Chapter 4 Stepmother (1)

Fang Hongxia screamed first, like a mouse whose tail had been stepped on, shouting, "Human trafficking? You wretched girl, I always knew you were a curse, bound to bring trouble to the family. I wanted to get rid of you, I raised you all these years, and now you want to call the police on me!"

As she spoke, she reached out to hit Shen Li. However, Shen Li was prepared; she was no longer a child. She had become accustomed to dodging Fang Hongxia's slaps and quickly blocked her hand, retaliating with a slap across Fang Hongxia's face. She sneered, "If you're not afraid, then just wait here for the police to come and see if they'll arrest you."

Fang Hongxia was stunned, lunging forward to hit Shen Li.

But Father Shen intervened, saying anxiously, "Why aren't you running away? What will you do if the police are really called? Xiao Li, what you're doing isn't right. She's your mother, and we are family after all. Can't we resolve our issues behind closed doors? How can you call the police?"

Shen Li looked at Father Shen's face, her hands clenched into fists, her body trembling uncontrollably. Tears fell as she nearly screamed, "You clearly know how this woman treats me, yet you still talk about 'family'..."

"Aren't you fine? Since you've returned safely, why bother pursuing it further?" Father Shen said, casting a blaming glance at Shen Li.

Shen Li felt numb all over; these were the words of her biological father.

Every child idealizes their father. When she was a child, Shen Li did too. But amidst the endless beatings and scolding from her stepmother, her father always remained indifferent, never intervening, acting as if he saw nothing.

It was her homeroom teacher who pitied her enough to help her during middle school; in high school, she relied on scholarships, and for university, a student loan. As for her living expenses, those came from her own part-time jobs.

Coming back to her senses, Fang Hongxia also reacted, shouting with arrogance, "That's right, nothing happened to you, so what right do you have to call the police, huh?!"

"The police rescued me, and a case has already been filed," Shen Li said icily, then looked at Father Shen, "As a husband, you might also be taken away for questioning."

Father Shen immediately cried out, with a mixture of bafflement and aggrievement, "How is this my fault? I had nothing to do with it; how can I be blamed? Xiao Li, I am your biological father after all; you can't send your own father to jail. Who will care for you if it really happens?"

Amidst her tears, Shen Li suddenly laughed, mocking Father Shen, and perhaps even mocking herself. Look, this was her biological father, never wanting to take responsibility for anything, always the most innocent, never connected to anything that happened.

Fang Hongxia yelled even louder, "See? This is the ungrateful wretch you've raised, and you still say I treat her poorly. She even turns on you, her biological father. I should have strangled her at birth, then let's see if she could still be so arrogant now."

In the midst of the commotion, Shen Yueh ran up in surprise, exclaiming, "There's a limited edition Aston Martin parked downstairs, worth fifty million yuan, one of only 77 in the world!"

Wealthy people have come to our building, super-rich people, where are they, where are they...

Then Shen Yueh noticed Shen Li, examined her from head to toe as if seeing a ghost, "Dressed in Chanel from head to toe, where did you get it?"

And it's the latest collection; she had coveted it for a long time in magazines. Although Fang Hongxia doted on her and she got everything she wanted, such an amount of money was simply beyond their household.

Shen Li looked mockingly at Shen Yueh. Shen Yueh was of the same age as her, a burdensome child brought by Fang Hongxia upon remarriage, with no blood relation to Father Shen. On her shoulder was a brand-new LV, and her shoes cost over a thousand. Failing to get into university, she was preparing to go abroad by taking the TOEFL test.

Shen Yueh had luxury items worth tens of thousands, they lived in an upscale neighborhood, yet Father Shen couldn't afford her tuition fees and even let Fang Hongxia sell her off in the end.

Look, this is the difference between a biological daughter and a stepdaughter, blood relations and such, what an irony.

"What are you laughing at!" Shen Yueh shouted at the top of her voice. She really wanted to reign supreme at home, and in fact, she did. But Shen Li had always outperformed her academically, she was always prettier than her, and Shen Li always received more praise. Especially since the boy she secretly adored was also infatuated with Shen Li.

Seeing Shen Li's smile now, her rage was ignited, wishing she could rush over and scratch Shen Li's face.

