Chapter 55: Bitter Fruit
  Fang Qing ran for several hundred meters, carrying Wen Ling on his back, until his lungs nearly exploded, and then he stopped for a short rest. The girls following Fang Qing were nowhere to be found. Fang Qing looked back several times, but couldn't see them, so he continued to rush forward.

  Only when the sounds of pursuit faded did Fang Qing sit down to catch his breath.

  Tall cornfields lined the road on both sides, and Fang Qing, carrying Wen Ling, hid in them to recover his strength. Even if the group did catch up, the cornfields provided cover, making it difficult for them to discover him quickly.

  The summer night, with its scorching wind and countless mosquitoes, was excruciating. Just as they were about to fall asleep, a light finally appeared on the road from a distance.

  Fang Qing observed carefully and saw a large truck. Overjoyed, he quickly climbed onto the road and waved frantically at the approaching truck.

  The truck braked sharply and stopped in front of Fang Qing, but the driver didn't dare open the door. The main concern was Fang Qing's terrifying appearance.

  Her face was grimy and covered in mud. If it weren't for her still-human eyes, the driver would have nearly run her over.

  After explaining the situation, the driver had the two of them climb into the back of the truck and then drove off.

  When the truck pulled up to the police station, Fang Qing, watching the officers approaching from a distance, fainted.

  Waking up, she saw the familiar white walls and the sound of dripping water, and knew they were saved.

  Shortly after Fang Qing woke up, the police arrived to take their statements.

  It turned out that the driver had taken them to the police station that night, assuming they were thieves.

  Using the information provided by Fang Qing and Wen Ling, the police quickly identified several suspects and, following Fang Qing's report, located the missing girls in the two villages.

  After waking up, Wen Ling, accompanied by her mother, went to Fang Qing's hospital room to express her gratitude.

  Director Wen was delighted, thankful that his daughter had such a brave and loyal friend.

  But Mother Wen's face looked a little ugly, "Qingqing, fortunately you two are fine this time. If anything happened to you two, what should we as parents do? There are some things that Auntie wants to say in front of everyone today. I only found out today that you actually went to a dance hall for your birthday.

  How could a group of little girls like you go to that kind of place? It's so dangerous! You two are dressed like that, are you afraid that others will not notice you? Hey, our Lingling used to be such an honest child. I don't know what bad luck she has had recently to encounter such a bad thing..."

  Everyone in the ward had different expressions. There were many children in the county who went to the dance hall to play. Who would have thought that their birthday celebration there would cause so much trouble.

  But although Mother Wen's tone was softened, her words were implicitly blaming Fang Qing for leading his daughter astray.

  Fang's mother hadn't wanted to talk, but seeing Wen's mother's expression infuriated her. However, she couldn't say anything too harsh in front of the child, so she simply sent everyone out. "The child just woke up, and the doctor told her to get some rest. Let's get together another day."

  Leaving the ward, the Wen family members were somewhat unhappy.

  Wen Ling felt her mother's words were a bit excessive. It was her idea to go to the nightclub for her birthday, and the dress was proper, not revealing her breasts or buttocks. Why did it sound so awkward when her mother said it?

  Director Wen also disagreed with his wife's words, no matter what. If it weren't for Fang Qing, her child might have been sold long ago. "Even if you are unhappy, you shouldn't say such things in front of other people's children. She at least calls you Aunt Wen and risked her life to save your daughter. How can you say that..."

  Fang's mother suddenly shouted, "What's wrong with me saying it? I didn't like that girl in the beginning. If it weren't for her good grades, I wouldn't let Lingzi play with her! But the two of them got together, and they just thought about these fancy things all day long. Making ice cream, making skirts, and even choosing such an indecent place for her birthday. If you ask me, this was caused by Fang Qing. If it weren't for her, my daughter might not have suffered this!"

  Mother Wen looked at the three people in front of her with different expressions, and didn't know what had happened. She turned around and saw that it was Fang Qing who was going to the toilet with an IV bottle, and she happened to hear it.

  Fang's mother was caught badmouthing someone behind their back, and her face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver. But she still believed she was right. "Qingqing! Don't blame me for being harsh. I would say the same thing even in front of you. Please stay away from our Lingzi from now on. Thank you."

  Fang Qing had thought about the outcome of this matter, but she never expected it to be like this.

  Ultimately, this matter was related to her. If she hadn't agreed to go to the dance hall, perhaps none of this would have happened.

  "Auntie Wen, I'm sorry. I was inconsiderate and frightened Lingzi. But don't worry, I won't bother you again. I'm so sorry for the trouble this has caused you."

  Wen Ling rushed over to grab Fang Qing's clothes, but her mother pulled her back. "Qingqing is so sensible, don't make things worse! Come back with me!"

  Wen Ling watched Fang Qing turn and leave, feeling heartbroken. "Mom, can you please be reasonable? How can you blame Fang Qing for this? I was the one who pestered her to make the skirt. It was also my suggestion to celebrate my birthday at the nightclub. Qingqing even tried to stop us. If you have to blame someone, it's only me! And without Qingqing, I would have been sold long ago. How can you say that to her?"

  But her mother was unwavering. She felt that since Fang Qing met the children from the two families, they had begun to slip away from her control. Wen Ling stopped listening to her, and even her most obedient son began to pay attention to Fang Qing.

  This wouldn't do! His son was going to do great things in the future. How could a little country woman like this be worthy of him? So she had to stop them from having any more contact.

  The Wen family quickly left the hospital, and Fang Qing and Fang Jing were also discharged soon after, but Fang's mother found that her daughter had returned to her usual silence.

  She no longer went out, nor did she go out to play with her classmates. Even when she went to learn painting from Teacher Qiu, she deliberately staggered her time with Wen Ling. She kept herself in the house all day, either doing homework or painting, and she no longer had the cheerfulness she had before.

  Fang's mother knew that the kidnapping incident must have left a bad shadow on the child. At the same time, she became more and more suspicious that her daughter was really unlucky, otherwise why would she encounter such bad things again and again...

  It happened that the family restaurant was closed recently, the children were on summer vacation, and there was nothing to do at home recently. Fang's mother waved her hand, bought tickets and took the family out for a walk.

  (End of this chapter)