Neighbor 07

Upon learning what his daughter had done, Fang Zhiyi offered no comment.

He had relayed all necessary messages through Little Hei. The original owner's eldest daughter was never one to take a loss lying down, and as for that Zhang Xiaoli... come on, could the world's antagonist die? Impossible.

For now, he continued to wander around like an ordinary middle-aged man, while the several task-seekers looking for him were running around like headless flies.

Even Little Hei didn't know exactly how many had come, but to be safe, Fang Zhiyi could only pin the hopes for this mission on his eldest daughter. And honestly, the feeling of being a hands-off boss was pretty good.

Fang Zaozao's approach was indeed very direct. That day, when Li Juan came to pick up her child after work, Fang Zaozao directly held out her hand for money. Li Juan forced a bitter smile. If not for Fang Wanwan persuading her sister, Li Juan probably wouldn't even have been able to take the child away. Seeing her son empty-handed, Li Juan wondered inwardly—he didn't bring any food? But seeing Fang Zaozao, she understood. This vicious woman probably wouldn't let her take any advantage.

What puzzled Li Juan, however, was that Fang Zaozao also followed them back to their home.

"You still know how to come back?" Wang Xiaoling inside the house was furious. Having been slapped for no reason that day, when she saw Li Juan enter followed by Zhang Xiaoli, the hatred on her face almost solidified.

"You little bastard..." She stepped forward to lay hands on Zhang Xiaoli, but her hand was caught halfway.

Looking up, she saw the face she had hated all day.

"Trying to hit my godson?"

Slap!

Slap!

Two crisp slaps landed on her face. Wang Xiaoling's head spun. Fang Zaozao was an expert at both fighting and cursing; how could she possibly resist?

"G-godson?" Li Juan was also stunned, looking at Fang Zaozao beside her.

To her surprise, Fang Zaozao looked at her with disdain: "You're fit to be a mother? Your own son was beaten like that, and all you could do was cry. Disgusting!"

Then she turned and pointed at Wang Xiaoling, who was covering her face: "Listen here, homewrecker. From today on, if you dare touch him once, I'll slap you once. Twice, two slaps. And so on."

"You... aren't you afraid I'll call the police?"

Fang Zaozao stepped forward and grabbed her hair: "The police? Go ahead and try. What will the police say? You're the mistress, abusing a child. Me, as the child's godmother, hit you out of anger. At most, it's a warning. And after the warning, I'll slap you again."

"I'll tell Zhang Xi..."

"Can Zhang Xi stay by your side all the time? Or will you never leave the house? The moment you step out, I'll slap you. Let me tell you, I have nothing to do all day!" With that, she delivered another slap.

The other two women present understood now: this was an incorrigible troublemaker. Only Zhang Xiaoli watched his godmother with shining eyes, feeling warmth and a sense of security for the first time in his heart.

Fang Zaozao let go of the hair in her hand and threw another taunt at Li Juan: "You're fit to be a mother? They've been walking all over you!" She reached out, ruffled Xiaoli's head, and strode away.

"You... you..." Seeing the menace leave, Wang Xiaoling's anger surged again. She wanted to reach out once more but hesitated.

It was in that instant that Li Juan snapped. She threw a bag of scavenged vegetable leaves she was holding right in Wang Xiaoling's face and then pounced on her, the two women tearing at each other.

"Take that for seducing my husband! You fox!"

"And that for bossing me around! I'll beat you to death!"

She didn't notice the light in Zhang Xiaoli's eyes fading bit by bit. So, Mom wasn't angry because of him...

When Zhang Xi returned home, the place was a wreck. Wang Xiaoling, having been beaten repeatedly, had simply run away, not even packing her clothes.

Furious upon learning what happened, Zhang Xi first gave Li Juan a couple of hard kicks, then went out to look for Wang Xiaoling. But where could he find her? Wang Xiaoling had originally planned to take some money and leave, but she hadn't expected the Zhang family to be so poor. This beating made her fearful, so she simply considered her investment a failure.

With Wang Xiaoling gone, Zhang Xi vented his anger on Li Juan, who had fought with her. His fists rained down on Li Juan. Strangely, Zhang Xiaoli, who would usually shield his mother, was just hugging his legs, crouched in a corner, not choosing to step forward and stop it. This also spared him from being beaten by his enraged father.

Unable to bear the beating, Li Juan opened her mouth and betrayed the woman next door.

"It was all that Fang Zaozao next door! She hit Xiaoling, it was her! I was just... just protecting my son!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xi turned his fierce gaze towards Zhang Xiaoli in the corner.

Meeting his father's eyes, Zhang Xiaoli's heart tightened. He hadn't expected his mother to betray his godmother to save herself. He knew his godmother couldn't possibly beat his dad, and besides... she wasn't protecting him either...

"You little brat! Is what your mom said true?"

Zhang Xiaoli looked at his mother, her face streaked with tears, and after a moment shook his head: "No. Aunt Xiaoling wanted to hit me, so Mom..."

"Still lying!" Zhang Xi grew even angrier. This hag!

Li Juan also looked at her son in disbelief. Why would the child say that? But Zhang Xi gave her no chance to explain.

The commotion next door made the two sisters watching TV fall silent. Seeing her sister alternately sitting and standing, Fang Wanwan whispered, "Sis, should we go check?"

Fang Zaozao shook her head: "No. That bitch deserves to be beaten to death."

"I meant Xiaoli..."

"Him..." Fang Zaozao looked at her phone.

The arrival of the police stopped the beating and also lifted the veil on this family's shame. Seeing Li Juan's bruised and swollen face, the neighbors were sympathetic, their looks towards Zhang Xi full of contempt.

But Li Juan's words left everyone dumbfounded.

"It was all me. I ran into things myself. My husband didn't hit me. He didn't."

Even the police were exasperated: "Even if you're husband and wife, injuries this severe must be addressed."

Li Juan kept shaking her head. She was surprisingly resilient, her mind still clear. When she saw the two girls from next door, Li Juan immediately guessed who had called the police. After all, their apartment was at the end; only Fang Wanwan's room could hear the noise.

She felt a surge of hatred. These damned sisters meddling in other people's business! They'd shamed both her and her husband!

"Her face is folded up like a flip phone and she's still talking tough," Fang Zaozao's tongue remained sharp.

"Don't you talk nonsense!" Li Juan glared at her, hatred welling up inside. It was because of her, because she hit that mistress, that her husband got angry. And because she must have said something to her son, the boy actually lied! It was all this woman's fault!

"What are you glaring at? You'd be better off going to the hospital," Fang Zaozao had no idea what she was thinking.

"I'm fine! Don't meddle in our business!" she yelled, completely ignoring the astonished looks from those around.

Someone muttered under their breath that she deserved it.

However, Zhang Xi was still taken away in handcuffs, and she was forcibly taken to the hospital as well. The ambulance had been called by Fang Zaozao, though of course, the fee was her own responsibility. Furthermore, Fang Zaozao volunteered to look after Zhang Xiaoli, an act that won praise from many neighbors.

Watching her son standing beside Fang Zaozao with a beaming smile, Li Juan, as she was being loaded onto the ambulance by the medical staff, felt a tumult of conflicting emotions. This woman was trying to steal her son!