My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 21 Why Bully Others

"Hey, Che-ge, are you still there? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Song Che looked into the eyes behind the door, his tone becoming serious.

"I didn't hang up, but are you sure you want to treat us to something to eat? Something so we won't leave until we're full?"

"Why leave if you're not full? You have to eat your fill. Xiaoxiao and I will pick you up downstairs tonight."

What a kind person you are! You've moved even the unscrupulous merchants to tears. From now on, they'll sell to high school students shortchanging them. Oh, if the high school students disagree, then they'll only sell to college students.

"Alright, then I won't be polite."

"It should have been done a long time ago. I'll call you tonight."

For the sake of brotherhood, I'll stab you in the ribs twice, then pull it out when I don't want it anymore. You're getting off easy, kid.

After hanging up the phone, Song Che raised his chin to indicate, "...Want to go out for dinner tonight?"

"...It's all packed, let's go." Xia Li's voice was unwavering.

Fine, you've been eavesdropping on my phone call since just now. From now on, don't call yourself the Jealous Witch, change it to the Foodie Witch.

"We're going tonight, so don't rush. When you eat, tone down your princely aura. There's a little girl there; don't scare her." Song Che looked her over, his gaze settling on Xia Li's lips. "Just smile a little. Don't keep a straight face. There aren't many rules."

Xia Li felt awkward, but forced a smile: (a jealous witch's smile).

Song Che: ……

That smile, no matter how you look at it, seems like the villain's last act of mercy before taking action.

"You'd better stop laughing and stop saying weird things."

"……good."

Xia Li's smile vanished, her expression once again becoming as cold and aloof as a block of ice. The last person with such a haughty expression was a relative of her homeroom teacher, but upon hearing that she had recently gotten married and was expecting five children, her expression softened considerably.

That's so strange.

There's no hope for him in this life. Maybe he'll be reborn as a Shiba Inu in his next life, where he can just grin and that'll be considered a smile.

"Okay, you can go read a book or take a nap, I'm going to catch up on my afternoon nap." Song Che covered his mouth and yawned. "If you're bored, go play some blues. I'll take a nap, you can entertain yourself."

……

The blankets were warm, and last night Xia Li had wrapped half of them around her, filling them with her delicate fragrance. Song Che couldn't tell if it was Xia Li's natural scent or the smell of her magic potion, but it was calming and soothing, and he slept soundly and had a good dream.

When I woke up, the sun was already setting in the west.

He forced his eyes open, then immediately closed them again, huddled under the covers looking for his phone, finally finding it on the pillow after a long while.

17:24

Time to get up, Jiang Shuo should be here soon.

Song Che stretched and poked his head out from under the covers.

The setting sun shone through the curtains, outlining Xia Li's jade-like face. She held a kitchen knife in one hand and a broom in the other, her blue eyes filled with coldness as she stared intently at his blanket.

"Damn it, what the hell are you trying to do?!" Song Che pulled the blanket tighter around himself, then realized it was useless, so he jumped out of bed, grabbed a thick dictionary, and held it in front of him. "Let's talk this out. What are you doing, a witch, carrying a kitchen knife? Is this your weapon?"

"...I'm angry."

"Angry?" Song Che's eyelids twitched. The witch princess was different from ordinary girls; she really knew how to use force. Song Che hesitated before asking, "Where's Bruce?... Did you chop him up?"

It's only one year old, don't be so cruel.

"...No, it's this that's making me angry." Xia Li took out a magazine; the two headlines were: [Past News and Miscellaneous Cases] and [Shaping the Values ​​of Teenagers is Urgent].

"You should have said so earlier! Carrying a kitchen knife was scary; I thought the Forbidden Kingdom had attacked." Song Che put down the dictionary and breathed a sigh of relief. He guessed the landlady had mixed the magazines together with the rest of the book for him.

"Give me the kitchen knife, let me see what it says... Oh, these are all old stories, they may not all be true, and they're all just things kids did when they misbehaved, nothing serious."

