What Separates Me and You

The boy was around seven or eight years old and looked chubby. His bite almost made Josephine tear up.

Josephine pushed the little boy to the ground and picked up the things he had in his arms. Sitting on the floor, the boy cried out loud.

Another kid ran up and kicked Josephine. "You argued with a kid over some toys. How shameful!"

Holding the toys in her arms, Josephine glared at the child. She turned to take the drum from the kid's hands.

However, this kid was quick on his feet. He swiftly moved behind Josephine, evading her grasp. He stuck out his tongue at her in provocation.

"Come and get me!" he teased.

Josephine turned around again to catch him, but the boy escaped again.

Quintin saw the boy toying around with Josephine when he turned around and became angry. He strode up to them.

Yet before he could get closer, the child shook the drum and ran outside. Josephine chased after him.

"Josephine!"

Realizing that the situation was getting out of hand, Quintin hurriedly followed them. It was crowded outside, and Quintin found it difficult to squeeze through. He kept his eyes on Josephine's figure, feeling anxious and frustrated.

The little boy continued to tease Josephine while she held back her anger and chased after him.

After a short while, they ran out onto the street and arrived at a slightly open area.

"Come and catch me, you silly fool! Boo ..."

The little boy turned around and made faces at Josephine, pushing her to the brink of tears. He was unaware of his surroundings as he was focusing on teasing Josephine, so he tripped and fell flat on the ground.

The drum in his hands flew out and rolled far away. He then burst into tears.

Panting, Josephine stopped next to the boy. However, she ignored him and went over to pick up the drum.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard the boy crying and calling for his father.

"Son, what happened to you?" A skinny man rushed over and picked up the boy from the ground. "Where's your brother?"

The boy sobbed pitifully. Pointing at Josphine, he accused her. "She... She bullied me!"

The man turned to look at Josephine.

Josephine was still holding the drum. Upon meeting the man's gaze, she immediately hid the drum behind her back, afraid that he would snatch it from her.

The man brushed off the dirt from the boy's body and noticed his scraped palms. Consumed by anger, he instantly stood up and walked toward Josephine. Frightened, Josephine stepped back.

The man approached her, glaring at her fiercely. "You, why did you bully my son?"

Josephine bit her lip and shook her head repeatedly. She then gestured toward the drum in her hand, trying to tell the man that his son had snatched her things first. However, the man couldn't understand her gestures and thought she was provoking him. He grabbed the drum from her forcefully.

"How dare you steal my son's toys?"

Josephine grew anxious and reached out to snatch it back, but the man threw the drum away, causing it to hit the ground with a loud noise.

People around began gathering to watch the commotion.

Taking advantage of the situation, the kid continued to accuse Josephine, "She also pushed my brother to the ground!"

The man grew even angrier upon hearing that. He grabbed Josephine by her collar. "What are you up to? Are you a human trafficker?"

The man needed an excuse to vent his anger, but since it involved a woman, he had to find a plausible reason that would incite public outrage. Hearing his words, the people around them started whispering to each other.

"You guys should keep an eye on your children. I heard that there are many human traffickers in places like this."

"People like her should be executed."

"Human traffickers nowadays have such audacity to kidnap children in broad daylight."

Facing the discussions among the crowd, Josephine felt increasingly anxious. She waved her hands, trying to explain, but no one understood her. Just then, the man's chubby son approached them. He cried and said, "Dad, she hit me!"

"Gosh, this woman looks harmless, but who would have thought she'd hit a child?"

"Is she crazy?"

Josephine couldn't defend herself. She could only endure the malicious gazes from the people around her.

She tried to pry the man's hand off, but the piercing glares from the crowd felt like needles. They looked at her as if she were some unforgivable villain. Josephine desperately wanted to escape this feeling of being despised by others.

However, the man and his two aggrieved children refused to let Josephine off the hook. He released his grip on her and slapped her across the face.

A loud slap rang out, and Josephine fell to the ground, her fair face visibly swelling. Her elbow and palm throbbed with fiery pain.

A wave of frustration and pain surged within her, transforming into tears that streamed down her face.

Quintin, who finally caught up, witnessed this scene, and his anger ignited.

He pushed through the crowd and rushed toward the man without uttering a word before delivering a punch in his face.

Caught off guard, the man staggered backward. He clutched his cheek and glared at Quintin.

"Why the hell did you hit me?"

Quintin's chest heaved with anger, and he charged at the man again to deliver another punch. "So what if I hit you? How dare you bully my wife? I'll beat you to death!"

Blood began to flow out the man's mouth after he took another blow. He staggered backward and said, "So, you two are in this together, huh? You're both human traffickers who are working together!" Without hesitation, Quintin landed another punch. "Fuck you!"

Enraged, Quintin was losing his mind. He had never seen such a stupid idiot before.

The man regained his composure and immediately lunged at Quintin, engaging in a fight with him.

Before long, more and more onlookers gathered. Soon, spectators filled the space.

Lying on the ground, Josephine watched them fight each other fiercely, not able to intervene. Every time she tried to get closer, the man pushed her back.

The man was a local who ran a homestay in the area. He had many family members.

Word had reached his family, and two of his brothers rushed over. Upon seeing someone bullying their family member, they immediately went to grab hold of Quintin.

"Kid, how dare you cause trouble here? Do you have a death wish?"

Two men pinned Quintin down. He struggled for a moment but couldn't break free. Hence, he angrily exclaimed, "You're not making sense! You were the ones who started the aggression!" The man stood up from the ground and spat a mouthful of blood at Quintin.

"Stop talking nonsense! You two human traffickers tried to abduct my son. Luckily, he was smart enough not to follow you. Do you think I don't know?"

"You're spouting nonsense! It was your son who took our things first. He fell and blamed us. Have some shame!"

"These things are nothing to my son. Why didn't he take other people's things? I see through your excuses, you filthy human traffickers. Killing you would be too lenient!"

With that, the man wanted to kick Quintin's face.

Seeing this, Josephine narrowed her eyes and stood up from the ground. She hurriedly ran toward the man and pushed him.

The man stumbled back, then turned and pushed Josephine away. "Get lost! It's your bad luck for meeting me today!"

"Josephine!"

Quintin grew worried when he saw the man push Josephine again. He tried to get up but was held back.

"Beat them up! Kill these two human traffickers!"

"Go ahead and try doing that."

In the midst of the noisy crowd, a voice suddenly sounded. The voice was not loud but had a unique tone and a strong sense of authority, which attracted everybody's attention.