Madam, Please Behave

For a moment, everything around seemed to fall silent.

Liu Zhiyue stared straight at the woman wearing sunglasses.

His expression was hard to read, and his heart was filled with a mix of emotions.

The sound of car horns blaring behind them grew increasingly frantic—several vehicles were stuck in line.

Ye Rong paid them no mind, simply calling out to Liu Zhiyue.

“Get in the car.”

Hearing her words, Liu Zhiyue hesitated.

His right foot moved forward slightly, but then his body seemed to freeze, and he stopped again.

Letting out a long breath, as if trying to expel the frustration from his chest, Liu Zhiyue shook his head.

“……”

Liu Zhiyue couldn’t see Ye Rong’s expression beneath her sunglasses, which obscured most of her face. Still, being stared at by her inexplicably made him feel pressured.

He had been afraid of Ye Rong since he was a child.

Compared to his grandfather, he always gravitated toward the older man when visiting his mother’s family. He would cling to his grandfather, avoiding his grandmother, who constantly criticized his appearance, made him read books he hated, and threw away the toys his grandfather had bought him.

When he was little, he had once kept a puppy as a pet.

But because Ye Rong didn’t like it, the dog disappeared the next day, never to be seen again.

Back then, Liu Zhiyue had cried and wailed in his father’s arms, utterly heartbroken.

He still hadn’t forgotten that day when his grandfather passed away—the sight of Ye Rong in all black, her face devoid of expression, showing not a shred of emotion.

“I had planned to check on you and your sister today anyway. Since I’ve run into you here, just get in the car,” Ye Rong said, as if she hadn’t heard Liu Zhiyue’s refusal.

With a soft click, the rear door unlocked and swung open.

After a brief silence, Liu Zhiyue reached out, pulled the door open, and got in.

The car started again, its driver keeping his eyes fixed on the road as they headed toward Liu Xiazhi’s school.

There was no conversation between the two passengers.

Ye Rong’s appearance was surprisingly youthful. Years of meticulous care had left little trace of age on her. Her short, deep brown hair gave off a sharp and capable vibe, and her skin showed no signs of the sagging typical of aging.

She reached up, removed her sunglasses, folded them, and placed them on the rack beside her.

Turning her face toward Liu Zhiyue, she scrutinized him.

He resembled his mother greatly.

That was one of the impressions Ye Rong had left on Liu Zhiyue.

As mother and daughter, the resemblance between Ye Rong and Li Wanran was striking—seven or eight points similar in appearance. However, Ye Rong’s face carried an air of intimidation that Li Wanran’s did not.

“What is Liu Changqing doing now?” Ye Rong asked.

“He’s working,” Liu Zhiyue replied tersely.

“Is that so? Just as I thought.”

Ye Rong turned her head and leaned back in her seat, her tone laced with disdain.

“I never thought much of him from the start. The biggest mistake was that you and your sister carry half of his blood.”

Liu Zhiyue’s fists clenched tightly.

“A country bumpkin with no redeeming qualities. Staying with him will only bring you and your sister more suffering. Thankfully, this situation won’t last much longer.”

“What do you mean?”

Liu Zhiyue immediately sensed something off in Ye Rong’s words.

Won’t last much longer?

“He’ll bring the two of you to me himself,” Ye Rong said, glancing at Liu Zhiyue.

“It won’t be long before he can’t hold on anymore.”

“……”

Liu Zhiyue clenched his teeth tightly. For some reason, all he wanted to do at that moment was to escape from the car.

What did she mean by this?

What had his father done wrong? From the beginning, none of this was his father’s fault. It was their mother who had betrayed them first—why was his father the one being punished?

Images of Liu Changqing flashed through his mind:

Back when their mother stopped coming home, his father went from forcing a bitter smile to becoming expressionless, locking himself in his room for days. The house reeked of alcohol during that time.

Liu Zhiyue would never forget the day his father signed the divorce papers. Holding him tightly, Liu Changqing whispered in his ear:

“Dad… only has the two of you left now.”

Ye Rong studied her grandson’s face, her gaze unreadable.

Compared to his lively younger sister, she wasn’t particularly fond of Liu Zhiyue. Ye Rong had always been a perfectionist—in her surroundings, career, marriage, and even appearance.

This grandson looked too much like Liu Changqing, something Ye Rong disliked immensely.

But in his features, there were traces of Li Wanran too.

Her heart softened slightly as she reached out, gently placing a hand on Liu Zhiyue’s.

She patted it softly and was about to say something when Liu Zhiyue’s sudden reaction left her stunned.

Feeling her hand on his, Liu Zhiyue abruptly raised his arm and flung her hand off.

In that fleeting moment, memories flashed through his mind like a slideshow: his mother’s betrayal, his father’s helplessness, and that man who silently sobbed behind a door in the middle of the night.

He wanted nothing to do with this family.

“Stop the car!”

Liu Zhiyue’s voice was low but firm as he addressed the driver.

There was no response.

“I said stop the car!!”

His face flushed red with anger, and Ye Rong, startled by his outburst, looked at him in shock. A hint of humiliation crossed her face—she had never been spoken to like this before.

Her expression darkened.

“Stop the car,” she ordered.

This time, the driver complied. The car slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.

Without another word, Liu Zhiyue unlocked the door, pushed it open, and left without looking back.

Ye Rong watched his figure through the window for a moment before pulling her gaze back. She put her sunglasses back on, closed her eyes, and leaned her head against the seat.

“Let’s go home.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Her mood soured.

Maybe… Liu Xiazhi is all I need, a thought surfaced in her mind.

And once it did, it spiraled out of control.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiazhi was whispering with her deskmate in class.

Her deskmate, another girl, wore oversized glasses despite her young age. She was about the same height as Liu Xiazhi and looked quiet and bookish.

After glancing at the teacher on the podium, the bespectacled girl lowered her head and whispered to Liu Xiazhi.

“I saw on the news yesterday—there’s a creep lurking around nearby, targeting little girls.”

Gossiping seemed to be a universal trait, no matter one’s age.

Liu Xiazhi’s expression shifted; it was clear this topic piqued her interest.

“What kind of creep?”

The girl pushed her large glasses up her nose with a finger.

“They said it’s an adult man who specifically targets kids walking alone. I overheard my neighbors talking about it the other day.”

She added some embellishments for effect.

“Apparently, it never ends well.”

“That’s so scary!” Liu Xiazhi exclaimed with mock fright.

No sooner had she finished speaking than the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

As the teacher left, the two girls packed their books into their bags, slinging them over their shoulders before leaving the classroom together.

They continued their conversation as they walked, parting ways at the school gate with a cheerful “See you tomorrow!”

Liu Xiazhi then turned and skipped happily toward home.

After taking about ten steps, a figure suddenly darted out from the side and grabbed her from behind, lifting her off the ground.