"Dongdong"

There were two knocks on the door outside the room. With the sudden sound, Hu Guile's body shook uncontrollably. She jumped up from the bed, quickly picked up the utility knife on the desk, and held it tightly in her hand.

"Xiao Le, come out and have a drink with uncle."

The drunken shouting of the man could be heard outside the door. Seeing that the person inside didn't say anything, the man's temper gradually became irritable. He stopped knocking on the door and started banging on it loudly, and began to curse dirty words.

Hu Guile bit her upper lip tightly, her hands trembling slightly as she held the utility knife. She stood by the window farthest from the door, her big eyes filled with fear staring stubbornly and intently at the door.

The door didn't look strong, but the person outside couldn't break in easily for a while because she had pushed the wardrobe in the room over to block it.

Sure enough, the man started banging on the door, but after several hits, it was all in vain. Then, there was a burst of banging noises from the living room, accompanied by the man's angry roar. Then, there was a loud bang, as if the man had fallen heavily, and the room fell silent.

Hu Guile didn't dare and didn't want to open the door to check. She was very conflicted at the moment. She hoped her mother would come back soon, but she also felt that it was too dangerous now and it would be better for her mother to come back later.

There was heavy rain and thunder outside the window, and this situation at home had lasted for more than a week.

Half a month ago, this stepfather, who already had a bad temper, lost his job. Since then, he has not left the house, but has been drinking even more heavily and has developed a habit of beating people when drunk.

Mother Zhao Yaping had to work during the day and after a hard day, she had to face all kinds of bullying from her alcoholic husband when she got home at night. Every time he was about to hit someone, Zhao Yaping pushed Hu Guile back to her room and would not let her come out, leaving her to face her brutal husband alone.

But Hu Guile is not a weak dodder. He will not reason with the drunkard, but if the drunkard dares to attack his mother, she will rush out and fight him immediately. The tables, chairs, benches, wine bottles and umbrellas at hand are all her weapons.

Anyway, he is not yet 16 years old, so even if he accidentally stabbed him to death, he will not be sentenced. Hu Guile is very tough.

But she didn't expect that this man was so disgusting. He always stared at her with a sneaky look and took the opportunity to touch her during the fight. Hu Guile almost vomited.

This definitely won't work. She knew very well that there was a huge disparity in strength between her and an adult man. Besides, a thief can steal for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days.

So she found an opportunity to tell Zhao Yaping all this. She begged her mother to take her away, saying there was no need to continue living with this domestic violence man with bad habits.

But Zhao Yaping had already had a failed marriage. For this traditional woman, the shadow of the end of her previous marriage had a huge psychological impact on her.

Why is fate so cruel!

She hugged her daughter Hu Guile and cried bitterly, and told her daughter to lock the door and prop it up with a wardrobe or desk when she was not at home.

But she refused to divorce, explaining, "Your Uncle Wang was recently laid off and was in a bad mood. He was under too much pressure, so he drank a little too much. Mom will talk him down. Can you just bear with it for now?"

From this moment on, Hu Guile knew that her mother was unreliable, but she would protect herself.

From that day on, she always carried a utility knife in her pocket. She was determined that if Wang Jiangang dared to raise a finger at her, she would use the sharp utility knife to stab him in the internal organs without hesitation.

But this is a path that I would only take as a last resort. I'll just have to endure it for two more months. After two months, I'll be sixteen years old and will have my own ID card, which will make it convenient for me to go anywhere.

If her mother still refused to leave at that time, she would go by herself. Even if she had to beg along the way, she would go back to her hometown to find her brother. Her brother always had a way. Then she and her brother would go together to save her mother.

The heavy rain outside the window gradually stopped. Hu Guile's thin body curled up on the ground. Her long and steady breathing showed that she had fallen asleep, but the utility knife in her hand was still tightly held in her hand.

At ten o'clock in the evening, Zhao Yaping dragged her tired body to open the security door. The living room was in a mess, with tables, chairs, benches, bowls, plates, cups and bottles all scattered on the floor. Wang Jiangang fell outside Hu Guile's door.

Zhao Yaping was anxious. She hurried over and put her finger in the man's nose to test and found that he was still breathing.

Then she gently turned the doorknob of her daughter's room, but it wouldn't turn. The door was locked from the inside. She breathed a sigh of relief and called her daughter softly, "Lele, Lele, are you in there? Don't be afraid, Mommy is back."

Hu Guile's sleep was not stable. She woke up as soon as Zhao Yaping made a sound. She pushed the wardrobe with great effort and opened the door a little to observe the situation outside. She saw that the man was lying on the ground, either asleep or fainted, and posed no threat, so she opened the door completely.

"Mom, you're back. You're all wet. Go change your clothes quickly. Have you had dinner?"

Zhao Yaping touched her daughter's hair with relief: "I got my salary today, and I will soon save enough money for your tuition. You can go to school next semester."

Hu Guile forced a smile. She was not optimistic about going to school. What's more, in the current tense and anxious living environment, even personal safety was at risk, so how could she even think about going to school?

Zhao Yaping saw that her smile was forced and became a little nervous: "What's wrong? Did something happen today? Did he...he hit you?"

Hu Guile shook her head, but thinking of her plan to leave, she said to Zhao Yaping, "Mom, give me some money."

Zhao Yaping smiled gently, took out a small wallet from her shoulder bag, took out ten yuan, and handed it to Hu Guile: "Spend it sparingly, and save money to pay your tuition."

Hu Guile glanced at his mother's bag again in disappointment. Ten yuan, not even enough to get out of K City.

After Zhao Yaping gave her daughter instructions, she looked back at her husband lying on the ground and said to her daughter, "Lele, lend me a hand and help me get your Uncle Wang onto the bed."

Hu Guile's eyes widened in displeasure. "No matter! You are not allowed to help him. Just let him lie on the ground. If he freezes to death, it will be God's way of getting rid of this evil for the people."

Zhao Yaping scolded: "You child."

However, she did not force her daughter. However, she could not do it by herself, so she waved her hand and signaled her daughter to go back to her room.

Then he began to pat Wang Jiangang's shoulders gently, calling out softly: "Jiangang, Wang Jiangang, wake up, go to bed."

Hu Guile snorted and slammed the door shut.