No more complaints

"Xu Jiaojiao."

She stood not far away and called her name.

Xu Jiaojiao was stunned for a moment before she reacted. She quickly put out the cigarette in her hand and put it on the lid of the trash can beside her.

She stood up, looking thinner than before, and gave Jiang Zhizhi a big smile. "Hi! Long time no see."

"haven't seen you for a long time."

Jiang Zhizhi walked up to her, looked at the half-smoked cigarette on the trash can, and didn't know what to say.

During the Chinese New Year last year, she saw Xu Jiaojiao carrying a lighter with her and guessed something.

Seeing this scene now, I am not surprised.

"Let's go and eat some skewers."

As she spoke, Xu Jiaojiao wrapped her long arms around Jiang Zhizhi and pushed her forward. "The skewers at Xiayuan are even better than the one at the entrance of Lvjiang Village."

"You asked me out at this time just to eat skewers?" Jiang Zhizhi knew it in her heart, but did not expose it.

Xu Jiaojiao said nonchalantly, "Yeah, we haven't seen each other for a long time. What's wrong with me treating you to some skewers? Is that not okay?"

In her previous life, she was the same and left without saying anything.

The skewers stall was set up on the terrace. After the two people ordered the skewers, they found a seat by the side and sat down.

"Zhizhi, I heard that you got first place in the city again in the mock exam this time?"

"Um."

"You...you have to study hard in the future..." Xu Jiaojiao fiddled with a pair of disposable chopsticks uncomfortably. After she finished speaking, she suddenly smiled awkwardly, "Even if I didn't say this, you would definitely do it, right?"

"Do you also think you should study hard?" Jiang Zhizhi looked up at her.

Xu Jiaojiao smiled guiltily at her gaze, "Of course."

"In that case, why don't you do it?"

"Because I can't do it." Xu Jiaojiao's smile gradually faded, and she said self-deprecatingly, "Not everyone can be like you. As long as they study hard, they can get good grades. I can't do it. I'm not as focused as you. I can't ignore the outside world. I'm stupid. No matter how many times I look at those math problems, I can't do them right. Jiang Zhizhi, everyone has their own path to take, and the path I take is destined to be different from yours."

"Have you decided?"

"Yeah. I've decided."

Under the street light, Xu Jiaojiao's gaze was firm and resolute.

Jiang Zhizhi was silent for a while, then moved her lips and said, "Xu Jiaojiao, we are still too young. Our understanding and cognition of this society is incomplete. What you are doing is probably wrong."

"Even if it's wrong, I don't regret it."

Just then, the hot skewers were brought over.

Jiang Zhizhi looked at the bowl of skewers in front of her with mixed feelings.

She knew that Xu Jiaojiao had already made her decision and no matter what she said, it would not change it.

Adolescent children are the most stubborn.

She finished the bowl of skewers in silence. It had a sour and spicy taste and was indeed delicious.

"Xu Jiaojiao, just for this bowl of skewers, I will help you once in the future. If you encounter any difficulties one day, you can come to me."

"Don't worry, I won't forget you when I become rich."

After eating the skewers, Xu Jiaojiao bought a bottle of beer. She also wanted to buy one for Jiang Zhizhi, but Jiang Zhizhi refused.

The two of them walked towards the station together, and Xu Jiaojiao drank beer sip by sip.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Xu Jiaojiao suddenly asked.

"The first time we met, it should be at school, right?"

"No..." Xu Jiaojiao shook her head. "The first time I saw you was downstairs from the house you rented in Lujiang Village. It was drizzling that day, and you were squatting by the wall, hugging your legs and crying. Later I found out that your father had beaten you and kicked you out of the house. Actually, I was also beaten by my father that day. I ran out of the house crying and saw you crying in the rain. At that moment, I knew that we shared the same fate, until..."

"Until last year, your mom and dad divorced. You got rid of that devilish man and became free, but I wasn't. Our destinies are different. Do you know why?"

Jiang Zhizhi didn't say anything, so Xu Jiaojiao answered directly, "Because someone loves you."

"Some people love you, but no one loves me..." Xu Jiaojiao smiled bitterly, "Your mother only has you as a daughter, and she only loves you as a person. But I have a younger brother, and my mother loves my brother. In her eyes, I am just an unpaid babysitter, a slave! As long as I'm at home, all the housework is mine. Whenever my brother makes a mistake, I'm always the one who gets beaten because I didn't teach him well!"

"Do you know how miserable it is to live like a slave? Last winter, I washed their clothes in ice water and my hands got frostbite, but they wouldn't even give me money to buy frostbite medicine."

"Do you think I don't want to go to school? Even if I wanted to continue studying, they wouldn't support me anymore."

"Jiang Zhizhi, I know you never liked me making friends with those hooligans, but they were the ones who comforted me when I was sad and took me out to have fun! They were the ones who bought me frostbite cream in the cold winter! They were the ones who didn't despise me and were willing to take me out to play!"

"I used to think we were the same, but after you left with your mother, I started to envy you. But now, I no longer envy you, because the paths we take are ultimately different."

"From tomorrow on, I'll be free."

