q At this moment, a strong knocking was heard from the door, âThis is the police! Open up!â
When Lu Yong had returned to the study the first time, Dabao had hid behind the sofa and called 110 using the portable phone.
Lu Yong stopped in his tracks when he heard the police.
He was in jail for intentional assault, and it had only been a few months since his release. If he were to be caught by the police again, he would be sent right back to jail once more.
If heâd spent another few more years in jail, Luo Fei might marry someone else.
âMister, the police wonât arrest you if you donât hurt me.â Dabao said tremblingly.
Lu Yong was in confusion and had run out of ideas.
He wasnât a smart person to begin with, otherwise he wouldnât have been used as a gun for hire by Luo Fei like that.
âIf you hurt me, you wonât get out of here either. If you open the door, Iâll tell the police that youâre just a deliveryman.â
Dabao was shaking heavily but bit hard on his lips to keep himself from crying.
âWhoeverâs inside, Iâll count to five! If you donât open the door by then, Iâll break it down!â
The policeman outside started counting down.
âMister, go open the door and youâll be fine.â
In a state of panic, Lu Yong tossed the knife aside and opened the door.
The police rushed in and Dabao felt a sense of relief. His legs finally gave way and he slumped onto the floor with tears rolling down his cheeks.
âDonât be afraid, kids. Itâs alright now.â
The police officer had never seen such a beautiful child in his life. He picked him up and comforted him softly.
Before he was done with one, another came running out of the study crying.
âAnd this isâ¦?â
Both the police and Lu Yong who had been put in handcuffs were stunned.
â¦â¦
During lunch break, Ning Ran switched on her phone and saw over ten missed calls.
Three of which, were from home. She got worried and called home but no one answered.
She got even more worried as there was still no answer.
She called Cheng Xiangyun. Cheng Xiangyun told her that she was visiting the school today and had forgotten her phone in her car, so she didnât hear it ring. She said she was rushing home now as she too, felt something had happened.
The other missed calls were from unknown numbers, so Ning Ran tried calling them back.
It was the police. They told her that her children are at the station and told her to come collect them.
As Ning Ran burst into the police station all out of breath, she saw several policemen surrounding her two angels.
Erbao was stuffing her mouth with the food given by the police as she chatted away with them. Thanks to the food, she had recovered quickly from her traumatic state.
Dabao sat quietly next to his sister, showing no emotion.
âMy angels, are you alright?â Ning Ranâs tears started to fall.
âMommyâ¦â¦â Erbao came running and threw herself on Ning Ran.
Dabao was less aggressive, and just snuggled next to his mommy.
âYour kids were very smart! Had they not bought us enough time to get there, the consequences would be dire.â The policeman said.
âWhoâs trying to hurt my children?â
âThe suspect who broke into the room has been arrested on the spot. However, he does not admit to hurting the child, nor did he tell us his motives. We are still investigating this case.â
âThank you so much, maâam! Sweetie, have you thanked the police officers?â Ning Ran said as she wiped her tears.
âYes, I have.â Erbao said in her usual childish voice, âShe bought me a lot of food!â
To Erbao, this was the most important part.
âMs. Ning, I have to say this, no matter how busy you are with work, you canât leave your child alone at home like this! Theyâre still so young, itâs too dangerous!â The pretty policewoman said.
âYes, itâs my fault. Iâm so sorry about this. I was busy contacting the school. Iâm so sorry, itâs all my faultâ¦â Ning Ran started to tear up again.
âDonât cry, mommy. Weâre fine! Big brother was really awesome! He was there to protect me!â Erbao reached out and wiped the tears from Ning Ranâs eyes as she comforted her.
Dabao didnât say a word. He nodded vigorously with a strong look in his eyes.
With such children, Ning Ran couldnât hold it in anymore. She hugged them tightly and rocked them strongly in her embrace.
As they were done filling up the paperwork, Cheng Xiangyun had rushed over to the station as well.
The pretty policewoman loved the two kids so much that she personally saw them off at the door, and advised Ning Ran to have them go through counselling.
A traumatic experience like this wouldâve cast a shadow in the childâs heart, leaving behind a psychological illness. It may not show now, but it could affect the childâs life forever.
Only through professional counseling, would such a trauma be removed.
She then handed Ning Ran a phone number, and told her that it was a really good psychologist who had worked with the police for a long time. She advised Ning Ran to bring them to him.
Ning Ran thanked the police as she got into Cheng Xiangyunâs car with the kids.
âItâs all my fault⦠I couldnât find a suitable school even after calling up so many of them.â âNone of this wouldâve happened if they were at school.â Cheng Xiangyun kept blaming herself.
âItâs not Aunt Xiangâs fault! Itâs the bad guys!â Erbao said.
âNo, Iâm to blame. I shouldnât have just left them at home like that.â Ning Ran said.
âWe really need to find them a school. In the worst case scenario, weâll just send them to a normal private kindergarten first.â Cheng Xiangyun sighed.
âThis is our only option for now.â Ning Ran said.
At this moment, the directorâs called and urged Ning Ran to get back on set.
So the two split up. Cheng Xiangyun took the children for psychological counseling, while Ning Ran returned to work.
â¦â¦
In the early morning of the next day, Ning Ran was woken up by a phone call from overseas. Ning Ran frowned as she saw the number. As she answered the phone, the person hurled abuse at her over the line.
âCalling me at such an hour, are you out of your mind?â
âYouâre the crazy one, Ding Mi! Why have you been ignoring my calls?â âYou still owe me money! Are you trying to avoid paying up?!â âYou promised me youâd call me as soon as you returned to China! Itâs been so long since your return now, and youâre still ignoring my calls and messages! You ungrateful littleâ¦â¦â The person on the other line went on and on as soon as the line got through, so Ning Ran couldnât even get a word in.
