Ning Qiaozhen arrived in a rush. She was somewhat heavyset, her yellowed curls tied in a ponytail. A T-shirt, tight black pants, and a thin jacket made up an utterly ordinary outfit.
The moment Ning Qiaozhen appeared, Wan Qiu stood up. A light visibly entered his eyes that was completely different from the indifference with which he regarded everyone else. He even took two steps toward her.
Ning Qiaozhen stopped in front of Wan Qiu and looked him up and down. "Only hurt your arm?"
"Mm." Wan Qiu nodded.
"Which one is the driver?" Ning Qiaozhen's gaze swept around. When she saw the two muscular men, her voice immediately lost some confidence. Chu Jianshu stood not far away, silently observing her.
Ning Qiaozhen's life did not seem bad. At the very least, her face was ruddy and her voice strong. Beside her, fourteen-year-old Wan Qiu, already at the age when boys should begin shooting up in height, formed a striking contrast—she tall and sturdy, he short and thin.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It was me." The pale, skinny driver hurried forward and nervously glanced at the two men beside him.
"My child needs a full-body examination. This was a car accident. If something turns up later, who am I supposed to go after? He also needs to stay in the hospital for observation. You pay the medical bills, and you need to compensate him for emotional distress too." Ning Qiaozhen gave Wan Qiu's arm a disgusted glance. "If nothing else is wrong, ten thousand and we'll settle privately."
The driver had already been frightened white by this strange situation. Hearing Ning Qiaozhen's demand made cold sweat pour down his back.
"Hey." The man who had brought Wan Qiu to the hospital could not help reminding her, "Shouldn't you check on your child first?"
"Whether I care about my own kid is none of your business." Ning Qiaozhen cut the man with a glare. There were many people in the hospital, which gave her confidence. She tugged at the shoulder of Wan Qiu's injured arm. "Other places hurt too, right? You need more tests too, don't you?"
Chu Jianshu watched Ning Qiaozhen's movement, his brows drawing tightly together.
Rather than asking Wan Qiu a question, Ning Qiaozhen seemed more like she was ordering him to give the response she wanted.
Wan Qiu stared directly at Ning Qiaozhen's expression, studying it. At last, he lowered his head and nodded. "It hurts."
The child who had insisted all along that nothing hurt now said it did under his mother's gaze. It was not because he wanted comfort. After observing his mother's reaction, he had simply acted in the way that suited her wishes.
Chu Jianshu's eyes darkened. His mood became terrible.
"See?" Ning Qiaozhen shot the man a disdainful look. "Mind your own business."
"A child isn't a tool for you to make money." The man's face was already somewhat fierce, and when it darkened, he looked even more frightening. "This kid has other injuries on him too. You didn't hit him, did you?"
Ning Qiaozhen suddenly seemed to remember something. Her abundant confidence instantly dropped by a level. She glared viciously at the man but did not answer.
Ning Qiaozhen lowered her head and shoved Wan Qiu lightly. "Does it still hurt now?"
Wan Qiu lifted his head again to look at Ning Qiaozhen's expression. His gaze was one of observation.
After observing her, Wan Qiu lowered his head and shook it. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Ning Qiaozhen gave a soft snort. "I know driving isn't easy for you either. I'm not an unreasonable person. Five thousand. Pay me now and I'll leave immediately."
"That's still too much." The driver's face was bitter. For an accident this minor, normally three to five hundred yuan would settle things. Who could have expected this woman to make such an outrageous demand?
"My kid was in a car accident! He's lucky this time, but can you guarantee there won't be problems later? Making you pay more is teaching you a lesson. If it costs you enough, you won't dare do it again next time…"
As Ning Qiaozhen's shrill, aggressive voice continued, Chu Jianshu kept watching Wan Qiu.
Wan Qiu's head was lowered. He did not say a word. The sleeve soaked through with blood had still not been fully pulled back on, leaving him looking particularly disheveled.
"Five thousand, then." Chu Jianshu could not remain calm. Wan Qiu looked pale and had just been through a car accident, yet the woman who was supposedly his mother was still relentlessly demanding compensation. It could not possibly be a good experience for the child. Chu Jianshu took out his phone to transfer the money, wanting to end this farce as quickly as possible. "Take the child home to rest. Give him something nutritious to eat."
"You're paying?" Ning Qiaozhen looked suspiciously at the handsome man. Because of his unusually attractive appearance and obviously tasteful clothing, her tone was noticeably less shrill than before.
