He turned on the light. There was only one bedroom. The bedroom was tidied up very neatly, but because there were too many things, even though it was clean, it still felt cluttered, with almost no space left to step on.
On the only bed lay a woman.
“Cough cough, Lili is back from school again? How was school today?”
“Pretty good.” While answering, Zhou Lili went to the only table and pulled out a large pile of medicine.
“Mum, you forgot to take your medicine again.” As she spoke, Zhou Lili started opening the packets.
It was obvious that none of these medicines were cheap.
“Cough cough, my body gets worse every day. It will not get better.” Zhou Lili’s mother sighed.
“How could that be?”
“By the way, Mum, this is three thousand yuan that Dad gave me today. I will buy medicine for you first thing tomorrow morning.” Zhou Lili took out three thousand yuan and placed it on the table.
“Your dad gives you money every day, but he refuses to come and see me.” Zhou Lili’s mother shook her head.
“He is busy. His company has too many things going on lately. He has to work overtime every day.” Zhou Lili took out a handful of pills, poured a cup of water, and brought it to her mother.
But what surprised Luo Chen was that Zhou Lili’s mother reached around searching before finally holding the cup. Her mother was actually blind!
After taking the medicine, Zhou Lili helped her mother lie down. Then she picked up a foot-washing basin and prepared to go downstairs to fetch water.
“Is this why you collected protection fees?” Luo Chen stood at the doorway, smoking, and asked.
“You followed me?” Seeing Luo Chen there, Zhou Lili was not afraid at all. Instead, she even seemed a bit angry.
“Either I go in and tell her the truth, tell her precious daughter that she collects protection fees at school every day, or I help you cure her!”
“Do you have that much money? My mum has already spent nearly ten million in these few years.” Zhou Lili sneered.
“You misunderstood. What I meant is that I will cure her. What she has is not an illness. She has been poisoned.” Luo Chen had x-ray vision and could naturally see the poison in Zhou Lili’s mother’s body.
“Why should I believe you?” Zhou Lili still refused to trust him.
Luo Chen pointed at his own eyes and said mockingly,
“Black, and on top is also black, with a cartoon cat!”
“You?” Zhou Lili’s face instantly turned red. She naturally understood what Luo Chen meant.
“Do you believe me now?” Luo Chen looked at Zhou Lili, and Zhou Lili looked back at him.
“I knew you would not believe it!” Luo Chen’s voice rang out again.
But this time Zhou Lili believed him, because just a moment ago Luo Chen had been standing five metres in front of her, yet now he was already behind her saying those words.
This was not something an ordinary person could do.
“Who exactly are you?” Even though Zhou Lili was calm and brave, she was still a little scared at this moment.
“Wait for me a bit.” Luo Chen suddenly disappeared again.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock at Zhou Lili’s door. When she opened it, Luo Chen was standing outside holding a pack of silver needles.
Zhou Lili’s mother seemed to want to speak, but Luo Chen flicked his finger, and a silver needle flew out, piercing her mother’s forehead between the brows. Her mother immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Then Luo Chen used his x-ray vision and began inserting the needles.
Half an hour later, silver needles were scattered all over the floor. The toxins had been expelled.
“It is a bit like snake venom. After poisoning, it did not act immediately but slowly took effect bit by bit. That is why I found it strange. How could snake venom act so gradually and slowly?” Luo Chen said.
Zhou Lili suddenly seemed to remember something, and her expression became somewhat sad.
“When she wakes up later, she will be fine. She just needs some time to recover and more vitamins and protein.” Luo Chen collected the silver needles.
“Just like that, she is cured?” Zhou Lili seemed to find it hard to believe.
Luo Chen gave her a light knock on the head and said,
“You should trust your teacher.”
“Now tell me. It really is interesting that the daughter of the richest man collects protection fees.”
Zhou Lili was silent for a moment.
“This is my mum. My dad divorced her. I was given to my dad for custody, but he does not care about my mum at all. At first I asked him for money, and I secretly used it to treat my mum!
“But later he found out and stopped giving me so much. Apart from living expenses, there was nothing else. But this is my mum. I cannot just watch her die, so I started collecting protection fees to pay for her treatment.”
The matter was that simple, not very complicated, but also very cruel.
Moreover, Luo Chen vaguely guessed that with the poison in Zhou Lili’s mother and her father’s attitude towards this wife, there were probably many family conflicts and unspeakable secrets involved.
But naturally Luo Chen would not get involved.
Looking at this somewhat precocious girl, Luo Chen sighed.
“When you do things, try to use reasonable and legal methods. Remember that the girls you robbed also have parents.”
“Alright, rest early. Do not be late for class tomorrow.” After saying that, Luo Chen left, without mentioning anything about apologies, because he believed Zhou Lili was a smart girl.
The next day, before Luo Chen had even got up in the teachers’ apartment, Zhou Lili was already standing at his door holding breakfast.
She did not knock. She just waited quietly for Luo Chen.
Because this person, whether as her teacher or class teacher, Zhou Lili could ignore.
But the one thing she could not ignore was that this person had cured her mother’s illness.
In Zhou Lili’s heart, as long as someone could cure her mother, she was willing to pay any price. After all, to treat the illness, even as the daughter of the richest man she had dared to collect protection fees. That determination said everything.
When Luo Chen got up and sensed someone at the door, he opened it and let Zhou Lili in.
What surprised Zhou Lili was that Luo Chen was actually brewing tea, looking exactly like an old man’s daily habits.
“So early. What is the matter?”
“Thank you.” Just two short words, but they said everything.
This meant Zhou Lili’s mother had indeed recovered. Otherwise Zhou Lili would not have come to thank him.
“I signed a guarantee letter with Chen Chao. It promises you will not do it again, that you will read a self-criticism in front of the whole school, and apologise to them. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Zhou Lili nodded, agreeing very readily.
“Then that is good. At least I do not have to resign.” Luo Chen smiled.
“But I feel you do not care about this job at all. You are not like the other teachers I have met. You even feel like you are not a teacher.” Zhou Lili was actually very observant.
“Hehe, everyone has secrets.” Luo Chen smiled.
“I understand.” Zhou Lili did not ask more, because she was very smart.
But just then.
“Teacher Luo, are you home?” Teacher Zhou’s voice came from outside the door. “Quick, hide. If she sees you it will cause a misunderstanding.” Luo Chen was still in his dressing gown, and early in the morning there was a female student in his room. It was hard not to cause misunderstandings!