In the empty hallway.
After a period of silence, Li ihua's uncontrollable sobbing broke through.
Her face, roughened by life's hardships, was buried deep in her palms.
Murky tears continuously seeped through her fingers.
Qiuqiu just watched her quietly, watching this woman reveal such a wretched and vulnerable appearance before her for the first ti.
Her feelings were indescribably complex.
She suddenly rembered.
During her sophomore sumr vacation, her mother had indeed subtly asked for her ID card, saying she needed to handle so procedures.
But back then, filled with resentnt and distance toward this woman, she hadn't wanted to exchange more than a few words with her.
After staying less than a week in that cold "ho," she made an excuse about needing to work and hurriedly left.
In her persistent impression.
Her mother was just a miser, a shrew—strong-willed, unreasonable, and hopeless.
She had never truly cared about her.
All her childhood sorrows, the helplessness when bullied at school, all the troubles of adolescence...
Were all lightly dismissed with phrases like "it's just a small matter."
Later, when Grandma passed away in the hospital because they couldn't afford treatnt, it made her resent this woman from the bottom of her heart.
From that point on, she never spoke to her calmly again.
When her mother wanted her to study education and beco a teacher, she insisted on studying art.
When her mother wanted her to work in Rongcheng, she insisted on staying in distant Yancheng.
She used every ans to resist, to escape.
But now, hearing her mother's broken sobs, Qiuqiu seed to understand her just a little.
Her mother's experience of Father's death seed far from as easy as she had imagined.
She still hadn't gotten over it even now.
Just as she said, she couldn't keep her husband, so she couldn't afford to lose her only daughter too.
Qiuqiu bit her lower lip hard, struggling to keep the tears welling in her eyes from falling.
After a long silence, she looked at Li ihua, her voice trembling:
"If you wanted to buy a house, why didn't you do it earlier? Why wait until prices skyrocketed like this? In the end, it's still because you were reluctant to spend the money." ꞦÄ𐌽Ő𝐁ËS
Li ihua wiped her face roughly on her hospital gown and looked up.
Her eyes filled with endless sha and regret.
"Yes, yes, I was stupid! I had no ability! But I, I had no choice back then either!"
Then, through her stumbling narrative.
The crazy resentnt and anger in Qiuqiu's heart gradually faded away with her tears.
This was the first ti she heard this stubborn mother, who had been strong all her life, admit her mistakes voluntarily.
It was also the first ti she learned those never-spoken details from over the years.
In 2006, Li ihua and her husband worked day and night on construction sites in Rongcheng, leaving their 3-year-old daughter Qiuqiu in their hotown.
They wholeheartedly believed that once they saved enough for a down paynt, when Qiuqiu started elentary school, they would bring her to the city.
But then, her husband fell from the scaffolding and died under unclear circumstances.
She saw that cold, mangled corpse with her own eyes.
Because they hadn't purchased workers' compensation insurance, and the developer was powerful, she—a rural woman from out of town who understood nothing—could only accept it under their threats.
In the end, they settled privately for just eighty thousand yuan.
Actually, back then, housing prices in Rongcheng were only around three thousand.
A two-bedroom apartnt would cost just over two hundred thousand.
But how could she think about buying a house then?
Her husband's death had almost drained all her spirit and energy.
She spent two muddled years accompanying Qiuqiu in their hotown, but without a man, in that son-preference village, only she knew how difficult life was for a widow and her child.
And she didn't want Qiuqiu to end up like her;
she wanted her to study and grow up in a big city, to be an urban child.
Eventually, she hardened her resolve and returned to Rongcheng.
The absurd thing was, housing prices in Rongcheng had risen to nearly six thousand by then—doubled.
With this change, it wasn't even enough for a down paynt.
She didn't dare gamble, nor did she want to.
So she could only grit her teeth, put that eighty thousand into a fixed deposit, and work desperately in restaurant kitchens, trying to earn another down paynt with her own hands.
Who would have thought she'd run headfirst into China's craziest golden decade for real estate?
Starting from 2008, housing prices began soaring wildly;
her money-making speed couldn't keep up with the rising prices.