Xia Li took a half step back, hiding the kitchen knife. "...No."

"So what are you going to do?"

"...for self-defense."

"Then why are you holding a broom?"

"...It's also for self-defense."

You should go sweep the streets with the sanitation workers; at least you'll have some value to society.

Song Che couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he had to resort to force: "Xia Li, are you going to dinner tonight?"

"go."

"Go, put down the kitchen knife and broom. Of course, you can't bring the small hammer either! If you listen, you go; if you don't, you don't go."

"...I'm listening..."

Xia Li stammered, unwillingly. She had clearly done nothing wrong, yet Song Che spoke to her in that tone. Besides… she was a prince, not Song Che. Their relationship was at most that of friends for a hundred years. She didn’t put on airs, but he did and bullied her. Xia Li lowered her head. There was no rice to eat now. If there were, she would eat two big mouthfuls to express her anger.

Xia Li didn't have a magic wand on hand, so she'd find a twig to tap him on the head next time.

She put down the kitchen knife, but hugged the broom even tighter, and whispered, "...If I put down the kitchen knife, can I still eat?"

Her voice was flat, yet it conveyed a pitiful feeling.

Putting down the knife was the biggest concession she could make.

"That's fine." Song Che moved the kitchen knife a little further away. "Let me see the magazine. What made you angry?"

"There are two things here that make me angrier the most."

Xia Li turned to page fourteen:

Since the start of the rainy season, many areas in southern Anhui have been hit by continuous heavy and torrential rains. The Taixi River, Qinhe River, and two major river basins have all experienced floods exceeding warning levels. Southern Anhui County has experienced a once-in-a-decade flood, leading to the postponement of the college entrance examination and affecting many people.

Song Che read it once, his heart heavy. He had experienced this before; the overwhelming flood and grief had overwhelmed his vision. He was young then, and all he remembered was that it felt like the end of the world. But what was Xia Li angry about? Angry about the flood?

"...What are you so angry about?"

"I don't know. I get really angry when I see this. I'm so angry. Why did they have to send a flood to kill me?"

"you?"

"...Why send floods to kill people?"

"There's nothing we can do. The rainstorm has come; there's no stopping it. Arguing with nature is pointless." Song Che didn't understand Xia Li's train of thought; she seemed possessed, rambling on and on. "What's the other thing?"

"this."

Xia Li turned to page thirty-seven.

"A child with autism was ostracized by classmates because of his outstanding athletic performance. Attorney Zhang filed a lawsuit on his behalf, but due to insufficient evidence and a lack of comprehensive laws, the case was dropped. This underscores the urgent need for mental health education for teenagers."

After reading it, Song Che understood Xia Li. Anyone in this situation would feel indignant for children with autism. However, the problem is that exclusion is a form of soft violence, which is difficult to prove. Therefore, even if someone is held responsible, the focus will be on the school's education system, and individual responsibility will not be pursued, or will be largely ignored.

Xia Li looked at Song Che, "Will those who bully others be punished, like being punished by the goddess of magic for breaking a contract?"

"It's hard to say. Kids... they're mostly just making a fuss and don't even realize that what they're doing is wrong."

"Does not realizing it mean you're not wrong?"

"This is the human world; there aren't many rules, but the rules are complex..."

Xia Li fell silent. What she really wanted to ask was, if someone else had treated her like that, or treated Song Che, would it have been left unresolved?

The child has autism and has finally shown talent in sports. Xia Li thought that she should encourage him, not exclude him.

She can't sort out her own logic. Now that she has lost her magic and can no longer provide protection, what should she do when faced with injustice?

Ding-dong-

A message popped up on Song Che's WeChat.

[Brother, we're downstairs. It's just me and Xiaoxiao, riding two electric bikes.]

"Alright, Xia Li, the world is strange sometimes. You'll understand eventually." Song Che patted the magazine. "Now, let's go downstairs—the meal tickets have arrived."