Chapter 379: Hailing a Ride with a Rogue Driver

Lao Qi took Wang Bingbing to the hospital, and Shi Youxuan found Shi Ran, forcing her to come home with her.

"No, I won't go back with you. You're unreasonable, I hate you." The little girl shouted loudly at her. Shi Youxuan could bear it no longer and slapped her daughter across the face—"Smack!"

After this slap, Shi Ran stopped shouting immediately.

The little girl looked at her mother in shock; if not for the burning pain on her face, she would have suspected it was a hallucination.

Her mother had never slapped her before. She had been spanked for being naughty in the past, but Shi Youxuan never hit her children in the face. This was the first time, and in front of so many people, too.

Shi Youxuan regretted it the moment she hit her, but regret was regret; a mother's authority could not be lost.

She put on a stern face: "Come home with me."

Shi Ran did not dare to resist and followed her obediently this time.

Jian Yixin couldn't stand it and wanted to go over to reason with her, but was stopped by Sheng Zerong: "Don't go and make things worse. So many people are watching; you have to leave some face for the adults."

So she held back.

As a result, when she looked back, Sheng Hanyu was chatting and laughing with others as if nothing had happened, and she was so angry she didn't know where to start.

She went up to Sheng Hanyu and apologized to the other person: "Excuse me, I need to talk to him about something."

Jian Yixin dragged Sheng Hanyu over to their small group and asked him in a huff: "What is wrong with you? You know what kind of temper that woman has, so why are you deliberately provoking her?"

Although Jian Yixin couldn't stand Shi Youxuan either, she still hoped the two of them would be fine.

"I didn't provoke her," Sheng Hanyu said concisely.

He seemed not to want to continue this topic and quickly ended it: "Do you have anything else? If not, I'm leaving."

Jian Yixin asked: "Where are you going?"

Sheng Hanyu: "Home."

Everyone:...

Jian Yixin wouldn't give up and asked him if he wasn't going to check on Shi Youxuan's place.

He gave a clear answer: "No. I won't go there in the future either if there's nothing to do. I have many things to do; I can't put all my energy into a woman."

This sounded as if he had had an epiphany and was about to become a monk.

Shi Youxuan brought her daughter out of the hotel, her mood at its absolute worst.

To make matters worse, she realized she hadn't driven there herself, but had come in the same car as Sheng Hanyu.

The mother and daughter stood at the hotel entrance for quite a while, and no car came to pick them up!

If this were in the past, Sheng Hanyu would definitely have chased after them to take them home, no matter how busy he was; at the very least, he would have sent a driver to pick them up, and he would never have forgotten.

But now, there was nothing.

Nothing at all.

When Sheng Hanyu arranged everything for her, she found it annoying, but now that he had suddenly washed his hands of it, Shi Youxuan felt an empty, uncomfortable void in her heart!

"Mom, why aren't we going home? Why are we standing here?" Shi Ran couldn't help but ask.

Shi Youxuan replied: "We are waiting for a taxi. We'll go home when the car comes."

This excuse perfectly covered up her embarrassment, but no taxis came here!

Prince Hotel was the best hotel in Jiangzhou; all the guests today drove their own cars, no one came by taxi, and people were even embarrassed to drive in unless it was a luxury car, let alone take a taxi.

"Mom, I'm tired," Shi Ran said in a small voice.

"Wait a moment, baby, Mom is calling a ride-hailing car." Shi Youxuan downloaded a ride-hailing app on the spot and called a car.

Soon, a white Toyota stopped in front of the mother and daughter.

The two got in, Shi Youxuan stated the address, and the car started moving.

The driver was a middle-aged man around forty. Once the car started, he kept looking at the mother and daughter through the rearview mirror, his gaze malicious.

He even tried to strike up a conversation: "Sister, your dress is really pretty. It must be quite expensive, right?"

Shi Youxuan was already annoyed and didn't want to chat, so she just made an "mm" sound from her throat as a reply.