She finished the last sip of the bottle of beer, her slightly tipsy eyes revealing a longing for the future.

The bus that Jiang Zhizhi was waiting for arrived first. She said goodbye to Xu Jiaojiao and walked towards the bus.

When he reached the car door, he couldn't help but look back, "Remember what I said, if you encounter any trouble, call me and I will help you once."

Xu Jiaojiao's eyes were slightly red. She ran over and hugged Jiang Zhizhi tightly.

"Zhizhi, I wish you happiness."

"I know you have many friends, but in my heart, you are one and only."

She hugged her tightly, her heart pounding.

Jiang Zhizhi knew that was her sincerity.

At the urging of the bus driver, Jiang Zhizhi got on the bus.

Xu Jiaojiao looked at her on the platform. Their eyes were entangled, but they were getting farther and farther away from each other.

"Xu Jiaojiao, I don't blame you anymore."

In her previous life, Xu Jiaojiao introduced a gangster to her, which almost caused her to be raped. Because of that incident, she always had a barrier towards Xu Jiaojiao in her heart.

This gap resulted in her being unable to be completely sincere to her in this life.

But now, she no longer blames her.

She believed that Xu Jiaojiao didn't mean it.

*

On the weekend of October 20th and 21st, Jiang Zhizhi and Pu Yu participated in a Go competition at the Youth Palace and successfully won first and second place in the finals.

"Hey, let me tell you, you've never participated in a formal competition before, so it's going to be hard to beat me in your first competition." Pu Yu proudly put his arm around Jiang Zhizhi's shoulders. "But don't be sad, I'll treat you to something delicious. What do you want to eat?"

“KFC is okay?”

"Of course... no problem!"

The two happily walked to the nearest KFC. Suddenly, Jiang Zhizhi's cell phone rang.

It's an unfamiliar phone number.

"Hello?" Jiang Zhizhi answered the phone.

"Hello, is this Jiang Zhizhi?" There was a deep male voice on the phone.

"Yes."

"We're from the Dongxin District Police Station. Is it convenient for you to come over now?"

Police station?

"Is something wrong?" Jiang Zhizhi was worried that something had happened to Chen Yuping, and she suddenly became nervous and asked hurriedly.

"One of your former classmates is missing. Her name is Xu Jiaojiao. I heard that you two were very close. We would like to ask you some questions. Is that okay?"

Hearing that it had nothing to do with Chen Yuping, Jiang Zhizhi breathed a sigh of relief, "I understand. I'll be there now."

She hung up the phone and looked at Pu Yu beside her. Before she could say anything, Pu Yu said, "I'll go with you."

*

Dongxin Police Station.

As soon as Jiang Zhizhi arrived at the door, she was stopped by Xu Jiaojiao's parents.

"Jiang Zhizhi, you must know where Jiaojiao is? You two have a good relationship, she must have told you!" Xu Jiaojiao's mother grabbed Jiang Zhizhi's shoulders tightly, shook her back and forth, and asked fiercely.

"I'm sorry, I don't know." Jiang Zhizhi said indifferently.

She is Xu Jiaojiao's friend. From Xu Jiaojiao's perspective, she doesn't like Xu Jiaojiao's parents.

"How could you not know? Did you hide her? You and your mother are the best at hiding. You moved out of the village without saying a word, and then hid your criminal father. Now you want to hide my daughter too? Give my daughter back to me!" She grabbed Jiang Zhizhi and was hysterical. Xu Jiaojiao's father stood aside and watched coldly, and naturally agreed with her doing so.

Jiang Zhizhi sneered inwardly. What were they so anxious about? Were they mad because they had lost a nanny or a slave? Or were they angry because their own child had disobeyed and run away?

"I don't know where Xu Jiaojiao went. The last time we met, we just had a meal together on Shangyuan Street, and then I went home."

"She must have said something to you during dinner!" Xu Jiaojiao's mother glared and screamed sharply.

"Yes, she did tell me some of her worries." Jiang Zhizhi looked at Xu Jiaojiao's parents fearlessly and said coldly, "She said that you treated her like a slave at home. If she was not satisfied with anything, you would beat or scold her! Uncle and aunt, I want to ask you from Xu Jiaojiao's perspective: do you really love her?"

"What do you mean by love or not? She should be grateful to me for giving birth to her! She's a useless girl, but I raised her with all my heart and soul, and even paid for her education. Isn't that enough? Oh, I get it. It was you who instigated her to run away from home, wasn't it? I've heard people say you're a scoundrel. It was you who stabbed your father and threw a bucket of feces at your stepmother. Jiaojiao was led astray by you! I'll beat you to death!"

Xu Jiaojiao's mother raised her hand and hit Jiang Zhizhi as if she had lost her mind.

Jiang Zhizhi didn't expect that Xu Jiaojiao's mother not only did not reflect on herself, but also turned the tables and wanted to hit her. She looked at this ridiculous woman and easily dodged.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Before Xu Jiaojiao's mother could make another move, a voice suddenly shouted from behind them, "Do you know where this is? How dare you hit someone here?"

A middle-aged man in uniform came over and stopped Xu Jiaojiao's mother in a stern voice.