Chapter 66 I'm sorry, I failed to protect you.
On Tuesday, Xinmian returned to kindergarten.
It's still a large class.
Little Dimple is now very familiar with Xinmian. As soon as she sees her, she takes her hand and starts chattering about what happened at kindergarten that day, while also pointing out the awards she recently received from her teacher.
On the walls of the kindergarten's first-floor lobby, framed artwork by children who have recently demonstrated outstanding performance is displayed.
The painting featuring Little Dimple is among them.
"Teacher Xiaomian! I drew this myself!"
She tilted her chubby cheeks up, blinked her round eyes, and spoke with great pride.
Xin Mian patted her head, looking surprised, "Wow~"
"Our little dimple is amazing!"
Little Dimple smiled shyly after being praised like that, but still muttered something under her breath.
"I also think I'm pretty amazing!"
Xinmian was amused by her and, holding her little face, praised her several times in an exaggerated tone.
Little Dimple tiptoed to kiss her cheek, and laughed even more happily.
Recently, Ancheng has been holding a youth art competition, with participants divided into age groups.
Wangshui Island Kindergarten also had a few spots available. After discussing it with Xinmian, Principal Fang decided that the children participating in the competition would be selected from the painting class.
Today's lesson is meant to be a test of what we've learned recently.
An hour later, the art class ended, and the children handed in their artwork in turn.
To make it easier for parents to pick up their children, the kindergarten gate was left open, and the children were picked up by their parents one after another in the open space outside the main building.
In the end, only her dimples remained.
She was used to it; when she got tired of drawing by herself, she would run to the slide in the open space to play.
Principal Fang was preparing lesson plans in her office, while Xin Mian was tidying up teaching aids.
Through the window, you can see Little Dimple playing alone in the open space.
After packing her things, Xin Mian closed the door and left the main building.
However, as soon as they stepped off the stairs, they heard children screaming and crying.
"Waaaaah!"
"I won't go with you!"
"Little dimples!"
Xin Mian was startled and quickly ran downstairs.
Upon hearing her voice, Little Dimple ran over crying.
"Teacher Xiaomian!"
Xinmian caught her small body as she ran and hugged her tightly.
"What's wrong?"
"what happen?"
The little girl's round, chubby face flushed red as she reached behind her and pointed, "I don't want to...go with Daddy..."
She seemed to remember something, her tone suddenly became flustered, and she gripped Xin Mian's clothes tightly.
"Teacher Xiaomian, I'm being very obedient..."
"I don't want to go with Daddy, I don't want to..."
"Waaaaah... I don't want to..."
Xin Mian hugged her and carefully examined her from head to toe. "Tell the teacher, are you hurt anywhere?"
Little Dimple shook her head, crying, "No..."
She repeated again and again, "Teacher, I don't want to go with my dad..."
"Waaaaah..."
"I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving."
Xinmian quickly comforted her, "With your teacher here, your dimples won't disappear."
Xiao Diwo felt slightly relieved after receiving her assurance.
But his two hands were still tightly holding her legs.
"What! Now teachers won't even let parents pick up their kids?!"
"Pah!" Li Rui spat to the side, behaving like a thug. "I advise you not to meddle in other people's business!"
He must have gone several days without showering; he was disheveled and glared at me with a menacing look.
"I'm her father!"
"You're an outsider, get out of my way right now!"
Xinmian held Xiaoliwo tightly behind her, staring at him warily. "Xiaoliwo doesn't want to go with you."
"What does a little kid like her know!"
Li Rui scoffed, "Don't you intellectuals always talk about guardians? I am her guardian!"
"Get the hell out of here!"
As he spoke, he tried to pull Xiaoliwo, but Xinmian protected Xiaoliwo and took several steps back, slapping away his outstretched hand.
"She has the ability to discern; you can't take her away by force!"
"grass!"
"You fucking ungrateful bastard, huh?!"
Li Rui cursed loudly, his face trembling with agitation.
"Trying to run away?!"
Seeing Xinmian protecting Xiaoliwo and about to run away, he grabbed Xinmian by the back of the neck and pulled her back.
"You bitch! I'll beat you to death!"
"Teacher Xiaomian!"
Little Dimple turned around and burst into tears in fright.
Xin Mian's collar was grabbed, and she felt as uncomfortable as if someone was choking her.
But she couldn't show weakness, so she held tightly to her collar to keep breathing and shouted at Xiaoliwo.
"The security guard is weeding the lawn behind the building, go find him!"
"quick!"
"And the kindergarten director!"
"Waaaah... Teacher Xiaomian..."
Little Dimple's legs were trembling with fear, but she had no choice but to obey.
Her little face was red from crying, and she stumbled and ran to the back.
When Principal Fang heard the commotion in her office and ran out, she was stunned by what she saw.
"Li Ruifa, what do you want to do!"
Li Ruifa forcefully restrained Xin Mian and confronted Director Fang.
"I don't want to do anything!"
"It's this slut who's meddling!" he said, grabbing Xin Mian's neck and swinging her around like a doll.
Xinmian had difficulty breathing, and her face flushed red and then turned pale.
"Cough cough cough..."
Principal Fang was so frightened that she dared not move. "Don't do anything rash!"
Somehow, Xin Mian became a "hostage" in Li Ruifa's hands.
Although it was not immediately clear whether he carried any weapons, Director Fang dared not make any rash moves.
