Chapter 52
"Sister, don't leave me."
Josh had cursed more than once, wishing that Qiao Dacheng would die out there, but not only did he not die, he came back.
She must have gotten used to a comfortable life.
This comfortable life allowed her to temporarily forget about Qiao Dacheng, this ticking time bomb. If Qiao Mai's death had always been a source of heartache for her, then Qiao Dacheng was the nightmare that had haunted her for many years and never dissipated.
He is a leech clinging to his family, a demon dragging them down.
After Josh and Joe's mother fled, he turned his main target to them.
Force, curses.
Qiao Dacheng was addicted to gambling and did not work properly. Every time he lost money, he would take it out on the two sisters. When he won money, he would use it to drink. After drinking too much, he would inevitably beat them up.
You'll get a beating if you don't do your chores, if you don't come home on time, if you look dejected, or if you're smiling.
His fists need no reason.
When I'm happy, I'll kick them a couple of times to tell them to get lost; when I'm angry, I'll just pick one of them to vent my anger on.
As Qiao Mai grew older and taller, she also learned to rebel. Qiao Dacheng knew that her controllability was decreasing, so he would choose Qiao Xi from then on.
Those rough, powerful hands tore at her soft hair, tugging at her scalp. Josh was dragged from the kitchen to the bedroom door, her legs kicking helplessly like a lamb to the slaughter, her small body utterly powerless to resist.
Qiao Dacheng handled her as easily as if she were a rabbit, using very little force to easily throw her to the ground.
The frail Josh was thrown around and felt dizzy. She barely opened her eyes, which were red and swollen from crying. The bedroom door slowly closed in front of her, cutting off the light from the living room and the figures of Joma and her grandmother rushing over to protect her.
Outside the bedroom door, there was a desperate, violent knocking.
The curtains in the bedroom were not closed, and the cold, white moonlight shone in, casting the monster's silhouette on the white wall.
The monster was enormous, and its hard fists pounded repeatedly on the tiny baby.
Josh's vision blurred, and the sounds around her faded. Just before she lost consciousness, a metallic snapping sound rang out, pulling her back to reality.
She clearly heard the crisp sound of the doorknob hitting the floor, and then the bright light shone on her young face again.
The bedroom door lock was pried open, and Qiao Mai and her grandmother rushed in.
Having gone mad, Qiao Dacheng's ferocious face was filled with rage. He felt his dignity as the head of the family had been trampled upon, and he turned his anger on Qiao Mai...
Qiao Dacheng is back, like a nightmare.
*
The news of Qiao Dacheng's return lingered in Qiao Xi's mind, like dark clouds gathering for a storm, ethereal and never settling down. Perhaps that devil was lurking right beside them.
She was plagued by nightmares every night.
There were no gods or ghosts in her dream, only the people she was most familiar with: Grandma Qiao, Qiao Mai, Chen Zhiyu, and even her mother whom she had never met.
But in her dream, she was isolated and helpless, with every familiar face turning a blind eye to Josh, making her feel even more desperate.
Haunted by one nightmare after another, Josh would wake up in the middle of the night and find it hard to fall back asleep. The vivid nightmare images were like an icicle, lingering and piercing her vulnerable spot with a chilling coldness.
Chen Zhiyu watched her grow increasingly haggard. It was the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, and the festive atmosphere still lingered. Three days had passed since the burglary, and Qiao Xi tried her best to maintain a facade of peace, but this peace could be shattered at any moment.
There was still no news of Qiao Dacheng, and he could reappear at any time, leaving Qiao Xi living in constant fear.
Josh was awakened by Chen Zhiyu.
The blinding sunlight streamed in through the car window. Josh frowned and opened her eyes. Due to the effects of the medication, she couldn't remember when she got into the car, let alone when she fell asleep in the passenger seat.
Chen Zhiyu unbuckled her seatbelt, and as she gradually regained consciousness, he said softly, "Let's get out of the car."
"What?" Josh's head was throbbing with pain from lack of sleep.
Chen Zhiyu held her hand, his palm warm and dry. He leaned down and kissed Qiao Xi's forehead. "I'll take you to see a doctor."