The more this happened, the more she cherished that "death compensation," and the more reluctant she beca to use it for buying a house.
Until 2014, to give her middle school-aged Qiuqiu a stable place to live.
She rented a two-bedroom apartnt in their current neighborhood and brought her daughter over.
To earn more money, while still working in restaurant kitchens, she also rented a small storefront and started her own snack business.
She was busy every day, and thus completely neglected the sensitive Qiuqiu during her adolescence.
But housing prices continued to soar.
Especially in 2017, when housing prices across Rongcheng surged again;
looking at the numbers in the newspaper, she felt as if her heart were being sliced by a knife.
Just at this mont, Qiuqiu's grandmother beca seriously ill and was admitted to the ICU.
Instead, they all coveted that "compensation" in her hands, coveting the hard-earned money she had saved in Rongcheng.
But her money was reserved for buying her daughter a house.
Especially with housing prices rising daily, asking her to take out money to gamble on a slim chance even doctors said was hopeless—she naturally couldn't agree.
Moreover, Qiuqiu's grandmother had said not to waste any more money.
After that, mother and daughter beca completely estranged and turned against each other.
Her fear of her daughter not returning to Rongcheng reached its peak.
She was afraid this daughter, whom she had failed her whole life, would truly disappear like a kite with a broken string.
So, she finally abandoned all her persistence, almost at the peak of housing prices, exhausted her life's savings, and bought that Harmony Elegant Residence apartnt under her daughter's na.
The contract clearly stated that the apartnt would be delivered before Qiuqiu graduated.
She fantasized that this brand-new apartnt, belonging to her daughter, would be the biggest bargaining chip to make her return to Rongcheng for work.
But who knew the delivery would be repeatedly delayed?
Because of this, she lost all motivation to run her snack shop.
She directly sold the business and started going to the construction site and sales office daily with other hoowners, demanding explanations from that damned [Xuyuan Real Estate].
This was why, even though she knew Qiuqiu was struggling alone in Yancheng and worried about her daughter, she never went to see her.
Until a few days ago, when [Xuyuan Real Estate] completely collapsed.
Banks withdrew loans, the company neared bankruptcy, all projects stalled, and delivery seed far away with no end in sight.
A single grain of sand from the era falling on every ordinary person's shoulders becos an insurmountable mountain.
Unbeknownst to her, tears had already stread down her face.
Her mind went completely blank.
Li ihua's crying gradually stopped;
she just leaned against the wall, her eyes empty.
The hallway beca completely quiet.
She didn't know how much ti had passed.
Li ihua imdiately reined in all her emotions, wiping her face roughly.
Around thirty years old, tall and straight, wearing a white coat, he looked refined and elegant with extraordinary presence.
Su Wenxuan approached them, first glancing at Qiuqiu's red, swollen eyes, a trace of heartache in his gaze.
Then he said: "The developer sent people;
they're in the office downstairs. This ti, the person in charge of their security company ca too, saying they want to negotiate compensation. The police will arrive soon."
Because Li ihua insisted she was pushed and injured by the developer's security personnel, indicating clear "third-party liability."
She couldn't normally get reimbursent through urban and rural resident dical insurance.
But since her body had basically recovered, the hospital couldn't let her stay indefinitely.
So, they called the police again in the afternoon, hoping to coordinate a resolution quickly.
Hearing the developer had finally sent people, Li ihua seed instantly injected with adrenaline, imdiately standing up from the chair.
"I'm going right now. I want to see what tricks those turtle eggs want to play today!"
Qiuqiu silently lowered her head and followed behind her mother.
Su Wenxuan walked to her side, taking a pack of clean tissues from his white coat pocket.
He said softly with concern: "Here, wipe your tears."
Qiuqiu instinctively dodged, shook her head, pulled a crumpled tissue from her pants pocket, wiped her tears, blew her nose, her eyes red.
As Li ihua's attending physician, he naturally interacted with Cheng Qiuqiu frequently.
He had an excellent impression of this great beauty with a "manga figure," an icy-cold deanor, who sowhat resembled Su Yu.
But this Miss Cheng was just too aloof.
Even when speaking with him, her attending physician, she was always sparing with words.
