Chapter 45 Victim Guilt Theory

Yan Songyu looked at the two little girls hugging each other and couldn't help but marvel at their fate. In their past lives, they were also good friends.

"Waaaaah~ Feifei, it hurts so much, I'm so scared!"

Zhou Mu had never cried so freely in front of Zhou Yue, but she could let her guard down when she was with Fei Fei.

"Don't be afraid, I'm with you. My mom and Uncle Feng are here too, so don't be scared." Feifei wiped away Zhou Mu's tears with her little hands. "Don't cry, it's okay now."

Finally, Yan Songyu sighed deeply, "Feng Yu, you hold Zhou Mu and we'll find a pharmacy to buy her some medicine. Her wound is all bloody and looks quite frightening."

We can't just let the two children cry by the flower bed.

Just as they left the pharmacy, they could clearly hear Zhou Mu's stomach growling again, rumbling loudly—

"I...I'm not hungry..." Zhou Mu explained without any persuasiveness.

Coo coo coo—

An even louder sound followed, and Zhou Mu, blushing furiously, clutched her stomach, too ashamed to lift her head.

So they went into the noodle shop next door.

Feng Yu glanced at the menu and immediately ordered the signature dish, "Boss, a bowl of beef noodles."

Yan Songyu took out some iodine swabs and a few tubes of ointment, and said to Zhou Mu, "Sit down and roll up your trouser legs and sleeves."

Before Zhou Mu could speak, Fei Fei pulled her down to sit, and gently rolled up her trouser legs. "Mu Mu, did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No, no, thank you!"

Yan Songyu applied the medicine to Zhou Mu very gently, but her eyes and brows did not show the tenderness and heartache she had shown Feifei. She didn't offer any words of comfort, nor did she fuss over her. Feifei did all of that.

Feifei felt very sorry for Zhou Mu when she saw the look in her eyes, so she kept talking to comfort her: "Mu Mu, don't be afraid. Mommy is very gentle. You'll get better faster if you take the medicine."

Seeing that Zhou Mu's face was pale, he grabbed her hand and said, "If you're in pain, hold onto me, and I'll help you share the pain."

She would pout and gently blow on Zhou Mu's wound, saying, "I'll blow on it for you, and it won't hurt anymore."

Zhou Mu indeed grasped Feifei's hand, but without using force. "Thank you, Feifei, I feel much better."

Yan Songyu's serious yet gentle actions made Zhou Mu feel the warmth of a mother, while the wind that Feifei blew on her wound seemed to caress her heart. Every time Feifei appeared, it was a salvation for her.

The wound had just been treated when the waiter brought over a large bowl of noodles. "The noodles are here, please enjoy."

Yan Songyu and the other two sat down at the table with Zhou Mu. Feng Yu handed Zhou Mu chopsticks and a spoon, saying, "Eat up!"

Surrounded by the three people, Zhou Mu felt a little embarrassed and asked, "Aren't you guys going to eat?"

Feifei pushed the bowl towards Zhou Mu, "We've already eaten, you should eat now, it smells delicious, it must be really good!"

Just as his stomach started growling again, Zhou Mu quickly ate a bite of noodles, hoping it would stop growling; it was really embarrassing…

Zhou Mu finished the whole bowl of noodles by herself. After drinking a sip of soup and letting out a burp, she belatedly realized that she had put down the bowl with embarrassment and then took out a handful of change from her schoolbag and put it on the table.

"Aunt Yan, I don't know if this is enough for the medicine and food, but this is all I have right now." She looked at Yan Songyu and said cautiously, "Can I pay you back slowly?"

Yan Songyu glanced at the loose change. She had always known about Zhou Mu's situation. This was money she had earned herself. It was remarkable that such a young child had already started making a living.

"You don't need to pay it back. Just keep the money safe."

On the way home, Feifei asked Zhou Mu about what happened at school and joined her in condemning the bullies who were bullying her classmates.

"Mumu, you must tell your mother and teacher about this and ask them to stand up for you."

Zhou Mu verbally agreed, but she wasn't sure what to expect. Although her mother had treated her much better, she still...

Feng Yu stopped his car at the alley entrance. As he unbuckled his seatbelt, he said to Yan Songyu and Feifei, "You two wait for me in the car. I'll take Zhou Mu inside. There are no streetlights inside, and the road is difficult to navigate."

Zhou Mu quickly said, "Uncle, don't trouble yourself. I can go home by myself. I'm not afraid here."

She spoke with a guilty conscience; in truth, she was still afraid.

Feng Yu insisted, "I'll take you in."

Feifei leaned against the car window and waved to Zhou Mu, "Mu Mu, see you next time!"

Zhou Mu also stood at the boundary between light and shadow, bidding farewell to Feifei and Yan Songyu, "See you next time, Feifei, thank you! And thank you Aunt Yan too!"

Feng Yu only escorted Zhou Mu to the door, watched her go inside, and then turned to leave. Unexpectedly, Zhou Mu chased after him for a couple of steps, saying, "Uncle Feng, thank you!"

"You're welcome. If you want to thank someone, thank Feifei. She considers you a friend."

Zhou Mu watched Feng Yu's figure disappear into the darkness, and before he could turn around, he heard Zhou Yue cursing, "Zhou Mu! Where the hell have you been? Coming back in the middle of the night."

"Mom, I..."

“If you don’t study hard, I don’t think you’ll need to continue your studies.”

Zhou Yue was so engrossed in cursing that she didn't notice anything unusual about Zhou Mu. Although her clothes weren't dripping wet anymore, they were still damp. There were several obvious wounds on her arms and knees, which were wrapped in gauze. Her pants had two large holes at the knees. She didn't notice any of it, or rather... she didn't care.

Even after entering the brightly lit room, Zhou Yue was still berating Zhou Mu, "I finished my meal a long time ago, there's no left for you. If you don't know how to come home on time, then you're just going to go hungry."

Afraid that her mother would misunderstand and stop sending her to school, Zhou Mu hurriedly explained, "Mom, I didn't do anything wrong. I was on duty today and was the last one to leave, but when I went to the toilet, someone locked me in and even got me wet. I was locked in for a long time before the security guard rescued me, which is why I came back late. I didn't do it on purpose."

Zhou Yue then noticed her disheveled appearance and frowned, asking, "Did someone bully you?"

"Mm." Zhou Mu nodded hurriedly, perhaps hoping her mother could help her get an explanation, but she was disappointed the next moment.

"Why do they only bully you and not others? Have you been causing trouble every time you go to school? Just wait till I get my hands on you..." Zhou Yue looked around excitedly, then grabbed a broom, "I'll beat you to death!"

Zhou Yue slapped Zhou Mu repeatedly, saying, "I already told you I sent you to study, why did you provoke others? With our family like this, who can we afford to retaliate against? You really are a debt collector!"

"I don't!"

Zhou Mu struggled to get away. She didn't know what victim blaming was, but she was disappointed, uncomfortable, and saddened by her mother's reaction.

The schoolbag fell to the ground due to the pulling, the zipper was already broken, and the damaged books and homework pieces inside the schoolbag were scattered all over the ground.

The words "little beggar," "dirty," "country bumpkin," and "ugly monster" rushed into Zhou Yue's eyes. She seemed to understand the reason, but she just stopped what she was doing... There was no apology, no comfort, and no offer to help her find a teacher to resolve the bullying issue.