Chapter 56

Su Ruo saw Zhou Feng, her brows furrowed instantly, and continued speaking: "Originally, after An'an's parents met with an accident

But I went with the village Women's Director to the Orphanage and saw how miserable the children's lives were; I couldn't bear to let An'an suffer there, so I discussed it with the village and arranged to adopt An'an myself.

Because of this heavy rain, many areas suffered disaster; there are many orphans in the county, and the Orphanage cannot accommodate them all, so the county clerk decided to make an exception and agreed to let me adopt An'an despite being unmarried.

So, An'an is now registered under my Household Registration; her name is Su Jinyue, and she is my daughter!

Su Ruo emphasized the words "An'an is my daughter" heavily, just to tell Zhou Feng that no matter who he is or what conditions he offers, she Su Ruo will never give up her daughter.

"As for the Xu Honghua you mentioned," Su Ruo shifted her tone, a mocking smile appearing on her face.

"She doesn't even go back to see her dead parents and siblings, treats An'an as a burden, and completely disregards whether An'an lives or dies—by what right does she decide An'an's future?"

After saying that, Su Ruo slammed the proof of severance that Xu Honghua had written down onto the table.

"Xu Honghua sold An'an to me for fifty dollars back then; I don't know what conditions she's now discussing with you, hoping to sell An'an again, but I tell you, An'an is my daughter, and Xu Honghua has no right to sell my daughter."

Su Ruo now feels very fortunate; she had worried about trouble earlier and had taken care of everything, otherwise today she might truly be unable to keep An'an, letting Zhou Feng take her away, because no matter how you look at it, the Zhou couple seem more suitable to adopt An'an than she does.

Zhou Feng never expected the truth to be like this, nor did he expect that the pitiful Xu Honghua he saw yesterday in front of them would actually be such a person.

What made Zhou Feng feel even more ashamed was that he had indeed promised Xu Honghua yesterday to give her a permanent position.

"County Magistrate Zhou, you say I'm not married and thus unsuitable to adopt An'an, but I only know that An'an is happy with me, and I will give her more love than ordinary parents."

Moreover, if I am unsuitable to adopt An'an, your wife's condition is probably even less suitable.

A mother with stable emotions has a greater impact on a child than a wholesome family.

Although I sympathize with your wife's ordeal, An'an is a person, a living child; she is not medicine to heal your wife, nor a substitute.

I love An'an and naturally hope she fares well; if one day An'an has a better choice and wants to leave me, I will certainly let her go.

But if she doesn't want to, no one can dream of taking her away from me—not even you!

"Even if I have to fight until my head is bloodied, I will swear to protect my child!"

Zhou Feng noticed the emotion in Su Ruo's eyes, shook his head helplessly—this was the first time he found himself unable to rebut someone's words, and the other party was merely a teenage girl.

"Rest assured, as long as you don't want me to, I won't take An'an."

Zhou Feng explained helplessly that if he had known the truth was like this, he certainly wouldn't have said such things today.

"Thank you!" Su Ruo exhaled in relief upon hearing that; if she could, she truly would not want to face such a formidable opponent as Zhou Feng.

Zhou Feng said with some difficulty: "But I have one awkward request—if possible, could you bring An'an to see my wife more often?"

Yesterday, after seeing An'an, his wife's emotions remained agitated; she kept insisting on seeing her daughter, and no one could calm her—this is also why he arrived late today.

"County Magistrate Zhou, I think your wife's current condition is not suitable for seeing An'an; if you need a child, the Orphanage has many children waiting for adoption."

Su Ruo refused Zhou Feng's request; although she knew doing so might offend him, before Bai Xinya could control her emotions, Su Ruo would absolutely not let her see An'an again—nothing is more important than An'an's safety.

Although Zhou Feng felt a bit disappointed, he didn't say more; as for the Orphanage children, he had tried them too, but his wife felt nothing for any child except An'an—and it was already too late.

"Alright, I understand; rest assured about your matter, I will handle it properly and will not let personal feelings affect my work."

Zhou Feng knew Su Ruo was a smart, sensitive, and suspicious girl, so he had to make certain things clear.

"Thank you!" After thanking Zhou Feng, Su Ruo left; as she closed the door, she glanced at his back and felt an inexplicable emotion well up, but she quickly suppressed it.

Su Ruo exited the compound when suddenly an old lady grabbed her hand.

The old lady's hands were withered like dead wood; she leaned on a cane with one hand and pulled Su Ruo with the other, lifting her head to look into Su Ruo's eyes, as if veiled by a white mist, her gaze unfocused.

Su Ruo was startled, almost crying out, but she held it in; she quickly regained her composure, looked at the elder and asked, "Grandma, what do you need? Can I help?"

"Hey girl, are you the girl who was kneeling here today? That bastard Sun Long—did he also bully you?"

Upon hearing the old lady's words, Su Ruo's expression instantly turned solemn; the reason she had caused such a commotion today was precisely this.

Su Ruo said solemnly: "Grandma, I am—the County Magistrate has already ordered a thorough investigation into this matter; the good days of Zhou Long and Zhou Qiang, father and son, are over. Did you come to me because you also suffered some injustice at the hands of these two beasts?"

Upon hearing Su Ruo's words, the old lady burst into tears: "They are indeed beasts; they killed my little flower, my poor little flower died so horribly!"

She was raped by that beast Zhou Long, but when my little flower went to report it to the police, no one paid any attention.

That beast not only denied it, but claimed my little flower had deliberately seduced her.

That beast bullied us orphaned widows, lacking male support, repeatedly coming to our house to harass my little flower; unable to endure such humiliation, my little flower jumped into a well in the dead of winter.

That Zhou Long is nothing but a beast! He drove my little flower to death; he will surely come to a bad end.

Su Ruo's reason for doing this today was to exploit the situation; she knew Sun Long was certainly not the first to do such a thing, so she wanted to stir up a commotion to find victims like herself, preferably to directly charge Sun Long with rape.

But at this moment, hearing the old lady's anguished cries and learning of the beastly acts Sun Long had committed, Su Ruo was instantly moved.

At this moment, devoid of ulterior motives or revenge, Su Ruo truly wanted to help this old person and seek justice for her deceased daughter.

"Grandma, I'll take you to see the County Magistrate; rest assured, he's a good person and will surely uphold justice for you."

After saying that, Su Ruo wanted to support the old lady and go inside, but the old lady hesitated: "Hey girl, will this work? I've come here several times before, but they wouldn't even let me through the door."

Upon hearing that, Su Ruo's face grew a bit colder, but she composed herself and comforted: "Auntie, rest assured, the newly arrived County Magistrate is a good person, different from before, and she will surely uphold justice for us."

Attempted rape and causing death are not the same; Su Ruo does not believe Sun Long can still escape legal punishment.