The car stopped in front of a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. The storefront wasn't large, but the line of patients stretched all the way to the door. Chen Zhiyu helped her put on her windproof hat and, while leading her in the queue, said, "I asked my sister-in-law, and she said this clinic is perfect for your symptoms. You can't keep going like this; taking Western medicine is not as good as seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor."
The doctor was an elderly gentleman who spoke very clearly: he was overthinking things. Medication could regulate sleep problems, but it could only provide temporary relief.
To truly eradicate the root cause of the illness, one must also address the psychological issues.
Chen Zhiyu stood aside listening, feeling as if his heart had been crushed by a boulder, his heart aching terribly. He could see that Qiao Xi's mental state had deteriorated recently because of Qiao Dacheng, which had obviously affected her daily life.
If Qiao Dacheng doesn't resolve this issue, their lives will never return to normal.
*
Even on a bright, sunny day, there are bound to be places where the sun doesn't reach.
Urban villages have always been a melting pot of all sorts of people, and residents here don't even need to show identification. Therefore, everyone living here is cautious and never strikes up conversations casually.
The area is loosely governed, and some people live here because it's cheap, while others have no choice but to live here for some shady reasons, but they all try their best to avoid trouble.
Qiao Dacheng was quite drunk as he walked back to his residence. He was so drunk that he started cursing and swearing all the way, complaining that he had a home but had to live in this shabby place.
But he dared not act rashly and could only swallow his anger. After all, times had changed, and he still had to be careful.
Having been away from home for many years, I was out of touch with everyone. I didn't even know when that wretched old woman was going to die. I had to find out the specific situation at home.
Before he left, he searched the entire house but couldn't find what he wanted. That old hag must have deliberately kept it for herself. He was clearly her own son; what was the point of protecting those two little girls? If he pushed him too far, wouldn't all three of them still be at his mercy?
Thinking of Josh, he chuckled dismissively. She was just a brat and nothing to fear, but the fact that she was accompanied by a young man meant he couldn't let his guard down.
But the deadline given by the debt collectors was fast approaching. They were incredibly resourceful, saying they would help him if he could repay the money. He dared not hide and could only obey; after all, the police wouldn't kill him, but they would.
With the deadline fast approaching, Qiao Dacheng was anxious and wanted to act as soon as possible, but the annoying guy next to Qiao Xi was bothering him.
Qiao Dacheng finally went out for a rare treat and had a couple of drinks.
Despite it being the Lunar New Year holiday, the urban village wasn't as lively as outside; it was eerily quiet, with hardly anyone around. Qiao Dacheng, his steps unsteady and his eyes glazed with drunkenness, turned into the narrow alley leading to his rented room. From a distance, he could see a group of people gathered in the distance.
Everyone had an unfriendly expression, and even through the swirling smoke, you could feel the heavy aura of hostility emanating from this group.
Although Qiao Dacheng was drunk, he was still a seasoned veteran of the underworld, and experience told him to avoid these kinds of people if possible. He cursed these unruly thugs inwardly; if it were a decade or two ago, they wouldn't have been a match for him.
Reeking of alcohol, Qiao Dacheng hunched over, trying to minimize his presence as he tried to pass through them. All he could hear were their disgusted curses, so he could only pretend not to hear them.
"Are you blind? You stepped on my shoe." A tall, menacing-looking man suddenly blocked his way.
Qiao Dacheng felt a pang of anxiety and quickly apologized humbly.
But they wouldn't let it go, demanding compensation. Qiao Dacheng, pushed to his limit, couldn't help but curse them out.
The two quickly got into a fight, but it looked more like Qiao Dacheng was the one taking the beating.
Painful screams echoed throughout the alley. He began to yell and curse incessantly, slamming his fists into his cheeks. The pain of dislocated bones was unbearable. In a daze, he heard a sneer from the man above him. Qiao Dacheng, his face contorted, raised his head, his eyes half-open, pleading, "Brothers... ah..."
The rest of his words were uttered as muffled thuds from his ribs.
When he finally managed to escape, he slunk back home, only to find that the group of people had vanished.
*
After thanking everyone around him, Chen Zhiyu didn't linger and hailed a black cab back to the city center.
It took some time to stake out Qiao Dacheng, and now the sun was setting.
The holiday is over, and Josh has already started working normally. Chen Zhiyu needs to rush back before she goes home.
Immersed in anger, Chen Zhiyu only noticed the abrasions on his hands when he got home, probably because his fist had accidentally hit the rough wall during the fight.
