didn't tell Louise the truth? That damn doting father!

Li Cheng's mind was screaming wildly.

The two blond-haired men, startled by Louise's sudden shout and attempt to rush out, instinctively stopped her. Hearing their conversation, they observed Li Cheng's appearance and, noticing a resemblance to Louise, both showed a look of realization.

Could they be siblings?

After exchanging a glance, the blond-haired man, A, spoke first, cautiously asking, "Sir, are you this young lady's brother?"

Hmm, this blond guy is actually quite polite... Li Cheng hesitated for a moment: "Yes, I am."

"I understand." Yellow Hair A nodded knowingly, then suddenly changed the subject, "Then I must criticize you. Allowing your sister to run around outside at night is a very irresponsible act!"

"what?"

Li Cheng was baffled by Huang Mao A's criticism.

What's going on? A thief is blaming the homeowner for not locking the door properly? Putting aside the fact that I'm not actually Louise's brother, it's not right for someone to go out alone at night, but doesn't it have no right for a blond thug like you to criticize me?

"What do you mean, 'huh'?"

The blond-haired guy next to him said irritably, "Your sister can't even speak French. We brothers saw her wandering around in the alley, looking like she was lost. We tried to ask her where she lived, but we couldn't even communicate!"

What, you don't speak French?

It was only now that Li Cheng realized that the "help" he had heard earlier, and Louise's shout of "brother" just now, did indeed seem to be in English; he just hadn't noticed this small detail at the time...

After all, his native language is Chinese, so it is difficult for him to immediately distinguish between different foreign languages. He needs to make a conscious effort to differentiate them beforehand.

Chapter 287 Let's Move

It turned out that the blond brothers weren't street thugs; they just happened to bump into Louise, who was wandering aimlessly in the alley and seemed lost, so they tried to approach her.

As a result, the two sides couldn't communicate, and the blond guy B's tone was rather aggressive, which gradually frightened Louise, who finally cried out for help.

After shouting, blond-haired A quickly came to the rescue, calmly reassuring Louise. This is why Li Cheng saw him muttering something when he arrived.

After roughly figuring out the ins and outs, Li Cheng felt a bit numb.

Meanwhile, the blond brothers, having confirmed that Li Cheng was Louise's brother, began to criticize and educate him instead.

Although it was a completely undeserved disaster, compared to explaining the complicated ins and outs that even he found too complicated, Li Cheng ultimately chose to put on a deadpan expression and bear the title of an incompetent older brother, being relentlessly berated by the two blond-haired men (mainly the irritable blond-haired younger brother).

"What kind of brother are you? You can't even take care of your own sister!"

"You dare to run around outside so late at night without even learning French? You're really brave!"

"We brothers were just trying to help, and you were yelling at us just now? And what's with that expression of yours? You're not happy about it, are you?"

"..."

After venting their frustrations for a while, the blond brothers seemed to have had their fill of scolding. They left with a final "Be more careful next time," pushed Louise back to Li Cheng, and turned to leave without stopping.

Seeing the two leave, Li Cheng's deadpan expression returned to normal. He then looked down at Louise, who was now clinging to his waist like a koala, her face filled with joy but also a hint of timidity and unease.

She was uneasy because she had witnessed Li Cheng being scolded. Although she couldn't understand what he was saying, she could tell from his expression and actions that her brother seemed to be being reprimanded, and the reason was likely related to her.

However, Li Cheng had no intention of blaming a little girl who couldn't speak the language; he was more curious about why Louise was in Paris.

Louise.

He thought for a moment and decided that he should care about the frightened little girl before satisfying his curiosity: "Don't be afraid. Those two people just saw that you seemed to be lost and wanted to give you directions."