Chapter 45: Chapter 45

That evening, Annie strolled up the stairs of the apartment building. Her legs ached a bit for walking too long, yet on her lips was a small smile. No one could tell why the girl was smiling, and the neighbors who walked into her didn’t mask their surprise.

Normally, this girl would always keep a blank expression despite her calm and nice nature. Also, it was only yesterday that she almost got into big trouble. Even now, the neighbors weren’t sure about the Lin family’s fate in this apartment building.

That Mr. Su was too troublesome, they had begun to grow wary of him.

“Pretty Ann, I should believe this smile is for me.” A teenage boy with a messy hairstyle blocked her path.

“Xiao Chen, did you do well at school today?”

“Bah! Stop speaking about school, Pretty Ann.” The boy looked annoyed for some seconds before he retained an excited look. “If it’s not for Pretty Ann pushing me, I wouldn’t have stepped foot there. Forget about school, how about I treat you to a chilled Cola?”

Annie laughed softly and resumed walking upstairs. “Next time, maybe. You haven’t shown me your school result yet.”

Little Chen posed his lips. But he couldn’t remain mad at her. If it wasn’t for Pretty Ann coming to their aid that day, he and his buddies would still be in police custody.

Before, his like for her was like the hill. Now, his like for her could be compared to a mountain. However, Pretty Ann seemed to like older men.

Chen was disappointed that she was turning him down again. “Pretty Ann, if I do a commendable deed someday, will you finally look at me?” He put on a stubborn expression and asked. “How about I help you deal with that Mr. Su?”

Hearing his words, Annie turned around and shook her head. “Hey, don’t get into trouble. Aren’t I strong enough to handle Mr. Su?”

“Just promise me that you won’t concede to him. Pretty Ann, I’ll become very rich soon.”

Annie resumed walking, dragging her legs upstairs. Because the apartment building was huge, one had to walk up a lot of stairs especially if their apartment resided on the top floor.

“That boy is crazy.” Mrs. Tan who had heard them talking couldn’t help but scoff. “Everyone is asking Mrs. Ming to take him to the psychiatrist, but she just loves the boy too much to realize something is wrong with him.”

“Mrs. Tan, how’s your health now?” Annie greeted and asked.

“How could you inquire about my health?” The woman sighed heavily. “I was getting better. Then Mr. Su’s chaos yesterday spiked up my blood pressure. Annie, how do you plan to deal with that man? You could report him to the authorities, you know.”

No one expected Mr. Su to return in the evening with the police. Because Mrs. Lin had slapped him so hard, the man used that as evidence to report to the police that Mrs. Lin had harassed him without any reason.

And what did he do next?

The police almost went away with Mrs. Lin then he offered her an option. Either he increased her apartment’s rent or she left the apartment building.

Despite the neighbors’ testament, the policemen seemed to have been bribed by Mr. Su. They didn’t believe that he was the one that caused trouble first.

Now, Mrs. Lin’s family was in a tight spot. Everyone could tell they couldn’t afford that much money to pay for the rent. 100,000?

“Forget about Mr. Su, please look after your health, Mrs. Tan.” Annie gave her a reassuring look.

Mrs. Tan watched the girl enter their apartment. This Lin family was strange. Since they moved here three years ago, they had never gotten into any trouble. Even if something came up, they always managed to handle the situation well.

If it was someone else in this apartment building that Mr. Su was pestering, they wouldn’t be able to confront the man talk more of agreeing to his last option about increasing their rent. They could only give up and plead with him on their knees.

“Ma, I’m back.” Annie walked into the living room, looking around the apartment. She expected to see her mother in the kitchen. To her surprise, the woman was in her room, packing her luggage.

“Annie, you returned early. Did you find an apartment so soon?” Mrs. Lin asked.

Annie dropped her bag and sat on the bed. She looked around her room which was now empty. Since Dylan had already helped her box some of her things some weeks back, Mrs. Lin didn’t have too much to pack.

“Ma, I didn’t search for an apartment,” she replied softly. “Isn’t it early to start packing?”

“Come on, Dear. You know this is for your good.” Her mother sat beside her. “If you want to live peacefully, you must avoid that Mr. Su. We can’t pay that much money for both the apartment and the store. Dylan and I will turn half of the store into a mini apartment. Once we save enough money, we can also look for an apartment and maybe a new store.”

Mrs. Lin couldn’t wait to leave this building although she had spent three years here and had gotten used to the people around here.

She wasn’t strong enough like Old Lin. She wasn’t sure if she could fight for her daughter. That Mr. Su seemed like a dangerous man. It was better that her daughter left this place.

“This is not time to be brave, Annie. You are a girl and those kinds of men are treacherous.” Mrs. Lin seemed to be aging rapidly nowadays. She was in a lot of dilemma.

The bad things that were happening wouldn’t stop. She hadn’t gotten over the fact that that boy dumped her daughter for another woman, and Mr. Su was here to make their lives hell.

Annie looked at the grieving woman. For a moment, the girl’s expression shifted. Despite her calm look, her eyes watered as if she was going to cry.

‘If I tell you things I have done, Ma, will you still pity me?’ She wrapped her arms around her, giving her a tight hug. ‘Do you love me so much that you’ll do anything to protect me?’

Mrs. Lin was quite shocked when she hugged her. And she wished the girl would cry even if it was once.

However, her hopes were for nothing. This girl seemed to have constructed strong barriers around her emotions.

The only words Mrs. Lin heard her say moments later was, “Whatever you say, Ma. If moving out will make you happy, I’ll look for somewhere else to stay.”

Annie didn’t mind Mr. Su’s pestering. She could just treat the man like air. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Lin being persistent, she would have preferred to stay with her family.

Then, how would she be able to?

Three years ago, she had hidden an important secret from this woman. And now three years later, she was about to do the same thing.

‘Forgive me, Ma. I can be a fool once, but I can’t be selfish twice. Whenever I try to protect myself, other people become the victims. How about I become the victim instead?’

Mr. Lim was a danger zone. Hopefully, they would part as strangers in the next coming year when the contract was over.