Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Wang Xixia’s Penultimate Day
However, before dawn the next day, the stove in the hallway was fired up again.
I got up early and saw Wang Xixia cooking noodles.
“You’re up for work this early?”
I smiled and made up an excuse. “Sis, I’m going out for a run.”
She immediately wiped her hands on her apron and hurried over to pull me back. “There are a lot of thugs around here. You should wait until it’s light out before going.”
I immediately acted like I understood. “Sis, I’ll listen to you.”
She was making plain noodles, and only one bowl had a fried egg at the bottom.
Without a doubt, that was probably for Li Zhan.
As for her, even through her thick winter clothes, I could tell she had wasted away until she was as thin as a sheet of paper.
“Sis, I have a lot of eggs at my place, but no fridge. How about you help me use a few?”
Her eyes suddenly turned red. “You really are a good girl. If Li Mei were still here, she’d probably be about your age.”
“Sis, who is Li Mei?”
“She’s my daughter, but she went missing when she was three.”
I brought the eggs over anyway and changed the subject. “Sis, aren’t you going to work?”
She shook her head. “I have a heart condition. If I move too much, I start shaking or even faint.”
She added with a self-deprecating smile, “I suppose it’s retribution for losing Li Mei.”
I comforted her. “It’s not like you wanted that to happen. Don’t torture yourself anymore.”
She smiled. “Sometimes I wonder when this kind of life will finally end… maybe only when I’m dead?”
As she said this, the other two people in her house came out.
Li Zhan glanced at me. “Don’t just chat with anyone. There are so many scammers these days.”
Wang Xixia didn’t even have time to argue with him. Her eyes fixed on something in his hand. “Ah Zhan, what’s that in your hand?”
Li Zhan immediately stuffed the item into his pocket. “What’s it to you?”
Wang Xixia grabbed him instantly. “That’s the bracelet my grandmother left me! You can’t sell it!”
“What bracelet? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Li Zhan shoved her aside and ran off.
Another shove. Wang Xixia’s forehead hit the edge of the window frame, and she began to bleed.
Wang Xixia cried for a long time.
Li Ming acted as if nothing had happened. “Make some good food tonight. I’m inviting friends over for drinks. Don’t embarrass me.”
Li Ming threw fifty yuan onto the ground.
The money landed in a puddle in the hallway, getting dirty instantly.
“Stop your wailing. You act like you’re at a funeral all day long. You’re crying away all my luck at the gambling table.”
I thought to myself that I would be the one to claim this man’s soul next time.
Once he enters the Gate of Life and Death, I’ll make sure he gets a good look at the eighteen levels of hell, and then let him properly enjoy the Karmic Fire Pool.
With only fifty yuan, the dinner was naturally subpar.
By the time I noticed what was happening, Wang Xixia had been thrown out the door by Li Ming.
She wasn’t even wearing a coat, and she was shivering uncontrollably from the cold.
I let her into my home.
I found some clothes for her.
But she was still shaking.
She kept muttering to herself, “Why? Why… it’s all retribution.”
I handed her some hot water. “Do you need me to call the police?”
She suddenly panicked. “No, don’t call the police. What would happen to my son?”
“Sis, they treat you so poorly. You almost froze to death.”
“He’s still my son.”
She said with a face full of pride, “My son will definitely be successful in the future. You know, I had his fortune told. The fortune teller said he’s a person of great talent.”
She seemed a bit delusional.
She slept at my place, looking tiny as she curled up on the sofa.
But early the next morning, the sofa was empty.
Another argument broke out next door.
She screamed, “You all bully me! Even my own son bullies me! If my daughter were still here, things wouldn’t be like this!”
But hearing Li Ming’s shouted response filled me with despair.
“What a joke! You were the one who personally sent your daughter away!
“She was traded for two thousand yuan!”