Very Attentive

“You little rascal! I’ve got you now! Don’t you dare run from me!” Cai Yan was trying to catch her breath as her face went bright red while wrestling with the skinny teenager.

The teenager was huffing and puffing, as he whimpered, “What are you talking about? I didn’t steal anything!”

“Cut it with the excuse!” Cai Yan eagerly snatched the snakeskin purse from the hands of the teen. “How dumb are you to think that I would believe this is yours?”

Casual bystanders flocked to the scene, as they gossiped about the incident, mostly words of criticism for the teen.

Cai Ning held on her sister’s hand as she persuaded, “Yanyan, he’s just a kid. There’s no need to be this harsh on him.”

“Elder Sister, you don’t understand. Kids these days need to be taught a lesson!” Cai Yan proudly pointed at the teen as she taunted, “Look, kid, tell me your name, house address, and your age. You better be honest to me, or else I will send you straight to the police station!”

The teen wailed louder at the mention of the police station, as he repeatedly pleaded her not to.

Yang Chen was a little frustrated by the incident as he stood up for the kid. “Yanyan, just look at that poor kid. We are not in Zhonghai right now. Let’s leave this matter to the people in charge.”

Cai Yan gave a gentle hush as she replied, “Where is the securit—”

Before she finished her sentence, a middle-aged woman draped in lavish jewelry with a huge handbag in her hand forced her way through the crowd as her heels clacked. In a menacingly high pitch, she taunted Cai Yan who still had a tight grip on the kid, “Let go of my son!”

Upon ending her sentence, the woman rushed towards Cai Yan and dragged the teen into her embrace. She stared furiously at Cai Yan before ranting, “Look at what you’ve done! You’re making him cry. Are you crazy?”

Cai Yan was dumbfounded, pointing at the woman as she stuttered, “You… This… isn’t your purse being pickpocketed?”

“Pickpocketed?” The women was so furious she broke into laughter. “Are you blind? I gave him permission to take the purse from me because he wanted to buy a turtle. I made him go on his own. How blind do you think I am, or any of these people?”

The surrounding crowd of bystanders instantly broke into laughter. This dramatic plot twist turned Cai Yan into the centre of attention.

Yang Chen himself was trying hard to contain his laughter. As for Cai Ning, she facepalmed and turned her head away, embarrassed that the one causing a scene was none other than her younger sister.

Cai Yan frowned as she guiltily stared at the purse in her hands. She then pouted and asked, “How can it be? If that’s the case, why did he run? He could have just told me the truth…”

“Aunt?! Do I look that old?!” Her pupils enlarged at his reply.

Frightened, the teen once again burst into tears.

The woman panicked as she agitatedly taunted Cai Yan, “Why are you continuously threatening my son?! Are you a mental institution fugitive? At least give it some thought before you play hero!

“You ran straight towards my son confidently identifying him as a thief. Before I could grasp the situation the both of you disappeared. How was I able to make my point! How easy do you think it is to run in heels?! This is crazy! If it’s not because you’re a woman I would take you straight to the police! Crazy woman, give me my purse back!”

The woman reached for her purse while she cursed under her breath before taking her crybaby of a son away from the scene.

The crowd of bystanders were seemingly amused by the self-inflicted embarrassment by the beauty.

Cai Yan glanced around her surroundings. “What are all of you looking at huh? What’s so funny? On your way you go!”

The crowd was wary of this slightly aggressive woman, as they instantly dispersed to separate ways.

Yang Chen scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward smile. “Chief Cai, I think I might have hypertension. I’m afraid that one day you might just end up sending me to the heavens early.”

Cai Yan pouted as she glared at Yang Chen. She ran to her elder sister’s embrace. Feeling wronged, she coyly said, “Elder Sister, that kid just called me ‘Aunt’! How rude of him to call me that!”

Cai Ning on the other hand was as calm as ever. She lifted an eyebrow as she frustratingly replied, “Yanyan, I don’t think that is the main takeaway from this incident.”

