Su Jiuyue waited for a while, watching the children happily playing together. But it was almost time for work, so she walked over.
She reminded Jiaojiao and Yunsheng to stay near the courtyard entrance and play with the other children instead of wandering off, then hurried to the cafeteria to start her shift.
With their mother’s permission—and with Liu Pangzi, the neighborhood’s most energetic troublemaker, taking the lead—the children quickly gathered more playmates.
Before long, their little group had grown to seven or eight children, chattering noisily as they played.
Someone suddenly suggested, “Let’s go to the training grounds! There’s lots of space over there to run around!”
The idea was met with instant enthusiasm. To children, the training grounds always held a special allure, especially with the obstacle course and sandpit nearby.
Laughing and shouting, the little group headed toward the training field.
To get there, they had to pass through a relatively deserted area where several abandoned warehouses stood.
Hardly anyone came here anymore. Only children liked using it as a shortcut.
The children were walking excitedly when, all of a sudden, a man stepped out from behind one of the warehouse corners.
He looked to be in his forties and wore a faded military uniform that had clearly seen better days.
He smiled warmly, appearing kind enough. In his hand was a small bag of brightly wrapped fruit candies, their colorful wrappers glittering invitingly in the afternoon sun.
“Hello, kids,” the man greeted with a hoarse but gentle voice as he took a few steps closer.
“Can you do Uncle a favor? I dropped something into the ditch behind that warehouse, but I can’t get it out by myself. Since there are so many of you, could you help me retrieve it?”
He shook the bag of candy enticingly.
“See these? They’re delicious! If you help Uncle, I’ll give all of them to you. How about that?”
If they had been ordinary children, seeing candy and hearing such a friendly request from a man in military uniform, they might have agreed.
Sure enough, Liu Pangzi swallowed instinctively at the sight of the candy, already taking a step forward.
Just as he was about to say yes, Jiaojiao suddenly grabbed his arm.
She pulled with surprising strength, nearly making him stumble.
“Run!” Jiaojiao whispered urgently.
Without the slightest hesitation, she spun around, grabbed the still-confused Yunsheng by the hand, and sprinted back the way they had come.
The other children had no idea what was happening, but Jiaojiao had always been someone they trusted. Seeing her run so decisively, they froze for only a second before instinctively following her.
After running several steps, Liu Pangzi finally caught his breath enough to ask between gasps,
“Ji-Jiaojiao! Why are we running? Didn’t that uncle just ask us for help? He was even giving us candy!”
Jiaojiao didn’t even look back.
Her little face was tense, and though she was panting from running, her voice remained remarkably clear.
“He’s a bad guy! Mom said that strangers—especially adults who use candy to lure children to secluded places—are definitely bad people! Hurry! Let’s go find Uncle Huo!”
The moment the children heard the words “bad guy,” they ran even faster.
Their short little legs pumped furiously as the temptation of candy was instantly replaced by fear.
Jiaojiao had only one thought in her mind:
Find Uncle Huo!
Uncle Huo was the commander. He was the strongest. He would definitely catch the bad guy.
Leading the frightened little flock like a mother duck, she raced straight toward the headquarters building.
Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on their side.
By the time they reached Huo Tingxuan’s office, panting heavily, the guard informed them,
“Commander Huo has gone to division headquarters for a meeting. He won’t be back until this afternoon.”
Jiaojiao froze.
Uncle Huo wasn’t here…
What were they supposed to do now?
Just as panic set in, she looked up—and saw the one person she least wanted to see.
Li Yanchuan.
He was walking over from another path with several company commanders, all in military uniforms, apparently having just finished a discussion.
Li Yanchuan also spotted the flushed, frightened group of children.
When he noticed Jiaojiao leading them, his brows immediately knitted together.
A little girl leading a bunch of boys running wildly through the military compound? Completely improper!
All the frustration he’d been bottling up over the past few days suddenly exploded.
He strode over and blocked the children’s path.
“Jiaojiao!”
His face darkened as he barked,
“What do you think you’re doing? You’re a young lady! Running around all day with a bunch of boys—have you no manners at all?”
In the past, Jiaojiao might have been a little afraid of him.
Or she might have simply ignored him and run away.
But Uncle Huo wasn’t here…
And she was worried about the bad man.
After being scolded by Li Yanchuan, all the fear and anxiety she’d been holding back suddenly turned into grievance.
She lifted her head and glared at him fearlessly.
She even rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Uncle!”
“If you’ve got time to lecture me about running around, why don’t you go discipline your own son, Li Tao?”
“Tell him to stop bullying people! Tell him to stop stealing other people’s things! Why are you picking on me?”
That single word—”Uncle”—stabbed Li Yanchuan straight through the heart.
And what followed was like a knife twisting deeper.
Especially the words “discipline your own son.”
It was a blatant slap in the face, implying that he couldn’t even raise his own child properly, yet still had the nerve to lecture someone else’s.
“You!”
His face turned livid as he pointed at Jiaojiao.
“I’m your… uncle! Why can’t I discipline you? Listen to the way you’re talking! Have you lost all sense of respect?”
He had almost blurted out the words, “I’m your father.”
“Respect?”
Jiaojiao’s little chest heaved with anger.
She remembered everything her mother had suffered.
She remembered being bullied and wrongly blamed before.
Unable to hold back anymore, she shouted,
“Who have you ever treated with respect?”
“Besides scolding me without even asking what happened, besides forcing me to apologize, what else can you do?”
“Liu Pangzi’s uncle sends him delicious food and fun toys from out of town every month! What about you?”
“All you ever think about is taking our family’s things! You keep trying to squeeze money out of my mom so you can support your new wife and your son! What else can you do? You’re shameless!”
Children often spoke without restraint.
But their innocent words were also the sharpest.
They ripped away every disguise and struck straight at the truth.
Jiaojiao’s accusations not only exposed the hidden thoughts Li Yanchuan himself had never wanted to examine…
She had done it in front of several of his fellow officers.
She laid bare the ugly truth that, despite calling himself an “uncle,” he was selfish, blatantly favored his own family, and even coveted his younger brother’s widow’s property.
“How dare you!”
Li Yanchuan flew into a rage.
The veins on his forehead bulged as blood rushed to his head.
Being rebuked by a mere child—especially by his own daughter—made him completely lose his reason.
He raised his hand and swung it toward Jiaojiao.
“So this is how Su Jiuyue has been raising you?!”
“Then today I’ll teach you a proper lesson in her place!”
“Commander Li!”
“Old Li! Calm down!”
The several company commanders beside him were startled and hurried forward to stop him.