I am chasing a rough man in the 80s
Chapter 935 He Betrayed You

Chapter 935: Chapter 935 He Betrayed You

Suizi had held back her tears all day, but when she heard what the child said, she couldn’t hold back any longer and embraced Ma Dong with tears streaming down her face.

How can life be so cruel as to shear a child like a sheep?

"Don’t cry, I’m fine. Dad and Mom are very lonely over there, but I have you guys with me, I’m okay..."

Ma Dong reached out his little hand to pat Suizi.

Suizi felt even worse, her heart ached like it was being cut, yet she had to keep her spirits up and talked to the child about Grandma Ma’s condition.

For now, the doctors said surgery wasn’t an option; they could only rely on painkillers and traditional Chinese medicine to slow things down and improve the elderly woman’s quality of life in her final days.

There was no need to burden the elderly woman with the truth about her condition during her last days; it was best for her to be happy.

That night, Suizi talked with Ma Dong until very late, watching him try to act strong and grown-up, then breaking down in tears. Even when he cried, it was a silent cry, in fear that Grandma Ma might hear.

The next day, under Suizi’s arrangement, Ma Dong called Li Tieguang and reported the information Li Tieguang had asked him to find out.

Li Tieguang arranged to meet him when there was no one at home.

The meeting place was set in a dead-end alley not too far from Suizi’s home—it was chosen to avoid being seen by others.

Suizi hesitated. She trusted the child, both in his ability to handle matters and his character, but she couldn’t treat him as just a ten-year-old kid.

The person she didn’t trust was Li Tieguang.

Li Tieguang was a very cunning man, and the fact that he chose a deserted place for the meeting, without any hiding spots, meant that Yu Jingting wouldn’t be able to protect the child from the shadows.

Suizi feared he would harm the child; whether it was kidnapping or beating, neither was something Suizi wished to see.

Suizi decisively abandoned this plan; fishing shouldn’t involve using a child as bait.

Seeing that she was unwilling, Ma Dong agreed to her face that he wouldn’t go.

The next day, as Suizi went to school and Wang Cuihua took a moment to bathe, Ma Dong disappeared.

It drove her to a frenzy searching for him everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found. Wang Cuihua was so anxious that she pulled at her hair, but then Ma Dong returned.

When Wang Cuihua asked where he had been, he simply said he went out to play nearby.

Wang Cuihua didn’t question it further.

Someone from the Fan Family fell ill that night, and Suizi had to take her parents’ place to go and give some money, as Yu Jingting was out socializing and neither of the couple would be back for dinner.

Yu Shuisheng was also away at a meeting in the minefield, leaving Wang Cuihua feeling bored and listless as she took care of the child.

Luoluo was in a particularly bad mood today because she had been scolded for not practicing piano due to playing around, her little face downcast all day.

Luoluo was exceptionally talented; she could play many pieces just by picking them up, which led her to develop a bit of a shortcut-taking mentality.

The third maternal grandmother would leave her several pieces to learn each week, and Luoluo could bluff her way through without much effort, managing to go unnoticed for half a month. Today, however, if she hadn’t been caught out by the third maternal grandmother during class, Luoluo could have continued to coast along.

The third maternal grandmother was both amazed by the child’s talent and irritated by her cunning. Dealing with such a gifted child, every teacher considered them a precious treasure, handling them with utmost care, fearful of leading a promising young talent astray. So she took out a small ruler and gave Luoluo’s palms a round of light spanks.

Though not hit hard, the little girl wailed as if she were being slaughtered, which broke the third maternal grandmother’s heart.

After the child left, the third maternal grandmother sat there wiping her own tears, but there was nothing she could do—despite the heartache, the child needed to be disciplined.

When Luoluo returned, she was downcast and dispirited, not even lifting her head, ignoring even her favorite brother Dong whom she usually clung to.

