My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

Su Qing looked down at the tear-streaked little face in her arms and was stunned for a moment.

Jiang Yi clearly recognized her too. A hint of undisguised fear flashed in her big, tearful eyes, and her small body instinctively shrank back.

But she didn't break free from Su Qing's embrace, because behind her was the dark corner deep in the alley, and in front of her was the man who had just slapped the bad guy away.

Her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face. She froze in Su Qing's arms, unsure whether to stay closer or pull away.

Cheng Xuyan took a step closer, and just as he was about to say something, Jiang Yi, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly burrowed into Su Qing's shoulder, gripping Su Qing's hoodie collar tightly with both hands and burying her face completely.

Su Qing was knocked back by the headbutt, steadied herself, looked down at the fluffy head in her arms, remained silent for a moment, and then sighed.

She felt she was sighing more often today than she had in the entire past year.

But in the end, this child is just a seven-year-old girl who has been spoiled by her family and led astray by Cui Jiayi. Why bother getting angry with her?

She raised her hand and gently patted Jiang Yi's back twice, then turned to Cheng Xuyan and said, "Call the police."

The program nodded and dialed the number.

He briefly reported the location and basic information of the alley to the operator, and after hanging up the phone, he glanced at the four trembling boys on the ground, and then at Su Qing, who was carrying Jiang Yi and walking towards the alley entrance.

Su Qing walked steadily, holding a child in her arms, but her steps were not swaying at all.

He wanted to help, but his hands hovered in the air for a moment before he realized he didn't need to hold the child or support anyone, so he put his hands back in his pockets and silently followed behind them.

On the bus, Cheng Xiaoyu peered out the window and saw Su Qing carrying a dirty little girl as they walked by. His eyes widened in surprise.

Jiang Ran sat in the back seat by the window, holding a lop-eared rabbit. From the first second Su Qing appeared with that child, her eyes never left the small figure perched on her sister's shoulder.

The car door opened, and Su Qing first placed Jiang Yi on the seat, then got in herself and closed the door.

The carriage was silent for about ten seconds. Jiang Yi huddled in her seat, her hands on her knees, clutching the hem of her school uniform skirt, her head bowed.

One and a half of her braids were undone, and her face was streaked with black and white.

After a long while, she slowly raised her head, glanced at Su Qing with her red and swollen eyes, and then looked at Jiang Ran sitting next to her and Cheng Xiaoyu in the front row who was turning his head to stare at her.

Then, like a little dog soaked by the rain, she curled up into an even smaller ball and lowered her head.

She remembered how she had scolded Jiang Ran in the office last time.

She said Jiang Ran was an orphan with no parents, and that Su Qing was a shameless woman.

She tore up Jiang Ran's test paper, called on older boys to beat them up, and even brought up her aunt to scare people.

But today, when she was trapped in the alley, the person who came to her rescue was actually the very person she had cursed.

Tears fell in a steady stream onto her school uniform skirt, leaving dark dots.

Jiang Yi's shoulders began to tremble slightly, then trembled more and more violently, until she finally couldn't help but cry out.

This wasn't the kind of sobbing that was held back in her throat, but a real, broken, uncontrollable sob, as she sobbed and mumbled, "I'm sorry... I was wrong last time... I shouldn't have torn up the test paper... I shouldn't have sworn... I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry..."

  

She cried until her nose was red and her face was covered in tears and snot. She spoke incoherently, but every word she uttered was an apology.

She apologized to Jiang Ran, then to Cheng Xiaoyu, and then to Su Qing, as if she wanted to recount all the wrongdoings she had made in her short life.

By the end, she was sobbing and hiccuping, looking like a kitten that had been soaked in a downpour and taken home, both disheveled and pitiful.

Su Qing looked at her crying like that and smiled helplessly.

It wasn't the kind of helpless feeling that made you laugh, but rather a kind of "forget it, forget it, stop crying" kind of helpless feeling with a touch of warmth.

She reached out and gently wiped away Jiang Yi's tears with the back of her hand, the same action she usually took when wiping Jiang Ran's face: "Alright, stop crying, your face is all messed up."

Jiang Yi cried even harder after hearing what she said.

It wasn't because she was scared, nor because she felt wronged, but because Su Qing's touch in wiping away her tears was so gentle that it reminded her of her mother.

But even though she had said such hurtful things to Su Qing before, Su Qing still gently wiped away her tears, showing no disgust at all. It was as if he would slap those who hurt her to teach them a lesson, but he would only use his gentle fingertips on a little girl like her who could only shed tears.

Jiang Yi looked up at Su Qing, a snot bubble popped out of her nose, but she sucked it back in, making her look ugly from crying.

Jiang Ran sat by the window, holding the lop-eared rabbit in her arms, and didn't say a word the whole time.

Her gaze fell on the hand her sister was using to wipe Jiang Yi's tears, then slowly moved away, landing on the ginkgo tree outside the window that had almost lost all its leaves.

She hugged the rabbit tighter, her lips pressed into a thin line.

She silently thought to herself: "My sister only helped her because she felt sorry for her. Like if she saw a puppy fall into a ditch by the roadside, my sister would also pick it up."

That's just the kind of person my sister is; she's kind to everyone. It's not because Jiang Yi is special; she's just a pitiful, drenched puppy in need of help right now...

Jiang Ran silently repeated the label "drenched puppy" to herself several times, feeling that her analysis made perfect sense, but she still tightened her grip on the rabbit a little.

She turned her head to look at Jiang Yi again, then turned her head back expressionlessly... That rascal even got his sister's clothes dirty...

Cheng Xiaoyu peeked out from the middle of the front seat, opened his mouth as if to say something, but was immediately locked in by Jiang Ran's emotionless gaze.

That gaze was calm, so calm that it was almost expressionless, but Cheng Xiaoyu managed to read a clear message in it: You'd better shut up.

Cheng Xiaoyu wisely shut his mouth, pulled his head back, and sat up straight, pretending to study the structure of the seatbelt buckle. He muttered under his breath, "Little Ran doesn't seem very happy today..."

Then he secretly glanced at Jiang Ran again, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he made sure he was no longer being stared at with death.

Su Qing didn't notice the undercurrent between the two little guys in the back row.

She took the wet wipes that Cheng Suyan handed her from the front, pulled one out and used it to wipe Jiang Yi's dirty little face and fingers, and then asked her if she was in any pain.

Jiang Yi shook her head, sobbing, then, as if remembering something, grabbed Su Qing's sleeve and recounted what had happened in fits and starts. She had been reflecting on her actions at home for several days, and her parents only took her out to play because they saw that she had behaved well.

But there were so many people during the parade that she got separated from her parents and couldn't find them for a long time.

She wanted to borrow someone's phone to make a call, but those people pulled her into an alley. She was so scared that her mind went blank. What happened next was what Su Qing saw.

As she spoke, she still gripped Su Qing's sleeve tightly, as if letting go would throw her back into that dim alley.

Su Qing didn't pull her hand away, letting her hold it there.

After finishing his call, Cheng Xuyan walked back, bent down, and knocked on the car window. He said that the police had found Jiang Yi's parents, who were at the amusement park's customer service center. He could just go there and meet them.