"Mm," Chu Jianshu answered.
Although Ning Qiaozhen wondered what relationship these people had with one another, the moment she saw the five thousand arrive in her account, she beamed. Noticing someone looking at her, she glared viciously at them, then dragged Wan Qiu away.
Wan Qiu stumbled from the pull. She happened to be dragging him by the injured arm, making Chu Jianshu frown deeply.
Chu Jianshu saw Wan Qiu turn his head back, those eyes staring straight at him.
Although the distance between them was steadily increasing, Chu Jianshu clearly saw Wan Qiu mouth two words to him: "Thank you."
"You still have to pay us. Just use the normal rate." The yellow-haired man negotiated with the driver while quietly muttering into his ear, "You should count yourself lucky you're only paying money right now. If the boss finds out… tsk. You'd better be careful next time, or your career as a taxi driver might end right here."
The man's phone rang. He answered, then said to Chu Jianshu, "The samples have already been sent for a paternity test, Boss."
"Mm," Chu Jianshu replied.
"Looks like there's something going on. I'm afraid there may be domestic violence." The man reminded Chu Jianshu. Chu Jianshu had obviously also noticed the injuries on Wan Qiu's arm that had nothing to do with the accident.
"Follow them closely," Chu Jianshu said.
"Yes, Boss." The man tugged his companion and chased after Wan Qiu.
Chu Jianshu sat down in the busy hospital lobby and let out a long sigh.
That child was beautiful.
Even though his growth had been delayed and he was malnourished, the moment Chu Jianshu saw that face and met those eyes, he could understand the child's unique beauty.
He looked so much like his wife.
Only the child's eyes lacked liveliness, lending that beauty a faint lifelessness. And from the way he behaved, beneath his fear of the mother who very likely abused him, there seemed to be a hidden dependence.
There were serious psychological problems to deal with.
If he really was their child…
The two men who had followed them outside immediately saw Wan Qiu speaking with the woman.
Then they watched the woman pull three yuan from her pocket and give it to Wan Qiu before getting on her bicycle and leaving on her own.
"That damned woman…" Veins bulged on the yellow-haired man's forehead. He was so angry he wanted to go over and do something, but his companion stopped him.
"We still don't know for sure whether he's the boss's son. We shouldn't interfere." The man's words were rational, but emotionally he could not quite bear it either.
If this was the boss's son, then in the future they would not need to do anything.
If he was not, helping the child now might only harm him.
"There are thousands upon thousands of parents in this world who deserve to die." The man sighed and kept watching Wan Qiu.
Wan Qiu looked very calm. He showed no disappointment and no sadness.
He accepted the situation with astonishing calm, carefully wrapped the three yuan together with the five yuan already in his pocket, put it away securely, and then started walking home.
The corner of the man's eye twitched. Merely watching him made an indescribable feeling spread through his chest.
"Can you get home by yourself?" Ning Qiaozhen had asked.
Wan Qiu nodded.
Ning Qiaozhen took three yuan from her pocket and handed it to Wan Qiu. "Go home by yourself. Buy yourself breakfast."
Wan Qiu stared at the three yuan in his hand, blinked, and looked a little happy. "Thank you, Mom."
Ning Qiaozhen was in an excellent mood. She had gotten up early in the morning and suddenly received five thousand yuan, more than she earned in an entire month. How could she not be happy?
Without caring what happened to Wan Qiu after that, she rode her bicycle to work on her own.
Wan Qiu put the money away and lowered his sleeve. The wind was a little cold, and the blood on the sleeve had partly dried. Fortunately, the fabric itself was red, so at first glance it did not look too frightening.
He looked around. He was not very familiar with the roads here, but it did not seem too far from home.
If he walked around a little more, perhaps he would see plenty of bottles he could collect along the way.
Wan Qiu began calculating whether he might be able to pick up some useful things on his walk home.
When he passed a breakfast shop, the aroma of steamed buns made him stop.
His hand tightened around the eight yuan in his pocket.
One large stuffed bun cost one and a half yuan. He had been injured today, and that handsome man had told him to eat something nourishing.
Wan Qiu stood outside the breakfast shop for a full three minutes. In the end, he simply pulled up his hood and walked away from the shop as though he had not seen it.
Inside the black car secretly following behind him, the man's grip tightened around the steering wheel.
