Chapter 84: Worse Judgment Than a Child

“You can’t speak badly of Auntie!”

“She’s a very, very good person—a thousand, no, ten thousand times better than you!”

After glaring fiercely at Wang Yadan, he quickly turned to face Chen Rongying beside him.

“Mom, don’t believe what she says!”

“Auntie is truly wonderful. She saved me, and even little sister likes her.”

No sooner had he spoken than another, smaller figure quietly appeared in everyone’s line of sight.

Then, mimicking her brother’s posture, she also spread her arms wide.

Seeing this, Song Yao’s eyes brightened even more.

“See!”

“Mom, even sister agrees with what I said!”

“Auntie really is a great person!”

The reactions of the siblings made Chen Rongying chuckle in amusement.

“You two little ones, what do you take your mother for?”

“Don’t I know what kind of person Auntie is better than you do?”

“Don’t worry, Mom won’t listen to anyone’s provocations.”

Reassured by her words, Song Yao nodded with a smile in his eyes, then patted his sister’s head approvingly.

When he turned and saw Wang Yadan, he swiftly shot her another disdainful glare.

His disgust was plain for all to see.

Witnessing this, Shen Yi’an smiled and ruffled the siblings’ hair. “Thank you, little Comrades Song, for firmly standing on Auntie’s side.”

“Don’t worry, she can’t harm me.”

Hearing this, Song Yao slowly lowered his outstretched arms and gently guided his sister’s arms down as well.

But the vigilance in his eyes did not fade in the slightest.

Seeing the scene unfold before her, Wang Yadan felt utterly infuriated.

Why?

Why was everyone siding with this woman of unknown origins?

Compared to someone picked up randomly on the road, shouldn’t she—with her clearly stated identity—be more trustworthy?

Or perhaps, being new here, they were unaware of her status?

That must be it!

Her status was indeed well-known throughout the Family Compound, but newcomers might not know.

Thinking this, Wang Yadan ignored Song Yao’s hostile gaze and turned to explain once more to Chen Rongying.

“This… elder sister from a family friend, you might not yet know my identity, which is why there’s such a big misunderstanding.”

“I am—”

“Wait!” Before Wang Yadan could finish, Chen Rongying cut her off.

“What ‘elder sister from a family friend’? That sounds awkward.”

“It’s my in-laws’ family who are old friends with the Li Family, not my own family.”

Then she pointed to her highly alert son beside her.

“Besides, my son is already this old. Calling me ‘elder sister’ isn’t appropriate.”

“My surname is Chen. You can just call me Comrade Chen.”

Unfazed by the rejection of familiarity, Wang Yadan maintained her smile and continued with her earlier topic.

“Alright, then I’ll address you as Comrade Chen.”

“Comrade Chen, perhaps you’re still unaware of my identity.”

“My uncle is the political commissar, the second-in-command at the Base, with considerable authority.”

“Putting aside everything else, given my uncle’s position, it’s only natural that we should be closer.”

She then glanced sidelong at Shen Yi’an.

“After all, we’re the ones who would have common topics to discuss.”

“Associating with someone like her might even lower your status and standing.”

“Don’t you agree?”

“Hah!” Chen Rongying couldn’t help but scoff at these words.

“Really now? In your eyes, what status and standing do I have? What status and standing does she have? And what status and standing do you have?”

“They say everyone’s equal out there, so why is it so different when it comes to you?”

“What, are the Family Compound and the outside world two separate worlds?”

Hearing this, Wang Yadan’s smile froze on her face once again.

She felt today was not a good day to go out—everything she said seemed wrong, and she hadn’t encountered a single pleasant thing.

What bad luck!

But she didn’t dare show her displeasure in front of Chen Rongying, whom she considered half a member of her future in-laws’ family, so she could only nod awkwardly in agreement.

“Comrade Chen is right, I misspoke.”

“The Base definitely also emphasizes equality for all, just like the outside world.”

“I used the wrong words, and I’ll be more careful in the future, I promise!”

As she finished speaking, she raised her index and middle fingers beside her ear to show sincerity.

Seeing this, Song Yao wrinkled his nose.

“Mom, don’t people usually raise three fingers when making a promise? Why is she different?”

“Could it be that hand gestures vary by region too?”

Hearing this, Chen Rongying glanced with a smile at Wang Yadan, who was so embarrassed she wished she could vanish into the ground, before flicking Song Yao on the forehead.

