The appearance of this little boy brightened up the dilapidated house.
For the first time, Ruan Chen understood the meaning of "a humble abode becomes glorious".
Cong Rao led him, carefully gave him a bath, and then took him to Hu Wanglong's old room to sleep.
Cao De's attitude towards Ruan Chen improved considerably, as if he was discovering for the first time that this burden was actually quite useful.
After Fu Jianzhi fell asleep, Rao tiptoed out.
Cao De, unusually magnanimous, waved to Cong Rao, telling her to cook a bowl of noodles for Ruan Chen and add two poached eggs.
While eating noodles, Ruan Chen unceremoniously poured a heaping pile of chili peppers into her bowl, her eyes secretly watching Cao De and Cong Rao's reactions—last time she reached for the chili peppers, Cao De slapped her hand back with his chopsticks, saying she didn't know what was good for her.
The two of them are just smiling at her now, as if they are looking at some kind of treasure.
Cao De had already planned it all out. Once the little boy made his move, he would have Ruan Chen go out and find another one. It was always difficult for an adult to abduct a child, but it was hard for a little boy to be wary of a woman several years older than him.
Ruan Chen's status in his heart has risen rapidly; she's practically a money tree.
But Cao De was still worried. The little boy looked too noble; he was clearly from a wealthy family.
"Chenchen, where did you find this little brother?"
Although Ruan Chen was starving, she naturally ate slowly and methodically. Cao De used to find her mannerisms annoying, always feeling that she was being pretentious, but now he found her more agreeable.
Ruan Chen slowly put a mouthful of noodles into his mouth, swallowed it, and then spoke, "Don't worry, his family doesn't want him anymore. They stuffed him in a sack and dumped him on the side of the road. I saw it; the car that dumped him had a Beijing license plate (京A), and it's more than 3,000 kilometers away from here."
The next day, when Fu Jianzhi got up, there were already several bowls of thin porridge and steamed buns that had become soggy from being reheated too many times.
He ate with great difficulty, constantly glancing at Ruan Chen.
Ruan Chen hadn't eaten a whole meat bun in years, but she got one today.
She thought Fu Jianzhi was only looking at her because he wasn't full, so after hesitating for a few seconds, she generously handed over the steamed bun in her hand.
The fishy smell made Fu Jianzhi feel even more nauseous.
But he also knew that this family was his only support now, so he obediently said, "Thank you, sister, I have enough to eat."
After Cao De finished eating, he went downstairs to the mahjong parlor to play cards. He started cleaning up from the kitchen, where only the two children remained at the dining table, which was propped up with wooden planks and bricks.
Fu Jianzhi swallowed a mouthful of steamed bun with great effort, then gagged, tears welling up in his eyes.
Ruan Chen then realized that this precious little boy couldn't eat this kind of food.
"Shall I eat it for you?"
Fu Jianzhi breathed a grateful sigh of relief; for him, he would rather go hungry.
He thought to himself how wonderful his sister was, and handed her the steamed bun he was holding.
After finishing their meal, Ruan Chen led Fu Jian downstairs and pulled him into the convenience store. "You didn't have breakfast, so pick whatever you want to eat."
Fu Jianzhi looked at the bread piled with cheap cream and the colorful drinks, and shook his head.
Ruan Chen understood; the young master didn't think much of it.
Tsk, they're hard to raise.
How could he survive if he was sold?
She only had five yuan in her pocket, which she had taken from the pocket of the deceased Hu Wanglong.
Fortunately, the young master was attracted by the roasted sweet potatoes sold by the roadside for 1.5 yuan per kilogram, and managed to get by with two yuan for breakfast.
After raising the boy for a few days, Cao De and the buyer of the boy agreed to pick him up in twenty days.
The matchmaker asked Cao De one more question, "Are there any other little boys? Preferably under seven years old. I'm one short of this batch. The buyer is offering 100,000 yuan for one."
The matchmaker had barely left when Cao De coaxed Ruan Chen out with him.
This was twelve-year-old Ruan Chen's first time visiting a large shopping mall.
Cao De reluctantly spent nearly five hundred yuan to buy clothes for his stepdaughter. Ruan Chen stood in front of the bright full-length mirror, looking at herself in the mirror, somewhat lost in thought.
For the first time, she clearly realized that she was indeed beautiful.
She could also see a resemblance between Cong Rao and Ruan Zhengde in those delicate features.
Cao De led Ruan Chen to the entrance of a nearby primary school.
It was lunchtime when school let out, and Ruan Chen blended in with the older girls, looking no different from anyone else, or even more outstanding.
A few precocious boys gathered around, laughing and asking Ruan Chen which grade and class she was in. Ruan Chen walked away with a cold face.
But she felt a deep sense of envy.
But she knew that Cao De's gloomy gaze was watching her from behind, waiting for her to lead away a six or seven-year-old boy.
She weaved through the parents picking up their children, searching for lone prey.
At a fried chicken strip stall, Ruan Chen found a suitable target—a chubby little boy with his mouth full of oil. She reached out and took the little boy's chubby little hand, pulling him into her arms.
Sure enough, no one around noticed.
But Ruan Chen went back empty-handed.
In those few seconds, she realized she couldn't do it.
Fu Jianzhi was adopted, so it's not illegal, but if she hands this chubby boy over to Cao De today, her life will be truly over.
Cao De didn't say anything. On the way back, he took Ruan Chen and strolled around the entrance of the Paradise Hall several times.
When they arrived home, it was dinnertime. Fu Jianzhi was sitting at the door when he saw Ruan Chen coming back from afar. He ran over to greet her, wading through the mud.
He tugged at Ruan Chen's skirt ingratiatingly and pulled out a piece of chocolate from his pocket—one that Cong Rao had bought for him. "Sister, Aunt Cong bought two pieces. This one is for you."
Ruan Chen pushed him away, her expression cold, but her tone gentle, "You eat it, I don't like it."
She knew she was going to get beaten up; it was expected, and it wasn't the first time.
The pretty new dress and little leather shoes were neatly folded and placed to one side. After Cao De repeatedly pressed her for answers but only received a refusal, he stubbed out the burning cigarette butt hard on Ruan Chen's thin back.
What followed was a brutal beating. Cao De grabbed anything he could get his hands on—a bamboo pole, a broom, slippers, fire tongs...
In the end, Ruan Chen didn't even have the strength to scream anymore. She lay on her back on the dirty ground and smiled silently.
Like a dying flower.
She wanted Cao De to die.
But she knew that if Cao De died, Cong Rao would have to go back to the Pleasure Hall and mingle with all sorts of men to earn money to support themselves.
Even if Cong Rao is a terrible person, she is still her mother, and she doesn't want her mother to go back to that hellhole.
Moreover, her curse came at a price.
The greater the weight of the target she curses, the greater the price she pays.
Once, Cong Rao was harassed by a drunk man who was driving a luxury car. He tried to drag Cong Rao into his car, but the next second, an advertising billboard fell from the sky and smashed his head.
The next day, Ruan Chen developed a high fever, fainted and convulsed, and no fever reducer worked.
Cong Rao thought it was just a child who had lost his mind from fright, but Ruan Chen knew that this was the price to pay; that drunkard was probably someone important.
Cao De had lost control; he actually bent down, picked up the red brick that was used to prop up the stove, and slapped it at Ruan Chen's head.
The expected excruciating pain did not come. The boy's soft, small body threw himself on Ruan Chen, and he said in a tearful voice, "Dad, please don't hit my sister anymore. What do you want? I'll make it for you."
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