Chapter 24
It was three o'clock in the afternoon. The sun made the road hot. The dust raised by the wheels of cars on the street made people on the roadside cover their mouths and noses and couldn't help but quicken their pace.
A little boy suddenly stood on the street, looking around at the adults coming and going. His eyes fell on Ke Xin. His originally numb and empty eyes suddenly lit up, and then quickly returned to normal, making people feel as if they were having an illusion. After staying there for a second, he turned and walked towards the trash can beside him, stretched out his stained hands, and skillfully rummaged through the trash can to pick up things.
Suddenly, a homeless-looking uncle came into view and slapped the boy in the face: "Hey, what are you doing? This is my territory, you bastard!"
It happened so fast that the boy suddenly fell to the ground in a mess, and vomited all over the floor the half box of expired cake that he had just stuffed in his mouth.
Passersby glanced at it indifferently and quickly left the scene.
Everything that happened to the boy seemed normal, even though he looked only six or seven years old.
Bao Bao couldn't help but hold Ke Xin's hand tightly and teased, "Mom, he's so pitiful!"
The boy climbed up from the ground again, quickly changed into a praying posture, and said to the homeless man pitifully: "I'm sorry, please let me have a bite. I haven't found anything to eat for two days, please!"
"It's none of my business whether you eat or not, get out of here!"
The homeless man shouted.
Seeing this, the boy desperately reached out to pick up the other half of the cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
Just as the homeless man raised his foot to kick the boy away.
“Stop!”
Ke Xin intervened in time, "Big Brother, he's just a child after all. How can you be so ruthless as to hit him like that?"
Seeing that it was a beautiful woman, the homeless man asked with golden eyes, "Who are you? Why are you meddling in other people's business?"
Ke Xin walked past the homeless man and pulled the boy up: "Come on, Auntie will take you to eat something!"
The boy shuddered, with some sour-smelling cake still on his lips.
Ke Xin didn't suggest it either. When they took a closer look, they realized that the man was none other than Sister Wang's son. She couldn't help but squat down, lifting up her skirt in her high heels, and asked, "Little boy, why did you run out by yourself? Where's your mother?"
Hearing this, the boy's eyes reddened and he teased, "My...my mother doesn't want me anymore!"
Contrary to his appearance, as soon as he opened his mouth, his childish voice exposed his fragility hidden under the appearance of numbness and indifference.
Ke Xin shuddered slightly and asked in surprise, "Why would your mother not want you?"
The boy wiped the tears and snot from his face with his sleeve without any concealment: "It's true, that Wang guy told my dad that my mom doesn't want me anymore, otherwise why wouldn't she take me away after three months!"
When the boy said this, his tone was sobbing and his eyes were filled with hatred.
This would be a huge blow to anyone if it happened to them.
The homeless man suddenly came over and interrupted: "Hey, you take him to eat, why don't I have any? Beautiful lady, please give me some food too. I'm very strong!"
Ke Xin's breathing suddenly stopped, and she whispered, "Run!" Then she pulled the boy and Bao Bao into the crowd.
The homeless man wanted to chase after them, but there were too many people, so he had to give up.
Seeing that the homeless man did not chase her, Ke Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Auntie, why are you helping me?" the boy asked naively.
Ke Xin smiled in relief: "Because when I was a child, I also had the same experience of picking up trash as you. I still remember that time, a can was one cent, and I had to pick up ten to sell them for ten cents!"
Perhaps because he had the same experience, or perhaps because he felt that the aunt did not look down on him, the boy, who had originally looked embarrassed, softened his expression when he heard it.
Ke Xin saw that it was hot and it was not a good idea to stand there all the time, so she couldn't help but invite the boy to go to the restaurant next door to fill his stomach first.
The boy, who hadn't eaten for two days, quickly finished a bowl of braised pork rice, two fried chicken legs and a bowl of noodles with gravy. Then he wiped his mouth and talked about his experience.
After some inquiries, Ke Xin learned that the boy's nickname was Xiaopiqiu, and he now lived with his stepmother, Sister Wang, and his biological father. As he spoke, he lifted up his sleeves and the shocking wounds on his sleeves told her that this was not simple abuse, but a beating to death.
Baobao, who had seen her father's violence, saw the wound on Xiaopiqiu's hand and immediately thought of her father's tyrannical appearance. She began to be grateful that her mother had bravely taken her away from that horrible home. If her mother was like other mothers, and for the sake of a perfect home in the eyes of outsiders, would Xiaopiqiu's fate be hers? The more she thought about it, the more Baobao couldn't help but tremble.
"My stepmother said...that my mother ran away with another man and doesn't want me anymore." Little Piqiu clutched the corner of his clothes, and the sleeve slipped down to reveal a bruised wrist. "She twisted my arm and said that if I mentioned marriage again, my mother would throw me into the trash can...Aunt Ke Xin, does my mother really not want me anymore?" He suddenly looked up, and a glimmer of water flashed in his dry, well-like eyes.
"No, little ball," Ke Xin could only say this much to comfort herself. After all, she herself had never felt any maternal love, and if she were asked to express it, she would be at a loss for words.
Suddenly, the little ball was about to leave with a snakeskin bag!
