Reborn in the 80s: Divorced and Spoiled by the Military Man - Chapter 166
Chapter 166: Snatching a Child in Broad Daylight
Shen Subai, who had been perfectly casual a moment ago, suddenly went cold in the eyes. He straightened up. “Go buy plane tickets. We’re going back to Haicheng tomorrow.”
“Oh. Huh?”
Tian Hao was stunned. “Brother Shen, didn’t you just say we were going back the day after tomorrow? And that we had to spend money sparingly?”
But Shen Subai was already striding toward the courtyard, leaving only one sentence behind. “Time is more important than money.”
…
That evening, Lu Zhixing brought Xiaowei over. Although he had been splashed with leftovers that morning, his expression was still gentle. “Yunshu, I’ll come pick him up again tomorrow.”
“No need. Let Xiaowei stay with me.” Xie Yunshu refused him outright. She had no desire to see Lu Zhixing twice a day.
Lu Zhixing had finally gotten a chance to see her every day, but now his face dimmed. After a moment, he gave a soft laugh. “That’s fine too. Xiaowei will have to get used to being with you sooner or later anyway. I’ve been preparing the documents for my divorce from Zhou Xinyue these past two days…”
“That has nothing to do with me. You can leave now.” Xie Yunshu took Xiaowei’s hand and headed toward the canteen. She had already decided to go to the Police Station tomorrow. Even if Ji Si’an did not want the child, she could not leave him by Zhou Xinyue’s side.
That woman was rotten to the core. Who knew what she might do to the child?
Compared with yesterday, Xiaowei’s expression seemed a little more animated. When they reached the back kitchen and he saw Li Fenlan, he even took the initiative to call out softly, “Grandma.”
Li Fenlan smiled and crouched down, producing a piece of candy from her palm. “Do you want some milk candy? It’s very sweet.”
Xiaowei nodded and put the candy into his pocket, but he did not seem inclined to eat it.
Xie Yunshu got him a serving of food, then asked gently, “Starting tomorrow, you’ll stay with me. Would you like that?”
She saw Xiaowei’s eyes light up ever so slightly, only for the light to fade again almost at once. “You’re not Mom.”
After he said it, he seemed terrified. He clutched the candy in his pocket tightly, then gestured with his little hand. “She has needles. It hurts.”
The “she” he meant was Zhou Xinyue. Xie Yunshu was certain of it.
“Don’t be afraid. She can’t beat me.” Xie Yunshu stroked his head, ladled food from the pot, and set it down. “Eat up like a good boy. No one will hit you again. I promise.”
Xiaowei looked up at her, remembering how his mother had once held him and told him not to be afraid too. At last, a faint, fragile smile appeared on his face. “Not afraid.”
After returning that night, Xie Yunshu began thinking about moving into the small courtyard as soon as possible. Otherwise, things were simply too inconvenient.
As usual, Li Fenlan was still knitting a sweater. She glanced at Xiaowei, who was sitting obediently outside watching television, and this time she agreed. “All right. Moving over there would be good too.”
Meanwhile, Zhou Xinyue, who had just come out of a small restaurant, did not return to the Family Compound. She had not expected Xie Yunshu to simply keep Xiaowei with her. Such a perfect opportunity could not be missed. The five hundred yuan Lu Zhixing had given her for her future living expenses could be put to good use framing Xie Yunshu…
“Just do as I say. Do whatever you want with the child. Sell him or throw him away, I don’t care. In short, don’t let me see him again.”
Standing before her were two men dressed very plainly, one short and fat, the other tall and thin. With their shifty eyes and furtive manner, anyone could tell at a glance that they were no good.
“Why don’t the two of us just sell that woman too while we’re at it? A girl in her twenties is worth more than a child!”
The short, fat man rubbed his hands together and stuffed the money into his pocket. “Things have been strict lately, with the higher-ups cracking down. Since selling one is selling anyway, we might as well make a bigger profit!”
Zhou Xinyue glanced at him. “Absolutely not. If you sell her, who’s going to take the blame for me? I want Lu Zhixing to live with guilt toward me for the rest of his life. He can forget about ever getting rid of me!”
Back then, if Lu Zhixing had not been so fond of pitiful people, and if she had not benefited from it, she never would have thought of coaxing Xiaowei out and using the child to keep Lu Zhixing hooked! And now Lu Zhixing wanted to divorce her? How could that possibly happen?
