Chapter 74: Not Retreating from Danger
"Wow! It’s beautiful! Are you really giving this to me?"
She put down her fork and shot up from her seat, her hands braced on the table.
It was a cloth doll dressed in a lace skirt, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a faint smile painted on its face. A small silk scarf was tied around its neck.
She had never received such an exquisite gift before.
"For me? Is it really okay?"
The little boy nodded vigorously, his face as serious as if he were taking an oath.
"Yeah! My mom just bought it for me. I want to be friends with you, so... it’s for you."
In his eyes, making a friend was a sacred event.
And a gift was a symbol of one’s sincerity.
He would rather go without a new doll if it meant gaining a true friend.
"Okay! Then we’re friends from now on!"
Shanshan snatched up the doll.
She grinned from ear to ear, holding nothing back.
"Pinky swear! You can’t take it back later!"
She held out her pinky, and the little boy immediately understood, holding out his own.
The two of them solemnly hooked their pinkies under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Shanshan accepted the gift, clutching it tightly in her hand, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.
In that moment, she was no longer an isolated child.
She was a little girl with a true friend.
Of all the gifts she had ever received, this was the most special.
Not because it was expensive, nor because it was beautiful.
In a world where everyone wore a mask, this little boy had entered her life in his own clumsy, sincere way.
This gift was more precious than any cake, toy, or candy.
Besides, the boy didn’t seem to have any other playmates either. He was always sitting quietly in a corner by himself.
He would occasionally look up to watch the other children laugh and roughhouse.
But ever since meeting Shanshan, it was as if he’d found where he belonged. He followed her around all day, never falling a single step behind.
Shanshan, on the other hand, quite liked him.
She went from being guarded at first to slowly relaxing.
Then, she couldn’t help but be amused by his innocent questions.
Within minutes, the two were chatting away like old friends.
Shanshan sat cross-legged on the grass, and Qin Haoyu copied her, sitting down the same way.
With their heads together, they pointed at the ants crawling on the ground, counting seriously, "One, two, three... Oh, it got away!"
"Let’s try again! This one’s a worker ant, and that one’s a soldier ant. My dad told me!"
"Really? Does that mean it’s on patrol?"
For the first time, she realized how fun it could be to play with a kid her own age.
Back in kindergarten, she always used to hide in a corner reading, never talking or joining in the games.
But now, she found herself asking, "Are you coming back tomorrow?"
As she said it, she silently hoped he would nod.
When Ling Anxun heard there was some trouble and came rushing over, his heart was in his throat, terrified that his daughter was being bullied.
He practically jogged across the lawn.
But when he finally arrived, what he saw was his daughter squatting on the ground with a little boy, grinning as they counted ants.
He stopped in his tracks, feeling as if something had just slammed into his chest.
That smile, which had once belonged to him alone, was now being shared with someone else.
But on second thought, he paused, then gave a wry smile to himself.
’This is actually a good thing... She’s starting to open up to others.’
’This is what a real kid is supposed to be like.’
He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the turmoil of emotions surging within him, and walked over.
The moment Shanshan saw him, she scrambled to her feet and dashed over.
She threw her arms around his leg, tilted her head back, and called out sweetly, "Dad! You’re here!"
Then, without waiting for a response, she eagerly pulled him over toward Qin Haoyu.
"This is my new friend, Qin Haoyu! He lives in that little building with the red roof over there, he has a hamster named Huahua, and he can play the piano!"
Ling Anxun froze, looking down at his daughter’s excited face before raising his eyes to the little boy in the blue T-shirt.
The boy was still squatting, nervously wringing his hands on his pants.
’This kid... She’s already found out what pets he has and which building he lives in?’
Shanshan never opened up to people easily, let alone took someone’s hand on her own initiative.
But now, not only had she made a friend, she’d also managed to find out all his personal details.
’Looks like my daughter won’t be easily tricked and taken away from me in the future after all.’
Still, as he looked at Qin Haoyu, he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.
Fortunately, his tone wasn’t too cold; he just gave a faint "mm" so as not to scare the boy to tears.
Ding Qin, who had been watching this scene unfold, had taken it all in.
She stood by a nearby bench, a water bottle in hand and a smile playing on her lips.
"Just look at the way Anxun stares at Shanshan. He gets impossibly nervous at the slightest disturbance. When she’s old enough to date, he’ll probably be too anxious to sleep, just pacing around the house all night, won’t he?"
"Goes without saying! I bet he’ll be waiting by the door with a club for any boy who comes calling. The second he sees someone, he’ll be shouting, ’Halt! Who are you? What’s your name? State your ID number!’"
As soon as she finished speaking, the other parents nearby who knew them erupted in laughter.
Ling Anxun heard them and fumed inwardly, but his expression remained taut.
"I heard you got into a fight. Are you okay?"
"Sorry, Dad, for making you worry!"
Shanshan just giggled, a bright smile on her face, looking as if she didn’t think she’d done anything wrong at all.
"But don’t worry, I didn’t lose out! Not only did I not lose, I gave him a real good thrashing! My fists were so fast, he didn’t even know what hit him!"
She lifted her chin, her head tilted up slightly, and her eyes sparkled brightly.
Ling Anxun couldn’t help but smile. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, a hint of resignation in his eyes.
He shook his head and reached out to gently pinch his daughter’s cheek.
"Shanshan, Dad isn’t mad at you for hitting someone."
"It’s good that you can protect yourself, and it’s brave not to back down from danger. But sometimes, we have to be smart about how we handle things and not just act on impulse."
He glanced around, and after confirming no one was paying attention to them, he led his daughter to a corner at the end of the hallway.
The lighting there was a bit dim, perfect for avoiding the gazes of the passing crowd.
"If the other person doesn’t actually hurt you—if they just pick on you, call you names, or give you a push—don’t be so quick to fight back."
"Remember it. Memorize exactly what happened, down to the last detail. Then, when you get the chance, tell a teacher, an elder, or another adult about it in front of everyone. That way, you get to vent your frustration, let everyone else know what happened, and most importantly, you won’t get yourself into trouble. Understand?"
Shanshan tilted her head, her brow furrowing slightly as she unconsciously scratched her fluffy short hair.
"But why, Dad? Isn’t it easier to just beat him up on the spot? It saves so much trouble! Holding it in just to go tattle is so lame! And... what if his parents protect him? Like that chubby kid last time—the moment his parents saw him crying, they started pointing at me and yelling without even listening to my explanation!"
Thinking back to that incident, her chest tightened with frustration.
He was clearly the one who pushed first, but she ended up being labeled the "bad kid."
A faint smile appeared on Ling Anxun’s lips, but it lacked its usual warmth.
He said softly, "That’s why I said you have to do it in front of everyone. What adult doesn’t want to save face? In front of relatives, neighbors, and colleagues, even if they secretly want to side with their own kid, they still have to put on a show and discipline them a little, or at least pretend to scold them."