The earlier threat had been quite effective—Little Le Jia was still frozen in a mix of humiliation and shock, unable to react.
Le Qing considered the situation carefully. Every action had its reasons, and right now, the child probably genuinely needed to use the bathroom. Fortunately, the restroom was just behind them. She handed the still-clean diaper to the little boy and pulled out tissues from her bag, pointing him in the right direction. "Go ahead."
After a pause, she leaned down slightly and added, "If you deliberately dirty your pants, I’ll still show the other kids."
Little Le Jia clutched the tissues and diaper, his young mind struggling to weigh which was worse—being seen by his kindergarten classmates while using the bathroom or obeying his wicked aunt.
But he really couldn’t hold it much longer.
"Go on," Le Qing straightened up, watching as the couple who had been chasing him drew closer. She spoke softly, "When you come out, I’ll take you and your sister home."
Little Le Jia’s eyes widened in shock.
Little Le'an also looked up at her aunt with delight, only to hear the first disdainful words in days:
If you turn smelly, it’ll waste so much time. How am I supposed to take home a stinky kid?
Little Le'an immediately patted her brother’s shoulder with grave seriousness. "Don’t worry, Brother! Auntie’s letting us poop. You can’t get smelly!"
Little Le Jia: "…"
With flushed ears and a stern face, he dashed inside.
Meanwhile, the couple who had purchased Little Le Jia finally caught up, furious at the scene. They had just brought the child back from the hospital, where he had been utterly uncooperative during the entire examination.
Though the tests revealed no brain abnormalities—only signs of developmental delays and malnutrition from prolonged neglect—the doctor had speculated that the child’s extreme behavior stemmed from severe psychological trauma from sustained abuse.
For the couple, this was a devastating blow. A child like this was useless to them, and now they glared at Le Qing as if she were an enemy. "What do you think you’re doing?!"
"Hello," Le Qing nodded calmly. "I sent you a message earlier. Once the child is done, let’s find a place to talk?"
She felt no guilt—after all, those were the original host’s actions, not hers.
The couple had received her message shortly after leaving the hospital, but Little Le Jia’s antics had kept them too occupied to reply. Now, they were ready to settle the score.
The woman flung the medical report at Le Qing’s face. "Take a good look at how you deceived us!"
The commotion drew attention, especially since one of the key figures was strikingly attractive. Onlookers edged closer, eager for drama.
Le Qing unhurriedly gathered the scattered documents. She knew the "brain issues" were just the child’s act, but the rest of the report gave her a clearer picture of his physical condition.
A stray thought crossed her mind:
Looks like I’ll need to nourish these kids better. And those injuries… I should buy ointment later.
Her distracted air only fueled the couple’s anger. "Le Qing!"
"Apologies," she said, glancing at the gathering crowd. "Are you sure you want to discuss this here?"
Her composed tone cooled their tempers slightly. Child trafficking was illegal, after all. With dark expressions, they fell silent.
When Little Le Jia finally emerged from the restroom, Le Qing checked to ensure he hadn’t deliberately soiled himself this time before saying, "Follow me."
For the sake of confrontation, the couple trailed her back to the same café. This time, however, they paid no attention to the child they’d bought—they were thoroughly disillusioned with him.
They expected Le Qing to refund them, but they weren’t about to walk away empty-handed.
Le Qing seated the children at a small table within her line of sight, separate from the adults, and ordered them cakes.
The sudden sweetness in the air put Little Le Jia on high alert. He blocked his eager sister from reaching out.
Le Qing was pleased. At last, she saw a glimmer of the "genius child" intelligence in these two.
"I promised Le'an," she said. "This is your share. Eat. No hitting, no scolding. But don’t wander off—wait here until I’m done."
Little Le'an, already a veteran of such treats, licked her lips and whispered, "Brother, Auntie didn’t lie."
Little Le Jia didn’t trust his wicked aunt, but he believed in his naive sister’s "special ability." He clenched his fists but stayed silent.
As Le Qing turned to leave, the little girl tugged her sleeve. "Hmm?"
"Auntie," Little Le'an had been secretly observing the couple who’d bought her brother. Knowing their thoughts, she decided to help. "They don’t like Brother, but they want to make Auntie suffer."
Little Le Jia immediately shoved a forkful of cake into her mouth. "Grown-up stuff. Kids shouldn’t talk about it."
Le Qing was surprised. She’d assumed the sister was just an innocent child, but whether with Shu Qi or this couple, she displayed an uncanny sensitivity beyond her years.
Perhaps this was part of being a prodigy. She nodded and walked away without dwelling on it.
Once she left, Little Le Jia frowned at his sister. "You can’t say things like that."
"Why not?"