Early the next morning, Li Fenlan went to the canteen first. Xie Yunshu planned to take Xiaowei to school before heading to the Police Station. Just as she was leaving, she happened to run into Lin Cuiping on her way to work.
Lin Cuiping was pushing her bicycle. The moment her eyes landed on Xiaowei, her expression changed. “Xie Yunshu, why did you bring this child back? Has your brain short-circuited again?”
This time, Xie Yunshu didn’t argue with her. “The child’s right here. Watch your mouth.”
Lin Cuiping’s lips twitched. “Anyway, don’t remarry Lu Zhixing. One look at him and you can tell he’s weak. He definitely couldn’t beat my boyfriend. If that happens, I’ll laugh myself to death over you.”
“Got it.” Xie Yunshu took a White Rabbit Creamy Candy from her pocket and tossed it to her, asking casually, “On your wedding day, do you need me to send you off?”
Lin Cuiping huffed angrily. “How much are you giving me in the red envelope, huh? And you want to send me off? I think you just want to bring that one-meter-eighty-five guy along to make me mad and compare him to my boyfriend, don’t you?”
Both of them were on bicycles. Around the bend of the Lane was a small alley with barely anyone around. At the far end, a battered old van was parked.
Xiaowei sat on Xie Yunshu’s bicycle. He was also holding a piece of candy. He peeled off the wrapper, then carefully wrapped it back up, only to peel it open again and wrap it back up once more.
Lin Cuiping couldn’t stand watching it anymore and simply stuffed her own candy into his hand as well. “Here, you can have both. It’s just a piece of candy. Do you have to treasure it like that?”
Xie Yunshu squeezed the brake. “Enough already. The only filthy thing about you is that mouth of yours. Aren’t you going to work?”
“Ha. Like your mouth is sweet. You’re the one who talks dirty!” Lin Cuiping curled her lip and pedaled off toward the east.
The accident happened in an instant…
Two men jumped out of the van, snatched Xiaowei up, and ran. In the process, they even knocked Lin Cuiping down.
A piece of creamy candy fell to the ground and rolled into the dust.
Xie Yunshu reacted with lightning speed. She threw her bicycle to the ground and chased after them, shouting back at Lin Cuiping, “Human traffickers! Hurry, get help!”
These two men were repeat offenders. In the past, they had done plenty of stealing and roadside robberies. They had only been out of prison for a few days when Zhou Xinyue found them. Not only would they get two hundred yuan as payment, they would also get a child for nothing, so of course they were willing.
For this big “deal,” the two of them had even rented a van. They had thought it would be foolproof. Who could have expected that the woman with the child would be so fierce that she would actually dare to jump into the van right after them?
“Get the hell off, or we’ll sell you too!”
Fatty, who was holding Xiaowei, was shocked and hurriedly tried to shove her off. “Don’t fucking get in the way of me making money!”
Xie Yunshu gritted her teeth and kicked him hard between the legs first, then followed with a punch to his head. “Let go of the child!”
She had put real force into that kick. Fatty doubled over in pain, clutching his crotch as cold sweat broke out across his face. “Fuck, this bitch has a death wish!”
Xiaowei rolled out of his arms. Xie Yunshu caught him, shoved him toward the back seat, then immediately landed several vicious kicks on Fatty. “Stop the car!”
Fatty covered his head and lunged at her. “I’ll do you right here in the car!”
Xie Yunshu was ruthless too. Every kick she threw went straight for Fatty’s vital spot. “Then we’ll die together! Let’s see what’s harder, your manhood or my foot!”
Even Fatty probably hadn’t expected a woman to be able to fight him the whole way, and the more she fought, the fiercer she became. Even Skinny, who was driving up front, was scared. Whose woman fought like she didn’t care whether she lived or died?
If this kept going, forget selling the child-once the police arrived, both of them would be going right back to prison! Skinny gritted his teeth and drove toward the agreed-upon location. He refused to believe that the two of them, two grown men, couldn’t handle one woman.
Outside the Lane, Lin Cuiping crawled up from the ground, her mind completely blank. She actually forgot to call the police first. Her first instinct was to go find Xie Yunshu’s man for help…
