Super Soldier in the City

Chapter 2224 - 2288: Mediating for Peace

"Not answering it," Li Yifei said somewhat listlessly."Why not?" asked Su Lio.

"Just don’t feel like answering it," Li Yifei replied.

"That’s not right, you should answer it. It’s Mengxin’s call, what if it’s something urgent!" Su Lio said as she went to grab the phone. Li Yifei blocked her with his hand, moved the phone further away, it was still ringing. Finally, after the last few rings, Li Yifei answered it.

As soon as the call connected, Li Yifei heard a voice saying "Dad," and his tense face couldn’t hold back anymore. Although it wasn’t very fluent, it was indeed calling him Dad, and in Chinese.

"Son!" Li Yifei’s face broke into a smile.

"Dad!" the voice called again from the other side.

"Yes, it’s Daddy!" Li Yifei hurriedly responded.

Su Lio, standing by, couldn’t help but laugh, immediately understanding Su Mengxin’s tactic. Using the child’s few "Dad" calls could instantly break the frozen atmosphere.

Sure enough, after a few more calls, Li Yifei was eagerly responding, his face gradually becoming happier.

After a while, it was Su Mengxin’s turn to speak, and Li Yifei’s smile was still there.

"Honey, why are you so angry today? Is it still the heart demon affecting you?" Su Mengxin asked while coaxing the child.

Li Yifei replied, "No, the heart demon has long been defeated."

Su Mengxin then said, "That’s good, I was worried your mood was bad because of the heart demon acting up again."

"Hmm, it’s not that." Li Yifei understood Su Mengxin’s intent, and sure enough, after he finished speaking, she continued, "Since it’s not because of the heart demon, then honey, be the bigger person and forgive that girl. She’s still immature and struggling with things."

"I’m also struggling," Li Yifei responded.

"You’re struggling, but you have us. She’s struggling, who does she turn to?" Su Mengxin quickly replied.

Li Yifei’s mouth moved, feeling somewhat stumped by the question. Yes, Chu Xiaoyao also didn’t have parents, and her relatives were those kinds of people. If she’s upset, who does she talk to? She doesn’t even have many friends, probably only that one good friend. If she’s upset, who can she talk to...

Su Mengxin’s simple words had dissipated much of Li Yifei’s anger inside, and the rest he had already managed himself earlier. Earlier, in front of so many people, Li Yifei was indeed irritated.

"Alright, honey, I know you’re tired, but we all understand and care for you. I called Xiaoyao earlier and talked to her. She didn’t mean to upset you; she was just scolded by you and also troubled by someone else. She happily went downstairs to see you, but was interrupted. Your tone was a bit harsh, especially in front of so many classmates and friends."

"So she feels I embarrassed her?" Li Yifei raised his voice a bit.

"I certainly educated her well, and now it’s time to talk to you." Su Mengxin shifted her tone, "You were fine in the morning, but changed after stepping out?"

"My good wife, you don’t need to persuade me on this. Some things can indeed be tolerated, but some are a matter of principle."

"Principle my foot. I order you, find Xiaoyao right now and bring her home. What’s wrong with discussing things calmly at home? Must you argue in front of everyone? You’re angry, but have you thought about how Xiaoyao will stay at school later, how she’ll interact with classmates?" Su Mengxin’s tone suddenly became stern, which was rare for her.

Li Yifei’s momentum weakened. Before he could speak, Su Mengxin added, "You’re not that young anymore, calling her immature, but are you not immature? I still often receive flowers from men, do you get mad over that? Then you’ll be mad forever, all your wives are beautiful women, not just now, ten or twenty years from now they’ll still be charming. If you can’t handle it now, you won’t be able to handle it later."

"Mengxin, your words..." Li Yifei felt a bit awkward, though he agreed with her logic.

"Alright, honey, I know you can be sad too, but we’re a family. Let’s talk things over at home, it might just pass without arguing. Now I beg you, go find Xiaoyao and bring her back. Also, don’t blame her. She’s already admitted to me that she was wrong about Ali’s situation and letting Ali dance. I know you’re angry about that, too. Let’s avoid such things in the future, okay?" Su Mengxin changed her tone to a gentle appeal.

Su Mengxin had laid things out so well and provided such a good step, Li Yifei couldn’t insist anymore, which wouldn’t be good, so he said, "Alright, I’ll go find her."

"That’s more like it. Come on, son, call me dad. Once I bring Xiaoyao’s mom back, you can give him a kiss, okay?"

"Alright, alright, I’m going with Ali to find her, so don’t worry too much."

"Okay, go ahead. We’ll wait for your good news," said Su Mengxin.

