Ding Ling squatted beside the stone lion and cried sadly, "Don't worry about me, sister. Go back. I'm not going home. I'm leaving."

"Are you going to run away from home?" Lin Minjun took a breath and quickly pulled her back, "Don't go yet. Where are you going in the middle of the night?"

Ding Ling hesitated for a moment, "You should have heard that I'm dating someone, and people in the alley say I'm a bad boy, flirting with other girls at such a young age."

"Bah, these people are just bad-mouthed." Lin Minjun got angry when she heard it. "Lingling, let me tell you, my sister has also told others that group of people were talking behind my back about me. At first, I was scared by these rumors and didn't dare to go out or interact with people. But now I understand that those people who were talking behind my back didn't care about you at all, let alone the so-called upholding of justice."

She paused for a moment and then continued, "They are a bunch of gossipers. What they want to see is that you are frightened by the rumors. But can you give in so easily? The next time you see someone saying this about you, go up to her and ask her. If you are dating someone, you are not learning your lesson. Then they are all shameless people, because they are all dating someone! If you have to say the only thing you did wrong, it is that you are dating too early. You are only fifteen or sixteen years old. You don't know what true love is like. It is easy to be deceived. Let me ask you, what is your partner like? What does he do? How old is he? Where does he live?"

In fact, Ding Ling was particularly reluctant to tell others about her love affairs, but looking at the concerned look in her sister's eyes, she suddenly felt that it was not so embarrassing.

After all, from the time they started dating until now, all Ding Ling has heard from others is that she is young and naughty, and shameless. This is the first time someone has said that it is not her fault.

Ding Ling sniffed. "He is eight years older than me and currently has no job, but he says he is very capable and will eventually find a job. His home is in the suburbs of the capital, far from here, but he is very nice to me and never says anything bad about me."

Oh, a twenty-something unemployed vagrant comes here to seduce a fifteen-year-old girl.

Lin Minjun had seen a lot in her life and could tell at a glance that something was wrong.

Lin Minjun smiled and asked back, "Lingling, let me ask you, he is 23 years old, he should have more things to talk about with girls of the same age, what can he talk about with your child who is still in school, why did he leave those girls and come to you? He has no job, so he probably didn't go to college, right? Then where did he get his ability? Where did he learn it? Since he has the ability, the market has been open for several years now, and there are many job opportunities, why doesn't he have a job until now? Does he hang out every day? Whose money does he use? If he uses his family's money, then how can he have the nerve to do this? Such a big boy, who doesn't go to school, hangs out outside, and asks his family for money. If he doesn't use his family's money, then where does his money come from? Have you thought about these questions?"

Just like giving an injection, Lin Minjun's words can be said to hit the nail on the head.

As soon as she heard what Ding Ling said, she knew what kind of person that person was, and she couldn't help but become angry.

Seeing Ding Ling shivering, Lin Minjun took two deep breaths to calm herself down, patted the girl on the shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm not blaming you or saying you did anything wrong. I just think your partner is not right."

"What's wrong?" Ding Ling said.

Lin Minjun: "Think about what I just said. Is it possible that he couldn't find a wife of the same age, so he came here to deceive a naive girl like you?"

Ding Ling hesitated, "But his mother is very kind to me."

Lin Minjun: "What's the best way?"

Ding Ling: "I've been to his home before. Although the conditions were not very good, his mother was very nice to me and even gave me pancakes to eat. His mother also always wanted me to stay there for a few days."

Lin Minjun: "Well, let you live there, so that their family can ruin your reputation outside, saying that you have slept with her son. In this way, your mother may marry you to her for your reputation. Maybe their family is also thinking that since your mother lives alone, after you get married, the whole family can come over and take care of you and your mother together. Then their family can move into the city and become city dwellers."

Lin Minjun had seen too many cases of losing a family's wealth in her previous life.

After all, Ding Ling had never been far from home since she was a child. She had no father, and Mrs. Xu was busy raising the family and making money and had no energy to teach her. The little girl was naive and powerful. "Sister, I don't think their family would be like this. We can't think so badly of people."

After all, they are still in the passionate period of love, and Lin Minjun can tell at a glance that the girl is unhappy.

At this time, Ding Ling just thought that the person she was dating was the best, and his family was good. If anyone tried to stop her, the little girl would feel that the whole world was trying to stop her from pursuing true love.

If she were 25 years old this year, Lin Minjun would not want to care about this anymore. Everyone has their own destiny, just like her in her previous life, she would not cry until she saw the coffin.

But the little girl was only fifteen years old and she was ruined like this, what a pity!

