CHAPTER 255: CHAPTER 151: STRANGERS UPON MEETING

Ever since the fat boss entered, Dongdong has been gripping Luo Ye’s fingers tightly, his body trembling slightly. Remembering that Sister Li’s ex-husband shares the same name as the fat boss and seeing Dongdong’s reaction, Luo Ye naturally associated the fat boss with the heartless scoundrel.

"Luoluo, is he..." Xing Nong suddenly slapped her forehead: "I remember now, Yin Dejiu, right, that’s the name. What a coincidence, Dongdong, is it really him?"

"It’s him, he kicked mom’s stomach, said she was a jinx, and beat me too. If mom doesn’t divorce him, he would beat me every day..." Dongdong’s little face, unusually serious, "Sister Ye’er, please don’t tell mom I saw him, okay?"

Luo Ye caressed Dongdong’s head with compassion: "Okay, I won’t tell Aunt Li. Are you afraid mom will be sad if she finds out?"

"Mom is really scared they will snatch me back, so she can’t know I’ve seen him, she would be worried."

Xing Nong frowned in vexation: "Dongdong, wasn’t it him who abandoned you? Why does he now want to snatch you back?" She suddenly realized: "I get it! He remarried and doesn’t have a son, right?"

"Sister Xing Nong guessed right, he regrets giving me to mom back then. He went to Grandpa’s house to inquire about mom’s address, and even told Grandpa that if mom gives me back to him, he would pay her fifty thousand yuan.

Grandpa always said I was a burden to mom, he didn’t know mom’s address, so he called and lied to mom to bring me home. It was Grandma who secretly stopped us at the train station, and then mom hurriedly ran back with me.

We haven’t returned to Grandma’s house for more than two years now. Mom has thought about taking me to another city, but we never managed to leave." Suddenly grabbing Luo Ye, Dongdong pleaded with eyes full of longing: "Sister Ye’er, if one day he finds me and wants to separate me from mom, you must help me, I don’t want to be with him!"

"Don’t worry, he won’t take you away," Luo Ye comforted Dongdong softly, while firmly deciding to ask Sister Li later if the divorce procedures with her ex-husband were legally completed. If everything was legally done and considering Sister Li’s current financial situation, there should be no chance for him to take Dongdong away.

She could understand why Sister Li, despite knowing someone might snatch Dongdong away, stayed in the city. Without education or skills, as a divorced woman with a child, it’s hard to find work anywhere. In Island City, with familiar sisters keeping an eye out, life can be a little more stable. If she moved to another city with Dongdong, where everything was unfamiliar, whether Dongdong could even attend school was up in the air – such a move would truly harm the child!

Xing Nong angrily slapped the table: "This malicious man, we cannot let him live comfortably. We must find a way to deal with him. By the way, Dongdong, your mother’s surname is Li, that man’s surname is Yin, why is your surname Tao?"

"My mom told me about it. Grandpa married into Grandma’s family, so dad took Grandma’s surname. After I was born, Grandpa insisted I take the surname Tao."

Xing Nong nodded in understanding: "Got it. So your Grandpa turned the tables, and the cycle of fortune came back around. Hey, you haven’t seen that man since you were six, and it seems like he has no memory of you at all."

"I haven’t seen him since I was six. Mom often showed me his picture to make sure I remember his face. If I run into him, I must quickly run away and not let him catch me. Actually, even without the picture, I remember very clearly. He was always this fat, this pale; I can recognize him at a glance."

Tang Luo shook his head: "Your mom cares so much for you, she’s a bit muddled. He definitely wouldn’t recognize you if he suddenly saw you now; if you ran upon seeing him, whether or not he would recognize you is hard to say!"

"Dongdong, are you trembling because you’re afraid he’ll recognize you, or because you’re scared of him from when he used to hit you?" Luo Ye voiced her confusion, reflecting on Dongdong’s earlier behavior.

"Both!" Dongdong, excited, clung to Luo Ye’s arm: "Sister Ye’er, are you going to teach him a lesson for Dongdong and mom?"

Luo Ye offered a smile: "Do you want your sister to teach him a lesson?"

After thinking for a moment, Dongdong looked at Luo Ye with conflict: "Don’t beat him too hard, just make sure he stops doing things that make my mom sad."

"Silly boy, do you really think I would hit him? Sister Ye’er isn’t that foolish." Luo Ye embraced Dongdong reassuringly. Not inferior, not extreme, kind and polite, living all this time in such an environment yet still possessing a subtle pride – it was indeed rare and also indirectly showed that Sister Li was a person worthy of her time. This was exactly why she needed to clarify Dongdong’s feelings; the character of a child from a single-parent family sometimes directly reflects the thoughts of the elders.