The homeless man's voice was low and slightly hoarse, yet not unpleasant.
Bai Xiaotang assumed the homeless man was male, looked at the driver with sympathy, and said, "He's so pitiful. I want to help him."
The driver pressed his lips together, his expression hesitant, but quickly nodded, "Okay."
The surrounding people unconsciously made way for the driver, their gazes now holding a slight respect.
The eldest daughter of the Beijing Bai Family had to seek his opinion, so this person must hold a significant position in the Bai Family, right?
The crowd pondered his identity, wondering if they should say a few words to connect.
Suddenly, someone asked, "Excuse me, who are you?"
The driver glanced at the person indifferently, didn't reply, and looked again at Bai Xiaotang and the homeless man, "Let's go home first."
The person felt their question was pointless, their curiosity growing even more.
The security guard saw someone wanting to take the homeless man away and, out of professional duty, stepped forward to stop them, "Sir, the community regulations state we cannot shelter suspicious people without identification."
The driver's expression didn't change, he just furrowed his brows slightly and raised his chin slightly, "You'll have his information by tomorrow."
The security guard immediately showed respect, but inwardly sighed in relief, routinely verifying Bai Xiaotang and the driver's owner information, and promptly let the three pass.
As long as the matter of the homeless man entering the community could be quickly resolved, they wouldn't bother and risk upsetting the residents.
After all, those who lived in Mingfu Garden were notable people of Anhe City, capable of crushing ordinary folks like them effortlessly. Assigning a new identity to a homeless man on the spot was an easy task; they must not offend.
"Just let it go like that? But he's a home..."
"Hush—he's not a homeless man now."
Most of the owners gathered here rarely blocked further, only their eyes followed the backs of the three, each harboring their own thoughts.
***
After leaving the crowd, the driver stopped and spoke to Bai Xiaotang respectfully, "Miss, I'll first take him to get his identity processed."
Bai Xiaotang trusts him completely, simply waved her hand, taking the stray dog from the driver's hand, and cheerfully replied, "Go ahead. I'll take Xiao Huang home first."
After Bai Xiaotang walked away, the respect on the driver's face instantly vanished, with disdain in his eyes as he glanced at the homeless man, he harshly said, "Though we generously help you, it's best you recognize your status. Don't think you can latch onto us for a lifetime of comfort. My Miss is simple-minded, but I'm not easy to fool... hey... you... I haven't finished speaking… where are you going?"
The homeless man, who was originally standing there, arranged his clothes and directly ignored him, walking away.
The driver had never encountered such a person before; for a moment, he was stunned, and when he reacted, he was so angry that his eyes widened, pointing at the uncooperative back of the homeless man, he shouted, "Hey, stand still! Don't you want to enter the Bai Family gate? Believe it or not I'll…"
The homeless man suddenly stopped, turned around, those beautiful eyes gazed straight into the driver's eyes, the clear black pupils resembling a bottomless pool, empty yet profound, and the furious driver instantly calmed down, his expression gradually becoming dazed.
"Get lost—"
The driver's body jerked, as if following a command, quickly lay down, and started rolling along the roadside.
His meticulously groomed hair and clean suit were instantly covered with dirty dust, yet he had no reaction.
The homeless man withdrew his gaze, hands in his pockets, and slowly walked in the direction Bai Xiaotang had left.
***
"Huh? Done so quickly?" Bai Xiaotang saw the homeless man catching up, glanced behind him, and talked to herself, "Didn't Uncle He come along? Seriously, how could he let you find your way alone? What if you got lost?"
The homeless man stared at her coquettish face, and stiffly uttered four words, "My name is Ji Ning."
"Don't worry, Uncle He will get you the identity information, and from now on, no one will stop you… What? What did you say?"
Ji Ning suddenly felt a bit exhausted, unsure if it was reliable to temporarily live with this well-meaning but perhaps not-too-bright "little saint."
She had been in this strange place for three days.
Initially a bit dazed, but after three days of eavesdropping, she roughly analyzed that due to some reason she was no longer in her original time and space, but had traveled to a peaceful world with no mutated creatures, no hunger, and no war.
Her previous world was in a time of turmoil; overuse of lethal weapons had left the world in ruins, people were homeless and starving.
The radiation from the weapons caused massive mutations in humans and flora and fauna, and most survivors' bodies and minds had changed, some for the better, some carrying unknown viruses turning into mutated dead corpses.
Among those who improved, a small number naturally awakened superpowers, becoming significantly powerful superpower users.
She was one of those naturally awakened superpower users.
To survive, she wandered the chaotic world, gradually becoming the most feared female tyrant of the turbulent times.
After clearing most mutated dead corpses, she established the first human safety zone in Hua Continent, Anhe Base, with her three henchmen in her hometown Anhe.
She thought she could finally lead a peaceful retirement life, but unexpectedly, remnants of adversarial forces allied with powerful people from other continents to besiege the base, all to eliminate her as a threat.
To ensure the safety of the base, she alone lured them to the back mountain intending to resolve them directly, but suddenly the sky darkened, a massive explosion shockwave knocked her unconscious.
When she regained consciousness and opened her eyes again, she had traveled to this place, miraculously unscathed, incredibly eerie.
And the naive, sweet saintly young lady before her was the gossip protagonist she had been hearing about for these three days.
The person truly had money, but was also truly foolish, unable to discern whether people around her were loyal or deceitful, no wonder she was "exiled" here.
Nevertheless, such a person conveniently aids her in understanding this world.
"Ah… what's your name? Is it Ji Ning? Did I hear wrong?"
Bai Xiaotang's sudden scream brought Ji Ning back from her thoughts.
Ji Ning looked at the enlarged doll face in front of her, sharply scanning the hand holding her.
Suppressing the instinctual urge to act, she quickly stepped back two steps, shaking off her hand.
But Bai Xiaotang followed a step forward, closing in on her again.
"Oh my, your name is Ji Ning? You have the same name as my idol. But my idol is a woman, and you are a man…"
"Woman." Ji Ning stepped back two more steps, setting a safety distance from her.
What's wrong with this girl, why does she get handsy right upon meeting?
"Ah… really, what a coincidence, I must tell Sister Xiaotong, she'll be even more excited than me when she finds out."
Ji Ning looked at the "little saint" in front of her, jumping with joy and devoid of any delicate demeanor, for the first time doubting her own judgment.
Is it still possible to leave now?