Zhang Fan lit a candle, clasped her hands together in a fist-and-palm salute, closed her eyes, and made a devout wish: “I hope the rest of my life will be safe and smooth!”
The corners of her mouth turned up. She was clearly smiling, yet tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
That expression made one’s heart ache.
In front of the phone screen, Ye Yunting, who had witnessed this scene through the high-definition camera, felt his heart suddenly clench, and his breathing halted for a moment.
“So it was running away from home!”
When a child runs away from home, it might be because of the rebellious phase, being immature. But when a middle-aged person runs away from home, perhaps there is too much bitterness and no choice.
On this matter, Ye Yunting had a say.
“Since that’s the case, there’s nothing more to observe.” He turned off the monitoring terminal, sat in the boss’s chair, and sank into his own thoughts.
In the villa, Zhang Fan finished eating the cake, and Da Huang had also cleaned up his late-night snack.
“Tonight I’ll have to make you sleep in the yard!”
She saw a brand-new doghouse in the yard and tied Da Huang there. She stroked his head: “Be good, don’t bark randomly. Everyone living here is rich—we can’t afford to offend them.”
Da Huang looked at her with his round, bright eyes, his tail wagging happily. He probably understood what she meant.
“Good dog!”
Zhang Fan rubbed the dog’s head again, then returned to the villa.
The vast room was empty. Having grown used to the cramped space of a basement, now living here, she actually felt a bit scared.
She didn’t go to the bedroom to sleep. She took a blanket and curled up on the sofa in the living room.
The crystal chandelier stayed on all night, and the security guard outside came by to patrol every two hours, which counted as special protection for her.
That night, she had a very, very long dream. In the early morning, she was awakened by the sound of a phone ringing.
She picked it up and saw there were already ninety-nine-plus messages and calls.
“Phew…”
She had already quit her job, had no friends, and there wouldn’t be any other important matters. Without even thinking, she knew who was so anxious to contact her.
She tossed the phone aside and got up to wash, but forgot that she wasn’t in a hotel—the villa didn’t have her toiletries.
“Ding-dong! Ding-dong!”
The doorbell rang. Zhang Fan casually ran her fingers through her hair and opened the door. It was the cleaning lady.
“Hello, these are your toiletries! Manager Ye said you can leave the dog at home for now and go to the hotel for breakfast!”
Ye Yunting? He was quite a thoughtful man.
“Thank you! And please thank your Manager Ye for me too!”
Zhang Fan smiled as she watched the lady leave. She didn’t go to the hotel and, as usual, ordered takeout—one portion for herself, one for Da Huang.
“I’ll go back and change clothes first, then take you to get licensed, get your shots. Da Huang, be a good boy!”
The dog didn’t speak, but his happily wagging tail made Zhang Fan feel reassured.
She led Da Huang back to the basement she rented. Calling it a basement wasn’t really that bad—it had a small window through which sunlight could be seen.
Just as she walked into the passageway, she heard a clamor coming from inside, mixed with a shouting voice she was familiar with.
Zhang Fan immediately stopped in her tracks, retreated from the passageway, and turned to come to the small window of the basement.
She stood outside the window, carefully listening to the commotion inside.
The room had already been pried open by her parents and younger brother, and the things inside had been rummaged through and left in a mess.
She had no money, much less anything of value.
Her ID card and phone charger were both in the bag she carried with her. The rental apartment was just a place where she slept.
But even if her things weren’t worth much, they were still hers. Having them ruined like this made her furious.
Her parents originally hadn’t known where she lived, but Huang Daren did.
One month, Zhang Fan had overspent and was a few days late on rent. The landlord went to her company to corner her, and Huang Daren saw it. Not only did he not help, he joined the landlord in berating her.
And he promised that as soon as payday came, the money would be transferred to the landlord’s account.
Huang Daren really did love allocating Zhang Fan’s salary for her!
Now that her parents had come to ransack her home, Huang Daren surely deserved some credit for that too, didn’t he?
Too fed up to argue with these people, she dialed the landlord’s number. “Hello, landlord? I’m not renting the place anymore. You colluded with others to break into my room and damage my property. I reserve the right to pursue legal action. Please return my deposit immediately!”
“What are you talking about? When did I ever do those things…”
Confirming it was the landlord’s voice, Zhang Fan hung up before she could finish. The next call, she made to the police station.
After that, she went to the courthouse, and using the recordings and videos, she sued both the landlord and her parents.
She had considered applying for a “personal safety protection order” from the court before, but the degree of harm she’d suffered didn’t meet the threshold the court could support, and besides, she had no money.
Filing a lawsuit and going through the procedures required not just money, but also time.
She used to have neither!
After paying the court’s filing fee, Zhang Fan led Da Huang by the leash, planning to get his license first. Passing a traffic light, she happened to see it had turned red, and an old woman was still slowly walking across the crosswalk.
Thinking of the System’s good-deed task, Zhang Fan was immediately energized.
This task—couldn’t it be completed easily?
She tied Da Huang to a flower bed and hurried onto the road to help the person. After helping this one, there were still four more. Later, when she went to the pet hospital, she wouldn’t take a taxi either—she’d just walk. Maybe before she even reached the hospital, the task of helping five people would be done.
“Ma’am, take it slow, walk on the side!”
She helped the old woman onto the sidewalk and let go of her hand. But the next second, the old woman plopped down right onto her foot, and with a tilt, pinned half her leg underneath.
“Ma’am, what’s wrong?”
Zhang Fan was startled, panicked and at a loss.
A young guy on an electric scooter nearby shook his head with a bitter smile. “You’d better call the police. You’re in trouble!”
“Doesn’t even look like a college student. Where’d she get the nerve to help an old person?”
“Better get ready to sell your house! Poor thing!”
…
The crowd watched her from a distance, all wearing expressions of sympathy. Only then did Zhang Fan remember that joke—several people bragging about their wealth, and one said he helped old ladies cross the road every day, and everyone conceded defeat.
Even the one who said his family had a truckload of qiegao fell silent.
Could it be that instead of completing the task, she’d ended up ruining the rest of her life?
No matter what, calling the police first was the right move.
The police came, and the ambulance came too. No matter what Zhang Fan said, the ambulance insisted she go to the hospital with them.
Not only did she have to front the medical expenses, she also had to run back and forth, exhausted to death.
Only when she finally got a moment to rest did she remember—Da Huang was still tied up in the flower bed.
“I’m doomed!”
She stood up to leave, but a burly man grabbed her by the collar: “You’re the one who hit my mom, aren’t you?”
Damn it!
Zhang Fan was filled with regret. She had thought the task the System gave her was a piece of cake, but it turned out to be a death sentence!
She’d wasted time, lost money, and now, she might even get beaten up for something she didn’t do!
She took a deep breath and spoke calmly: “Let’s talk this through. I hope you can calm down. This is a society ruled by law!”
“Zhang Fan? You’re Zhang Fan?”
The man held her up and looked her over, his anger gradually turning to surprise: “You really are Zhang Fan! I—I’m your classmate, Wang Zekai! Back in school, I even confessed to you, remember?”