Not to mention, the conversations among the sisters at the beauty salon were always incredibly explicit, even when they weren’t working.
Zhao Dan was no fool; she understood and could guess what her fate would be.
She was so scared, but all alone in Shenzhen, with several tough-looking henchmen in the salon, Zhao Dan didn’t even dare to try escaping.
She wanted to ask someone for help, but the customers at the salon were all in cahoots with the boss.
Turn to her parents? She didn’t even have their contact information.
Besides, Zhao Dan was handed over to Aunt Hua personally by her real mother, and Zhao Dan wasn’t even sure if her real mother would take her back, should she manage to contact her family.
As Zhao Dan was being engulfed by fear, trepidation, doubt, and sadness, her real mother arrived with her younger sister.
Like a pitiable person standing at the edge of a cliff, Zhao Dan saw her relatives come to save her; she thought of nothing else and followed her real mother as they ran out.
However, the mother and the two daughters ran for half a day in the deserted suburbs. The sounds of pursuit were getting louder behind them, and they could no longer keep running.
It was then that Zhao Dan remembered the boss was no pushover, and those henchmen he kept would dare to slash people with watermelon knives.
Her real mother was just a stranger in town who, if harmed, could be buried anywhere without the police ever knowing.
Sobbing, she didn’t want to bring harm to her mother or her sister.
"Mom, you, you take Xiaoya and go, I, I’ll go back!"
With these thoughts, Zhao Dan couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.
She grabbed her mother’s hand.
Her real mother’s hand was rough, with cracked skin, pimples, and calluses all over the palm.
Zhao Dan’s hands used to be like that, but after one month in the salon, eating well and not doing heavy work, the madam would even let her soak in hot water every day and apply fragrant, smooth hand cream.
Now, the palms of her hands had become much whiter and softer.
When holding her still-rough and coarse hand, there was a clear contrast.
Zhao Dan felt the warmth and roughness of her real mother’s palm, and for the first time, she felt a depth of maternal love and care she’d never experienced.
Breathless, with tears and snot all streaming down, she said, "Mom, let’s not run anymore, my boss is very powerful, he, he won’t let us go!"
Although Zhao Dan had come to Shenzhen, she had been confined to the salon.
Her world had been even smaller than Zhao Xiaoya’s.
Her thoughts were still shackled, even so, because of the things she had heard and seen, she was more frightened of the boss and those people.
In her timid, narrow understanding, the boss was like the big boss of the Black Society, capable of imprisoning someone or beating them to death on a whim.
"...No matter how powerful, this is still Shenzhen, the police won’t ignore it!"
He Tiantian had Inner Strength to protect her; this distance couldn’t tire her out at all.
But to maintain her image, she still pretended to be out of breath and spoke with some difficulty.
"No, Mom, you don’t know, those henchmen with him are little hooligans who would risk their lives over money, they really dare to kill people!"
The more Zhao Dan thought, the more scared she became, she couldn’t let go of an Extreme Mother who’d sold her away in exchange for a son.
Not to mention this Extreme Mother who had braved mountains and rivers to find her, who had roamed Shenzhen for an entire month.
Now Zhao Dan had made up her mind, prepared to sacrifice herself in exchange for the safety of her mother and sister.
"Murder? Do they have the guts to do that?"
He Tiantian seemed frightened too, her complexion turning deathly pale.
But soon, He Tiantian summoned her courage, and gritting her teeth said, "Run! Let’s run quickly! As long as we get back to the city, buy train tickets, and go back to our hometown, they won’t be able to follow!"
He Tiantian took Zhao Xiaoya by one hand and grabbed Zhao Dan with the other, continuing to run desperately.
"Mom~~" A glimmer of hope arose in Zhao Dan’s heart.
She was swayed by her real mother’s words.
If they could safely return to their hometown and truly break free from those demons, of course, Zhao Dan would want nothing more.
"Stop howling, save your energy, keep running!"
He Tiantian scolded Zhao Dan without any pleasantries.
However, Zhao Dan wasn’t scared as before; instead, she felt incredibly moved.
Sobbing, she thought, this is what a real mother is!
No matter how much scolding, disdain, and beatings in usual times, in critical moments, the one who would save her and stand by her was only her real mother!
At a "life-and-death" moment, during an urgent crisis, Zhao Dan’s inherent closeness to her parents suddenly gave rise to an endless reverence and love for her mother.