Lu Wanwan was stunned when she heard that. Holding the children, she turned around and, sure enough, saw that the jeep was still parked at the entrance of the alley. Behind the half-open window, Zhou Yushen’s gaze was fixed on her.
Why hasn’t he left yet?
She wondered to herself, but remembering that he had kindly given her a ride home, she carried the children and walked over.
“Comrade Zhou, you haven’t left yet?” she asked politely.
Zhou Yushen pushed open the car door and got out. He was tall, and standing in the alley, he nearly blocked half of the slanting evening sunlight.
His gaze fell on the little child resting against Lu Wanwan’s neck, and his usually cold expression seemed to soften for a moment.
“Tuantuan, Yuanyuan, say hello to Uncle Zhou,” Lu Wanwan said, patting the children’s backs.
“Hello, unco!” Yuanyuan was bolder. Her bright eyes looked curiously at Zhou Yushen as she called out sweetly, revealing a few tiny baby teeth.
Tuantuan, on the other hand, was a bit shy. He buried his face in his mother’s neck, only peeking out with one eye to secretly observe.
“Hello,” Zhou Yushen’s voice unconsciously softened. Looking at the delicate twin siblings, he felt something in his heart melt slightly, like being brushed by a feather.
For some reason, he found the two little ones very endearing and liked them from the bottom of his heart.
Out of habit, he reached into his pocket to take out something as a greeting gift, but only found half a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
He paused, then smiled at the children. “Next time Uncle comes, I’ll bring you White Rabbit milk candies.”
Yuanyuan’s eyes lit up instantly, and she clapped her hands. “Yuanyuan knows! Bunny milk candy! Xiaoshun has some! I heard they’re very sweet!”
Beside her, Tuantuan pouted and muttered softly, “Xiaoshun is bad! He bullies little sister!”
The smile on Lu Wanwan’s face immediately faded. She set the children down and crouched in front of her daughter. “Yuanyuan, did Xiaoshun bully you? When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell Mommy?”
Seeing her mother’s serious face, Yuanyuan’s lips trembled as tears welled up in her big eyes. “Brother and I… were playing with pebbles. Xiaoshun grabbed mine and… and pushed me…”
The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. “He said… brother and I are wild children… but Yuanyuan has Mommy, we’re not wild children!”
Lu Wanwan’s face darkened completely. Anger surged straight to her head. She could endure any grievance herself, but she would never tolerate anyone bullying her children like this!
She abruptly stood up, took one child in each hand, and turned to walk straight into the courtyard.
Zhou Yushen’s eyes flickered, and he immediately followed.
The courtyard where Lu Wanwan rented a room was a typical old Beijing compound, with seven or eight families living inside.
It was dinner time. Coal stoves smoked at each doorway, and the sounds of stir-frying, talking, and children crying mixed together, full of noisy everyday life.
Lu Wanwan walked straight to the innermost room on the west side. The door was open, and a stout elderly woman in her fifties, wearing a dark blue jacket, was sitting on a small stool picking chives.
“Grandma Liu!” Lu Wanwan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an unmistakable anger. “Where is your Xiaoshun?”
Grandma Liu looked up, her triangular eyes glancing sideways. Seeing it was Lu Wanwan, she immediately raised her brows rudely. “Oh, it’s Xiao Lu. What do you want with our Xiaoshun? Did your two little ones cause trouble for him again?”
Lu Wanwan was so angry at her reversing the blame that she laughed. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Grandma Liu, I’d like to ask how you raise your child! Xiaoshun is seven or eight years old, right? Bigger than both my kids combined! He snatched my daughter’s toy, pushed her, and even called them ‘wild children’! Is this your family’s upbringing?!”
Her voice was clear, and with that outburst, people from the other households peeked out. Some held bowls, others spatulas, all looking eager for drama.
Grandma Liu’s face couldn’t hold up. She threw down the chives and stood up with her hands on her hips. “Lu Wanwan! Don’t you dare slander us! My Xiaoshun is very well-behaved! It’s your two kids—no father to teach them, no proper upbringing—running around the courtyard all day making noise! Who knows who started it!”
“Say that again?!” Lu Wanwan snapped back, eyes blazing. “You old woman, how can you spout such filth! My children were quietly playing with pebbles at the door—how could that bother your grandson? He bullied them and now you’re twisting the truth?!”
“If you’re going to be this unreasonable, I’ll go to the Women’s Federation and get a fair judgment!”
“Bah! You’re the one talking filth!” Grandma Liu spat, almost spraying saliva on Lu Wanwan. “You’re just a country widow with two burdens. Your presence here is bad luck! Acting all pure and innocent—who knows what dirty things you do behind the scenes! And you dare argue with me? My son is an officer in the army! He’s well-connected! Go ahead, find whoever you want—even the Women’s Federation—let’s see who believes you!”
Her words were harsh. Some people around frowned, but no one spoke up. Grandma Liu was known in the courtyard for being fierce, and with her son holding a small position in the army, no one wanted trouble.
Lu Wanwan wasn’t one to take insults. She simply went all out. “Fine! I’ll go find Director Li of the Women’s Federation right now! I refuse to believe that in this new society, there’s no place for justice! Just because your son is in the army, does that mean his family can bully a widow and her children?!”
“Go ahead! Who’s stopping you?” Grandma Liu sneered confidently. “Let’s see whether Director Li believes me, a long-time city resident, or you, some countryside widow who came out of nowhere!”
Lu Wanwan clenched her fists, about to argue further, when a deep, cold male voice suddenly cut in.
“Heh, since when did the people’s army become a shield for bullying civilians?”
The courtyard instantly fell silent. Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a tall man in military uniform standing at the entrance.
Lu Wanwan turned around, surprise flashing across her face. She hadn’t expected someone like Zhou Yushen to involve himself in such trivial matters, and remembering that he had just seen her fierce side, she felt an inexplicable embarrassment.
Zhou Yushen stepped forward to stand beside her. His icy gaze fell on Grandma Liu as he spoke slowly, “Madam, which unit does your son belong to? His designation, name, and position—tell me.”
“I’d like to ask him in person whether military discipline allows family members to use their status to bully others!”