Chapter 342 - That Crone Has Crossed the Line! Just Wait and See How I’m Going to Deal with Her! (1/2)

Chapter 342: That Crone Has Crossed the Line! Just Wait and See How I’m Going to Deal with Her!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Even Ruan Danchen was staggered, so needless to say, Wu Min and the others were too.

Shocked, Wu Min and the other two looked up to see Ruan Danchen holding Qi Youxuan’s hand. She was looking at their direction, standing diagonally behind their table.

Due to Qi Youxuan’s words, she had no choice but to stop and look toward them. Her original plan of pretending she was never here would clearly not work anymore.

“Danchen.” Wu Min smiled at her awkwardly, her lips twitching.

Ruan Danchen replied with a cool nod. Everyone else felt awfully awkward too.

“How are you these few days on leave?” Zhang Fangfang asked.

“Not bad. It’s nice to take some time off once in a while. It’s a good change in mood,” Ruan Danchen answered calmly.

“Aren’t you on unpaid leave? I wonder how long your leave will last. You can’t just live on your savings forever, right? How can you live like that? The living expenses in B City is extraordinarily high. With daily expenses on food and clothes, along with rent, how much can you actually save a month? Your savings will be depleted in no time,” Yang Yunshu said in a disturbing tone, turning around in her seat to look at Ruan Danchen.

“In my opinion, you might as well hurry up and apply for a new job instead of wasting time waiting for the company to allow you to return.” Yang Yunshu snickered. Acting as if she had just remembered, she exclaimed, “Ah! I forgot that your name has been spoilt in this industry—even if you’re looking for a job, I’m sure no company would want you. Is this why you’re clutching onto Chengshi like your life depended on it? Even so, is it really worth it to sleep with a client just for an order? Once the incident with Xu Haode comes out, your name won’t just be spoilt—it’d be completely rotten.”

Ruan Danchen immediately shielded Qi Youxuan, who was fiddling with his kid’s phone. She did not want him to hear such vicious words. Despite being young, Qi Youxuan was a bright child—he could understand what adults were saying.

“Yang Yunshu, you’re going too far. Isn’t it enough for you to slander me in the company? You even came all the way out here to tarnish my name. What’s wrong with you? I could understand that you attacked me back then because you wanted to return to the design department, but now that you’re back, why do you still have to talk bad about me? I really am curious, what do you gain from this? Can you not peacefully sleep at night if you go a day without harming others?”

“Yo, why are you mad again? We all know in our hearts whether I’m slandering you or not. You don’t have to stand here and pretend to be the victim. You think I’m attacking you? Why would I do that to you and not anyone else?” Yang Yunshu stood up, crossing her arms and puckering her lips happily.

The words had slipped out of Ruan Danchen’s mouth in a fit of rage. She never wanted to argue with her in front of Qi Youxuan. She regretted her words then—she should have left after greeting them, no matter what Yang Yunshu spat out.

“Whatever,” Ruan Danchen uttered, turning around to leave with the little boy.

Qi Youxuan, however, stood firm at his spot. He questioned, “Auntie, who are you?”

Yang Yunshu was stunned. When she saw Ruan Danchen pouncing at her as if she was her prey, she did not notice the tiny Qi Youxuan. When she finally saw him now, she was shocked.

Wu Min hastily tried to loosen up the atmosphere. She smiled and asked, “Little boy, you’re so cute. Who are you?”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Qi Youxuan thanked Wu Min’s praise politely. He then answered, “I’m Aunt Ruan’s boyfriend’s son.”

A simple identity was told in such a roundabout way by Qi Youxuan.

Ruan Danchen’s four colleagues could not hide their astonishment. Even the way they looked at her changed.

Nonetheless, Yang Yunshu could not care less. She covered her mouth exaggeratedly and commented harshly, “Ah, Ruan Danchen, are you serious? Even if your career isn’t going well, did you really need to find a man looking to remarry? Not only do you have to be his second wife, you even have to be a stepmother. How tragic!”

“Youxuan, let’s go,” Ruan Danchen prodded Qi Youxuan in a gentle voice. She was not giving Yang Yunshu any attention.

“He’s not even your biological son. Why are you treating him so well? Do you want to marry his father so badly? You’re quite an attractive woman—it’s not like no one would want you—so why did you have to find a man looking to remarry and raise his child for him? Why are you trying to please his son now? Why are you in such a rush? Have you really stooped so low?” Yang Yunshu sneered, shaking her head. Her lips were crooked with mockery.

“You can’t talk about Aunt Ruan like that! I want Aunt Ruan to be my mom! What does this have to do with you!” Qi Youxuan’s face reddened with rage. He was usually a well-tempered child, yet at that moment, his body shook with wrath.

Zhang Fangfang could not endure seeing this anymore. She tugged on Yang Yunshu but she did not care. Yang Yunshu pushed her hand away irritatedly. Yang Yunshu pressed her lips into a thin line then scolded, “Hey kid, where are your manners? Did your family not teach you that kids can’t interrupt adults’ conversations? How can you speak so rudely? Did your family educate you on how to behave? Is it because you don’t have a mom to teach you, so you don’t even know what manners are?”

