In the cupboard, there was only a single lonely packet of dried noodles. The more Xu Xiu looked at it, the more her head hurt.
The original owner of this body had never cooked before. She basically survived on takeout or eating out.
And she never cared whether that food was suitable for a child—she would just dump it all on Xu Zhirang.
Fortunately, the little boy never went hungry in the past. Whenever the original owner wasn’t home, he would take out leftover food and eat it.
But last night, the house had been completely empty, so Xu Zhirang had no choice but to ask her.
And instead of helping, he was met with harsh scolding.
Thinking of this, she glanced toward the living room.
The little dumpling was not obediently sitting on the sofa. Instead, he had dragged his own small stool to the kitchen doorway and sat there with a very serious expression.
Xu Xiu raised an eyebrow at him.
The little dumpling said, word by word:
“I’m responsible for watching you. Otherwise you’ll burn the kitchen down again, and we’ll get kicked out.”
If they got kicked out, they would have nowhere to live. And if they had nowhere to live, they would become homeless.
Xu Zhirang had seen homeless people before—dirty all over, sleeping on the streets.
Even though this home was messy and his mother treated him badly, he still didn’t want to sleep on the streets.
The seriousness on his face made Xu Xiu suddenly recall a memory.
Once, the original owner had a sudden idea to cook for herself, and nearly set the kitchen on fire, triggering the fire alarm.
The apartment manager had warned her that if it happened again, she would be evicted.
The little dumpling must have overheard it and remembered it ever since.
She shook her head helplessly, about to defend herself, when someone knocked on the door.
Xu Xiu put down the noodles and went to open it.
Outside stood a middle-aged Western couple with blond hair and blue eyes.
Both of them were smiling at her, but Xu Xiu somehow felt a strange sense of fake friendliness.
They were her upstairs neighbors, the Jones family. All of them spoke fluent Chinese.
“Xu, about the dress and jewelry you said you would lend my daughter the other day, you should give them to me now, right?”
It was Mrs. Jones speaking. Her tone sounded polite, but there was an unmistakable air of command.
Mr. Jones, on the other hand, was even less polite:
“Xu, we agreed you would deliver them at noon, but you broke your promise. We had to come get them ourselves. Do you know you’ve wasted our valuable time?”
Only then did Xu Xiu begin to piece together the memories in her mind.
Ever since the original owner moved to this country, the Jones couple had shown great enthusiasm.
They had even helped her provide a “false witness statement” to apply for welfare benefits, helping her get through a difficult period.
Because of this, the original owner was extremely grateful to them.
Afterward, the couple used this as leverage to continuously extract money and valuables from her.
They subtly and overtly threatened her, saying that if the local authorities discovered she had fraudulently obtained welfare benefits, she could face prison and then deportation.
The original owner did not speak the local language well and did not understand the laws, so she became terrified and obeyed everything they said.
After draining her savings, the couple then set their sights on the luxury clothes and jewelry she had brought from her home country.
Two days ago, they asked to borrow a formal dress and a pearl necklace for their daughter’s graduation ball.
The dress was one of the original owner’s few luxury gowns, and the necklace was a family heirloom from her grandmother. She knew very well that once lent out, it would never be returned—but she still didn’t dare refuse.
Because the couple once again brought up their “help” and the fabricated welfare fraud issue.
Afraid of deportation and prison, the original owner had no choice but to agree.
She had always been timid and exploited, but Xu Xiu saw everything clearly.
Regarding the welfare issue, these two were clearly lying to her.
Xu Xiu narrowed her eyes and said nothing.
Mr. Jones grew impatient:
“Xu, are you refusing to lend them to us? Don’t forget about your welfare benefits—”
“What about my welfare benefits?”
Xu Xiu interrupted calmly.
Mr. Jones clearly didn’t expect her to be so composed. In the past, she would panic whenever this was mentioned.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, his expression darkened.
“Have you forgotten how you got your welfare benefits? Without us, your fraud would be exposed. If you know what’s good for you, hand over the items.”
The threat in his tone was obvious.
Mrs. Jones added with a fake smile:
“Maybe Xu is just confused today, darling. Don’t scare her.”
The couple played their parts perfectly, but Xu Xiu showed no sign of panic. She let out a cold laugh:
“In that case, go ahead and report me. I’ll be waiting for them to come arrest me.”
Her sudden “nothing left to lose” attitude caught the couple off guard.
“You… you’re not afraid of being arrested?”
“Do as you like. Go report me. But before that, you must return the money and everything you’ve taken from me.”
Xu Xiu thought of the empty fridge—and a wallet even emptier than the fridge—and realized she was already worried about how to eat.
Now, here they were, delivering themselves to her doorstep.
Of course, the couple who had swallowed her money would never easily spit it back out.
As neighbors began noticing the argument and watching curiously, Mrs. Jones immediately changed her expression, dropping her earlier hostility and turning sorrowful.
“Xu, I only helped you because I saw how hard it is for you to raise a child alone. How can you accuse me of such ingratitude and demand money from me?”
She suddenly switched to English, clearly speaking for the neighbors to hear.
She knew Xu Xiu’s English wasn’t good before and assumed she couldn’t explain herself clearly, so she boldly turned the situation around.
But she didn’t know that the person standing in front of her was no longer the same Xu Xiu.
So when Xu Xiu opened her mouth and replied in fluent English, Mrs. Jones was stunned, her mouth hanging open.
In the real world, Xu Xiu had been a top student—English was nothing difficult for her.
Fortunately, English was a common language here.
Under the couple’s shocked gaze, Xu Xiu calmly called the police.
The police arrived quickly.
Only then did she notice that Xu Zhirang had been standing right beside her the entire time, one hand tightly clutching her clothes, his small face serious and fierce.
Like a little wolf cub ready to fight at any moment.
A softness rose in Xu Xiu’s heart. She patted his hair.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Xu Zhirang froze, clearly not used to the gesture, then awkwardly turned his head away.
He wasn’t afraid—he was just afraid his mother would be bullied again.
Xu Xiu didn’t know what he was thinking. Seeing that the police had arrived, she immediately lowered her gaze and began preparing herself.
She pinched her thigh hard, and her eyes turned red instantly.
Then she slowly looked up at everyone around her, her voice trembling as she described her “experience.”
In her version of events, she was a pitiful single mother who had come here alone with her child.
Unfortunately, she had encountered abusive neighbors.
They frequently “borrowed” money and belongings—and never returned them.
She was alone with a child and feared retaliation, so she had no choice but to endure it.
But now she and her child had not eaten for two days, and she was forced to ask for her money back.
Instead of returning it, the couple tried to “borrow” her clothes and jewelry again.
As she spoke, Xu Xiu wiped her tears and crouched down, hugging the confused little Xu Zhirang tightly, sobbing softly.