Chapter 22 Reporting Child Abuse

"Lang Yue Lang Xing, the old man's door is broken and he can't get out. Keep watch for him." Zhang Mo's voice was calm but carried an undeniable determination, and her words echoed in the narrow corridor.

So the old man watched helplessly as a group of burly men rushed out from the corner of the stairwell, with the two tallest ones blocking his doorway.

His gaze was firm, and his body was as stable as a mountain; he was clearly not someone who could be easily shaken.

"You bastards, what do you think you're doing?!" Old Zheng roared, his voice echoing in the narrow corridor, filled with anger and panic. He grabbed a beer bottle as if it were his only weapon and immediately opened the door, intending to escape.

Old Zheng knew perfectly well that these people wouldn't dare touch him. If they dared to lay a finger on him, he could easily extort at least a hundred thousand yuan. On the other hand, if he were to hit them, given his age, the police wouldn't dare do anything to him. It was a sure win.

Unexpectedly, the seemingly old security door opened outwards and was completely blocked by two burly men, each 185cm tall. Old Zheng pushed the door forcefully several times, but it seemed to be fixed to the wall and wouldn't budge. He couldn't open it from the inside at all and could only jump up and down in frustration.

Returning to the window, he immediately spotted Ye Fangyu in the crowd and realized what was going on: "Oh, so it's you, you little bitch! You've been hooking up with so many men outside, forcing my son to divorce you! You haven't paid a single penny in child support for months! And you still dare to show your face?!"

Hearing their sister being slandered like this, Ye's brothers were furious: "What did you say, you old bastard?!" Ye's third brother was more impulsive, his face instantly turned ashen, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles made a "crackling" sound, and he immediately wanted to pull Lang Yue and Lang Xing aside and go in to beat up this old Bi Deng!

However, Lang Yue and Lang Xing did not receive Zhang Mo's instructions, and naturally ignored what others said. They simply stood there motionless, like two unshakable statues.

The commotion was so loud that several nearby houses peeked out curiously. Their eyes were filled with doubt and curiosity, and whispers filled the air.

Seeing the crowd, Old Man Zheng became even more imposing, his voice rising even higher, each word striking like a hammer blow to everyone's heart: "Let me tell you, wanting a child is impossible in this lifetime. Xiao Hao has our surname Zheng, so he's one of our family! He'll never go back with a shameless slut like you!"

Ye Fangyu's eyes instantly reddened, her heart filled with grief and indignation, and she couldn't help but shed tears. But she still held tightly to her third brother, not wanting to let this scumbag take advantage of her brother.

Bullet comments—

So that's the kind of woman she is.

Is the person above an idiot? This sounds like they're spreading dirty rumors!

Oh, you know the person in question? How do you know the old man isn't telling the truth?

The best way to ruin a woman is to spread rumors about her.

[What's going on? Weren't we supposed to go in and rescue the child?]

[With this stalemate, the old man is unlikely to hand the child over, right?]

[They messed up. The old man will call the police, and these people will be in trouble.]

The viewers in the live stream had differing opinions, with most feeling that they had failed this time. Then they saw Zhang Mo turn around and point to the door on the rooftop that was locked by an iron chain as thick as a wrist.

"Langri, tear it open."

Lang Ri was still holding his phone in his right hand, live-streaming. He casually handed the phone to Ye Erge next to him, then rolled up his sleeves and easily tore the iron chain in two.

Bullet comments—

【？？？？？】

No, buddy...

Am I seeing things? Is it made of iron or paper? It tore open so easily!

It's probably hollow; it just looks intimidating.

I'm so envious of those hand muscle definition!

What's going on here? Does this mean the child can be outside?

Zhang Mo pushed open the door to the rooftop, and everyone witnessed a shocking scene—

On the rooftop, where black water flowed and snow still lingered, a boy and a girl huddled together, squatting on the wet ground, warming themselves by a charcoal brazier.

The fire in the charcoal brazier was dim, as if it might go out at any moment.

The girl looked to be seven or eight years old. Her hair was short and looked like it had been chewed by a dog. Her clothes and pants were so black that their original color was no longer visible.

The boy was even more outrageous; he looked about four or five years old, yet he was still wearing dirty, old open-crotch pants, exposing his naked body in the cold winter. His eyes, however, looked completely dazed, seemingly oblivious to the cold around him.

"Xiao Hao!" Ye Fangyu cried out in anguish, rushing over and without thinking, taking off her down jacket and wrapping it tightly around the boy. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Mommy's here. Mommy will never leave you!"

The boy just stared at her blankly, without reacting much.

Instead, the girl next to her weakly called out in the local dialect, "Niangniang (liangliang)..." Tears streamed down the girl's face as she clutched Ye Fangyu's clothes tightly. "Could you... take me to find my mom too... I don't want to stay with my grandparents anymore..."

Ye Fangyu remembered the girl's identity. This girl had also come when she married Zheng Hongliang and said to Ye Sange, "This is his eldest brother Zheng Hongming's daughter, named Huanhuan."

"This is the child you insisted on taking! And this is how you treat her after you've taken her!" Ye Sange, though hot-tempered, was the brother who loved children the most. He first removed his enormous diamond wedding ring to avoid bothering the child, then took off his coat and wrapped it around the little girl. He gently wiped away her tears with the sleeve of his expensive wool sweater before cursing, "A whole family of scum, filthy and rotten-hearted bastards, aren't you afraid of retribution!"

[That guy's criticism was spot on!]

Help! I'm about to cry!

That's so pitiful; it reminds me of my childhood.

[Is this guy crazy? He snatched the child and this is how he raises him?]

Many men who snatch children don't do it for the child's good; they just want to make the mother suffer.

This is clearly murder!

[Who would be so kind as to leave two kids on the rooftop in the dead of winter?!]

I'm so angry! I'm so angry! I'm so angry! I'm so angry! I'm so angry! I'm so angry!

Old Zheng never expected that they would actually find the children. After all, he had already threatened the two children severely, telling them to stay on the rooftop and play by themselves when he didn't have time to take care of them, and not to make any noise!

He panicked, his thoughts racing. He pulled out his phone and cried out, tears streaming down his face, "Hongming!! Something terrible has happened! Murder! A gang of thugs came to our house and tried to kidnap our child! Your father is about to be beaten to death! Come back quickly!!!"

Old Dengxi is truly shameless.

【What? What happened?】

[Just came in, can anyone tell me what's going on?]

More and more comments appeared, including some bewildered newcomers who had just joined.

Clearly, the flow of the Yuan River has begun.

The neighbors, who had initially only peeked out with curiosity, couldn't help but come out and watch the drama unfold.

The overwhelming advantage of a group of tall, burly men against a wailing old man was too obvious. Some uninformed onlookers couldn't help but sympathize with the weaker man, while others took out their phones to record the scene. Some even chimed in, "What are you all doing here? I'm calling the police!"

Zhang Mo glanced at the man, her eyes flashing with cold contempt: "You're calling the police, aren't you? What a coincidence, I was just about to call the police too."

Then, in front of everyone, she dialed 110: "Hello, I want to report someone for child abuse."