novelraw Chapter 138
Chapter 138
"I... going to the hospital is unnecessary. Just compensate me with some money. I'm not the type to make unreasonable trouble." The old woman spoke after recovering for a while.
"That won't do. Even though I was lost in thought and walking slowly, and you rushed out of the alley, bumping into me lightly but falling heavily yourself, I certainly can't just ignore it." Song Nianchu said, her eyes even turning red.
At first glance, these words seemed fine, but upon closer thought, they felt a bit off.
Among the many onlookers, there were naturally some sharp ones. An auntie couldn't help but speak up.
"I did notice just now that this young lady was walking quite slowly. Generally speaking, walking that slowly, even if she bumped into someone, shouldn't cause such a serious fall."
"Did this old woman rush out on purpose? Was she trying to scam this young girl?"
"This old woman looks familiar. Did she also bump into someone here a few days ago?"
"..."
Seeing that everyone was slowly catching on, the old woman lying on the ground immediately started wailing and slapping the ground.
"What kind of world is this? An old woman like me, who can barely walk steadily, gets knocked down like this and still gets suspected. I might as well die right now, at least I'd keep a clean reputation." As she spoke, the old woman lunged towards a nearby wall corner.
Unfortunately, she couldn't move halfway there. Looking back, she found Song Nianchu gripping her arm tightly.
"What are you doing? You hit me and now you want to beat me up too?" Seeing her previous scam attempt fail, the old woman started slandering.
"Beat someone up? If I were to beat someone up, it wouldn't be like this." Song Nianchu said, then threw a punch towards the wall corner. The perfectly fine wall instantly crumbled into a large hole.
The old woman's eyes immediately widened in shock. Even the surrounding onlookers gasped in unison.
Were their eyes playing tricks on them?
This slim, petite young girl punched a big hole in the wall with one fist?
Or was the wall old and dilapidated, already rotten?
"Old auntie, this is what beating someone up looks like." Song Nianchu stared at the old woman with a faint, ambiguous smile.
The old woman looked at Song Nianchu, then at the hole in the wall corner, and swallowed hard with some difficulty.
"That... I suddenly feel my legs aren't hurting so much anymore... My granddaughter is waiting for me to go home and cook. Let go of me quickly, I need to get back." The old woman forcefully wrested her hand free, scrambled up, and scurried away in a flash.
Watching her agile retreating figure, Song Nianchu stood up and brushed the dust off her hands.
This is what's called the truth always lying within the range of artillery.
As long as her strength was formidable enough, she feared no slander.
"That old woman was definitely faking it!"
"Everyone, be careful when passing by here in the future. Don't let her get her hooks into you."
"..."
The others, realizing they had been deceived, were all indignant. They shook their hands dismissively and left.
Song Nianchu also prepared to go home but suddenly spotted an old pocket watch on the ground.
She bent down to pick it up. Opening it, she found an old photograph embedded inside.
It was a family of five: two elderly people, a young couple, and a tiny baby held in the couple's arms.
Song Nianchu's gaze fell on one of the elderly figures. It was precisely the old woman who had just tried to scam her.
Although the hour hand of the pocket watch had stopped, the watch itself was smooth and shiny, likely taken out and looked at frequently.
Song Nianchu thought for a moment, then finally sighed. Holding the pocket watch, she headed in the direction the old woman had left.
It would also be a good chance to warn that old woman not to do such dangerous things in the future. After all, her own good temper didn't mean everyone else had a good temper.
With her brittle old bones, if she encountered someone with a fiercer temper, one punch might really make her fall apart.
Song Nianchu walked for quite a while, the path growing more and more remote. Eventually, the houses turned into dilapidated shanties.
Skinny, emaciated people were everywhere. Even the children's cries sounded terribly weak.
Song Nianchu frowned. How come she didn't remember there was such a place back here?
Probably because Song Nianchu looked unfamiliar, many people stared at her as she walked through.
She even sensed ill intentions in some people's eyes. Song Nianchu felt this wasn't a place to linger, so she turned to leave.
But her gaze suddenly caught a familiar figure—the old woman who had tried to scam her.
Song Nianchu immediately walked over.
The old woman was squatting in a corner, fiddling with something.
"Old auntie," Song Nianchu called out.
The old woman was startled. She quickly turned around and, seeing it was Song Nianchu, protectively shielded the things behind her.
"You... what are you doing here? I've already let you off. What more do you want?" The old woman's voice was stammering, but her eyes were wary.
"I'm not here to cause trouble. I came to return this to you." Song Nianchu handed over the pocket watch.
The old woman was stunned for a moment, then immediately snatched it. She opened it to check, and upon confirming the photo was still inside, let out a long sigh of relief.
"Th... thank you." The old woman carefully tucked the pocket watch into her pocket and thanked Song Nianchu somewhat awkwardly.
"You're welcome. Just do less of this kind of thing in the future," Song Nianchu said.
The old woman's expression instantly turned somewhat ashamed.
"Grandma..." Suddenly, an extremely weak voice came from the tent beside them.
"My precious, Grandma's here." The old woman paid no more attention to Song Nianchu. She turned, picked up the bowl of unknown substance she had been fiddling with, and entered the tent.
Curious, Song Nianchu peeked inside. With just one glance, she froze.
Inside the tent lay a little girl, skin and bones, her cheeks sunken, hair dry and yellow. Her eyes, by contrast, appeared huge, giving her a startling, frightened look at first sight.
"Baobao, Grandma found you something to eat. Have a little, you'll feel better after eating." The old woman's hand trembled as she scooped a spoonful of the yellow paste from the broken bowl and brought it to the child's lips.
The child slowly opened her mouth, took one taste, and immediately started coughing.
The yellow paste she had just eaten sprayed everywhere.
"Baobao, what's wrong? Are you hurting somewhere?" The old woman hastily put down the bowl, her voice trembling as she patted the child's back.
But the child was just too thin, like a skeleton wrapped in a layer of skin. Song Nianchu was almost afraid the old woman's patting would make her fall apart.
"Give her this instead." Although Song Nianchu despised the old woman's scamming behavior, the child was just too pitiful.
Song Nianchu took a piece of White Rabbit milk candy from her pocket and offered it.