pjbooks Chapter 318 We Cannot Give Up
Chapter 318 We Cannot Give Up
Ma Junjie stood in the shade of a tree downstairs in the residential area, took out his phone, and opened Ma Dazhu's phone number.
"Beep...beep..."
The call was still waiting to be connected, and Ma Junjie was extremely anxious and inexplicably flustered.
Unbeknownst to him, Ma Junjie's palms, gripping his phone, were sweating.
The dull slap on the phone yesterday, and Ma Dazhu's risky shout of "Ma Xiaofang is in Dongguan" echoed in my ears again and again.
Suddenly, the call connected.
"Brother, are you alright?" Ma Junjie blurted out, his voice filled with undisguised urgency.
A hoarse cough came from the other end of the phone, like sand stuck in his throat.
Ma Dazhu answered in a voice as low as a mosquito's buzz.
"fine……"
Ma Junjie's heart sank.
This doesn't look like anything's wrong at all.
The voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable; it was clear the person had been beaten so badly they could barely speak.
He could imagine that Ma Dazhu's face might have bruises on it, and his body might have new bruises.
That shrew Liu Dongmei never knows how much force she uses.
"Ah Jie, has the money been transferred?" Ma Dazhu hurriedly changed the subject before he could ask again.
"Why haven't I received it in my bank account yet?"
Ma Junjie then remembered the money transfer and quickly explained.
"Brother, I overslept this morning and I'm getting ready to go to the bank now."
"Okay, I got it..." Ma Dazhu quickly replied, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of flattery.
"Ah Jie, thank you for your hard work. Consider this money a loan from me. I'll definitely pay you back once I've recovered."
"Why bring this up?" Ma Junjie smiled faintly, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings.
Ma Dazhu has been completely controlled by Liu Dongmei all his life. Forget about repaying the money, he's lucky if he can even save his own life.
Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, and Ma Junjie didn't want to discuss the matter any further.
Instead, she abruptly changed the subject and asked,
"Brother, you said yesterday that Ma Xiaofang was also in Dongguan. Where exactly is she? Do you have her phone number?"
The moment the question was asked, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Ma Junjie's ears perked up, waiting for the answer from the other side.
His heart was pounding wildly, and every second of waiting felt like torture.
He desperately wanted Ma Dazhu to give him an address immediately, even if it was just a vague area; that would be a huge relief for him.
However, there was only silence on the other end of the phone.
A full half minute passed before a long, heavy sigh was heard, a voice filled with helplessness and guilt.
"Ah Jie, it's not that I don't want to help you... it's just that I... really don't know."
Ma Junjie's heart sank.
Ma Dazhu continued.
"Ah Jie, speaking of which, this happened many years ago... Ma Xiaofang wrote you a letter, which... your sister-in-law secretly kept and burned, without... without letting you know..."
"I saw the mailing address...it says Dongguan..."
These words struck Ma Junjie like a thunderbolt.
Ma Junjie froze, his ears ringing.
It turns out that Ma Xiaofang had contacted him several years ago.
For so many years, he had always thought that Ma Xiaofang had forgotten him, but in fact he had misunderstood her.
"Damn it, Liu Dongmei, that wretched woman!"
"Holy shit, holy shit!"
Ma Junjie gritted his teeth in anger, yet felt a strange, dull ache in his heart.
Hope, like a punctured balloon, deflates with a "pop."
"Ah Jie, I'm so sorry..." Ma Dazhu's voice was filled with deep apology.
"I'm incompetent, I... I couldn't help it, that's why I never... never told you..."
Ma Junjie opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found his throat was so dry that he couldn't utter a single word.
Can he blame Ma Dazhu? No.
Ma Dazhu himself was in dire straits, barely able to save himself. The fact that he risked being beaten to tell him this news was already an act of utmost kindness and righteousness.
It took him a long time to find his voice, and he said weakly,
"It's alright, bro, I'll hang up now and transfer the money to you."
"Hey, okay, Ah Jie, don't..."
