"Xi...Xixi?" Xia Chenggang was surprised that the person who answered the phone wasn't Su Jinru. He was a little flustered. "Where's your mother? Why didn't she answer the phone?"
Xia Xi turned on the speakerphone. She hated his actions so much that she tried to control herself and not scare away Xia Chenggang, whom she had finally contacted. But she couldn't help herself and spoke in a very aggressive tone: "How dare you mention my mother? Don't you know how much you've hurt her and your family? When the factory collapsed, you just walked away, sold the restaurant that my grandmother had worked so hard to run for decades, and took away all the family money. What husband or father in the world would do this to you?"
After venting the resentment in his heart, Xia Xi did not feel much better. His face was so dark that ink could drip out of it.
Su Jinru looked over as she spoke, and now she realized that the caller was Xia Chenggang. She snatched the phone from her hand and collapsed and shouted, "Xia Chenggang! Are you still human? How have I wronged you? Why do you treat me like this?"
Xia Xi wanted to laugh when she heard this. Her mother was too kind. When Xia Cheng just did something wrong, her first thought was how she had wronged him.
She was so good to him that he was so unscrupulous!
"No, Jinru, listen to me." Xia Chenggang sniffed and said in pain, "I didn't want to be like this either. I was forced into a corner. It's all Yao Guangliang's fault. I called you to explain to you."
Tears flowed from Su Jinru's dry eyes. She was extremely disappointed with her husband and didn't want to hear any explanation from him. She just wanted the hotel and money back.
But she knew that this was a pipe dream.
Xia Chenggang didn't hear a response from his usually gentle and virtuous wife, so he started crying. "Yao Guangliang told me there was nothing wrong with the machines. I believed him and bought them. I asked a technician to check them, and they were indeed fine. Who knew they would break down? Jinru, I don't want to go to jail. I really don't want to go to jail. Please understand me."
Su Jinru wiped away her tears. She wasn't crying for him, but for herself: "I understand you? Have you ever understood me? When something happened, you didn't want to take responsibility and you ran away, but why did you steal the restaurant and sell it? Why did you transfer the property? How are we going to live?! After decades of love, is this how you repay me? Xia Chenggang, ask yourself, have I ever treated you badly?!"
Su Jinru beat her chest and stamped her feet, yelling into the phone until her voice was hoarse, like she was tearing cloth.
Xia Chenggang was speechless and could only sob.
Xia Xi's face was icy, his heart devoid of emotion. Was he crying out of guilt? No. These were crocodile tears, meant to elicit sympathy. He had calculated it well, hoping that, like before, he could coax Su Jinru into forgiving him with a few words. After he'd hidden away for three to five years, the incident would gradually fade, and he'd finally have a place to stay, a warm home.
He might as well dream.
Xia Xi took back her phone. She only cared about one question: "How much money do you have left?"
Xia Chenggang still didn't speak.
Xia Xi's patience ran out, and she became furious. "Three injured workers were waiting for compensation, and you took it all away. They can't get their compensation, and they come to harass our family every day. Grandma is sick, and Xuanxuan has a heart disease. Do you have any conscience?"
She only prayed that Xia Chenggang hadn't squandered all the money. If she could successfully recover it, she could give the injured workers an explanation, bring some peace to her family, and perhaps even buy back the Peishan Hotel from Wu Gengxin. Of course, this was the most perfect outcome.
After all, she was too idealistic. Xia Chenggang refused to tell the truth at first, but under Xia Xi's repeated questioning, he finally spit out the truth: "...It's gone."
Xia Xi said in disbelief: "How could so much money be gone?"
Xia Chenggang hesitantly explained, "Yao Guangliang just can't stand seeing me do well. Now that I think about it, he came to me with a plan. I didn't judge people well, and I fell into his trap. He took me to the underground entertainment city to relax. I won at first, I really won a lot, but then I kept losing. I thought I would get my share back and stop playing, but it's a bottomless pit. I lost more and more and couldn't pay it back. They are coming to find me, and I'm forced into a desperate situation. I'm afraid of you finding out... I regret it, Xixi, give me another chance, I will definitely not go."
The last glimmer of hope in Xia Xi's heart was extinguished. She had nothing to say to him. She laughed and felt that God was playing a joke on her. How could she have such a father?
Xia Chenggang said, "My payphone is almost out of money. I'm hanging up now. I'll contact you when I have the chance." After a pause, he emphasized, "If the police ask you anything, don't say anything nonsense."
The sneer on Xia Xi's lips faded, and she finally asked him, "Where are you now?"
The call was forced to end and there was no sound.
Xia Xi raised her eyes and saw her mother's face was ashen, with her fingertips pinched by her nails, causing them to bleed. She put down her phone, held her hand, wiped the blood from her fingertips with a tissue, and took out a band-aid and put it on the wound.
"Call the police." Su Jinru's eyes lost focus as she stared at her blankly. "He must have used a public landline in a supermarket or a roadside newsstand. Maybe they can find his address."
Xia Xi followed his advice and called the police, providing clues to the police who were investigating the case.
*
Three days later, Xia Xi had to return to school. Before leaving home, she asked Xia Yue to call her in time if there was anything and not to be afraid of disturbing her.
Xia Yue was a few years older than her, after all, and acted more steadily. She patted her head and said, "Don't worry, I'll be staying at home to take care of them during this period. You should also take care of yourself and don't worry too much. As long as our family is doing well, there is nothing we can't overcome."
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