Chapter 8
Alone and without support, renting a place to live on her own, the pressure of studying and living alone is already overwhelming, and now she also has to be on high alert, ready to deal with any danger that may arise at any time.
Xu Qingzhou's breakdown was perfectly normal.
After all, she was just 18 years old and still a student.
The sobs were torn apart by the wind, and Chi Jun, looking at the heartbroken Xu Qingzhou, momentarily forgot about the itch on his body.
Chi Jun knew that Zhang Pengfei was the one who initially caused this trouble, and that he couldn't possibly be completely innocent and blameless.
After a moment, he decided to offer Xu Qingzhou some comfort, to make her understand that she was not alone in facing this danger, and that Fox was by her side.
In fact, Chi Jun would never put her in a dangerous situation.
Even though his fox form made him inconvenient, the male ghost wasn't entirely useless.
Unfortunately, Xu Qingzhou covered her eyes and cried too intensely.
Chi Jun circled around her feet a few times and barked several times, but she didn't even lift her head and didn't hear him at all.
Chi Jun thought for a moment, then simply pounced on her legs with his two front paws to make his presence known more obviously.
Who knew that as soon as it was put on board...
Sizzle—
Chi Jun froze, and through the dim light in the small house, he could clearly see that Xu Qingzhou's thin school uniform trousers had been torn open.
"..."
What terrible quality school uniforms!
Xu Qingzhou heard it too, wiped away her tears, looked down and shone her flashlight on her trouser leg, then on Chi Jun.
"..."
Chi Jun silently took two steps back, suddenly realizing that Xu Qingzhou was about to cry even more miserably.
*
Fortunately, Xu Qingzhou didn't cry any harder. Chi Jun's clumsy little incident seemed to remind Xu Qingzhou in another way that she was not alone in facing difficulties, or perhaps, all the dangers she faced were worth it compared to losing the fox.
Xu Qingzhou picked up Chi Jun, hugged him tightly, and then leaned down to kiss him on the head.
In the past, Chi Jun would have immediately reached out and pressed her head down to push her away, but today, he only moved his paw slightly, his eyebrows drooped, and he put his paw down again.
Never mind, a kiss won't kill me.
But--
You've got an addiction to poking butts, huh?!
Chi Jun suddenly turned his head, about to call out to Xu Qingzhou, but then remembered something. When he spoke again, his voice was clearly weak, sounding angry but not angry.
Xu Qingzhou was amused by his overreaction again, her eyes reddening as she gave a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.
The smile lasted for two seconds, then vanished in an instant.
As expected, Xu Qingzhou slept very poorly that night.
Chi Jun, who was constantly waking up and falling asleep due to the itching, heard Xu Qingzhou several times, though asleep, curled up like a little shrimp, groaning in discomfort. In the early hours of the morning, when it was pitch black outside, Xu Qingzhou suddenly sat up in bed with a start, staring at the jagged shadows of the trees reflected in the window, and remained motionless for a long time.
A light drizzle was falling outside the window.
The wind howled, cold and desolate.
It's raining.
*
Because he slept poorly the night before, Xu Qingzhou woke up a little late the next day.
She sat on the bed, covered with a blanket, staring blankly out the window.
The weather outside was clear and sunny, a welcome relief from last night's continuous autumn rain, as if all the fright and panic of the previous dark night were just a dream that never happened.
But--
Xu Qingzhou slowly turned his neck, his gaze falling on the window in the corridor: the window had a hole in it, covered with newspapers and layers of tape, and it looked very ugly.
Everything is real.
"Knock knock—"
A soft knock came at the door.
Xu Qingzhou blinked and heard Xu Qinjia's cautious and apologetic voice: "Qingzhou, it's me."
Xu Qinjia came specifically to apologize. She clearly hadn't slept well all night; her dark circles were so prominent that even thick foundation could only cover about 60-70% of them, and there seemed to be a swollen patch on her cheekbone.
She kept apologizing to Xu Qingzhou, and then had the mechanic who came with her replace the glass with a new one.
The glass was brand new and shiny, reflecting a bright light in the sunlight.
Glass is easy to replace, but the wounds in one's heart are not so easy to heal.
From that night on, Xu Qingzhou began to suffer from frequent insomnia.
