The time of the city

A year later, Mo Yu and Song Fei became close friends, and she gradually got used to life abroad. Ni Jiamu's relationship with Mo Yu also grew stronger, and he had achieved some success in his career, becoming somewhat well-known in the industry.

Nan Feng found out that Mo Yu died in the fire. He couldn't get over it for a year, even though he had to accept the fact.

"Xiaoyu, let me show you something." Song Fei took out two tickets from behind her mysteriously.

"Ah, it's the ticket for the art exhibition. I love you so much, Feifei." Mo Yu gave Song Fei a big hug.

"I know you like painting. Am I being nice? It took me a long time to get it. My hands are still sore." Song Fei raised her slender white fingers and waved them in front of Mo Yu.

"You're the best to me, I'll rub it for you."

"Xiaoyu, we still have a long time to go after the art exhibition. Should we go to a bar? I haven't been there yet."

"Oh, no," Mo Yu rubbed her hands together. "I heard bars are very chaotic and there are bad people there. Besides, my brother didn't have to work overtime today and came home early."

"I heard from my classmates that there's a really fun bar in the North City area. They've been there several times and nothing happened. You should come with me. At worst, we can just go back early."

Mo Yu couldn't stand Song Fei's nagging anymore, "Then Fei Fei, we must go home early. I'm afraid my brother will find out."

When they arrived at the gallery, Mo Yu handed over the ticket and excitedly pulled Song Fei inside. This exhibition was particularly grand, displaying famous paintings from all over the world, attracting countless painting lovers to come and appreciate it.

"Feifei, look at this painting! It's 'A Young Girl's Prayer' by Wickendt. I love his work. He excels at depicting dreamy images of young women with his expressive brushstrokes. His work is full of the pursuit of beauty. Whether it's an oil painting or a sketch, a nude young woman, or a naturalistic painting, it all gives people a fresh and elegant aesthetic enjoyment."

Mo Yu spoke eloquently about her paintings, and many art enthusiasts expressed their approval. Song Fei, not understanding what was going on, could only nod, admitting that she had always envied Mo Yu.

They both had the same background, both were orphans, but Mo Yu was born an orphan. She had never seen her parents. Since she had never had anything, there was no talk of loss. When she was six years old, her happy family was broken. She saw with her own eyes that her parents were hit by a truck and thrown several meters away.

She had done nothing wrong, and she didn't understand why the things God had given her were taken back. Mo Yu was now adopted and living a happy life, while she still had to worry about living expenses. Song Fei's inferiority complex rose again from her heart.

"Feifei, what's wrong with you? You look very unhappy. Are you too bored? Let's go out."

Looking at the girl holding her hand, Song Fei scolded herself in her heart. Mo Yu treats you so well, how can you be jealous of her? "It's okay, Xiao Yu, let's go eat. I've received my part-time salary, I'll treat you."

"Take this money and treat me. You worked so hard to earn it."

Ni Jiamu left work early after finishing his work. He had been busy on business trips and working overtime and had not been home for a week. He felt that this week was so long. He was always worried about whether the children at home had eaten on time and gone to bed early.

After opening the door, Xiaoxue jumped up and down excitedly, wagging her tail. "Look at you, you've gained weight again. Xiaoyu gave you such good food when I was not at home. Look at how fat you are now. Do you still want a wife?"

When Xiaoxue heard the word "wife", her eyes widened and she barked at Ni Jiamu, as if asking Ni Jiamu to bring his wife home quickly.

"Oh, I'm so tired." Ni Jiamu lay on the sofa, which had a faint scent of gardenia. He suddenly felt relaxed. No matter where he went, home was the place that made him feel most at ease.

During this week, he kept thinking of Mo Yu and every little detail about him and her. Sometimes he couldn't help laughing out loud. Everyone in the office said that he was in love.

"I'm going to give my little girl a surprise today and make her favorite food," Ni Jiamu muttered to himself as he walked from the living room to the kitchen, preparing to wash the ingredients he had just bought.

Mo Yu and Song Fei came to a restaurant. "Xiao Yu, let's just eat casually. There's no need to go to such a high-end restaurant. I heard it's very expensive here." Song Fei pulled Mo Yu and stood at the door of the restaurant, refusing to go in.

"You invited me to the art exhibition, so I'll treat you to a nice meal and congratulate you on your salary. My brother took me to this restaurant before, and it was really delicious."

"I really envy you for having a good brother. Your brother is already 27 years old, why isn't he in a relationship yet?" The two were seated and ordered their meals under the guidance of the waiter.

"I don't know either, but I guess he must have been dating someone behind my back, otherwise why wouldn't he come home for several days? My brother is a very reserved and shrewd person."

"A-choo, who is saying bad things about me?" Ni Jiamu sneezed several times while stewing corn and pork ribs soup.

"Your brother is so outstanding that there must be many girls who like him. You won't have to worry about not having a sister-in-law in the future."

The meal ended with the two of them joking around.

Mo Yu glanced at her watch. It was exactly half past six. "Fei Fei's bar is so far from here. It'll probably take half an hour. Can I go home at eight?"

"You can play for a while longer. Let's go get a taxi." Song Fei urged Mo Yu and hailed a taxi.

Ni Jiamu had already prepared the meal and was waiting for Mo Yu.

There was a traffic jam on the way, and it was already 7:30 when they arrived at the bar. Mo Yu took out her phone, but it was already dead and turned off. "Fei Fei, we have to go home early." Mo Yu's eyelids kept twitching, and she had a constant feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"That kid, his phone is off again. He always forgets to charge it. I'm going to teach him a lesson when I get home," Ni Jiamu complained to the table full of food. Xiaoxue beside him drooled like a waterfall.

