Strawberry Pop Pop Pop chapter 8

The night in the neighborhood was particularly quiet. Han Yang sat downstairs with his tattered backpack at around nine o’clock.

Nine o’clock marked the time when Li Li finished her night shift. It had been about two hours since she had her outburst earlier in the evening. Han Yang thought it was about time to head back.

With his backpack in hand, he walked towards the building and coincidentally ran into Gu Nuan again.

Gu Nuan’s eyes were still moist with tears as he cowered behind his Omega dad Ji Mu, who had come to pick him up. Han Yang lowered his head, tactfully moving aside to give them space.

In the shadow of the streetlight, Han Yang seemed to be swallowed by the elongated darkness.

When Gu Nuan saw him, he instantly became nervous and clung tightly to his dad’s clothes, still bearing the fear from two hours ago.

“Don’t be scared, Daddy’s here.”

Ji Mu, who was concerned for his son, looked at Han Yang with complex emotions. Normally disinterested in external matters, he was now seriously assessing Han Yang for the first time.

What caught his attention the most was the torn backpack, from which you could see that it was filled with various items. It could be textbooks, bread, or even the strawberry milk that Han Yang had secretly stashed in his backpack.

Ji Mu thought about what grandma Zhang had told him earlier, and he had some understanding of Han Yang’s family situation.

So he thought that these hidden “food items” were Han Yang’s reserves, prepared for the long hungry nights.

Under the starlight, they “passed by each other.”

Han Yang never looked at Gu Nuan, as he believed they would no longer have any connection.

However, unexpectedly, a sobbing “brother” reached Han Yang’s ears, and Gu Nuan choked out, “Does it hurt a lot?”

Han Yang’s heart tightened, and he looked at Gu Nuan with surprise and unfamiliarity. No one had ever asked him such a question since he could remember. He was flustered and didn’t know how to respond, initially just wanting to avoid it.

But Gu Nuan’s eyes were slightly red, like a pitiful little rabbit, which even the emotionally rigid Han Yang found heartbreaking.

He instinctively wanted to reach out and hold Gu Nuan’s hand.

However, Han Yang ultimately didn’t move a step, as he saw Ji Mu tightly holding Gu Nuan’s hand, displaying genuine concern.

This kind of parental protection and care for a child pushed Han Yang, who had briefly considered stopping, away a thousand miles. In that moment, he even felt a hint of jealousy towards Gu Nuan, envy for the family he had longed for.

Han Yang’s steps grew heavier, and he turned and entered the elevator. His minty pheromones seemed to lose control for a few seconds, leaving a faint trace of a metallic scent.

He bit his lip and said, “Don’t worry about me.”

The happier someone’s life, the more Han Yang felt the misfortune of his own birth.

He envied Gu Nuan,  but couldn’t bring himself to hate him.

This was the most conflicting aspect of Han Yang’s character.

Since that day, Han Yang and Gu Nuan hadn’t seen each other again.

The constant quarrels in Han Yang’s home, with his mother Li Li always arguing with her new husband, left the household in shambles. Like his miserable life, everything was a mess.

And Han Yang believed that the reason for Li Li’s troubled life ultimately stemmed from his own birth.

…

Han Yang was born into a dysfunctional family in a remote mountainous area. His father, Han Yongnian, was a lazy thug who enjoyed eating and drinking, while his mother, Li Li, was an extremely unlucky woman.

Eleven years ago, when Li Li was just nineteen, she was taken advantage of by the thirty-year-old bachelor Han Yongnian. In the economically and intellectually backward mountain region, Li Li was marked, and she didn’t even have the money for a sterilization operation.

Rumors spread like wildfire in the mountain village, making it impossible for Li Li to stay in her hometown. She even contemplated suicide once but was woken up from her despair by a bucket of cold water thrown by her parents.

With a mountain of debts to her name, Li Li couldn’t escape her situation.

Upon learning this, Han Yongnian’s parents seized the opportunity and managed to persuade Li Li’s parents to abandon the idea of reporting the incident to the police by offering a bundle of new banknotes. This allowed Han Yongnian to “marry” the nineteen-year-old Li Li.

From the time when Li Li was assaulted to her marriage with Han Yongnian, only a month had passed. Because Li Li was too young, they couldn’t obtain a marriage certificate.

Their wedding was also devoid of a banquet; they simply chose a day with less farm work and had both families come together for a simple meal. That was their wedding.

Li Li never smiled during the entire meal.

In the following spring, Han Yang was born.

Han Yongnian spent his days drinking and gambling, and when he came home, he directed his violence toward Li Li and their son, showing no mercy.

In the dimly lit life, no one ever mentioned giving a name to the child. When Han Yang was born, the first five months passed without him being given a name. Then, one day, his grandmother saw a poplar tree in the yard and casually decided to name the child after it.

There was no particular meaning or thought behind it.

They just saw the poplar tree and decided to name him Yang.

It wasn’t until Han Yang was seven years old that he saw his mother, Li Li, for the first time.

His grandmother, using what little money they had left, managed to find out Li Li’s whereabouts. Han Yang followed his grandmother, and after much effort, they finally cornered Li Li outside a factory where she had just finished work. Seven years of hiding had changed Li Li, and she was no longer willing to be a doormat.

Han Yang hid behind his grandmother, sensing the rejection in Li Li’s emotions.

Li Li, unusually cold, said, “Why should I raise him?”

The mark on her neck had long since been removed, and she had once been determined to sever all ties with her past. But now, the nightmare had returned; Han Yang was her nightmare.

Han Yang’s grandmother pushed him in front of Li Li without hesitation. “His grandpa is dead, and I can’t afford to raise him! His father is also violent; after you left, he took out all his anger on him!”

As she spoke, she forcefully pulled at Han Yang’s clothes to show Li Li the bruises on his body. Whether old or new, they were countless. Han Yang was like a stiff puppet, letting his grandmother tug at his tattered clothes, just to elicit a trace of sympathy and reluctance from Li Li.

“At the very least, he’s your own child. The pheromones on his body are the same as yours! Li Zi, he’s your own flesh and blood…” She repeated this over and over, morally blackmailing Li Li.

The old woman’s tears filled the wrinkles on her aged face, but in Li Li’s eyes, it was truly disgusting.

Han Yang heard Li Li say, “Get lost.”

In Li Li’s heart, Han Yang shouldn’t be her child.

Some things were rotten from the roots, and when they grew up, their blood was impure. Li Li wanted to cleanse herself. She had once foolishly given birth to Han Yang, but she often… wished that Han Yang had died in her womb.

Han Yang understood Li Li’s thoughts, so for these years, he had lived by her side like a mute. He tried to minimize his presence as much as possible.

But starting from last year, Li Li remarried, and Han Yang’s life suddenly became difficult.

His stepfather’s disapproval of him was blatantly evident, and he displayed violence towards Han Yang, with each bruise overlapping with the violence inflicted by his father in the past.