"So you're going out so late at night just to go to his house?" Lin Minjun said, changing the subject.

Ding Ling nodded gently.

Lin Minjun's heart was beating fast, thinking to herself that it was a good thing that I saw it, otherwise who knows what would happen to this little girl Ding Ling tonight.

She took Ding Ling's hand seriously and asked, "So how are you going to get there?"

Ding Ling looked at the end of the road in confusion. "I don't know yet. I plan to walk there. If I meet kind people on the road, I will ask them if I can give me a ride."

Lin Minjun smiled and said as gently as possible: "It will take you at least one night to walk from here to the suburbs. Do you know how dangerous it is? And if you meet a kind person on the road, does he have good intentions? What if he is a bad person and kidnaps you?"

Ding Ling blinked, her eyes reddened: "What should I do? I really don't know where to go."

Lin Minjun: "Are you willing to listen to me?"

Ding Ling nodded: "Sister, go ahead."

"No place is as safe as your own home these days."

Ding Ling's face changed, and she hugged her knees and was about to squat back, looking very reluctant to go home.

Lin Minjun said, "Look, you are going to the target's house now. No matter what happens on the way, it will be very dangerous. It is better to go home first. At least you have a place to sleep and you won't run into bad people."

She said, "I know you are still angry with your mother. How about this? I will go to my house first and stay there for a while. I will go to your house to talk to your mother. I will persuade her to apologize to you for embarrassing you at school today. Okay?"

"My mother will never apologize. She never thinks she has done anything wrong," Ding Ling said with a pursed mouth.

Lin Minjun: "No, she will. As long as I tell her clearly that her behavior today hurt you, she will apologize to you, because she is the person who loves you the most in the world. Maybe there is something wrong with the way she loves you, but she must be the one who loves you the most. I will try to let her know this. If I can't, you can sleep in my house today and sleep with me, okay?"

Ding Ling lowered her head and murmured, "She loves me the most?"

Lin Minjun tried to pull her up. "Come home with me now. Our two houses are separated by a wall. You can listen to me talking to your mother next door. Okay?"

People say that children don't know what's good for them, but in fact, children know very well. After all, Ding Ling was a grown-up girl, and she knew that Lin Minjun had no ill intentions towards her, so after thinking it over, she followed her lead and stood up.

Lin Minjun held Ding Ling's hand and walked in front, while Yan Li followed behind.

When they arrived at the back room, Lin Minjun escorted Ding Ling to her room, gave her some fried peanuts and poured her a cup of hot tea, and asked her to stay in the room for a while before leaving.

"Brother, you watch outside and don't let this little girl run away again." Lin Minjun said softly.

Only after Yan Li nodded did Lin Minjun walk towards Mrs. Xu's house next door.

After knocking on the door next door, it was Mrs. Xu who came to open the door. The first thing Lin Minjun saw was her neatly combed hair and the spotless furniture in the house.

Apparently, Mrs. Xu hadn't noticed that her daughter was about to run away from home. When she opened the door, she was still angry and scolded, "I just said a few words to you, and you got angry and ran away? You have become independent now, haven't you?..."

"Mrs. Xu, it's me." Lin Minjun said.

Mrs. Xu then realized that the person at the door was not Ding Ling. A trace of embarrassment flashed across her face, and her tone became much more polite. "Xiao Lin, what are you doing at my house? Is there anything you need my help with?"

"I came here to ask, Mrs. Xu, do you know where Lingling is now?" Lin Minjun asked straight to the point.

Mrs. Xu's face showed a look of surprise. "Do you have something to do with Lingling? This child just had a quarrel with me. She may have run to other places in the yard. She may be staying in the toilet. I will tell you when she comes back."

"So you don't know where she went?"

Mrs. Xu was so angry that she couldn't hold it back any longer. She started complaining to everyone she met: "Alas, this child is getting more and more disobedient as she gets older. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me saying this, but she's in a relationship now. Today I went to the school for a parents' meeting, and the teacher said that she's obviously been absent-minded in her studies recently. I just said a few words to her and gave her a few scoldings, but she came back and started arguing with me. She just ran away."

She kept saying, "You see, kids nowadays are in love at such a young age. I really don't know how a girl can be brought up like this. She runs away after just a few words."

"Sister-in-law, you think Lingling is in such a bad state now, but have you ever thought that Lingling was about to run away from home?" Lin Minjun couldn't help but say, "If she left home at this late hour, she would run into all kinds of accidents. At that time, would you still care about her shortcomings?"

"Running away from home?" Mrs. Xu suddenly raised her voice.