Rebirth from the Ashes

Frustrated, Mrs. Chen gave Chen Xiaonian a good slap.

Chen Xiaonian’s cheek quickly swelled up with a fresh handprint as he wailed louder.

Mrs. Chen did not hold back as she picked up a drumstick to whack the kid. It was all a show for Shen Xi and the group.

Shen Xi was without a word.

Li Yuan remained silent.

Scared, Lu Guoguo clung tightly to Shen Xi’s leg while hiding behind her. Her tiny head poking from behind revealed the displeasure in her doe eyes.

Bad boy. Chen Xiaonian was a big bully! He should be taught a lesson so he would leave her and her brother alone.

The female instructor who had been trying to be the mediator could not take it any further. These kids were her students. Sure, Chen Xiaonian was spoiled rotten and naughty, but that did not mean he was mean in nature. He was a child and not rotten to the core.

Besides, monkey see, monkey do. The child was only mimicking the adults.

“Mrs. Chen.” The female instructor stopped her. “We could talk about this. Don’t beat the kid.”

Mrs. Chen turned ashen in the face. “Move aside. I need to get it through his head today. He shows no remorse. I need to beat him until he admits to his mistake.”

The female instructor looked at Shen Xi for help, hoping she could say a few words. The bickering and fighting between children should not spiral into such a mess.

Shen Xi was of the opinion that Mrs. Chen was something else, acting all puffed up when she entered the room. It was changed in the blink of an eye. At the end of the day, Mrs. Chen was a bully.

Mrs. Chen would give them hell if they were ordinary people of ordinary families.

The child was spoiled rotten by the parents. He was bound to grow up to be a defiant loser. A proper lesson would only do him good.

Mrs. Chen chased after Chen Xiaonian around the classroom to hit him. The kid was running away while crying about telling Grandpa and Grandma on her to get his revenge. Shen Xi scoffed coldly before moving her gaze to the panicking instructor. “Miss, we’re done here. We should get going.”

She then held one kid on each side and turned on her heel to leave.

Li Yuan picked up the pace.

Once at the door, Shen Xi uttered, “Your father has something on today, so he told me to pick you up. How about we go out for dinner later?”

With her eyes lit up, Lu Guoguo incessantly nodded and shyly replied, “Sure.”

Lu Zhen said nothing but gently bobbed his head.

The noise of pursuit and beating in the classroom gradually stopped after they left. Chen Xiaonian could pass out from all the sobbing. While gasping for air, Mrs. Chen could not hide the nervousness in her eyes. She wondered if hitting her son was enough for the Fu family to let the whole matter go.

The father of Lu Li’s children turned out to be the eldest son of the Fu family, Fu Qingli. She must keep the secret and not let the cat out of the bag.

She could not be the only one to suffer from this. There were many other third-rate families who could not stand the sight of Lu Li and talked smack about her. They should get a taste of this as well.

The music center was on the fourth floor of the children’s section in a big mall. The third floor was the children’s play area with many facilities to offer.

In the lift, Lu Guoguo looked around with sparkling eyes. She wanted to get in on every attraction. Nevertheless, she was not especially close to Shen Xi after all. As a sensible child, she knew better than to demand rides like other kids.

Lu Zhen might be mature for his age, but he was still only three years old. Although it was hard to resist the temptation for some fun, he rather held his tongue.

Shen Xi, on the other hand, was a happy kid, pointing at the incoming train. “Guoguo, Lil’ Zhen, shall we get on the choo-choo ride?”

Lu Guoguo stared at the train, envious of the kids enjoying the choo-choo ride with their parents.

Lu Zhen did not express any opinion. There were still a lot of seats available on the ride.

Li Yuan ran over to flag the train down. He carried and placed Lu Guoguo onto the ride before smiling at his fair lady.

Shen Xi did not have the cheek to let him carry her onto the train in public. They were at the children’s area after all. It would look bad.

She was about to get in there when Lu Zhen held her hand. The little man finally spoke, “Aunty, I’ll sit with my sister.”

After a quick pause, Shen Xi happily bent over to carry him and put him next to Lu Guoguo. She earnestly said, “Sit tight.”

With her smiley eyes, Lu Guoguo bobbed her head and held onto Lu Zhen. “Aunty, Uncle, hurry up and get in. The train is about to set out.”

Her kiddish and sweet voice invited friendly smiles and looks from those on the train and passersby.

Shen Xi got onto the train at last.

Looking at her, Li Yuan extended his arm out to her.

Shen Xi grabbed his hand and pulled him aboard. It was a different kind of happiness just sitting side by side on the kid’s train ride.

Li Yuan took a glance at Lu Zhen. The kid was taciturn, but he was quick-witted. He sure had a bright future ahead of him, knowing to create some alone time for him and his fair lady.

The young and old pairs were head-turners. The passersby, adults, and children on the rides could not help but look at them.

The choo-choo ride had never received such attention, so much so the driver was flattered.

The train stopped after its round.

Shen Xi and Li Yuan each carried one child off the train and arrived at the bumper cars. Shen Xi asked Lu Guoguo who was in her arms. “Do you want to get on the bumper ride?” Li Yuan stared at the girl dotingly, imagining the same situation with their children if they were to have them.

Lu Guoguo nodded. “Yes.”

Since his sister wanted to play, Lu Zhen was going to keep her company for sure. He secretly wanted to try the ride too. However, they had to sit next to an adult for the ride.

Taking one car, Shen Xi and Lu Guoguo chose the tiger.

Li Yuan and Lu Zhen picked the cat.

Shen Xi and Lu Guoguo laughed joyfully when the cars bumped into each other. The adults and kids were having a blast.

Li Yuan looked at the girls with a smile.

Lu Zhen had a grin plastered on his face. Judging by the glimmer in his huge eyes, the boy appeared happy too.

Shen Xi looked at Lu Zhen, who had been a master of keeping his emotions inside, and asked, “Lil’ Zhen, was that fun?”

The kid was already a chip off the old block at such a young age. Looking at him, Shen Xi could imagine that Fu Qingli was the same during his younger days.