Chapter 24: The Mother
It wasn’t even nine o’clock, but the people who had come to shop and see the concert were already almost blocking the entrance to the square. It was a sea of people everywhere. Even the area behind the stage, which had been relatively deserted before, was now bustling with activity.
With so many people, even a small argument attracted a crowd of onlookers.
The lady with the lace hat, holding her child, heard Nuonuo’s words and her eyes filled with disdain. “Whose child is this? What right do you have to speak when adults are talking?! If you like it, then buy it. My Zihang wouldn’t even look at something so dirty!”
Hearing this woman’s sharp words, the manager sister next to them almost exploded with anger. But before she could speak, the child in the woman’s arms started to shout. “I want that one! I want that thing! Mom, buy it for me, buy it for me!”
The bratty child had completely undermined his mother, causing many people around them to burst into laughter. Even the manager sister let out a “hmph.” “The thing you look down on, your son is crying to buy. What’s there to be so arrogant about, tsk!”
The woman’s face turned pale. She reached out and slapped her son. “What are you crying about? Don’t you see what kind of little beggar is selling these things! Aren’t you afraid of getting sick if you take it home!”
These words were too harsh and had escalated to a personal attack, making the onlookers frown.
Gu Ze, who was being scolded, his face darkened, and his little fists clenched tightly.
The lady with the lace hat, on the other hand, was rather smug. She glanced at Nuonuo, who was still looking at her, and rolled her eyes. “Let’s go. I’m not buying things from people like this!”
006 was about to die of anger. It wished it could materialize into a physical form and KO this woman with one punch. How dare she look down on our Nuonuo! Our Nuonuo is a future great villain! He could crush you with just one little finger!
Nuonuo didn’t like this woman. Her voice was too shrill and hurt his eardrums. But since his papa and brothers weren’t around, he could only purse his lips uneasily and tug at the clothes of Gu Ze, who had given him a drink of water.
Nuonuo had a soft nature, and he was very sensitive to emotions. When there were no closer people around, he would choose to rely on those who had shown him kindness.
Gu Ze saw the little brother fearfully clutching his clothes and was slightly taken aback. They were standing so close that Gu Ze could smell the sweet scent on his little brother, a bit like green apples but also with a hint of milk, very fragrant and pleasant.
Gu Ze felt that this little brother was like a fluffy little animal that would lie on its back and expose its soft belly when scared. This realization made him take a step forward, shielding Nu-Nuo behind him.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”
Although Gu Ze was young, his tone was steady, and his eyes held a maturity beyond his years. But in the eyes of outsiders, the two little ones, huddled together, looked like two little chicks seeking warmth, both pitiful and cute.
The lady with the lace hat saw the surrounding crowd pointing and blaming her and became even more furious, glaring fiercely at Gu Ze.
“What are you doing, glaring at a child!”
“This person has no manners at all! Everyone, come and see!”
…
In the crowd, a woman was standing on her tiptoes, also watching the commotion. When she turned her head, she suddenly saw Nuonuo behind Gu Ze, and in an instant, the color drained from her face.
This… isn’t this…
The woman was dazed for a moment, and it took a while for the voices of others to pull her back to reality.
The manager sister shook her phone at the lady with the lace hat. “I’ve recorded everything. I’ll post it online later and let the whole world see how you scold a child!”
The lady with the lace hat’s face instantly turned white. The son in her arms was still crying and shouting that he wanted to buy it. The sound of his crying was about to make her head explode, and in a fit of anger, she slapped him again. “What are you crying for? Isn’t it embarrassing enough?!”
With that, she turned back to look at the two children, and hearing the condemning voices of the people around her, her voice rose several decibels. “I didn’t scold them! I don’t know where these wild kids came from, but I’m not buying anything from them!”
Before the manager sister could retort, she heard a woman’s voice from the crowd. “He’s not a wild child! Don’t talk nonsense!”
The woman in the crowd seemed a little agitated, her eyes red as she glared fiercely at the lady with the lace hat.
The lady with the lace hat was startled, thinking, Could this be the child’s parent? Why is she so fierce!
Fearing someone who was not afraid of anything, the lady with the lace hat’s attitude immediately became timid. She glanced at the manager sister, who was still filming, and her chest heaved a couple of times. “You’d better delete that, or I’ll sue you for invading my privacy!”
The manager sister was not afraid. “Don’t worry, I’ll blur your face. But netizens are very resourceful. When they find out who you are, let’s see how you’ll face your neighbors and friends!”
The lady with the lace hat looked up and saw the mocking expressions on the faces of the people around her. Her vision almost went black. She couldn’t be bothered to argue with the manager anymore and quickly ran away with her son.
The manager snorted coldly in the direction she had left, put away her phone, and skillfully sent the video to her studio. Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, she was a master of all kinds of marketing tactics. If she didn’t get this woman on the hot search today, she wouldn’t deserve to be the manager of a top celebrity!
006, seeing the lady with the lace hat run away, was so angry that it used its energy to form little sharp thorns and shot them into her leg. And so, the woman who was running with her son suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg, twisted her ankle, and fell into a flower bed next to her, getting a bruised nose and a swollen face.
The people around laughed, seeing the evil person get her just deserts. No one reached out to help, instead quickly walking away as if it had nothing to do with them.
The lady with the lace hat had fallen hard and was so angry she almost gritted her teeth to pieces. But she was also embarrassed and could only cover her face, limping away with her son, quickly leaving the crowd.
Seeing her miserable state, the manager sister’s anger dissipated a little. “Serves her right! People like her need to be taught a lesson!”