Nearby, Li ihua watched this scene, her eyes flickering, wanting to speak but hesitating, but ultimately closed her mouth.
Entering, they saw two n sitting there.
One tall and thin, wearing glasses, looking very refined;
The other dark and fat, wearing a gold chain thick enough to leash a dog around his neck, looking very intimidating.
The mont Li ihua saw the dark, fat man, her face instantly changed.
This was the person in charge who directed security to push them during the rights defense scene that day.
Su Wenxuan looked at them, gave Qiuqiu a few instructions, then excused himself to make rounds and left first.
The dark, fat Manager Zhang glanced at them, his gaze settling on Cheng Qiuqiu, eyes filled with undisguised amazent and greed.
"Hehe, hello, I'm Zhang Zhanpeng from Lion Security."
Noticing his gaze, Li ihua's anger instantly flared;
she pulled her daughter behind her.
Pointing at him, she scolded: "It's you, you turtle egg! That day, you were the one who told those beasts to make a move..."
"Hey hey hey, watch your words," Zhang Zhanpeng's face imdiately darkened. "Our people are all professionals;
we would never do anything illegal. Clearly, you got too emotional and fell accidentally. Moreover, you even hit one of our colleagues;
we haven't held you accountable for that yet!"
The lawyer Zhou beside them remained calm throughout, waiting until she tired herself out from cursing before opening his briefcase.
"Ms. Li, please calm down first. We fully understand your feelings right now, but we still hope to discuss the issue within the legal frawork.
First, regarding your injury yesterday. According to Article 23 of the 'Public Security Administration Punishnt Law,' if the rights defense behavior itself disrupts the normal office order of the enterprise, it already constitutes suspected illegal activity.."
Finally, Zhou Yan pushed his glasses and said leisurely: "So, Ms. Li. We ca today with great sincerity, hoping to first help you resolve the most practical 'accidental injury' problem at hand."
Li ihua's face flushed red;
she hemd and hawed, not knowing how to refute.
Living at the bottom, she was rely feisty but also feared the law.
But facing this seemingly refined yet solemn-speaking lawyer, she montarily lost confidence.
"Thump—"
Zhang Zhanpeng also took a docunt from his bag and tossed it on the table.
He said in a muffled voice: "Our [Lion Security] and Xuyuan Real Estate are two separate companies. Seeing you're not well-off, sign this 'Accident Compensation Agreent,' and our company, out of humanitarian spirit, will cover all your hospitalization costs that can't be reimbursed. This is our utmost sincerity."
"dical expenses..." Li ihua pursed her lips.
Due to recent prolonged rights defense, poor eating and sleeping, her body already had many issues, so this hospitalization cost over ten thousand in total.
After dical insurance reimbursent, she still had to pay at least four to five thousand herself.
For her current situation, this was no small amount.
Nearby, Zhou Yan, seeing this, said temptingly: "Ms. Li, our company is just temporarily facing difficulties and is actively communicating for self-rescue. How about this: as long as you sign this agreent, promising not to cause trouble at the construction site anymore. Our Xuyuan Real Estate is willing to additionally compensate you for lost wages and ntal distress. Let's make it a round number—twenty thousand yuan, given to you in one lump sum."
Twenty thousand... twenty thousand...
Cheng Qiuqiu, who had been silent all along, picked up the docunt first.
Zhou Yan smiled confidently.
He imdiately struck while the iron was hot, started explaining the current tense situation from various aspects, persuading them to "consider the bigger picture," not to let one person's issue affect the "self-rescue" hopes of hundreds of hoowners in the entire complex.
Just then.
"Riiip—"
The sound of paper tearing abruptly echoed in the quiet office.
She looked up, her red eyes filled with stubborn determination.
"We don't accept this! You injured my mother;
we will pursue this matter to the end! And the house, we will hire the best lawyer to sue you. Until we get back every cent that belongs to us!"
Two million yuan!
In that sum was the hard-earned money this woman saved penny by penny, working early and late, enduring kitchen fus for over ten years.
Moreover, in that sum was the last bit of inheritance left to them after the grandmother passed away.
