Rebirth: Pampered by My Children and Husband-Chapter 308 - Painful Past (15)
Chapter 308: Chapter 308 Painful Past (15)
Chapter 308: Chapter 308 Painful Past (15)
Wu Yanghui, hearing the teacher approaching, dared not continue his assault and, as though afraid of being caught, ran out of the alley without looking back.
Ji Tingyang lay on the ground, his face pale as paper with numerous large and small bruises marring his face, making him look utterly wretched.
He didn’t pay attention to the injuries on his body but looked first at his tightly clenched right hand.
Although the bills in his grip were crumpled and torn, he was relieved and happy that he had managed to hold onto the money.
Ji Tingyang used the wall to help himself stand, piercing pain spreading instantly from his chest. He gritted his teeth and it took a while before he could stand up from the ground.
Perhaps because she hadn’t seen Ji Tingyang for a long time, the little girl became worried he might be in trouble inside. After hesitating outside the alley for quite some time, she walked in nervously, clutching the corner of her clothes.
“Are you… are you alright?” The little girl carefully looked up at him and the next second, she was startled by the injuries on his face, stammering, “I-I’ll go get the teacher…”
“No need,” Ji Zeqiu spoke, his gaze toward the little girl detached.
The hem of her dress was creased from her tight grip, her whole body radiating tension and fear.
He gave her only a brief glance before withdrawing his gaze and dragging his feet out of the alley.
Even if the teacher told Ji Yiyun about Wu Yanghui’s actions, what good would it do? At most there would be a reprimand.
And knowing that the one who had been beaten was him, Ji Yiyun would care even less.
Ji Zeqiu and his sister were still waiting for him; he’d better get back quickly.
“Wait a second.”
Just as Ji Tingyang stepped out of the alley, the little girl’s voice reached him again, stopping him.
She ran up to Ji Tingyang. “Your face and hand are injured, are you going back like this? Your family will worry about you.”
Ji Tingyang thought of his brother and sister, and his steps faltered as hesitation crossed his face.
Before he could react, the little girl pulled him to sit down on the nearby stone steps.
She rummaged through her backpack, found several cute bandages with little yellow ducks on them, and stuck them on all the wounds on his palms and arms.
As she admired her handiwork, she noticed Ji Tingyang’s gaze fixed on a mother and son across the way.
A barely perceptible pain, and longing, lurked in those dark eyes…
The little girl was affected by the sad atmosphere he emanated, and involuntarily reached out to rub his head.
Ji Tingyang’s body stiffened for a moment, then he abruptly looked up, his eyes trembling as he gazed fixedly at her.
The little girl was frightened by his grim look and withdrew her hand quickly, her voice trembling, “I… I saw you looking enviously over there, I thought you wanted someone to pat your head too, so…”
The emotions in Ji Tingyang’s eyes were too complex for her to understand.
The atmosphere became somewhat stiff, and just as she was about to leave, Ji Tingyang spoke, “What’s your name?”
“Wen… Wen Li.”
…
When Ji Tingyang returned to his aunt’s house, it was already dark.
He wanted to sneak back to the attic but was discovered by the housekeeper as soon as he entered.
“What happened to your face? Were you bullied?” The housekeeper inhaled sharply at the sight of the bruises on his face.
Hearing the housekeeper’s voice, Ji Yiyun also looked over, scanning him with a glance and speaking with a hint of contempt, “He must have offended someone at school, that’s why he was retaliated against.”
She scoffed as if to say that he deserved it.
Wu Yanghui also lifted his chin triumphantly toward him from the side.
None of them cared about him.
Ji Tingyang pursed his lips, and just as he was about to head back to his room, the butler called out to him.
“Wait here for me, I’ll go get the first-aid kit…”
However, before the butler could finish speaking, Ji Yiyun clicked her tongue in annoyance, “Why bother with a first-aid kit? He’s just a kid, he doesn’t need any treatment; he’ll recover in a couple of days on his own.”
The butler hesitated, “But…”
Just a few days ago, when Wu Yanghui accidentally scratched his arm against the wall, she had frantically taken him to the hospital for a check-up.
The surgeon had commented at the time — “This wound would have healed if played with for a few more hours.”
Back then, she insisted that children needed to be taken care of properly, as injuries in childhood could cause problems later in life.
Yet now, when it came to Ji Tingyang, she had a completely different set of excuses.
“But what?” Ji Yiyun’s sharp gaze shot toward the butler, “Who pays your salary, me or him? I told you not to bother, can’t you understand plain speech?”
The butler paused, a struggle evident in his eyes, but eventually he capitulated.
He looked at Ji Tingyang with an apologetic glance.
Ji Tingyang shook his head at the butler to show that he didn’t mind.
The butler needed the salary to live; how could he expect him to defy Ji Yiyun for his sake?
When Ji Tingyang returned to the villa’s small loft, Ji Zeqiu and Ji Lanyue were each sprawled out over a chair, working on their homework under the room’s dim orange light.
At the sound of his arrival, they both turned to look.
The sight of the injury on Ji Tingyang’s face made their pens drop to the floor in shock, and they stared at him, unable to regain their composure for a long while.
“Big brother, what happened to your face?” Ji Lanyue’s eyes suddenly reddened as she pulled him to sit on the bed, almost pressing her face against his.
Ji Zeqiu’s eyes also reddened as he clenched his teeth and said angrily, “Brother, did Wu Yanghui hit you again?”
The three siblings had often been bullied by Wu Yanghui, so Ji Zeqiu’s mind went straight to him.
“I’m going to get revenge for you!” Ji Zeqiu stood up, ready to go downstairs and settle the score with Wu Yanghui.
Ji Tingyang pulled him back, “It wasn’t him. I fell down the stairs at school and landed on my face.”
Too naive at six years old, Ji Lanyue believed whatever Ji Tingyang said, “Are the school stairs broken, big brother? Does it hurt? I’ll blow on it for you.”
She puffed up her cheeks and blew hard on Ji Tingyang’s wound, her saliva mixing with her breath, smearing his face with drool.
“Good girl, Lanyue, big brother will reward you with a notebook.” The corners of Ji Tingyang’s lips curved slightly as he pulled a brand new pink notebook from his backpack.
Ji Lanyue paused for a second when she saw it, “Big brother, this notebook is expensive. How did you get so much money?”
“I’ve been doing homework for some classmates the past few days, and they paid me,” Ji Tingyang said calmly and composedly.
However, this kind of fib could fool Ji Lanyue, but not Ji Zeqiu.
Ji Zeqiu immediately caught on, “You haven’t been having breakfast with us these past few days. Did you save all your money to buy this notebook?”
Tears welled up in Ji Lanyue’s eyes as she looked at Ji Tingyang.
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He denied it, “No.”
But Ji Zeqiu didn’t believe him, “You’re lying!”
