Xu Zifan pushed open the shop door and walked out when he suddenly heard Shao Hua's urgent warning.
[A wine bottle fell from above the host!]
Without thinking, Xu Zifan rolled to the side, and with a crash, the bottle shattered where he had just been standing. Upstairs, someone screamed and cried out from the window, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! My hand slipped and I couldn't hold it! Are you alright? Did it hit you? I'm coming down right now, I'm so sorry!"
Luo Chen and Jiang Dong were also startled and rushed over to help him up.
Jiang Dong: Are you alright?
Xu Zifan shook his head, dusted himself off, and surprisingly, he wasn't surprised anymore. He casually opened WeChat and showed the QR code, "Add me, I just applied."
Jiang Dong was taken aback. "You just applied? You didn't have WeChat before?"
"Yes, I do, but I don't plan to use it anymore." Xu Zifan shrugged and handed him the phone, putting his hands in his pockets. His WeChat contacts used to only include the original owner's uncle and his family; there was no need to continue using it.
Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Jiang Dong stopped asking and quickly added Xu Zifan on WeChat and exchanged phone numbers. He did the same with Luo Chen.
Just then, two young girls ran down from upstairs and immediately went to apologize to Xu Zifan. They had been drinking beer and had been enjoying the breeze on the balcony when one of them lost her grip on the bottle and it fell. When they saw Xu Zifan lying on the ground, they were both terrified and started crying, thinking they had hit him.
Xu Zifan waved his hand and put his phone away. "You didn't touch me. Clean this up. Be careful next time and don't take dangerous items from the window. I'm leaving."
Xu Zifan said goodbye to Luo Chen and Jiang Dong, then took a taxi straight to the original owner's uncle's house. He suddenly remembered that he had to go back; his household registration book and ID card were there. Reissuing them would be too much trouble, so it would be easier to go and get them. He could also explain to them why he had been kicked out without any explanation.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the residential area, Xu Zifan got out of the car, found a secluded spot, and entered his spatial dimension. He changed back into the dirty clothes he had changed out of earlier, removed his pendant and ring, smeared some dirt on his body and face, and put on a haggard makeup, looking sickly and miserable.
He then rummaged through the medicine cabinet, prepared some medicine, and immediately felt burning hot all over, as if he had a high fever. However, he didn't feel uncomfortable; it was just a superficial sensation.
After changing his clothes, he slowly limped into the residential compound. The security guard in the gatehouse saw him and asked, "Who are you looking for? Are you from this compound?"
Xu Zifan slowly raised his head and said blankly, "I used to live in apartment 1012 in building C. I came back to get some things."
The security guard glanced at the records, paused, then looked up again. "Are you the adopted nephew? What happened to you?"
Xu Zifan lowered his head, his voice light and filled with despair, "My uncle kicked me out, I'm here to get my ID card..."
He didn't say anything more and continued limping inside. Many elderly people chatting under the shade of the trees were nearby; they had noticed him when he entered and heard his words. An elderly woman from Building C walked up to him and said, "Oh, it really is 1012! You're Xu Zifan, right? You were really kicked out by your uncle? Why?"
Xu Zifan shook his head. "Maybe Uncle is in a bad mood. His business is having problems."
"That has nothing to do with you. You're still in school, aren't you?"
Xu Zifan lowered his head even further, "My uncle said I'm unlucky, and that I've brought them bad luck too... Maybe so, my uncle's business hasn't been doing well lately..."
The old lady lived in the same building as him, so of course she knew he was particularly unlucky. But because she had lived there for so long, she didn't believe this explanation. "You've lived together for so many years, if you were going to be unlucky, you would have been by now. How can this be blamed on you? Are you drunk and talking nonsense? Come on, I'll go and talk to your uncle."
Xu Zifan shook his head again and said with a wry smile, "No need, Grandma Zhang. Uncle probably drank too much and spoke the truth while drunk. My aunt, my cousin, and my cousin didn't drink, and they said the same thing. They even told me to just die out there so as not to cause them any trouble."
I don't want to trouble them anymore. I used to think that since my parents are gone, what they left behind should be enough to support me, so I felt comfortable living at my uncle's house. But now... since my uncle doesn't like me, I don't want to bother them anymore. I'll take my ID card and leave. Thank you.
"Hey? What's going on? Your uncle took your parents' inheritance? Besides, how could he let you die out there? Who said such a vicious thing?" The old lady had a loud voice, and everyone in the neighborhood heard her. Those old men and women were the most meddlesome, and they were all neighbors, so they all came over to ask what was going on.
Xu Zifan had already started walking forward. After listening to what Old Mrs. Zhang had said, they all agreed that this family was outrageous. Not wanting to support them was one thing, but behaving so disrespectfully was a serious character flaw. And to take their parents' inheritance? That made things even more problematic!
Xu Zifan strolled upstairs slowly. The elderly people were more agile than him and followed closely behind. Xu Zifan quickened his pace, then stood at the door and rang the doorbell.
The original owner's cousin, Xu Xiaoxiao, opened the door and immediately scolded Xu Zifan upon seeing him: "You jinx, why are you back again? Get out of here! Didn't I tell you to get far away the other day?"
"Wow, this girl's mouth is amazing!"