Seeing this girl who had been like an invisible person suddenly go crazy,
Li ihua instinctively pulled Qiuqiu's arm, muttering: "Qiuqiu, what are you doing.."
Qiuqiu shook off her hand, staring fixedly at the two n opposite.
"Beauty, you sure have guts. I'm only sitting here talking 'humanitarianism' calmly with you out of respect for the police. Since you don't appreciate the courtesy, then forget it, hehe."
He picked up the half-torn agreent on the table, flicked it lightly with his fingers, tossed it into the trash can, and looked at them with fierce eyes.
Qiuqiu's eye twitched;
she felt instinctively timid inside but still stared at him coldly.
Nearby, Zhou Yan also shed his refined facade, saying with a gloomy expression: "Miss Cheng, I advise you to calm down. Tearing the agreent solves nothing;
it only makes things worse.
Our patience is limited. Let's end it here today;
I think you need ti to think it over carefully."
After speaking, he and Zhang Zhanpeng turned and left directly.
"Bang—" The door was slamd shut forcefully.
The office instantly returned to quiet.
Li ihua turned to look at her daughter. "Qiuqiu..."
Cheng Qiuqiu shook her head. "It's okay... Mom, I have a job now... we... we'll take it slow;
there will be a way."
Her words still carried a slight tremble from lingering fear.
But that deliberately feigned calmness was like a beam of light shining into Li ihua's despairing heart.
Li ihua's cloudy eyes moistened again.
After a mont of silence, Qiuqiu averted her gaze. "Let's go back. Your body already has so neurasthenia;
just take these two days to recuperate here."
Returning to the ward, Qiuqiu tucked her mother in, poured a cup of warm water, and placed it by the bedside.
Outside, the sky had long turned completely dark.
Rongcheng's myriad lights connected into a sparkling sea of light in the distance.
Nurses ca in on ti for rounds, taking temperatures, replacing IV bags.
Ti passed bit by bit.
The ward lights turned off on schedule.
Qiuqiu looked at her mother, who had fallen asleep at so point, took her blanket, and walked out of the ward.
She lay down on the public caregiver bed in the hallway.
The motion-sensor lights in the hallway had long turned off;
everything around was deathly silent.
Taking out her phone, opening WeChat.
She stared for a long ti at that profile picture she had pinned.
In the end, she still didn't send any ssage.
In the darkness, she bit her lip, stuffed the phone under the pillow.
Closed her eyes.
Cold and loneliness, like boundless seawater, completely engulfed her.
Above her head, the [Dream Flower Seed] erupted with intense light, its branches and leaves wildly unfurling, erald green light enveloping her entire person.
.....
Yanjing Tiancheng, Sky Penthouse.
Tang Song, after showering, walked into the bedroom naked, carrying warmth and moisture.
He imdiately saw the beautician half-leaning against the headboard, struggling to support herself.
That pretty face usually full of charming vitality now etched with fatigue,
Seeing Tang Song approach, the beautician struggled to sit up straighter, opening her slender, soft arms.
Her voice soft and sticky, "Brother... hug..."
Then steadily placed her back under the covers.
"Sleep early, Qianqian, good night."
The bedroom lights turned off accordingly.
Zhao Yaqian lay contentedly in his arms, feeling that sense of security belonging solely to her, and soon fell into deep sleep.
Tang Song took out his phone, turned the screen brightness to minimum, quickly replied to several unread ssages.
Outside the window, cold moonlight filtered through thin curtains, casting mottled and quiet light and shadow on the floor.
Consciousness gradually blurred;
Tang Song's ears began to hear so suppressed sounds,
The sounds sotis near, sotis far.
On a public caregiver bed with blue disinfectant sheets, a familiar figure curled up into a ball, trembling.
"Qiuqiu..."
Tang Song instantly realized she was having nightmares again.
Hearing his familiar call, the trembling figure on the bed suddenly turned over.
Revealing a face he knew well—a restrained, mature beauty's face with a sowhat cold and distant aura.
Her orange-brown long hair casually scattered, her beautiful face filled with timidity and helplessness.
Qiuqiu rushed straight over, tightly hugging him, burying her face in his chest.
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