“Mom knows you want to protect Comrade Shen, but you still need to be mindful of boundaries.”

“Being so unrestrained and disrespectful will make others think your dad and I don’t know how to raise a child.”

“Hurry up and apologize. No one likes an impolite child.”

Rubbing the spot on his head where he’d been flicked, Song Yao’s first reaction was to look beside him.

Seeing Shen Yi’an nod at him with a smile, he understood that she agreed with what his mother had said.

Not wanting to be disliked by the aunt who had saved him, he decisively apologized to Wang Yadan, who was hanging her head low.

“Sorry, Auntie, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that just now.”

“But Auntie wasn’t very nice to Auntie Yi An either.”

“I’ve apologized to you, so shouldn’t Auntie apologize to Auntie Yi An too?”

What a clever little kid.

While apologizing earnestly, he still managed to set a trap for the other person.

If she agreed to apologize, it would mean her previous words and actions had indeed been inappropriate.

If she refused, it would only show that her maturity was even less than that of a child.

Realizing this, Wang Yadan, who should have been relieved to receive an apology, now looked even more embarrassed than before.

She didn’t want to admit she was wrong, nor did she want to lose face in front of someone she considered half a member of her future in-laws’ family.

After hesitating for a while, she simply turned and ran away.

If she didn’t run, her fragile pride wouldn’t survive.

Watching the figure disappear in a flash and listening to the rapid footsteps echoing on the stairs, Chen Rongying poked Song Yao’s head, both annoyed and amused.

“You little rascal, who apologizes like that?”

“Look, you’ve chased the person away!”

Quickly dodging his mother’s “claws,” Song Yao ran behind Shen Yi’an.

Only after confirming he was safe did he peek out with half his head to reply.

“Mom, I apologized very seriously. Who knew that Auntie would be less mature than me?”

“Even a kid like me knows you should apologize when you do something wrong. How could an adult not understand that?”

Knowing her son had a point, Chen Rongying was momentarily at a loss for words.

A child could understand such a simple principle, yet an adult pretended not to.

Well, it just goes to show how different people can be.

After the mother and son finished their banter, Shen Yi’an sincerely thanked the Song family. “Comrade Chen, thank you and your family for helping me out just now.”

“If you hadn’t come out, I would’ve just closed the door and gone back inside.”

“Living all these years, this is the first time I’ve encountered such an inexplicable person.”

Hearing this, Chen Rongying waved her hand dismissively.

“What’s the big deal!”

“Mainly that person’s voice was too loud, making it impossible for us to sleep even if we wanted to.”

“It’s not really about helping you out of a predicament – we mainly wanted to get a proper night’s sleep ourselves.”

“After this long train journey, I don’t know how you’re feeling, but our whole family is aching all over and feeling miserable.”

Noticing the fatigue on her face, Shen Yi’an replied briefly, not wanting to delay their rest time. “My situation is quite similar to yours.”

“After all, I’m carrying a child – definitely not as comfortable as traveling alone.”

“Right, right, right!” Only when the child was mentioned did Chen Rongying remember that the woman before her was pregnant.

“Look at me, once I start talking I just can’t stop.”

“You’re pregnant – you should hurry back to your room and rest.”

“Our family should go back to sleep too.”

Then she called out toward the room.

“Brother Xu, come out and carry Xiao Shu back to rest. We’re done here.”

After calling out, she turned back to explain to Shen Yi’an.

“Since we could tell it was a woman’s voice through the door, I didn’t ask the children’s father to come out.”

“Women’s matters are best handled among ourselves. Once men get involved, things become complicated.”

“Comrade Shen, please don’t mind!”

Hearing this, Shen Yi’an shook her head with a smile. “Not at all!”

“Comrade Chen and the two children have already helped me tremendously. It’s better that Comrade Song didn’t come out.”

“Otherwise, people might say we were ganging up on her.”

Seeing that she meant it sincerely, Chen Rongying nodded with a smile.

“That makes sense!”

“Well then, our family will go back to sleep. Comrade Shen, you should rest early too.”

“We’ll eat whenever we wake up.”

After exchanging a few more brief words, Chen Rongying and Song Chaoxu took the two children back to their room to rest.

Only after watching their door close did Shen Yi’an turn and return to her own room.