After we finished making and eating the steamed buns, the car arrived in no time.

When Xu Keke left the Qi family, she had a lot of bags and packages.

"We don't know when we'll see each other again. I hope you can get into the university you want. Even though we're leaving, Qi Chang will still be here for the next two years. Don't hesitate to ask him for anything."

After Qi's mother finished speaking, she hugged Xu Keke.

The two little ones were still confused. Xiao Bei smiled and said, "Even if Brother Qi Chang is gone, I'm still here. Meng Dong can come to me if he needs anything."

Xu Keke could tell from her words that there was no pretense; this was a shrewd and genuine girl. She really wasn't a bad person. Xu Keke smiled and agreed to their suggestion.

When they got home, by sheer coincidence, Gao Jiale was standing at the alley entrance. Seeing him, Qi Chang helped them unload their things. After saying goodbye to Xu Keke and the others, he followed the car away.

Xu Keke never expected that after he left, she wouldn't see him again for several days.

Meng Zikang came to the courtyard the day after she returned from the Qi family.

When Xu Keke returned home from school that evening, she saw Meng Jia standing at the gate of the yard crying, with Gao Jiaqing standing beside her, staring blankly at her.

I thought the two of them had a fight. But as soon as Meng Jia saw Xu Keke, she ran and threw herself into her arms, "Sister, Dad's here, he's taken over our house."

This was something that had never happened before in Meng Dong's memory.

"He hit you?" Xu Keke pushed the person away. She had just noticed a red mark on Meng Jia's face and thought it was from being rubbed. Now, upon closer inspection, it was clearly a distinct handprint.

"He hit me once, and I grabbed Jiajia and ran away." Gao Jiaqing looked up with his little face, eager to take credit.

Xu Keke asked Meng Jia, "What happened?"

Girls tend to be more discerning than boys. "He threw our blankets and clothes outside the door. I grabbed his arm to stop him, and he hit me. Jiaqing pulled me out. We were too scared to go back, so we just waited here."

Xu Keke asked Gao Lan to take Meng Jia to their home, but Gao Lan was a little worried. "Let's wait until my mom and dad come back, or we can wait for my brother. He'll be here soon."

Xu Keke removed her hand from her arm. "Just keep an eye on Meng Jia for me, and close the door so she doesn't come out."

Xu Keke gave the schoolbag to Gao Lan as well, watched Gao Lan and the others go into the house, and closed the door. Xu Keke then fished out a fire hook from the coal pit and placed it beside her.

On the ground next to their door, there was a pile of her clothes bundle. On top of that were quilts and pillows. Xu Keke touched it; the money she had sewn into the quilt was still there. Meng Zikang probably hadn't expected her to still have money.

Xu Keke pushed the door, but it wouldn't open; the door was locked from the inside.

Xu Keke didn't knock again; she just kicked the door open. The glass rattled loudly. On her third kick, the door opened from the inside.

Meng Zikang yawned, "Are you crazy? Why are you kicking me?"

Xu Keke kicked him to the ground and started hitting him with the fire hook in her hand.

Meng Zikang realized what was happening and panicked, "Damn it, you dare to hit me! You caused trouble outside and made me lose my place to live, and you still dare to hit me!"

Meng Zikang stood up, casually grabbed something from the table, and swung it at Xu Keke. Xu Keke dodged left and right, unable to get close to him. However, although Meng Zikang was a man, he didn't have as much practical experience as Xu Keke. Xu Keke seized the opportunity and struck him on the knee. Meng Zikang immediately knelt down. Xu Keke was about to step forward to subdue him.

"Meng Dong, what are you doing?" Gao Jiale rushed in and stood between the two of them.

Xu Keke was furious, and her words were cold: "Get out of my way, I want him to get out."

“Meng Dong, let’s talk this out. He’s your father.”

“He’s not my dad. He hasn’t been since the day my mom died. Today he hit my sister and threw all our things out. Do you think someone like that deserves to be my dad?”

Gao Jiaqing was speechless for a moment.

“Meng Dong, you hit me twice, and I didn’t even hold it against you. This house was allocated to me by my work unit. Now I have nowhere to live. If I don’t live here, where am I supposed to live? Since you say I’m not your father, then fine, give me the house and you can go wherever you want.”

"Manager Lin said that Jiajia and I will stay here."

Meng Zikang limped onto the bed, sneered, "This is for you to live in. If I ever leave the stationery store, this place will be taken back. It's for the store's employees."

Xu Keke was stunned. She knew Meng Zikang was right. She had simply overlooked this.

"You can't just kick us out now. Even if you want to vacate the house, it will take time."

Meng Zikang lay down on the bed and said shamelessly, "That's none of my business. I have nowhere else to live right now, so I have to stay here. You can go wherever you want. It's none of my business."

Xu Keke knew that she had already knocked him out, and that was that. Now that they were reasoning things out, it would be troublesome to resort to violence again.

As Xu Keke was pondering what to do, Gao Cheng and his wife returned. Their house was wide open, and they rushed in without even entering.

Seeing Meng Zikang lying on the bed, they were also startled.

Gao Jiale whispered the story to his parents. Gao Cheng gave Meng Zikang a disdainful look, "Little sister, come to our house first, we'll talk about it later."

Gao Cheng winked at Xu Keke. Xu Keke nodded and obediently followed Gao Cheng back to the Gao family home.

After everyone left, Meng Zikang slammed the door shut.

"Big sister, you stay here with your sister, I'm going to find Manager Lin," Gao Cheng said to Xu Keke.

Xu Keke had considered this, but the stationery store was already closing at this time.

Gao Cheng smiled and said to her, "This little warehouse in the stationery store has been around for many years. I've known Manager Lin for a while now, and I know where his house is. It's not far from here. You stay here for now. Your Aunt Gao has cooked, so you can eat first. Don't wait for me, and don't go over there to do anything, or you'll get ripped off again."

Hearing this, Xu Keke knew the place was definitely not close. "I'll go with you."

Why are you going with me? I can walk faster on my own.

After Gao Cheng said that, Xu Keke couldn't insist any further. Turning her head, she saw Gao Jiale moving her and Meng Jia's things into the house. Seeing Xu Keke looking over, Gao Jiale said to her, "My mom said to put them in the house first. If you can't, you and Jiajia can squeeze in with Gao Lan for today."

Xu Keke smiled but didn't respond. Even if the house belonged to Meng Zikang, she couldn't let him stay there today.

As expected, Manager Lin's house wasn't close, and it was already completely dark when Manager Lin and Gao Cheng finally arrived. As soon as they entered, Gao Cheng told Aunt Gao to quickly heat up the food, "Hurry up, Manager Lin just got home from work and I'm here to pick him up. Make something hot right away."