Chapter 340 - Asking For It (2)
Su Ruixin was slightly late to react. She was stunned for a while before she was snapped out of her daze and realized something had happened to Joy. She quickly ran over to him.
However, at that moment, someone had acted much faster than Zhao Youlin and Su Ruixin. That person was actually the mother of the wailing boy.
"Oh, dear! Ming Ming, what happened to you? Why are you crying so miserably? My darling, my precious son, don"t cry. Tell me, where did you hurt yourself? Are you feeling pain?" A woman wearing thick make-up was the first to rush over to her child the moment the boy started to cry. She looked so heartbroken as she coaxed him.
When the boy saw his mother coming over to him, he covered his aching palm. He cried, yelled in pain and at the same time, he pointed at Joy and accused him, "Mother, he knocked me down! He knocked me down!"
Joy widened his large eyes and looked incredulously at the boy who was lying through his teeth. He was at a loss.
When the woman heard her son"s words, she instantly exploded like a lit firecracker. "Whose child are you?! Why are you so ill-bred?! I don"t mind the fact that you are running around at the banquet, but how dare you knock my Ming Ming?! Do you know who I am?! If my precious son is hurt, you can"t afford the compensation even if I sell you off!"
The woman had gone overboard with her words, especially when she was saying this to a child at a very young age. Regardless of whether the people standing at the side had witnessed the scene, they furrowed their eyebrows in unison. However, they hesitated due to the woman"s status and so none of them spoke up for Joy.
When Joy heard the woman said she wanted to sell him off, his small face turned as white as a ghost. Tears started to well up in his large eyes.
As Joy was about to burst into tears, Zhao Youlin appeared in the nick of time. A glimpse of incredibly dazzling light was caught in Joy"s eyes that was filled with terror. "Mommy!"
While Zhao Youlin was walking over to her son, she had already heard the woman"s squawking. Her face immediately turned black when she saw Joy"s pitiful look.
She quickly went up to Joy and scooped him up. She asked softly, "Did you hurt yourself?"
Joy shook his head. He pouted his lips, stretched out his hand and wrapped around Zhao Youlin"s neck. He buried his face into the crook of her neck.
Zhao Youlin never saw her son look so aggrieved. Her expression grew increasingly dark. Without caring much about respect for the elders and politeness, Zhao Youlin turned her head around and stared at Su Ruixin. She asked coldly, "What just happened?"
Su Ruixin"s expression equally turned as dark as thunderclouds when she saw her precious grandson being criticized like that. This was especially so when she saw Joy"s pitiful look. She felt extremely heartache. At the same time, she felt remorseful, so much so that her conscience was filled with guilt.
If not for her leaving him alone to fend for himself for just a while, how would this have happened to him?
"Just now, Joy mentioned he wanted cupcakes. I didn"t see any cupcakes around, so I had the servants inform the kitchen helper to get some over. I thought this would only take me away from him for a moment. As such, I had Joy wait there for me. Little did I know that once I turned around… I"m sorry, Youlin. I"ve not taken great care of Joy." Su Ruixin said apologetically.
When Zhao Youlin heard Su Ruixin"s explanation, she knew that she could not put the blame on her. She cast a glance at the fat boy opposite Joy, who was a head taller and twice the size of him. She narrowed her eyes.
How could Joy knock down a fat boy like him? She was not blind, or had the woman thought everyone else on the spot was blind and failed to even identify things as simple as that? Perhaps, this woman thought that she could work things out in her way just because she came from a privileged background.
The woman was scolding while coaxing her son. She was stunned when she saw Zhao Youlin. The next moment, a shrewd, mocking smile arched across her lips.
Su Ruixin had basically stayed overseas and hardly returned to her home country. She rarely stepped out of her house as well. Therefore, many people on the spot did not know that she was actually the current madam of the Mu family.
The woman did not recognize Su Ruixin, but she recognized Zhao Youlin. She knew that the adult in front of her was the woman from the Zhao family, who had been bothering the president of Mu Feng Group shamelessly, while the child was President Mu"s son whom he never claimed as his own.
Therefore, after the woman identified the person"s status who had knocked down her son, she did not feel uneasy at all. Instead, she scoffed at Zhao Youlin and her son. Her eyes were filled with disdainfulness as she looked at the mother-son duo.
Before the incident happened, she saw Zhao Youlin carrying the child and getting out of Mu Tingfeng"s car angrily. Like everyone else, she never thought Zhao Youlin and Mu Tingfeng would have st.i.tched back together. She thought Zhao Youlin had shamelessly pestered Mu Tingfeng and ended up being driven out by him.
As such, when she saw Zhao Youlin and Joy, she did not conceal the hint of mockery showed up on her face. She simply blurted out shrewdly, "I have been wondering who was the uncultured parent who had come out with such an ill-bred child. It turns out to be President"s Mu ex-wife, Ms. Zhao. I am not surprised at all. You have divorced from President Mu and are now raising the child on your own. It"s only normal that a good-for-nothing son who comes from single parenthood doesn"t understand the rules. Look at the messy floor, one might even think that he was a beggar who came from a refugee camp to beg for food."
The woman pointed at the various desserts scattered across the floor. Her eyes were filled with viciousness and malice.
Upon hearing the woman"s words, Su Ruixin felt like she had suffered from a stroke. She was the one who had stuffed the desserts into Joy. Never had she thought this woman would use this to mock her precious grandson and even said he was a beggar that came from a refugee camp!
Joy was burying himself in Zhao Youlin"s neck when he heard the woman"s words. His entire body shuddered. He looked up and saw the desserts that scattered around the floor in a mess. His face turned ghastly pale.
He remembered what Zhao Youlin had told him before they came. He should not simply pick food at the banquet as it was very rude to do so.
Had he behaved rudely? Was he putting his mother to shame?
However, Zhao Youlin did not know what was playing in Joy"s mind. Otherwise, what she did next would not have been that simple.
Zhao Youlin had already narrowed her eyes dangerously when the woman was squawking. When the woman reached the end of her rant, Zhao Youlin"s face darkened. She carried Joy and went up to the woman. She raised her hand...
A crisp sound was heard and rang throughout the entire living hall. The sound echoed for a long time.
The crowd had stopped talking and turned their attention to this. They were dumbfounded when they were greeted by such a sight. Each and everyone of them widened their eyes and looked incredulously at Zhao Youlin who had taken the initiative to strike the woman.
"You… You struck me?! How dare you strike me?!" Zhao Youlin had used all her might to slap the woman and it had resulted in the woman falling to the side. She covered her right cheek that immediately started swelling up and stared at Zhao Youlin in shock. She screamed in a high-pitched voice.
It had not been easy for the fat boy to stop crying. When he saw his mother was slapped and fell to the floor, he was terrified and burst into tears once again.
The woman"s screams blended with the child"s wail. Zhao Youlin was not moved at all. She looked coldly at the woman who had been slapped and fallen to the ground. Her eyes were filled with bloodthirst, murderous intent and ruthlessness. The way she stared at the woman was akin to looking at an icy cold corpse.
"That"s right. I struck you.. Look up and see my face clearly. You better recognize the person who struck you today clearly to save you from the ha.s.sle of finding the wrong person if you seek revenge in the future!"