"Where are you going?" Ke Xin asked hurriedly.
"I'm going to pick up cardboard to sell. I can't get a good price today, or my stepmother will beat me again!" The little ball turned his head to explain.
"But you are less than six years old. Don't you need to study?" Baobao couldn't help asking.
"Study," Little Ball said with a confused look on his face. "My parents said I'm worse than a dog and don't deserve to study!"
"She also said that studying is useless. Many college students study for more than 20 years and still can't find a job. I should start thinking about how to make money now!"
Ke Xin asked with a complicated expression, "Little Ball, is there any way to contact your mother?"
The little ball was silent for a while, then sighed and shook his head, then he lifted up his trouser leg and said, "Look at my wound!"
There was a purple bite mark at the base of my calf. I could even see the deep white bone with the naked eye. The wound around the bone had turned black and festered. "This wound was bitten by my stepmother. Just because I said I wanted to find my mother, she bit me like this. She also punished me by not allowing me to eat for three days. She even said that if I mentioned my mother again, she would make me eat feces in the toilet!"
"Maybe I can help you!" Ke Xin tried her best to hide the sympathy and anger on her face. She bent down and took a few photos of the little ball, including the wound, and posted them on social media with the caption: "I suspect the boy was hidden and abused by his stepmother. Attached is evidence. If you are the biological mother, please contact me!"
Her account has two million followers, so maybe she can find her biological mother, or at least let her know the truth.
"Little ball, why are you here? It took me so long to find you!" A rough voice came from far away. Several people looked up and saw Sister Wang coming over with a bag of cabbage.
Sister Wang took a quick look and saw that it was her neighbor Ke Xin. Her angry expression disappeared in an instant. She glanced at the sweet soup on the table and the food residue left at the corner of Xiaopiqiu's mouth. Then she smiled and said politely to Ke Xin: "Oh, Miss Ke Xin, you really spent a lot of money. You even bought sweet soup for my son!"
"Is it delicious? Thank you, Aunt Ke Xin!" Sister Wang rubbed the top of the little ball's head with a smile on her face, trying her best to act like a loving mother, but both her voice and expression always made people feel inexplicably creepy.
"It's...very delicious. Thank you Aunt Ke Xin!" Little Ball glanced at Sister Wang, shrank his neck and said tremblingly.
"No big deal. By the way, I saw that your son's body was covered with wounds. I don't know who was the black-hearted person who beat him like this. Sister Wang, don't you think this kind of person is disgusting? He can't even be called a human being. He is a beast, right?" Ke Xin said with a smile, making an indirect criticism.
Sister Wang choked and said "Hey" but was speechless.
Then he turned his back to Ke Xin, stared at Xiaopiqiu fiercely and whispered, "Xiaopiqiu, what are you saying about me to outsiders?"
Little Ball was immediately at a loss, and ran away in panic holding the can in his arms: "I'm going to pick up the can!"
"Stop, what did you say to your aunt about me!" Sister Wang couldn't help but yell at the person who was running away.
"Sister Wang, let me treat you to some sweet soup so you can calm down. He didn't say anything!" Ke Xin stepped forward to comfort her, holding her phone.
Seeing Ke Xin's unpredictable expression, Sister Wang glanced down at the menu and explained, "My son is a bit of a jerk. He's always climbing up the roof and tearing off the tiles, which is why he's covered in bruises. Don't listen to his nonsense!"
Ke Xin responded with a silent smile.
Sister Wang was full of ulterior motives, thinking this was a good opportunity to get to know the girl. She simply followed her lead and sat down to complain, "You don't know, everyone says I'm a vicious stepmother, but they don't know that I married into this family for nothing, and I have to help my husband raise his ex-wife's children. And that's all. My husband is just a pork seller, and he doesn't make much money a day. It's hard enough to support us, and he still goes around saying bad things about me. But where can I go to seek justice?"
"Yes, yes, yes," Ke Xin nodded in agreement, and mango sago, milk tea grand slam and various snacks were placed on the table.
Ke Xin listened attentively, and suddenly a dialog box called Chengcheng popped up on the phone in her hand.
"Hello, I'm Chengcheng's mother. May I ask where you are? Can you help me keep an eye on the little ball? I'll come to you right away!"
The words seemed incoherent, and compared to the mother named Chengcheng on the other side, she was very anxious.
Ke Xin clicked on her homepage, which was filled with all kinds of growth moments of Xiao Piqiu during her childhood. After several negotiations, Ke Xin became more certain that they had hidden Xiao Piqiu, abusing and verbally abusing her every day while hiding from her biological mother. This phenomenon has many cases in rural areas and is commonly known as Purple Ribbon Mother.
When she got divorced, she almost became one of these people. Fortunately, she was brave enough to shoot Weijie in the head, and then she was able to take Baobao back from Weijie. That short day was exhausting both physically and mentally. It is hard to imagine how a mother would suffer every day for three months when she couldn't find her child.
Fortunately, she has a large fan base, and just now she quickly connected with her biological mother. Ke Xin offered advice: "I will appease her stepmother first, don't alert the enemy, and wait until she secretly takes the little ball away, then I will deal with this vicious couple!"
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