Chapter 18

On the other side, after overcoming numerous difficulties, the two small search parties who had come looking for Ruo Ruo were finally reunited. The four self-proclaimed responsible older brothers and sisters held hands as they marched valiantly towards House No.3.

They had to admit, the few little ones were quite united. Whenever someone was too tired to walk, the others would start cheering them on. This touching scene made all the fathers beam with fatherly love.

Unfortunately, the road to House No.3 was longer than these little ones had expected. On top of that, the children were beginning to feel hungry, dampening the atmosphere within the search party.

Seeing this, Fan Jin, the oldest among them, took it upon himself as the mood maker to entertain his younger siblings along the way, managing to restore some cheer among the group.

"Little Jin is quite reliable as an older brother," the fathers nodded in approval.

Even Fan Jing's father, who had often been exasperated by his son's antics, had a proud look on his face. However, this proud thought had barely crossed his mind when the hyperactive Fan Jin tripped over a rock up ahead. It had happened so suddenly that the filming crew did not react in time. By the time they rushed over, the little man had already fallen to the ground.

"Brother Fan Jin!"

The other children were badly frightened too. When the staff carefully helped Fan Jin to his feet, they saw that his knee was already badly bruised and scraped, with blood oozing out.

The gory sight made the children even more distressed.

"Wah! Brother's bleeding!" Geng Zhenzhen cried out loud.

"He's bleeding!"

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt, I fall down all the time," Fan Jin quickly comforted his friends despite wincing in pain, making for a poignant sight. Especially for Fan Jin's father - as naughty as his son was, seeing him hurt this badly still made the stern father's heart ache.

[Oh my god, little Fan Jin trying to comfort the other kids while his knee is badly bruised and bleeding, I'm crying!]

[What is Fan Jing's father still waiting for? Shouldn't he go check on his son?]

[To be honest, I've always felt that Fan Jing's father does not dote on his son as much as the other fathers. If it were any of the other fathers, they would have rushed over immediately.]

.....

As the audience criticized, the filming crew also asked Fan Jing's father if he wanted to go over.

"No need, our boy is very active, these are just small injuries. I trust that he can handle it," Fan Jing's father replied, his voice tightening as he watched his son still pulling faces to amuse his younger siblings despite having his wound dressed.

Little did he expect that his words would draw even more ire from the audience.

[Ugh Fan Jing's father has lost a fan in me. I'm even starting to wonder if Fan Jin is really his son! The child is clearly in pain but he says it's fine?]

[I guess it's because he's a boy? I think Fan Jing's father just doesn't want his son to be too delicate.]

[Who cares about all that when the child is injured? If I were Fan Jin I would think my father didn't love me!]

[Right, stop making excuses! Fan Hongru is clearly unfit to be a father!]

.....

"Huh, Ruo Ruo?!"

Amidst the barrage of criticism, Fan Jin, who was busy amusing his siblings, suddenly pointed ahead in surprise and exclaimed.

??

The other children immediately turned their heads. Sure enough, they saw Ji Ruochu being led towards them by a staff member. They promptly stopped crying and raced eagerly towards Ji Ruochu.

"Ruo Ruo! How did you get here?" "Were you scared when you couldn't find Uncle Ji?"

"Don't be scared, we will protect you!"

Ji Ruochu: ....I guess, but could you wipe your tears and snot first before saying that?

It was quite amusing. She had been napping peacefully under a tree earlier when the children's bawling had jolted her awake. Upon learning that Fan Jin had fallen, she had asked a staff member to bring her over.

Yet when she got here, she was puzzled by the scene before her. Weren't they saying that Fan Jin was the one who fell? Why were the other children crying so sadly?

She turned to look and indeed, there was Fan Jin happily waving at her. He had already had his wound dressed and was now hobbling eagerly towards her with a limp.

"Ruo Ruo!"

Just as Ji Ruochu was about to say something after glancing at his rather alarming wound, Fan Jin quickly reassured her, "Sis don't be scared, I'm fine, it doesn't hurt one bit, really!"

To prove it, he even tried to skip for her, but was stopped by the staff. He was sweating buckets by then and the staff nearly had to kneel in exasperation at this little rascal.

"So brave!" Ji Ruochu gave him apt praise at the right time.

"Hehe~" Basking in her praise, Fan Jin happily scratched his head as his teeth glittered brightly in the sun.

The other children also rushed to sing Fan Jin's praises. Their looks of admiration made Fan Jin stand taller, and he would surely be wagging his tail wildly in joy if he had one.

Seeing this, the filming crew finally heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness the little rascals had finally stopped crying!

Now that the children had regrouped, the next part of the filming could carry on.

"Look, isn't that Uncle Village Chief?"

Lin Xindi glanced up and immediately spotted Xu Chuan walking over from behind the group. She eagerly shouted and pointed him out.

"Hello, Village Chief!"

When Xu Chuan approached them, the sweet and polite children chorused their greetings. It was all so cute and heartwarming that Xu Chuan's smile grew even wider.