Chapter 66

Shen Qingyun suddenly stood up and pulled his wife toward the room.

Yin Xiaoman glanced at the half-cleared table and tried to resist, but he held her hand too tightly for her to break free.

They hadn’t even reached the doorway when Da Bao came bursting in and collided right into them. “Mom! You have to go take a look. That new kid stole Erniu’s stuff and got beat up by my brother Dami!”

“Dami beat someone up? A child?!”

It wasn’t that Yin Xiaoman didn’t trust Da Bao—it was just hard to imagine Dami hitting a kid.

“What happened? Tell me properly.”

“Well, we were with Erniu by the creek catching shrimp. Then out of nowhere, this kid ran up without saying a word and snatched the fruit candy out of Erniu’s hand, then took off running. He scared Erniu so bad she started crying and bawling.

Then me and Brother Dami chased after him, and when he realized he couldn’t outrun us, he threw the candy into the grass by the side. All of it got dirty! He wasted food, so that’s why my Brother Dami hit him!” As he spoke, Da Bao still looked completely indignant.

After hearing this, Yin Xiaoman understood. Their children never lacked treats, so they never clung too tightly to food. If that kid had just asked Erniu for the candy, the little girl probably wouldn’t even have hesitated before handing it over.

But instead, he chose to snatch it.

And if that wasn’t enough, when Da Bao and Dami chased him, he threw the candy away.

In this day and age, what was most precious? It had to be food.

Seeing him waste food like that, it made perfect sense that Dami would instantly lose his temper and give the kid a beating.

But the problem was—

“How old is that kid? Did he say his name?” Before Yin Xiaoman could ask, Shen Qingyun had already spoken.

He was clearly in a foul mood from being interrupted at such a moment, and from Yin Xiaoman’s angle, she could see the vein at his temple twitching with frustration.

But now that one of their own kids had beaten someone up, no matter how intimate things had just been, it was all thrown aside.

“Don’t know his name. Maybe… maybe a little younger than Erniu?” Da Bao replied uncertainly.

“Damn, it’s Engineer Chen’s kid!”

The expression on Shen Qingyun’s face changed instantly. Without another word to either of them, he turned and strode straight out the door.

Yin Xiaoman knew who Engineer Chen was. He was one of the earliest experts to arrive on the island—one of the most reserved. He rarely spoke a word. It seemed now that his family had also come over.

Hearing that it was Engineer Chen’s child who got hit, her head began to throb.

The group quickly rushed out of the house toward the creek. From a distance, they could already hear the shrill wailing of a child.

Oh no, oh no.

Yin Xiaoman’s heart pounded wildly. She just hoped Dami hadn’t caused serious trouble.

She quickened her pace even more.

When they finally rounded the bend and reached the creek, the first thing they saw was a crowd gathered around.

When did this island become full of idlers looking for drama?

That was the random, ill-timed thought that popped into Yin Xiaoman’s mind.

At that moment, Shen Qingyun, who was in front of them, had already pushed through the crowd and rushed in to wrap his arms around an old man from behind. “Grandpa Chen, don’t hit him!”

“Yes, Grandpa Chen, you really shouldn’t hit him anymore. Mingshi is still little. You’ll hurt the child if you keep going like this!”

“Grandpa Chen, the other kid already said there’s no need for Mingshi to pay anything back. Please, don’t hit him anymore. Look, you’ve already scared Mingli half to death.”

“…Battalion Commander Shen, let go of me! If you don’t beat a child like this every three days, he’ll tear the roof off the house. He dares waste food now! What next if I don’t discipline him?!”

The old man struggled furiously against Shen Qingyun’s grip, panting heavily in anger. Yet even so, there wasn’t the slightest sign of forgiveness in his expression—he had no intention of letting the boy off easily.

“Hurry up and tell your grandpa you won’t dare do it again!” Shen Qingyun clearly had no way of reasoning with the old man, so while continuing to hold him down firmly, he turned and barked at the boy who stood off to the side, still quietly sniffling.

“Grandpa, I won’t dare anymore. Please don’t be angry…” the boy cried, sobbing as he spoke.

While crying, he opened his tightly clenched hand. “I didn’t waste food… If you wash it, it can still be eaten. I wanted to take it back for Mingli. Mingli’s never had one before…”

“You think just because she hasn’t had one, it’s okay to steal from someone else? What are you, a bandit? A thief?!”

The moment he said that, things got worse. The old man became even angrier and suddenly lunged at the boy, raising his foot to kick him without hesitation.

Shen Qingyun was pulled along a few steps forward and nearly lost his grip in trying to hold him back.

“Grandpa, don’t hit Mingshi! Mingli won’t eat it. Mingli will give the candy back!”

Just then, a little girl suddenly ran out from the crowd. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her cheeks streaked with tears. She rushed over, grabbed the candy from the boy’s hand, and ran over to Erniu, who was standing under a tree, and holding Dami’s hand, watching everything.

She bowed deeply to Erniu, then held out the piece of candy—now dirty from the boy’s sweaty palm—toward the little girl with a pleading look in her eyes. “Big sister, I’m sorry. I’m giving you the candy. Can you please forgive my brother?”

At that moment, all eyes turned to Erniu. The surrounding onlookers began chiming in, trying to persuade her.

“Little girl, go ahead and forgive them.”

