Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

Cong Ying's eyes reddened, and tears welled up in them.

She looked directly into Da Bao's eyes.

"Dabao, listen to what your auntie has to say," Cong Ying said, enunciating each word clearly:

"You and Erbao are very good children. Your parents' relationship broke down and they can't stay together; that's the adults' choice, and it has absolutely nothing to do with you. Understand?"

Da Bao looked at her, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"You're not wild children." Cong Ying wiped away his tears. "Come on, let's go find Erbao. Think about it, where would he hide when he's wronged?"

Da Bao sniffed and tried to recall.

"The small park? No, I've been there. I've also been to the beach." Da Bao frowned, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "The old house. He must have gone to the old house."

Which old house?

"It's the old building where my dad used to live with us. My mom lived there with us for a while. My second child once said that when he missed his mom, he would go there to sit for a while."

Zhou Fang sold that house a long time ago and moved into the new house he lives in now.

"Walk."

Cong Ying stopped a pedicab.

"Go to the riverside road."

The tricycle creaked and groaned as it was pedaled.

The wind made Cong Ying's hair disheveled.

The eldest child is sensible, and the second child is clever.

Zhou Fang was busy with his business, while Cong Ying spent more time with her child while working at the hospital.

She knew all too well how much these two brothers longed for a complete family.

When they come home, there's a light on, the kitchen smells of food, and someone asks them how school was before they go to sleep.

No matter how strong they appear on the surface, their inner defenses will instantly crumble when someone points a finger at them and insults them for "not having a mother."

A dozen minutes later.

The tricycle was parked in front of the old building.

There aren't even many streetlights here.

The hallway was pitch black.

Cong Ying paid the money and led Da Bao inside.

"Which building was the apartment your dad originally bought in?"

"Building No. 3 is at the very back."

The two trudged through the potholes on the cement road, one step at a time.

As soon as she reached the foot of Building No. 3, Cong Ying caught a glimpse of a dark figure in the flower bed next to the stairwell, thanks to the faint light coming from a window on the second floor.

Next to it was an abandoned water pipe, dripping water.

Da Bao shouted, "Er Bao!"

The dark shape moved slightly.

Cong Ying rushed over quickly.

Erbao huddled on the muddy ground between the bushes and the wall.

His school uniform was completely soaked, covered in mud and filth, and it was unclear where he had slipped and fallen.

Cong Ying squatted down and pulled Erbao into her arms.

Upon first contact, Cong Ying gasped in shock.

hot.

Even through his soaked clothes, Erbao's body felt as hot as a furnace.

Cong Ying quickly touched his face.

Cong Ying felt a sharp pain in her heart.

Erbao's left cheek was swollen quite a bit, and his lip was cut and scabbed over. There were two obvious bloodstains below his nose, and a large patch of skin was scraped off his forehead.

This is what the homeroom teacher meant by "just messing around".

This person was clearly beaten hard on the ground.

"Erbao, Erbao, wake up!" Congying called out urgently, cradling the back of his head.

Da Bao grabbed Er Bao's hand and burst into tears.

"Erbao, don't die! You're my only brother. What will I do if you die? I'll be all alone. I can't die with you."

"Who beat you up? I'll get revenge. Promise me you won't die."

Erbao's eyelids creased open heavily.

He stared blankly at the swaying figure in front of him, at the anxious face.

He suddenly grinned, revealing a somewhat silly smile.

"Mother."

Cong Ying froze, tears falling onto Er Bao's face.

Erbao struggled to raise a dirty hand, trying to grab Congying's collar.

"Mommy," Erbao mumbled incoherently, "I'm not... I'm not a wild child without a mother. I have a mother. They're lying..."

The little hand ultimately couldn't hold on and slipped down limply.

Cong Ying grabbed that hand and held it tightly in her palm.

She gritted her teeth, trying to suppress the sobs rising in her throat.

"Yes, you're not an orphan." Cong Ying lowered her head, pressing her face against Erbao's burning forehead. "You have a mother. Someone loves you."

"Mother."

"I'm your mom, my sweet little one."

Cong Ying picked Erbao up from the mud.

The boy was quite heavy, but Cong Ying seemed not to feel his weight at all, steadily supporting him.

Cong Ying gritted her teeth and ordered, "Let's go to the hospital!"

Cong Ying carried Erbao on her back, her hands tightly supporting his feverish back, and hurried towards the gate of the residential area. "Dabao, hurry and run to the intersection to flag down a car, we need to go to the hospital."

Da Bao wiped his nose with his sleeve and rushed forward without looking back.

Cong Ying gritted her teeth and trudged along the road, her steps uneven. Er Bao remained completely still on her back, only his increasingly heavy breathing brushing against the back of her neck.

We've just reached the intersection.

Da Bao had already spread his arms and forcefully stopped a passing tricycle.

Cong Ying walked over quickly, carefully placed Erbao on the back seat, and then sat down herself, pulling the hot little body into her arms.

"Driver, to the First People's Hospital of Xincheng. Ride faster!" Cong Ying shouted, patting the side of the vehicle.

The tricycle bumped along in the night.

A cold draft filled the carriage. Erbao nestled in Congying's arms, his burning cheeks pressed against her neck, his breathing heavy.

"Mom..." Erbao said unconsciously, his eyes closed.

Two tears welled up in his eyes and trickled down his dirty cheeks into Cong Ying's collar.

Cong Ying felt a sharp pain in her heart. She looked down at the mud-covered child in her arms and gently patted his back rhythmically.

"Don't be afraid, my sweet baby, Mommy's here." Cong Ying deliberately softened her tone.

She and Erbao's biological mother, An Xiyang, are both from Shanghai.

The soft, gentle tone of Cong Ying's voice carried the same tenderness.

Hearing that familiar voice, Erbao's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

His breathing gradually calmed down, and he actually fell asleep under Cong Ying's comforting care.

Da Bao sat next to Er Bao, his eyes fixed on Er Bao's swollen cheek.

Da Bao has grown taller lately, and his frame looks like that of a teenager, but he's still a child at heart. When something like this happens, he can't hide the panic and anger on his face.

Once Erbao is alright, he'll definitely beat the people who bullied Erbao to a pulp.

"Auntie, is Erbao alright?" Dabao's voice was still trembling. "He keeps talking nonsense, could it damage his brain?"

"It's alright." Cong Ying freed one hand and patted Da Bao's head. "Don't be afraid. With Auntie here, the sky won't fall."

After the car passed the intersection, two streets ahead was the residential area where Zhou Fang now lived.

Cong Ying raised her hand and tapped on the metal of the driver's cab. The vehicle pulled over to the side of the road.

"Dabao, get off here," Cong Ying instructed him. "Run home and get Erbao a clean set of underwear. Come directly to the hospital emergency room after you get it. His clothes are all wet, he'll need to change when we get to the hospital."