After Teasing the Villain and Running Away - Chapter 28

When Ruan Xin arrived at the kindergarten, it was just dismissal time. The senior class was surrounded by parents picking up their children, helping them pack their bags while quietly asking about their day.

Occasionally, they would glance at the chubby little boy wailing loudly by the podium.

The teacher crouched beside the boy, soothing him softly, but his cries only grew louder, bordering on a tantrum. The boy’s father was a burly man, twice as wide as his son, with greasy hair. He stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at another child with eyes as round as copper bells.

Xin Zimo held Mo Mo tightly on the other side of the podium, her face full of fear and panic. Watching the sobbing boy, her lips trembled as if she wanted to cry too, but she sniffled and held back her tears.

“How can your kindergarten accept such a problem child? Look what she did to my son!”

“If anything happens to my boy, can you even take responsibility?”

“Just what kind of parents raised such a brat? She’s nothing but trouble. If the kindergarten doesn’t expel her today, I’ll report this to the education bureau. Let’s see which parents would dare send their kids here after that.”

The teacher tried to calm the child while also placating the father. “Sir, please calm down. Kids squabble all the time. Chen Wei doesn’t seem seriously hurt. Let’s wait for the other parent to arrive so we can sort this out properly.”

The man snorted disdainfully. “Fine. I’d love to see what kind of parent raised this little troublemaker.”

He shot Xin Zimo another glare, his face twisted into a menacing scowl.

Xin Zimo shrank further behind the teacher, tears welling up in her eyes before spilling over.

This was the scene Ruan Xin walked into. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she strode toward Xin Zimo, her expression darkening.

The sudden appearance of an omega more beautiful than a celebrity drew the attention of both children and adults in the classroom. Everyone wondered which parent she belonged to—they’d never seen her before.

Then the woman stopped in front of Xin Zimo.

The little girl’s eyes lit up when she saw her. She rushed forward on short legs and threw herself into Ruan Xin’s arms. “Sister Ruan! Sister Ruan!”

Ruan Xin gently stroked Xin Zimo’s soft, fluffy hair, a faint warmth flickering in her deep eyes. “Sheng Sheng, are you hurt anywhere?”

Xin Zimo looked up, her face streaked with tears like a little kitten, and shook her head lightly.

Ruan Xin exhaled slightly, her mood lifting a little. “Good. I’m taking you home today. How about some McDonald’s?”

Tears clung to the child’s thick lashes, her big grape-like eyes glistening. Her pink lips pouted slightly as Ruan Xin tenderly wiped away the tear tracks. Comforted by the familiar scent, Xin Zimo slowly smiled. “Okay. Zi Mo wants McDonald’s.”

Their delicate features bore a striking resemblance—one exuding elegance and beauty, the other radiating adorable softness. Together, they were a heartwarming sight.

The harmonious atmosphere between the two completely drowned out the wailing background noise.

The kindergarten teacher nearby watched the two of them, who seemed completely oblivious to their surroundings, with an awkward expression, unable to get a word in edgewise.

Meanwhile, the chubby boy’s parent was already on the verge of fury, his mouth opening impatiently to spew accusations. “So you’re this little troublemaker’s guardian? What good is being good-looking if you can’t even raise a child properly?”

His voice boomed like a bell, forming a cacophonous duet with his son’s wails.

Ruan Xin patted Xin Zimo’s back reassuringly before standing up, her face full of irritation. “Stop screeching already. Why don’t you get your son to quit his act first? All noise and no tears—what a terrible performance. Where’d a kid this young learn to fake cry so well? From you, I bet. Some parenting skills you’ve got.”

Her sarcastic retort came effortlessly. The man’s face darkened as he looked down at his son, who was red-faced and straining his throat in exaggerated sobs, clearly desperate for attention. He smacked the boy’s back. “Stop crying!”

The wails gradually subsided. The chubby boy’s eyes were red, and he coughed a few times—he’d been howling for over half an hour, his tears long dried up, leaving only hoarse cries and a parched throat.

The man pointed at his son and snapped, “Look at these bruises on his face! Your kid did this. How dare you act like you’re in the right?”

Ruan Xin narrowed her eyes, scanning the boy’s flushed face. There were indeed a few dark marks, as if someone had pinched him during a fight.

Ignoring the father, she turned to the teacher. “Did you witness what happened?”

The teacher shook her head. “No. During outdoor playtime, Chen Wei and Xin Zimo were by the seesaw. By the time I got there after hearing the commotion, Chen Wei was already sitting on the ground crying, with Xin Zimo standing nearby. Chen Wei claimed the injuries were from her.”

“Did any other children see what happened?”

