Bai Zhexi

After going down the mountain, Wan Chao spent fifty cents to get on a bus. It took her half an hour to reach the south side of the city.

The moment she got off the bus, she saw Bai Zhexi, who was sitting on a small stool, fixing shoes. This place was right near the bus stop, and there were a few people passing by.

Wan Chao stood silently at the bus stop, looking at Bai Zhexi for a while.

Even after so many years, her hair was still in disarray, probably blown by the wind. A few silver threads could be vaguely seen, and some wrinkles had appeared on her face. Her hands, which were holding tools and broken shoes, were extremely rough.

This year, Bai Zhexi was only thirty-six years old, but she looked like she was forty.

Wan Chao felt stuffy for a moment. Then, she raised her head. No matter what, Bai Zhexi was still here!

She walked over, and as she got closer, her hands started to heat up again. Wan Chao looked around and turned around, walking towards a stall selling buns.

"Two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge." Wan Chao succinctly made the request. Following the price written on the sign beside her, she took out a dollar from her pocket and placed it on the stall owner's cart. Then, she picked up the steamed bun and carried the bowl away.

Anxious, the stall owner shouted from behind, "Hey, my bowl, you can't take it away."

"Not far," she said over her shoulder. "I'll bring it back to you in a moment." Then, she pointed to Bai Zhexi's shoe repair stall.

Hearing the voice of Wan Chao, Bai Zhexi looked up in puzzlement. When she saw that it really was her daughter, she immediately stood up, walked over, and asked anxiously, "Chao'er, why have you come here? What's wrong with your face? Who hit you again? "Come, Mom will bring you to find the person who beat you up. Don't be afraid, Mom will definitely seek justice for you."

When Wan Chao saw such an urgent Bai Zhexi, she felt a little uncomfortable and frowned.

Bai Zhexi quickly softened her tone and begged, "Chao'er, just take mom to find those people. I promise you, they will never dare to bully you again. if you always endure it, they will never stop. Seeing you always getting hurt, mother will feel heartache …"

Wan Chao lowered her gaze, then looked at Bai Zhexi and said, "I bought you some steamed buns and porridge. You eat first."

"Huh?" Only now did Bai Zhexi notice the item in her daughter's hand. She looked at the bun stand nearby.

The boss of the steamed bun stall just so happened to be looking at them, so he chuckled, "Big sis, so this little girl actually bought it for you. Eat it, if it's not enough. I'll add another spoonful of porridge for you."

He was very familiar with Bai Zhexi's shoe stall. In a day, he had never seen her eat before, she could only drink two mouthfuls of water at most. He had even muttered to his wife that this shoe-mending woman was really tough and could endure hunger.

Now that he saw someone buying food for Bai Zhexi, he was naturally willing to use this opportunity to display a trace of goodwill. To him, taking an extra spoonful of porridge didn't mean much of a loss.

She smiled and thanked him. Feeling a little doubtful of her daughter's actions, she could only take the bowl from her daughter's hands and return to the shoe repair booth.

"Chao'er, you … "

"Eat!" Wan Chao interrupted her mother's words. She used one hand to hold the bowl up to Bai Zhexi's mouth, gesturing for her to open her mouth and eat.

It was rare for her daughter to treat her so well. Bai Zhexi swallowed what she wanted to say and quickly drank a large mouthful of porridge.

At the end of September, the north had already turned cold. After sitting there for half a day, Bai Zhexi's entire body had already turned cold. After eating a mouthful of hot porridge into her stomach, her heart and body warmed up, and the corners of her eyes could not help but turn moist.

Seeing Bai Zhexi watery eyes, Wan Chao's cold heart couldn't help but soften. She gave a rare explanation, "My injuries aren't serious, today I beat up the people who hit me before. Don't worry, they won't dare to hit me again."

Bai Zhexi was momentarily shocked, her jaw dropped. When had her daughter, who had rebelled, ever explained things to her? Her tone was so gentle, so she couldn't help but raise her hand to caress Wan Chao's forehead.

She was not used to being so intimate with others. It was as if she had treated people indifferently from the time she was in her teens, all the way until she was married, then to her divorce, and finally to her death.

Therefore, even though she knew that the person in front of her was the kind Bai Zhexi, who had taken great care of her, and even wanted to be nicer to Bai Zhexi , the habit she had developed over the past twenty years still caused her to subconsciously avoid the intimate contact with her.

Having her daughter evade his gaze, not only did Bai Zhexi not feel sad, she even heaved a sigh of relief. Chu'er was still the same Chu'er, she did not have a fever.

She nodded her head in relief and said, "Good beating, there will still be people who will want to bully you in the future. You can just beat them back, and even if you kill them, you will still have your mother on your side."

As a mother, she would rather have her children bully others than be bullied by others.

Hearing Bai Zhexi's words, Wan Chao raised her eyebrows. She didn't seem to think that her mother, who always had her shoulders hunched, would say something like this. She curled the corner of her lips. It seemed like she didn't need to worry about Bai Zhexi suffering a loss.

"Chao'er, are you hungry? Have you eaten yet? Steamed Bun, you should eat it. The steamed buns here taste pretty good. Many people come here every day to buy it. It smells good just by smelling it."

When she heard this, Wan Chao felt a burst of uneasiness in her heart as she shoved the two steamed buns in Bai Zhexi's hands and said with a stiff face, "I bought these for you. You eat them."

Wan Chao heart stirred. She thought for a moment, and it seemed as if she hadn't eaten either. Usually, she would come home at night and Bai Zhexi would cook for her.

Today's money was taken away by Liu Li early in the morning, just now she should have rummage through Liu Li's pockets, she could have gotten it back.

Forget it, she would rest at home for another day tomorrow to accompany Bai Zhexi. The day after that, she would go to school to properly clean up Liu Li.

After she finished eating, she made Wan Chao sit in the repair shop and wait. She returned the bowl and politely refused the Steamed Bun stall and a spoonful of porridge.

Amidst Bai Zhexi's amiable smile and tolerance, Wan Chao impatiently told her about the fight with Liu Li today. She reluctantly said a good word about An Lian and also told Bai Zhexi that she would be resting at home for the next day.

Bai Zhexi was worried about the injuries on Wan Chao's body, so she agreed with a smile. When Wan Chao urged her to pack up, she also agreed happily. The mother and daughter took all the tools they needed to repair shoes and boarded the bus home.