Qi Youxuan’s little face was completely red. His body trembled with rage. His pair of huge, round eyes turned red and his vision was clouded by tears.

“My family is great! I won’t let you talk like that!” Qi Youxuan was choking with fury.

Everyone pampered him so much at home—how could this evil lady say he had no manners?

Eyes red, he clenched his other hand not held by Ruan Danchen into a tight fist. After all, he was just a six-year-old child. How could he endure Yang Yunshu’s rancorous words?

He might be clever, but he still threw little tantrums at times. At home, all the adults would let him win. Everyone loved him dearly, thus they would never let him suffer even a tad bit. Although Qi Chenglin was usually strict toward him, the truth was that he was never too serious with Qi Youxuan. He might not say it out loud, but he would silently let Qi Youxuan have his way every time.

Seeing that the child was on the verge of tears, Ruan Danchen was overcome by guilt.

If she had left in the beginning without locking horns with Yang Yunshu, Qi Youxuan would not be hurt.

She swiftly picked Qi Youxuan up. Her heart aching, she apologized to Qi Youxuan, “I’m sorry.”

She then turned to Yang Yunshu and glared at her coldly. “Anything you want to say, say it to me. Don’t bully the child. Do you not feel horrible saying those things to a child? It’s a character problem when you accuse me and attack me, but when you pounce on a child, it shows that you’re not even human. Anyone with but a trace of kindness would never say such things to a child!”

Ruan Danchen’s eyes welled up with tears too. Infuriated, she immediately left with Qi Youxuan in her arms.

She trotted into the corridor leading to the washroom, and only then did she slow down. She looked down to see Qi Youxuan. Overwhelmed by guilt and despair, she murmured, “I’m sorry that I let you go through something like this.”

The little boy, who had always been active and never tired, was now filled with sorrow. His soft and chubby face rested on Ruan Danchen’s shoulder. Thinking that Ruan Danchen would not notice, he quickly raised his tiny hand and wiped away his tears silently.

Of course, Ruan Danchen did notice.

Her heart ached tremendously. She wanted to tear Yang Yunshu’s mouth straight off her face.

“Youxuan, I’m sorry,” Ruan Danchen repeated, hugging him tightly. She was so hurt to see him like this that she had no idea how to comfort him.

The tears that flowed down the little boy’s cheeks felt like a chunk of her flesh being cut off.

Qi Youxuan shook his head against her shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s that Auntie’s fault! Why is she so wicked?!”

Ruan Danchen caressed the back of his head and told, “Don’t take her words to heart. Don’t care about them. There’s not a single truth in her words.”

“She said my family didn’t educate me. She said I don’t have a mom to teach me,” Qi Youxuan mumbled, disheartened.

“How’s that true? You’re the most polite child I’ve ever seen, and the cutest too. Everyone in your family has taught you well, making you a well-educated child. On the contrary, the lady just now can’t even be compared to you or anyone in your family. She’s the uneducated one. Insulting others without reason is truly the act of an uneducated person,” Ruan Danchen assured tenderly.

Not hearing a reply from Qi Youxuan, she asked, “Do you believe the things she said about me?”

“Of course not!” Qi Youxuan yelled, shaking his head instantly. Now, he was full of energy.

Heart aching, Ruan Danchen caressed his little face. “See? There’s not a word from her mouth that can be trusted. It’s not worth it to enrage yourself with her nonsense. Don’t punish yourself with others’ lies.”

“Okay,” Qi Youxuan agreed. Nonetheless, he was still in low spirits. “Aunt Ruan, are they your colleagues?”

“Yeah,” Ruan Danchen uttered. Qi Youxuan did not push it after that.

Ruan Danchen brought him to the entrance of the washroom then anxiously watched the little boy enter alone.

After a long while, he finally came out. On their way out, Ruan Danchen purposely avoided Yang Yunshu and the others’ table.

After lunch, she brought him to the dolphinarium. They were quite early so they got to sit in the first row.

Qi Youxuan was in a glum mood at first, but once the show started, his mood improved a lot.

When the interactive session began, the host looked for a few kids from the audience to volunteer. Ruan Danchen speedily raised Qi Youxuan’s hand and raised her own hands as high as she could to attract the host’s attention.

The little boy was eager to interact with the dolphins as well. He had forgotten about his woe that afternoon and jumped up from his seat. He bounced up and down energetically, trying to attract the host’s attention.

He indeed got chosen in the end. The little boy glanced at Ruan Danchen exuberantly and Ruan Danchen nodded at him, encouraging him. Thus, he scurried up the stage with his little round and plump buttocks bouncing in the air.

Ruan Danchen watched the boy interact with the dolphins from below, but her heart still dwelled on the incident that afternoon. The more she saw the little boy smiling joyfully, the more guilty she felt. Her eyes were starting to sting.

When the interactive session ended, Ruan Danchen hastily got herself together and welcomed the boy back with a smile on her face.