"Don’t you know?" He lowered his voice. "Grown-ups have bigger brains. They’re smarter. If they think you’re weird, they’ll bully you."
"But Auntie is helping you," Little Le'an shared what she’d glimpsed in Le Qing’s and the couple’s hearts. "Brother, Auntie might be good now."
Little Le Jia remained skeptical. Staring at the sweet cake, utterly baffled, he finally said, "Watch them. See what they’re saying."
Though she couldn’t hear, from this angle, his sister could see Le Qing’s eyes.
"Mm-hmm!"
Meanwhile, Le Qing poured the couple glasses of plain water. The cakes for the kids were already a splurge—she certainly wasn’t buying coffee for anyone else.
The couple, simmering with resentment, looked ready to explode. Le Qing was used to such confrontations. When in the wrong, letting the other side seize the initiative meant losses. That was why she’d refunded them preemptively.
So she spoke first: "As I mentioned in my message, I want the child back. You’ll get a full refund. For today’s medical expenses and the cost of caring for him these past few days, I’ll reimburse you based on the receipts. Does that work?"
"Does that work?!" The woman nearly slammed the table. "You pawned off a mentally unstable child on us, and now you think you can walk away? No. This is a breach of contract."
Le Qing gazed at her calmly: "There's nothing wrong with his mind."
"The doctor's reports are all here!"
"He's pretending."
"He..." The woman paused, then retorted, "A child couldn't possibly fake it this convincingly!"
Le Qing smiled faintly. "Doesn’t that just prove he’s more determined and clever than most children?"
She continued, "To you, he seems restless, irritable, and incapable of taking care of himself. But just now, he went to the bathroom on his own, and now he’s sitting quietly with his sister. Doesn’t that say something?"
Behind them, Little Le Jia trembled as his sister relayed the conversation.
The bad aunt knew everything. The bad aunt wasn’t here to take him home at all!
He gripped his sister’s hand, resolve hardening in his chest. "We should..."
Run away.
He wouldn’t stay with the bad aunt or those two awful people. He’d be brave and raise his sister himself!
But Little Le'an was too absorbed in her task to notice her brother’s thoughts. Unable to hear the conversation, she focused intently on reading their aunt’s mind, then painstakingly repeated the words aloud.
"...Even if... we take him... home... we can’t let others... think he’s... a stupid child."
Little Le Jia froze mid-climb off the chair, slowly turning to his sister. "What did you say?"
"Huh?" Little Le'an blinked blankly. "That’s what Auntie said."
She stared straight ahead and repeated again, "She thinks... the dispute... is between adults... not the children’s fault... Even if the medical records are fake... no one should misunderstand."
So many words. How could adults say so much at once? She was exhausted.
Little Le Jia’s mind spun, his wide eyes fixed on the unfamiliar figure of his so-called "bad aunt."
In truth, this was exactly what Le Qing believed. While admitting the boy had mental issues might help her regain custody, she couldn’t bear the thought of it. Even if it was just for a few days, even if he was only three, the novel’s protagonist had been sharp enough to fake insanity—a memory that would haunt him forever.
Some memories might fade, but the desperation to survive and the sting of rejection would linger, making it impossible for him to connect with others as he grew.
This was the adults’ mistake, not the child’s burden. Le Qing understood that well, which was why she kept the children away from the grown-ups’ discussions.
Her words made the couple hesitate. When they glanced back, the two children were uncharacteristically well-behaved.
If that was the case, they’d have to reconsider handing them over. Who wouldn’t want a clever child?
The woman frowned. "Then why refund the money? If the child’s fine, you’re breaching the contract."
Le Qing smiled slowly. "Legally, I’m only their aunt. I have no say in their custody. Now that we know their father exists, and given my family’s circumstances, you can probably guess he’s not an ordinary man. I don’t want to risk legal trouble later. I’m sure you understand how this contract would hold up in court."
"Besides," she added, "you wanted a docile child who’d follow your every command. But mine is only three and already this clever—determined, resourceful, willing to do anything to get his way. Are you certain he’ll walk the path you set for him? If not, your losses will be far greater."
Le Qing took a sip of water. "And let’s be honest—you haven’t treated him well. I wouldn’t trust him in your care."
Her gaze flicked pointedly toward the little boy.
The couple had done a complete turnaround after suspecting the child was mentally impaired. Their patience had vanished, and even basic care had slipped—today, they hadn’t even dressed him warmly.
The couple fell silent.
Le Qing’s smile softened. "I’m just helping us both cut our losses."
At the end of the day, raising a puppet and raising a wolf were two different things.
Neither side could afford to drag this into the light of law. Otherwise, the original owner wouldn’t have gotten half the money back through sheer theatrics.