Xu Xiaoxiao was startled by the noise. She pushed open the door and came out to find seven or eight elderly people standing there. Her face immediately darkened, and she glared at Xu Zifan, saying, "What are you doing? Bringing people to our house to cause trouble? What have we done to you?"
Xu Zifan said calmly, "I'm just taking my ID card and leaving. Move aside."
Xu Xiaoxiao was annoyed by his tone, "What do you mean? You still haven't said why you called them here?"
Hearing the commotion, Xu Xiaoxiao's mother, Deng Qin, rushed out to see what was happening. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Grandma Zhang stepped forward and said, "Little Deng, how could you kick this perfectly good child out like that? He's penniless; won't he starve to death outside? No matter how much you throw a tantrum, you can't treat a child like that, don't you think?"
Another elderly woman chimed in, "Look at this child's flushed face, he has a fever. You should take him to the hospital right away, lest something bad happen."
Deng Qin felt uneasy, but more than that, she was annoyed and disgusted. What was wrong with Xu Zifan? He just left, why did he make such a big deal out of it? She forced a smile and said, "You've misunderstood. Zifan went out to play by himself. We've been looking for him for days." As she spoke, she went to pull Xu Zifan inside. "Zifan, come inside quickly. Look at what happened to you. How did you get like this?"
Xu Zifan dodged her hand and said coldly, "I'm not playing around. Last night, I thought I was going to die, and I finally understood everything. My uncle and aunt don't want to support me and want to kick me out. My younger brother and sister also think I'm in the way at home. I understand now. This is your home, and I'm an outsider. I don't want any of my parents' things anymore. I'm here to get my ID card and household registration book. I'll leave after I get them. Aunt doesn't need to play the kind aunt anymore."
Xu Zifan bypassed them and went straight into his room to get his household registration booklet and ID card. The original owner didn't have any other important belongings, so he simply left them behind. His household registration booklet was separate; he went in briefly, then came out clutching the thin booklet and prepared to leave.
Deng Qin was stunned. What about his parents' things? How did he know? What was going on? She hurriedly grabbed Xu Zifan, saying urgently, "What nonsense are you talking about? What about your parents' things? Your father is dead, and your mother ran off with all the money. What did we take? We raised you for so many years, and you…"
Xu Zifan swayed as if he was about to faint. Grandma Zhang quickly supported him, frowning and saying, "Oh dear, why is he so hot? Xiao Deng, be careful, it's more important to get the child to the hospital first!"
Xu Zifan took the opportunity to break free from Deng Qin's hand, walked outside and turned his back to her, saying, "Whatever you say goes. Anyway, I don't want anything. If you're afraid I'll pass on bad luck to you, then we'll cut ties from now on. I won't come looking for you again, so don't worry."
Xu Zifan entered the elevator and bowed to the elderly people. "Grandpas and grandmas, thank you for your concern, but it doesn't matter anymore. Family members who don't truly care about me are fine without me. I'm alright. Maybe it'll be better for me to leave. At least I won't have to do housework from morning till night anymore, and I'll have more time to study."
"Xu Zifan, stop right there!" Deng Qin was furious and shouted as she rushed over to grab him.
Seeing this, the elderly people instinctively stopped her. The child was so seriously ill; he had almost fainted just now. If they let Deng Qin go, wouldn't he beat him?
The elevator doors closed after that brief delay. Xu Zifan left the apartment complex, wiped his face, and quickly hailed a taxi to a hotel. He had money in his spatial storage, so he wasn't worried about that. Once inside the hotel, he could finally take a proper shower and lie in bed for a while. He leisurely browsed the internet on his phone, while his uncle's family was in an uproar.
Deng Qin told the old folks that Xu Zifan was talking nonsense, but they didn't really believe her. Judging from how Xu Xiaoxiao scolded Xu Zifan, their family couldn't possibly treat Xu Zifan well. Besides, Old Mrs. Zhang knew perfectly well that Xu Zifan did housework every day.
How could such a family willingly raise their nephew for so many years? It was one thing if no one mentioned it before, but now that Xu Zifan has personally said that they took his parents' things, they immediately believe it. That very day, they spread the word about it in the activity area and the senior activity center.
People sympathize with the weak, and Xu Zifan seemed more credible in this matter, so his second uncle's family quickly became the object of gossip and contempt. In the same neighborhood, many children attended the same school, and the next day, news of Xu Xiaoxiao's family spread throughout the school. Xu Xiaoxiao felt strange looks from others at school and went home crying in anger.
Xu Zifan's second uncle, Xu Wuguo, was so angry he wanted to beat him to death, but he couldn't find him anywhere. He was so frustrated he couldn't breathe, and had nowhere to vent his anger. On a whim, Xu Zifan put on a show, causing a huge commotion, just to collect some interest. If it turned out they had indeed embezzled what belonged to the original owner, he would settle accounts with them later.
Xu Zifan stayed in the hotel for three days. His phone ran out of battery, so he forgot to turn it on after charging it. When he finally remembered and turned it on, a bunch of messages popped up, almost crashing his phone. There were WeChat messages, text messages, missed calls from Luo Chen, Jiang Dong, and unknown numbers. When he opened WeChat, he saw that something had happened to Jiang Dong.
When business came knocking, he smiled and dialed the number.