After hanging up, Li Yifei turned to look at Su Lio. The latter smiled with her lips pursed and said, "Let’s go. I’ve already found out where Xiaoyao is."

"You’ve found Xiaoyao?"

"Of course, while you were on the phone with Mengxin, I asked our classmates. Let’s go quickly."

Chu Xiaoyao was watching the opening ceremony of the sports meet. Because she and Su Lio couldn’t perform, their dance was canceled at the last minute. After what had happened before, those people couldn’t help it either. Naturally, Chu Xiaoyao was not in a good mood. The other girls in the dance team ignored her, and everyone who had worked hard for days for a chance to perform now couldn’t go on stage. No one was in a good mood.

There were still tear marks on Chu Xiaoyao’s face. After a fight with Li Yifei in front of so many people, she felt bad about it. But Chu Xiaoyao was stubborn. After Su Mengxin’s persuasion, she knew she was wrong. But... why should she be the one to apologize? Li Yifei got to let out his frustration, but the few friends she and Su Lio had painstakingly made would probably have to be made again.

Thinking of this, Chu Xiaoyao became even more unhappy, cupping her face in her hands, pouting her lips. Some people came over to ask her what was wrong, some from her own class, others unknown boys. Chu Xiaoyao just rolled her eyes or said a few words to make them leave. But the more she did that, the unhappier she became, reaching an extreme level of unhappiness.

She was still wearing her performance dress. The wind was cold, making goosebumps appear on her arms, and combined with her bad mood, she felt cold all over.

Should she go dance with them? Watching her senior classmates’ sad faces, Chu Xiaoyao couldn’t help but think. But then she thought of Li Yifei’s face and his outburst of anger, gritted her teeth, and decided not to dance. Her dress was indeed a bit inappropriate, and she understood why Li Yifei was angry, but...

Hmph, if you don’t come looking for me, I won’t come looking for you. At worst... at worst, I won’t go home. I’ll wander outside; after all, that’s not my home! Chu Xiaoyao bit her lip and clenched her fingers. Thinking about home, she suddenly realized she really had no home. Her parents weren’t around, and falling out with Li Yifei, where else would she call home?

With this thought, her mood worsened, so Chu Xiaoyao simply left because it was too noisy. She slowly walked out of the stadium alone, heading towards the outdoor basketball courts. There were twenty courts in total, a large area normally filled with boys playing basketball, and sometimes girls. Chu Xiaoyao and Su Lio had strolled through a few times but never played.

But today, no one was playing. Everyone was attending the sports meet. Walking to a basketball hoop, Chu Xiaoyao looked up at the basket. It was very high. Even if she reached up on tip toes, there was still a long distance to the hoop. Even jumping couldn’t reach it.

If I can’t reach it, I can’t. Chu Xiaoyao pursed her lips and sighed.

At this moment, Li Yifei and Su Lio had arrived at the stadium. The combination of the two was quite an eye-catcher, especially among the young people here, who scrutinized them without restraint. The incident at the girls’ dormitory hadn’t spread yet, so most people just glanced their way, at most casting furtive glances at Su Lio.

They found the department and then the class, but Li Yifei and Su Lio couldn’t find Chu Xiaoyao. Su Lio asked a few classmates, who said Chu Xiaoyao had just been here but wasn’t anymore.

"She was just here?" Li Yifei considered trying to sense Chu Xiaoyao’s presence forcefully, but with thousands or even tens of thousands of people around, it was beyond his capability.

They even walked around the stadium once. Although sensing was hard with so many people, if close enough, Li Yifei could still feel it. However, after one round, they still couldn’t find any trace of Chu Xiaoyao.

"Not in the stadium," Li Yifei concluded.

"Then... where could she go?" Su Lio followed Li Yifei as he walked out.

"That girl... maybe nearby. She was just at your class," Li Yifei shook his head. Not finding her made him anxious; if anything happened to Chu Xiaoyao because of this, he’d absolutely lose his mind.

They walked out of the stadium, where there were still many people. Su Lio spotted someone familiar and asked if she had seen Chu Xiaoyao.

"Chu Xiaoyao?" The girl thought for a moment, "I think I saw her. Let me think... just now, over there, near the basketball courts, I think it was her!"

"Oh, thanks."

Upon hearing this, Su Lio quickly told Li Yifei, who had already heard, and they headed towards the basketball courts.

A couple of minutes later, Li Yifei and Su Lio arrived at the basketball court. Through the high iron mesh fence, they saw a small figure sitting under a basketball hoop, legs bent, chin resting on them, lonely and helpless. Seeing this scene, Li Yifei sighed in his heart and felt nothing but compassion.