132: Chapter 132 The Fox Spirit Hit Someone

That night, Units 102 and 103 erupted into fierce arguments.

"Having a nice chat with her, were you? Your eyes were practically glued to her!" Zhang Cuihua's voice pierced through the thin wall.

"What nonsense are you talking! I was just showing concern for a neighbor!" Li Qiang retorted.

"Concern? Why don't you show some concern for me? I'm exhausted from work all day, and when I come home, I still have to wait on you hand and foot!"

Unit 103 was also in turmoil.

"Wang Dahai, let me tell you, if you dare have any improper thoughts, I'll make your life hell!" Liu Hong's shrill scream was piercing.

"Are you crazy? What improper thoughts?"

"You think I didn't see? The way you looked at her, you practically wanted to devour her!"

Xiao Baihe lay in bed, pulling the quilt over her head.

The sounds of arguments, curses, and things being thrown pierced her ears like needles.

She thought of Chen Jianjun. If he were here, he would definitely shield her, not let her suffer this humiliation.

Tears soaked her pillow.

...

This time, Xiao Baihe's conversation with Li Qiang and Wang Dahai...

...further enraged Liu Hong and Zhang Cuihua.

On Saturday morning, Xiao Baihe, having a rare day off, prepared to go to a farther neighborhood to post missing person notices.

Just as she stepped out of the stairwell, she ran into Zhang Cuihua and Liu Hong, who were heading out together to buy groceries.

"Oh, dressed up so nicely, who are you trying to seduce?" Zhang Cuihua deliberately raised her voice so the elderly sunbathing in the Residential Complex could hear.

Xiao Baihe paused mid-step, intending to walk around them.

Liu Hong blocked her path. "What's wrong? Feeling guilty? Heard you've been telling men everywhere you're looking for your daughter, playing the victim to gain sympathy, is that it?"

"I haven't," Xiao Baihe said softly.

"Haven't?"

Zhang Cuihua scoffed. "Then why were you chatting so happily with our husbands? Let me tell you, our families might be poor, but our marriages are solid. Don't you dare try to wreck them!"

People in the Residential Complex looked over, pointing and whispering.

Xiao Baihe's face flushed crimson. "I just asked them to keep an eye out for my daughter..."

"Daughter?" Liu Hong laughed exaggeratedly. "Who knows if you even have a daughter? Might just be a made-up story to make men feel sorry for you!"

"You..." Xiao Baihe trembled with anger.

"Me what?" Zhang Cuihua pushed her. "Stay away from our husbands, you hear? Or you'll regret it!"

Xiao Baihe stumbled back from the push, colliding with an iron pillar of the bicycle shed, pain shooting through her back.

She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes, but stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Can't cry. Crying means losing.

She straightened her back, walked past the two women, and left without looking back.

Unrestrained laughter followed her.

"Putting on airs!"

"You can tell at a glance she's not a decent woman!"

That day, Xiao Baihe walked a great distance, posting all the missing person notices.

With each one she posted, she silently repeated in her heart: Xiao Jing, Mama is looking for you. You must be safe.

When she returned in the evening, her legs felt as heavy as lead.

Approaching the door of Unit 101, she froze.

A white paper was pasted on the door, with large characters scrawled in red marker:

"Slut"

"Bitch"

"vixen"

"Shameless homewrecker"

The handwriting was crooked, but vicious and glaring.

Xiao Baihe stood there, staring for a long time.

Then she reached out, slowly peeled the paper off, and crumpled it into a ball.

The paper was thick, impossible to tear, just like the grievances piled up in her heart, with no outlet.

She opened the door, entered, didn't turn on the light, and sat down in the darkness.

Thinking of all she had endured recently, tears finally spilled over.

She collapsed weakly onto the bed.

Fragments of memories flashed incessantly through her mind.

Leaving her utterly sleepless.

Two in the morning.

Xiao Baihe had just drifted into a fitful sleep when she was jolted awake by violent knocking.

*Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!*

Not knocking. Pounding.

The entire door was shaking.

She sat up in fright, heart pounding wildly. "Who... who is it?"

No answer, only more forceful pounding.

Gathering her courage, she walked to the door. Just as she reached it, the pounding stopped.

"Who's out there?" Her voice trembled.

No one answered.

Just as she thought they had left, *THUD*—the door shuddered again, as if someone had kicked it hard.

Xiao Baihe covered her mouth, not daring to make a sound.

She leaned back against the door, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor, hugging her knees.

Muffled laughter came from outside the door—a woman's voice, but she couldn't tell if it was Zhang Cuihua or Liu Hong, or perhaps both.

Then came rustling sounds, as if someone was pasting something on the door.

A few minutes later, footsteps receded, and the stairwell returned to deathly silence.

Xiao Baihe waited a while longer before daring to stand up.

She pressed her ear to the door. Confirming no one was outside, she gently opened it.

A new note was pasted on the door, again in red marker: "Get out! Or we'll kill you!"

She tore off the note, closed the door, and leaned back against it, gasping for breath. Fear coiled around her heart like an icy snake, tightening its grip.

That night, she didn't sleep again.

She lay awake until dawn.

The more she thought, the more wronged she felt.

Why? She asked herself.

Why did she have to suffer this bullying?

What had she done wrong?

Was being born pretty the original sin?

At daybreak, she looked in the mirror. The woman reflected had sunken eyes, dark circles, and chapped lips.

In just a month, she had lost ten pounds. Her once full cheeks were now hollow.

Looking at her haggard self...

...Xiao Baihe didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

...

On Monday evening, Xiao Baihe encountered a drunken Li Qiang in the stairwell on her way home from work.

He had clearly just come back from a work dinner at the construction site, reeking of alcohol and swaying as he walked.

"Xiao... Xiao girl..." Li Qiang's eyes fixed on her when he saw her, and he staggered over.

Xiao Baihe wanted to avoid him, but the stairwell was too narrow.

"Brother Li, you've had too much to drink. You should go home and rest," she said, trying to sound calm.

"I'm not drunk..." Li Qiang leaned in, his alcohol-laden breath hitting her face. "Xiao girl, you're so pretty... Much prettier than that hag at home..."

He raised his hand, wanting to touch her face.

Xiao Baihe jerked back, her back hitting the wall. "Brother Li, please have some self-respect!"

"Self-respect? Hehe..." Li Qiang leered, moving closer. "What's the act for? Living alone, aren't you lonely? Let your big brother keep you company..."

Just as his hand was about to touch her chest, the door to Unit 102 suddenly swung open. Zhang Cuihua stood in the doorway, her face livid.

"Li Qiang! What are you doing?!" she shrieked.

Li Qiang sobered up halfway, hurriedly retracting his hand. "I... I wasn't doing anything..."

"Wasn't doing anything?" Zhang Cuihua charged over and slapped Xiao Baihe across the face. "vixen! Trying to seduce my man!"

Xiao Baihe was stunned, her cheek burning with pain.

"Cuihua, you've got it wrong..." Li Qiang tried to explain.

"Wrong? I saw it with my own eyes!" Zhang Cuihua pointed at Xiao Baihe's nose and cursed. "Shameless creature! Today I'll tear your face apart!"

She lunged, her nails aimed at Xiao Baihe's face.

Xiao Baihe instinctively blocked, shoving her away.

Zhang Cuihua fell to the ground, momentarily stunned, then burst into loud wails. "She hit me! The vixen assaulted me! Help!"