Chapter 92: “Outrageous”

Hearing that question, whether she was really his biological mother or not, Lu Xiaowei instead seemed scared of something, shrinking desperately deeper under the covers, mumbling only a few words: “I obey…”

Xie Yunshu’s mood grew heavy and complicated. This was Zhou Xinyue’s child, and selfishly, she didn’t want to get involved. But as a human being, she couldn’t bring herself to cruelly throw such a small child out.

Xie Mingcheng’s face was cold: “After we finish selling buns tomorrow morning, I’ll take him back. A child belongs to whoever’s responsible for him; we won’t meddle.”

Li Fenlan pressed her lips: “At least say, such a small child shouldn’t be beaten like this.”

It seemed the child’s mental state was already abnormal; ignoring his emotional state was really hard.

Xie Yunshu pulled back the blanket, then dragged over a stool and sat in front of Xiaowei, squinting at him: “Now I’m going to ask you questions, and you must not lie. Or I’ll throw you out right now. Understand?”

Li Fenlan was reluctant and softly said, “Yunshu, don’t scare him.”

Xie Yunshu sighed: “Mom, if I don’t scare him, he won’t say anything.”

It wasn’t that she was maliciously interrogating a child. Logically, she had no connection to Lu Xiaowei, so why would he come to the apartment building late at night? If the injuries really were caused by Zhou Xinyue, what else might this cruel woman do to the child?

She suspected maybe Zhou Xinyue had deliberately abandoned the child here.

After feeling threatened by Xie Yunshu, Lu Xiaowei desperately shook his head: “I obey.”

It was cold outside; curled under the covers, he’d never felt so warm. He didn’t want to be thrown out or sent away.

Xie Yunshu nodded: “Alright then, tell me, did your mother hit you and cause these injuries?”

Lu Xiaowei nodded, then shook his head…

What did that mean?

Xie Yunshu frowned and tried another way: “I’ll ask you again—did Zhou Xinyue hit you? Just answer yes or no.”

Lu Xiaowei nodded lightly and clearly said one word: “Yes.”

It really was her!

Li Fenlan, with a doughy personality, angrily slammed the table: “Such a young child, how can someone be so cruel? Even if it was a stranger’s kid, you can’t beat them like this, let alone your own flesh and blood!”

Every child is a piece of their mother’s flesh. A normal mother wouldn’t lay a hand on her child, no matter what—she’d rather get hurt herself. But Zhou Xinyue was so heartless to abuse her own flesh and blood. It was truly outrageous.

Xie Yunshu felt indescribable emotions. Every time Lu Zhixing went to Zhou Xinyue’s place, he said it was because Xiaowei was sick or hurt. Now, it seemed those injuries were not accidental.

She once thought it impossible for a mother to use her own child as an excuse just to hook up with a man. But Zhou Xinyue’s cruelty and shamelessness broke every bottom line. Was she even human?

Also, Lu Zhixing knew or didn’t know about the many wounds on Xiaowei’s body?

Xie Yunshu pinched her brow, thinking last time she only made Zhou Xinyue kneel and kowtow was too gentle—she should have slapped her a few times to let her know what it’s like to be beaten.

Xiaowei hung his head, silent, seeming to defend himself or mutter to himself: “I wasn’t disobedient.”

He was too young to understand why Zhou Xinyue was so unpredictable, beating and scolding him all the time. Her excuse was always that he was disobedient, but he didn’t even know how to obey to avoid being beaten.

Xie Mingcheng sat nearby, gritting his teeth and squeezing out a few words: “Is Zhou Xinyue really your mother? How could she be so cruel?”

That was meant as an angry outburst, but Xiaowei suddenly lifted his head.

He didn’t speak, but shook his head hard. No, she wasn’t!

Li Fenlan looked at him curiously: “Child, what’s wrong?”

But Xiaowei kept shaking his head, not saying a word, only staring fixedly at Xie Yunshu with his large, hollow, weak eyes, shaking his head desperately.

Xie Yunshu was stunned; suddenly a strange thought came to her. She furrowed her brow hard: “Could it be that Zhou Xinyue really isn’t your biological mother?”

Lu Xiaowei still just shook his head silently. He didn’t dare speak—Zhou Xinyue had said if anyone found out, she’d beat him to death and feed him to the dogs. He didn’t want to be fed to dogs, and he was afraid…

Li Fenlan was also stunned: “What do you mean? Zhou Xinyue isn’t his mother? Then where did this child come from?”

But Xiaowei no longer spoke. Long-term abuse had made him unlike normal children; his mental defenses were almost broken. Although he managed to run away from the building, inside he was still terrified, anxious, and uneasy.

That whole night, frightened and freezing, though he drank ginger soup and was wrapped in blankets, his little face showed an abnormal redness, and he was completely exhausted.

Xie Yunshu pinched her brow again, thinking she must be crazy—how could Zhou Xinyue not be Xiaowei’s mother? Keeping such a child around, what possible benefit could it have? Could it just be for the convenience of abusing a child to vent anger?

It was utterly baffling!

Li Fenlan touched his forehead and sighed: “He’s running a fever. I’ll get some fever medicine. Let the child rest.”

That night, Lu Xiaowei slept outside with Li Fenlan. Behind a cloth curtain, Xie Mingcheng quietly asked: “Sister, do you still want to care about Zhou Xinyue’s child?”

Though Xiaowei was pitiful, they had saved someone today. Unlike their sister, he wasn’t so magnanimous and didn’t want to get involved in Zhou Xinyue’s child’s affairs.

Xie Yunshu turned over and closed her eyes, the injuries on Lu Xiaowei’s body filling her mind. She didn’t answer but asked back: “So, should I take him away tomorrow?”

Xie Mingcheng gritted his teeth: “Who knows if Zhou Xinyue will hit him again?”

Xie Yunshu smiled faintly: “Enough, stop thinking so much. Go to sleep! We have to get up early to sell buns. Whether Xiaowei is Zhou Xinyue’s child or not, it’s not our responsibility.”

Now Xie Mingcheng became anxious: “Sister, are we really going to ignore this?”

Looking at the injuries on the child, sending him back directly was like pushing him into the fire. But the child’s mouth seemed locked, no matter how you asked, he would only nod or shake his head, always repeating one sentence: “I obey.”

Should they just keep the child and raise him themselves? She’d probably scold herself as crazy if she thought that.

Xie Yunshu snorted: “I don’t know Zhou Xinyue or Lu Zhixing at all! I only know this child was picked up at our doorstep, covered in wounds—probably a kidnapped child! So after selling buns tomorrow, I’ll take him to the police station and have the police investigate!”

She wasn’t a goddess who could save Xiaowei, but having the police get involved, exposing Zhou Xinyue’s child abuse, might force the Lu family, who cared deeply about face, to protect Xiaowei at least a little.