[Bro! You're seriously hardcore!]
[Aaaaah, baby! What are you doing! Baby! My palms hurt just watching.]
[I seriously suspect Wen Yanyu has no pain receptors. How did he not even frown?]
[There's a kind of pain that hurts just to watch.]
[He just rinsed it with water????]
[He's seriously hardcore. Badass.]
[He's beyond hardcore. He's a beast.]
[Goddamn, I wouldn't dare do that even with a tiny cut on my hand.]
After treating his wound, Wen Yanyu turned around and crouched in front of the pale-faced children.
"I'm sorry. I'm a little silly, and my brain didn't catch up just now. Did I scare you? I'm sorry. I'll get you some chocolate later, okay?"
Wen Yanyu's voice was gentle, the corners of his lips curving slightly. His expression was clearly a smile, yet his eyes held no emotion, only emptiness, as though he were merely forming a smile on instinct.
Bone-deep sorrow and helplessness tinged even the air with bitterness.
The children exchanged glances. Li Qianhua felt around and caught the hem of Wen Yanyu's clothes. "You should have some candy too."
Wen Yanyu paused briefly, then gently lowered his lashes. "Okay."
A light rain suddenly began in the mountains. Raindrops struck the ground with crisp sounds, gradually gathering into little puddles in the courtyard that reflected the hazy curtain of rain in the sky.
The dry, hot ground gradually grew damp as well. The scent of earth mingled with the smell of rain, filling the courtyard.
The children sat in a row on little stools, watching the rain in the courtyard and chatting about all sorts of amusing things.
The middle-aged man responsible for watching the children struck up a conversation with the others.
Wen Yanyu sat blankly in a chair, his empty gaze wandering in the distance. Even as the sun set and night fell, he did not move an inch.
Jiang Keyan sat beside him, telling the little girl stories and occasionally glancing at Wen Yanyu as he stared into space.
[What a leisurely retirement.]
[What's wrong with our baby, though? Waaaah, he hasn't said anything since this afternoon. Something feels really strange, but I can't put my finger on it.]
[Maybe he's tired from looking after kids all afternoon. Plus, he just hurt his hand, so he probably wants to rest.]
A flashlight beam suddenly shone through the darkness.
"Jianhua! Something's happened!"
At the commotion, Wang Jianhua turned toward the door.
Two people hurried over through the rain. The moment they entered, they said anxiously, "We don't know where Little Tiger's gone!"
Hearing that the child was missing, Wang Jianhua shot to his feet and hurriedly pulled on his coat. "What happened?"
"I wanted to tell Little Tiger to come home for bed, but when I came looking for him just now, he wasn't here. I figured he'd gone off to play in the village, but I couldn't find him anywhere."
The white-haired Wang Decai looked frantic. "Xiao Sheng and I searched all around the village, but we couldn't find him."
Hearing Little Tiger's name, Wen Yanyu came back to himself, rose from his chair, and walked over to them. "What happened to Little Tiger?"
Getting a clear look at Wen Yanyu, the middle-aged man behind the man in the hat had a flicker in his eyes and immediately shouted angrily.
"Aren't you the one responsible for watching the kids! Uncle Decai, I heard it from Xiao Mo today. Little Tiger's been unhappy lately because this guy told him off!"
"This guy told Little Tiger off again today! Maybe he's the reason Little Tiger ran away."
The expression on Wang Decai's face changed instantly.
Wang Yusheng tightened his fists and continued stirring things up. "Little Tiger is Uncle Decai's only grandson. If anything happens to him, just you wait."
Those words sent the live comments into an uproar.
[Oh, right! Little Tiger is the kid Wen Yanyu disciplined.]
[God, it's nighttime and raining. What if something happens to a child out there? Will he take responsibility?]
[Please, stop causing trouble and hurting children.]
[? Unless my memory's wrong, Wen Yanyu only spoke to that kid because he bullied the little girl with poor eyesight first, right? And how many days ago was that?]
[I don't like Wen Yanyu, but some of you need to stop throwing accusations around. What's this got to do with him? Kids like playing and messing around and running off.]
[What? What did my baby do? How did my baby get dragged into this?]
Once Jiang Keyan understood what had happened, she immediately lost her patience.
"What the hell! Yanyu only played with the children out of kindness! Their own families are responsible for them! What's this got to do with Yanyu!"
"I think you're the one with a guilty conscience, trying to dodge responsibility!" Furious, Jiang Keyan abruptly sat up and strode over to them.
"You bitch! Who said you could speak here!" Wang Yusheng's expression changed sharply. His usual explosive temper flared, and he reached out to grab her.
Before Jiang Keyan could react, Wen Yanyu moved first. He caught her arm, pulled her toward him, and kicked out.
Never expecting anyone to fight back, Wang Yusheng was completely unprepared. He cried out in pain and toppled beside the doorframe, clutching his stomach and gasping repeatedly.
Everyone was startled by the sudden turn of events.
Wen Yanyu steadied Jiang Keyan and shielded her behind him. His face was expressionless, his voice calm. "I won't shirk whatever responsibility is mine. Keep your hands off my friend."
The others around them immediately reacted as well.
After pressing Sang Yu back onto the sofa, Lu Mingxu walked over with Duan Mufeng, shielding the two behind them.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"You bastard! What did you just call her!" Duan Mufeng was furious.
"You city people just want to use us to put on a show! Now a kid's gone missing because of you! What are you going to do about it!" Wang Yusheng clutched his stomach, unable to stop gasping in pain.
How was he so strong?
Knowing his side was in the wrong, Wang Jianhua barked, "Wang Yusheng, why can't you talk properly instead of laying hands on a young woman!"
Wang Yusheng held his stomach, cold sweat pouring off him from the pain. "We're just worried because Little Tiger's missing!"
"We don't even know what happened yet, and you come in here blaming our kid and getting physical."
Jiang Wanrou brushed back her hair and added, "Our show is broadcast live. The cameras have been recording the whole time, and the viewers are all watching."
The woman wore a gentle smile, but there was not a trace of amusement in her eyes.
The group surrounded Wen Yanyu protectively.
A faint peach fragrance mingled with the smell of blood.
Jiang Keyan looked down. The hand holding hers was continuously seeping blood.
[...That scared me.]
[I almost forgot our baby is a bunny with off-the-charts combat power.]
[Wait, why is he hitting people?]
[That man got physical first.]
[How can that guy be so shameless, laying hands on a young woman like that?]
[One look tells you he's got a terminal case of male chauvinism.]
Duan Mufeng raised his brows slightly and said bluntly, "The production team only came to film after getting your consent in the first place, and they paid filming fees too."
Lu Mingxu said coldly, "If a child's missing, look for him first. What's the meaning of coming here to shift the blame and trying to hit someone?"
Wang Yusheng rubbed his nose, quickly glanced at Wen Yanyu, who still seemed out of it, and raised his voice.
"No matter what! This guy did tell Little Tiger off today, and Little Tiger was unhappy because of him! He was the problem to begin with!"
As Wang Yusheng kept stirring things up.
Too much had happened. Wang Decai only said hoarsely, "My grandson was last playing here. He's missing, and you owe me an explanation."
[Tsk, why is he being so unreasonable?]
[Goddammit! Don't yell at my baby! Get lost!]
[But the child did go missing because of Wen Yanyu.]
[?]
[Heh, if something happens to the kid, wouldn't that make him the killer?]
[We don't seem to be watching the same variety show. What did Wen Yanyu even do? That little boy was the one who did something wrong first. Wen Yanyu didn't even tell him off, he just stopped him. How does that make him a killer? Besides, how many days ago was that?]
Before you continue