Don't Be Afraid, I've Found You

Only then did Liu Qi see clearly that this was a room filled with sundries. There was no decoration on the walls or the floor. It was just a simple cement room.

In a corner of the room, there were stairs leading to the shops above and the stairs leading to the next floor.

Yue didn't say anything and walked down. Liu Qi turned back to look at the dark night outside the iron door. After hesitating for a moment, she still chose to follow.

The lowest layer was still made of cement and the ground, but there was almost nothing else.

On the wall, there was a door, which should lead to another room. The ordinary wooden door was shimmering under the light. There was a lock on the outside, but the key was hanging on the nail by the door frame.

The crying seemed to be coming from inside!

Yue picked up the key and opened the door.

The moment the door was opened, a strange stench assailed her face. She saw a girl sitting on a small bed with tears on her face. She was staring at them in astonishment.

"Ah!" Liu Qi quickly covered her mouth. Because the lights in the room weren't very bright, the little girl's disheveled appearance scared her so much that she almost cried out.

This girl was none other than Zhao Ling.

Yue walked in. Even the light from her flashlight was brighter than the light bulb in the room. The furnishings in the room were simple. There was a metal bed with an empty bowl on the table beside the bed.

In the corner, there was a manure bucket that was overflowing.

Only then did Liu Qi see the little girl clearly. She was injured, and her face was bruised. Her bright eyes had a timid look, but also seemed to contain hope.

In this cold and damp basement, the little girl was only wearing an ordinary white t-shirt. There were some blood stains on it, but fortunately, the blanket was thick.

"Who are you guys?" Zhao Ling looked at the two of them and spoke in a dialect. Her voice was hoarse and cracked.

Liu Qi's eyes were filled with heartache. She replied softly, "It's me. You sent me a distress call. Do you still remember?"

After hearing Liu Qi's words, the little girl's pupils dilated. She seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly nodded. She was so excited that she cried.

It turned out that someone had really come to save her. She had initially regretted not contacting her uncle first.

On the day she sent the distress call, it was her younger brother who sent her food. Perhaps it was because she was in a rush and her parents were busy.

Her younger brother happened to be playing with the phone, so she took the opportunity to get the phone. She logged into the QQ account that her uncle had given her. She wanted her uncle to come and save her, but in the end, she saw a message from a stranger.

She had only typed a few words when she heard the sound from the stairwell. She was so scared that she quickly logged out of QQ, but her father still found out, so she was beaten up.

Even now, her face hurt.

"Don't be afraid I found you." Liu Qi sat by the bed and reached out to pull the little girl into her arms.

The girl was extremely thin and weak. She was crying so hard that her whole body was trembling. Liu Qi's eyes reddened. She patted the little girl's back gently and comforted her silently.

"Alright, now is not the time to cry. Zhao Ling, I have something to ask you." Yue faced Zhao Ling with her phone and asked, "Do you know this person?"

Who was this person?

Liu Qi was curious at the same time. She saw a middle-aged woman on the phone. She looked ordinary, but she was dressed seductively.

The little girl lifted her head from Liu Qi's embrace. She looked at the phone screen, and hatred gradually appeared in her eyes.

"I know her." Zhao Ling first nodded, then gritted her teeth and said, "She's my aunt."

After getting Zhao Ling's answer, Yue motioned for Liu Qi to go to the side. She began to record a video and asked, "Why are you locked up here?"

Zhao Ling didn't answer immediately. Instead, she looked at Liu Qi, as if she was asking for help.

Yue had no choice but to stop filming. She said seriously, "I won't harm you."

Although she didn't know what Yue was going to do, Liu Qi still nodded her head, as if she was encouraging the little girl.

Yue asked again, "Why are you locked up here?"

"I... I'm pregnant. My mother was going to let me get an abortion, but... the abortion required a signature. My mother said that she couldn't afford to suffer humiliation." Zhao Ling spoke very slowly with a slight cough. She even looked at the door from time to time and seemed to be afraid of something.

"Continue. Does this have anything to do with your aunt?"

"Yes." Zhao Ling nodded and continued, "My aunt said that if I give birth to the child, she will be able to sell it for a lot of money. When the time comes, she will split it with my family. My parents agreed, but I don't want to have a child. I want to go to school."

"After that... After that, my dad locked me down." Zhao Ling couldn't help but cry when she said this, she sobbed, "Mom called me a sl*t. Every time dad came down, he would treat me the same as those two people..."

"Yue, stop recording. I want to take her out!" Liu Qi said and was about to hug Zhao Ling.

"No."

Yue turned off her phone and stopped Liu Qi. Her expression was cold. She looked at Zhao Ling, and she said in an unusually serious tone, "Listen, I will call the police for you. The police will come to save you. Remember, your aunt is a human trafficker, and your parents are inhumane. When you go to the police, you just have to tell them the truth. Got it?"

"I... I understand." Facing Yue, Zhao Ling nodded in fear.

After receiving Zhao Ling's response, Yue was about to leave. Liu Qi still couldn't bear it. Her heart ached for this girl. Before she left, she said to the little girl, "Remember, my name is Liu Qi. In the future, remember to contact me, okay? I'll help you."

However, the little girl grabbed her hand and sobbed in fear. "Can you take me away? My father comes down at midnight every day. He'll come down later..."

Hearing the little girl's words, Liu Qi looked at Yue. "Yue, did you hear that? She..."

Yue was a little anxious. She came over to hold Liu Qi and said to Zhao Ling, "It's meaningless for her to come with us. You'll only harm her!"

Then Yue pointed at Liu Qi and said, "Little girl, remember, she's here to save you. She had nothing to do with this. If she didn't say anything when you called for help, no one would have known that you were here. Do you understand? I'll call the police. The police will be here soon!"

The little girl just buried her head in Liu Qi's hand and cried, but she didn't continue to speak. As time passed, she gradually loosened her grip on Liu Qi.

Yue locked the wooden door again.

When the two came out, no one said anything. After a while, Liu Qi picked up her phone and called the police for Zhao Ling.

Yue wanted to drive away overnight, but Liu Qi was still worried. Yue could only park her car at the intersection until she saw the police car arrive.

"Are you relieved? She's not someone important to you. Why do you care so much about her? It's a waste of time." Yue turned the steering wheel, and there was some mockery in her tone.

When Liu Qi heard this, she turned her head and glanced at Yue. Instead of answering, she asked, "Didn't you come to save her too?"

Looking at Liu Qi's red eyes, Yue couldn't smile. She drove attentively and said, "I'm here for money. What are you here for? To be kind? A stupid person like you will shoot yourself in the foot one day!"

Liu Qi didn't want to say anything more.

She couldn't understand how her parents could treat their daughter like this. No matter how big of a mistake she had made since she was young, her parents wouldn't really hit her.

What kind of people were Zhao Ling's parents...

"Yue, send me to the North City's Taodong New District, the Star River Garden District."

"Sure, give me 300 yuan."

Hearing Yue mention money the moment she opened her mouth, Liu Qi felt a little angry.

She took out her phone and quickly transferred 300 to Yue. She couldn't help but say, "You're way too obsessed with money."

"I didn't want to charge you at first, but your destination is a little far from where I'm going. The time you waste is money." Yue was uncharacteristically talkative.

However, at this moment, Liu Qi didn't speak anymore. She stared at the phone screen. There were many missed calls and messages from Shen Nanxiao.

When she and Yue went to save the girl, she had left her phone in the car.

She quickly replied, "Shen Nanxiao, I'm here."

Buzz～

Shen Nanxiao: "You're finally replying,'' What did you go to Baishun Town for?"