Four year-old Yiyi was living life to the max in Baiyun District, Guangzhou. May 12 was Yiyi’s birthday, and for her the party simply never stopped: first was the cake, then the unwrapping of presents, and then p Yiyi was allowed to go to the neighborhood store on Huangshi East Road for ice cream. Life was good.

However, Yiyi just didn’t know when to stop. Yiyi wanted to eat an additional ice cream after her first. But, enough was enough: father Jiang, who had accompanied Yiyi to the store, made the executive decision right then and there: “No.” It’s now 10:30pm, it’s too late, you already had one already, one of us has to go to work tomorrow morning to pay for pay for this ice cream, but no matter: Yiyi’s heart’s desire was cruelly denied.

Yiyi was in a funk. She was angry. She’d show her dad who’s who. Who’s birthday is this after all? So when a pair of drunk young men stumbled in front of her from out of a late-night snack shop and quizzically asked Yiyi who was this strange man following her, she didn’t say a thing. Man? Following, me? I am simply taking my regular evening constitutional.

Hearing no answer from Yiyi, Jiang stepped in to explain that he was the girl’s father, but this made no sense to the drunk men. Why else would a girl refuse to acknowledge her own father? Clearly, these two men have had eaten their fill of ice cream their whole lives long.

When the accusations of “kidnapper” started to fly, the fighting turned to pushing, then the pushing turned to fighting as the two men were convinced of Jiang’s guilt. Jiang was pushed up against the cage of a store front and did his best to protect Yiyi as the two men ganged up on him, one holding his arms as the other punched his face.

I know, I know, world’s worst birthday ever: first, no second ice cream, and now this. Yiyi was petrified by the attack, but enough was enough, there’s cake at home. And so she screamed as loudly as she could, “He is my father, don’t beat him anymore.”

But beat Jiang they did. For ten minutes, citizen justice rained down upon the wrongly-accused kidnapper. The punches kept flying until the police showed up to hear the drunk men acclaim that they found a criminal they detained by their righteous fists.

Jiang suffered a mild concussion from the beating. Police are investigating the role of the two drunk would-be do-gooders. And for her part, Yiyi is said to now wake up in the middle of the night yelling, “Don’t hit my father!”

In short, there’s easier ways to lose your taste for ice cream.

Photo: Bubblews