Chapter 54
"Qiao Dacheng, I'm not afraid of you anymore."
The message that Chen Zhiyu asked those people to spread quickly received a response. Not long after, Qiao Dacheng was detained for fifteen days and fined 1,000 yuan for illegally entering someone else's residence.
By then, the annual leave had long ended, the city had returned to its former hustle and bustle, and Josh and Chen Zhiyu had resumed their normal work and school routines.
The day Qiao Dacheng was released was in the afternoon, the sunlight dim. Before being locked up, he had been inexplicably beaten, and the injuries on his body had not yet fully healed.
He limped home and went straight to his residence.
As I approached my house, I saw a tall, slender figure in the distance at the alley entrance. The person was dressed smartly, wearing a baseball cap and a high ponytail.
Qiao Dacheng froze for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly to get a better look, revealing the lines at the corners of his eyes as clear as if carved by a knife. When he finally saw who was walking towards him, he gaped in surprise, "You...you..."
Even though it had been more than a decade since they last met, seeing this face that was both familiar and unfamiliar, along with the anger of being inexplicably imprisoned, erupted like a long-dormant volcano in his blocked heart.
Yes, this person must be Josh.
He followed her for months, but never got a close look at her face.
At this moment, her appearance, without any warning, automatically matched all the details; she must be Josh.
Qiao Dacheng was filled with anger and resentment. He cursed inwardly that she was indeed an ungrateful child who didn't look like him at all. Not only that, but she even conspired with outsiders to frame her own father.
The child who used to be so easily manipulated by him has actually developed such abilities. Qiao Dacheng narrowed his eyes, clenched his fists tightly, and revealed the ferocity in his eyes.
Josh stopped in front of him and looked coldly at Qiao Dacheng.
Qiao Dacheng left home when she was eight years old. So many years have passed, and Qiao Xi's memory of his appearance is very vague. Seeing him again, all those memories, along with heavy pain, surged up. She subconsciously straightened her back, took a deep breath, and bravely looked directly at Qiao Dacheng, whom she hadn't seen for many years.
The massive figure from his memory was gone; the Qiao Dacheng before him was somewhat hunched over, his hair streaked with gray, fluttering messily in the wind, but his eyes remained as fierce as ever.
When their eyes met, Josh's gaze flickered for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure.
"You bastard, you've really grown some guts! You even dared to send your old man to the police station. I've really wasted my time raising you!" Qiao Dacheng was furious and started cursing the moment he saw Qiao Xi.
However, the filthy curses echoed at the alley entrance, only to quickly dissipate with the wind.
Josh sneered after hearing this, glaring at him with equally sharp eyes, "Qiao Dacheng, it's been so many years, you've really gotten senile. Did you ever support us?"
"Then I'm your father too."
“What a joke! What kind of parent are you? Have you ever cared about us? From childhood to adulthood, it was Grandma who raised us with great difficulty.” Her voice was no longer as calm as before. When she mentioned her family, her tone became somewhat agitated. “Have you ever fulfilled your responsibilities as a father even once? You’ve probably forgotten how you beat me and Qiao Mai back then.”
"So what if I hit you? You're my own son. What's wrong with me hitting you a few times to vent my anger? You're an ungrateful brat." Qiao Dacheng retorted defiantly.
As he spoke, he took a step forward, trying to force Josh to comply with the same tactics he used back then.
Qiao Dacheng had returned several months ago and had already found out about the family's situation. He caught a glimpse of a figure at the alley entrance and scolded Qiao Xi, "How can you treat Qiao Mai like this?"
Josh met his gaze without flinching, and in that moment she realized that he was nothing special after all.
Her fear of him stemmed more from the shackles of the past. "You don't need to use excuses like 'I'm Qiao Mai's burden' to make me feel guilty. Qiao Dacheng, I know her better than you do. You don't understand Qiao Mai at all." Qiao Xi refused to fall for his tricks, carefully choosing her words as if she were using a chisel to carve them deep into his mind.
“I am her will to live. You are the beginning of all suffering, and you should be the one who should die.” Josh took a deep breath, unafraid of Qiao Dacheng’s mental attacks, and retaliated, “Qiao Dacheng, I am not afraid of you anymore.”
Josh spoke coldly and bluntly, "I know what you're looking for, the property certificate, right? No way. Grandma made a will before she passed away. The house belongs to me and Qiao Mai. Don't even think about it."
Her eyes were resolute, showing no intention of backing down. She would not hand the house over to a heartless gambler.
He won't get a single benefit.
Hearing this, Qiao Dacheng was furious. He clenched his fist, rushed forward, and raised his hand to strike. He was most familiar with this feeling; the sensation of a hard fist hitting flesh was the most satisfying.
This time, however, his fist froze in mid-air as Chen Zhiyu suddenly rushed out of the alleyway and grabbed it, restricting his next move.
Chen Zhiyu pushed him to the ground.
Having lost face, Qiao Dacheng's face turned bright red. He roared angrily, "You're really something, you bitch! Let me tell you, it's impossible! That house belongs to me, and I won't let you two bastards get away with it." He threatened viciously, "I'd rather burn that house down than let you two get away with it."
Not wanting to get into a verbal argument with him, the two turned and left. Today's meeting was merely a showdown with Qiao Dacheng, and Qiao Xi would fight him to the end.
When Josh got home, she seemed to have lost all her strength, as if all her energy had been drained. She collapsed onto the sofa, completely exhausted. She curled up in a corner of the sofa, closed her eyes, and her body trembled slightly uncontrollably.