He quickly tried to find a band-aid to cover it up, but just as he was about to get up, the door opened, and Chen Zhiyu turned around in surprise.
The annual holiday has just ended, and commuting demand has not yet fully returned to normal. Today, the buses were running smoothly with no green lights, and the journey that used to take more than an hour was shortened to more than forty minutes, so Josh went home early.
Josh opened the door and was met with Chen Zhiyu's guilty look.
Their eyes met.
He looked like he had just arrived home, with messy strands of hair hanging down his forehead.
Josh stepped forward, his probing gaze moving down to the swollen fist, then scrutinizing him from head to toe. He was filthy, with stains on his sleeves and collar, and a faint smell of alcohol emanated from him.
Josh didn't ask any other useless questions and went straight to the point, "How did you find him?" It was obvious that he must have gone to see Qiao Dacheng. "We haven't heard anything from him yet? You're quite well-informed."
Seeing Chen Zhiyu lower his head and remain silent, Qiao Xi couldn't wait any longer. She reached out and pinched his chin, forcing him to raise his head so that the two could look at each other.
She gritted her teeth and urged, "Speak up."
"Why don't you consider the consequences?" Josh took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, but his chest still ached, and he felt a throbbing pain in his head. "What if Qiao Dacheng identifies you? Why don't you think about it more?"
She didn't want anyone around her to get hurt because of a scoundrel like Qiao Dacheng. "What did I teach you before? Why don't you listen to me? Chen Zhiyu, you're not a child anymore."
Recently, Qiao Xi has been exhausted because of Qiao Dacheng. Chen Zhiyu's silence has only made her feel more desperate and helpless.
No one spoke for a long time, and the air suddenly grew cold.
Josh glared at him, turned around, opened the door and went out. With a bang, the door was slammed shut, cutting off Chen Zhiyu's helpless gaze.
The light shifted, plunging the room into darkness, which in turn concealed Chen Zhiyu's gloomy mood.
Chen Zhiyu remained rooted to the spot, staring at the tightly closed door. His heart felt as if it had been squeezed through the door, and a numb, aching sensation quickly spread through him.
Chen Zhiyu's thoughts sank deeper and deeper, a thousand words stuck in his throat. He buried his head, staring blankly at the corner of the table, lost in endless contemplation.
Did it go wrong?
Is Josh angry?
What should he do?
But he doesn't regret it.
He was heartbroken to see Josh's mental state deteriorate day by day because of Qiao Dacheng. So he would abandon all his concerns about anything related to Josh.
As the sun completely set and the room fell into complete darkness, Chen Zhiyu's muscles tensed, and he trembled uncontrollably, like a stray dog abandoned by its owner in a storm.
Chen Zhiyu remembered a book that said you should always leave yourself some savings, and he had always followed that principle. But when it came to loving Josh, he was determined to give it his all, sparing no effort.
He knew from a young age that if the two of them weren't bound together, neither of them could survive.
He knew that his family owed her.
He knew he would never be able to hold his head high in her presence. But so what? He was willing to be the one who looked up to her for the rest of his life.
He worked hard to learn and master a skill, just so she wouldn't be bullied anymore.
No one will do.
When that heavy punch landed on Qiao Dacheng, Chen Zhiyu became fierce, revealing a ruthlessness she had never shown in front of her before.
Knuckles struck Qiao Dacheng's cheekbone. Qiao Dacheng's skin was rough, and each punch felt like hitting a rough stone slab, with a cracking sound.
He felt it wasn't enough at the time.
Suddenly, the door made a noise.
Immediately afterwards, a faint light shone into the room.
As if oil had been poured into his long-blocked brain, Chen Zhiyu's thinking became instantly agile. He suddenly raised his head, and the little dog, soaked by the heavy rain, suddenly found a place to roost. His eyes were bright, and he stared intently in the direction of the door.
At the other end of the door, the light from above shone on Josh, who was standing outside the door carrying medicine in her hand.
Chen Zhiyu's heart brightened with the light, and he called out ingratiatingly, "Sister, don't leave me."
[Author's Note]
[Laughing and crying] My heart is cold; every chapter I update is a loss. There will be another chapter at 6 AM this morning, so I'm updating two chapters today. Don't miss out!
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