Song Qiao's heart skipped a beat upon receiving the call. He abruptly sat up straight in his seat.
"Mom, don't worry, I'll rush back as quickly as I can."
Song Qiao didn't ask many questions over the phone. After hanging up, he drove straight home.
"Mom, what's going on? What happened at home?"
As soon as he entered the house, Song Qiao, without even putting down his bag, asked urgently.
"Brother-in-law, you're back?"
At that moment, a young woman, appearing to be in her early thirties, walked up and gently took the briefcase from Song Qiao's hand.
Song Qiao was stunned for a moment, frantically searching his memory. It took him a while to recall.
The woman before him was Gao Min, Xia Yuqing's elder cousin. Her parents had passed away when she was very young, so her mother-in-law doted on her and treated her as her own daughter.
Although Gao Min, with her rural background, was somewhat introverted, she was extremely sincere and had always gotten along well with his wife.
"What, you don't recognize me?"
Seeing Song Qiao in a daze, Gao Min couldn't help but tease him.
"How could I not, Cousin? I'm just a bit surprised," Song Qiao said with a gentle smile, exchanging pleasantries with his cousin.
After they sat down, he realized that his cousin had brought her son, Jun Jun, with her. The two children were currently playing together in his daughter's bedroom.
Xia Yuqing had also rushed back and was busy cooking with her mother-in-law in the kitchen.
"I didn't expect Jun Jun to be so big in the blink of an eye," Song Qiao said, looking at Jun Jun, who was half a head taller than his daughter, with surprise.
"Alas." Gao Min sighed, glancing at her child, seeming to hesitate.
"What's wrong, Cousin? Is something wrong with Jun Jun?" Song Qiao, a seasoned businessman, quickly noticed Gao Min's slightly unnatural expression.
"No, it's nothing." Gao Min waved her hand, about to change the subject, when her mother-in-law suddenly rushed out of the kitchen.
"Nothing? Little Song, come here and look at Jun Jun."
After speaking, the mother-in-law grabbed Song Qiao and brought him to his daughter's bedroom, gently lifting the child's clothes.
Instantly, Song Qiao was frozen by the sight before him.
Jun Jun was covered in crisscrossing wounds, all appearing to be recent.
Song Qiao paused for a moment, gritted his teeth, and asked, "Who did this? Who the hell could be so brutal?"
"Alas, it's all my fault. A while ago, I asked Xiao Min to bring the child to the city to study with Qianqian, thinking the educational quality here would be better than in the countryside. I never expected this to happen on their very first day here," the mother-in-law sighed, speaking with distress.
"Mom, I need to find out exactly what happened first." Song Qiao took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and gave his mother-in-law a meaningful look.
The mother-in-law understood and immediately took Qianqian out of the bedroom, leaving only Song Qiao and Jun Jun inside.
His nephew, Jun Jun, was looking at him timidly, his eyes darting away. Song Qiao smiled gently at him, calmly helped him put on his clothes, and then crouched down in front of Jun Jun.
"Jun Jun, do you still recognize me?"
"Yes, you're Aunt Song Qiao," Jun Jun replied timidly after some thought. A few years ago, when Song Qiao visited his hometown, he had met Jun Jun. At that time, Song Qiao had good luck and had given him a generous red envelope.
"Can you tell your uncle how you got the injuries on your body?" Song Qiao gently patted his shoulder and continued to encourage him.
At this question, Jun Jun's eyes reddened. After all, he was still a child. It was remarkable that he hadn't cried after being bullied so severely.
"Don't rush, we'll talk slowly," Song Qiao continued to rub the little one's face, asking patiently.
"It was my classmates at school today. There were many of them, and they bullied me. They even snatched my sandbag," Jun Jun finally broke down, crying as he spoke.
"Be good, Jun Jun. A brave boy doesn't cry."
"Tell me, what's the name of the child who led them?"
"Chen, Chen Chengcheng." Jun Jun's eyes showed a hint of fear when he mentioned the name.
Song Qiao then asked a few more probing questions, and he finally confirmed the course of events. After understanding the truth and how Jun Jun was beaten, Song Qiao clenched his fists twice, but he didn't show his anger in front of the child. After comforting Jun Jun, he called Qianqian back in, asking her to play with her brother for a while. Song Qiao walked out of the bedroom with a grim expression.
As soon as he stepped out, he asked Gao Min, "Cousin, have you contacted the other parents? What did they say?"
"Brother-in-law, the other parent is an unreasonable shrew. I took Jun Jun to reason with her, but not only did she not apologize, she even extorted money from us, claiming her child was also injured. She also demanded that I bring Jun Jun to apologize to her child tomorrow."
"But I saw that because several people ganged up on Jun Jun, the child named Chen Chengcheng wasn't hurt at all."
"What?" Song Qiao's already grim expression became even more ferocious.
"Thump." He suddenly raised his fist and smashed it hard onto the table.
"This is simply outrageous!"
"Cousin, what did you say to her?"
"I, I really couldn't deal with her. The other party is wealthy and influential, reportedly a big boss. With just a word, they could make our family unable to survive in this city."
"Hmph, so arrogant. Doesn't this world have any laws?" Song Qiao snorted dismissively.
"Brother-in-law, let's just let this matter go. I'll apologize to them tomorrow. We really can't fight them." Seeing Song Qiao's anger, Gao Min cautiously advised him.
"Let it go? Apologize?" Song Qiao laughed disdainfully and said coldly, "With their attitude, I think they're the ones who should be apologizing."
"You don't need to worry about this. Leave it to me. I promise to get justice for Jun Jun!" With that, Song Qiao, without further ado, was about to contact the other parents and confront them.
"Little Song, you absolutely must not be impulsive!" Seeing Song Qiao's fierce demeanor, the mother-in-law immediately frowned. Although she also wanted to seek an explanation from the other party, she absolutely did not want Song Qiao to act so rashly!
"Yes, Song Qiao, please sit down and calm down first. Let's think of a reasonable solution." Xia Yuqing also rushed out from the kitchen and advised her husband. She had witnessed her husband's temper and knew that Song Qiao could not stand seeing his family being bullied. With the current situation, he might act rashly and do something detrimental.
"Little Song, this is not the time for boasting." The mother-in-law, fearing Song Qiao wouldn't listen, couldn't help but scold him again from the side.