Old Harden, can you handle having your vision-shifting abilities on all the time?

As for Gao Min...

Zhao Jinhua glanced at her daughter sitting opposite her, a pang of guilt welling up inside her, but it was quickly suppressed by her survival instinct.

It's not that Mom doesn't want to take care of you, it's that Mom can barely take care of herself.

You're young, so you can still find a way. But if Mom gets arrested when she's old, her life will be over.

"Minmin, don't panic."

Zhao Jinhua stood up, walked to the water dispenser, poured herself a glass of water, and tried to keep her tone calm. "Mom knows a few old friends who are in business. I'll ask them tomorrow if they can lend you some money to tide you over."

Gao Min looked up, a glimmer of hope in her eyes: "Really?"

"When has Mom ever lied to you?"

Zhao Jinhua smiled, but the smile looked somewhat distorted in the shadows. "Go and put the child to sleep first. Mom is tired too, so I'm going back to my room to rest."

Gao Min nodded and carried the child into the second bedroom.

She usually takes care of the child at night, so Gao Min subconsciously went to Zhao Jinhua's bedroom.

As she watched her daughter's figure disappear behind the door, the smile on Zhao Jinhua's face vanished instantly.

She strode into the master bedroom, closed the door behind her, then opened the bedside table drawer and pulled out a red jewelry box from the bottom.

Those were gold jewelry pieces Gao Min bought for her wedding: a set of dragon and phoenix bracelets, a necklace, a pair of earrings, and several gold rings, weighing at least seventy or eighty grams in total.

Based on the current gold price, these items could sell for 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

Without hesitation, Zhao Jinhua stuffed the jewelry box into her canvas bag and then checked the ID card and bank cards inside.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he quietly opened the door.

The living room was empty. From the second bedroom came Gao Min's voice soothing the child, the intermittent lullaby echoing in the dim room.

Zhao Jinhua tiptoed to the entrance, changed into her own shoes, and then opened the security door.

The door lock made a soft clicking sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet night.

Her heart leaped into her throat, and she glanced back towards the second bedroom.

The lullaby continued, and nothing seemed amiss.

Zhao Jinhua breathed a sigh of relief, slipped out the door, and gently closed it behind her.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway came on, casting a dim yellow light on her face, revealing an almost insane resolve.

She hurried down the stairs, not daring to linger for even a moment.

As she stepped out of the building, the night breeze brushed against her face, carrying the chill of early autumn.

Zhao Jinhua took a deep breath, took out her phone, and found those phone numbers that had been gathering dust for many years.

The first call was to Sister Li, who I used to work with at the garment factory.

The phone rang several times before being answered. A woman's voice with a heavy Cantonese accent came from the other end: "Hey? Who is it?"

"Sister Li, it's me, Zhao Jinhua! Do you remember me?"

"Jin Hua? Oh my, it's been so many years since we last talked! What made you suddenly decide to call me?"

"Sister Li, I've run into some trouble here and I'd like to look for a job in Guangdong Province. Do you have any suitable opportunities there?"

"Looking for a job? I know of a fabric recycling plant nearby that specializes in sorting and recycling fabrics. It includes room and board and costs 4,500 a month. It's a bit of hard work though, are you interested?"

"Good job! Sister Li, please save me a seat, I'll be there tomorrow!"

"Okay, call me when you arrive and I'll have someone pick you up from the station."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jinhua breathed a long sigh of relief.

She stood under the streetlight at the entrance of the residential area and opened a ride-hailing app to call a car.

While waiting for the bus, she opened Fetion and blocked all of Gao Min's contact information.

After thinking about it again, she also blocked all the phone numbers of her relatives in her phone's contact list.

After all that was done, the ride-hailing car arrived.

Zhao Jinhua opened the car door and sat in the back seat, her voice urgent: "Driver, to the train station."

The car started and drove into the night.

Zhao Jinhua leaned back in her seat, watching the city night view rushing past the window, and felt a surge of relief at surviving a disaster.

Once she changed her phone number in Guangdong Province, those people could no longer find her.

As for Gao Min...

Zhao Jinhua closed her eyes, banishing the thought from her mind.

Everyone has their own fate, and she can't control that anymore.

After Gao Min finished comforting the child, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.

The little one ate and drank his fill and slept soundly, his little face rosy like a little apple.

Gao Min sat by the bed, looking at her son's sleeping face, and a wave of sorrow washed over her.

The child is looking more and more like Xu Yanle; their eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth are practically identical.

But where is that man now?

She picked up her phone, found Xu Yanle's number, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed it.

"The number you dialed is currently switched off..."

A cold, electronic female voice came through the receiver, like a bucket of cold water poured on her heart.

Gao Min bit her lip and peeled it again.

Still turning it off.

She put down her phone and went out onto the balcony. Looking at the empty streets below, she felt an indescribable sense of loneliness and helplessness.

The night wind carried a chill on her face.

She tightened her coat and dialed Xu Yanle's number again.

It's still switched off.

Gao Min leaned against the balcony railing, looking at the lights of thousands of homes in the distance, her eyes gradually reddening.

She suddenly remembered the old days.

At that time, Xu Xing hadn't fallen out with her yet, and he would transfer living expenses and loan repayment money to Xu Yanle every month.

But now her husband has run away, her father-in-law has turned against her, and all her relatives are pressing her for repayment of debts.

She had nothing left.

Gao Min wiped away her tears, turned around and walked back to the living room.

The living room was still dark, with no lights on.

"mom?"

She called out, but no one answered.

"Mom? Are you in your room?"

Still no response.

Gao Min's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly walked to the master bedroom door and pushed it open.

The room was empty.

Gao Min's gaze swept across the room and suddenly fixed on the bedside table.

The drawer was half-open and completely empty.

Her heart sank. She quickly walked over and opened the drawer, only to find that the jewelry box containing the gold jewelry was gone.

Gao Min's mind went blank.

She staggered back two steps and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

impossible……

impossible……

Why would Mom abandon her and run away?

She's her own daughter!

Gao Min trembled as she took out her phone and dialed Zhao Jinhua's number.

"The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

I tried calling again, but the call still wouldn't connect.

She opened Fetion and sent a message to Zhao Jinhua: "Mom, where are you?"

A glaring red exclamation mark appeared on the screen.

Gao Min seemed to have lost all her soul as she slowly slid to the ground.

She finally understood.

Her unreliable mother, who had been a burden to her since she was young, once again ran away after ruining her life.

They even stole her gold jewelry.

Gao Min sat on the ground in a daze for a long time, then suddenly burst into tears.

The cries echoed in the empty rented room, mournful and desperate.

She cried for a long time until her voice became hoarse and she cried until she had no tears left.

Then, she wiped away her tears, picked up her phone, and dialed 110.

"Hello, I want to report a crime..."