Chapter 206: Chapter 193: The Cruelest Punishment
His feelings for Su Xiaomeng were not... that mild.
Knowing that her own cousin harbors romantic feelings for her... huh, she should feel disgusted.
Disgusting, so be it... disgusting, just...
"Damn it!"
Bai Shunyuan punched the tree, his knuckles in a terrible state.
At this moment, Bai Shunyuan recalled a phrase from Su Xiaomeng, "If you bully me again, I’ll tell Grandpa, I’ll tell Uncle!"
He smiled bitterly, then a message from Jiang Shanshan came through on his phone—Shunyuan, three days.
He deleted the message, paced out of the small grove.
He bullied her... why would she even need to go complain to her Grandpa and Uncle?
She would never know that he had already received the most torturous and brutal punishment.
The next day was Christmas Eve, which also happened to be a Saturday.
Su Xiaomeng dressed up early at home, fed the two kids, and left them with her parents.
She took a cab downstairs and went to the airport.
Su Xiaomeng checked the flights, then went to the corresponding arrival gate to wait. Unfortunately, the flight Yin Shixiu was on was delayed.
She found a spot to sit down, playing on her phone while keeping an eye on flight updates.
It was almost seven o’clock, and the arrival gate was bustling with people. What caught Su Xiaomeng’s attention were the children coming and going.
Some were fashionable, holding their parents’ hands, some were mischievous, running ahead full of energy, some were very well-behaved, staying close to their parents, and some were sleeping in strollers...
She couldn’t help but start imagining Shuangshuang and Huang Huang growing up...
As she thought, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"Sister..."
Suddenly, a young voice sounded in front of Su Xiaomeng. She snapped back, seeing a boy about eight or nine years old, with a buzz cut, wearing a velvet denim jacket. His clothes were unkempt, with holes in the elbows...
Su Xiaomeng wasn’t sure whether the clothes were torn or intentionally designed that way.
"Um, do you need something?"
"Sister, I lost my mom and dad..."
"Huh?" Su Xiaomeng was startled, then quickly looked around for any parents looking for a child...
"Sister, can you take me to find the airport staff?"
The little boy had watery eyes filled with timidity...
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaomeng felt a sense of relief. Since becoming a parent, she had paid special attention to news about lost and abducted children on the internet.
Although the boy was about eight or nine, after getting separated from his parents he didn’t panic but purposefully sought out staff for help.
Absolutely well-taught by his parents at home.
She nodded, just as she stood up, the little boy grasped her hand...
As if afraid that he would lose her again.
Su Xiaomeng smiled, letting him hold her hand, and walked to the information desk.
"Hello, a child has lost his parents, could you please make an announcement—"
Su Xiaomeng hadn’t even finished speaking when she felt a sharp pain in her ring finger and then saw the eight or nine-year-old boy already running out!
"Ah! My ring!"
Su Xiaomeng’s heart skipped a beat, she quickly chased after him, but in vain, as she was wearing high heels. She wasn’t good at wearing them in the first place, but now...
Her heart went cold; she took off her heels and chased barefoot, shouting as she ran, "Thief! That kid is a thief!"
Not far away, two security guards heard the commotion and came over. Su Xiaomeng hurriedly pointed at the boy who was running faster than a rabbit...
"Security Uncle, that boy stole my ring! Quick, chase him!"
Upon hearing the situation, the security immediately took out their walkie-talkies to coordinate the pursuit.
Su Xiaomeng was panting heavily, regretting her momentary carelessness!
But she couldn’t figure out, this is an international airport, with security and order managers every fifty meters, how could this kid be so bold?
The boy, having succeeded, immediately ran back. He was an old hand, with a planned escape route.
He ran like a rabbit, disappearing from sight in no time.
Moreover, he was a kid, he could just go to the bathroom, change his coat, and slip out behind any random adult.
The boy felt triumphant, but as he turned a corner, he bumped right into a man.
He rubbed his head, the bump wasn’t the problem, but the ring fell out!
He hurried to pick it up, only for it to be pinned down by a shiny polished shoe... not heavy, but enough to prevent the boy from retrieving it.
"Sir, could you lift your foot, that’s mine!"
The boy was anxious, but the man not only didn’t move his foot, he grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck.
"Ah! What are you doing! Let go!"
A pair of clever and sharp phoenix eyes slightly lifted, he lazily uttered two words, "Thief?"
"I’m not a thief! I’m not a thief! Let go of me!"
The boy was so anxious his eyes turned red, and the security guards were closing in—
"Sir, please let me go, I’m begging you... you’ll have good karma—"
"Thank you, sir, we finally caught him."
The security arrived, the boy was detained, and following close behind was... Su Xiaomeng running barefoot with her high heels in hand.
