After Qiao Qiao came out of her room, she first went over to the two people on the floor and started messing with them.
She didn't fully understand what was going on, but she knew one thing for sure: anyone her mama hit couldn't be a good person.
With her little heart filled to the brim with justice, Qiao Qiao decided she was going to help Mama deal with the bad guys on the floor.
And that was exactly the scene Lan Jin walked into when she came back.
She froze at the doorway, completely stunned.
There, right in front of her, was her nearly three-year-old daughter, casually pulling apart a grown man the same way she used to take apart her Barbie dolls.
Even worse, she completely ignored the man's body convulsing in pain. Instead, she jumped up and down on his back, giggling like she was riding a bouncy toy.
Her innocent laughter echoed through the room, completely drowning out the man's muffled cries. With the cloth stuffed in his mouth, he couldn't even scream.
Was he miserable? Without question.
But honestly, the woman on the floor wasn't doing much better. It was hard to say who had it worse.
Lan Jin couldn't even look. She instinctively covered her mouth, eyes wide in shock.
But Qiao Qiao didn't feel like she'd done anything wrong.
She was taking apart bad guys. She was helping her mama carry the load. That was a good thing, wasn't it?
At least, that's what she thought... until Lan Jin caught her in the act.
Qiao Qiao froze for a second. She remembered Mama didn't like it when she did things like this.
So she tried to explain herself right away, eyes wide and innocent.
"Mama, I didn't mean to."
Lan Jin's voice shook. "Sweetheart, can we... talk downstairs first?"
She really couldn't bear to keep watching. The way her daughter was bouncing on a grown man's back like it was a trampoline — she had no words.
But deep down, she knew — this wasn't Qiao Qiao's fault.
If those two hadn't tried to break into their home, none of this would've happened. They brought this on themselves.
Still... this behavior...
Lan Jin only stayed stunned for a moment before a new idea hit her.
Since dumping them on the rooftop wasn't an option, why not just toss them out the window?
She shut the front door quickly, then told both Qiao Qiao and Nana to go hide in the bedroom. Once they were safely inside, she put on her protective suit and gas mask, then stuffed the two unconscious intruders into her storage space.
She cracked open the window just enough to slip her hand through, then focused her thoughts and released them outside.
Her apartment was on the 32nd floor.
The moment they were released, both bodies dropped straight down.
She waited.
A loud thud echoed from below.
Lan Jin let out a deep breath.
It worked.
Even if someone did eventually find them, how could they possibly know it was her? Her place was 32 floors up. Even if the first floor was empty, anyone investigating would have to check 30 other levels first.
She quickly retracted her hand, sealed the window again, and pulled out a small fog extractor. She cleared out the bit of poisonous fog that had leaked in, then sealed the window frame shut.
Finally, she turned to the mess in the living room.
The floor was easy enough to clean. But the smell in the room was something else.
Lan Jin grabbed an air freshener, added a few drops of essential oil into the dispenser, and let the scent fill the room. Then she opened the security door a crack to let it air out.
Once everything was cleaned, sealed, and properly deodorized, she finally allowed herself to relax.
She was just about to head into the bedroom to ask her daughter what exactly had happened...
But when she opened the door, Qiao Qiao was already fast asleep, curled up with Nana in her arms.
Lan Jin looked up at the clock. No wonder. It was already the middle of the night.
She gave a helpless smile and lay down beside her daughter and the pup. Before she knew it, she drifted off too.
The next morning.
Lan Jin hadn't said anything the night before. Qiao Qiao had already fallen asleep, so she let it go.
But this morning, there was no escaping it. As soon as breakfast was over, Lan Jin sat down to have a serious talk with her daughter.
Qiao Qiao had been hoping Mama would forget all about it, but when she saw Lan Jin's expression, she knew she was caught.
So she fessed up honestly.
"Mama woke up. I woke up too. Mama peek, I peek too. Mama gone, I come out."
Well then.
Turns out, while the mantis stalked the cicada, the little sparrow had been watching the whole time. And she hadn't made a sound.
Lan Jin stared at her, speechless.
Qiao Qiao puffed out her cheeks proudly. "Mama do big thing. Can't bother."
Okay... yes, it was a big thing. But for someone who wasn't even three yet, wasn't she... taking all this a little too well?
Lan Jin wanted her daughter to survive in this cruel, post-apocalyptic world. But she didn't want her to become numb to everything. She sat down with her and spoke gently.
"Qiao Qiao, Mama did that because they wanted to steal our food. We're stuck in this building, and we can't get out. If I didn't stop them, they would've come back again and again to hurt us. So Mama had no choice."
She reached over and smoothed Qiao Qiao's hair.
"If you're in danger one day, you can do the same. But only when you're in danger, okay? Not for fun. Not when it's safe."
Qiao Qiao tilted her head, confused.
She was still so little. Of course she didn't fully understand.
But randomly pulling people apart like dolls — even in the apocalypse, that was pretty terrifying.
Lan Jin softened her voice even more. "It just means... you're still small, so don't go breaking people right away. Last night Mama got really scared, and the mess on the floor was so hard to clean."
Qiao Qiao pouted. She kind of understood. Maybe.
Mama just didn't want to clean. Mama wanted the house to stay nice.
To her, mess was mess — didn't really matter what it was made of.
But then she remembered how tired she'd felt last time they cleaned. A wave of dread swept over her.
Qiao Qiao immediately dropped the subject and clung to Lan Jin, her voice soft and shaky.
"Mama... last night Qiao Qiao scared. Scared Qiao Qiao get taken again."
Lan Jin frowned. "Again? What do you mean again? Mama's never let you be taken. You've always been with me."
Qiao Qiao poked her little head out from under Lan Jin's arm, eyes filled with grievance.
"Last time, Daddy and Auntie take Qiao Qiao away. No give food. Make Mama give them food. This time too, Auntie and Uncle come at night. Not Daddy, not same Auntie, but Qiao Qiao still scared."
She explained it all in one breath.
Lan Jin sat frozen, her heart racing.
These weren't just childish dreams. These were real memories — from their previous life.
In that past life, right after the second round of supplies were distributed, it had been Ren Xing and Meng Ying who broke into her home, kidnapping Qiao Qiao while she slept.
After that, they'd used Qiao Qiao to force Lan Jin to hand over all their food. And the child hadn't just gone hungry — she'd been beaten too.
Of course she couldn't sleep soundly now. Of course she was scared it would happen again.
But those things were all from their last life.
So how did Qiao Qiao remember?
Could it be...