The woman in his arms was petite and adorable, her fair face flushed with a slight fever, making her look exceptionally delicate. Her straight black hair reached her shoulders, and water dripped from its ends. When she looked up at him, her eyes held a touch of coldness, but more so, they were shrouded in a misty haze, appearing somewhat dazed.
Qin Ningyi had seen countless people, but he had never encountered anyone like Huo Rou, who looked like a porcelain doll and showed no resemblance to An'an's mother. Beneath her charming face, her eyes held a deeply conflicted emotion.
Huo Rou pushed Qin Ningyi away, not answering his question.
An'an then noticed the bright red on Huo Rou's back. He rushed over but stopped cautiously in front of her.
"Mom, what happened to your back? Is that blood?" An'an frowned, his expression identical to Qin Ningyi's at that moment. Huo Rou looked at the two of them, her mood complex.
"It's nothing, An'an," Huo Rou crouched down. As she said, there was no apparent abnormality. An'an scrutinized Huo Rou's expression.
Huo Rou smiled gently, "Let Mom see if you're alright. How did someone push you?"
An'an lowered his head, "An'an didn't expect her to push me. I thought I could dodge if she attacked..." An'an felt extremely stifled and ashamed; his image of bravery in his mother's eyes was shattered.
Huo Rou examined An'an from head to toe, then turned him around, looking him over meticulously.
After confirming An'an was unharmed, Huo Rou stood up and looked at Tang Zhenzhen, who had retreated some distance. The crowd had gathered tightly, making it difficult for her to step back.
Huo Rou's gaze was as cold as midwinter. Under her scrutiny, Tang Zhenzhen hesitated, unsure whether to retreat further.
Qin Ningyi watched Huo Rou's slightly swaying back. He could sense her resistance towards him and dared not reach out to help, only following her with unease.
Her expression revealed nothing, deceiving even An'an, but he could sense the tension and slight tremor in her arm muscles. He didn't know what injury her back sustained, but it was continuously bleeding; it must hurt.
Seeing the delicate, small figure, she was quite resilient.
Huo Rou's soft, sweet voice called out to Tang Zhenzhen, "Why did you push him?"
Her soft voice held no threat, making the listener think she was merely cooing. But facing Huo Rou's eyes, Tang Zhenzhen could feel the murderous intent within the tone.
Forgetting her fear, Tang Zhenzhen turned and fled. Huo Rou's intimidation was too great; she had already determined that this was a very dangerous person.
The surrounding crowd spontaneously parted, creating a path. Huo Rou watched Tang Zhenzhen's panicked footsteps, a faint smile playing on her pale lips as she skillfully spun a dagger in her hand.
"Still dare to run?" Huo Rou said softly. "You dared to bully my son, and you think you can escape?"
As soon as the words fell, Huo Rou flung the dagger. The surrounding people gasped and retreated.
Tang Zhenzhen heard the whistling sound of the dagger approaching her ears and her legs gave out, causing her to collapse to the ground.
The dagger grazed her ear and landed firmly in the empty ground in front of her. If she had run even a little faster, the dagger would have pierced her body.
Tang Zhenzhen trembled with fear, stammering, "It's all his fault! It's all his fault!"
Huo Rou, her steps unsteady but firm, walked up to her and picked up the dagger, twirling it before Tang Zhenzhen's eyes.
Tang Zhenzhen stared at Huo Rou, who was as exquisite as a Barbie doll, and felt a moment of daze.
"Scared?" Huo Rou put the dagger back into her pouch and stared at her, saying, "Bullying a child, what kind of adult are you? Bullying the weak, and you don't even know whose son he is."
"What do you know!" Tang Zhenzhen, seeing that Huo Rou had put away the dagger, felt a surge of relief and shouted, "It was him! He had malicious intentions at such a young age! If it weren't for him, would I have been fired from the company? If it weren't for him, would our family's company have lost the help of Qin Corporation?"
"At such a young age, he's already full of schemes, ruining my plans. It's all because you spoiled him!"
Tang Zhenzhen's hysterical outburst blamed An'an for all the mistreatment she had suffered recently.
"Serves you right! Why didn't he drown?"
*Slap—*
Tang Zhenzhen's words were slapped back into her mouth. She covered her face and looked at Huo Rou, only then beginning to feel genuine fear.
Huo Rou said nothing more, grabbed Tang Zhenzhen by the collar, and dragged her towards the edge of the pool.
When some people tried to intervene, Qin Ningyi deterred them with a single glance. No one dared to provoke this figure; those who could reach such a position at such a young age were not as simple as they appeared.
Tang Zhenzhen's skin was scraped by the stones on the ground, and she wailed all the way.
Huo Rou seemed not to hear, dragging her to the edge of the pool and looking down at her condescendingly. She said softly, "I know best what kind of person my son is. You..."
"Are not qualified."
As the words fell, she exerted force with her foot, kicking Tang Zhenzhen into the pool.
"This... this is the daughter of Tangmei Company!" someone exclaimed from afar.
"Indeed. With her status, how dare she throw her into the pool? Isn't she afraid of her father's revenge?"
"Tang Wei is famously two-faced and loves to play dirty tricks behind people's backs. Who is this person to throw his daughter into the pool?"
"She's probably Qin Ningyi's... woman?" This person spoke with hesitation. The idea of Qin Ningyi, who had always been aloof from women, having a woman was more unbelievable than him having a son.
"She must be. Look..." another person chimed in, their voice filled with disbelief.
As Huo Rou kicked Tang Zhenzhen into the pool, Qin Ningyi had moved behind her and, from somewhere, produced a towel, gently draping it over Huo Rou's shoulders.
The white towel, soaked with water, quickly turned bright red.
Qin Ningyi, his voice low, said, "Your wound is serious. I'll take you to the hospital."
"No need." Huo Rou's second sentence to Qin Ningyi that evening was still a cold "No need."
Qin Ningyi truly believed he had never met Huo Rou, so why was her attitude towards him like this from the beginning? If he had to say he had met her before, it would only be like a little girl he had helped when she was young. But that little girl was extremely timid, quite different from this porcelain doll who could kick people into pools.
"I..." Qin Ningyi wanted to explain. For some reason, he didn't want Huo Rou to maintain this attitude towards him.
"An'an, let's go home," Huo Rou interrupted Qin Ningyi and turned to An'an.
"Daughter! My daughter! Hurry and save her!" a rough voice boomed. Tang Wei arrived and anxiously shouted for someone to retrieve Tang Zhenzhen from the pool.
He scanned the surroundings and his eyes landed on the delicate Huo Rou, not connecting her with the person who had thrown Tang Zhenzhen into the water.
An'an had not yet reached Huo Rou when she swayed slightly.
"Mom!"