Traffic was a bit heavy today, so Shu Qingqing arrived at the kindergarten five minutes later than usual.
The kindergarten entrance was already crowded with parents. Shu Qingqing finally managed to squeeze through. Just as she found the sign for Middle Class 1, she saw Lu Xun being held in the arms of his homeroom teacher, Ms. Liu.
"What's wrong?" Shu Qingqing hurried over.
When Lu Xun saw her, he didn't say a word. He just hugged her legs and cried non-stop.
Seeing that she couldn't get an answer out of him, Shu Qingqing looked at the homeroom teacher. "Ms. Liu, do you know what happened to Lu Xun?"
Ms. Liu, noticing that Ren Qiuyang had her back to them, pulled Shu Qingqing slightly to the side. "Just now, another child in the class told Lu Xun that their parents were getting divorced. Lu Xun was comforting that child, but then... that lady walked over and told Lu Xun that... his parents were going to get divorced too. Lu Xun immediately started crying."
Shu Qingqing looked in the direction Ms. Liu was pointing.
Ren Qiuyang?
Why was she here?
Looking closer, she saw that Ren Qiuyang was holding a little girl's hand.
She remembered now. Xu Lingshan had told her that the Eldest Young Master Peng, whom Ren Qiuyang was engaged to, had a daughter with his ex-wife.
Ren Qiuyang didn't seem to notice her arrival. The little girl beside her tugged at her and said something. Ren Qiuyang frowned impatiently, then led the little girl toward a car.
"Ms. Liu, please help me look after Lu Xun for a moment." Shu Qingqing set Lu Xun down and chased after her.
Ren Qiuyang opened the car door and was about to get in, but a hand stopped her.
"Little one, why don't you sit in the car for a bit?" Shu Qingqing blocked Ren Qiuyang, lifted the little girl into the car, and closed the door.
"Shu Qingqing?" Ren Qiuyang crossed her arms and shot her a disdainful look. "What do you want?"
Shu Qingqing smiled. "Your outfit looks really nice."
Ren Qiuyang smiled smugly. "Of course it does. This is..."
In the split second Ren Qiuyang looked down to adjust her hem, Shu Qingqing raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face.
"Shu Qingqing? You dare hit me?" Ren Qiuyang covered her right cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Hitting you is letting you off easy." Shu Qingqing shook out her hand. "If you ever dare spout nonsense in front of my son again, I won't just stop at hitting you."
"You bitch." Ren Qiuyang raised her hand to strike back, but Shu Qingqing grabbed her fingers and bent them backward.
"Ow... Shu Qingqing, let go of me!" Ren Qiuyang grimaced in pain.
Shu Qingqing admired her distorted expression for a few seconds before letting go. She was about to leave when she saw Peng Junhui walking toward them.
"Junhui, come quick! Someone is bullying me!" Ren Qiuyang shouted loudly, then grabbed Shu Qingqing's arm. "Don't you dare run away if you have the guts!"
Shu Qingqing turned back. "Are you sure you want to complain to him? Fine. It just so happens I have something to chat with your fiancé about too. I wonder if he knows that his fiancée has someone else's husband in her heart and even tried to drug him. Tell me, will he still help you after hearing that?"
Ren Qiuyang froze.
No, even if she wanted to break off the engagement, she absolutely couldn't let anyone know about her drugging Lu Bochuan.
Ren Qiuyang gritted her back teeth and let go of her hand.
"Mrs. Lu, are you here to pick up your child too?" Peng Junhui greeted Shu Qingqing first before asking, "Qiuyang, did you just say someone was bullying you?"
Shu Qingqing watched her leisurely.
Ren Qiuyang clenched her palms and forced a smile. "...No, you misheard me. I was saying... Yueyue is anxious to go home, let's hurry up and leave."
Shu Qingqing ignored her, thanked Ms. Liu, and took Lu Xun to the car.
"Lu Xun, Mommy knows why you're sad now. But what that person said is completely fake. Daddy and Mommy are not getting divorced."
Lu Xun hugged her neck and sobbed, "But Mommy, why did that auntie tell me that my daddy and mommy are getting divorced?"
"Haohao said getting divorced means daddy and mommy will separate, and daddy will marry a new mommy."
"Mommy, I don't want a new mommy. I only want you."
Shu Qingqing wiped away his tears. "Because she's a bad person who loves to tell lies to trick little kids. If you see her again, don't talk to her, and don't believe anything she says."
It took a long moment before Lu Xun nodded.
Shu Qingqing thought Lu Xun had been comforted, but after driving for a while, she glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed he was still looking downcast.
"Lu Xun, Mommy will take you to eat KFC later, okay?" Shu Qingqing asked, trying to distract him.
Sitting in his car seat, Lu Xun shook his head. "I don't want KFC, Mommy. Can we go find Daddy? I want to hear Daddy say he won't get divorced too."
Children lacked judgment and easily took others' words to heart, especially such hurtful ones.
He wouldn't even eat his favorite KFC now, which showed just how much of an impact those words had on him.
Shu Qingqing's grip on the steering wheel tightened.
She should have slapped Ren Qiuyang a few more times.
"Alright, then Mommy will take you to find Daddy."
Shu Qingqing made a U-turn at the intersection and drove toward the Lu Group.
The elevator went straight to the top floor. Upon entering the office, Lu Xun ran toward Lu Bochuan the moment he saw him. "Daddy, you're not going to divorce Mommy, right? And you won't marry a new mommy."
Although he didn't know what had happened, Lu Bochuan immediately gave Lu Xun a firm answer. "Daddy won't divorce Mommy. Never, ever."
Lu Xun hugged his arm and nuzzled against it. "I believe you, Daddy, because you're the most amazing person."
Lu Bochuan smiled and held Lu Xun, changing the subject to other things.
Perhaps because he was truly relieved, Lu Xun's attention was quickly diverted this time.
Lu Bochuan played with him for a while before having Zhou Zheng take him outside.
"What happened to Lu Xun?" Lu Bochuan asked.
Shu Qingqing smacked the table and recounted everything Ren Qiuyang had done today.
"She is absolutely despicable. She wouldn't even spare a child."
Lu Bochuan's brows furrowed tightly, a chilling glint flashing in his eyes.
"Zhou Zheng has almost finished gathering the evidence. It will all be ready by the day after tomorrow at the latest. When the time comes..." Lu Bochuan pulled Shu Qingqing onto his lap. He was about to continue when his phone rang.
The caller was Ren Qiuyang.
Lu Bochuan raised his hand and hung up.
Ren Qiuyang called again.
After a few back-and-forths, Ren Qiuyang probably realized it was inconvenient for Lu Bochuan to answer, so she sent a voice message instead.
Curious about what she had to say, Shu Qingqing tapped to play the voice message.
Ren Qiuyang's whiny voice came through the speaker. "Bochuan, you have no idea. Shu Qingqing went too far today; she actually dared to slap me."
"Bochuan, when will your evidence be ready?"
Shu Qingqing was about to make a sarcastic remark when she saw Lu Bochuan take the phone and call Ren Qiuyang back.
