"Excuse me, could you give me a bottle of frozen water?"
The cashier looked at the woman's disheveled appearance, and her long hair that was deliberately covering her face. Her hands were shaking as she pushed a few coins forward.
"Hey miss, are you okay? Do you need help?"
"No, I am okay. Get me the bottle."
The cashier reluctantly left her alone and got her the bottle. Xia Manxi turned away and sat on one of the benches on the sidewalk, placing the iced bottle to her face. She was still in a daze from what had happened to her.
She was still trembling, and at some point she hugged her knees and buried her face between her knees. A sharp voice began playing in her head, just like it had done on that day.
***
"So irresponsible! Chen Minghao, that woman must pay for harming my great-grandson, no matter what! You cannot continue to let yourself be blinded by lust!"
"Grandmother, please calm down. It was an accident. Xia Manxi would never deliberately-
"You fool! Do you really believe her nonsense? She is clearly shirking responsibility! She never even wanted to have Xiaobao, who is to say she did not do it? With my poor grandson out of the way, she could go back to school with our money. Is that not what she wanted?"
"Grandmother, if you are going to be like this, I cannot let you speak to my wife. She is very emotionally unstable right now."
The old woman huffed. "You have let that woman's morals corrupt you. I should have prevented this marriage from happening in the first place. What good could come from a girl from that bastard's family? Like mother, like daughter. They are both leeches who only consider themselves first!"
"Grandma, you are angry right now. Let me see you off and have the maid prepare something that would help you calm down...."
The old woman resisted, but was eventually led away by Chen Minghao.
As the footsteps faded, Xia Manxi who looked very haggard fell against the wall she was eavesdropping from, tears streaming down her blank eyes.
***
She shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out everything around her. She had clearly tried to rebuild her life, but it felt like her progress was for naught. The rug had been pulled out from under her feet once again, and without mercy.
She could not protect her son, and had lost the only thing she had left of him.
She remained there silently for an unknown amount of time, until she heard someone call out to her. She stirred but did not want to raise her head..
"Don't worry, I will be fine, you can go on."
"Miss Xia, what happened to you?"
Xia Manxi's head shot up because the voice was very familiar, but regretted it almost immediately.
It was Lu Shufeng.
He was the last person she wanted to see in that moment, so she turned her head away. He however turned her face towards him slowly and his brows were furrowed.
"What happened to you? I am not leaving until I get an answer."
Xia Manxi bit back the sarcastic words she was about to say. "I was robbed."
He would probably laugh now saying he told her that it was not safe.
His frown deepened, and he turned her face further, taking the bottle from her hand.
"It's swollen, I think you should see a doctor."
"I don't want to."
Lu Shufeng clicked his tongue and muttered, "Stubborn."
Xia Manxi did not respond, but tried to take the bottle from him. He moved it from her reach.
"What if you have a concussion?"
Xia Manxi scoffed. "It is not that bad, my head did not hit the ground. Give me the bottle."
"Don't refuse me again. Please."
Xia Manxi stared at him for a few moments, then nodded.
Lu Shufeng smiled, then helped her up. "I promise it will be a quick trip to the hospital. They could even give you something for your face."
When they got to his car, he adjusted the seat backwards, so she could lie down. He sat down as well and began to drive.
As he drove her away, he turned to look at her. She had completely turned away from him, and looked sullen.
He hesitated for a moment, then spoke up. "Would you like to tell me what happened?"
He did not expect a reply, and was a little surprised when she actually began to speak.
She slowly narrated everything that happened, and it was clear she wanted to make her body as small as possible, but could not because of the seatbelt.
"Was there anything really important that was taken?"
Xia Manxi did not reply, but it was very clear that something important was taken.
Lu Shufeng did not pry further, but drove her all the way to the hospital.
Fortunately, it was not a concussion, and she was given something to help her sleep. As they were leaving the hospital, she threw those medicines into the trash.
He dropped her off at her apartment and helped her to her door. Xia Manxi had barely spoken more than three sentences to him. After the door was shut, Lu Shufeng took out his phone.
"Hey, I need your help with something."
There was a pause, then a sulky feminine voice. "Tsk, you are not even trying to hide that you only call me when you need something."
"Si Wanqi."
"Alright what do you want?"
"I need you to help me find some people fast. Preferably in two hours."
"Okay, where should I start looking for them?"
"I will send you a general location, you need to help me."
"Alright then, I will do my best."
*#*#*
Xia Manxi had barely slept the entire night. She was leaning against her bed in a daze in the clothes she had been wearing the night before. Her head felt heavy and she let out a tormented groan.
She heard the doorbell ring. She hugged her knees lost in thought. It rang again and Xia Manxi got up reluctantly and stumbled to the door. When she checked the peephole, she saw Lu Shufeng standing at the door.
She opened it and immediately he flashed her a smile, raising the paper bag in his hand.
"What are you doing here?"
Lu Shufeng's smile disappeared. "You look terrible. Are you okay?"
Xia Manxi turned away from the door, allowing him to enter. "What a redundant question to ask."
Lu Shufeng touched his chest. "Ouch."
"So sorry, I am in a terrible mood. I will make it up to you later."
"It seems you are not a morning person, but you have to cheer up, because I did not just bring you breakfast. I have some very good news."
Xia Manxi tilted her head at him, which prompted him to talk.
"Some goons turned themselves in this morning, and their area of operation seems to be the area you got arrested. They also returned the items that were stolen yesterday, and we might be lucky."
Xia Manxi's face brightened up instantly and she dashed towards the front door. Lu Shufeng grabbed her and held her back.
"You should freshen up and have breakfast first. I will drive you there."
Xia Manxi looked down at her crumpled clothes and grimaced. She did not want to imagine what her hair looked like. Flustered, she dove back into her room to take a shower.
She quickly took a shower and took the first dress she found in her closet and put it on. After dressing up she opened the door.
"I'm ready, let's go!"
"Wait your hair is still damp."
"I will worry about that later, come on it is urgent!"
"....Okay?"
Xia Manxi pulled his hand and dragged him out of her apartment.