With that, she crouched down and rubbed Nuonuo’s little head. “Nuonuo, were you scared? Let’s ignore her. How about big sister buys you a little toy?”
Nuonuo wasn’t very scared. His cognitive level was limited, and he didn’t quite understand what had just happened. It was all over in a muddle.
Nodding, Nuonuo pointed at the woven-grass animals on the little stall. “This one for Second Brother, ya.”
The manager sister felt a little sour. She let out a few “ah”s in her heart, thinking, How lucky is Fei Jing to have such an angel of a little brother! He’s not even here, but he’s still remembered to get him something!
“This one for Third Brother, this one for Papa—”
Nuonuo propped himself up on his chubby knees and crouched down, counting the people in his family on his little fingers. Then he looked at the little animals, his eyes shining with joy.
Nuonuo was still holding a cotton candy in his left hand, so he only had one right hand and couldn’t carry so many things. He could only blink his eyes and ask the manager sister for help. “Big Sister, put them in my pocket, ya!”
When they went out today, Auntie Wu had dressed Nuonuo in a top with a pocket. She knew Nuonuo liked to hide his favorite things in his little pocket and, afraid he would lose them, had specifically chosen this outfit.
The manager sister put the three woven-grass animals he had chosen into his pocket. Fortunately, Nuonuo’s pocket was big enough, and the three little toys barely fit.
“Alright, do you want anything else?”
Nuonuo nodded his head and picked up two more. “This one for Eldest Brother…”
Nuonuo, who had never even met his eldest brother, still very seriously chose a very pretty little animal to save for him.
The manager sister couldn’t help but be amazed, thinking, Nuonuo has so many brothers.
“This one for Big Sister.”
The next moment, Nuonuo took the last woven-grass kitten and, tilting his little face up, held it high in front of the manager sister.
It’s hard work for Big Sister to play with Nuonuo, Nuonuo thought. I have to pick a pretty one for her too.
The manager sister was still in a daze. When she turned her head, she was hit in the face by the cub’s affection. She froze on the spot, and after a long while, she clutched her chest and let out an “ah.”
Oh my god, I want to hug him and squish him right now! He’s too cute and well-behaved!
Taking the not-so-pretty woven-grass kitten with tears in her eyes, the manager sister really couldn’t hold back. As Nuonuo was retracting his little arm, she leaned in with a smack and kissed Nuonuo on the forehead.
Nuonuo’s little arm froze. He even forgot to blink, standing there in a daze like a little wooden puppet that couldn’t move.
After a long while, Nuonuo slowly retracted his hand, but his little face turned red, from his neck all the way to his little forehead. The whole cub looked like a ripe red persimmon, sweet and soft, making you want to take a bite.
The manager sister almost couldn’t hold back again, wanting to pounce on him with a squeal.
Fortunately, Gu Ze spoke up, just in time to pull her back from the brink of her collapsing sanity. “Little brother’s face is red. Is he sick?”
Gu Ze furrowed his little brow, his dark black eyes showing a hint of worry. He wanted to reach out and touch his little brother’s face to see if it was hot, but thinking it was impolite, he quickly pulled his hand back.
The manager sister looked at the upright little Gu Ze, who was out here at such a young age, running a stall to earn money. Her heart couldn’t help but fill with a bit of affection. She explained, “Little brother is just shy. It’s nothing to worry about.”
Handing the money for the items to Gu Ze, the manager sister picked up the little dumpling Nuonuo, whose face was flushed red and steaming, and left.
Gu Ze didn’t even look at the money she handed him. His eyes were still on Nuonuo. It wasn’t until the two of them had gradually disappeared from sight that he finally averted his gaze. When he looked down, he found that the big sister had given him a little too much money.
Just as Gu Ze was hesitating with the money, his grandfather came over, dragging a snakeskin bag, one hand behind his back, walking slowly.
“Little Ze, what’s wrong?”
Grandpa tapped his slightly hunched back, the wrinkles on his face crinkling into a smile.
Gu Ze looked at his grandfather, opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by his grandfather’s next words. “Grandpa picked up a lot of bottles today. We’ll have money to send you to kindergarten to study. You have to study hard and grow up to be a grateful person, you know?”
Grandpa’s large, calloused hand ruffled Gu Ze’s hair. The calluses accidentally scraped his face, and that patch of skin on Gu Ze’s face immediately turned red.
Gu Ze was very uncomfortable. He directly turned his head to avoid his grandfather’s hand, his eyes lowered, lost in thought. He didn’t mention the matter from before again.
Grandpa, however, was very satisfied. He said a few more positive and encouraging words, saw that there were no customers at the stall, and went back to dragging his snakeskin bag to pick up bottles.
Nuonuo lay on the manager sister’s shoulder, his little eyes closed, playing dead. No matter how much the manager sister teased him, he refused to open his eyes.
The manager chuckled to herself, thinking, A shy cub is also very cute.
The two of them walked to the entrance of the parking garage and saw an old man selling hats at a stall. The manager wanted to buy a nice one for the cub and went over to ask the price.
While she was asking the price, a woman paced around her, looking hesitant and uneasy.
When Nuonuo secretly opened his round eyes, he happened to see that strange woman.
The moment the woman saw Nuonuo, her eyes suddenly turned red. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fingertips, clenched her fists tightly, and finally walked over.
The manager sister had just chosen a pretty little hat and was about to pay when the woman who had walked over said, “Let me.”
A question mark appeared above the manager’s head. She looked at the woman in confusion. “I can pay for it myself. And you are?”
The woman’s gaze seemed to be glued to Nuonuo. She didn’t pay any attention to the manager’s wariness and instead smiled gently.
“I’m Nuonuo’s mother.”
