Chapter 37

Qin Ruolan remained silent. It wasn't that she couldn't find a place to live. She had only moved in a few days ago and was negotiating with the landlord about moving out. The landlord agreed to let her leave but demanded a month's rent. She was reluctant to part with the money.

Her husband was missing, and her child was still young. She had to take care of the child and couldn't work normally in the short term, so she had to be careful with her money.

Seeing so many people pressuring her, she felt uneasy. She knew she couldn't delay any longer, so she gritted her teeth and responded, "I'll find a place tomorrow and move out immediately."

The white-collar woman sneered, "That's what you said the day before yesterday, but you still haven't moved."

Qin Ruolan's face turned red, and she said earnestly, "This time it's for real. I'll move as soon as I say I will."

A young woman, who seemed to have just graduated from university, asked, "What about tonight? I have an accounting qualification exam tomorrow. If I don't sleep well tonight, how can I take the exam?"

The muscular man suddenly said coldly, "I don't care if you move tomorrow or not. Tonight, make sure your son stops crying."

As he spoke, he punched the wall next to Qin Ruolan's door. His strength was immense, and the entire wall seemed to shake.

This man was already in a bad mood, having lost several thousand yuan playing mahjong with friends during the day. His mood was even worse.

Qin Ruolan's son, hearing the sound of the wall being hit, paused for a moment, then started crying even louder.

The muscular man spat and cursed, "Damn brat, if you cry again, I'll throw you out the window."

The child, frightened, cried even harder.

"Keep crying! Keep crying!"

The muscular man, angry and unable to vent his frustration, swung his fist and hit the wall several more times. The old building's lime walls, already damp and peeling, crumbled in several places under the impact.

Seeing the man's terrifying expression, Qin Ruolan was afraid but still mustered the courage to say, "Sir, the child doesn't understand. Don't scare him."

The muscular man glared at her viciously, "Scare him? Damn, I wish I could throw him out the window."

Many of the onlookers showed disapproval on their faces but didn't speak up. Some even seemed to enjoy the spectacle, watching with amusement.

Xu Mo, feeling sorry for her, said, "Bro, you don't need to be so harsh on a child, do you?"

The muscular man, hearing someone speak, turned to face Xu Mo and asked fiercely, "What do you mean, 'don't need to be so harsh'?"

Xu Mo replied calmly, "You scared the child."

The muscular man said aggressively, "What's it to you? Are you the brat's father?"

Xu Mo said, "Don't talk like that."

The muscular man sneered, "Don't talk like that? If you want to fight, come on. If not, get lost. Don't yap so much." If Xu Mo weren't an old resident and they weren't familiar, he would have punched him by now.

Xu Mo was taken aback by his words and couldn't think of a response.

The white-collar woman, who was extremely sharp-tongued, looked around at everyone's expressions, blinked, and sneered, "I see why you don't want to move. You must have hooked up with another man. No wonder your husband left you."

She was just making things up, not knowing what had really happened to Qin Ruolan.

Qin Ruolan, furious, said, "You... don't say such things."

The white-collar woman sneered, "Feeling guilty?"

Xu Mo intervened, "You argue among yourselves, but don't drag me into it."

The white-collar woman didn't even look at him, snorted, and coldly said, "Waste of space."

In the past, when Li Qi was around, she and Xu Mo would argue, and she would say all sorts of things without restraint. The white-collar woman, living nearby, must have heard some of the things Li Qi said about Xu Mo. She looked down on him with disdain and contempt.

Xu Mo, sensitive to others' opinions due to his own experiences, was furious at her expression and couldn't help but step forward and slap her.

Caught off guard, the white-collar woman was stunned for a moment before letting out a deafening scream.

Qin Ruolan's son, hearing her scream, stopped crying in fear.

"I'll fight you to the death," the white-collar woman shouted, lowering her head and charging at Xu Mo's stomach, her hands flailing wildly.

Xu Mo, seeing her coming at him, couldn't help but dodge to the side.

The white-collar woman, still focused on Xu Mo's feet, changed direction and chased after him again. Xu Mo retreated to his room, and the white-collar woman followed, determined to fight.

As she chased him, she scratched at him with her long nails, leaving several marks on his arm. Xu Mo felt a burning pain where she had scratched him through his clothes.

Unable to shake her off, Xu Mo was at a loss. He grabbed Xiaoqing, the snake, and held it out, warning, "This is a venomous snake. If you come any closer, don't blame me if she bites you."

The white-collar woman, startled, stopped in her tracks and looked at the snake in Xu Mo's hand.

Xiaoqing, as if understanding Xu Mo's words, flicked its tongue at her.

The white-collar woman, though scared, refused to back down, saying, "Let it bite me, let it bite me. If it doesn't kill me, you're not a man." She continued to curse and step back.

