Meanwhile, Xiao Ya also turned on her phone's speaker.
She certainly wouldn't hand her phone over to Li Qingqing's mother.
"Go ahead and speak," Xiao Ya said to Li's mother.
Li Qingqing first heard Xiao Ya's voice and became excited: "Li! Xiao! Ya!"
Xu Ji sighed lightly: "You people are truly impolite. I've already said, this is Miss Zhang."
Li Qingqing's breath caught: "Xu... Xu Ji?"
A flash of darkness quickly crossed Xu Ji's eyes: "How do you know me?"
It was during the filming of City Special 2.0 when Li Qingqing was brought back by Xu Ruying's parents, and happened to run into Xu Ji who was there, though at that time Xu Ji was using the alias "Secretary Wang."
They had only met that one time.
And it was just a fleeting encounter.
Something's not quite right with this person... Xu Ji pinched his fingertips, the darkness in his eyes growing deeper.
Li Qingqing also realized she had misspoken.
But more than fear, what she felt now was anger.
Wasn't Xu Ji defending Xiao Ya just now?
Had they become so close already?
In her previous life, they barely had any interaction! Xu Ji only cared about being good to his niece!
The emotions surging in Li Qingqing's heart tormented her repeatedly, and she thought, I can't go on living!
I must die! I must restart! I must!
At this moment, Li Qingqing's mother suddenly lunged forward, tears streaming down: "Qingqing! Qingqing, are you alright? I'm your mother, mother is very worried about you, when are you coming back? Are those people giving you trouble?"
When Li Qingqing heard these words, her first reaction was intense shame.
Xiao Ya did this on purpose, didn't she?
Deliberately arranging this call with her mother!
In front of Xu Ji! In front of Sheng Yuxiao! Letting them witness her misery, witness her mother's emotional breakdown and madness...
"Qingqing! Say something! How can mother save you?" Li's mother continued crying out.
"Leave me alone." Li Qingqing said in a hard tone. Her mother might have some influence in this small town, but in Jin City, she was nothing!
She certainly wouldn't count on her mother to save her!
Better to have her mother shut up and not make things more embarrassing.
"How can I not care about you?"
"Can't you understand what I'm saying? Why did you marry my father in the first place? Their family was involved in such dirty business. It ended up hurting you, and hurting me too. Now my reputation is completely ruined!"
"I... I..."
"Hang up."
"Qingqing... Qingqing..." Her mother broke down sobbing, completely unable to accept how things had turned out this way.
Is this how a child would speak? Xu Ji tilted his head.
It was different from Xiao Ya's manner.
Xiao Ya was clearly precocious.
But this Li Qingqing had an adult's tone with a child's intelligence. Very mismatched.
"She won't come back, because your love isn't right, I've already told you that," Xiao Ya finally spoke up again.
"After we finished filming the show, Uncle Sheng wanted to send her back, but she ran away herself. She doesn't want to come back." So Xiao Ya wasn't surprised by this outcome at all.
Li Qingqing's mother collapsed, clutching at her hair: "I don't believe it, I don't believe it..."
Suddenly police sirens drew near.
The assistant let out a breath: "They're here."
The others immediately became panicked, and couldn't help cursing: "How could your child be like this? So it turns out she didn't want to come back herself."
"We really shouldn't have helped you!"
Li's mother came to her senses a bit and quickly said: "I'll plead with the police, it was all because I missed my daughter and asked for your help, it has nothing to do with you."
The dozen or so people exchanged glances, and her words actually made them feel somewhat ashamed: "Ah, you really are a pitiful woman..."
Xu Ji smiled: "Still quite clever, aren't you? At this point, you're still trying to curry favor, making them feel grateful that you're taking all the blame?"
"But this isn't up to you to decide, what use is your pleading? Does the law bend to your wishes?"
Xu Ji shook his head, pointing first at Xiao Ya, then at himself, saying slowly: "She and I are the victims, the injured parties."
He turned his gaze toward those villagers with their weak legal awareness: "Only if we're willing to write letters of forgiveness do you have any chance of receiving lighter punishment."
"So you need to beg this little friend here, since I'm following her lead now. If she's willing to forgive you, then things can be worked out."
