"No, it's none of my business if she doesn't come back."
"You must know where she is! This woman in the house is the one she brought to rent the room. You dare say you don't know?" Qin Xiaoyu started to extort her, and sure enough, the landlord was dumbfounded after saying that.
"Who said that? That's a lie! She only said she was renting a place, it's nobody else's business. How would I know what bad things they did?"
"Sister Liu's house is nearby, right? Can you point it out?" Qin Xiaoyu, with a sudden burst of strength, grabbed the landlord by the collar and dragged her out of the yard.
"Over there, the second one." As soon as the landlord finished speaking, A Lei and his men rushed over.
Sister Liu's family was having dinner, a bunch of people were gathered around a broken table in the dim light, when suddenly several tall men rushed in, they were so frightened that their faces turned ashen, and they dropped their bowls.
Qin Xiaoyu recognized at a glance that the woman sitting at the very back, wearing a tattered jacket, was Sister Liu.
"Where is Bai Weiwei?" Qin Xiaoyu shouted.
"How would I know where she is?" Sister Liu stubbornly insisted.
"You must know that you brought this person here. Don't you know what happened?" A Lei didn't care about anything else and went straight over to pull Sister Liu out of the crowd.
"I really don't know. I helped her rent the apartment, and she found the job herself. She's already in this situation, what's the point of me trying to curry favor with her? This is already quite good." Sister Liu's words were indeed honest.
"Do you know Zuo Bin's whereabouts?"
It wasn't a wasted effort to find some clues about Zuo Bin in her words.
"Zuo Bin, he's probably dead." Sister Liu's lips suddenly trembled, and tears streamed down her face; she was overcome with emotion.
"Dead? How did he die?" Qin Xiaoyu's heart sank, and she couldn't help but want to cry.
After Bai Weiwei's incident, all her properties were seized. In the beginning, Zuo Xiangyang was also implicated and investigated, so Sister Liu and Zuo Bin had nowhere to live.
Although she knew there was no money left, she couldn't bear to leave the child she had raised and refused to just abandon him.
The Zuo family originally had two garages; one was empty, and they built a game room for Zuo Bin to play in on cloudy days. Somehow, they forgot about it during this seizure.
There were some of Zuo Bin's clothes and snacks stored inside. Sister Liu brought Zuo Bin to live there, sending him to kindergarten during the day and picking him up at night. They kept this up for a while.
One day, just as she was about to pick up Zuo Bin, she saw that the window of the Zuo family's house was open, and Zuo Xiangyang's face was visible inside, shaking out the bed sheets.
This made her so happy that she ran over in a few steps.
"I'll bring Zuo Bin back right away and take him up to you." Sister Liu had also heard the rumors circulating that the child wasn't Zuo Xiangyang's, but since no one was saying it, she didn't dare believe it.
"Take that bastard as far away as possible, and don't let me see him again!" Zuo Xiangyang said sternly, his words hitting Liu Jie hard and making her dizzy. This wasn't right, was it?
"Where can I take it? Your child..." Before Sister Liu could finish speaking, Zuo Xiangyang slammed the window shut in front of her.
Sister Liu was quite clever. She realized that since Zuo Xiangyang had come out, it must be Qing Xiaoxu too. And sure enough, it was.
However, Qing Xiaoxu, with her explosive temper, exploded when she heard that Zuo Xiangyang didn't want children.
"Heh, I don't even want my daughter anymore, why would I want my grandson? Take him wherever you want, I don't care." Qing Xiaoxu's words completely shattered Sister Liu's confidence in living in the garage with Zuo Bin.
People have feelings. Although Zuo Bin is like a donkey, he has been by her side since he was a child, so he is different from others.
Even when he threw a tantrum, he would always quiet down beside her. Bai Weiwei was snobbish and difficult, but she still showed her some consideration. She would give her piles of old clothes, which she would sell to people around her, making a small profit.
All these benefits flashed through her mind, leaving her conflicted and unsure of what to do.
She had witnessed Zuo Xiangyang's character firsthand; he wasn't a real man—petty, narrow-minded, and constantly beating and verbally abusing Bai Weiwei. The family's nannies had come and gone, none of them able to endure it for more than a few days.
It was only because the child could find some peace and quiet with Sister Liu that she was spared. Now that he says he doesn't acknowledge his son anymore, that's it; sending him back is unacceptable.
The situation at the kindergarten isn't good either. Bai Weiwei had never paid childcare fees before, and no one dared to take her in. Now that she's lost her favor, the kindergarten is constantly pressing for payment. A few days ago, Sister Liu had no choice but to pay thirty yuan, only to be told that it would be counted towards future payments, meaning she'd have to keep paying.
Sister Liu couldn't just sit around and do nothing. After sending Zuo Bin to kindergarten, she went out to find odd jobs to earn a little money, because the two of them needed money for food.
Unfortunately, something else happened that day. When she went to pick up her child that evening, Zuo Bin was usually waiting for her outside and would rush out as soon as he heard her voice, but there was no sign of him today.
She craned her neck and waited for a while before the aunt brought Zuo Bin out.
The wounds have been treated, but my face is bruised and swollen, and with the addition of gentian violet, it's a terrible sight.
Sister Liu stared blankly, feeling that something was wrong; it was like a dream.
When Zuo Bin saw his relatives, he burst into tears and lay on the ground, rolling around and crying.
Hearing the crying broke her heart; she was heartbroken. She made up her mind then and there that she would never come to this hellish place again!
The aunt felt guilty and apologized quietly, following behind her all the way to the door. She pretended not to notice and led Zuo Bin home with long strides.
They really have a snobbish attitude. When Bai Weiwei was in power, who would dare to lay a finger on Zuo Bin?
Sister Liu grew angrier the more she thought about it, and tears kept streaming down her face. Zuo Bin now knew what was good for him. Seeing Sister Liu crying, he stopped playing and silently stayed by her side, which was more heartbreaking than a lively donkey jumping around.
"We won't go to kindergarten anymore!" Sister Liu said this with little confidence.
Where else can she send him if not to kindergarten? Caring for him every day makes it incredibly difficult for Sister Liu to get around, let alone find work; it's such a hassle. Now Qing Xiaoxu has been transferred again, supposedly to Guangdong, and she truly has nowhere to turn for help.
After thinking for a long time without any clue, Sister Liu turned over and sighed, "Let's go to sleep."
Zuo Bin was in a daze from the beating, and he slept restlessly, easily startled. He was clearly traumatized.
Sister Liu would pat him from time to time to help him sleep more soundly.
Just then, I heard some noise at the door.
The garage has no windows or ventilation openings; it all points directly to the main gate.
They never planned for anyone to live here, but now that they've moved in, they're afraid to close the door tightly at night. Sister Liu has some common sense; she's worried about feeling suffocated.
The area has always been very safe; not only are doors left unlocked at night, but no one dares to break in and commit crimes. It's as solid as a rock.
So when Sister Liu went to sleep at night, she would leave the door a crack and put a long bench across it from the inside, just to make a show of force.
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