Seeing her leave, Xu Mo didn't chase after her.

The white-collar woman, in her haste, stepped on the muscular man's foot and fell to the ground. Frustrated at not getting the upper hand, she shouted, "You have eyes in the back of your head, don't you? Why didn't you move?"

The muscular man, already in a bad mood, hearing her curse, flew into a rage. He bent down, grabbed her hair, and slapped her twice, then kicked her in the buttocks, shouting, "Get lost."

The white-collar woman, having suffered a great deal, didn't dare to fight back when she saw the muscular man's fierce expression. She started to make a scene on the ground, screaming for a while. Seeing no one paying attention, she took out her phone and said, "You dare to hit me? Wait for the police. I don't believe there's no justice in this world."

She was about to call the police.

The thin, dark-skinned man at the end of the corridor shook his head, "Neighbors, is it really necessary to call the police over such a small matter?"

The white-collar woman snorted, her chin almost touching the sky, and said arrogantly, "Unless they kneel and apologize, this won't be over. I'll have to call the police to settle this."

Xu Mo didn't speak, and the muscular man ignored her. An old lady, unable to stand it, interjected, "If you hadn't cursed first, would they have hit you?"

The white-collar woman jumped up, screaming, "Are you blind? Which eye saw me cursing?"

The old lady, who had come from the countryside to take care of her grandson, was very upset by her behavior. Her son's family also lived on this floor. Seeing his mother arguing with the white-collar woman, he didn't want to cause trouble and tugged at his mother's sleeve, but glared at the white-collar woman.

The white-collar woman glared back but didn't call the police.

Qin Ruolan looked around at everyone and said, "Everyone, please don't argue. I'll move out tomorrow. I've caused you all trouble these past few days, and I'm very sorry."

The white-collar woman, hearing her, immediately turned her attention back, "What about tonight? I haven't slept well these past few days, and I've been scolded by my boss. If I get scolded again tomorrow, how will you compensate me?"

The young woman who had an exam the next day, lacking confidence, added softly, "I have an exam tomorrow."

Qin Ruolan, hearing this, looked around again. Most people, meeting her eyes, showed sympathy but didn't speak, avoiding her gaze.

The muscular man, meeting her eyes, said irritably, "I don't care what you do tonight, but make sure your son doesn't cry. If he affects my sleep again, don't blame me."

Qin Ruolan sighed and said helplessly, "Alright, I'll take my son to a hotel tonight."

"Qin Sister."

Xu Mo called out to her, wanting to say something but not knowing what.

"Thank you, Brother Xu. My son and I will stay at a hotel for the night. It's not a big deal," Qin Ruolan nodded, her face showing gratitude.

Xu Mo told her to be careful. Qin Ruolan nodded and said, "Thank you," then went back to her room, picked up her son, and left, locking the door as the child cried.

The crowd quickly dispersed.

Xu Mo returned to his room and lay down again. For some reason, he felt a sense of unease and thought of the Book of Revelation.

But this thought quickly passed, and he thought, "The content of the Book of Revelation is related to Qin Ruolan's son. Since her son won't be here tonight, nothing will happen."

He lay down, took the Dream Powder, and began practicing the Tranquil Breathing technique.

This time, he had a better grasp of the technique, finding solutions to many problems he had previously struggled with.

He was pleased, and the troubles from his argument with the white-collar woman were quickly forgotten.

Suddenly, he felt his hair being pulled, and his scalp hurt. He couldn't help but cry out, "Ouch," and returned to reality from his hallucination.

Opening his eyes, he saw Xiaoqing biting his hair and pulling it.

"Xiaoqing is getting more mischievous," Xu Mo muttered, picked up Xiaoqing, and put her aside, saying, "That's enough, stop playing around."

He lay down again, closed his eyes, and resumed practicing the Tranquil Breathing technique.

But just as he closed his eyes, before he could enter the hallucination, he felt his hair being pulled again by Xiaoqing.

Xu Mo opened his eyes, feeling annoyed, and lightly flicked Xiaoqing, saying, "Little one, stop fooling around."

Xiaoqing suddenly turned around and bit his finger with lightning speed.

Xu Mo was shocked, sitting up in bed, a chill running down his spine. He was both frightened and scared, thinking only one thing, "Damn, Xiaoqing is venomous. I've been bitten."

——

PS: A person's character has little to do with their education level or social status.

Additionally, regarding hitting women, I believe that as a man, the reason we say not to hit women is that you shouldn't take out your frustrations on your own partner when you come home from work. It doesn't mean that you should let a woman do whatever she wants, and you should never hit back or curse back.

It's not that extreme.

If a woman curses her parents, abuses children, can you not hit her?

Of course, this is just my personal opinion.