People’s sharp and soul-piercing questions emerge one after another, just to satisfy their private curiosity. And they never care how much impact these questions might have on a young girl in her tens, whether they might make her lose faith in kinship and humanity, in the world itself.
Zhen Yu’s thorns were slowly eroded away by the curiosity of those around her, evolving from a sharp-tongued little hedgehog into a silent little turtle.
From the initial loud retorts, "That’s not true!"
"It’s not like that!"
To later on, no matter how malicious the words, they could no longer shake her icy heart. She no longer held any hope for her family, turned a deaf ear to all remarks, and thus no longer felt heartbroken or disappointed.
"Right, today is the 15th!" Zhen Yu suddenly remembered that it was the day Mr. Zhen would come to give the alimony every month.
Mrs. Zhen nodded, "When your dad comes later, discuss with him about paying a year’s alimony in one go. Otherwise, once I go to Qi City, this money will be squandered away!"
"Sure! He probably won’t oppose it now." Zhen Yu felt this was feasible.
After all, two hundred thousand yuan in the nineties was not the same as two hundred thousand nowadays! In this era, this sum could be considered a fortune.
"If he won the lottery for several hundred thousand, and still scrimps on this year’s alimony of over two thousand yuan, then I must give him a piece of my mind!"
But after waiting until it was almost time to close the shop, Mr. Zhen still had not arrived. Mrs. Zhen’s expression looked very grim, as she went to the shop’s entrance several times, looking towards the direction of the hardware store.
Zhen Yu initially thought that perhaps Mr. Zhen was delayed by something and giving him a few days’ grace wouldn’t matter.
But after seeing her mother’s behavior, she decided to take a walk to the hardware store.
"Mom, I’ll go take a look!"
Mrs. Zhen hesitated for a moment but still nodded.
She did not want to break this routine! They had settled on this date after a fight last time, and ever since, Zhen Hailong had always abided by it.
If he delayed it this time, he might think that postponing a few days is fine in the future, and gradually he’d pick up the bad habit of falling behind on payments!
"Can I help—" Ju Zhen’s greeting was abruptly swallowed back as she rose from behind the counter and approached Zhen Yu.
"Where’s my dad?" Zhen Yu asked with a calm expression.
"Oh! Heard that our old man Zhen won the lottery, and you came to claim a share?" Ju Zhen sneered disdainfully. "Tch! I’ll tell you! No chance at all!"
Zhen Yu replied unfazed: "You’re thinking too much. Today is the 15th; it’s time for him to pay alimony."
Ju Zhen’s expression changed, and she bent over with a sly smile, bringing her face close to Zhen Yu, "Alimony? Two hundred yuan?"
As she leaned closer, Zhen Yu stepped back, nodding her head as soon as Ju Zhen finished speaking, "That’s right! Where is he?"
Ju Zhen went back behind the counter, pulled out two hundred yuan from the cashbox, flung it over the counter, and two hundred-yuan bills floated gently onto the ground.
"Here! Pick it up and get lost! You’re not welcome here!"
Zhen Yu didn’t even look at the ground but kept her gaze fixed on Ju Zhen’s eyes: "I’m looking for Zhen Hailong! Not only do you have bad breath, but there’s also something wrong with this place!"
With that, Zhen Yu pointed at her own head.
Ju Zhen’s face flipped in an instant, and she cursed out loud: "You little bitch, who the hell are you cursing! Your brain’s the one that’s messed up! Take the money and scram! Or you won’t even get this two hundred! You just have to be a masochistic bitch, don’t you? Your dad doesn’t want you two, and you still come running to him? What’s the point? You’re as despicable as your stupid mom!"
In her past life, Zhen Yu had heard such words many times, and she would normally be indifferent, but Ju Zhen had crossed a line by mentioning Mrs. Zhen at the very end.
Upon hearing this, Zhen Yu’s pupils shrank sharply, and with lightning speed, she reached over the counter and grabbed Ju Zhen’s collar, then with a fierce twist of her wrist, Ju Zhen was yanked forward, bending over with her upper body stretched across the counter.
Zhen Yu didn’t waste words; she raised her hand and a slap swung up.
"Ah!!" Ju Zhen screamed after being hit, yelling at the top of her lungs, and her bent fingers clawed towards Zhen Yu’s face.
Finding her noisy and not wanting to be scratched up, Zhen Yu, still holding the collar, gave it a strong twist, turning Ju Zhen’s collar into a twisted braid.
"Ugh..." Ju Zhen could only let out sounds of retching, forced to quiet down, she instinctively retracted her hands and tried to pull Zhen Yu’s hands away.
Zhen Yu’s arm muscles were tight, completely unmoved. After lightly blinking her eyes, she said, "Dare to mention my mom again, and see if I don’t choke you to death!"
Ju Zhen, frightened by Zhen Yu’s menacing tone, shivered; the young girl’s eyes were pitch black, looking dead serious.
"Xiao Yu! What are you doing again!" A furious roar came from the entrance, and Mr. Zhen walked in from outside.
Zhen Yu let go, clapped her hands together to brush off dust, and faced Mr. Zhen with an indifferent tone: "Nothing much! Just here to remind you, today’s the fifteenth."
"!" Mr. Zhen looked grimly at his daughter, then glanced at his current wife, who was coughing nonstop. He took a deep breath, pulled out two hundred yuan from his pocket, and handed it to Zhen Yu.
After taking the money, Zhen Yu said: "Can you step outside for a moment? I have something to discuss with you."
Before Mr. Zhen could respond, Ju Zhen suddenly let out a shrill scream: "Ah! You can’t go!"
Father and daughter of the Zhen Family turned to look at her simultaneously, and she hurriedly ran and stumbled from behind the counter to Mr. Zhen’s side, wrapping her arm around his and said: "This little bitch is just here because she heard you won the lottery and wants money! She even pretends to talk about child support! She’s scamming, damn it! I’ve given her the money, and she still won’t leave! She’s definitely up to no good!"
Mr. Zhen immediately looked at Zhen Yu with displeasure.
Zhen Yu gestured towards the two hundred-yuan bills on the ground, "You pick them up! They’re not thrown by me, anyway."
It was only then that Mr. Zhen noticed the money on the floor. Thinking about what Ju Zhen and his daughter had said respectively, he guessed the truth almost instantly.
"Pick up the money." Mr. Zhen, containing his anger, said to Ju Zhen in a low voice.
"I won’t pick it up! If you want it picked up, you do it!" Ju Zhen, being stubborn in her anger, refused to comply.
Mr. Zhen rubbed his face with his hand and turned to walk out of the store. Ju Zhen quickly clung tightly to his arm, refusing to let go regardless of how hard Mr. Zhen tried.
Zhen Yu felt it was superfluous to care about Mr. Zhen’s feelings, so during the tugging and pulling between the two opposite her, she suddenly spoke out: "Just say it here!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the two stopped and then both looked at Zhen Yu.
"Did you know my brother got into high school?" Zhen Yu spoke as if Ju Zhen did not exist, talking directly to her father.
"I know." Mr. Zhen nodded, "A while ago dad was short on money, but now,"
"Now you don’t have it either!" Ju Zhen suddenly interrupted, darkening Mr. Zhen’s face even further.