Chapter 28: Heart Moves: Day 8

The girl wearing the hairband looked less aloof than usual, with a delightful hint of contrast cuteness.

Jiang Wan stifled a laugh and pulled out her phone, hoping to snap a few sneaky shots while Bei Huai wasn’t paying attention.

“Delete it.” Spotting her foolish expression captured on camera, Bei Huai yanked off the hairband and glared at Jiang Wan, who was still fighting back giggles. She looked positively gnashing her teeth.

“No way.” Jiang Wan hurriedly hid her phone behind her back and put on her best pitiful expression, blinking wide, innocent eyes up at Bei Huai.

Bei Huai took advantage of her height advantage and effortlessly snatched the girl’s phone away.

She held it high overhead with one hand while pressing down on Jiang Wan’s head with the other to stop any sudden lunges for it.

“Don’t delete it—I swear I won’t show anyone!” Jiang Wan wriggled desperately, trying to grab it back.

Bei Huai fumbled one-handed for the photo album while keeping the girl pinned, which left her momentarily distracted. Her finger accidentally tapped open WeChat.

She spotted her own profile picture almost immediately.

It stood out like a sore thumb—a plain black icon amid a sea of flashy internet memes.

Then she saw the nickname beside it.

Tsundere Ghost.

Bei Huai: “???”

What kind of ridiculous label was that?

Seizing the moment of distraction, Jiang Wan batted her hand away, leaped up, and reclaimed her phone.

She quickly flipped open the gallery and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the photo was still there.

“Tsundere Ghost?” Bei Huai narrowed her eyes, her dark gaze fixed intently on the girl. Her expression turned a little strange.

Jiang Wan’s body went rigid. She looked up, carefully slipped the phone into her bag, and mustered an awkward but polite smile.

“Haha, you must have misread it.”

“Really? I haven’t even told you what it said, so… how do you know I misread it?” Bei Huai crossed her arms and regarded the girl with leisurely amusement.

Jiang Wan—who had basically outed herself from the start—fell silent. She sneaked a glance at Bei Huai, leaned in close, and whispered, “Are you mad?”

Bei Huai huffed twice but said nothing, just kept staring at her.

“Then I’ll change it… to your name, okay?” Jiang Wan pressed her luck.

“…Who said I was mad?” Bei Huai shifted her shoulders uncomfortably.

The girl pounced on the opening. “In that case, I won’t change it.”

Bei Huai: “…”

Watching the little troublemaker bounce off to the other side of the store, still bubbling with excitement as she shopped, Bei Huai realized she’d just been played.

It was only then that she remembered the photo she’d meant to delete was still there.

“Little Bei, come here quick! I think this necklace would look perfect on you!”

The girl’s cheerful voice from across the store snapped Bei Huai out of her thoughts.

She paused for a beat, then strode over in quick, long steps.

