“We’re here, miss.” The driver reminded Yan Songyu, skillfully parking the car in the shadows at a distance. “Miss, someone as beautiful as you shouldn’t waste tears on scum. It’s not worth it. A brighter future awaits you ahead.”
“Thank you, driver!” Yan Songyu casually handed the driver several red bills—easily over a thousand yuan at a glance.
The driver grinned from ear to ear. This was exactly why he loved picking up such passengers; a little emotional support could earn him a hefty reward.
Yan Songyu followed Jiang Chengli from a distance. Zhao Qi greeted her at the entrance of the alley. This area was a chaotic mix of people, and he didn’t dare let the young lady walk alone.
“Miss Yan, this spot has a good view.” Zhao Qi led Yan Songyu to a house diagonally across from the Zhou residence. It had a low storage attic that offered a clear view of the Zhou family’s small courtyard.
The dim yellow light from inside the house didn’t reach the shadows under the tree where Jiang Chengli was hiding and peeping. Zhou Yue had left with the child and never contacted him again, seemingly determined to keep the secret.
Creak—
The sound of a door opening made Jiang Chengli instinctively hide behind the tree.
Zhou Yue came out carrying a basin of dirty water and casually dumped it into the stinky ditch in front of the door. The foul smell made Jiang Chengli frown.
“Mom, Mommy~”
Zhou Mu, covered in dirt, crawled around on the ground. Zhou Yue ignored her completely, sitting on a stool and eating noodles by herself. When Zhou Mu crawled over, she even kicked her away.
“Waaah~ Mommy~ Waaah~”
“Cry, cry, cry—that’s all you know how to do. So annoying day in and day out. Keep crying and you can just die.”
Zhou Yue cursed irritably. To shut Zhou Mu up, she picked up a strand of noodles with her chopsticks and threw it on the ground. “Crawl over and eat it.”
Zhou Mu seemed accustomed to this. She stopped crying and indeed crawled on all fours to the noodles, then lay on the ground and nibbled at them with her mouth.
Witnessing this, Yan Songyu’s pupils visibly dilated. She trembled with rage. Zhou Yue—she was actually raising the child like livestock!
“Hah? Hahaha…” Yan Songyu laughed in extreme anger, eventually laughing until tears streamed down her face.
Seeing her emotional state, Zhao Qi explained, “She treats the child like this whenever she feels like it. Luckily, the child looks weak but is quite resilient.”
After finishing the noodles, Zhou Mu, her mouth covered in dust, looked at Zhou Yue again. “Mom, Mommy…”
Zhou Yue threw another strand of noodles in a different spot, and Zhou Mu crawled over to eat it…
This repeated several times until Zhou Yue finished her meal. Seemingly amused by Zhou Mu’s appearance, she finally poured the last bit of broth and a few leftover noodles from her own bowl into a dish and placed it in front of Zhou Mu. “Eat, you little debt collector.”
Zhou Mu, understanding nothing, happily held the bowl and drank from it.
Jiang Chengli was deeply disturbed by the scene. No matter what, that was his biological daughter. Was she really being raised like a dog?
But he couldn’t step in to stop it. He didn’t want to provoke Zhou Yue. He didn’t want to rot and stink in a place like this for the rest of his life.
At that moment, standing before the dilapidated house, Jiang Chengli sobered up completely. It was worth it!
Watching Jiang Chengli’s fleeing figure, Yan Songyu sneered coldly. “The southern slums are a mixed bag. Robberies are pretty common, right…”
Zhao Qi nodded. “My brothers just got back from dinner.”
“Zhou Yue… don’t let her off too easily.”
“Understood.” Zhao Qi replied in a low voice. “I’ll handle it appropriately.”
“You’ve worked hard.” Yan Songyu took all the cash from her wallet. “Get some late-night snacks for the team.”
Zhao Qi quickly declined, “Miss Yan, you’ve already paid us our wages. To be honest, this job was so easy we feel embarrassed taking such high pay from you.”
“It’s beneath your skills, but you’ve earned it. Please take it, and later, drive me home.”
Seeing Yan Songyu’s firm expression, Zhao Qi had no choice but to accept. “Thank you on behalf of the team!”
After Jiang Chengli fled in panic, just as he was about to exit the dark alley, someone suddenly covered his head and struck him down with a club. Blow after blow rained down on him, and he barely had time to protect his head. “Stop! Who are you?”
Perhaps afraid of being recognized, these people remained silent. Only when Jiang Chengli began begging for mercy and invoked his status as the Yan Family’s son-in-law did the “thugs” finally stop.
In Haishi, everyone knew the Yan Family.
However, Jiang Chengli’s watch and ring were still stripped from him, and his wallet and phone were stolen too.
As he leaned against the wall to stand up, before he could even remove the hood, a petite figure returned wielding a steel pipe. The raised pipe came down hard on Jiang Chengli’s right leg.
“Ah!”
One strike, two strikes, three strikes! Yan Songyu put all her strength into it.
The screams startled sleeping birds from the trees, but no one came out to investigate. Instead, neighbors reinforced their doors with heavy furniture. Jiang Chengli lay unconscious from the pain until someone called the police the next morning and he was rescued.
Returning home, Feifei was already sleeping like a little pig, her cheeks rosy and a suspicious silver glint at the corner of her mouth.
Yan Songyu couldn’t help but smile, the chill from outside completely fading. After wiping Feifei’s drool, she kissed her cheek. Sweet dreams, my baby!”