Chapter 39 Breaking Legs and Throwing Them Under the Overpass to Beg
Zhou Mu fell to the ground, and before he could say anything, the door slammed shut.
The completely unfamiliar environment, pitch black all around, and the inability to see anything amplified the fear in an instant...
Ignoring her pain and sadness, Zhou Mu crawled towards the direction where she had been thrown in, pounding on the door and crying, "Mommy! Don't lock me in here, I'm scared! I want to go out, I don't want to stay here."
“Zhou Mu…”
Hearing Zhou Yue's voice, Zhou Mu was overjoyed, but—"I'm warning you, don't cry and make a scene inside. If you affect my work, I'll break your legs and throw you under the overpass to beg. If you beg, you can eat; if you don't, you can starve to death."
Zhou Mu's joy was dashed. Her mother hadn't come to let her out; she had come to warn her... Her mother was capable of breaking her leg; she had never cared about her.
She dared not make a sound, shrinking by the door and biting her arm hard, trying to attract attention with the pain and to shut her mouth, but she still couldn't help but let out a whimper like a small animal.
On the other side, after changing into her spare school uniform, Feifei said goodbye to her mother and grandfather again, but she was no longer as excited as before. Instead, she was worried. She was a little worried about the little girl named Zhou Mu.
Feifei felt that Zhou Mu's mother treated her so badly because she was afraid of offending their family. But today it was clearly her fault; she was the one who hurt Zhou Mu. The kind-hearted girl kept blaming herself and was distracted in class.
Finally, during lunchtime, while the cafeteria staff were busy, Feifei sneaked into the kitchen warehouse and cautiously pushed open the door.
Suddenly, Feifei felt a tap on her shoulder. She jumped in fright and almost screamed.
"Shh~ It's me, Feifei."
Hearing Kong Ying's voice, Feifei turned around and glared at him fiercely, "You almost scared me to death!"
Kong Ying touched his nose guiltily, "Um, Feifei, what are you doing here? Exploring the kitchen? A cafeteria nightmare?"
"I'm looking for someone." Feifei kept opening the door and then moved around among the shelves of ingredients in the warehouse.
Kong Ying followed Feifei around, asking, "Who are you looking for? Do I know them? What are you doing hiding in the kitchen?"
Feifei rolled her eyes at him, "Kong Ying, you're disturbing me."
"Oh, then I won't say anything more."
Feifei finally heard some noise in the small cubicle of the third warehouse. She gently knocked on the door, "Zhou Mu, is that you in there? It's me, Feifei."
Just as Feifei was about to head to the next place, a weak voice came out, "It's me..."
"Wait here, I'll get you out right away."
The small cubicle had no lock, only a latch, but it was positioned a bit high up.
Kong Ying, being a boy, took on the heavy lifting and huffed as he carried a stool over. Feifei stepped onto the stool and opened the door.
Zhou Mu huddled in the corner, the sudden bright light blinding her. She could only vaguely make out the silhouette of the little girl against the light at the doorway, like an angel who had come to redeem her.
When Feifei saw Zhou Mu huddled in the corner, tears of guilt and self-blame instantly welled up in her eyes. Zhou Mu's face was swollen, the handprint had turned from red to purplish-blue, and the dark red bloodstains on his lips and ears had dried.
It was she who caused Zhou Mu to be beaten by her mother; it was she who caused Zhou Mu to suffer so much!
"My God!" Kong Ying exclaimed, "Who is she? How did she get locked up here? And her injuries..."
Feifei had already run to Zhou Mu's side, apologizing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, Zhou Mu, it's my fault. I shouldn't have been not watching where I was going. It's my fault that your mother misunderstood you and even hit you."
"No, it's not your fault." Zhou Mu's voice was soft. She had a fever and her head was a little dizzy, but her thoughts were exceptionally clear. Feifei had already explained everything clearly, but her mother wouldn't believe her. She had never liked her as a daughter, never...
"I...I'll take you to the hospital." Feifei cried as she dialed Yan Songyu's number to ask her mother for help.
Kong Ying stood to the side, at a loss. The little girl was so pitiful; Feifei was crying too. What should he do? How could he comfort her?
When Yan Songyu received Feifei's tearful phone call, her heart clenched. After hearing the whole story, she felt relieved, but inevitably a mix of emotions lingered, a bittersweet feeling, and a pang of heartache that she herself didn't even realize.
"It's okay, Feifei, don't cry. Mommy will be there soon."
"Mom, you need to hurry, Zhou Mu has a fever."
Feifei hung up the phone and took out a small handkerchief to wipe the dirty tear stains and bloodstains on Zhou Mu's face. "Don't worry, my mother will be here soon. We'll take you to the hospital, and you'll get better soon."
"Thank you!" Perhaps relieved after being rescued, Zhou Mu forced a smile before fainting, which terrified Fei Fei and Kong Ying even more.
When Yan Songyu and Feng Yu arrived, they saw two little crybabies and a poor little guy lying unconscious on the ground. Feifei and Kong Ying's school uniform jackets were placed under Zhou Mu, and Feifei and Kong Ying were crying beside the unconscious Zhou Mu. It was so bad that it made people's eyes go black. If they didn't know better, they would have thought something had happened to Zhou Mu.
Feng Yu stepped forward to check on Zhou Mu's condition, while Yan Songyu comforted Fei Fei, whose eyes were red, and the chubby Kong Ying.
"It's alright, babies, Mommy's here. Zhou Mu will be fine, don't worry." Yan Songyu gently comforted them, holding one child in each arm.
Feifei choked up and said, "Mom, let's go to the hospital."
"Okay, let's go to the hospital."
Feng Yu also picked up Zhou Mu, saying, "You have a high fever. The injuries on your face should be fine, but your ears need to be checked carefully."
After taking the crying Kong Ying away, Yan Songyu contacted Feifei and Kong Ying's homeroom teacher and asked her to inform Kong Ying's parents that the two children were frightened and should see a psychologist.
After completing a full physical examination of Zhou Mu, the doctor, holding the medical record, looked rather grim. "Are you this child's family members?"
Feng Yu shook his head, "The child's family hasn't arrived yet. You can tell us about the situation first."
Realizing that he had misunderstood, the doctor's attitude softened considerably. "This child has injuries all over her body, both old and new, but the most serious is her left ear, which has a traumatic tympanic membrane perforation. Moreover, this should be the second time her left ear has been injured. Although it won't lead to deafness, her hearing will decline significantly in the future."
"Also, this child is severely malnourished and must often go hungry, which is why she looks thinner and smaller than other children her age."
Yan Songyu's expression grew increasingly grim as she listened. This information was almost identical to the details she had gathered about Feifei in her previous life. Seeing Zhou Mu like this was no different from seeing Feifei suffer in her past life.
Words can never compare to the shocking sight of what one sees with one's own eyes, and she attributed all the heartache she felt at that moment to Feifei.
Feng Yu secretly gripped Yan Songyu's hand tightly from behind. He thought she was afraid that if she hadn't discovered the conspiracy, Feifei would be the one suffering now.
"I don't know what kind of parents would treat a child like this," the doctor said indignantly. "This child needs to be hospitalized to stabilize the injury to her left ear. Further arrangements can only be made after her guardian arrives."
The doctor had barely finished speaking when a shrill female voice rang out from behind him, "No treatment! We won't treat you!"
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