After hearing this, Li's mother's face went through several shades of purple and blue.
The villagers exchanged glances before stammering: "Little... little friend, please... you can see, she just wanted to see her daughter..."
By now the police cars had surrounded them.
As the car doors opened and police officers stepped out.
The villagers became even more panicked: "Little miss, please say something!"
Xiao Ya said: "No forgiveness."
The villagers were dumbstruck.
Xiao Ya was very firm: "Adults and children are the same. You need to taste the bitterness of punishment to avoid making the same mistakes. This is for your own good. If you don't commit bigger mistakes in the future, you won't harm your families..."
The people opposite became agitated: "But we know we were wrong!"
Xiao Ya grabbed Xu Ji's hand, no longer looking at them: "Let's go."
Xu Ji very much liked her decision, though he still said with a smile: "See, they don't appreciate your kindness."
"Then let them not appreciate it. If they commit bigger crimes later, they'll serve longer sentences," Xiao Ya said indifferently.
Xu Ji was thoroughly amused: "Right, right."
The two returned to the car, and Xu Ji even rolled down the window, pointing at Li Qingqing's mother saying: "Next time you encounter someone like this, who tries to step on you to curry favor with others at the last moment, remember to expose them on the spot. Can't let people take advantage at all."
Xiao Ya obediently nodded: "Mm, I learned that."
Xu Ji clapped happily: "Such a good student."
The woman's expression was like she had lost everything, she collapsed sitting down, her whole body trembling, but she didn't even have the courage to look at Xu Ji again.
At the juvenile detention center.
Sheng Yuxiao hadn't rushed to leave.
He looked at Li Qingqing, staring until she felt her whole body crawl.
Sheng Yuxiao suddenly said: "I'll arrange medical parole for her."
The guard said: "Oh good!"
Sheng Yuxiao's gaze was cold: "Send her to Qingsen Mental Hospital for treatment."
...Mental hospital?
Li Qingqing's whole body instantly bristled with goosebumps.
In novels, that was never a good place to end up!
If she went there she might be put in restraints, making suicide even more difficult!
"No, no, I won't go, I'm perfectly normal!" Li Qingqing quickly argued for herself.
The guard sighed: "She really does need treatment, she's still so young, and hasn't committed any major crimes."
When Li Qingqing heard this, her heart instantly went cold.
Even the guard didn't believe her.
Well, it made sense, since she had been constantly attempting self-harm and suicide lately... it seemed her actions had backfired.
Sheng Yuxiao nodded: "Mm, thank you for your hard work, someone will come to pick her up later."
He strode out after saying this.
"Don't go! Sheng Yuxiao! Sheng Yuxiao! I won't go! I want to see your father! I still have some predictions I haven't told him!"
The guard shook his head hearing this.
Ah, she really did sound crazy.
*
In the end, Xiao Ya and Xu Ji didn't stay at the town's hotel, but rested for the night in a temporary room prepared by the local police station.
Xiao Ya wasn't picky.
Xu Ji wasn't really picky either, he had stayed in rainforests and deserts before. He brought his own bedding anyway.
"We've sanitized everything once, you can go in now," the assistant said.
Xu Ji nodded and led Xiao Ya inside.
At this moment, Xiao Ya's phone rang.
"Is it Sheng Yuxiao again?" Xu Ji asked.
"No." Xiao Ya answered the call, "Hello, Uncle."
The AI voice came through from the other end: "Those nuns still haven't left, they're acting very suspiciously, insisting on taking their luggage with them."
"But I checked the luggage and didn't find anything strange."
"I've detained them all for now. Xiao Ya, when are you coming back?"
As an adult asking a child for help, Wei Wenqing didn't feel embarrassed at all. Better than pretending to understand and missing something crucial!
After all, he knew clearly that their family's little one was very capable, and when the little one couldn't handle something, she could always activate several cheat codes simultaneously.
"Coming back tomorrow."
Xu Ji heard these four words and became unhappy: "The three days are up so soon?"
Xiao Ya turned her head: "Come stay at my house for three days."
"Well that would be wonderful." Xu Ji was happy again.
Xiao Ya muttered quietly. Might as well make use of what's freely offered.
