The soup base was fiery red and steaming hot. Anyone seeing it about to splash onto the little girl would feel their heart clench in dread.
At this critical moment, a pair of hands reached out from the server's side and, with lightning speed, yanked the little girl away—
The next instant, that entire large portion of hot pot soup splashed all over the little boy standing behind the little girl.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
The little boy let out a piercing scream, and immediately everyone in the restaurant looked over.
"Ruan Ruan—"
A woman with a gentle voice stumbled hurriedly to the little girl, tears in her eyes as she frantically checked her over from head to toe.
Clearly, she had witnessed the entire incident but hadn't been able to rush forward in time to stop it.
Fortunately, the little girl's skin hadn't been touched by any of the soup. Only the hem of her dress and shoes had been splashed slightly when the large amount of soup hit the ground due to their proximity. Still shaken, she clung to the gentle woman's neck, sobbing quietly.
The woman looked up to thank Xiao He for saving her, but when her eyes met his, both of them widened their eyes in surprise.
Xiao He glanced at the woman, then looked incredulously at Ruan Ruan in her arms, sucking in a sharp breath.
Holy crap, wasn't this his master's wife?
No wonder he thought this "little fairy" looked familiar! Last time, this little girl had also been wearing an adorable princess dress when she came to pick up Teacher Song Zhe from work!
Damn, thank goodness! Thank goodness I encountered them! It was so close, really just a hair's breadth away!
The feeling of saving a stranger was quite different from saving someone you knew. Xiao He's heart was filled with nothing but relief and lingering fear.
"Thank you—"
Zhang Wanyue wiped her tears and thanked Xiao He with utmost sincerity.
But before Xiao He could respond, a woman who had just arrived let out a heart-wrenching scream—
"Ahhh, my Peng Peng!!!"
"Peng Peng, are you okay?"
Wang Yan rushed over, frantically wiping the hot pot base off the little boy, who kept wailing loudly, looking utterly miserable.
But after witnessing what had just happened, Xiao He could only respond with a cold laugh.
Serves you right. It's almost a pity the parent didn't get scalded too.
What kind of family raises a child like this? Xiao He had seen it clearly—that little boy had deliberately pushed Ruan Ruan!
Heh, reaping what you sow.
"Call the police! Call the police and arrest this person!"
Wang Yan cried while pulling at the innocent young server's sleeve and shouting. The poor server who had suffered this unjust disaster was at a complete loss, only able to repeatedly apologize: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really didn't expect her to suddenly bump into me, I'm sorry—"
"You damned thing, you hurt my Peng Peng! I won't let this go with you!"
Soon the landlady arrived and quickly helped her employee out of the situation: "We've already called the police and an ambulance! Let's wait for the police to arrive before discussing this! For now, take the child to rinse with cold water and give him basic first aid! The longer you delay, the worse it will get!"
The landlady's words finally calmed Wang Yan down a bit, and she quickly took the little boy to treat his wounds.
Right at that moment, Song Zhe also arrived.
"What happened?"
Song Zhe had clearly heard about the situation and immediately crouched down to pick up Ruan Ruan for a careful examination. "Are you okay, Ruan Ruan?"
Zhang Wanyue looked at Xiao He: "She's fine, thanks to your student this time."
Song Zhe looked surprised to see Xiao He, then smiled: "As expected of someone even Team Leader Yan praises. Xiao He, thank you so much this time!"
Xiao He shook his head: "It's nothing, I just happened to be here—"
Due to being in a commercial district, the police arrived very quickly, appearing on the scene in less than ten minutes.
These officers were from the local university district police station, whom Xiao He didn't know, but they seemed surprised when they saw him. They nodded slightly in acknowledgment, apparently recognizing Xiao He. Unlike previous officers who would immediately become suspicious and probe further upon seeing Xiao He due to his "criminal aura," they showed no such reaction.
It seemed Xiao He's previous heroic rescue actions had already spread through Shanghai's police circles. Everyone's first impression of Xiao He had shifted from his appearance to his character itself.
This was undoubtedly good news for Xiao He. Otherwise, every time a new officer appeared, he'd have to face suspicion and interrogation, which would be quite the headache.
Xiao He smiled and nodded back at them.
The little boy had already been sent away in an ambulance by the wailing Wang Yan, accompanied by her sister-in-law who had come with them. Wang Yan herself stayed behind, determined to get justice for her Peng Peng.
"Officer, you must investigate this thoroughly! It's this guy—he deliberately spilled the hot pot soup on my child!"
Wang Yan tugged at the young server's sleeve as she spoke.
"Alright, ma'am, please calm down a bit. Let's first review the surveillance footage," the lead officer, Officer Lin, reassured her.
The restaurant then pulled up the surveillance footage, which showed the seven-year-old boy running out of the women's restroom, clutching a beautiful crystal hair clip. The little girl Ruan Ruan chased after him crying, trying to get her hair clip back. As they reached the corridor, the little boy suddenly pushed Ruan Ruan.
How could Ruan Ruan's small frame withstand such a push? She directly fell onto the server who was coming around the corner from another table.
It was clear the server had tried very hard to recover, but some of the soup still spilled over the edge of the pot, heading straight for Ruan Ruan. The little boy, trying to avoid being splashed, actually crouched down intending to use Ruan Ruan as a human shield. But he never expected Xiao He to appear out of nowhere, quick-eyed and swift-handed, to snatch Ruan Ruan away. Thus, the hot pot soup ended up pouring directly over the little boy's head.
After watching the footage, the scene fell into a brief silence.
He Junhao, who had come over to watch, cleared his throat quietly and gave Xiao He a thumbs up: " from now on I won't read any satisfying revenge stories without you in them."
The beginning of that surveillance footage had been infuriating to watch, but the ending was exceptionally satisfying. Especially seeing the little boy covered in red oil, crying from being scalded, He Junhao felt like he'd drunk an ice-cold cola on a hot summer day—refreshed from head to toe.
Well, what could he say? He was already a "malicious-hearted" adult now.
"Why did your child come from the women's restroom?"
Officer Lin looked strangely at Wang Yan and signaled for the officers to rewind the surveillance footage further.
Wang Yan said as if it were the most natural thing: "My child is still so young, he can't go to the men's room by himself! So I have to bring him with me."
Sure enough, the surveillance footage showed that initially, Zhang Wanyue had brought Ruan Ruan into the women's restroom. Then, about half a minute later, Wang Yan brought her little boy into the women's restroom too.
"I just reminded them about it, and then she started cursing at me," Zhang Wanyue spoke up at this moment.
It turned out they had already had an argument in the restroom.
Earlier, while Zhang Wanyue was helping Ruan Ruan wash her hands, she noticed Wang Yan bringing her 1.4-meter-tall, 8-year-old son into the women's restroom. Out of kindness, Zhang Wanyue casually reminded her, but ended up being verbally abused by Wang Yan.
During their argument, the little boy snatched Ruan Ruan's hair clip and ran out. Ruan Ruan chased after him, while Zhang Wanyue was delayed for a few seconds after being blocked by Wang Yan. Nobody expected such a tragedy almost unfolded.
Fortunately, Xiao He appeared in time, otherwise Zhang Wanyue felt she would have carried guilt for the rest of her life.
After hearing Zhang Wanyue's explanation of what led to the incident, everyone's gaze turned meaningfully toward Wang Yan.
The number of problematic points was too dense—they needed a moment for their brain CPUs to process everything.