"No need, no need. You should take Zhouzhou back first; it's getting dark. I remember it's roughly along that stretch of road. I'll go back and look for it myself; it'll be quick!"
Zhou Qiqi didn't want to trouble them, and she especially didn't want Zhouzhou to follow her as she searched for things in the dim light.
Deng Cuixiang glanced at the sky; it was indeed getting late.
"Okay, be careful. If you can't find it, come back quickly and look again tomorrow at dawn."
"Yes, I know."
Zhou Qiqi handed Zhouzhou's hand to Zhu Yingying, "Zhouzhou, be good. Go home with Aunt Zhu and Aunt Deng first. Your aunt will come back as soon as she finds the hair clip."
Zhouzhou nodded sensibly, a hint of worry in her big eyes, but she still obediently followed the two aunties.
Zhou Qiqi immediately turned around and carefully searched along the route she had just run back.
As darkness fell, the streetlights on the playground became scarce, making visibility increasingly poor.
She bent over, her eyes fixed on the ground, searching for the small, shiny hair clip on the gravel road and the grass beside it.
I felt both annoyed and heartbroken.
After searching twice and turning that stretch of road upside down, I still found nothing.
Zhou Qiqi straightened up, sighed in frustration, and was about to give up and talk about it again tomorrow when a slightly hoarse male voice rang out a few steps away.
"Is this what you're looking for?"
Zhou Qiqi suddenly looked up, almost twisting her neck.
Then she saw a dark hand reach out in front of her, its fingernails full of dirt and its fingers covered with some indistinct stains.
But it was this dirty hand that was holding her rhinestone hair clip, the tiny rhinestones still sparkling under the light.
Looking up along that hand, Zhou Qiqi's heart sank to the bottom as if gripped by an icy hand.
The man standing in the dim light was much thinner and was wearing a faded suit with unidentified stains.
His hair was greasy and stuck to his forehead, his face was unshaven, and his eyes were sunken, exuding a deep sense of fatigue and an indescribable sense of dejection.
Especially those eyes, which used to always have a misty, watery look in them, and when they looked at people, they would slant their eyes, thinking they were alluring peach blossom eyes.
Now his eyes are dry and brittle, with more white than black, making them look like "three-white eyes" (eyes with white showing above and below the iris).
Who else could it be but Xu Shu!
Zhou Qiqi suppressed her disgust and wariness, her voice as cold as ice: "It's mine, give it back to me."
She quickly reached out, her fingertips turning white from tension, with only one thought in her mind: to get the hair clip back as quickly as possible and get as far away from this scourge as possible.
Xu Shu quickly withdrew his hand, tightly gripping the hair clip, and grinned, revealing an ambiguous smile.
What's the rush?
He drew out his words, his gaze fixed on Zhou Qiqi's face.
"Qiqi, my good wife, it's only been a few days since we last met, and you've already climbed the social ladder, and you don't even recognize your old friends anymore?"
"Your wife is at the clinic, stop barking like a dog! Give me back my things!"
Zhou Qiqi didn't want to waste words with him, so she spoke more sharply and took a half step back warily, glancing at the sentry post not far away as she threatened him.
"Otherwise, I'll call for help right now!"
Xu Shu clicked his tongue twice, his gaze sweeping over her body, lingering particularly on her waist and hips. That look sent chills down Zhou Qiqi's spine.
"What's the rush?"
He slowly shook the hair clip in his hand.
"It's just a broken clip, who would want it? I'll just say a few words to you, and I'll return it to you right away. It won't take up much of your time."
"Spit it out!"
Zhou Qiqi didn't want to stay with him for another second, her tone filled with disgust.
Xu Shu wasn't annoyed. He took two steps forward, and a smell mixed with sweat and earth wafted over. Zhou Qiqi subconsciously held her breath.
He lowered his voice, his tone laced with sarcasm and a hint of inquiry.
"Hey Zhou Qiqi, is all of Shen Huaichuan's money in your hands? Tsk tsk, look at your clothes, the material... You must wear new clothes every day, right? Back in Xujia Village, you were always wrapped up like a dumpling, I never knew you were so well-endowed..."
His gaze once again swept lewdly over her curvaceous body, accentuated by her sportswear.
"Was your skill in pleasing men... really that amazing? That's why he's so infatuated with you, even letting you manage his money? I'm starting to regret it now, if only I had..."
"You're asking for it!"
Zhou Qiqi was consumed by rage, and a feeling of nausea shot through her throat!
She didn't have any pepper spray on her, but the strength she had built up over the past few days, combined with her anger at that moment, caused her to explode instantly!
She seized the opportunity when Xu Shu was close and his attention was on her face, and with lightning speed, she raised her right leg and kicked him hard between his legs!
"Awooo—!"
Xu Shu never expected Zhou Qiqi to dare to make a move directly, let alone that she would act so quickly and ruthlessly!
He was so terrified that he instinctively crossed his hands downwards to protect his groin!
"Bang!"
Zhou Qiqi's shoe tip kicked him hard on the back of his hands, which were clasped together to protect his vitals!
A sharp pain shot through him, and Xu Shu screamed, staggering back several steps and nearly falling.
The hairpin in her hand flew out of her grasp due to the sudden pain and panic, landing with a "clink" on the grass not far away.
Without even glancing at Xu Shu, who was wincing in pain and clutching his hand, Zhou Qiqi rushed over, picked up the hair clip from the ground, and held it tightly in her palm.
She glanced coldly at the disheveled Xu Shu, then turned and hurried away from this disgusting place.
"Zhou Qiqi!"
Xu Shu endured the burning pain in his hand, watched her retreating figure, and roared in frustration.
"You're so ungrateful! I was just trying to be helpful!"
"If you become a used woman and no one wants you anymore, you can go back to Xu Family Village. I... I, Xu Shu, will still take you in out of our past relationship!"
Zhou Qiqi didn't even pause, her figure quickly disappearing from the playground.
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