“Yeah, the candy can still be eaten if it’s washed. Mingshi knows he was wrong.”

Even Shen Qingyun couldn’t help but shout toward his daughter, “Sweetheart, say it’s okay! Tell them you’re not angry anymore!”

But even though everyone was getting more and more anxious, Erniu didn’t respond right away. She stared at the little girl for a long while, then suddenly reached out and gently touched her face.

Then, full of envy, she asked, “How come you two look the same?”

As she spoke, her gaze shifted toward the boy standing off to the side, her tone filled with curiosity. “That’s your brother? Why can you and your brother look the same, but me and my brother can’t?”

She then glanced over at Da Bao, who was standing beside Yin Xiaoman, and her expression was one of blatant disgust.

Da Bao: “……”

Pfft!

The crowd was instantly amused by Erniu’s completely unexpected reaction.

Then someone called out loudly, “Little missy, they’re twins. You know what twins are? It means they were born on the same day, from the same mommy. That’s why they look the same. You and your brother can’t be twins anymore, but if you want, ask your mom to give you a pair of little brothers or sisters!”

“Really? Mom just has to have them?”

Erniu’s eyes lit up at once. She let go of Dami’s hand and darted straight toward Yin Xiaoman.

“Mom—mmph!” The rest of her words were immediately muffled by her mother’s hand pressing tightly over her mouth.

“Hahaha! Hahaha!”

“Aiyo, look at her Mom’s face—it’s all red! Hahaha, this mother-daughter pair is too funny!”

With Erniu’s sudden outburst, the mood completely shifted. No one was paying attention to Grandpa Chen scolding or hitting his grandson anymore. The crowd’s focus turned instead to Mingshi and Mingli, the adorable twin siblings.

Those who knew them well had already started enthusiastically explaining everything to the bystanders who didn’t.

First loud, then weak, and finally done—as the saying went.

In this atmosphere, naturally, Grandpa Chen had no way to lay another hand on his grandson.

Shen Qingyun gave Dami a discreet look. The boy, though clearly a little reluctant, walked over and took Mingshi by the hand, leading him down to the creek to wash his hands and face.

The other children all followed along.

Only then did Shen Qingyun release his grip on Grandpa Chen.

“Grandpa Chen, that temper of yours!” Shen Qingyun said, clearly exasperated, as he looked at the old man. “The boy’s still young. Can’t you just talk to him properly? Always resorting to hitting… What’s Engineer Chen going to think when he finds out? Won’t he be heartbroken?”

“Heartbroken? Heartbroken, my ass!”

When the old man said the first sentence, his voice was still laced with anger. But by the time he got to the last part, it had turned into a choked sob.

“If he had even a shred of a heart… would he have completely disappeared after the child was born? Would he have stayed away, even when his own wife—the boy’s mother—passed away? He didn’t even come home!”

Yin Xiaoman knew then—every person in this newly arrived group must’ve come with their own stories. Without some kind of heavy past, no one would willingly leave behind everything familiar to them and come to this isolated island.

But at the moment, she had no interest in listening to anyone’s stories—she just wanted to wrap up this messy situation and get home as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Shen Qingyun clearly had no intention of going home yet.

He sighed, walked over, and said, “You take the kids back first and get them to bed early. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll walk Grandpa Chen and the others home, and while I’m at it, I’ll have a proper talk with Engineer Chen. No telling how late I’ll be.”

As he spoke, he reached out and gently adjusted Yin Xiaoman’s collar. His expression was calm, but in his eyes, there was an obvious reluctance.

Knowing he had serious matters to handle, Yin Xiaoman couldn’t say anything to stop him. She simply nodded and said, “Come back early.”

After watching him walk off, she turned around, ready to call over the little ones who were now all playing happily together by the creek as if nothing had happened.

But as she turned, she suddenly spotted Li Fang standing quietly in the crowd, just about to leave.

“Li Fang!” she called out immediately.

She had a bellyful of questions she’d been wanting to ask the girl, but there had been no opportunity until now. With her husband heading out and the kids still lost in play, this seemed like the perfect time to catch up.

“Li Fang, where are you staying now? Have you eaten yet?” Yin Xiaoman asked as she walked toward her.

Li Fang had clearly been about to leave, and it caught her off guard to hear Yin Xiaoman calling out to her now. She froze for a second, then gave her a small smile and stepped forward to meet her.

“Sister Xiaoman, I’m staying over at the staff dormitory. When we arrived, someone showed us around and took us to the canteen. We already ate—completely full!”

As she said this, Li Fang couldn’t help but wink at her. “Sister Xiaoman, the food here is so good! And there’s plenty—I totally ate quite a lot!”

Yin Xiaoman hadn’t expected such a comment and was immediately amused by it, laughing aloud.

For the first time in a while, she felt like she was back in those days at Shuanggui Village, chatting with Li Fang and Liang Xiaoyu—carefree and warm. Before today, she couldn’t quite explain why, but she’d felt that Li Fang had been intentionally distancing herself.

“Li Fang, are you free right now? If you are, come home with me for a bit. I’ve got some good food at home—stuff I guarantee you’ve never had before!”

She said it while mimicking Li Fang’s earlier wink, teasingly.

And she saw the girl’s eyes suddenly light up. But right after that, a trace of hesitation and inner conflict appeared on her face.