This silly kid can barely support himself, yet he's always talking about money, money, money. How on earth is he going to pay anything back?
Vivian doesn't take the kids' promises seriously.
And how legitimate can a construction site be if they don't even check IDs when hiring workers? Vivian can't agree with that.
Vivian's assumptions were correct. On Sunday, she took a day off and went to the construction site to look for the Blackwood brothers. She saw the foreman settling wages, and it just so happened to be Ethan's turn. A dispute broke out between them.
Ethan was relatively calm at first, but as the argument escalated, he ended up punching the foreman in a fit of rage. The fight grew more intense, and they tumbled to the ground.
Ethan, after all, was only fourteen. Though he was taller than Vivian, standing over 1.7 meters, he was too skinny and was quickly overpowered.
Vivian quickly parked her car, and in that short time, the situation took another turn.
Noah rushed out of the dormitory, still wearing a fever patch on his forehead, and stubbornly used his body to shield his brother from the kicks. Vivian could only call him foolish. You're barely alive yourself, surviving on your brother's meager daily wage of forty bucks, and now you're causing more trouble!
Noah is so weak, was soon beaten black and blue. Vivian initially didn't want to get involved, but then she thought about the late-night drives and the over a thousand yuan spent on medical bills. She couldn't have spent all that money just for Noah to be beaten to death so quickly, could she?
Vivian pulled out her phone, turned on the camera, and confronted the scene: "What's going on here? Is this child labor abuse?"
Vivian's voice was sharp and loud. With such a serious accusation, the foreman's face turned red, and he stopped to explain, "Miss, don't misunderstand! These two brats have been hanging around our site. We've told them we don't hire child laborers, but they just won't leave!"
"Don't hire child laborers? Then where did he get that work uniform? Why did his brother come out of your dormitory? It looks to me like you hired child laborers and now refuse to pay them! Do you think you can avoid legal responsibility by having kids work for you? Huh?"
"No, that's not…" The foreman caught on, "Who are you anyway? Why are you, an outsider, here at our construction site? Are you their guardian?"
Ethan and Noah instinctively looked at Vivian, but she shot back, "Are you their guardian?"
"I… I'm not," the foreman shook his head.
"Then why are you asking me? Do I look like someone who's had two kids? Use your brain before you speak!"
This left the forty-something man speechless.
"This isn't just about child labor anymore, you know?" Vivian sneered. "You don't know who their guardian is, and neither do I. They don't have a guardian! They're complete orphans! And you dare to exploit orphans for labor?"
This was too much! The foreman quickly raised his hands, denying any wrongdoing, and looked like he was about to cry.
Other workers chimed in, explaining that the brothers had been hired two months ago, that they came voluntarily, and that they had been paid, with no mistreatment of Ethan.
"Did they pay you or not?" Vivian asked Ethan. "Kid, tell the truth. If they paid you, say so. If they didn't, say so."
"They paid me for the first month, twelve hundred yuan. But they didn't pay for the second or third months."
The foreman quickly sent someone to fetch the money and handed Vivian a cigarette, stammering, "You see…"
"Handing me a cigarette won't help." Despite saying this, Vivian took the cigarette. "Do you think I want to deal with this? If it weren't for my connection with your Chief Bennett…"
"You… you know Chief Bennett?" The foreman was even more shocked. "My apologies, my apologies. I didn't treat you properly. Please, come inside."
"I won't sit. You're so busy, how could I sit?" Vivian held the cigarette between her lips. "Let's just leave it at that this time. I'm taking these two kids to the police station."
And just like that, Vivian openly took the Blackwood brothers into her car. Noah's head was still spinning, unsure of what had just happened. Ethan, clutching the money, asked:
"Do you know that Chief Bennett?"
"Know him? Hell no, I don't," Vivian tossed the cigarette out the window. She didn't even smoke.
"Last time, when I almost hit you guys, there was a guy in a suit with the last name Bennett, and his destination was near here. I just guessed he was some kind of chief and I made it up."
Ethan was stunned. What he could do, Vivian could do better. He felt something inexplicable stir within him. Vivian was someone who could protect them, she had the ability… but she also had no desire to be involved with them.
Vivian was still giving bad advice: "You're so stupid. You shouldn't have said they only owed you two months. You should've said more! They would've paid anyway, so why not ask for more? You're so inflexible!"
Noah said, "Really? we can do that?" Vivian immediately rolled her eyes to Noah: "Stupid. You're even dumber."
Noah, already hurting from the beating, felt even more wronged by the scolding. He was about to retort when Ethan tugged his arm and gestured to the money in his hand. Noah swallowed his anger and silently wiped the blood from his mouth.
Seeing that Noah still had the energy to be angry, Vivian asked, "Your younger brother has recovered a bit during this time, right?"
"Yes, thank you for paying the medical bills that day."
Ethan counted out sixteen hundred yuan from the hard-earned money.