She decided to put the phone next to her pillow and went back to sleep.
âHello? Hello? Are you there? Damn it, Ding Mi! Are you listening to me?!â
After a few minutes, the man started to realize that Ning Ran was not listening at all.
Ning Ran then got back on the phone, âA grown man like yourself nagging like an old hag? Have you no shame?â
âYouâre the shameless one! Forgetting about me once you got back to China like that⦠When are you going to pay back the money you owe me?â
âItâs only a few hundred, man. Itâs not like youâre strapped for cash right now anyway, so why are you rushing me like this? Besides, I borrowed the money from you fairly and squarely, so why should I be paying you back so soon?â
âYouâ¦â¦â
âAnyway, Iâm busy. What did you want from me?â
âIâm coming back to China next week! Come pick me up!â
âWhy are you coming back? Youâre not actually coming just to collect my debt, are you?â
âCut the crap. Just remember to come pick me up.â
âBy the way, didnât you say youâre quite a big deal in China? I have something that I need your help with, is that okay?â Ning Ran asked.
âWhat is it? As long as it isnât finding you a boyfriend, I can help you out with it.â
âCould you help me find a school for my kids to go to? Iâve only returned recently and Iâm not very familiar with the place, so I wasnât able to find a good one.â Ning Ran said.
âThatâs it?â
âYeah, can you do it?â
âIâll do it if you promise to come pick me up.â
âAlright, I promise.â Ning Ran said with a frown.
âBring your kids to Zhixing International Kindergarten tomorrow. Just give them your name, and the child can go to school there.â
âReally?â
âOf course, why would I lie to you? This is a piece of cake for me. Just remember to come pick me up!â
âOkay. But if you lie to me, Iâll break your legs! Anyway, Iâm going back to sleep, so Iâll hang up now.â
Ning Ran hung up the phone straight away.
After waking up in the morning, Ning Ran asked Cheng Xiangyun, âWhat do you think of Zhixing International Kindergarten tomorrow?â
Cheng Xiangyun gave Ning Ran a puzzled look, âYou want to send your kids to Zhixing?â
âYeah, is it bad?â
âNo, on the contrary, itâs too good. So good that most people wouldnât even consider it an option. Itâs the best kindergarten in Flower City, and it is also the most expensive one. It costs five hundred thousand a semester. And even with such an expensive fee, a lot of rich people couldnât get in either as they only accept 30 students in the city. There was someone who was willing to pay two million but even they couldnât buy their place in there.â
âThat great, huh?â
âI donât even know whatâs so great about it. All I know is, kids who can study in Zhixing are either from extremely rich or noble families. Their parents are the members of the elite in Flower City.â
Ning Ran was starting to understand what she meant, âSo, a lot of people want to send their kids there because they want to get into that elite circle and build a high-end network through their childrenâs relationship with fellow classmates.â
âYes, thatâs right. However, for a school to charge such high fees and still have so many parents willing to send their kids there⦠That means their facilities must also be top-notch.â
âIf thatâs the case, then Iâll try bringing the kids there.â
âBut youâ¦â¦â Cheng Xiangyun stopped herself as she didnât want to hurt Ning Ranâs feelings.
âI know Iâm not rich or from a noble family. But since my friend recommended it to me, Iâll give it a shot.
Who knows, he might have actually gotten me a spot there.â
âWho is that friend of yours, bragging like that?â Cheng Xiangyun got curious.
âHis name is Tony. Heâs a buddy I know from abroad. Heâs a white guy with blonde hair.â
âTony? Why does it sound like the name of a chief hairstylist?â
âYeah, he does look like one too.â Ning Ran said.
âMommyâs talking about Blondie.â Erbao interrupted.
âYou know him too?â Cheng Xiangyun pinched Erbaoâs puffy cheeks.
âYeah, Blondie likes mommy and kept trying to win mommy over. But mommy didnât accept him.
Blondie wants us to call him uncle, but we call him Blondie.â Erbao explained seriously.
âSo heâs your suitor?â Cheng Xiangyun looked at Ning Ran.
âI guess so. He looks decent and all, but heâs too childish, so he wasnât my type.â Ning Ran said.
âIf he can really get you a spot in Zhixing Kindergarten, then heâs definitely no ordinary guy.â
âBlondie said heâs a superstar, and has lots of fans. People bought him satellites as gifts for his birthday!â Erbao said.
âDonât listen to his nonsense.â Ning Ran said.
Then, Ning Ran called her director to ask for two hours of absence and brought her kids to Zhixing Kindergarten.â
Cheng Xiangyun was nervous as she didnât believe that a recommendation from Ning Ranâs friend could earn them a spot that countless rich parents couldnât.
âMy name is Ding Miâ¦â¦â
The staff smiled the moment they heard it was Ding Mi, âHello, Ms. Ding, this way please. You can have a drink here while you wait. Weâll conduct an admission interview for your children as per normal procedure. As long as they pass the interview, they can get enrolled immediately.â
Cheng Xiangyunâs jaw dropped. They could enroll just like that?
âAlright, thank you.â
A beautiful teacher came over and ushered Dabao and Erbao into the room next to theirs for the interview.
Erbao turned towards Ning Ran and waved her meaty little fist in the air, âDonât worry, mommy. Brother and I will pass this interview!â
Ning Ran smiled and nodded at her.
She had complete faith in her kids, as they were both geniuses.
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