Chapter 119 Departure
Zhang Miaomiao covered her mouth in surprise. This child is Mingyue's younger brother?
Lu Mingyue didn't shy away from the topic and nodded frankly, "She was born to my stepmother and my unreliable father."
Meng Jun was about to run away with the candy in his hand when he caught sight of Lu Mingyue watching in the crowd. He hadn't expected her to come back.
He stopped, narrowed his eyes, pointed at Lu Mingyue, and said, "That's my sister. If you want money, ask her."
Lu Mingyue originally intended to pay for the two fruit candies for him, as it wasn't much money in total.
But upon hearing Meng Jun's words, she paused just as she was about to reach for her wallet.
Seeing the cunning in Meng Jun's eyes and hearing the whispers around her, the thought of helping him out of the predicament vanished instantly.
"Kid, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. Who said I'm your sister? My mom only has one daughter, so don't try to claim kinship with me."
Lu Mingyue straightened up, her tone calm yet firm, "If you want candy, you can ask your comrades or your family, instead of secretly taking it and then turning around and accusing others."
She ignored Meng Jun's flushed face and turned to the sales clerk, saying, "Comrade, this child needs to be educated. He should be dealt with according to the rules."
Zhang Miaomiao, who was standing to the side, immediately realized what was happening and pulled Lu Mingyue back a little. "We can't tolerate this kind of lying and fabrication."
Meng Jun didn't expect Lu Mingyue to really ignore it. His previous toughness vanished, and his hand holding the candy began to tremble, but he still refused to admit his mistake.
Seeing this, the sales clerk stopped arguing and pulled Meng Jun over, saying, "Come on, let's go to the police station so your family can come and pick you up."
Nearby onlookers offered to pay for it, giving him two pieces of fruit candy. They couldn't really watch the child go to the police station; it would traumatize him too much.
Hearing the other party's condescending tone, Meng Jun suddenly jumped up as if bewitched, "I don't need your fake kindness."
The enthusiastic onlookers were stunned; they hadn't expected that their attempt to do a good deed would be met with such ingratitude.
"You're so rude, kid. I think I'd better save the money and buy myself a couple of candies. It's such bad luck."
With the enthusiastic onlookers gone, the remaining people are even less likely to help Meng Jun.
Meng Jun panicked and struggled, but no one helped him anymore.
Lu Mingyue watched his retreating figure without feeling a ripple in her heart. Kindness should be given to those who know how to be grateful. People like Meng Jun, who are rude, heartless, and foul-mouthed, should be punished.
"Let's continue shopping for clothes, don't let this affect our mood."
Lu Mingyue pulled Ren Huifang and Zhang Miaomiao toward the clothing store. The little incident just now only strengthened her resolve to stay away from the Meng family.
After dinner, the two children played in the yard. After Lu Mingyue helped Ren Huifang clean up the dishes, she sat at the door and told Huo Zheng about what happened at the department store during the day.
She said softly, "Today I saw Meng Jun stealing candy from the temporary counter and he even tried to drag me into it."
Huo Zheng was repairing a bamboo dragonfly for Lei Lei when he heard this. He paused and looked up at her: "You weren't wronged, were you?"
Lu Mingyue shook her head, her tone relieved, "No, I didn't pay him. I asked the sales clerk to handle it according to the rules. I used to think he was just a kid and I should be more tolerant of him, but now I realize that some things can't be tolerated."
Not only did she inflate the wolf's appetite, but she also nearly got herself killed. She was extremely grateful that her decision to leave home was absolutely correct.
"You did the right thing." Huo Zheng put down his tools and patted the back of her hand.
“There’s no need to wrong yourself when dealing with someone who doesn’t know how to cherish things. If you encounter something like this again, do this instead of bearing it alone. Tell me, and we’ll figure it out together.”
Lu Mingyue's lips curled up slightly. "Okay."
The bamboo dragonfly was bought by Zhang Chengliang for the children. Its wooden wings were polished smooth, and the tail end was painted with bright red paint.
Leilei and Yaoyao immediately came over, their eyes sparkling.
They were just not skilled at it, and after only a few tries, they broke the bamboo dragonfly.
"Dad will teach you how to play."
Huo Zheng picked up a bamboo dragonfly, held the stem with both hands, gently rubbed it, and then suddenly pushed it upwards.
The bamboo dragonfly buzzed and spun as it flew up, drawing an arc in the sky above the yard, which made the children clap and cheer.
Lu Mingyue picked up another one and tried to rub the handle like Huo Zheng did, but the bamboo dragonfly landed crookedly as soon as it took off.
Leilei laughed and rushed over to pick it up: "Mom, I'll teach you."
Later, Huo Zheng simply took Yao Yao's hand and let him try to rub the bamboo dragonfly himself, while Lu Mingyue and Lei Lei helped him send the bamboo dragonfly into the sky.
The courtyard was filled with the buzzing of bamboo dragonflies and the laughter of children. Even Ren Huifang sat at the door watching, a smile involuntarily creeping onto her lips.
As dusk fell and the shadows of the bamboo dragonflies blurred in the twilight, the children, still reluctant to leave, tugged at Huo Zheng's sleeve and said, "Dad, let's play again tomorrow."
Time flies when you're in Nanshi; three days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Ren Huifang hadn't slept well the night before. She sat under the lamp sewing cloth dolls for the children, muttering to herself, "We've only just gotten to know each other, and now they're leaving."
The disappointment in her words was impossible to hide. Lu Mingyue saw it and gently comforted her while holding her hand: "Godmother, I'll come to see you again when I have the chance, and I'll stay longer then."
In fact, Ren Huifang understood that Lu Mingyue's family was going to visit relatives in Beijing. She had never been to Beijing in all the years she had been married, so it was really not appropriate to try to persuade them to stay.
She got up early to boil eggs and stuffed the prepared gifts into her bundle.
Ren Huifang packed up several preserved fish from her home so that she could take them to her in-laws in Beijing to try.
When seeing them off at the station, Ren Huifang held Yao Yao's hand the whole time, turning back every few steps to give her a word of advice.
"Remember to let us know you've arrived safely in Beijing."
"The children should wear warm clothes so they don't get cold."
When the train whistled, her eyes reddened, but she still smiled and waved, saying, "Take care of yourself on the journey."
The train slowly started moving, and Leilei and Yaoyao leaned against the window and waved to Ren Huifang until her figure became a small dot in the distance.
On the platform, Ren Huifang stuffed a cloth bag full of food into Lu Mingyue's hand. Inside were freshly steamed white flour buns, dried red dates, and sesame candy made for the children.
Unable to refuse, Lu Mingyue divided the food in half and stuffed it into Leilei and Yaoyao's arms. Looking at her godmother's reddened eyes, she said softly, "Godmother, we'll call you as soon as we get to Beijing."
Ren Huifang was waving as the train whistled, and she only turned and left after the train disappeared.
The Lu Mingyue family had barely settled into their car when snow began to fall outside the window, with tiny snowflakes swirling down.
Leilei and Yaoyao clung to the car window, pointing outside and excitedly shouting, "Mommy, it's snow! It's prettier than the snow on the island!"
Lu Mingyue leaned against the window, watching the snowflakes fall on the glass and melt into small water droplets, feeling reluctant to part with her godmother.
Huo Zheng sat down beside them, wrapped the children's cotton-padded coats tighter, and said with a smile, "When we get to Beijing, the snow will be even heavier, and I'll take you to build a snowman."
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