Chapter 82: Own Up to Your Mistakes
"You guys... what are you doing here?"
The moment Zhang Yunhua saw Shanshan, her eyes instantly welled up.
"Oh, you child, why did you come all by yourself? It’s such a long way. What if you’d fallen? It would break my heart if you got hurt."
"Auntie, don’t cry! I made a special trip to see my new baby brother!"
Shanshan quickly raised a little hand, gently wiping away the tears on Zhang Yunhua’s face with her chubby fingertips.
"Come here, quick! Come and see, this is your baby brother!"
Zhang Yunhua pulled Shanshan over to the small bed.
"Look at him. His eyes are closed and his little face is all rosy. He’s so good, not a single cry. So quiet, like a little angel!"
"Wow! He’s really so soft!"
Shanshan carefully reached out a finger and gently touched the baby’s pink little hand.
"He’s so squishy, like a marshmallow! It feels like he’d melt if I squeezed him! Oh my gosh, he’s just too cute!"
This was the first time Shanshan had been so close to a newborn baby.
Even the usually calm Ling Zhiwei couldn’t help but move a few steps closer, staring at the wrinkled little face on the bed.
"Fourth Brother, let me tell you something. Before the baby was born, I made a secret deal with Auntie."
Shanshan suddenly looked up.
"The second he was born, I became his god-sister! No one’s allowed to take that from me!"
She was the youngest at home, with older brothers. Growing up, she never got a say in anything, big or small.
’This is great! Finally, there’s someone younger than me!’
"Auntie, when he’s a little bigger and can crawl and walk, I’ll play with him every single day!"
"I’ll teach him his letters, one by one, and I won’t let him slack off! I’ll also buy him candy—the biggest fruit drops—to keep him sweet and happy!"
The two children in the room chattered and laughed, completely immersed in the joy of the new life.
They had no idea that, at that very moment, Ling Anxun was practically frantic.
He had waited and waited at home, but Shanshan never came back. He asked the neighbors, but no one had seen her. Breaking out in a cold sweat, he had rushed straight to the hospital.
Ling Anxun shoved the courtyard gate open.
The two kids by the small bed were still chattering away, blissfully unaware.
It wasn’t until Yang Dapeng called out that Ling Zhiwei snapped back to his senses.
’Oh, crap!’
His uncle was standing right in the doorway.
Ling Zhiwei flinched and shot to his feet, standing ramrod straight.
"U-Uncle... Wh-what are you doing here? So soon?"
As he spoke, he secretly reached out and quickly tugged on Shanshan’s sleeve.
"What are you pulling my sleeve for, Fourth Brother?"
Shanshan turned her head, baffled.
"The baby’s shaking my hand! See? He wiggled his fingers. He’s responding to me, isn’t he? He’s so focused!"
She didn’t hear Ling Zhiwei call out "Uncle" at all.
Not until Ling Anxun’s cold voice cut in.
"Shanshan."
A beat too late, she sensed the change in atmosphere and slowly looked up.
She found herself looking right into her father’s grim face.
Shanshan’s heart sank.
’Oh no!’
’I left without telling Dad!’
"You child. Why can’t you ever seem to remember?"
"Just you wait ’til we get home. I’m going to deal with you!"
When these words came out, Yang Dapeng and Zhang Yunhua exchanged a look.
"Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not that I don’t want Shanshan to visit you."
Ling Anxun saw their expressions change and hurriedly explained.
"It’s just that this child has a habit of running off. She’s restless. Last time at the market, she slipped away when no one was looking and ended up by the candied haw stall. If a kind soul hadn’t stopped her, she would’ve been swallowed by the crowd! It’s frightening just to think about."
After he said this, the two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang Dapeng nodded repeatedly.
"You’re right. She really needs a firm hand! This isn’t just being naughty; she’s practically gambling with her own life!"
"Heh, easy for you to say."
Ling Zhiwei lowered his head and muttered under his breath.
’Every time he says he’s going to punish her, he just talks tough but goes easy on her in the end. He’ll pick up the discipline ruler to scare her, but then Shanshan will bat her eyelashes, sweetly call out, "Daddy’s the best!" and he’ll melt. He just pinches her little cheek, and it’s all over. It’d be a miracle if she ever learned her lesson that way!’
The words had barely left his lips when his thigh was viciously pinched by the small figure beside him.
"Fourth Brother! What are you talking about?!"
Shanshan’s eyes flew wide, her little face turning bright red.
"I’m clearly the smartest, cutest kid in the whole neighborhood! Even my teacher says I’m the fastest learner with the quickest wits! And I’m the best at learning my lesson! I’ve thought about what I did wrong with that getting-lost thing like, eight hundred times, okay? How could I not learn from it! Are you just jealous that I’m so likable?"
’She was fuming inside.’
’When has Dad ever really been harsh with me?’
’I only get off easy because I act cute and whine and hug his arm!’
’Now you’re spilling all my secrets! What if Dad remembers all the old stuff and decides to get serious for real?’
’It’s over, it’s over! I’m so doomed!’
"Zhiwei, are you itching for a beating?"
Ling Anxun suddenly turned, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Ling Zhiwei.
"I’m going to have a word with your dad. Tell him how you took your little sister running all over town without permission—to the night market, climbing trees, even catching shrimp by the river. You’ve got some nerve! Is your homework finished? How many math problems did you get done? Did you turn in your writing assignments?"
Caught in a pincer attack, Ling Zhiwei could barely breathe.
’Could anyone possibly be more miserable than me?’
he wailed internally.
After the visit, Ling Anxun, his expression still dark, grabbed the two kids and left.
On the way, no one dared to make a sound.
After returning home, Ling Anxun gave a direct order.
"Inside, close the door! One at a time."
Just as Shanshan had feared, playing cute didn’t work.
She was just about to stand on her tiptoes and hug her dad’s legs, but before she could say a word, Ling Anxun pushed her away, his face grim.
"Not today. You made a mistake, so you have to face the consequences. Acting cute won’t work."
And so, just like her fourth brother, she got a spanking.
The difference was, she only got two light smacks.
It didn’t actually hurt that much, but tears started streaming down her face.
At that moment, Ling Anxun’s heart clenched painfully.
He sighed, bent down, and pulled her into his arms.
"You are not to run off by yourself ever again, do you understand? There are cars, crowds, and bad people out there... You have to be good. If you want to go somewhere, you have to tell a grown-up. An adult has to be with you. Got it?"
As for Ling Zhiwei?
He had it much, much worse.
Not only was he scolded until his face was beet red, but he also received additional punishment.
His behind was red and swollen from the spanking, so sore he didn’t even dare sit down.
He gritted his teeth but didn’t dare say a single word.
Her fourth brother, the only one who would go wild with her, was now grounded.
Shanshan was bored out of her mind, so she started running downstairs every day to play with Qin Haoyu.
Among the new friends she’d made, he was the only one around her age. Besides, he was a free-range kid who hadn’t started school yet.
The two of them hit it off and had a blast playing together.
But Ling Anxun couldn’t stand to watch it anymore...
’Although this Qin Haoyu kid was the neighbor’s son and seemed decent enough, something about him just felt off.’
’His daughter was stuck to the boy’s side all day, rolling around in the mud together.’
’Wasn’t this just setting the stage for a little childhood romance?’
’No way!’
’I have to find something else for her to do!’