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Liu Wenyi was caught up in some emotions, talking to herself, "Dating sounds so nice. If I were to date, would I choose someone like you, you pig-headed fool? It's just that you won't spend any money. Cheap man, wanting to keep someone without wanting to spend a dime. What kind of good deal do you think that is!"
Li Li on the ground looked completely confused.
The next day at noon, Liu Wenyi went to work, Li Weimin went to watch someone play chess, and Wang Surong went to the market to buy groceries. Only Li Li was left at home. He wandered around the yard, extremely bored, and opened the yard gate to step into the alley.
Children returning from school were led by their parents into the alley, with parents chatting in front while the kids laughed and played behind them.
Neighbor Sister Sun looked up and saw Li Li sulking by the wall. Her eyes lit up as she immediately sensed some gossip. She exchanged glances with the adults nearby and then turned to call out to the children behind her, "You all go play at Auntie's house first."
Once the children slipped into the yard, several adults cheerfully approached Li Li.
"Ali, what are you doing? Why aren't you going home for lunch?"
Li Li looked up at the women surrounding him and lowered his head, sullenly saying, "Mom's not home; there's no food."
"What did she go do?"
"Buy groceries."
"Hey, Ali, let me ask you, who has your wife been fighting with these past few days?"
"I don't know!" Li Li said somewhat unhappily.
"How can you not know? You're at home all day."
"My wife met a rich guy; I don't know him," Li Li mumbled.
The women instantly perked up with excitement. "What rich guy?"
"Someone who can take care of her; I've never seen him."
"Did your wife tell you this?"
"Yeah, she said she wants to leave with a rich guy and won't pay attention to me anymore." It seemed that Li Li was very sad.
Oh dear, it looks like this family is falling apart! Such rumors began circulating in town that afternoon.
******
It was another rainy day, with large raindrops slowly falling onto the sycamore leaves. Li Li sat on the wet ground, looking up at the overcast sky, his clear eyes reflecting something that others couldn't understand.
On rainy days, no one ventured outside; every household kept their doors shut tight. The sound of rain pattered in the alley but it felt eerily quiet.
A woman appeared at the entrance of the alley; she was a young woman with her face heavily made up. The raindrops mischievously treated her face like a palette, smudging her makeup everywhere. The woman seemed completely unconcerned as she walked unsteadily into the alley wearing a tight mini skirt and silver high heels.
Li Li's gaze shifted from the sky to the woman, then lightly fell to the ground.
The woman approached Li Li, looking down at him from her height. She was quite tall and dirty, resembling a child watching ants move. Could she be a fool? After all, who else would sit in the rain without any cover like she did?
With a self-deprecating smile, the woman said, "Hey, do you want to sleep with me? It's free."
Li Li looked up at her and gave a silly grin.
The woman scoffed, "What a fool!" She then took off her high heels, stepped barefoot onto the ground, and squatted beside Li Li. "Fool, do you know who I am and where I come from?"
Li Li remained silent.
The woman continued to talk to herself, "I'm a prostitute. I was kicked out by my stepfather before I graduated from middle school and had to work. I fell for someone else's trick and became a prostitute, but I don't regret it. At least this way I can afford to eat. I've been a prostitute for eight years and just found out I have AIDS—damn AIDS! Screw it!" She spat on the ground and glanced at Li Li. "Why is that? I don't steal or rob; I earn money with my body. Who have I wronged? Why does God have to screw me over? Why do some people get to be born into good lives with food, clothing, and education while I have to suffer my whole life and get called a whore? Why the hell is that?"
Li Li kept his head down and remained quiet.
The woman nudged his shoulder. "Hey, fool, do you want to try what it's like with a woman?"
Li Li paused for a moment, looked up at her coldly, and replied, "No."
Six days later in the evening, a white Audi parked in front of the Li Family home. Li Cheng got out of the car and stormed into the house.
Wang Surong was cooking in the kitchen while Li Weimin was smoking under the eaves. Seeing Li Cheng's bad mood, he got up to greet him. "What's wrong? Why are you back at this time?"
Li Cheng scanned the yard. "Has Sun Bai come back?"
"Sun Bai? Haven't seen her for a few days. What happened? Did you two argue again?"
Li Cheng sighed and irritably walked under the eaves. After pulling up a stool to sit down, he said, "I don't know what she's going crazy about; she took our son without saying a word and left just a damn text message. Is she insane?"
"What did the message say?"
"It said that I know what I've done, and unless I resolve things, she won't come back and will take care of the child on her own."
"Tsk, that damn woman! Eating your food and drinking your drinks while throwing tantrums—she really doesn't know how to be grateful!" Li Weimin cursed as he sat down next to Li Cheng. "Don't bother looking for her; she's just a woman without parents or skills; once her money runs out, she'll come back. Don't indulge her bad habits!"
Li Cheng pondered for a moment. "That's what I think too. She's alone without a job; how far can she go with our son? I'll just wait for her to come back and apologize; otherwise, she really thinks too highly of herself."
One night more than a month later, Li Li hugged a blanket, staring blankly at Liu Wenyi, who had just hung up the phone with a smile on her face.
"What are you looking at?" Liu Wenyi asked, in a rare good mood to talk to Li Li.
"My wife is beautiful," Li Li said dreamily.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Liu Wenyi raised an eyebrow, adjusted her posture, and said, "Look closely; after a few days, you won't be able to see me anymore."
"Why?" Li Li blinked and asked.
"Because I'm leaving. Someone has bought me a house, and I won't have to live this hand-to-mouth life anymore. You won't see me again."
Li Li understood Liu Wenyi's words and urgently said, "Wife, don't go. Please don't go."
Liu Wenyi shook her head and smiled slightly, calling him "fool."
In the deep of night, everything was silent, and everyone was asleep.
Li Li lay on the ground with his eyes open, his dark eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he got up, felt around for the edge of the bed, rolled up his sleeves, and grabbed Liu Wenyi's phone from the bedside table. He opened the contacts and found Li Cheng, editing a text message before sending it.
In the early morning of late autumn, there was a light mist; the alley was extremely quiet, with every household's gate tightly closed. Suddenly, a piercing scream shattered the dawn as Li Li stumbled out from inside the Li Family courtyard, shouting, "Dead—there's a dead person!"
The elderly often woke up early and were active in the streets before dawn. Hearing Li Li's intermittent screams, one approached him and asked, "Ali, what's wrong?"
Leaning against the wall in terror, Li Li pointed at the courtyard gate and exclaimed, "Blood—dead people—there are dead people!"
The elder frowned and walked to the courtyard gate. Seeing someone lying outside the small house where Li Li lived, it was still dim outside and hard to see clearly. The elder hesitated for a moment before stepping over the threshold and walking over to that person—Wang Surong—who lay face up on the ground with several knife wounds on her chest and abdomen; blood seeped through her clothes into the dirt... The elder was startled and trembled as he crouched down repeatedly calling out, "Wei Min's family... for Wei Min's family..." After calling several times without response from Wang Surong, he touched her hand—it was already cold.
The elder stood unsteadily; when he looked up, the horrific scene inside the house nearly scared him out of his wits.
"There's a dead person!—there's a dead person!" The elder rushed out of the courtyard, knocking on doors from house to house.
Police cars arrived in Yue Town as dawn broke; by then, the area in front of the Li Family home was already crowded with people peering in curiously while whispering among themselves.
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