Editor: Atlas Studios
At eight o’clock in the evening, Xie Haitang arrived at the entrance of the Shi family’s villa right on time.
"You’re a liar. You’re all liars. You went out to play without me."
The boy’s piercing cries cut through the silence of the Shi family villa like a blade. The sound frightened Liu Susu and Shi Wangyue so much that they stopped in their tracks.
After a long moment, Liu Susu started to coax him softly and nervously.
"Yang Yang, why are you here?"
"Get out. Get out. You’re a liar. You said this afternoon that you didn’t know where Wangyue had gone. You knew it. You deliberately didn’t tell me and take me out."
Shi Tongyang punched and kicked at Liu Susu.
He heard it. He knew everything. Wangyue had secretly gone out to play with Youguang today.
"Yang Yang, be good. Don’t cry. I’m not lying to you. I really didn’t know where they went..."
Liu was in pain from her nephew’s kicks, but she was more afraid of something else.
When Shi Wangyue saw that Shi Tongyang had hit his mother, he ran over to push him away.
Lin Huayin and Zhao Fei’er heard their son (grandson) crying in the villa. When they went out, they saw the chaotic scene.
"What’s wrong?" Lin Huayin asked.
"Yang Yang, why are you crying? Did you fight with Wangyue?" Zhao Fei’er asked.
"They didn’t fight. Yang Yang lost his temper and kicked me," Liu Susu explained while panting.
"Mom, Grandma, Shi Wangyue went out to play today without me." Shi Tongyang’s face was covered in tears and snot.
"Who did he go out with without bringing you along?" Lin Huayin didn’t even look at Liu Susu, but she gently wiped away Shi Tongyang’s tears.
"With Youguang."
"Ning Youguang, Xie Haitang’s niece?" Zhao Fei’er was stunned.
"It’s Ning Youguang." Shi Tongyang glared at Shi Wangyue, who had stopped moving and was standing at the side with his backpack.
"Oh, it’s her." Zhao Feier glanced at Liu Susu and didn’t say anything.
"Mother-in-law, Fei’er, it was Mrs. Xia who looked for me two days ago. She said that the daughter of the Ning family wanted Wangyue to spend the day with her today. Mrs. Xia personally invited me, so I couldn’t reject her. I really didn’t know where they went. I didn’t lie to Yangyang. I really didn’t know," Liu Su explained anxiously.
"There are mosquitoes in the courtyard. Let’s go in first," Lin Huayin said calmly before leading Shi Tongyang, who was still crying, into the villa.
Liu Susu held her son’s hand and entered the house uneasily. She saw that Shi Manchuan and Shi Jinrong had both gone downstairs. When she went out to pick up her child just now, they were still discussing something in the study upstairs.
She became even more nervous. She couldn’t help but squeeze her son’s hand.
Shi Wangyue felt his mother’s grip on his hand and it was painful, but he knew that his mother was very afraid at this moment.
"Hurry up and wipe his tears. Why is a boy crying like this?" Shi Manchuan sat on the sofa and looked at the few people who entered. He looked very imposing.
Lin Huayin slowly sat down beside Shi Manchuan.
In the face of her in-laws, Liu Susu habitually lowered her head and tried not to be noticeable. She did not dare to utter a word.
For a moment, the living room fell silent. Zhao Feier broke the silence after wiping her son’s face.
"Liu Susu, how could you? This matter of Wangyue and Miss Ning going out to play is not something worth hiding. Is there a need to keep it from all of us? It’s like you’re doing something illegal and our Yang Yang is so sad as a result."
Feeling confused, Shi Manchuan asked his wife, "Did Wangyue become friends with Ning Shizhao’s granddaughter?"
"The granddaughter of the Ning family is in the same class as Yang Yang and the others. She happens to be sitting beside Wangyue." Lin Huayin usually spent more time with her grandson at home and knew more about the children’s affairs.
"A deskmate, huh? Then indeed, you have the opportunity to play together." Shi Manchuan said.
"Fei’er, didn’t you say that Yang Yang and the Ning family’s granddaughter are getting along quite well?" Not quite understanding the situation, Lin Huayin asked her second daughter-in-law.
"The last time we went camping, the two children had quite a good time."
Zhao Fei’er was actually unwilling to admit that the little girl from the Ning family was not very affectionate towards her son.
"Then what about today?" Lin Huayin was even more confused.
"Mom, aren’t all children like this? She’s just a five-year-old child. Today she likes to play with this kid and tomorrow it can be another kid. She can play with whoever she wants. What’s the big deal?" Shi Jinrong, who was beside her, was listening to their conversation. He explained to them what he could make out of the situation.
’Well, that’s the way things are. Kids change fast.’
Shi Manchuan agreed with his son, but because of this matter, he began to take a closer look at his grandson, whom he had never paid much attention to.
Shi Wangyue had always been a sensitive child. He instantly noticed Shi Manchuan scrutinizing him.
Knowing that he was being watched by his grandfather, he felt nervous and afraid. But he remained rooted to the ground, not moving or backing away.
He even looked up at his dignified grandfather with his pair of gleaming black eyes.
"Sister said that if others size me up, I must not be afraid. I must look back at them bravely and imagine them to be a piece of vegetable. That way, I won’t be afraid!"
Shi Manchuan was originally just curious to take a closer look at the grandson who was treated differently by the Ning family’s granddaughter. He did not expect himself to get so interested.
He knew himself. As his career expanded over the years, he accumulated a lot of power. Usually, when his subordinates presented their work reports to him, they could be quite fearful of him when he stared at them like this.
But this grandson of his, a child who had just turned five, could meet his gaze squarely.
He decided to just call him forward.
"Come here, Wangyue. Where did you go with your classmate today?"
Everyone in the living room was stunned by Shi Manchuan’s unexpected gesture.
As Liu Susu held her son, she felt as if she was going to stop breathing and her entire body went rigid.
Shi Wangyue quietly looked at Shi Manchuan before slowly walking over to his side.
"Grandpa, we had lunch first. After that we went to the lake. Having toured around the lake, we played many games in the park by the lake."
The child’s voice was baby-ish, but he was articulate.
He didn’t keep quiet out of fear, or answer incoherently.
Shi Manchuan’s eyes revealed that he was satisfied with the reply. After thinking for a while, he said to the child, "Since the Ning family’s girl likes to play with you, you can go ahead and play with her. But remember, don’t bully the girl just because you’re a boy and ruin the relationship between the two families."
This time the child said nothing, but he nodded in all seriousness.
He was unexpectedly calm and steady.
Since there wasn’t anything of importance, the Shi family quickly dispersed.
After Manchuan and Lin Huayin left, Shi Tongyang started pestering Zhao Fei’er again. "Mom, bring me to play with Youguang. Don’t bring Wangyue, okay?"
"Yang Yang, it’s not easy for him to find an insensible child who was willing to play with him. What’s the point of fighting with him? I will find another day to invite Mrs. Xie and Mrs. Zhang to bring their children along. We can all go to a resort for our vacation, okay?"
"A holiday at a resort? Really?" Shi was a child after all and was quickly distracted.
If it had been any other time, Liu Susu would have been offended by those words.
But now she was still too excited by the fact that her father-in-law had just spoken to her son. She wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to the crushing blow that Zhao Fei’er had dealt her.