Chapter 38: The Children’s Mother Has Returned

When Su Yi heard that something had happened at home, she was immediately alarmed and ran over quickly.

“What happened?”

“Quick, go back and check! Xiaowu and Nuannuan’s mother has secretly come back and says she wants to take Nuannuan away!”

“Aunt Yao, please go find Commander Zhou for me!”

With that, Su Yi immediately dashed back home.

Previously, Su Yi had rarely asked the two kids about their mother, fearing it might upset them.

She had only learned bits and pieces from Aunt Yao and Aunt Zheng.

It was said that after the children’s father had passed away, their mother had cried and mourned for a long time, insisting she would raise the children no matter what.

But as soon as the compensation money arrived, she secretly took the money and ran away.

She left Xiaowu and Nuannuan behind in the courtyard.

Out of concern for the children’s feelings, people had only told them that their mother had gone out of town for some reason and would return later.

It was unclear why someone who had been missing for so long suddenly returned secretly.

And now she claimed she wanted to take Nuannuan away—what was her real intention?

By the time Su Yi arrived home, she saw a crowd gathered at the entrance.

When they saw Su Yi return, they began speaking all at once—

“Su Yi, you’re back!”

“The two kids are almost in tears, and we can’t calm them down!”

“I’ve never seen such a mother! She disappeared for so long and now comes back just to take her youngest daughter, not even asking about her son!”

Su Yi pushed through the crowd and saw a woman in her thirties at the center of the commotion. She was wearing a decent-quality shirt and a watch, looking nothing like someone in financial difficulty.

She was holding the crying Nuannuan in her arms and seemed ready to leave.

Xiaowu was desperately clinging to her leg, his face full of tears as he gritted his teeth and displayed the fiercest expression he could muster.

Seeing the two kids crying so intensely, Su Yi’s heart tightened, and she quickly called out, “Xiaowu, Nuannuan!”

When Nuannuan saw Su Yi had arrived, she used all her strength to break free from the woman’s embrace and ran towards Su Yi. “Sister Su, I don’t want to leave!”

Seizing the opportunity, Xiaowu bit the woman’s leg fiercely, then quickly grabbed a brick from the vegetable garden.

“If you want to take Nuannuan away, you’ll have to go through me first!”

The woman, stung by the bite, slapped Xiaowu hard, gritting her teeth as she said, “You’re the older brother! You should be happy for your sister if she has a good place to go!”

Realizing that hitting a child in public was inappropriate, she softened her tone and squatted down to comfort him. “Mommy promises to take good care of your sister and won’t let her suffer. You’re a member of the Ye family, and if the Ye family doesn’t take care of you, there’s nothing Mommy can do. Mommy has her own difficulties.”

Xiaowu, stunned by the slap, noticed that although she was speaking softly, her eyes were filled with coldness.

She was no longer the mother he remembered.

Although adults had always comforted him by saying that his mother had gone out of town for some reason, but the children in the courtyard and Aunt Liu, who took care of Xiaowu and Nuannuan, had long told him the truth.

Nuannuan was too young to understand what it meant, but Xiaowu had a clear understanding.

Xiaowu thought that if Nuannuan was taken away, he wouldn’t be able to live on. He was ready to die with her if necessary.

With that thought, Xiaowu clenched the brick tightly, preparing to strike the woman’s head when she was unprepared.

Su Yi, sensing something was wrong, quickly handed Nuannuan over to Aunt Zheng and rushed towards Xiaowu. “Xiaowu, no!”

As Xiaowu raised his arm, Su Yi grabbed him firmly.

“Sister Su, do you also think I’m wrong?”

Seeing Xiaowu’s face, full of anger and desperation, Su Yi’s eyes instantly filled with tears.

“Xiaowu, some people don’t deserve to be mothers.”

“But if you hit her with that brick, your life will be ruined! It’s not worth it for someone like her!”

Xiaowu’s whole body trembled uncontrollably. “If it’s ruined, then it’s ruined. But I can’t let her take Nuannuan away!”

“And what about Nuannuan? If you make a mistake, she will grow up without a brother to take care of her.”

Hearing this, Xiaowu came to his senses and immediately burst into tears, hugging Su Yi tightly.

Taking advantage of the moment, Su Yi quickly threw the brick away from him.

The woman, who had been startled, now reacted by shouting, “Murder! Murder! My son is going to kill his own mother!”

Seeing that Xiaowu had thrown away the brick, she lunged at them, preparing to slap him a few more times.

Su Yi shielded Xiaowu with her body and kicked the woman who was charging at them.

One kick wasn’t enough for her, so she mounted the woman and continued to strike.

Su Yi slapped the woman across the face, saying, “This slap is for Xiaowu!”

The woman, feeling the pain, began cursing angrily, “Who do you think you are? This is my child, none of your business!”

Enraged, Su Yi tightly gripped the woman’s arms with one hand and pinched her chin with the other, silencing her curses.

Having grown up fighting, Su Yi knew this woman was no match for her.

Seeing the woman treating Xiaowu this way reminded Su Yi of her own childhood.

Whether in her previous life or this one, she had always been neglected and abused by her family, with a mother just like this one.

Su Yi’s eyes burned with hatred, her fingertips turning white as she tightened her grip.

If she applied more pressure, the woman’s jaw would be dislocated.

Just as Su Yi teetered on the edge of reason and madness, a familiar set of footsteps approached, pulling her back to her senses.

“Su Yi! Stop!”

Zhou Jinchuan pushed through the crowd and quickly reached Su Yi.

He extended his hand toward her. “Come over here.”

Su Yi looked at him, bewildered. “Commander Zhou, you’re here?”

Zhou Jinchuan nodded and then grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the woman.

Seeing Zhou Jinchuan arrive, the woman, who was lying on the ground, initially tried to scream but was silenced by his stern glance.

Once Su Yi, Xiaowu, and Nuannuan were safely seated nearby, Zhou Jinchuan addressed the woman.

“Since you ran away with the money, why have you returned?”

The woman wiped her tears. “Commander Zhou, I had my reasons for leaving. Whether you believe it or not, I really do care about the children.”

“Now that I’ve just settled in the city and my living conditions have improved a bit, I thought that since Nuannuan is so young and doesn’t have a mother around, she should come live with me.”

Upon hearing this, the crowd couldn’t help but surround her.

“Don’t kid yourself! Whatever your reasons are, if you really cared about the children, why didn’t you leave them any money?”

“That’s right. We all remember clearly—you haven’t come back in all these years! Don’t treat us like fools!”

Zhou Jinchuan frowned. “If you refuse to tell the truth, we’ll investigate it ourselves.”