She stared at Shen Qingqing without the slightest trace of pity and said coldly, "Once I give birth to a boy this time, our good days will come. You can be recognized by your ancestors, and I'll finally have a proper status."
Shen Qingqing shrank back fearfully, nodding from time to time as she listened to Teacher Lu's words.
"But your brother can't go."
Shen Qingqing was surprised.
Not go?
Was he going to be left here all alone? Without anyone to take care of him, he would die.
Although Shen Qingqing had hoped more than once that he would just die, it was really terrifying to talk about such a life - taking thing.
However, the truth was even more terrifying than Shen Qingqing had imagined.
"What she means is to get rid of him before I give birth. Otherwise, he'll always be a burden."
Shen Qingqing was stunned for a moment.
Was he going to be sent to a nursing home?
That was impossible. If they were going to take care of him, they would have done it long ago, instead of just thinking about it now.
Then was it...
Shen Qingqing's eyes widened.
She suddenly realized something and instantly felt as if a pair of big hands were squeezing her neck, making it hard for her to breathe and almost suffocating her.
"You're the one who has to do this," Teacher Lu said indifferently, as if the one about to lose his life was not her own son but an enemy. "I'm about to give birth soon. I can't be tainted with bad luck. He is our backer, so he can't do it either. Only if you do it will you not be held responsible. Do you understand?"
Shen Qingqing's mind went blank with a buzzing sound, and she kept shrinking back.
"No! I can't do it!"
"Do you want to lose everything?" Teacher Lu suddenly got angry again and grabbed Shen Qingqing's collar fiercely. "We've endured so many years. We're finally about to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Are you just going to give up like this? You may be okay with it, but I'm not! If you don't want to do it, fine. Then you can just take that burden with you and go wherever you want. Stay far away from us and never show up again! Whether you live or die in the future has nothing to do with me!"
Shen Qingqing was so shocked that she almost lost her wits and shivered constantly.
Yes, she had waited so long for this day. How could she give up!
Life was already hard enough now. If it got even worse in the future, Shen Qingqing would rather die!
"No, I can't leave!" Shen Qingqing shook her head nervously.
"Then do as I say," Teacher Lu let go of the hand that was grabbing Shen Qingqing. "There are still a few months left. It's enough time for you to prepare. As long as you handle this well, everything will be fine later. But if you don't, just get out of here!"
Teacher Lu got up and left, leaving Shen Qingqing sitting alone on the cold edge of the kang, in a daze.
She hugged her arms and shivered for a while, then suddenly shed two tears.
Then she suddenly laughed.
She was about to make it through. She was almost there!
Suddenly, the sound of a police siren rang out outside.
Shen Qingqing looked out and saw several policemen getting out of the car and walking straight towards the house.
"What are you doing?" Teacher Lu quickly tried to stop them. "Are you here to arrest a fugitive or what? There are only my daughter and me in this family. Why are you here?"
The policemen were quite polite. They greeted Teacher Lu and asked, "Is your daughter Shen Qingqing?"
"Yes."
"A few days ago, she testified in a molestation case. But after investigation, there are some discrepancies in this case. So we need your daughter to cooperate with us again."
The thin door didn't block the sound at all. Shen Qingqing could hear everything clearly inside and suddenly started to tremble.
What did they mean by discrepancies? Had Yun Que'er found new evidence?
This couldn't happen!
Teacher Lu also instantly realized the seriousness of the situation. She quickly put on a smiling face and said, "But my daughter has already testified. The incident was so terrifying at that time that my daughter couldn't sleep well for several days. If it weren't for helping her friend out of kindness, she wouldn't have testified. So maybe we can just let it go. Don't scare the child again."
"Don't worry about this. We're just re - collecting evidence. We won't scare the child," the policeman said. "Xiao Liu, go and bring the child out."
Unable to stop them, Teacher Lu had to follow them in and instructed Shen Qingqing, "My child, you must speak properly. Don't cause any trouble for the uncles."
Teacher Lu's tone was gentle, but her eyes were full of threats.
"Come back early. Your father and I are waiting for you."
How could Shen Qingqing not understand what Teacher Lu meant.
She was clearly saying that they couldn't lose the wealth and status they had finally obtained because of her.
Shen Qingqing felt extremely helpless.
It was only at this moment that she understood how terrifying the unknown could be.
Shen Qingqing was still taken away. She huddled in the police car, silent.
The policeman beside her glanced at her. "Why doesn't your mother accompany you?"
Shen Qingqing bit her lips.
In Teacher Lu's life, there were more important things.
And she was just a burden.
Soon they arrived at the police station. Unexpectedly, Yun Que'er and Li Lan were also there.
There were also other people, who seemed to be from the Yun and Li families.
Shen Qingqing's eyes widened.
Why were they together? Had Li Lan retracted her testimony?
Yun Que'er looked at Shen Qingqing leisurely, smiled, and then stepped forward.
"I'm really sorry to trouble you to come here so late."
Alarm bells rang in Shen Qingqing's heart.
She had a bad premonition but didn't want to admit it.
She had to straighten her back and look at Yun Que'er proudly.
"Classmate Yun really knows how to talk. But I'm here for justice. If seeking justice is considered a trouble, then there may be no law and order in this world."
Yun Que'er curled her lips. "Then classmate Shen, you must tell the truth properly. Don't be so scared that you can't speak clearly and end up hurting yourself."
Shen Qingqing felt a tingling sensation on her scalp.
The sense of unease was getting stronger and stronger. Shen Qingqing became more and more scared. It was only the policeman's urging beside her that brought her back to her senses.
"Alright. Since you're all classmates, you'll have plenty of opportunities to meet in the future. There's no need to rush. Besides, it's just an interrogation. You'll be out soon."
Hearing what the policeman said, Shen Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief.
Maybe things weren't as terrible as she had imagined.
Shen Qingqing followed the policeman in. Who would have thought that as soon as she sat down, something happened that Shen Qingqing couldn't accept the most.
"This is the victim's new testimony," the policeman took out a file. "According to the victim's own account, she was very scared at that time and her memory was a bit fuzzy. But today she remembered some details and said that the teacher didn't actually molest her."
Shen Qingqing opened her mouth wide. "How is this possible? I saw it with my own eyes. Maybe she was threatened, which is why she suddenly retracted her testimony."
"Since the victim was a bit delirious at that time, someone else reported the case on her behalf. It's possible that the report wasn't clear. This doesn't count as retracting her testimony," the policeman said. "Moreover, they provided a recording. When the teacher's daughter talked to the victim, her tone was calm, and there was no sign of threat."