Ruan Ruan thoughtfully cooled the dumplings before bringing the spoon to An An's mouth.
The filling had already been mixed by the teacher. Whether the dumplings were perfectly shaped was just a matter of aesthetics, but as An An ate the dumplings Ruan Ruan had made, under her expectant gaze, she still nodded, "They're delicious."
Qin Ningyi scooped one up and put it in his mouth. "Delicious."
He looked at Huo Rou, and under her helpless gaze, nodded in praise, "You are quite talented. Keep up the good work."
"Never mind, you can continue to be my cook," Huo Rou said with a smile, shaking her head.
An An and Ruan Ruan happily ate their bowls on the side, but not far away, sounds of arguing could be heard.
The voices were familiar. They looked up and saw the little boy they had met at the entrance earlier.
Zhou Yang aggressively blocked Ling Ling, "I said, I want to eat!"
Ling Ling protected her bowl and shrank behind her mother, "I won this. If you want to eat, go compete yourself..."
Normally, Ling Ling wouldn't dare speak to Zhou Yang like this, but the bowl of dumplings today was something she and her mother had won together, and she didn't want to just give it to Zhou Yang.
Seeing Ling Ling's mother blocking him, Zhou Yang became angry. He turned his head and nudged Zhou Qin beside him, "Stepmom, quickly move this auntie out of the way. I want to eat those dumplings."
Zhou Qin looked at the eyes of the people around her and felt embarrassed. She wanted to persuade Zhou Yang, "These dumplings aren't hygienic. If you want to eat, I'll take you to a five-star hotel, okay?"
This Ling Ling's mom clearly looked poor, her clothes washed pale and giving off a cheap air. She didn't want to associate with people like that.
"No, I want hers! Hurry up!" Zhou Yang didn't care about hygiene or not. What he wanted, he had to have.
Whether he ate them or not.
Zhou Qin still wanted to persuade him, but Zhou Yang slapped her in the waist. "If you don't listen to me, I'll tell my dad when we get back, and you'll be in trouble."
Zhou Qin was afraid of Zhou Yang's father. Hearing this, she could only frown and step forward. "My son wants to eat your things. It's your honor. I'll buy it from you, alright?"
Ling Ling shook her head, "Not selling. We won this. Auntie, you can take Zhou Yang over there to win a portion of dumplings, why do you want ours?"
Ling Ling's mother was an honest person and didn't know how to handle such a situation.
The other party clearly came from a good family. If she didn't give up the dumplings, she might offend them and make things difficult for Ling Ling at school.
"Ling Ling, how about we give them this bowl of dumplings? I'll take you to win another one."
It was better to have less trouble than more. After a long hesitation, Ling Ling's mother chose to compromise.
Zhou Qin sneered. She took out a hundred yuan from her bag and threw it on the ground. "A hundred yuan a portion, is that fair to you?"
The surrounding people began to whisper. Those who knew Zhou Qin's husband dared not speak ill of Zhou Qin, only smiling from the side. As for ordinary parents without much power or status, although they disapproved of her insulting behavior, they couldn't speak up for Ling Ling's family.
Under everyone's gaze, Ling Ling's mother bent down and picked up the hundred yuan from the ground. This action earned her more ridicule.
"So poor and never seen money before. A hundred yuan and she actually picked it up from the ground!"
"Boring, I thought they'd be more spirited."
Ling Ling's mother wiped the money on her clothes, then reached out to hand the money back. "We didn't spend money on this. We can't accept this money. If your child really wants to eat it, as a classmate, our Ling Ling can let him have it."
"No need for the money." She insisted on returning it.
Zhou Qin disdained her picking it up from the ground. "Take it. We're not short of this little money. It's to avoid others saying we bullied you."
Zhou Yang took a few steps forward, about to get around Ling Ling's mother to snatch the dumplings from Ling Ling's hand.
"I don't want to! I won't give it to him!" Ling Ling had finally managed to get her mother to come to school with her, thinking she wouldn't be afraid of Zhou Yang anymore. She was unwilling to back down again.
"Ling Ling, be good. Give it to him. Mom will take you to other activities, and we can win other things to eat."
Ling Ling's mother hadn't expected her usually sensible and obedient Ling Ling to be so insistent on this matter.
"Mom, I don't want to give it to him. We won this, why should I give it to him?" Ling Ling hugged the bowl tightly. No matter how hot the dumplings were, she just wouldn't let go.
Tears fell from her eyes.
"Normally, you tell me to yield to my classmates at school. I yielded, but Zhou Yang is still so excessive. Why is it always me who gives way to others? This is clearly mine."
Ling Ling looked up at Zhou Yang stubbornly, "My mom is here with me today. I'm not afraid of you. This is mine, and I won't give it up!"
Zhou Yang hadn't expected that Ling Ling, who was usually the most obedient and most afraid of him, would be so defiant today.
"I'll say it again, I want to eat!" He glared angrily, his hands clenched into fists.
Zhou Yang's roar made Ling Ling remember his usual behavior, and she became a little scared.
She took a few steps back.
Zhou Qin couldn't understand why this little bully was so stubborn about a bowl of dumplings. She urged, "Hurry up, tell your daughter to give the dumplings to our Yang Yang, or I'll make sure you don't have an easy time."
Important people, they couldn't afford to offend.
Ling Ling's mother turned to take the dumplings from Ling Ling's hand, but Ling Ling suddenly dodged aside. "Mom, why are you helping him snatch my things? Zhou Yang is a bad guy. Didn't you say you'd tell the teacher, and have the teacher help me? Why aren't you helping me now?"
Ling Ling's main purpose in bringing her mother to the exchange meeting today was to discuss with the teacher about being bullied by Zhou Yang.
Ling Ling's mother hadn't expected Zhou Yang's family to be like this. Zhou Qin's clothes looked very impressive, and she was covered in jewelry. How could ordinary people afford to offend them?
Zhou Yang, in a fit of anger, ran forward and pushed Ling Ling.
"You don't even listen to me anymore. Do you want to stay in school?" Zhou Yang was extremely angry. Ling Ling had never defied him like this before.
The dumplings had just come out of the pot. It was fine when held in her arms, but now that Ling Ling was pushed by Zhou Yang, she fell directly to the ground.
The entire bowl of dumplings also smashed onto her face. A child's skin is naturally tender, and being scalded like this, several red patches appeared on her face.
Ling Ling cried out in pain.
Ling Ling's mother was heartbroken. She quickly went to pull Ling Ling up, but in Ling Ling's heart, she was already a bad person helping Zhou Yang. She didn't want to be held by her.
"Mom, you're bad. You're helping Zhou Yang bully me!" Ling Ling cried. Ling Ling's mother looked up at Zhou Yang.
"How can you be such a bad child? I already told Ling Ling to give you the dumplings, and you still hit someone?"
Zhou Yang didn't care about any of this. He didn't really want to eat the dumplings; he was just unhappy seeing Ling Ling and her mother win the competition together.
"If you don't listen to me again, I'll hit you again!" Zhou Yang ignored Ling Ling's mother's gaze and threatened Ling Ling in front of her without restraint.