Now, Le Qing had laid out the stakes plainly, even offering a full refund to cover their "losses." It was the most graceful exit possible.
The couple came from good families. They knew what they needed and weren’t foolish enough to act blindly.
Besides, Le Qing wasn’t the same greedy, flighty woman they’d met before. There was a quiet certainty in her now, an air of seeing right through them—and that was what made them pause.
Truthfully, they’d lost nothing but a few days. If they forced the child home, the risks were theirs. If he really was impaired, they’d suffer. If he wasn’t? That was worse. They’d been utterly outplayed.
A kid who’d fake public humiliation would stop at nothing.
When neither spoke, Le Qing knew she’d won. She transferred the remaining money and stood. "It’s getting late. I’ll take the children home. The contract’s void now—let’s hope our paths never cross again. Goodbye."
She walked to the children, and still, the couple said nothing. The matter was settled.
Le Qing glanced at the barely touched cake on the table. "Not hungry?"
Little Le'an shook her head. "Brother didn’t eat."
Le Qing signaled the waiter. "Then we’ll take it to go."
Not a crumb wasted.
Financially, she could’ve refused compensation or returned only half. But her eyes lingered on the stubborn little boy, beautiful in his defiance. He deserved better. She wouldn’t let this shadow him later.
With a quiet exhale, she said, "Let’s go. I promised to take you home."
Little Le Jia’s lips were bitten bloody, his neck stiff as he fought back tears.
Outside the café, Le Qing felt lighter. The siblings held hands on their own—no need for her to guide them.
Walking behind their small, thin frames, she thought of the medical records in her bag, her smile fading slightly.
"Kids," she called.
They turned in unison.
Le Qing studied their clasped hands. "Cold?"
Little Le'an, growing bolder, voiced her first small request. "Auntie, brother’s hands are freezing."
Le Qing nodded. "We’ll buy gloves first, then head home."
Gloves!
Other children wore fluffy mittens when they went out. Little Le'an had always envied them—she and her brother never had any, couldn’t afford them.
After arriving at the household goods store, the two children seemed a little uneasy. Le Qing picked out two pairs of gloves for them and asked, "Do you like these?"
Little Le'an thought every pair looked lovely and nodded eagerly. "Yes!"
Little Le Jia, however, stayed silent.
Le Qing raised an eyebrow imperceptibly. This clever child was probably still trying to figure out why she had suddenly changed her attitude and brought him home. It would take him a while to make sense of it, so she simply bought both the pink and blue pairs and went to check out.
Once outside the store, she handed each child a pair. "Put them on yourselves."
Indeed, at his age, Little Le Jia couldn’t quite grasp the reason behind her actions. While his younger sister happily fiddled with her pink bunny gloves, he held his gloves without moving and finally mustered the courage to ask, "Why? Why buy us gloves? You don’t like us."
Compared to the mean, scowling aunt from before, this version of Le Qing unsettled him even more.
"Mm," Le Qing didn’t deny it.
Hearing her confirmation, Little Le Jia pressed his lips together but felt a strange sense of relief. This made sense—it aligned with what he knew.
Yet, despite that, the words still left him feeling uneasy.
Then, in the next moment, the woman before him added, "But I don’t dislike you either."
His small body tensed inexplicably, and he stared fixedly at this puzzling aunt.
Only Little Le'an, who was busy tangling her gloves, didn’t understand. She looked up, glancing between her aunt and her brother. "Huh?"
Le Qing didn’t expect them to fully comprehend her words. She crouched down, gently adjusting the gloves for the struggling Little Le'an until they were properly on. Then she turned to the boy, who was as prickly as a little hedgehog. "But these are my own issues—they have nothing to do with you. You’re both good kids."
"Taking care of you is my responsibility, so you can make requests of me, understand?"
Little Le Jia didn’t understand. In fact, he wondered if he was sick like his sister—otherwise, why did he suddenly feel like this aunt wasn’t so bad?
Le Qing straightened up quickly. "Stop overthinking it. Let’s go home for dinner."
Before that, though, she needed to buy groceries. Today, she could finally ask the children what they wanted to eat. There was still a little money left on her card.
After compensating for those expenses, half of the money from selling her bag remained. But with no income coming in, this wasn’t sustainable. The gathering was still a few days away, and beyond that, she had no concrete plans for survival.
Le Qing sighed quietly. There was still a long, long way to go before she could repay the child support. As she watched the little boy fiddling with his gloves, she suddenly remembered the few hundred yuan in their phone accounts.
The book had mentioned much more than just a few hundred—they had managed to support themselves and thrived.
But what could a three-year-old possibly do?
Maybe they could give her some ideas too.