"Don't hurt people, let's talk this out!"
Li Rui gave a forced smile and said, "Let Li Li come out!"
"You think you can stop me from picking up my daughter from school?! I'm going to sue you!"
"Laozi..."
"ah--!"
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly screamed in agony.
Xinmian felt the grip on her neck loosen suddenly, followed by a cracking sound from her bones.
Li Ruifa was already lying on the ground, clutching his hand.
Chi Yu arrived at some unknown time, his face dark and cold, and kicked Li Ruifa hard in the back of the knee.
Without saying a word, he grabbed Li Ruifa by the collar and swung his fists repeatedly at him.
"ah--!"
Li Ruifa's screams rang out again.
"Stop hitting! Stop hitting!"
But Chi Yu seemed not to hear him. He was extremely violent and pressed his knee against Chi Yu's stomach, as if he had lost his mind.
Li Ruifa's face was covered in blood, his limbs were dislocated, and he was powerless to fight back. Even his pleas for mercy were growing weaker and weaker.
Little Dimple ran over with the security guards, startled, and screamed and cried loudly.
"Ah... Waaaaah..."
"Teacher Xiaomian..."
"Waaaaah..."
Director Fang quickly pulled her into his arms and covered her eyes.
Startled awake by the noise, Xin Mian frantically reached for Chi Yu's hand.
“Chi Yu…”
"Chi Yu, stop hitting him..."
But Chi Yu seemed to be possessed.
His force was so great that she could even feel the sound of his fist cutting through the air.
Xin Mian's heart was pounding wildly. She finally realized something was wrong with him and reached out to hug him, trying to wake him up.
“Chi Yu…”
“Chi Yu…”
Her voice was choked with sobs as she hugged him with all her might.
If the fight continues, Li Ruifa will be beaten to death.
“Chi Yu…”
She cried out to him, "I'm scared..."
"I'm scared... please stop hitting me..."
The girl's soft, warm body pressed tightly against him, her slender fingers, though seemingly weak, still tried to suppress his anger.
"I'm scared..."
Perhaps hearing her say she was scared, Chi Yu, panting heavily, finally stopped what she was doing.
He stood up, took off his coat and covered her with it, then held her tightly in his arms.
"sorry..."
"sorry..."
He was late.
He failed to protect her.
Chi Yu's eyes were bloodshot. He bent down and hugged Xin Mian tightly, pressing her head against his chest with his large hand.
Feeling her breath and body temperature, my wildly beating heart and my anger gradually calmed down.
Xin Mian shook her head in his arms, tears streaming down her face, "I'm not hurt, please don't hit him."
Killing someone would be a losing proposition.
Chi Yu loosened his grip slightly and carefully examined her from head to toe.
Finally, my gaze fell on the red mark on her neck.
It was cold, so she wore a blue sweatshirt.
Li Rui grabbed the back of her hoodie by the collar, and the front of the collar constricted her breathing, leaving shocking red marks on her slender neck.
Chi Yu's large hand trembled slightly as he touched that spot, his heart throbbing and aching as if someone were squeezing it.
Xin Mian quickly took his hand and reassured him, "I'm fine..."
He wiped away her tears, feeling both heartache and guilt. "I'm sorry, I failed to protect you."
Xin Mian's eyes were red. "No, you came just in time."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of a car came from outside the gate.
The security guard called the police, and Officer Wang arrived with his team.
Li Rui lay on the ground, only able to groan in pain, his face covered in blood, looking rather frightening.
"What happened?"
Officer Wang instructed the other officers to quickly pull Li Ruifa up and take him to the hospital.
Xin Mian was still trembling a little, and with Chi Yu's help, she explained the cause and course of events to Officer Wang.
Li Ruifa was a "frequent visitor" to the police station, so Officer Wang naturally knew about their family situation and understood that it was normal for Xiaoliwo not to want to go with him.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Little Dimple ran over crying and threw herself into Xin Mian's arms.
"Teacher Xiaomian..."
"Waaaaah..."
"Teacher Xiaomian..."
She was terrified and clung tightly to Xinmian, seeing her as her only lifeline.
"Teacher Xiaomian..."
Director Fang tried to pull her away, but Xiao Liwo tried her best but couldn't budge her.
Fearing she might hurt her, Xin Mian shook her head at Director Fang, "It's alright, let her hold me."
Seeing this, Chi Yu called Yang Chengjing and asked him to take Li Ke to the police station.
Suddenly, the kindergarten was filled with people, and everyone present had to go back to the police station with Officer Wang to give statements.
Little Dimple's face was a mess from crying, and her two little tufts of hair on her head were disheveled, yet she still tried her best to grab Xinmian's clothes.
Xinmian felt sorry for her, but she was too weak to hug her. In the end, she could only coax Chi Yu to hug her, and then Xinmian followed closely beside her, holding her hand tightly, before she was willing to get into the car.
The police station quickly took his statement, but Li Ruifa was still unconscious in the hospital, and the case still needed his testimony before it could be definitively classified.
After giving her statement, Xinmian sat on a bench with Xiaoliwo in her arms. The child was very tired but dared not sleep, only feeling a little safe when she was in Xinmian's arms.
Xinmian was getting tired of holding her until Chi Yu sat down beside her.
He pulled her into his arms, and when she looked down, she saw that the back of his hand was covered in half-dried blood.
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