Despite her tireless nightly routine of piling heavy objects behind the door before bed, this did little to give her a sense of security.
Chi Jun couldn't sleep because of the itching. When he opened his eyes in the middle of the night, there was at least a 50% chance that he would see Xu Qingzhou sitting on the edge of the bed with a blanket in his arms, looking dazed. He was obviously just woken up from a nightmare, or he was clutching the blanket and making difficult moans, falling into a nightmare.
The rosy complexion that Xu Qingzhou had painstakingly cultivated returned to its pale state.
More importantly, her eyes had lost their sparkle.
Chi Jun didn't know what Xu Qingzhou's state was like at school during the day, but according to the male ghost's report—
Xu Qingzhou was dozing off in class and had been called on to stand up and listen to the lesson by the same teacher several times in a row. He was also called over by his homeroom teacher and had two serious talks with her.
Ever since the incident of drinking and banging on the door in the middle of the night, Chi Jun had clearly warned the male ghost to be wary of Zhang Pengfei appearing around Xu Qingzhou.
The male ghost didn't ask many questions, but he vaguely guessed something from it, so he observed Xu Qingzhou even more diligently every day and paid close attention to Zhang Pengfei's movements.
Since the night he caused trouble while drunk, Zhang Pengfei has not appeared in the rented courtyard for three consecutive days.
However, unlike his previous disappearance, where he was kidnapped and tortured by his creditors' henchmen, this time he was so ashamed and embarrassed after getting drunk that he chose to stay home and avoid seeing anyone.
After that, although she gradually started going out again, she didn't seem to want to get close to Xu Qingzhou anymore. Her daily routine consisted of buying groceries, cooking, taking the children out to play, and taking photos and videos of them.
"It's strange, Zhang Pengfei dresses his two kids up like princesses every day, never wearing the same outfit twice, and he receives so many packages that he can't handle it all. Where does he get the money? Didn't they say he's drowning in debt?"
Chi Jun didn't say anything.
After a while, he asked, "How does he seem to get along with the twins?"
After the male ghost thought Chi Jun was referring to the incident of causing trouble while drunk, what became of their father-son relationship?
"Hey, what could such a little kid know? He's always following Zhang Pengfei around calling him 'Dad'."
Chi Jun didn't say anything more, only instructing the male ghost to continue monitoring Zhang Pengfei's every move.
The male ghost outwardly agreed, but inwardly muttered to himself as he drifted away.
In fact, he felt that monitoring Zhang Pengfei was just as boring as observing the little mute.
The little mute's life revolves around three points: home, work, and home. Zhang Pengfei's daily routine consists of grocery shopping, cooking, taking photos of the child, taking photos, taking photos, and more taking photos. There's nothing new to it day after day.
As long as the little mute boy's safety is ensured, things shouldn't go too wrong.
Therefore, in monitoring Xu Qingzhou, the male ghost devoted 80% of his energy to it, and used the remaining 20% to wander around Zhang Pengfei's place a couple of times after escorting Xu Qingzhou home to see what he was doing.
That day, the male ghost followed Xu Qingzhou again, his eyelids drooping like a wandering soul, drowsy, but in his heart he was plotting:
It's been almost ten days since Zhang Pengfei caused trouble, and the little mute is still fine. Zhang Pengfei hasn't taken any measures to retaliate. If things continue like this, with both of them safe and sound, I'm about to die of exhaustion and boredom.
How about... I just mention it to Chi Jun tonight and decide not to go for now?
But thinking about it, Chi Jun's temper has visibly worsened recently because he's been suffering from severe itching. If I bring it up now, wouldn't I be walking right into the line of fire?
The male ghost felt increasingly uneasy as he thought about it, and he was caught in a state of confusion, feeling hesitant and agitated. He glanced ahead unintentionally and suddenly exclaimed "Holy crap!" His eyes widened instantly.
Zhang Pengfei!
Zhang Pengfei was standing by the haystack behind the northwest gate of the compound. He had a band-aid on his face and was holding his phone, seemingly taking pictures of the two children. Xu Qingzhou, carrying a schoolbag, was turning south from the corner of the road when Zhang Pengfei turned his head. The two of them bumped into each other unexpectedly, with only three meters between them.