Ma Junjie didn't want to listen anymore and hung up the phone.
After the call ended, he remained standing there, still holding the phone, lost in thought.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on his face, but he felt no warmth whatsoever.
It felt like a piece of my heart had been ripped out; it was empty, cold, and painful.
Yesterday he thought this was the best news he'd ever heard in his life, but now he realizes...
The news was like a shadow cast on my face, seemingly so close yet impossible to grasp.
"Beep...beep..."
A sharp car horn suddenly blared, startling Ma Junjie so much that he trembled.
He snapped out of his daze and stared blankly at the bustling traffic and hurried pedestrians on the street, feeling like a lost child.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, repeatedly reassuring himself:
It's okay, it's okay.
At least knowing that Xiaofang is in Dongguan and that she is still alive is better than anything else.
In the past, it was like finding a needle in a haystack; now, at least the scope has been narrowed down to a city.
As long as she's in this city, I'll find her someday.
Ma Junjie clenched his fists, his hands aching slightly, which cleared his muddled mind a bit.
Yes, we cannot give up.
Ma Junjie raised his head again, put his phone in his pocket, and started walking towards the bank not far away.
A dozen minutes later, he arrived at a bank, went inside, and transferred 2000 yuan to Ma Dazhu.
Of course he could transfer more, but Ma Junjie was very clear-headed about the situation.
What's the point of turning it over a lot?
In the end, it still ended up in the hands of that woman Liu Dongmei.
Two thousand yuan, no more, no less, enough for their travel expenses back to their hometown. As for the rest, he couldn't care less, nor did he want to.
With the money transferred, Ma Xiaofang's matter could be temporarily put aside.
The immediate priority is to contact Liu Xiaoshan's mother.
Liu Xiaoshan's matter has always been a knot in my heart.
Ma Junjie knew that this matter had to be brought to a close.
He took out his phone, found the phone number of Liu Xiaoshan's mother, Liu Cuie, which he had gotten from Jiang Hao yesterday, and dialed it.
"Beep...beep..."
The phone rang twice and was quickly answered; Ma Junjie didn't even have time to react.
An aged, hoarse voice, tinged with weariness, came from the receiver.
"Feed? Who are you looking for?"
Ma Junjie's heart clenched suddenly.
The sound was like someone who had been crushed by life.
He could imagine how a mother who had lost her son had gotten through those days.
"Hello, Auntie." Ma Junjie's voice softened unconsciously.
"Excuse me, are you Liu Xiaoshan's mother, Aunt Liu Cuie?"
"Yes! That's me!"
The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly rose in pitch, trembling uncontrollably, and tinged with urgent panic.
"Who are you? Do you know anything about my son? Tell me, what happened to my son?"
A barrage of questions brought tears to Ma Junjie's eyes.
He gripped his phone tightly, his throat bobbed, and he said in a deep voice.
"Auntie, it's hard to explain over the phone, let's meet and talk. Where are you now? I'll come find you."
"I...I'm in the park behind Blue Moon KTV..." Liu Cuie's voice was trembling with tears.
"I wait here every day, waiting for my son to start working at the KTV, waiting for him to come back..."
Ma Junjie felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this.
Could it be that Liu Cuie is unaware that Liu Xiaoshan is already dead?
Ma Junjie couldn't imagine it.
He bit his cheek, feeling as if a fire was burning in his chest, making him feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, Auntie, wait for me there, I'll be right there!"
"Okay! Okay! I'll wait for you! I'll wait for you!" Liu Cuie's voice was tinged with a sob of gratitude.
After hanging up the phone, Ma Junjie's face darkened completely.
The pain of a parent outliving their child is indescribable.
Ma Junjie's eyes welled up with tears. After thinking for a moment, he turned around and went back into the bank.
After ten or twenty minutes, when Ma Junjie came out again,
He was already carrying a bulging, large leather bag.
He took his things, walked to the street, and hailed a taxi.
"Driver, to Blue Moon KTV! Quickly!"