At first, Yunsheng ate timidly, taking tiny bites.
But the magic of sweets was irresistible—especially to a child whose emotions had been through such a whirlwind.
The warm, sugary flavor melted on his tongue, driving away some of the coldness and unease lingering inside him.
Little by little, he relaxed. Copying the other children, he carefully picked up strands of spun sugar. When he watched them stretch into long, delicate threads, a spark of wonder and joy lit up his eyes.
Su Jiuyue barely ate. She simply sat nearby, watching them.
Most of her attention rested on Yunsheng.
Seeing the little boy gradually let down his guard and quietly enjoy the sweet potato cakes filled her with relief.
The child was just too cautious.
The “feast” lasted until the sun had begun to sink toward the west.
By the end, every child was rubbing their round little bellies and burping happily.
They all thanked Su Jiuyue before leaving, already making plans to come back and play together the next day.
Once the children had gone, the house became quiet again.
Su Jiuyue started washing the dishes while Jiaojiao obediently wiped down the table.
Yunsheng silently hovered nearby, wanting to help, but having no idea what he should do. He simply stood there awkwardly.
“Alright, you two,” Su Jiuyue said after washing and drying her hands. She walked over and took one child by each hand.
“You’ve both worked hard today. Go wash your faces and change into clean clothes first.”
By the time the children had cleaned up and were sitting side by side on the kang bed in the inner room, darkness had already settled outside.
Su Jiuyue closed the door, pulled over a chair, and sat in front of them.
The silence in the room made the atmosphere unusually solemn.
Jiaojiao seemed to know her mother had something important to say. She sat up straight with both hands neatly resting on her knees.
Yunsheng, however, felt his heart tighten again.
The relaxation brought on by the delicious food disappeared as his nerves tensed once more.
Was it coming now? Was she finally going to settle today’s score?
Su Jiuyue looked at the two children. Her eyes first landed on Jiaojiao, full of tenderness.
“Jiaojiao, you were frightened today, weren’t you?”
Jiaojiao nodded, then shook her head.
“I was scared at first. But once Mommy came, I wasn’t afraid anymore. Mommy, that bad woman said such awful things.”
“I know. Mommy heard everything.”
Su Jiuyue gently stroked her daughter’s cheek before turning to Yunsheng.
Yunsheng unconsciously held his breath.
“Yunsheng,” Su Jiuyue said softly, her voice gentle yet unmistakably clear, “you did the right thing today.”
Yunsheng’s head snapped up.
He stared at her in complete disbelief, convinced he had misheard.
He… did the right thing?
He had hit someone. He had caused such a huge commotion…
“When you saw Jiaojiao being bullied, you rushed over to protect her without hesitation. That was the right thing to do.”
There wasn’t the slightest trace of blame in Su Jiuyue’s eyes.
“You’re her older brother. Protecting your little sister is exactly what an older brother should do.”
Yunsheng’s lips trembled.
He wanted to say something.
But no words came out.
Instead, his eyes inexplicably grew warm.
Su Jiuyue leaned forward and gently took both children’s hands.
Her gaze moved slowly between Jiaojiao and Yunsheng, her expression more serious and resolute than ever before.
Every word she spoke etched itself into their hearts.
“Jiaojiao. Yunsheng. Listen carefully and remember this for the rest of your lives.”
“What Mommy is about to say—you must never forget.”
“If someone deliberately bullies you, picks on you, hits you first, or insults you first…”
“You don’t have to be polite.”
“Hit back with everything you’ve got!”
“Hit where it hurts so they’ll remember that our family isn’t easy to bully!”
Jiaojiao’s eyes sparkled.
“I’ll remember!” she answered enthusiastically.
Yunsheng, however, was completely stunned.
Hit them as hard as you can?
This…
This was the exact opposite of everything he’d ever been taught.
Endure.
Don’t cause trouble.
If someone hits you, run away.
Su Jiuyue saw the confusion and shock in his eyes and knew he needed clearer guidance.
“Of course,” she added, “I’m talking about situations where you’re in the right and they started bullying you first. If you’re the one who made the mistake, that’s different.”
“And if there are too many of them, or it’s obvious you can’t win…”
“Then don’t fight to the bitter end.”
“Protect yourselves and run.”
“Go find an adult. Find Mommy. Find someone you trust.”
“Remember this—there’s no shame in running if you can’t win. Keeping yourself safe is the most important thing.”
“As long as Mommy is here, I’ve got your backs.”
“Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.”
“We never go looking for trouble.”
“But when trouble comes knocking, we won’t be afraid of it either.”
“No one gets to trample all over our family.”
“Do you understand?”
“I understand!” Jiaojiao answered loudly, her little face glowing with pride.
Yunsheng stared into Su Jiuyue’s eyes, filled with unwavering determination and fierce protectiveness.
His throat tightened painfully.
The words—
“Mommy’s here.”
—struck his frozen heart like a heavy hammer.
The walls he had built over countless lonely years cracked violently, shaking even his soul.
He nodded desperately.
Again.
And again.
As if afraid she wouldn’t notice.
“Good boy.”
Su Jiuyue released their hands and gently ruffled both children’s hair.
“You’ve both had a long day. Go to sleep early.”
“Yunsheng, your bedding is already laid out beside Jiaojiao’s.”
“If you’re scared or don’t feel well tonight, just call for Mommy. I’ll be sleeping in the outer room.”
After everything that had happened today, she worried the children might come down with a fever.
Although Jiaojiao hadn’t complained, seeing how unreasonable Li Yanchuan had been, Su Jiuyue knew the child had still been hurt emotionally.
She couldn’t help worrying.
Late that night, silence filled the house.
To Su Jiuyue’s surprise, Jiaojiao seemed completely fine.
She quickly drifted off to sleep.
Whatever wonderful dream she was having, she occasionally smacked her lips in her sleep, the corners of her mouth curled into a sweet smile.
The kang had probably been heated a little too much.
She spent the entire night kicking off her blanket.
But beside her…
Yunsheng remained awake for a very long time.
His eyes stayed fixed on the dim outline of the ceiling as Su Jiuyue’s words echoed endlessly in his ears.
“Hit back as hard as you can…”
“Mommy’s here…”
Those words collided with cold voices buried deep within his memories.
For some reason, he remembered when he had been even younger.
A hazy place that smelled strongly of disinfectant and was filled with indifferent eyes.
There had once been someone responsible for looking after him.
Not his mother.
A nanny… probably.
He had been burning with a high fever.
His whole body felt as though it were on fire.
Feeling miserable, he had quietly cried.
The nanny had come over impatiently.
Instead of gently comforting him, she had roughly wiped his face with a cold towel while cursing under her breath.
“Why are you crying? You’re so annoying!”
“You little burden! All you ever do is cause trouble!”
“Cry one more time, and I’ll throw you outside!”
The icy towel.
The icy words.
And that bone-deep terror of being hated…
Being unwanted…
He had been so frightened that he immediately fell silent.
No matter how miserable he felt or how tightly he curled himself into a ball, he didn’t dare make another sound.
It was as though the whole world had abandoned him…
Back then…
He had wished with all his heart that there would be someone—
Someone who would comfort him.
Someone he could lean on.
But…
There had been no one.