My Youth Began With Him

“Uncle Shen, this is Tiantian.”

“Tiantian…” Shen Mingxi’s heart softened when he heard the child’s fluffy voice.

“Uncle Shen, do you know where Mommy is right now?”

Shen Mingxi recalled that Huo Yanyan was caught with a stranger last night. She even had her nudes sent to him as a threat so there was no way she was home.

“I don’t know either. What’s the matter?”

“I called her but she’s not picking up. She turned off her phone. I’m hungry… I haven’t eaten yet and no one’s taking me to school.”

“Are you home alone?” Shen Mingxi asked caringly.

“Yes.”

“What about the nanny?” Shen Mingxi recalled that there had been a nanny at home before to take care of them.

“Nanny’s gone. Mommy fired her… Mommy has been in a really bad mood recently. She’s always bad-tempered. I’m scared…”

“Tiantian, stay at home and don’t run around. I’ll come to get you.”

“Okay. I’ll be good so can you please come soon?”

After ending his call with Tiantian, Shen Mingxi tried calling Huo Yanyan but she had turned her phone off.

“That woman has gone nuts! Does she not even care about her own child?” Shen Mingxi rushed downstairs angrily.

At Huo Yanyan’s home, Shen Mingxi saw Tiantian, Huo Yanyan’s daughter. Tiantian’s hair was messy, and she was sitting on the sofa eating a half-full bag of cookies.

She looked wretched, and Shen Mingxi’s heart really ached for her.

“Uncle Shen!” When Tiantian saw Shen Mingxi, she rushed over and hugged his leg.

“Why are you eating that?” Shen Mingxi frowned.

“There’s only this at home and I’m hungry.”

“Okay, stop eating that. Let’s go. I’ll take you for some delicious food.”

“Okay,” she said happily.

Shen Mingxi drove Tiantian to a salon and the hairdresser tied her hair into cute little braids.

Then, they went to the mall. He bought her two new sets of clothes. After Tiantian got changed, Shen Mingxi asked, “What do you want to eat, Tiantian?”

“Can we go have Pizza Hut? I want chicken wings.”

“Sure.”

Tiantian’s request was very small so Shen Mingxi drove directly to a Pizza Hut in the city center.

He and Tiantian sat down at a table.

“Tiantian, has your mother not been coming home a lot recently?”

“Mhm…” The little girl nodded.

“Then how have you been getting home after school?”

“I stay in daycare until Mommy picks me up but she usually comes really late. There was once she didn’t come at all so the teacher brought me to her home and I slept there for the night,” the little girl said as she stuffed some chicken wings in her mouth.

Shen Mingxi felt bitter pain for this little girl…

Tiantian was still such a small child but she had to bear with Huo Yanyan’s craziness. Huo Yanyan no longer had a functioning life and it was her own fault.

“Uncle Shen, I want to go somewhere this weekend…”

“Where do you want to go?”

“I want to go see Pudding and Little Bean. I haven’t seen them in a long time. Also, I want to see Auntie Huo Mian. She’s very kind to me. Every time I go to her place, she makes me cakes and ice cream…”

Shen Mingxi sank into silence…

Now that things have turned out the way it had, there was no way Tiantian could go to South Hill Manor because Huo Mian would not welcome her for sure.

“Pudding and Little Bean might not be free but how about I take you to the aquarium this weekend?” Shen Mingxi said.

“Yes! Yes! I love dolphins!” Little girls were very easy to please.

Huo Yanyan wandered around and when she finally arrived home, she realized that her daughter was not there. She called the daycare and she wasn’t there either. She was completely lost…

She almost called the police but suddenly remembered there were security cameras in her neighborhood. When she saw that Shen Mingxi walked out with her daughter, she was relieved.

Then, she called Shen Mingxi.

“Hello?”

“Where did you take my daughter?” she asked with an interrogating tone.