Luo Yingbai casually peeled the candy wrapper and stuffed the candy into his mouth, saying, “You’re so cool when you’re young. Be careful not to become expressionless when you grow up. Boys should smile more, right Xianning?”
Xia Xianning glanced at him, about to speak, but now his mouth was also filled with a milky flavor. Luo Yingbai put his arm around his shoulder and pushed him forward, laughing, “No nonsense, let’s go.”
After they left, Rui Rui’s father Zhang Li arrived, standing with her mother. The dark, thin woman looked panicked, stammering under her husband’s angry interrogation.
Seeing Xia Xianning in his police uniform, Zhang Li hurriedly approached, asking angrily, “Officer, I heard from the hospital that the ones who tried to take my daughter were pedophiles. Is this true?”
His wife stood behind him, her face pleading.
Xia Xianning believed Zhang Jiarui was not at fault and thought the parents should understand the situation. However, Zhang Li’s unreasonable attitude was obvious, so he was conflicted about how to respond. After a moment of silence, he coldly said, “We police will handle the perpetrators. As parents, leaving such a young child alone is dereliction of duty. Instead of asking me these questions, you should go home and reflect.”
Zhang Li and his wife did love their child.
They worked hard to earn money and didn’t want to leave their daughter as a left-behind child in the village, so they gritted their teeth and found a house to bring Zhang Jiarui to the city.
Zhang Li, thinking about what he had just heard, was furious: “Just tell me if it’s true! That little brat, I must discipline her!”
His wife stomped her foot and began to cry: “Our daughter was finally rescued, and you’re saying these things! She’s so young, what’s the point of blaming her…”
She was resentful of those who had spread the gossip – they had originally planned to bring their daughter home, but now she knew their daughter would have a hard time.
“Alright, alright, sister, please don’t cry,” Xia Xianning, seeing the situation getting out of hand, signaled his subordinate to send the two children back. Luo Yingbai handed the woman a tissue and offered a not-very-sincere consolation.