“Of course it is! I’m still young and healthy. Why would he call me ‘Aunt’? Do I look old to you? That’s enough, from today onwards I’ll pamper my skin! Elder Sister, let’s go look around cosmetics outlets. I want to buy a whole set of face masks!” While emphasizing, Cai Yan dragged her sister along towards the exit of the market before the latter could even respond.

“Hey guys, we haven’t even had lunch yet!” Yang Chen tagged along while he pointed out.

“Go eat on your own! We have a more important situation on our hands here! If I’m an aunt you can be the uncle then!” Cai Yan turned back and glared at Yang Chen, before she continued hand in hand with Cai Ning towards the exit.

Yang Chen gave a long and sorrowful sigh. He was already an uncle in Tang Tang’s eyes. It hardly mattered to him, but he was tactless against the living gem of a person Cai Yan. Well I guess lunch’s called off for today. Luckily I’ve yet to pay but bad luck to the eatery for wasting a well prepared meal.

Since the sisters took the bus here earlier, they instantly hopped onto Yang Chen’s car, making their way to a mall known for their abundance in cosmetics. However their journey was prolonged to approximately an hour due to unexpected traffic.

As she got down the car, Cai Yan flipped her tight-fitting t-shirt as she pouted. “What a miserable day. Chasing a kid down a few streets only to be the centre of the joke. I’m gonna have to take a good shower after buying my mask packs. Why is it so warm out here all of a sudden?”

“Well if you weren’t always so rash and brazen, you would not have encountered that situation. What happened to your femininity?” Yang Chen replied with a pout.

Cai Yan stood up straight as she proclaimed, “Well I’m hardly anything like your descriptions. Unlike what you think of me, I’m always very attentive to details. You can ask my sister as living proof. I’m always the one in charge of my parents’ birthday presents, and they have always loved what I got them! Only when it comes to defending the rule of law will I be this rash. It’s undoubtedly because of my job. This is something an aimless person like you will never understand.”

Yang Chen was left speechless. “What kind of example is that? Why would any parent reject the presents given by their own children?”

Before Cai Yan rebuked his statement Cai Ning stepped up with a casual mention, “Yanyan, where’s the bird I bought for you from the market?”

“… …”

Cai Yan froze at the spot, and it took her a long while before she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Oh my god! I left the bird and its food bag at the market!”

“Huh, some attentiveness you’ve got there.” Yang Chen instantly turned around and left her alone as he walked towards the entrance of the mall.

Cai Ning kept her head low and left without saying a word.

The journey back to the market would take another hour, and there was no guarantee that the bird would still be there. So it went without saying that they weren’t turning back for it, rendering her bird lost by default.

Along with her goal of teaching the parrot to speak.

As the three of them made their way into the mall, Cai Yan was still pouting, which prompted Yang Chen to tease, “Yanyan, are you trying to reach for a kiss?”

Cai Yan immediately kept her lips in as she anxiously stared at Yang Chen. Even though she had a headstrong personality, public displays of affection were still outside of her comfort zone.

As a policewoman, Cai Yan was rather unfamiliar with female cosmetics, while Cai Ning was keen on being bare-faced. In the end, they decided to go for the bigger, more well-known brands.

After visiting L'Oréal, Estee Lauder, and a few other brands, they eventually settled at Shiseido where they carefully handpicked the cosmetics they saw fit.

The outlet staff enthusiastically took the sisters through an array of their products, while Yang Chen loitered around the store.

Right when Yang Chen was contemplating their plans for dinner as a reward to himself, two silhouettes of a man and a woman entered the store.

The man stood out like a sore thumb with his eyepatch and sturdy figure. The woman on the other hand, was sweet and mesmerising. At that particular circumstance however, she was noticeably dragged along against her will.

The man noticed Yang Chen from afar. Slightly startled, he proclaimed, “Old Yang, what are you doing here?!”

They were none other than Li Dun and Tang Xin!