At 5 p.m., batches of kindergarten children were being picked up by their parents.
The Mo family’s three children sat in a row on a long bench outside the security room, their six small feet swinging back and forth.
A yellow backpack suddenly landed at their feet. Not far away, a chubby boy was licking ice cream with his mouth sticky and messy. He pointed at them.
“Hahaha! You still say you have a mom? Still saying your mom is pretty? You really are lying. You three are just unwanted bastards! Hey, Mo Nanqing, hurry up and pick up my backpack!”
Mo Nanqing, sitting in the middle, didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on the melting ice cream dripping down Qi Hao’an’s arm as the boy licked it off.
Mo Nanqing frowned.
“So dirty.”
“What did you say?” Qi Hao’an glared and rushed forward.
Mo Beiyu slid off the bench and stood in front of his two younger brothers with his arms spread.
The security guard leaned out of his booth. “Kids, no fighting.”
“Qi Hao’an, what are you dawdling for? Come here already!”
A tall woman in sunglasses stepped out of a blue Maserati and shouted toward the security room.
Qi Hao’an quickly dropped his ice cream, pointed at Mo Beiyu proudly, and shouted, “Mom! They stole my backpack and ice cream and even tried to hit me!”
Hearing this, the woman—He Minmin—lifted her chin and walked over, sizing up the three children through her sunglasses.
“You three dare bully my son? Pick up the backpack and apologize to him, and bow.”
“We didn’t take his backpack or ice cream, and we didn’t hit him,” Mo Beiyu said, stepping back while still shielding his brothers.
The security guard came out and glanced at He Minmin’s expensive outfit. Clearly another wealthy parent. Most parents here were rich; usually polite, though some were arrogant.
“Ma’am, I think there’s been a misunderstanding. These three children were sitting here waiting for their parents. Your son threw the backpack at them and insulted them, then ran forward pretending to fight. He also threw his own ice cream. You saw the rest.”
“Heh. As expected—kids without proper upbringing.”
He Minmin clearly knew her son’s behavior. She didn’t bother arguing further.
“Qi Hao’an, pick up your backpack. Let’s go.”
She turned and walked toward the car.
Qi Hao’an picked up the backpack, turned back to stick out his tongue at the three children, and swaggered after her.
At that moment, Song Wenxi had just parked her car.
From inside the car, she saw the chubby boy’s strange behavior. Following his line of sight, she saw her three children frowning and standing defensively.
Her expression darkened. She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
“Babies.”
All three children turned at once. Their eyes lit up instantly. They ran toward her together with their backpacks, shouting in unison:
“Mom!”
Song Wenxi opened her arms and bent down, hugging all three of them.
Qi Hao’an turned back and saw this scene. He clenched his fat hand. Hearing his mother urging him, he snorted and climbed into the car.
He Minmin glanced at the mother-and-children embrace, then drove away.
Noticing the children’s mood, Song Wenxi asked gently, “What happened? Sorry, Mommy is late.”
The three little heads shook. Mo Dongchen explained haltingly what happened. Mo Beiyu thought his brother was unclear, so he restated everything.
After hearing the situation, Song Wenxi led them to thank the security guard. The guard waved it off.
“It’s nothing. These three Mo kids are well-behaved. But it’s better if parents pick them up themselves.”
He had always seen the nanny picking them up, and this was the first time he saw them so happy when a parent came.
As they left, Mo Beiyu and Mo Dongchen whispered:
“Next time I want to hold Mom’s hand.”
“Okay, next time we’ll switch.”
After the children were seated safely in their car seats, Mo Beiyu realized Uncle Tang wasn’t here.
“Mom, where is Uncle Tang?”
“He’s off today. Mommy’s driving you. We’re going to the mall. Ready?”
The three little ones’ eyes lit up.
“We’re ready!”
Ten minutes later, a silver Bentley Bentayga stopped at the city’s largest shopping mall.
Song Wenxi carried the three children out and walked inside.
It was their first time here. Their little heads turned everywhere in curiosity.
On the first floor, they saw an ice-skating rink and watched older kids skating.
On the second floor, they entered a boutique store. The children were dazzled by everything.
Song Wenxi glanced around and stopped at a handmade craft—a plastic lotus. The price was just right. She bought it immediately.
“Hello, ma’am. Total is 250 yuan.”
After payment, she asked them to store the item at the counter and continued shopping with the children.
At first, the children were shy, but soon they were captivated by animal models, giant cartoon figures, toys, and artistic displays.
At a children’s playground, all three stopped to look at the castle slide.
“Want to play?” she asked.
Mo Dongchen looked up. “Can we, Mom?”
“Of course. Thirty minutes. Go.”
The three brothers entered the playground and gradually relaxed. They slid, played in the colorful ball pit, and laughed freely. Their childhood joy returned naturally.
After thirty minutes, they were still deeply immersed in play.
Song Wenxi sat outside on a bench and called Nanny Zhao to delay dinner.
Back at the Mo villa.
Nanny Zhao hung up and walked to the living room.
“Sir, Madam called. She said they’ll be back in an hour. Should we eat first?”
Mo Hanche frowned slightly.
“Wait for them.”
He opened WeChat, found Song Wenxi, and typed:
“Where are you? When are you coming home?”
Song Wenxi saw the message and replied:
“BLUE LAKE Mall. About an hour.”
She also sent a photo of the children playing.
Mo Hanche opened it.
He zoomed in.
Mo Beiyu and Mo Dongchen were laughing with their hands raised on the slide, while Mo Nanqing was climbing up happily.
They looked truly joyful.
He thought about his surgery tomorrow and hesitated, then put the phone down.
It was just a minor operation. No need to tell her.
Meanwhile, Song Wenxi checked her phone and saw a message from Jiang Ran:
“Sis Xi, my birthday party is tomorrow night at Club 317. You must come!”
She reacted with an “OK” emoji and closed the chat.