16 Mommy?

The couple hadn't expected that they would give themselves away because of the hair clip. They had taken this hair clip because their daughter had thought it was pretty.

Seeing that they had been exposed, the man quit denying it.

"I'll be frank too. Her grandmother gave her to me and accepted the benefits. She'll be part of our family from now on. It was useless for you to come. Hurry up and leave."

"No, I don't agree. I'm her mother. I have to take her home today no matter what."

"Then there's nothing we can do about it. This child is disobedient and ran away last night. We don't know where she went either."

Upon seeing their shameless behavior, Mu Jingzhe went in to look for Shao Bei herself.

After searching through all the rooms, she finally stopped in front of an iron door.

"Open the door."

This was the only room she hadn't checked. Based on the way it was tightly locked, it was obvious that something was amiss.

The man looked at Mu Jingzhe coldly and shrugged. "Can't. I lost the key."

He wanted to see what she could do about it.

Mu Jingzhe scoffed. "Forget it then."

She took a brick from the yard and started smashing the lock under the man's disbelieving gaze.

The man's expression changed. "Stop it, this is absurd. Listen to me, if you don't stop, I'll take you to the police station. Do you believe me?"

The lock was sturdy, and even he would need some time to break it. He didn't think Mu Jingzhe would be able to break it, so he merely wanted to scare Mu Jingzhe and extort some money.

Mu Jingzhe didn't say anything and continued smashing the lock.

The man's expression changed after a while.

This was because he had realized that something was wrong. Mu Jingzhe was smashing the lock repeatedly, and the lock seemed about to break. Furthermore, even the iron door was affected, as a dent appeared in it with every smash.

She was smashing it so hard that the brick was about to break. It was a terrifying sight.

The man realized that something was wrong and wanted to stop her, but it was too late.

Bang! The lock was completely broken.

The door was also full of holes and dents by now.

Most importantly, when the door opened, what was inside was revealed.

With a single glance, Mu Jingzhe's eyes turned red.

Apart from miscellaneous items, there was also a dog cage in the middle of the room.

In the cage was Little Bei, whose hands and feet were tied and whose mouth was gagged.

The pretty, smart little girl who loved cleanliness and beauty had been locked in a filthy cage.

It had occurred to Mu Jingzhe that they might have restrained Little Bei, but she hadn't expected them to restrain her so thoroughly by locking her in a cage like a dog.

Was this what Zhao Lan had meant when she'd said she was doing this so that Shao Bei would lead a good life?

She had meant this kind of good life?

As she thought back to the noise she had heard earlier, she realized it must have come from this cage.

If she hadn't arrived in time, they would have sent Little Bei to god-knew-where.

Mu Jingzhe was furious. Just as she was about to go over, the man raised a crowbar and tried to stop her.

Sensing that something was amiss, he had already grabbed the tools that he had at home.

Seeing that his deeds had been exposed, he had decided to go all out and deal with Mu Jingzhe as well.

Mu Jingzhe was still young and could easily be abducted and taken elsewhere. She could forget about ever escaping.

The man's eyes were filled with ferocity, but his first hit missed.

After dodging, Mu Jingzhe snatched the crowbar from him and gave him a hard slap on the leg.

"Ah…"

The man screamed and fell to his knees.

Mu Jingzhe ferociously hit the man's hand twice and felt around the man's body for the keys as he cried in agony.

"Little Bei, don't be afraid. I'm opening the door right now."

Upon opening the cage, Mu Jingzhe picked up Little Bei, carried her out, untied the rope, and removed the towel covering her mouth.

"It's alright, Little Bei."

Little Bei wrapped her arms around Mu Jingzhe's neck and wailed.

"Mommy…"

She would never forget hearing Mu Jingzhe's voice at her most desperate moment.

She had heard Mu Jingzhe's movements.

She had heard the terrifying sounds of the door and lock being smashed, but they had been like music to her ears.

She really had been saved.

She had been saved by Mu Jingzhe, whom she had never expected to save her.

Little Bei felt like she had fallen from heaven to hell during these two days.

Because of her new clothes, because she'd had a hot meal every day and her hair had been styled into beautiful braids and adorned with a pretty hair ornament every day, she had felt very happy.

She had lost her mother since her birth, so she had always envied those who had mothers the most.

It hadn't been easy for home to finally feel like a home, but she had been pushed to hell by her grandmother, who had raised her.

In her moments of utmost despair, Mu Jingzhe had descended from the sky like a mother and saved her.

This was probably what a mother was like.

Little Bei had shouted out the word she had dreamed of but hadn't dared say.

Mommy.

This was a form of address she could only use in her dreams.

Mu Jingzhe's heart ached before she heard the little girl call her Mommy.

Mommy?

Mommy??

Why would she suddenly call her Mommy?

It felt wondrous.

Mu Jingzhe, who had never been a mother, had a shocked expression on her face, and her body stiffened.

As she was at a loss, she suddenly felt that something was wrong. She turned her head and saw the man, who was unwilling to give up and wanted to launch a sneak attack.

"F*ck you."

Mu Jingzhe stuffed the screaming man into the dog cage.

There was limited space in the dog cage, but that didn't stop Mu Jingzhe from fitting him in completely. As for his severed hand… Well, that was regrettable.

"You deserve this for locking up Little Bei. Have a taste of your own medicine!"

She quickly locked the cage and reinforced it with a crowbar before smashing the key.

"Enjoy the feeling of being in a cage!"

She looked at the angry, wary woman. She was looking at her daughter, who had burst into tears from fright in her arms.

The woman saw her gaze and immediately covered her young daughter's mouth.

Mu Jingzhe laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not like you people. I wouldn't do anything to an innocent child. But remember your lesson today. If you dare do such a thing again in the future, I'll cut off your evil hands."

She pointed to her own eyes. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

After Mu Jingzhe finished threatening them, she turned to look at Little Bei and her body instantly froze.

"Uh… Little Bei, don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." Little Bei wasn't afraid when she had Mu Jingzhe protecting her.

She sniffed. "I want enormous strength too."

She waved a small fist in the air. "So I can hammer their heads off."

Mu Jingzhe: "…"

Oh, dear. She had saved Little Bei, but this seemed to have had a bad influence on her and instilled violent thoughts in her.

"Little Bei, violence is wrong. You can't learn from me."

"But they're wicked." Little Bei hugged Mu Jingzhe's leg. "I just want to protect myself."

She raised her head and looked at Mu Jingzhe. Her little face was dirty, and her eyes were red. She said pitifully, "They said that I was disobedient, and they scolded me and hit me. I wanted to run away, so they locked me in a cage and didn't give me food or water. They were even going to give me away to a fool."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Jingzhe immediately exploded and looked at the man in the cage.

The man's body froze, and he didn't even dare scream in pain or curse anymore.

These two people were indeed well-off to be able to afford a car in this day and age. It was also true that they wished to adopt a daughter.

However, they had only adopted this girl because they wanted to give her to a fool's family instead of their biological daughter.