"This money was earned through your blood and sweat. I don't feel comfortable taking it," Vivian said, but she still took the money without hesitation.
"So…" Vivian tapped the steering wheel, "Where should I drop you off after the police station?"
Ethan pursed his lips but remained silent.
Noah complained, "We have nowhere to go."
"No, no," Vivian quickly raised her hand, afraid they'd guilt-trip her. "Don't try to sell me your sob story. It won't work. I'm not some romance novel heroine."
"Then just drop us off at a pharmacy, thank you," Ethan said. "Noah and I need to get some medicine."
"Alright, that works," Vivian said, relieved.
After finishing the paperwork at the police station, Vivian dropped them off at a nearby pharmacy. That was it. She was ready to leave when Ethan knocked on her car window.
Vivian frowned, "What is it?"
"Can we… come to you in the future?"
"No! Don't even think about it! Don't bother me!" Vivian's face darkened, and she stepped on the gas, driving away.
Noah stomped his feet in frustration, "Bro, what do we do? I don't think Vivian will take care of us."
"Don't worry, we'll take it slow," Ethan said, holding the iodine and ointment, his eyes glancing at the bruises on Noah's face. "Since she was willing to drive us to the hospital, pay for our medical bills, and help us get our wages, it means her heart isn't completely cold."
"Bro, what are you saying…"
"Vivian likes money. Beyond that, she's willing to help us as long as it doesn't harm her interests. She's already helped us so much. Even if she sees it as a sunk cost, she'll still feel reluctant to abandon us."
"So what should we do?"
Ethan whispered into his younger brother's ear.
Noah pointed at himself, "Me?"
"Yes, you."
…
Vivian's peaceful days didn't last long. Ethan soon showed up at her door again. Her face turned grim, "What are you doing here again? This time, I'm not going to…"
"Noah, Noah is missing!"
Ethan grabbed her in panic.
"…What?" Vivian's expression froze. "Are you speaking Chinese? I don't understand. How did your brother just disappear?"
"I… I don't know. I went to do a part-time job early in the morning, and when I came back…" Ethan wiped his tears. "Noah… he's been unstable lately. He kept saying he didn't want to burden me, and last night he even said…"
"Said what?" Vivian asked.
"…He said he didn't want to live anymore."
"Then go to call the police! What are you doing here with me? Do you think I can stop him from killing himself?"
"I… I can't convince him as his brother. I'm not as smart as you…"
Somehow, Vivian felt like she was being buttered up. She suspected Ethan was trying to flatter her.
But a missing child was a serious matter. She took the Ethan to the local police station to file a report. The officers started the investigation and asked Vivian if she was the guardian of the missing person.
"Yes, she is," Ethan answered first.
Vivian shot him a glare but didn't argue.
When lives are on the line, who has time to stir up more trouble?
The police quickly dispatched patrol cars to search the city, and Vivian and Ethan also looked around the nearby streets.
However, after running into each other several times in the alleys, neither of them had found any trace of Noah.
Vivian was growing impatient, "Your brother is such a troublemaker!"
"I'm sorry, it's my fault," Ethan choked up, blaming himself. "It's all because I didn't take good care of him."
"Honestly, you've done more than enough as a brother," Vivian raised her voice. "Back in BJ city at the Blackwood house, weren't you always cleaning up his mess? You should've taken that chance to teach him a proper lesson! If you had, this stupid situation today would've never happened!"
"Noah… Noah regrets it too…" Ethan said. "He chose to leave because he thought you hated him and didn't want to adopt us. He feels guilty for what he did to you, and he told me… he hopes you can forgive him…"
"Oh, come on!" Vivian laughed in anger. "He's missing, and you're talking about forgiveness? If he's so sorry, let him kneel in front of me and apologize!"
Suddenly, a call came in. The police said Noah had been found on the upper part of BJ Bridge. He was about to jump.
Vivian and Ethan drove over immediately.
On the empty BJ Bridge, Noah was surrounded by police and patrol cars.
"Kid, come down first. Let's talk this through!"
"The bridge is dangerous. Come down now!"
"No… I don't want you…" Noah cried like a puppy. "I want my sister… I only want my sister…"
The police quickly pulled Vivian over, "This is your sister. She's here to pick you up. She's here."
In the urgency of the moment, Vivian had to respond, "Noah, get down here right now! What are you doing, acting crazy in the middle of the night? If you have something to say, say it to me properly!"
"Sister! Sister!" Noah called out more clearly, tears streaming down his face as he reached out to her.
"I… I'm sorry…"
Vivian quickly stepped forward to catch him.
The child, who had refused to let anyone near him, now fell into Vivian's arms. The police sighed in relief, "You must have a special bond with him."
Vivian was also puzzled.
She looked down at Noah.
Noah sobbed pitifully, calling her "sister" over and over, begging her not to hate him.
"After all this commotion, it's finally resolved," the police said. "Take your brother home now."
So, that night—at least for that night—Vivian, somewhat cluelessly, brought the kids back home.