Bibi Dong grabbed Deng Tianxin by the collar and took off after him. She was incredibly fast, and the strength of Spirit Hall's Saintess was on full display.
Even with a six-year-old in her grasp, she darted through the forest like a phantom. In just a few breaths, she caught up with Yu Xiaogang and blocked his path.
"Let me explain!" Bibi Dong stood in front of Yu Xiaogang, her voice rushed and frantic. "This child really isn't mine! I've never had a child! Xiaogang, look at me. Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Yu Xiaogang was forced to stop, but he turned his head away, unable to meet her eyes.
"What do you expect me to look at?" Yu Xiaogang's voice was bitter. "A six-year-old child clinging to your leg and calling you 'Mom'? Him pointing at me and saying I'm his stepdad?"
"He's doing it on purpose! He's putting on an act! Can't you see?" Bibi Dong was practically begging him.
"Putting on an act?" Yu Xiaogang finally raised his head, a self-mocking smile on his face. "Dong'er, tell me, how much hatred and cunning would a six-year-old need to pull off a performance like this? He can start crying at the drop of a hat, act aggrieved whenever he wants. Why did he pick you of all people, and why say all this in front of me?"
Bibi Dong opened her mouth, only to find herself with no way to argue.
Because she couldn't explain it herself.
From start to finish, this little brat had acted nothing like a six-year-old, but she had no proof at all that he was lying.
"Mom," Deng Tianxin piped up at just the right moment, his voice soft as a marshmallow. "Please don't fight with Uncle. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have said anything..."
"Shut up!" Bibi Dong whipped around, fury practically blazing from her eyes.
Deng Tianxin shrank his neck at her shout. His little mouth trembled, and the tears in his eyes finally spilled over.
They fell at just the right moment—not too many, not too few, exactly two. They slid down his chubby cheeks, joined at the tip of his little chin, then plopped onto the ground.
Aggrieved, restrained, understanding—absolutely heartbreaking.
Bibi Dong could've sworn she saw the little brat's lips twitch upward as he cried.
He was smiling.
He was really smiling!
"Bibi Dong," Yu Xiaogang said, his voice turning cold. He didn't even call her Dong'er anymore. "You've disappointed me."
Bibi Dong felt her blood pressure shoot to unprecedented heights.
In her nineteen years, what storm hadn't she weathered?
Yet now a six-year-old brat had nearly angered her into coughing up blood.
"Yu Xiaogang," Bibi Dong took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "I'll say this one last time. This child is Deng Tianxin. Today, he blocked my path by the roadside with a wooden stick and tried to rob me, calling me 'Auntie.' I taught him a lesson, and then you showed up. He suddenly started calling me Mom and made up a bunch of ridiculous lies. That's what happened. Believe it or not."
Her voice had calmed, but it was a frightening kind of calm.
The eyes that had once brimmed with tenderness and love for Yu Xiaogang were now veiled in a thin layer of frost.
Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting between Bibi Dong and Deng Tianxin.
"Then... why did he pick you of all people?"
"I'd like to know that too." Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Yu Xiaogang lowered his eyes to Deng Tianxin.
Bibi Dong held Deng Tianxin suspended in the air. His little legs dangled and swung, and tear tracks still glistened on his face. He looked utterly pitiful.
"Little friend," Yu Xiaogang crouched down until he was at eye level with Deng Tianxin. "Tell Uncle the truth. Is Bibi Dong your mom?"
Deng Tianxin tilted his head and looked at him, those big, watery eyes full of innocence.
He didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned to glance at Bibi Dong, something subtle in his gaze.
It was as if he were asking for her permission, yet also afraid she might get angry.
That single glance said more than a thousand words.
Yu Xiaogang stood up, a bitter smile on his face.
"I understand."
"What do you understand?!" Bibi Dong felt as if her lungs were about to explode with rage. "He didn't say anything!"
"Some things don't need to be said." Yu Xiaogang turned his back to her. "Bibi Dong, I don't blame you. You have your own choices, and I understand."
"What choices? Who did I choose?" Bibi Dong's voice shot up an octave. "A brat I only met today?"
"You don't have to say things like that to provoke me." Yu Xiaogang didn't turn around; his voice was calm to the point of indifference. "The child is innocent. Take good care of him. As for us... let's just treat it as a dream."
With that, Yu Xiaogang started walking. This time, he didn't run.
Bibi Dong didn't chase after him again.
She just stood there, silently watching him walk farther and farther away, with Deng Tianxin dangling and gently swinging in her hand.
A long while passed. Only after Yu Xiaogang's figure vanished at the end of the forest path did she slowly, slowly lower her head.
Then Bibi Dong met Deng Tianxin's bright, round eyes.
"Auntie," Deng Tianxin blinked. There wasn't a trace of grievance or tears left on his face—only an innocent smile. "You're single now."
At that moment, something in Bibi Dong's mind snapped with a buzzing sound.
"Deng Tianxin."
Bibi Dong's voice was strangely calm, like the sea before a storm.
"Do you know I really wanted to kill you just now?"
"I know," Deng Tianxin said with a cheeky grin. "But you didn't."
"..."
"Because you're a good person." Deng Tianxin reached up with his little hand and patted her livid face. "Good Auntie, don't be mad. If you make yourself sick, no one else will take your place."
Bibi Dong closed her eyes.
She silently counted to ten.
One, two, three...
When she reached ten, she made a decision.
She wouldn't kill this little brat today—not out of mercy, but because killing him would let him off too easily.
She would give him a thorough, serious, piece-by-piece lesson.
She'd make him understand that offending Spirit Hall's Saintess came at a price.
"Deng Tianxin," Bibi Dong opened her eyes, a cold smile on her face. "From now on, you're coming back to Spirit Hall with me."
"Huh?" Deng Tianxin blinked. "Are you going to be my mom, Auntie?"
"No." Bibi Dong's smile grew colder, like icicles in the depths of winter. "I'm going to be your nightmare for the rest of your life."
Just then, the God of Love Fragment inside Bibi Dong flew out of her body and entered Deng Tianxin's.
After the God of Love Fragment left, Bibi Dong suddenly felt that breaking up with Yu Xiaogang wasn't such a big deal.
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