Chapter 204: Sin of Damnation
Teacher Song stood up, looking me over from head to toe, and said, "Teacher Xiao, I hear you've been working here for almost two years and never once walked a child home. What's with this sudden act of kindness today?"
"This just shows my attitude..." I said with a bitter smile. "I'm turning over a new leaf."
Those two idiots ended up agreeing.
After all, they weren't as clever as me.
Tonight, it was just me and Shanshan.
When the teachers and children had all gradually left the kindergarten, I found Shanshan.
This little girl, whom I had hit dozens of times and pinched countless times.
"Shanshan, I'll take you home," I said to her with a smile.
The moment she saw me, her whole body stiffened, as if she had seen a monster.
"Teacher... Teacher Xiao..." Shanshan lowered her head deeply. "I want Teacher Song or Teacher Chen to take me home..."
I smiled and leaned in close to her, saying, "You little slut, I suggest you don't be ungrateful. If you don't agree, the teacher will have to pinch your thigh again."
Shanshan trembled all over, tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to cry but couldn't.
"Be good, the teacher will take you home." I took her hand.
I practically dragged her the whole way. This girl wasn't cooperating at all.
This is why I hate children.
After leaving the kindergarten, I turned into a few alleys and headed to the meeting spot Brother Qu and I had agreed on.
"Teacher... Teacher Xiao, this isn't the way home..." Shanshan said fearfully.
"Don't worry, I'm a teacher. I won't hurt you." I gripped her hand tightly and pulled her deeper into the alley.
Brother Qu was waiting there in a van, along with several men who looked like thugs.
When they saw me coming, they all got out of the car.
"Brother Qu, is this the one you talked about?" a man with a scarred face asked.
"Yeah." Brother Qu nodded.
"Damn, it's a little girl."
Hearing that, Brother Qu's expression turned sour, too.
"Xiao Ran, are you stupid?" Brother Qu said harshly. "What did you bring a little girl for?"
"Stupid?" I froze. "You never said whether you wanted a boy or a girl. How is this my fault?"
"Enough, stop arguing. A little girl can still fetch some money. This is our first job since getting out, so let's keep a low profile." Brother Qu pulled Shanshan into the van, then took out his wallet and counted out three thousand yuan for me.
"Three thousand?" I was stunned. "Brother Qu, are you kidding me? Wasn't it thirty thousand?"
"Thirty thousand is for a boy. A little girl is only worth three thousand."
Without looking back, he was about to get in the van, and I got pissed off.
"No way!" I grabbed Brother Qu's arm. "You didn't say that beforehand! You only said thirty thousand! Give me the rest!"
"Let go!" He kept trying to shake off my arm.
"I'm not letting go!" I shouted. "If you don't give it to me, I'll scream and let all the neighbors around here hear!"
"Fuck you!"
Brother Qu slapped me across the face, knocking me to the ground.
They drove off in the beat-up van without a backward glance.
I lay on the ground stunned for a long time, until the neighbors from nearby gathered around.
"Miss, are you okay?" an old woman asked.
"Who was shouting just now? What happened?"
The crowd buzzed with chatter, and suddenly a plan came to me.
"Call the police! Someone snatched a child!"
Those words stunned everyone.
...
I was taken to the police station, where they took my statement.
Chen Ting and Teacher Song, who had already gone home from work, also showed up. When they heard Shanshan had been taken, worry was written all over their faces.
Keep acting, keep pretending.
You're not even related to Shanshan. What's there to worry about?
"Xiao Ran, what did you do to Shanshan?!" Chen Ting grabbed me by the collar the moment she appeared. "She's already so pitiful—can't you just leave her alone?"
Several officers hurried over to stop her. "Ma'am, please calm down."
"I don't need to calm down!" Chen Ting pointed at me and said to the officers, "Comrades, no matter what happened to Shanshan, this woman is definitely involved! I swear it!"
"Chen Ting, that's enough." I stood up, my expression equally angry. "I already said the child was taken. Many neighbors saw it happen. They not only took the child, but they hit me too."
"You're lying!"
Chen Ting looked furious, while Teacher Song stood off to the side, deep in thought.
After a moment, Teacher Song turned to an officer and asked, "Where exactly was Shanshan taken?"
"At the east end of Old South Street," one officer said.
"Old South Street?" Teacher Song frowned and looked at me. "Shanshan's home is straight down Yangjiang Middle Road. How did you end up on Old South Street?"
"Yangjiang Middle Road? This was my first time taking Shanshan home, so I didn't know the way. I took a wrong turn," I replied.
An officer tapped the table and said, "Ms. Xiao Ran, I hope you're not hiding anything. Everyone wants to find the child as soon as possible. If you're lying, it'll make the search much harder."
"I'm really not lying." I shook my head. "Those people took the child and hit me. There were several men—I couldn't fight back."
I was secretly pleased. They'd never find any evidence.
I had already deleted the call log with Brother Qu. There was no way to pin anything on me now.
Teacher Song turned back to the officer and said, "Officer, don't you find it suspicious? Xiao Ran got lost and just happened to be at that spot, and that's exactly where the traffickers were?"
"We've considered all that." Another officer pulled out a file. "But there are witnesses at the scene who say they heard Xiao Ran yell at the traffickers, 'If you don't give it to me, I'll scream'—something along those lines. That shows she tried to resist them. Also, someone saw her get hit."
Teacher Song fell silent after hearing that. A moment later, she spoke slowly, enunciating each word: "What if Xiao Ran was working with the traffickers from the start, and that line was just her demanding money?"
I had to admit—I had underestimated this woman.
"Why don't you arrest her first? I feel like you'll eventually get the child's whereabouts out of her," Teacher Song said.
Upon hearing that, the officer slowly raised his head and said, "We need evidence to handle a case, and the same goes for making an arrest. Based on the current situation, there are no surveillance cameras in that alley. Whether Xiao Ran was an accomplice requires further investigation. For now, you'll have to go home and wait for news. Our priority is to set up roadblocks and search, and find the child as soon as possible."
They asked a few more unimportant questions and finally let me go.
I walked out the door with Chen Ting and Teacher Song, and just then we saw a hunched old woman shuffling toward the police station.
She had a strong, unpleasant smell of old age.
Disgusting.
"Teachers, are you Shanshan's teachers?" the old woman asked, tears in her eyes.
"Ah..." Chen Ting suddenly looked guilty. "Are you Shanshan's grandmother?"
"I'm so sorry..." The old woman held back her grief, grabbed Chen Ting's hand, and even bent down to bow. "My granddaughter has caused you teachers so much trouble... I'm really sorry... My granddaughter..."
"No, not at all!" Chen Ting quickly helped her up. "Auntie, losing Shanshan is our fault too... We will definitely find her."
"Which one is Teacher Xiao?" the old woman asked again.
Both women looked at me at the same time.
"Teacher Xiao..." The old woman came over and took my hand. "Shanshan told me she's always making you angry... Please don't blame her... Now she's caused you so much trouble... I'm so sorry..."