Entering the bar, the sound of heavy metal music gave Mo Yu a headache, but the people here were the opposite of Mo Yu. They enjoyed this environment very much and swayed their heads to the beat of the music.

The people reveling under the stage were swaying in ecstasy, surrounded by bright lights, wine and women, and living a life of luxury.

The noise of the crowd, the clinking of glasses, and the deafening music put Mo Yu in a state of extreme tension, and her palms were full of sweat.

On the other hand, Song Fei had a strong ability to adapt. She skillfully pulled Mo Yu through the crowd. "Xiao Yu, I think it's so fun here." Song Fei spoke loudly into Mo Yu's ear.

The enthusiastic music and the screams of the crazy people around made Mo Yu unable to hear what Song Fei was saying. The heavy bass of the music hit Mo Yu's nerves, and she didn't like this feeling.

Song Fei sensed Mo Yu's discomfort and found a relatively quiet seat to sit down. "Xiao Yu, you should come to places like this more often in the future, and don't just hang out with writing and drawing."

Mo Yu wanted to say something, but seeing that Song Fei was in high spirits, she just smiled.

Song Fei was particularly excited tonight, chattering non-stop while pulling Mo Yu along. Mo Yu wanted to leave several times, but seeing how happy she was, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Ni Jiamu waited and waited, but Mo Yu didn't come home. He reheated the food several times. He kept checking the time on his phone. It was already half past nine. He threw his phone on the table in frustration, and the feeling of uneasiness gradually overwhelmed him.

"Fei Fei, we really have to go. It's already half past nine." Mo Yu was a little anxious. She had already drunk four glasses of juice.

"Okay, there's another activity later. Xiaoyu, please go to the door and wait for me. I'll go to the bathroom and come out soon."

"Okay." Mo Yu stood up almost immediately. She was finally able to leave this noisy place and felt relieved.

"Xiaoxue, you stay at home. I'll go out to look for Xiaoyu." Ni Jiamu picked up the car keys and ran out of the house.

Mo Yu was stopped by two thugs as she walked out of the bar. Their faces were covered in scars, as if from knife cuts. Tattoos covered their arms, which made her tremble with fear.

The two men smelled strongly of alcohol, and the mixture with the smell of cigarettes made Mo Yu feel nauseous.

"Hey, beautiful lady, you're here alone. Why don't you come in for a drink?" one of the thugs said with ill intention.

"No, I'm waiting for my friends. Thank you." Mo Yu stepped back subconsciously.

"Don't reject us, let's go." The two thugs said and walked forward to pull Mo Yu.

"Don't come over here," Mo Yu dodged them and ran forward. She didn't know where she was, she could only keep running and running, even though she was exhausted.

She was so frightened that her legs were shaking and her face was blurred with tears. She kept shouting, "Help, help, please help me."

But no one paid any attention to Mo Yu. This world was such a cruel place. As long as it didn't infringe on their own interests, who would hesitate to help a stranger? They would just quietly avoid her and pretend not to see her. Some might blame themselves, but others would even feel lucky that they hadn't encountered such a thing.

As long as it doesn't happen to them, they will never understand the fear and pain, and they won't even be able to empathize with it.

Mo Yu couldn't run anymore, and the thugs quickly caught her. One of them stepped forward and slapped her. A palm print quickly appeared on Mo Yu's fair face, and the corner of her mouth was bleeding.

After using the restroom, Song Fei left the bar and didn't see Mo Yu. She assumed she couldn't wait and had left first. She sent a message to Mo Yu and then took a taxi back to the orphanage.

"You dare to run away, you bitch? I've never slept with a Chinese woman before. Today you just serve us two brothers well." The gangster laughed so hard that his flesh piled up on his body, and pulled Mo Yu into the alley.

"Let her go."

The man before her gave Mo Yu hope. He was also Chinese, dressed simply, a white shirt and black pants that made him look slender. In the darkness, his eyes were like stars, flawless. His fair, smooth skin and high nose bridge made him even more handsome. On a night like this, he appeared before Mo Yu like a moonlit boy.

"Mind your own business, kid." The gangster ignored the boy and pulled Mo Yu to continue walking into the alley.

"I said let him go." The three of them started fighting. The boy could always dodge the gangsters' attacks accurately. When he found an opportunity, he swung his fist and hit the gangster hard. His fist was so powerful that the gangster grimaced.

The thug was not convinced that the two of them could not beat a young boy, so he took out a dagger and threatened the boy. But the boy was not afraid at all and stepped forward to take the knife from his hand.

In desperation, the gangster stabbed the boy's arm, and a large amount of blood quickly soaked his shirt. The gangster sobered up after seeing the blood, dropped the knife and disappeared without a trace.

The boy clutched his arm in agony, blood still pouring out. "Are you...are you okay? Let's go to the hospital." Mo Yu was so anxious that tears streamed down her face.

"I'm fine, can you go home by yourself?"

"No, you were injured because of me. I'll go buy you some medicine." When Mo Yu took out her wallet, she realized that she had lost it somewhere while running away.

Mo Yu tore off a piece of cloth from her skirt and said, "Just bandage it first. I don't have money to buy you medicine." Mo Yu carefully bandaged the boy's wound and tied a bow on it.

"It's bandaged, you can go home now. Do you want me to call you a taxi?" The boy touched the bow on his arm.

"Let me take you home. You were injured because of me, and I will definitely take responsibility to the end."

"Come home with me, aren't you afraid that I will end up like those two guys just now?" The boy looked towards the place where the gangsters escaped.

"I'm not afraid. You're a hero, not a bad guy."