Seeing her unhappy, Ma Dong led the boy and girl twins to the grocery store and bought a can of food. In times of sickness or disaster, eating canned food was ingrained in the bones of Dongbei people, and even a child knew to do this.

Wang Cuihua found it strange to see the three children each carrying a can of food back home; Luoluo said it was brother Dong who bought them, which made Wang Cuihua suspect that Suizi gave the child some pocket money.

Wang Cuihua called Ma Dong over and earnestly told him not to waste money. After speaking, she wanted to give him some pocket money, but Ma Dong flatly refused.

The next day, Wang Cuihua found another toy gun in her granddaughter’s hand and some candy stuffed in her grandson’s little backpack. Upon asking, it turned out to be yet another purchase from Brother Dongbei.

This caught Wang Cuihua’s attention.

Although Suizi would give some pocket money to the older children in the family, she never gave them too much at once. All the kids knew that earning money was hard and that they shouldn’t live extravagantly; Ma Dong was spending a bit too freely.

That toy gun cost several yuan each, and ordinary families wouldn’t usually buy such things for their children on a whim.

After some thought, Wang Cuihua decided to bring this matter to Suizi’s attention.

Suizi was a bit troubled these last few days as well.

Since Chen Tong had been brought back, Chen He had tried to meet her several times. Suizi made excuses for being busy and unavailable, but Chen Tong continued to fabricate coincidental encounters.

Visiting a sick relative? She would run into him.

Walking on the way to school? She’d still run into him.

And every time they met, Chen Tong acted pitiful, making it seem as if Suizi was pressuring him, as if she had heartlessly decided to send him to the Working School.

This situation seriously affected Suizi’s mood. Adding to that, her period was approaching, and she found herself irrationally irritated more often than not.

So when Wang Cuihua mentioned Ma Dong’s careless spending, Suizi felt her head get hot with anger, blood rushing to her brain and to her belly, as if this triggered her monthly aunt’s visit.

Ma Dong previously received 50 yuan from Li Tieguang, and he had handed it over to Suizi when he came back. Suizi thought about refusing it, but Yu Jingting insisted, saying that not accepting the money would make the child feel even worse.

Where did he get more money?

He must have gone to meet Li Tieguang in secret.

Thinking of this, Suizi’s first reaction was to find Ma Dong and give him a piece of her mind before punishing him to write a self-criticism. She had repeatedly told him about the dangers, so why would he disobey and still go see that man?

But then the child disappeared and couldn’t be found anywhere.

When Suizi and her mother-in-law had searched all over the nearby areas to no avail and still couldn’t find Ma Dong, Suizi felt as if the sky was falling down on her.

Grandma Ma had been sleeping a lot these days, requiring several naps a day. She was still asleep at the moment. If she woke up and saw her grandchild missing, wouldn’t she go insane?

Suizi was frantic; Yu Jingting was out and couldn’t be reached, and she was so anxious that she considered calling the police.

Her mind was filled with images of Ma Dong being abducted by human traffickers.

As Suizi was obsessing over this, Chen Tong arrived.

Before, it was just pretending to bump into each other on the street, but today he came directly to her door.

Suizi was in a rush to find Ma Dong and had no time to deal with him, but Chen Tong spoke first:

"I know where Ma Dong is. He has betrayed your family!"

"What?" Suizi was bewildered by his claim.

"I saw it with my own eyes today. He was with a man, and he gave the man a brown paper bag; in return, the man gave him a stack of money. It was this thick."

Chen Tong gestured with his hand. If he wasn’t exaggerating, that stack of money was conservatively a little over a thousand yuan.

"You were following him?!" Suizi was displeased.

"I’m doing this for your own good! He doesn’t deserve to be your son! Someone from such a poor family background has only one motive for getting close to you—it’s money!"

Suizi narrowed her eyes at the agitated Chen Tong, feeling that something was quite wrong.

He had only been at the Working School for a few months, and now he seemed like a different person. Such talk wasn’t at all what one would expect from someone his age.

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