Those nightmarish memories lingered in her mind like venomous snakes, impossible to shake off. Chen Zhiyu held her tenderly in his arms, tightening his embrace as he felt her trembling. It was as if he were resisting the past, trying to pull Josh back from the abyss.
Josh leaned against Chen Zhiyu's chest, feeling the warmth of his embrace. Her eyes remained closed, and tears silently streamed down her face. Chen Zhiyu wiped them away one by one, but the tears seemed endless, and their scalding heat could even burn his fingertips.
Chen Zhiyu's heart skipped a beat. He pulled her from his arms, placed the back of his hand on her forehead, and frowned even more deeply. Qiao Xi's body temperature was abnormal, her face was flushed, and she couldn't be woken up no matter what he did.
Chen Zhiyu quickly stood up and said in a deep voice, "Qiao Xi, you have a fever." His clenched fists were bulging with veins, and he felt that he hadn't hit Qiao Dacheng hard enough back then.
Chen Zhiyu helped her put her coat back on, then carefully picked her up. "Qiao Xi, I'm taking you to the hospital."
...
Josh's fever fluctuated, rising and falling repeatedly, until it finally broke completely on the afternoon of the third day. For the next few days, she was mostly in a drowsy state, only occasionally eating.
When Josh opened his eyes, everything was pitch black and quiet. The lights were off and the curtains were drawn tightly.
Her headache subsided slightly, and the soreness in her limbs was not as intense.
Judging from the scent of perfume lingering in the air, Josh knew she was sleeping in her own room. He turned over and, on instinct, reached for his pillow, only to find nothing.
She stretched out her arm and turned on the bedside lamp. The sudden brightness made her pause for a moment before sitting up, and then she continued to feel around the bed.
Just then, the bedroom door opened from the outside. "Josh, you're awake?" Chen Zhiyu walked in with steady steps, bathed in the dim light.
Josh stopped what he was doing and turned his gaze to the person in front of him.
Chen Zhiyu's voice was very soft, "Tang Ning and the others heard about what happened at home and came to see you."
Josh followed Chen Zhiyu out of the bedroom. The living room was full of people, including Tang Ning, Aunt Li, and several colleagues from her workplace. They all knew that Qiao Dacheng had returned and were very worried about her.
A group of them surrounded Josh, who was sitting on the sofa, chattering with concern. However, their eyes darted around unnaturally, as if afraid Josh would ask them something. Despite the noisy conversation, she felt an unusual chill mixed in.
Every time she got up, Chen Zhiyu followed behind her, and several times he tried to interrupt her questions.
Josh keenly sensed that something was off about the people present; they were clearly hiding something from her.
But what exactly can happen in these few days?
Josh didn't want to continue the pointless conversation, so she calmly spoke up, directly shattering the facade of peace. Her gaze was fixed on Chen Zhiyu, "Chen Zhiyu, look at me. Why are you avoiding my eyes?"
Chen Zhiyu quickly denied it.
“Josh…” Even Tang Ning wanted to cover for him, “Tang Ning, shut up,” but before she could finish speaking, Josh interrupted her, still looking directly at Chen Zhiyu, “Give me back my phone.”
When she woke up, she discovered that her phone was neither beside her nor in the living room. Chen Zhiyu had deliberately hidden her phone; something must have happened in the past few days.
Before Chen Zhiyu could deny it again, Qiao Xi quickly interrupted, "Don't lie," and then shifted her gaze to the people sitting on the sofa, all of whom were as quiet as quails.
Knowing Chen Zhiyu as she did, she was certain the phone was on him. Seeing his silence, Qiao Xi didn't say anything more. She reached into his pocket and carefully searched for it, eventually finding her phone.
Josh deftly picked up her phone, pressed the lock screen button, and the screen went black. She looked up at Chen Zhiyu.
Seeing Chen Zhiyu's tightly pursed lips, Qiao Xi's heart sank, and the light made her lips appear even paler.
Ignoring Chen Zhiyu's objections, she pressed and held the power button, and a few seconds later, the previously black screen suddenly lit up.
During the time they waited for the machine to start, it seemed as if everyone present held their breath, including Josh, who felt as if he had endured the longest few seconds in the world.
The wait was agonizing, but the phone finally booted up to the home screen.
However, before any further action could be taken, the phone froze as if infected with a virus. In the next instant, hundreds upon hundreds of text messages and WeChat friend requests popped up in a frenzy, creating a cacophony of ringing and banging sounds that also attracted the attention of everyone else in the living room.
Her phone started receiving a constant stream of notifications and text messages from unfamiliar numbers. The latest messages kept popping up so fast that she couldn't even see the whole thing, but from just a few words, Josh could tell that they were all accusations and insults.
Just then, an unknown number called.
Almost simultaneously, Chen Zhiyu, who had also seen the incoming call, began to move, but before he could reach out, Qiao Xi answered the call first and pressed speakerphone.
In an instant, a string of curses came through the receiver.
Immediately afterward, Chen Zhiyu snatched the phone from her hand, hung up the call hastily and skillfully, and turned the phone off again.
The room fell silent once again.
"What happened?" Josh's voice was still hoarse as she questioned, "What happened?"
The atmosphere seemed to freeze.
After an unknown amount of time, Tang Ning finally spoke slowly, her voice tinged with anger, "It was Qiao Dacheng. I don't know who he hired to spread rumors online, saying that you and Sister Qiao Mai abused Grandma, which forced her to sign a will." She paused, then continued, "Not only that, he also spread rumors that you abused your biological father and kicked him out of the house in order to seize the property."
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