But the driver was not discouraged and started rambling on endlessly.

"Yo, Sister, you look like a rich person. Why didn't you drive out? Did you have a fight with your husband? What's wrong with the child's face? It wasn't hit by your husband, was it?"

He didn't stop after getting no response, but became even more enthusiastic: "Let me tell you, men and women are really different. Once men have money, few of them don't have wandering eyes. Even if you don't say it, I can guess you had a fight with your husband, right?"

"Your husband must have a mistress outside, right? It must be. Let me tell you, Sister, you have to be open-minded about these things. Men are just like that, everyone is the same. Even if you change to someone else, it's the same..."

Shi Youxuan was agitated and took a few hundred-yuan bills from her wallet and shoved them over: "From now on, don't speak. Let us have some peace."

This man was truly inexplicable, spouting nonsense in front of a child.

The driver happily took the money and stopped nagging, but handed over a business card: "Sister, my number is on here. If you want to find someone to talk to, look for me."

Shi Youxuan didn't take it, but he didn't feel embarrassed, and after less than two minutes of silence, he started again.

"Sister, you are so beautiful, it's too wrong for your husband to cheat. Women are like fresh flowers; they can't live without a man's nourishment. Although I'm a few years older than you, I know how to be warm and caring, and I know how to cherish women..."

"Stop the car."

Shi Youxuan could bear it no longer and told the driver to stop.

"What's wrong, Sister? We haven't reached the destination yet, why stop? Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. I just saw you were in a bad mood and thought I'd make you happy. If you don't want to listen, I won't say anything."

Shi Youxuan held her phone in her hand and quietly dialed 110, but didn't press call.

Shi Ran was also scared and huddled obediently in her mother's arms, whispering: "Mom, I'm scared!"

"It's okay, baby, Mom is here, it's okay. There are surveillance cameras on the road, and bad guys wouldn't dare do anything to us in broad daylight." She was both comforting the child and warning the driver.

The driver smiled; although he was still lecherous, he didn't tease her with words anymore.

Finally seeing the residential complex, Shi Youxuan didn't wait until they reached the main gate and made the driver stop, then took the child and ran toward the gate as if escaping.

"Stop!"

The driver shouted from behind: "You haven't paid the fare yet."

So, the money she gave earlier was just "hush money," and didn't include the fare?

But he didn't even shut up, did he?

Shi Youxuan did not want to waste any more breath on the driver; she took another banknote out of her wallet, threw it at him, and turned to leave, pulling her child along.

This time the driver did not chase after them, and the mother and daughter only let out a long sigh of relief after entering the residential complex.

Upon arriving home, Shi Youxuan discovered that her clothes were soaked through with cold sweat, and the gown felt sticky and uncomfortable against her skin.

Her daughter was in an even worse state; not only had the little one been frightened into a cold sweat, but the slap mark on her cheek had also become red and swollen.

"I'm sorry, Ranran, it's all Mommy's fault; Mommy will never hit you again." Shi Youxuan pulled her daughter into her arms, tears streaming down her face.

She felt both self-reproach and fear, along with a deep sense of frustration.

Shi Youxuan felt she was so useless; just taking her daughter home alone had turned into a "harrowing scene." From now on, she would have to drive herself wherever she went; she absolutely could not take ride-hailing cars again.

Beyond the lingering fear, she also felt a bit aggrieved.

She blamed Sheng Hanyu for being too heartless, taking her there but not being responsible for taking her back... Thinking of this, she laughed again.

She said to herself: Shi Youxuan, what right do you have to think this way?

Sheng Hanyu has no relationship with you whatsoever; isn't it perfectly normal for him to act this way?

On the contrary, it is she who should reflect: why does she become a low-functioning person in life the moment she leaves him?

Shi Youxuan did not have much time to be sentimental, as she was soon flustered and overwhelmed by trivial matters!