As for the photo—if she liked it that much, she could keep it.

~~~

They shopped for nearly two hours, and Jiang Wan ended up with her arms full of bags.

Seeing the petite girl practically buried under the shopping bags, Bei Huai reached out with her long arms and took them all.

“Let me carry a few. It’s too heavy for you to lug everything,” Jiang Wan said, blinking up at her.

Bei Huai ignored the offer and marched ahead, putting a good distance between them before glancing back impatiently. “Hurry up. I’m hungry.”

“Oh! What do you feel like eating?” Jiang Wan scurried to catch up.

“Anything. I’m not picky.”

“Hmm, how about hotpot?” she suggested after a moment’s thought.

It was already late November, and the weather had turned chilly. Hotpot would be perfect for warming up.

Bei Huai gave a noncommittal hum. She wasn’t particular about food—as long as it wasn’t terrible, she was fine.

“I know a place with amazing hotpot, but it’s a bit off the beaten path. I’ll take you there!” Jiang Wan took the lead.

Guanguan had tipped her off about it. Guanguan was a total foodie and could rattle off every good eatery in the area without missing a beat.

Jiang Wan led Bei Huai on a winding route, veering away from the bustling streets and into a quiet alley.

“Um, straight ahead from here, then right… no, it should be just up front.” She racked her brain to remember, double-checked her phone’s map, and confirmed they were on track.

“Don’t go losing us on the way to the hotpot place,” Bei Huai drawled, shooting a sidelong glance at the girl intently studying her navigation app.

“No chance—trust me!” Jiang Wan declared with wide-eyed confidence, even as a flicker of doubt stirred inside her.

Her sense of direction really was abysmal.

“Is that so?” Bei Huai’s lips quirked into a smirk, her eyes brimming with skepticism.

Jiang Wan opened her mouth to protest when a faint sound drifted from up ahead. Listening closely, it sounded just like the dull thuds of fists striking flesh.

Her expression grew solemn as she exchanged a glance with Bei Huai. Both could see the gravity mirrored in each other’s eyes.

Clearly, Bei Huai had heard it too—and she was even more certain than Jiang Wan that it was the sound of someone taking a beating.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Bei Huai moved like lightning, grabbing Jiang Wan’s arm just as she started forward. She frowned at her.

“Let’s go check it out. What if something bad’s happening?”

Under the insistent look in the girl’s eyes, Bei Huai finally relented.

“You stay right here and don’t move. I’ll go take a look.” With that, she set down her shopping bag and headed forward.

She wasn’t the type to stick her nose into other people’s business. If Jiang Wan hadn’t been there, she probably would have just kept walking.

Jiang Wan stayed behind alone. One or two minutes passed with no sign of Bei Huai.

She craned her neck, peering ahead anxiously.

A dozen seconds later, she couldn’t stand it anymore. Clutching her phone tightly, she hurried forward.

Bei Huai had told her not to budge, but how could she just stand there calmly in a situation like this?

What if something happened to Little Bei?

After walking a short distance, she spotted Bei Huai in a secluded corner.

The girl had shrugged off her trench coat, revealing the white shirt underneath.

Her sleeves were rolled up high. Expressionless, she hammered fist after ruthless fist into the face of the man in front of her, her features twisted with savage ferocity.

The man couldn’t defend himself at all. He let out ear-piercing shrieks like a pig being slaughtered.

“Little Bei!” Jiang Wan cried out involuntarily.

At the familiar voice, Bei Huai finally stopped. She turned to the girl, her gaze still icy but visibly softening—no trace left of the bloodthirsty menace she’d unleashed on the man.

She furrowed her brow slightly, her voice hoarse. “Why’d you come over? I told you to wait back there.”

Jiang Wan pressed her lips together and said nothing. She just gripped the strap of her crossbody bag tighter across her chest.

Noticing the gesture, darkness flickered in Bei Huai’s eyes. She didn’t press further. Instead, she strode to one side and kicked over a man who was grappling with a teenage boy.

“Call the cops,” she said coldly.

Only then did Jiang Wan realize the boy tangled with the man was Bei Qi.

Bei Qi stomped on the thug rolling on the ground in agony. He was banged up too, and the motion pulled at his wounds, making him grimace in pain. Still, he managed a wave at Jiang Wan.

Staring at the boy’s bruised and swollen face, Jiang Wan didn’t know what to say.

It wasn’t until they reached the police station that she got the full story.

Bei Qi had gone to cram school that weekend. Afterward, his hands were itching for some action, so he detoured to the arcade—taking a shortcut to get there.

Bad luck struck: he ran smack into two punk robbers.

Spotting the brand-name clothes on the lone kid, they saw easy pickings and weren’t about to pass up such a plump sheep.

Bei Qi was only in his early teens, brimming with hot-blooded energy. No way was he backing down.

The brawl kicked off just like that.

Bei Qi played ball regularly and was in solid shape. Even outnumbered two-to-one, he held his ground.

But one of the punks was sneaky, flashing a switchblade and slicing Bei Qi’s arm.

The fight flipped in an instant. Bei Qi found himself pinned down hard.

Bei Huai showed up later and laid both thugs out cold.

Bei Qi’s wounds were all superficial. The punks, on the other hand, got the worst of it.

Bei Huai had done a good deed stepping in like that—and those two were career criminals anyway, hauled in for robbery more times than anyone could count.

She and the others were just there to give statements.

The cops had called Bei Qi’s parents at first, since he was still a minor.

Once the statements were done, Jiang Wan watched a man hurry into the station.

He was sharply dressed in a suit, stern-faced and unsmiling, with eyes like daggers—an imposing figure.

At the same time, she noticed Bei Huai’s face turn to stone the moment he walked in. Disgust welled up so thick in her eyes it threatened to spill over.

The man rushed straight to Bei Qi’s side without so much as glancing at Bei Huai standing nearby.

“What happened? How’d you get banged up like this?” He frowned at the bruises on the boy’s face, his gaze a turbulent mix of anger and heartache.

“It’s nothing—just some scrapes.” Bei Qi shrugged it off with a careless wave. “Hey, you didn’t tell Mom, right?”

