Her father?

Now, as much as Luo Ruolan would've like to stay in the moment, they couldn't have just possibly ignored the fact that it was raining. 

Gradually, all the other kids were picked up by their moms or any other relatives, leaving only the two of them in that park, amidst all the pouring. 

Quite hesitatingly, the kid looked up at the woman who had helped her with those neighborhood kids, as if seeking an explanation. 

"Uh...look at that, you're all soaked as well. Wait, hold on...I think I have an umbrella..." Luo Ruolan panicked, seeing the kid in front of her completely drenched. And to prevent further damage, she rummaged through her purse, finally pulling out a downright weird, yellow fluorescent umbrella. 

'If you already had an umbrella... why are you soaked as well...? What a weird lady she is...' were the thoughts clearly expressed on the little child's face, as she kept her eyes fixed on the woman. Still waiting for an explanation, maybe. 

Unfurling the umbrella, Luo Ruolan held it over the kid's head, bending it forward, probably to provide some extra protection since kids were more likely to catch a cold. "Here... " 

But other than that, she literally had no idea what she was supposed to say to the kid. She definitely hadn't though about this far when she charged in and spun out a lie to those bullies. 

Realizing that this woman wasn't going to say anything, the blond girl sighed, "You're not my mom..."

"I...uh...well, you see..." Luo Ruolan started, "I just..."

"Thank you." 

"H-Huh...?" wait, the girl wasn't angry...!!? But she had just barged into her personal life...

"I don't have a mom... and those kids, they're like every other kid. They don't want to play with me or talk to me at school because I don't have a mother... they say I'm uncivilized... " 

All because she didn't have a mother...? Luo Ruolan, felt a strange sense of familiarity with this girl. She sympathized with her, it was almost as if she was looking at her past self. She stayed silent, waiting for her to finish. 

"...I recently moved here with my dad. He said this was his hometown or something, I thought the kids here would be different but they're not... I wouldn't have been able to make these friends today if you didn't show up like you d-did... " and by the time she finished the sentenced, the little girl was already in tears. 

It must have been very painful. Growing up without a mother was already hard, and to make things worse, getting shunned by people of the same age...? That must have been very difficult for this girl. 

"Shh... don't worry... " Luo Ruolan, carefully kneeled, not caring if the ground was muddy or not, and gently pulled the girl into her arms. While doing that she had already dropped the umbrella as she cradled the child in her arms, "it'd gonna be fine now... they know that you have a mother now. Just that your mother stays overseas mostly, but so what? So, don't cry okay...?" 

The two hugged each other in the rain, when suddenly...

'Huh? The rain... did it stop?' Luo Ruolan blinked. She couldn't feel the raindrops on her head anymore, but when she looked forward, she could still see that it was pouring heavily. 

Wait.

Was someone blocking the rain for them? Was someone holding an umbrella over there heads?

In a flash, she turned around to see who the person was, and that's when their eyes met. 

Time stopped? Skies growled? Lightning flashed? Butterflies inside the stomach? Feelings  fluttered? Nah. None of that, rather, she was met with a seemingly cold glare directed right at her. 

It was a quite tall man, maybe even taller than Liang Fang, wearing decent cloths, definitely customized, and his hair, the perfect shade of blond. Oh wait, not natural blond, rather, it looked dyed. However, his eyes, the same ones the little girl carried, glistening like sapphires. 

But wait, this was definitely not the time to judge a random person's looks. This gentlemen, who was 99% likely to be the girl's father, was holding a 90s umbrella over their heads. What Luo Ruolan couldn't contemplate was, 'Why is he glaring at me like that?'

"Stupid." being the first word this man directed towards Luo Ruolan. Then, he continued, "I can expect something like this from an 8 year old, but a grown woman like you... God!" 

By any chance, was he referring to the fact that they were both drenched in the rain? But that wasn't their fault now, was it!? 

"Excuse me?" she narrowed her eyes, but before their conversation advanced, the little girl had broken free from her embrace and growled at the man, getting into a fighting stance. 

"You damn brat! How can you just leave the complex like that!? I told you that you were to behave, and now look! You're all wet! No chocolates for the month!!" the man stated sharply.

And the little girl had opened her mouth to retaliate, but Luo Ruolan had yelled out, "but that's not fair!! One month without chocolates!? She's a kid, you can't do that!" 

"Huh?" 

"She didn't commit a crime. All she did was get soaked in the rain which is very natural for kids her age! It's not her fault!" 

"Listen, lady. I don't know what you're playing at. I do admit that you're quite interesting but you have no right to lecture me on how I should punish my daughter for breaking the house-rules. 

'House rules? What is that? My dad was even stricter than this guy but even he never created a set of house rules... hold on a second... could this guy be an even worse father than my dad? No way, then is this cute little girl going through the same troubles I've been going thorough, if not worse...!??' Luo Ruolan mentally panicked. 

What if this little girl was being abused at home? 

"But sir, you shouldn't..." 

"That's enough!" the man was now annoyed. "You, come with me. Let's go back as soon as possible!" 

But Luo Ruolan froze on her spot when he yelled out that phrase. 'That's enough' was Liang Fang's signature style to stop her from expressing her views. He'd throw that to her when he had nothing to say and didn't want to argue unnecessarily. No wonder, this guy was another basta*d, just like Liang Fang. 

Although she had felt a pang in her chest upon hearing this man, who was so similar to Liang Fang, talk, she had hoped that they wouldn't notice her wariness. 

But this 'freezing' moment and her slight flinch didn't go unnoticed by the girl's father. For a moment, his expression softened, as he wondered, 'What was that about...?' 

Sighing, the tall man rubs the back of his neck, "Okay fine. You win, come her little cherry. Let's go home now, okay...?" 

The girl's expression turned sad as she dropped her gaze to the ground, apologetically. 

"I won't stop you from eating chocolates. It's getting late now, let's go back. Okay?" 

Finally, after much hesitation, the little girl nods and looks up at his father. Her eyes were indeed apologetic. She might have realized that to some extent it was probably her fault and her dad was only worried. 

The girl nodded and then turned to look at the lady who had saved them and smiled wide, "t-thank you for helping me back then... I won't be lonely anymore..." 

Luo Ruolan somehow felt touched at the kindness this little girl was showing her. Although she still didn't believe that this father was not a basta*d like Liang Fang, but she was willing to let that slide since this man seemed to have a caring side as well. Otherwise, he wouldn't have smiled at his daughter so affectionately. And how tired he looked, he might have been worried sick for his child. 

"You're welcome sweetie... Take care of yourself, and even though your dad is not banning you from eating chocolates, don't eat too many of them. Bye bye ~ " 

She didn't want to part. 

But she wasn't her child. Had her pregnancy remained healthy, some day she could've also... 

Ah, stop! Don't think about that, Luo Ruolan! 

"Bye byeeeeee ~ " the little girl smiled again and waved her hand in the air, adding a hesitant "m-mommy..." 

That might have been an expression of gratitude, from a little child to a woman in her early 30s, but both Luo Ruolan and the man were left in complete shock. 

'She called me... mommy....? Earlier it was for acting but this...' was what went through Luo Ruolan's head.

'No way... little cherry actually called a woman her mommy...?' was what went through the man's head. 

And because of the awkward turned situation, no one spoke for the next few moments, a massive blush rose to the rosy cheeks of the little girl as she got embarrassed that they weren't responding to that. She immediately got out from under the umbrella and ran out of the park, possibly heading towards the car that was parked far away. 

"Little cherry, wait.....!" her father sighed as he too got ready to leave. But before he actually left, he turned towards Luo Ruolan with an unreadable expression.