Holy crap, these two finally met!
Even knowing that the little mute was in some danger under these circumstances, the male ghost, who had been bored for so many days, couldn't help but feel an excited urge to try it out when he finally caught a glimpse of this scene.
He rolled up his sleeves, ready to rush forward and use his skills to protect the little mute boy the moment Zhang Pengfei was about to do something to Xu Qingzhou, so that he could boast about it to Chi Jun afterwards.
His eyes gleamed, and he rubbed his hands together, like a cat crouching low, ready to pounce and tear everything apart.
One second—
Two seconds—
Five seconds—
The male ghost watched as Zhang Pengfei stared intently at Xu Qingzhou, his brows furrowing, his eyes filled with disgust, his facial muscles twitching to express his displeasure, before he fiercely—
He spat on the ground.
He turned his head back.
Male ghost: ? ? ?
What the heck?
Just spit out some phlegm?
The male ghost was dumbfounded.
Xu Qingzhou was also a little confused at this moment.
The moment she unexpectedly saw Zhang Pengfei, she tensed up instantly, her scalp tingled, her heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat, and her mind went completely blank.
So much so that she forgot to move and quickly left the dangerous person.
Unexpectedly, when she realized what was happening and tried to run away, Zhang Pengfei just spat angrily on the ground and turned back to take pictures of the twins.
It was as if all his dissatisfaction and disgust towards her could be balanced by spitting out this one spit.
While surprised, Xu Qingzhou couldn't help but feel a little fortunate.
If that's the case, then that would be wonderful.
But the fact that things suddenly became so simple and safe still makes it hard to believe.
Even after Xu Qingzhou returned to the small rented room and started cooking, the image of Zhang Pengfei spitting fiercely kept replaying in her mind. She was so lost in thought that she almost forgot to put water in the pot for steaming the buns.
The scene of spitting was too much for the male ghost. He instantly felt that he had been working hard for the past ten days and was just a fool. So when he got to the small rented room, he immediately called out to Chi Jun.
"I'm not doing this anymore!"
Chi Jun, who was scratching himself in frustration, looked up at him, his eyes reddening.
The male ghost immediately softened his attitude, looking aggrieved, and said, "The little mute girl is not in any danger at all. Do you know what weapon Zhang Pengfei used to attack her when they first met today?"
He became excited again as he spoke.
"Phlegm—! It's phlegm!"
Chi Jun: "..."
*
The male ghost's anger was not without reason.
Because as it turned out, Zhang Pengfei indeed wouldn't do anything outrageous to Xu Qingzhou.
Since the day he spat, the two met several more times in different places and at different times. Just like that day, Zhang Pengfei would either spit on the ground hard when Xu Qingzhou passed by, or roll his eyes as if afraid that Xu Qingzhou would not see it, to express his displeasure.
For someone who is already a father of two, this behavior is truly boring and childish.
However, it was precisely this naive behavior that gave Xu Qingzhou a sense of security—at least it was more reassuring than him suddenly unleashing a big move without saying a word.
Gradually, Xu Qingzhou got used to this kind of scene.
She could calmly walk past Zhang Pengfei after their eyes met, and as a result, her sleep at night gradually improved.
Especially after discovering that Zhang Pengfei seemed to have shifted all his interest in foxes to photography, Xu Qingzhou's anxiety about losing the foxes began to fade little by little.
Actually, maintaining this awkward yet peaceful balance isn't so bad.
Xu Qingzhou thought.
When the alarm clock rang at eleven o'clock, Xu Qingzhou put down his pen, turned off the alarm, got up and walked to the wall to pick out two potatoes and a few green vegetables, preparing to make lunch.
As she passed the cardboard box, she paused, half-squatted down, and looked at Chi Jun lying inside.
Why is the fox so sleepy lately?
Thinking back to how he had applied ointment to the fox every single day without fail, yet the fox showed no signs of improvement, Xu Qingzhou frowned, pondering that it would be best to take it to the vet that afternoon to find out what was wrong.
Xu Qingzhou gently stroked the fox's fur, then got up and took his things to the corridor to cook.
Unaware that as she turned around, the fox's ears suddenly twitched and its eyes snapped open.
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