Chapter 328: What Differentiates You from an Animal?

“What are you thinking about?”

It was after dinner.

Song Xinran noticed Xu Shaochen had been sitting on the sofa, deep in thought. She couldn’t help but ask.

“I was thinking about Zhou Sixian.” Xu Shaochen replied subconsciously.

Song Xinran’s face darkened. “That girl has it hard enough as it is. Don’t get any ideas about her.”

She wasn’t a fool. Every time she clapped with Xu Shaochen, she often found women’s hair, lipstick marks, or even the scent of perfume on him.

Considering how rarely Xu Shaochen spent time with her, she was well aware that she wasn’t the only woman in his life.

But sometimes, it’s better to pretend you don’t know. It’s better for everyone that way.

However, hearing Xu Shaochen mention Zhou Sixian now made Song Xinran instantly tense up.

“What are you thinking? I’m just feeling sorry for her.” Xu Shaochen couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Did she really think he was that kind of person? Besides, Zhou Sixian always kept her head down. Xu Shaochen hadn’t even seen her face. She probably wasn’t much to look at.

Otherwise, why would she always keep her head down? Surely it’s because she feels insecure about her looks.

Though Xu Shaochen hated to admit it, he had to concede that he was a bit of a lookist, only interested in attractive women.

Hearing this, Song Xinran finally relaxed and softened her tone. “It’s fine to feel sorry for her. Aren’t you from Jiangzhou University too? After all, she’s your junior. You can help her out with her life but don’t give her money. If you do, it’ll just get snatched up by that bastard father of hers.”

“Where does she live? I’ll go check on her,” Xu Shaochen said as he stood up.

“She lives just upstairs from me. There’s still some fruit in the fridge, take some to her. I’ll go wash the dishes.”

Saying this, Song Xinran got up and walked into the kitchen.

Xu Shaochen grabbed some fruit and headed upstairs, then knocked on Zhou Sixian’s door.

“Click—”

A moment later, the door opened, and Zhou Sixian timidly asked, “Do you… need something?”

“Junior, aren’t you going to invite me in to sit?” Xu Shaochen asked with a smile.

It was only then that Zhou Sixian realized what was happening and quickly moved aside.

In that brief moment, Xu Shaochen saw Zhou Sixian’s face for the first time and was completely stunned.

Her appearance far exceeded his expectations.

An oval face, almond-shaped eyes, a high nose bridge—an almost perfect face, though her skin had a sickly pallor from long-term malnutrition, giving her a delicate and frail appearance.

There was no doubt that she was a beauty, even more beautiful than Xie Wei.

It was surprising that a girl this pretty remained so unnoticed at school. It must have been because she always kept her head down.

Because of this, no one at school noticed Zhou Sixian’s beauty; they all assumed she was plain and poor, so they avoided her.

“You… you…”

Seeing Xu Shaochen staring blankly at her, Zhou Sixian panicked, her pale face flushing bright red, so much so that she was on the verge of tears.

“Why do you always keep your head down?” Xu Shaochen asked, tearing his gaze away.

“Someone once said… that I’m too pretty, and that’s not a good thing.” Zhou Sixian mumbled after a long pause, still keeping her head down.

Xu Shaochen was first taken aback by her response, but then felt a wave of pity.

In this society, being too beautiful without power or influence was indeed a burden, making one an easy target.

“This is for you.”

Xu Shaochen handed the fruit to Zhou Sixian and began looking around the living room.

The living room was almost bare, apart from a single sofa; there were no other large pieces of furniture, not even a TV. But it was very clean and tidy, clearly thanks to Zhou Sixian’s efforts.

Zhou Sixian followed behind Xu Shaochen, holding the fruit with a dazed expression. She seemed so flustered, as if this was Xu Shaochen’s home and she was the stranger.

“Why are you standing? Have a seat. Let’s chat.” Xu Shaochen said to her.

“Oh.”

Zhou Sixian nodded cautiously and sat far away from Xu Shaochen, looking very uneasy.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Open the door! Open the door, now!”

At that moment, loud banging came from the door, accompanied by a rough voice.

Zhou Sixian’s face instantly went white. She hurried to open the door.

“Damn it, you little wench, why are you so slow? Don’t want to let me in? Where’s the money you earned today? Hand it over.”

As soon as the door opened, a disheveled man stood there, yanking Zhou Sixian’s hair as he pulled her toward him.

“Stop!”

Xu Shaochen shouted angrily, rising from the sofa and walking to the door. He grabbed the man’s hand and pulled it away.

“Oh, so that’s why you were taking so long to open the door—it was because you’re having a secret rendezvous with a man! Just like your slut of a mother, you’re getting loose with men while you’re still so young. Disgraceful!”

The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned upon seeing Xu Shaochen, but his reaction quickly turned to rage. He sneered at Zhou Sixian.

“No… I… I didn’t…”

Zhou Sixian looked about to cry, feeling utterly humiliated that Xu Shaochen had witnessed this scene.

“What do you mean, you didn’t? I saw it with my own eyes, didn’t I? You’re just like that unfaithful mother of yours—both of you are sluts who need to be punished!”

The middle-aged man spat harshly, then glanced at Xu Shaochen and sneered, “Kid, if you want to be with this little whore, then give me some money. Otherwise, you better get lost. I’m planning to sell her to a big shot in a few days to pay off my gambling debts. With her foxy looks, she should fetch a decent price.”

“What makes you different from an animal?” Xu Shaochen glared coldly at the man.

How could he treat his own daughter like this, even planning to sell her to pay off his debts? It was utterly vile.

“You better shut your mouth! She’s my daughter. I can do whatever I want with her. Who the hell are you to question me?”

The middle-aged man scoffed, then yanked Zhou Sixian’s hair again, “Speak up! Tell your little lover to give me some money! If not, I’m taking you to be a concubine soon!”

“Waaah…” Zhou Sixian burst into tears.

“Smack!”

Xu Shaochen could no longer suppress his fury and slapped the man across the face.

“Aah!”

The middle-aged man screamed in pain, instinctively letting go of Zhou Sixian’s hair. He glared at Xu Shaochen, “Damn you! How dare you hit me! I’ll kill you!”

“Bang!”

Xu Shaochen kicked him in the stomach.

“Aah!”

The middle-aged man screamed again and flew backward, crashing into the wall, writhing in pain.

“Get out! Or I’ll make sure you don’t know how you died!”

Xu Shaochen glared down at him, his voice icy cold. He had made up his mind to put an end to this. Otherwise, Zhou Sixian would continue to suffer even worse abuse.

“You… you just wait! Both of you just wait!”

The middle-aged man clutched his stomach and staggered to his feet. He cast a venomous glance at Xu Shaochen and Zhou Sixian before stumbling as he made his escape.