Three Women in the Cage

That day, Xinxin went home to eat as usual. In fact, she went home to see her mother Anxin, not just to eat.

Besides, the money that my mother brought back recently was used up, and the rice jar at home was empty. They hadn't eaten for several days, so they cooked a pot of vegetables mixed with sweet potato chips every day as their meal.

Xinxin actually has a meal allowance that Teacher Wu applied for for her, so she can eat at school every day and doesn't have to go back to eat vegetables and sweet potato chips with her mother.

Mom has advised Xinxin more than once not to come back and just eat something nutritious at school, but Xinxin is worried and always comes back every day to have a meal with her mother, even if it is just a bowl of vegetable leaves.

When Xinxin was packing her things and heading towards the school gate, her deskmate Wanqin suddenly ran up to her from behind, grabbed her hand and asked, "Zhang Xin, are you going home? Can I come to your house as a guest?"

She was shocked. Usually, Wanqin and she didn't have a good relationship. Why did she suddenly want to come to her house? When did their relationship become so good that they would visit each other's homes?

What's more, there is no food at home now. She absolutely doesn't want Wan Qin to go home. If she knew the situation at home, she would laugh at herself.

So she refused without hesitation, but Wan Qin didn't care about her refusal at all, and insisted on following Xinxin, as if she would not give up until she achieved her goal. Xinxin had no choice but to bite the bullet and let her follow her.

In fact, at that moment, she shouldn't have gone back. Why did she let Wan Qin succeed? She couldn't understand it, but then she thought, if she didn't go back today, maybe Wan Qin would follow her tomorrow? Well, judging by her attitude, she was definitely going to go back with her.

I was just wondering why she had to go to my house? Why so suddenly?

However, when she couldn't figure out anything, she had already arrived at the door of her home. Looking at the dilapidated house, Xinxin turned her head to glance at Wanqin, fearing that she would immediately show disgust.

Wan Qin saw Xinxin looking over and shrugged nonchalantly, "Why are you looking at me? Haha, what's the big deal? My house is the same. Come on, your mom's home, right? Let's go in quickly."

She walked in even more generously than Xinxin. Yang Yu looked at Wan Qin approaching with Xinxin and hurried forward to greet her, "Hey, is this Zhang Xin? Come in and sit down."

Wan Qin casually sat down on a stool, observing the situation in the room while asking Yang Yu a few questions. She only heard her ask casually: "Auntie, what delicious food are you making?"

Speaking of this, Yang Yu said embarrassedly: "Sister, you came suddenly, and Auntie didn't prepare anything delicious. There are only vegetables and sweet potato chips. Don't be disgusted. Zhang Xin usually eats like this. We all think it's delicious. We are just worried that you won't be used to it. Next time you come, tell Zhang Xin in advance and Auntie will buy some delicious food to treat you."

Wan Qin's sudden arrival caught Xinxin and her mother off guard. They were at a loss for a moment when such an embarrassing thing was discovered by an outsider, and could only say some polite words.

Wan Qin walked to the stove and looked at the vegetables and sweet potato chips cooking in the pot. Although she was surprised, she remained calm and said, "It's okay, Auntie, just eat this! I like this too. We usually eat this at home."

In fact, she had never experienced these. She was the only daughter in the family. Her parents always gave her the best and she had never suffered any hardship. The reason she said this was because she was afraid that they would discover the purpose of her visit.

Hearing her say this, Yang Yu felt relieved and quickly said politely: "I'm glad you don't mind. Auntie was worried that you wouldn't be used to it..."

As she was talking, Wan Qin suddenly asked embarrassedly: "Auntie, how often do you usually eat meat? I don't mean anything else, I'm just asking casually, hehe."

Yang Yu and Xin Xin were both stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered and didn't take it seriously. Yang Yu thought it was just a casual chat, so he started talking too: "Eating meat? People like us can't eat it every day. Usually, a simple meal is enough. But during the Chinese New Year, we still have to cut some meat to eat. After all, it's a festival, right!"

Wan Qin was surprised and asked, "Do you only eat meat once a year?"

Yang Yu nodded and said, "Yes, we eat it during Chinese New Year. If we don't celebrate other festivals, why would we eat that meat?"

When Wan Qin was about to say something, Yang Yu called out, "Okay, the sweet potato chips are ready. Zhang Xin, quickly scoop a bowl for your classmates and eat it. You should go to school early, otherwise you will be late."

Xinxin walked forward, filled a large bowl with food, handed it to Wanqin and said, "Come on, eat quickly!"

Wan Qin took it with an awkward smile, looked at the green vegetable leaves and sweet potato chips in the bowl, and didn't know how to eat it. She held it in her hand in a daze, without reacting for a long time.

When Xinxin was holding the bowl and preparing to eat, she caught a glimpse of Wanqin's conflicted expression and suddenly understood something.

She quickly finished the vegetables in the bowl, then walked to Wan Qin and said, "I'm done. If you don't want to eat, just leave it there! Let's go back to school now. I'll treat you to a meal when we get there..."

Wan Qin put the bowl over awkwardly, then smiled awkwardly at Yang Yu, who smiled back indifferently.

After entering the school gate, Wan Qin suddenly said that she had something to do and asked Xinxin to go to the classroom first, so Xinxin had to leave first.

After Xinxin left, Wanqin quietly came to the office, and sure enough, Teacher Wu was already waiting there.

As soon as they walked in, Teacher Wu asked, "How is it? Have you arrived at her house?"

Wan Qin nodded and said: "Yes, they went there. Their family was so poor that they didn't even have rice to eat. They cooked a pot of vegetables and sweet potato chips, and they enjoyed it very much. Moreover, their family only ate meat once a year..."

Wan Qin told Teacher Wu everything she had learned. After listening to Teacher Wu, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. When Wan Qin left, he slumped dejectedly in his chair.

Every time he understood Xinxin a little more, his heart broke. He had no idea that Xinxin's situation was so difficult, not only internally but also externally.

Once again, he didn't know whether it was right or wrong to continue his investigation.

But no matter what, he still gradually exposed the embarrassment that Xinxin wanted to hide, putting her in a pitiful situation that would soon become known to everyone.

But Xinxin still doesn't know why she failed to be selected as a probationary party member, why those classmates suddenly invited her to their homes, and why her deskmate Wan Qin wanted to come to her home. No one told her these things.

She was the only one who was kept in the dark, and the person who said he was doing it for her own good gradually made her expose her embarrassment to others.

Sometimes I really don’t know whether everything he did was redemption or a step further into the abyss...