“Didn’t tell your mom. She’s not strong; it’d kill her with worry. I’ve told you a million times not to stir up trouble and give her one less thing to stress about.” The man’s tone was steady, but his words brimmed with tenderness and protectiveness toward “her.”

Jiang Wan snuck occasional glances at the man, thinking to herself, So this is Bei Huai’s dad.

He didn’t look a day over forty. He fussed over Bei Qi plenty, but seemed utterly indifferent to his own daughter.

With that in mind, she glanced sideways at Bei Huai—only to find the girl utterly impassive, as if long accustomed to it all.

She had grown accustomed to being ignored.

“Bei Huai, are you trying to piss me off to death? You fool around however you want on a normal day, but now you’re even dragging your little brother into it!” Suddenly, a woman burst through the door and unleashed a torrent of abuse at Bei Huai without another word.

“Who told you to take your brother along to fight!”

Her emotions boiled over as she spoke, and she lunged forward to strike Bei Huai.

Jiang Wan and the police officer hurried to intervene.

“Aunt Yun, Bei Huai didn’t lead Bei Qi astray—she saved him!” Jiang Wan positioned herself in front of Bei Huai and declared loudly.

“Aunt Yun, this has nothing to do with my sister. I was the one being extorted. If not for her, who knows if I’d be lying in a hospital bed right now!” Bei Qi explained hurriedly. He had wanted to rush over too, but his father pinned him back down the moment he tried to stand.

The police officer chimed in to defend Bei Huai as well.

Yun Manzhu realized she had jumped to conclusions upon hearing this, but Bei Huai met her gaze with a cold sneer, eyes brimming with disdain. Her temper ignited anew. She shoved Jiang Wan aside and delivered a resounding slap across Bei Huai’s face.

The motion was too quick; Jiang Wan staggered from the push and couldn’t react in time.

The sharp crack of the slap echoed through the station, plunging the entire room into silence.

Bei Qi’s eyes bulged in shock. He never imagined Aunt Yun could be so violent.

Bei Rong, meanwhile, stood off to the side, watching the scene unfold with utter detachment, as if the two women were complete strangers to him.

Bei Huai tilted her head slightly, a vivid red handprint blazing across her cheek, hot and stinging. She lowered her eyes, betraying no anger, no grievance—only a profound, empty stillness.

That very tranquility only twisted the knife deeper in everyone’s chest.

Jiang Wan’s gaze locked onto the mark on Bei Huai’s face, unblinking. Her heart clenched painfully.

Such a beautiful face—how could anyone bear to mar it?

“Hey now, let’s talk this out properly. Why hit the girl? She clearly did the right thing,” the police officer cajoled patiently.

“Useless girl, can’t even look after your own brother—look at the state he’s in!” Yun Manzhu knew her outburst had been rash, but with all eyes on her, she doubled down, forging ahead with her scolding.

It was the only way she could salvage any comfort for herself.

Jiang Wan’s chest burned with uncontainable fury at the sound of Bei Huai’s mother’s irrational tirade.

She trembled from head to toe, glaring daggers at Yun Manzhu, her voice quaking with rage.

“Auntie—and I only call you that out of respect. Tell me, is Bei Huai really your biological daughter?”

Yun Manzhu choked, shooting Jiang Wan a displeased look.

“What are you implying?”

“Hah. Because I’ve never seen a mother who jumps to blame her own daughter without hearing the facts, slaps her blindly without a hint of concern. Strangers might think Bei Qi was the one you gave birth to!”

Jiang Wan clenched her jaw tight, barely reining in the sharper barbs on the tip of her tongue.

“What do you know? I only lost it because Bei Huai’s such a disobedient brat. You’re her classmate, aren’t you? You must know how she stirs up trouble at school day in and day out. Dragging her brother into a fight wouldn’t be out of character!”

“Is that right? Then do you know why Bei Huai turned out like this?” Jiang Wan retorted with a cold laugh.

“It’s because of you!”

“And him!” Her finger jabbed accusingly at Bei Rong.

“You two, the most irresponsible parents on earth! You… don’t deserve to be Bei Huai’s parents.” Jiang Wan spat the words in a rush of anger and haste, the corners of her eyes turning red.

She had been raised in a warm, harmonious family, but that didn’t blind her to the existence of parents who failed their children.

She knew nothing of Bei Huai’s past, but she could tell Little Bei had endured a world of hardship.

This single incident revealed volumes.

Her father plainly didn’t care about her one iota. Her mother held not an ounce of trust in her—and felt free to lash out without restraint.

Even Jiang Wan, a mere outsider, ached for her. How much worse must it have been for Bei Huai herself?

The girl’s outburst left not just Bei Rong stunned—Bei Huai’s own expression grew complicated too.

She paused for a beat, then rose to her feet. Walking over to Jiang Wan, she slipped an arm around the girl’s shoulders.

In a quiet voice, she murmured, “Let’s go.”

Jiang Wan turned, meeting Bei Huai’s serene gaze. Lips pressed firmly together, she nodded vigorously.

Their statements were finished; the police officer didn’t stop them.

The two walked out of the station without so much as a backward glance.

Yun Manzhu started after them, but Bei Rong called her back.

The man’s face was thunderous as he snapped without mercy, “Haven’t you humiliated us enough?”

Yun Manzhu halted, a aggrieved look crossing her features. She turned to Bei Qi instead, forcing a near-pleading smile. “Little Qi, you’re not hurt too badly, are you? Don’t worry—Brother Rong won’t let those thugs who bullied you off the hook…”

“Shut up.” Before the woman could finish speaking, Bei Rong cut her off sharply.

She immediately fell silent and glanced at the police officer standing nearby. She realized she had said the wrong thing.

Bei Qi looked back and forth between the two of them, their faces showing a mix of emotions. He sighed heavily to himself.

He thought Jiang Wan was absolutely right.

To his sister, they really didn’t deserve to be her parents.

To be fair, Yun Manzhu had always been genuinely good to him. From childhood right up to now, she had never missed giving him a birthday gift.

And yet, despite all that, Bei Qi still couldn’t bring himself to like her.

Deep down, he knew exactly why Yun Manzhu treated him so well. It was spillover affection—she loved his father, and because his father doted on him, she extended that love to him too.

This kind of blind devotion only filled him with dread.