Neighbor 01

After graduating from university, Fang Wanwan stayed in this city. Through her own efforts, she managed to get a mortgage on an apartment. Although it wasn't large, it finally felt like she had a home.

The man living next door was named Zhang Xi. He was burly and rough-looking, his beard never properly shaved, and he always carried the smell of cigarettes and alcohol, giving a very unpleasant impression. In fact, when Fang Wanwan first moved in, someone had warned her not to have any dealings with that family, but the simple-minded Fang Wanwan didn't take it to heart.

The soundproofing of the apartment was mediocre. Sometimes she could hear crying and shouting from next door, each sound making her heart tremble. It was the sound of a woman pleading for mercy, a child wailing, and a man roaring in anger.

Zhang Xi didn't have a job. In his early years, he had worked as a construction worker, but later, after gambling and owing money to his coworkers, he simply packed up and disappeared. From then on, he stopped working altogether, relying entirely on his wife who worked as a cashier in a supermarket to support him. Even so, he showed not a shred of gratitude, frequently resorting to beating his wife, and even their few-year-old son was not spared.

Later, Zhang Xi became even worse. He somehow hooked up with a heavily made-up woman and spent his wife's hard-earned money on clothes and bags for her. Zhang Xi's wife, Li Juan, accidentally discovered her husband's infidelity, but was impatiently shooed away by Zhang Xi. Helpless, she crouched crying by her own doorway, just as Fang Wanwan was coming home from work. Fang Wanwan, feeling sorry for her, opened her own door and let her in. After hearing the whole story, Fang Wanwan was furious and immediately advised her to get a divorce.

"You can support yourself. Why do you need to keep supporting this worthless man?" Fang Wanwan spoke very directly.

Li Juan wore a look of misery: "I, I..."

Looking at the bruises on Li Juan's arms, Fang Wanwan felt indignant. This woman never wore short sleeves to hide the evidence of her beatings. Fang Wanwan decided she must convince Li Juan to leave this brute.

Li Juan just kept saying that her son couldn't grow up without a father, and that Zhang Xi used to be very good to her; he was just momentarily confused.

After eating, Li Juan took her son and went back home.

From that day on, Fang Wanwan began paying more attention to this family. She never expected that Li Juan would do something even more outrageous: she tearfully asked Zhang Xi if she had done something wrong, saying she could change. Zhang Xi was both smug and impatient.

Just a day later, Zhang Xi even brought his mistress home. To this, Li Juan, aside from constantly wearing a bitter expression, silently endured.

"It's all for the child," she told herself in her heart.

The mistress, of course, didn't take Li Juan seriously, ordering her to do this and that. If Li Juan was slightly slow, the mistress would throw a tantrum, and upon hearing it, Zhang Xi would immediately rush out and start hitting Li Juan. If their son tried to protect her, Zhang Xi would hit the boy too.

However, the mistress soon also realized that Zhang Xi was essentially penniless. So, one night, she ran off with what little money the Zhang family had left. Discovering the truth the next day, Zhang Xi was furious and immediately took his anger out on his wife.

"It's all because of you, you jinx!"

This beating forced Li Juan to take a week off work. When she returned, the store manager, looking at her still somewhat bruised eye socket, asked if something was wrong. Li Juan just smiled and said she had bumped into something.

Fang Wanwan naturally knew the truth. She was furious. Out of sympathy for Li Juan and her son, she frequently invited them over for meals. Upon learning that because Zhang Xi had spent all the money, Zhang Xiaoli couldn't attend school, Fang Wanwan said she could help teach him. Her actions made Li Juan feel warmth, and she thanked Fang Wanwan profusely. Fang Wanwan then steered the conversation back to urging divorce, but Li Juan still hesitated.

From that day on, Zhang Xiaoli often stayed at Fang Wanwan's place. Fang Wanwan also felt great sympathy for the child, so she used her limited free time to teach him basic knowledge—Chinese, math, English.

Li Juan's life remained a living hell. Finally, persuaded by Fang Wanwan, she gathered the courage to leave with her child. But not long after leaving, she received a call from her husband. On the other end, Zhang Xi pleaded pitifully, saying he was dying.

Only then did Li Juan learn that Zhang Xi's former creditors had found him and were forcing him to repay the debt. Hearing her husband's cries of pain, she hesitated again and immediately turned around, running towards the location mentioned on the phone.

It was true that Zhang Xi had been found by the debt collectors, but it was also true that he had lied to Li Juan.

To avoid being beaten, Zhang Xi came up with an "idea": to have his wife repay the debt with her body. Seeing no other way to get their money, the men reluctantly agreed. And so, Li Juan, who could have escaped the pit of fire, jumped right back in.

Fortunately, her luck wasn't entirely bad. Fang Wanwan happened to pass by the area and saw her being dragged into a dark room. She immediately called the police. Just as Li Juan's clothes were being torn, officers broke down the door. Li Juan was saved.

Unfortunately, the incident got out. Through repeated retellings, it morphed into a story that Li Juan was a woman who did "that kind" of business.

From that day on, the way people looked at her became strange. Some even snidely told their own children to stay away from her.

"Who knows if she has some disease!"

Li Juan was devastated. She didn't resent her husband who had dug this pit for her. Instead, she turned her resentment towards Fang Wanwan. If it weren't for her meddling, how could she have been labeled that kind of woman?

Zhang Xi had long been dissatisfied with Fang Wanwan too. That woman never gave him a friendly look and was always inciting Li Juan to divorce him. That bitch! Thinking of Fang Wanwan's youthful body, Zhang Xi revealed a lecherous smile.

When Zhang Xi proposed his plan, Li Juan only hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

Late at night, she knocked on Fang Wanwan's door, crying as usual. Fang Wanwan didn't suspect anything. "Sister Li? What's wrong again? Where's Xiaoli?" She truly couldn't understand why Li Juan insisted on staying with this Zhang Xi.

"Xiaoli is asleep. May I come in?" Li Juan looked utterly exhausted.

Fang Wanwan nodded and stepped aside.

As soon as Li Juan stepped in, she suddenly started crying again. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Fang Wanwan was confused, but the next moment she saw Zhang Xi's face. Zhang Xi was bracing the door with one hand, wearing a lecherous expression.

"What are you doing?!" Fang Wanwan immediately became alert and was about to scream when she received a heavy blow to the back of her head.

It was the woman she had sympathized with and helped who had struck her.

But Zhang Xi, who had excitedly closed the door, soon changed his expression. "You killed her!"

"No way? I didn't..." Li Juan was terrified, dropping the club in her hand—the one Fang Wanwan kept by the door for self-defense.

Zhang Xi reached out to check Fang Wanwan's breathing. "She's dead! Damn it! You jinx!"

Li Juan was scared out of her wits, at a complete loss.