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After a while longer.

Into the small courtyard entered a couple, neither of them tall, middle-aged in years. The woman stepped forward first to inquire, "Panbo, how much did you make today from selling collected mineral water bottles?"

Huang Panpan paused once more, shaking the moisture from her hands before reaching into her pocket to retrieve a wad of loose change.

After taking the money, the woman counted, "Don't you dare hide any cash or even think about running away. Do you really think that your parents, who have taken care of you despite your muteness, would harm you? If you were to run away from home like you did a few years ago and we found you, we'd break your legs! Do you hear me?"

Huang Panpan, filled with fear, shut her eyes tightly and nodded vigorously, uttering incoherent sounds from her throat.

The woman, noticing the hole on Huang Panpan's shirt sleeve, asked the man, "Loser, do you have any clothes you don't need? Sister Ding's shirt is now torn with a big hole, and mine is too small for her."

"Day after day, she doesn't do anything much, so why does she always wear worn-out clothes?" The man grumbled and went inside to find some spare clothing. "I work on a construction site; I don't damage my clothes like she does."

Unbeknownst to him, the girl carried a sack daily, scavenging for bottles in alleys, causing natural wear and tear on her shoulders over time.

Unable to explain this to her unloving parents, Huang Panpan turned silently away and resumed scrubbing her clothes in the black water.

Remembering something, the woman called out again as she approached the house, "Oh, by the way, a few kind-hearted people are coming to our home tomorrow. You know, you've been deaf all this time. I heard there's new technology called a cochlear implant, which costs hundreds of thousands. They're planning to visit and see if they can help. Make a good impression, okay?"

Huang Panpan put down the clothes, waving her hands anxiously and then began signing.

The woman was too indifferent to bother, turning around and entering the house directly.

Huang Panpan sighed.

Her sign language merely conveyed her refusal of the donation; it wouldn't benefit her in the end anyway.

A cochlear implant worth hundreds of thousands would likely be removed and sold even if it were installed.

She gazed at the small courtyard, where a crescent moon hung high above, never confined by its boundaries.

At times, she wondered if, upon her death, she could transform into the moon or a star?

Anything would do as long as she could escape this place.

Finished with her chores, Huang Panpan hung the clothes one by one on the laundry line.

Night had fallen, and she massaged her aching arms, preparing to rest. For the next day, she would need to search for scrap materials throughout the streets and alleys.

Just as she was about to depart, faint sounds emerged from the small courtyard.

At first, she thought it was a cat, but the noise didn't quite match the feline's usual sounds. Curious, she looked towards the entrance.

A girl had entered, her figure bathed in moonlight, resembling a fairy straight out of an upcoming drama series on the mainland.

Huang Panpan observed her with interest. As the girl approached and offered a gentle smile, she asked a question.

"Are you Huang Panpan?"

Staring at the girl's lips, Huang Panpan nodded.

Chu Yuening heaved a sigh of relief. "I was just worried that I wouldn't know sign language and wouldn't be able to communicate with you."

Huang Panpan's smile widened charmingly. She signed a series of gestures and then tapped her lips lightly.

Zhou Fengxu, standing nearby, softly explained, "She said that if you speak slowly, she can read your lips."

Chu Yuening was surprised. "You understand sign language?"

Faced with Ning Ning's shimmering, radiant gaze, Zhou Fengxu felt every cell in his body calm down, his ears burning with warmth.

He smiled. "Yes, I have. Not just sign language, but lip-reading too."

Then came the communication between Zhou Fengxu and Huang Panpan.

After their conversation, Zhou Fengxu put down his signing hands and said, "She said her parents are inside. She's afraid to leave with us. She can't survive without money and has nowhere to go. Before, she was found in an alley and beaten so badly she couldn't get out of bed for two days."

Upon finishing, Zhou Fengxu looked at the frail girl and a surge of inexplicable anger stirred within him. It was his first time hearing of such treatment by parents towards their daughter, using her as a cash cow and forbidding her from seeking freedom.

"Ning Ning, what do you want to do? I'll arrange it."

Thirty minutes later.

The woman, lying in bed, suddenly noticed the flames in the courtyard. She hurriedly nudged her husband beside her. "Why is the courtyard on fire? Go see what's happening."

"What fire?" Her husband dismissed her concern but turned around, startled. He jumped out of bed immediately. "Quick, let's go see what's going on."

Their eldest son also came out, and the three of them opened the door together.

Instantly, she was startled by the scene before her.

The piles of trash in each corner of the yard had been ignited by the flames, and the clothes that were initially hanging on the clotheslines were now scattered on the ground, drenched and sprinkled with sand. Some were even torn into shreds.

"Huang Panpan!" The eldest son bellowed menacingly, "All of these are branded! Get out here right now!"

The other couple was too preoccupied with finding their daughter to put out the fire, rushing about to fetch water in a panic.

"It's all gone, everything is gone."

But where was the vanished Huang Panpan?

Chu Yuening had sent her onto Zhou Fengxu's yacht. In the cockpit, Zhou Fengxu was instructing the driver to accompany Huang Panpan until they found a suitable place for her to live.

Huang Panpan gazed at the luxurious small cabin, still seemingly in disbelief that she had escaped the nightmare-like hell and landed in a paradise.

"There you go. Inspector Zhou's yacht will take you to the mainland. Staying in Hong Kong would make it easy for your parents to find you," Chu Yuening said, pulling out a check.

The one million yuan check Lei Zi‌ gave her, she donated eighty thousand to genuine charitable organizations. The remaining two hundred thousand, she took out for herself.

Huang Panpan stood there, bewildered, holding the two hundred thousand yuan check, her eyes reddening as she persistently refused to accept it.

"No," she insisted. "I don't want this money."

How could she possibly take this money?

"Take it," Chu Yuening said. "With the current prices in the mainland, two hundred thousand yuan is enough for you to live comfortably for some time." She continued, "This is Lei Zi‌'s money. He committed murder and has been brought to justice. He's the reason you're in such a dire situation now. It's alright to spend his money."