Chapter 60: Phrogging 1^[1]Phrogging is when someone secretly lives in another person’s home without their knowledge.

“What’s wrong with you, auntie? You’re trespassing on private property. This is clearly my home!” Zhang Heping dodged, unwilling to get physical with the middle-aged woman.

“Nonsense! Just because you say it’s your home doesn’t make it so. I’ve been living here for so long and have never seen you before. This is my niece’s place. She was filial enough to bring our whole family to live here.” The aunt’s shrill voice echoed through the house, startling everyone inside.

“What’s going on? Wife, who’s bullying you?”

“Mom, who’s bothering you? Call the police!”

“Auntie, a stranger is harassing your sister-in-law!”

Zhang Heping stood frozen in his doorway, watching in utter disbelief as more than a dozen people emerged one by one, their eyes glaring at him accusingly. His face darkened, anger bubbling up inside him, until he spotted a familiar figure trembling and retreating behind the group.

“Song Qingqing, you’d better explain yourself. What’s the meaning of this?!” Zhang Heping pointed at the crowd, his teeth clenched as he shouted at her.

Song Qingqing stepped forward on shaky legs. Seeing Zhang Heping’s fury, she lowered her voice to a soft whisper. “These… these are all my relatives…”

“Your relatives? What gives them the right to live in my house?”

The auntie interjected, “Now, young man, that’s hardly fair. I apologize for not recognizing you earlier, but since you’re courting my dear Qingqing, surely there’s no harm in us staying here?”

“Song Qingqing, is this your opinion as well?”

Song Qingqing bit her lip, gazing at Zhang Heping as if wanting to speak but stopping herself.

Father Song quickly spoke up. “Heping, you’re my girl’s boyfriend, right? This is our first meeting. We’re all family, no need to make a scene. Let’s go inside and chat, man to man.”

Zhang Heping shook off Father Song’s arm. “Who’s family with you? Do you realize what you’re doing is trespassing!”

“Heping, I… I know it was wrong of me to bring them over without consulting you first. Can’t you make an exception for me…” Song Qingqing pleaded, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Her cousin scoffed, “Oh, so this was your brilliant idea. And here I thought you’d snagged yourself a wealthy boyfriend. How embarrassing!” She turned on her heel and stalked back into the room.

Song Qingqing’s face flushed with humiliation. “Heping, my hometown was ravaged by floods and our house is uninhabitable. I had no other choice. Please, won’t you help me?”

Her little cousin, shuddering at the thought of their dire situation back home, mustered the courage to speak up. “Yeah, your place is huge, and you’re with Sister Qingqing. What’s the big deal in letting us crash here for a bit? Besides, what’s yours is hers anyway, right?”

Mother Song, witnessing her potential “son-in-law” being so disrespectful, felt a surge of indignation. “We’ll be family soon enough. If you can’t show a little grace now, we won’t allow you to marry our daughter. She’s fond of you; otherwise, we’d be demanding compensation for her lost youth.”

“Song Qingqing, are we even dating? Have you forgotten how you moved in?” Zhang Heping, witnessing this group of shameless people still attempting to morally kidnapped him, fixed Song Qingqing with a fierce glare.

Upon hearing Zhang Heping’s words, Song Qingqing’s face flushed a deep red, her embarrassment preventing her from raising her head. In that moment, she felt as if she had been stripped bare and thrust under the scorching sun.

Father Song, realizing Zhang Heping’s refusal to acknowledge the relationship, raised his fist and smashed it towards the young man. “You bastard! You’ve been sleeping with my daughter all this time, and now you have the audacity to deny it? You scum, I’ll beat you to a pulp!”

As Father Song made his move, the few people gathered at the door also sprang into action. Initially stunned, Zhang Heping took a punch from Father Song, but soon found himself grappling with four assailants. His face and body bore the marks of their brutal assault.

Witnessing the scene unfold, Song Qingqing panicked, the gravity of her wrongdoing finally sinking in. She hastily pulled Father Song away. “Don’t hit him! Let’s talk this out!”

It took considerable effort to separate everyone. Song Qingqing, seeing Zhang Heping’s eyes, knew that a peaceful resolution was unlikely.

Zhang Heping gritted his teeth and climbed to his feet, his gaze brimming with hatred as he silently surveyed the crowd.

Unnerved by Zhang Heping’s icy stare, Song Qingqing and her parents instinctively took a step back.

Ignoring them, Zhang Heping took out his phone and called the police.

“Hello, I want to report a crime! I am a resident of Unit 1601, Building 6, District B, Qingyu Community. While I was away, more than a dozen strangers moved into my home. Yes, they are here right now, and they just beat me up. I’m injured…”

After the other party confirmed they would dispatch officers immediately, Zhang Heping made another call to his eldest uncle. “Uncle, please bring Auntie to my house right away. If she doesn’t come, I will have no choice but to ask the police to look for her.”

Zhang Guodong, sensing something amiss, hurriedly took Lin Lihua to Qingyu Community.

“You can go by yourself. Why do you have to call me?”

“Heping said that if you don’t go, he’ll have the police look for you. What exactly did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Lin Lihua was equally perplexed.

The Song family, not expecting Zhang Heping to actually call the police, instantly regretted their actions the moment the call connected. However, they dared not smash Zhang Heping’s phone, leaving them no choice but to steel their resolve and attempt to negotiate with him.

“What are you doing? What’s the big deal that you have to involve the police? We can talk this out calmly,” Father Song said, softening his tone in an effort to reason with Zhang Heping.

“Yes, we’re all family here. Why make things so unpleasant?” Mother Song chimed in.

“Even if you call the police, what can they do? Who told you to bully my sister?” Song Qingqing’s cousin said with false bravado.

Zhang Heping remained silent, his expression icy, until twenty minutes later when the police arrived.

Raising his eyebrows, Zhang Heping recognized the officers as old acquaintances. Ji Kangyong had brought colleagues familiar with Zhang Heping.

With the police present, Zhang Heping led them into the house to explain the situation in the living room, the Song family trailing behind.

Only then did the extent of the damage to his home become apparent to Zhang Heping.

The living room was crammed with an assortment of household items, creating a chaotic mess. On the dining and coffee tables lay the expensive imported snacks he had stored in the pantry, now carelessly opened and half-eaten. Upon closer inspection, patches of grease stained the pristine sofa, while black handprints marred the once-immaculate curtains.

Taking a deep breath to calm his rising anger, Zhang Heping stepped into the bedroom.

Apart from Song Qingqing’s room, which remained relatively untouched, his own bedroom and the other rooms had been completely transformed. The brand new bedding he had carefully stored under the bed and in the cabinets had been strewn about haphazardly, bearing unsightly grease stains and smears of lipstick.

Zhang Heping opened the wardrobe to find his clothes in utter disarray, making it difficult to determine if someone had actually worn them.

☣☣☣

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