Again, the teacher shook her head. Worse yet, since it happened outdoors in a blind spot, even the surveillance cameras hadn’t captured the incident.

Ruan Xin crossed her arms and scoffed. “Then what makes you so sure my child hurt yours?”

The man hadn’t expected her to deny it outright. “Who else could’ve done it? If it wasn’t her, did my son just magically bruise himself?”

“Maybe he did,” Ruan Xin said flatly. “My child has always been well-behaved—never gotten into fights. Why would she suddenly attack your son?”

The man exclaimed, “Who knows what possessed her?!”

Ruan Xin countered, “Zimo has always had poor health—so much so she can barely participate in outdoor activities. Now you’re saying she fought your chubby little boy, injured him, yet came out completely unscathed? Does that sound plausible to you?”

Her words gave everyone pause. Many parents had already heard from their own children about the frail new student in class. Now, as they compared Xin Zimo’s sickly frame to the boy’s “well-nourished” physique, they found her argument convincing.

How could she possibly have fought him? They weren’t even in the same weight class.

If they really had brawled, how come one child was unharmed?

Suspicious gazes turned toward the father and son. Under scrutiny, the man grew flustered and smacked his son’s back again. “Was it really Xin Zimo who hurt you?”

The boy stomped his feet anxiously. “It was her! She did it!”

Xin Zimo immediately protested, “You fell on your own! It wasn’t me!”

The chubby boy protested with a flushed face, his ear firmly gripped by his father, “Wasn’t it supposed to be from being hit? Now you’re lying to me too?”

“It was her, it was her!”

But everyone had heard his earlier slip of the tongue.

Ruan Xin remarked coldly, “So it was your own doing after all. Quite the little actor, aren’t you? I know my child well—she desperately wants to join the other kids in play, but her health won’t allow it. She can only watch quietly from the sidelines. If you’re accusing her of making you fall, you must have bullied her first!”

The chubby boy trembled under Ruan Xin’s icy glare, the kind of look villains had in TV shows.

“I—I didn’t bully her,” he stammered, eyes fixed on his shoes, refusing to look up, his entire body screaming guilty.

Ruan Xin smirked, though her eyes remained cold. “Oh? Liars get eaten by bugs, you know.”

The boy clutched his shirt, tears welling up in fear. Before he could speak, the other children suddenly chimed in.

“Chen Wei always picks on Xin Zimo!”

“Yeah! Last time, he threw mud on her dress!”

“My stomach hurts because of him! He’s a mean kid—I don’t want to play with him anymore!”

“He said Xin Zimo’s sickness is contagious, but he’s the one with bugs crawling all over him! Waaah… bugs! I don’t want bugs inside me!”

“The doctor said not to bully others, but he keeps doing it! He’s the worst!”

As if a switch had been flipped, the classroom erupted into sobs.

Parents hurried to comfort their children while shooting disapproving looks at the father and son.

The chubby boy wailed, “I’m not bad! I won’t do it again! Bugs, don’t bite me!”

The man, flushed with embarrassment, smacked his son’s head. “Stop crying! This is your fault for lying and making me look like a fool. Let’s go—you’re getting a real lesson at home!”

Ruan Xin snapped, “Wait!”

She blocked their path. “You slandered my child, and now you’re just leaving?”

The man scowled. “What else do you want?”

“An apology. Both of you—bow and apologize to my daughter.”

The man’s face darkened. Adults didn’t apologize to children! “Look, we were wrong, but kids say stupid things—”

“He’s a child. You’re not,” Ruan Xin cut in. “Are you seriously bullying a little girl? Apologize. Now.”

Other parents joined in, pressuring him until, reluctantly, the man forced his son into a bow.

All traces of their earlier arrogance were gone.

Xin Zimo, startled, hid behind Ruan Xin and tugged her skirt. “McDonald’s… let’s go to McDonald’s,” she whispered.

Ruan Xin carried her out, where their driver waited.

Once in the car, she checked Xin Zimo’s health-monitoring bracelet carefully before saying, “Aunt Lin and Aunt Xin aren’t home tonight. You’ll stay with me.”

“And no McDonald’s today.”

Xiao Zimo froze, blinking her big eyes as she looked up at Ruan Xin, her lips pouting in protest. “Why can’t we go? You promised Zimo! You can’t go back on your word!”

The little one suddenly bristled, her round eyes widening, her cheeks puffing up in anger like a hamster storing food.

Only at times like this could her liveliness be seen.

“Bad kids who lie don’t get McDonald’s,” Ruan Xin crossed her arms, her earlier gentle smile fading into sternness. “Xin Zimo, don’t you have something to explain to me?”

The little troublemaker was in hot water.