"Hmph, your mom is about to go to prison, and I couldn't be happier," Shen Li said with a laugh, looking very pleased with herself.

Shen Yueh was taken aback; she didn't know what had led to this and thought Shen Li was spouting nonsense. Pointing at Shen Li, she cursed, "Ingrate, living off the family's dime and still complaining about being mistreated. Now you're home for the holidays and don't even bother to help out. In my opinion, we should have married you off to some man long ago. I heard President Li has visited our house a few times and offered a good sum of money. Mom, call President Li right now, tell him we agree."

The more she talked, the more excited she became. Shen Yueh wished she could call and have Shen Li packaged and sold off right away. That way, they could get a large sum of money and Fang Ze would give up on her for good.

In the midst of the commotion, a police siren sounded, growing louder as it drew near. Fang Hongxia and Father Shen were stunned, especially Father Shen who had thought Shen Li was just trying to scare them, never expecting the police to actually show up.

Fang Hongxia panicked, lunging at Shen Li, trying to hit her while screaming, "You're defiant, truly defiant..."

Shen Li sneered, "The police will be here any minute. If you dare to lay a hand on me, I'll accuse you of assaulting a witness. Add that to your other crimes, and who knows how much longer you'll be sentenced."

Fang Hongxia's raised hand froze as she stared blankly at Shen Li. Although Shen Yueh was unclear on the specifics, she rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight Shen Li, cursing, "We should have sold you to human traffickers from the start. Raising you all these years, and you turn out to be a curse on this family. I'm going to call President Li right now and send you there. We're talking about a large sum of money."

Without responding, Shen Li simply turned to the police arriving at the stairwell and said, "Comrade officer, you've heard them, they are indeed planning to sell someone."

The two police officers arriving upstairs grimly presented their badges; they had been skeptical when they received the call but now faced the reality. "You three are suspected of human trafficking. Please come with us to assist in the investigation," one of them said seriously.

As they spoke, they took out handcuffs and promptly cuffed Fang Hongxia. Father Shen and Shen Yueh were not spared either. Shen Yueh cried out, "Why are you arresting me? What law did I break?"

"Human trafficking can carry the death penalty at its worst, so you'd better cooperate," the police officer retorted coldly, despising those who would sell their own daughters. It was bad enough to be trafficked by strangers, but for one's own family to do it was unforgivable.

Father Shen began to panic, looking at Shen Li and pleading, "Xiao Li, I am your biological father, and besides, your mother is the one who did this, not me. I had no idea she could do such a thing. I know you're angry, but you can just accuse her—that should be enough. I'm the one who brought you into the world, you can't be so heartless."

Shen Li remained silent, just looking at Father Shen with a bleak expression in her eyes. After a long while, she said, "I have no father. I have nothing to do with you anymore."

She had no blood relation to Fang Hongxia, and it was her own biological father who had let her down. He treated his stepdaughter like his own, giving her everything she wanted, while his biological daughter was treated as if she were picked up from the side of the road. No, that wasn't quite right; she was more like the daughter of an enemy.

Now, with trouble brewing, he said such things, revealing that in his heart, aside from himself, there was no place for anyone else. He could abandon anyone, without mercy or consideration.

The two police officers also found it hard to listen any longer. Pushing Father Shen, they said, "You can tell us more at the police station."

Amid the commotion, the police led the three of them away, and the noisy room suddenly became quiet. Shen Li sat down on the living room sofa and immediately, tears began to fall, her expression a mix of sadness and confusion.

She didn't know when it had started to rain outside the window. Winters in the south barely saw any snowflakes, and temperatures seldom dropped below zero. However, on rainy days, the bone-chilling cold always made Shen Li uncomfortable. The temperature hadn't dropped, yet it always felt so cold.

The rain kept pouring, pattering, carrying the cold of winter with it.

Not knowing how long she had cried, Shen Li felt as though she had wept away years of grievances. She then went into her room, took out identification documents like her identity card and household registration book first, and then pulled out a suitcase, beginning to pack her clothes.

She had long been without a home, so she might as well leave thoroughly.

After packing her things, Shen Li dragged her suitcase downstairs as her phone began to ring.

It was Huo Siyu: "Come back immediately."