She looked at the man in front of her, slightly taken aback.
"Long time no see, Xiaomeng, is this... yours?"
Ren Yixuan held the sparkling diamond ring in his hand, looking at Su Xiaomeng with a slight smile.
"Long, long time no see."
Su Xiaomeng didn’t expect to run into Ren Yixuan here...
She reached out to take the diamond ring from Ren Yixuan’s hand, putting it back on her ring finger, "Thank you."
Ren Yixuan looked at her, unconsciously sizing up the person he hadn’t seen for nearly a year, from head to toe.
A white knitted sweater, with a pink chiffon shirt underneath, the collar exposed, a pair of clean plain pencil pants, and a pair of high heels on her feet, with a camel-colored wool coat on the outside.
She seemed... quite different from the nineteen-year-old, naive and innocent girl she once was.
"Sister... please let me go, I promise I won’t dare anymore."
The boy who was caught by the security guard at the side was still struggling but looked pitifully at Su Xiaomeng.
Upon hearing the sound, Su Xiaomeng turned her gaze to the boy, frowning slightly, "Who taught you to steal people’s things?"
"I... I just thought your ring looked very pretty..."
At this moment, Su Xiaomeng finally took a good look at the boy. Aside from a worn-out denim jacket, the boy was actually dressed very thinly.
The arrival hall was fairly warm, but outside the airport, it was freezing, below minus ten degrees.
His hands were red, clenched into fists.
"Where are your parents?"
Su Xiaomeng asked.
The boy’s expression instantly darkened, his still somewhat spirited eyes welled up, "My... my parents are both sick... they’re at home..."
Ren Yixuan, standing by, rubbed his forehead, unable to listen anymore, and said, "Send him to the police station."
The boy immediately frowned, "Sir, please don’t send me to the police station..."
"If you have parents, let them pick you up from the police station. If you don’t have parents, the police will send you to an orphanage. If you’re a... habitual thief, it’s best to be sent to a juvenile center for some education."
With those words, the boy struggled even more!
"Sister, I’ve already returned your stuff. Please let me go! I don’t want to go with these people!"
Su Xiaomeng looked at this little boy...
"How old are you?"
"...Eight."
Eight... an eight-year-old child, yet there’s already so much worldliness in his eyes.
"What’s your name?"
Su Xiaomeng walked up to him, crouched slightly, tilting her head to look at him as she asked.
The boy looked at Su Xiaomeng...
After a long time, he finally uttered two words, "Kai Ge..."
"Kai Ge, tell me the truth... remember, you must tell the truth."
Staring into his eyes, Su Xiaomeng asked, word by word, "Did you take my ring just because it’s pretty, and not to steal it and exchange for money. Is that right?"
Kai Ge’s large eyes met those of Su Xiaomeng, and for a moment he hesitated, a slight struggle arose in his little heart...
He glanced at the cold-looking Ren Yixuan...
Then he said to Su Xiaomeng, "Yes. I just thought your ring was very pretty..."
Su Xiaomeng frowned slightly, she stood up and said to the security guard, "Better send him to the police station, I believe they handle lying children better than I do."
With these words, Kai Ge was taken aback and suddenly got anxious, "Sister, I’m not lying!"
Su Xiaomeng looked steadily at Kai Ge...
Realizing the message in her eyes, Kai Ge eventually lowered his head in shame, his earlobes reddened, and he was taken away by the security guard.
Ren Yixuan, with a backpack on his back and his hands in his coat pockets, looked at Su Xiaomeng with some intrigue...
Su Xiaomeng turned her head to meet Ren Yixuan’s gaze, "What is it?"
Ren Yixuan shrugged, "I thought you’d surely find that child pitiful and plead for the security to let him go..."
Su Xiaomeng was taken aback for a moment, then scratched her head, "I didn’t think too much. I just feel... if my son grows up and makes a mistake, I hope someone will make him face some consequences rather than give him excessive leniency, especially when he lies about it."
A flash of something indescribable passed through Ren Yixuan’s eyes.
Su Xiaomeng mentioning her son... was so natural, so...
"I would never have guessed you’ve become such a good mother..."
Su Xiaomeng chuckled, then pointed in the direction he came from, "You... just returned from overseas?"
"Yes, on a business trip."
"...Oh."
Su Xiaomeng responded, and there was a slight awkwardness between them...
"Um...I...my husband is also on a business trip, I’m here to pick him up."
"...Oh, I see, then I’ll be going first."
"En."
Su Xiaomeng responded, but she felt a sense of relief in her heart, genuinely hoping Ren Yixuan would leave quickly.
And indeed, Ren Yixuan didn’t linger, but as he passed by her, he said, "Put your shoes on, it’s cold."