"Xiao Ye!" Little Han Ye's mother hugged him tightly. She checked on him to see if he had any injuries on him.
"Mum…" Little Han Ye groaned as he stopped his mother's hands from moving around. "I'm fine! I was drenched by the rain, that's it."
"You! Why didn't you wait for the bus?" she asked worriedly as she checked his temperature.
"I was worried about Wushuang… and it's harder for people to say no to me face to face..." Little Han Ye said as he looked at Qing Hai with a sheepish grin.
His mother, Feng Ruoyun, sighed. She took out a pair of purple sports attire from her bag and said, "Young Lady Yuexue told me to bring you this. I think she knew that you'd do something stupid like running under the rain."
As Little Wu Yuexue had hit puberty before him, she was also taller than him. Thus, he could actually put on her sports attire. Luckily, she knew not to give him her pink sports attire. At his age, Little Han Ye did not want to be seen in pink clothes.
Little Han Ye looked at his mother's face and asked in a sweet voice, "Mum, I know you're tired, but can we wait a little longer? I just..."
"I know… It's fine. I'll wait with you…" Feng Ruoyun smiled as she ruffled her son's hair. She would have been here earlier, but Little Wu Yuexue was crying her eyes out and the little girl's parents were not home yet. She was afraid to leave the girl alone, so she waited with her until her parents arrived.
She did not expect that her son would be so worried as well given how he often complained about being bullied by the little girl.
"Thanks…" Little Han Ye said with a smile.
Suddenly, Qing Hai rushed out to meet them. "Han Ye! Han Ye!"
Little Han Ye turned to look at him while he gripped tightly onto his mother's shirt. There was fear written on his little face as he thought about the worst that could have happened. In his heart, he could not help but pray for the little girl's safety.
"They found her! They found her!" Qing Hai said with a smile on his face. As he stood in front of Little Han Ye, he placed his hands on the boy's shoulders as he said with a big smile, "Wu Hai just called me, and they said they found her hiding not far away from the scene!"
Little Han Ye breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to hug his mother.
"Thank God…" Feng Ruoyun said as tears filled her eyes. She hugged her emotional son while she patted his back gently. "It's fine… They found her…"
"Qing Hai, it's on the news now!" One of the policemen yelled as he pointed at the TV that was broadcasting live from the scene.
Together with some of the policemen, they watched as the ambulance arrived at the scene. They watched as the emergency medics gently carried the little girl up and placed her on the stretcher.
Even though her face was blurred out, everyone knew who the little girl was. When Little Han Ye saw the blood on her, he could not help but wince.
"She must be in a lot of pain…" Little Han Ye thought. As tough as she acted, she was still a 10-year-old. A 10-year-old who had been raised like a little princess all her life. He would rather that the one who got hurt was him. At least he was used to being thrashed by his stepfather. This kind of pain would mean nothing to him.
"I know it's school day tomorrow, but if you want…" Feng Ruoyun said suddenly. When she saw the look on her son's face, she knew that he was worried about the little girl.
Han Ye looked at his mother briefly before he shook his head. He did not want to trouble his mother. "It's in another city…"
"It's fine… I'll give you some money tomorrow. I can't go with you, but you can go. I know you're worried about her," Feng Ruoyun said as she patted her son's head. "You're old enough to take the bus on your own. I trust that you'd be back before I get home from work tomorrow?"
Han Ye nodded.
"I'll pay you back…" Han Ye said after a moment of hesitation. He might be young, but he knew that it was not easy for his mother to earn the money. It might only be a few dollars, but she could have used the money to buy groceries instead.
"Don't be silly…" She smiled as she smacked her son's back lightly. "You're my son..."
Feng Ruoyun was glad that her son turned out to be a kind, caring boy who was nothing like his dead father... or her.
While she looked at her son, she wondered how that boy was doing now. Because of her own selfishness, she had left her stepson behind, and she often wondered what had become of him.
Her stepson, Han Xuan, had always been a little detached from everyone else, and after he killed her husband, Feng Ruoyun was afraid that he might turn out to be like her husband. Even though it was in self-defense, the lack of emotions in his eyes sent a chill down her spine.
Especially when he looked at her with hands stained with his father's blood... That day, Feng Ruoyun had grabbed Han Ye away from Han Xuan before she locked Han Xuan in the bloody bathroom.
In the end, for the sake of her biological son, she left her stepson behind.
Feng Ruoyun looked at her son, who was still watching the news, and she sighed in relief. Thankfully, her son was still young at that time, and he did not remember that he had an older brother.
Otherwise, she was sure that he would have hated her for leaving his older brother behind.
...