Uncle Xie suddenly stopped the car, straddled it, and teased Xu Xingguang with a smile: "The one who just came out of your courtyard was A Zui, right? And you say you’re just friends. How can a male friend hang around at a girl’s house so late?"

Without waiting for Xu Xingguang to explain, Uncle Xie continued, "A Zui, this kid, hates people without boundaries the most. Back in middle school, if he even talked to a girl, his mom would beat him. Him coming out of your house so late, isn’t he obviously telling the whole town that you two are a couple?"

Hearing this, Xu Xingguang frowned.

From Uncle Xie’s words, it seemed like Boss Huo’s mom often abused him?

Xu Xingguang suddenly wanted to understand more about Huo Wen’an’s past, so she simply walked out of the courtyard and sat down on the threshold. "Uncle Xie, if you’re not busy, could you tell me about A Zui’s past?"

Uncle Xie instinctively wanted to talk about Huo Wen’an’s past, but after opening his mouth, he hesitated.

Seeing this, Xu Xingguang said, "Don’t worry, Uncle Xie, I know about A Zui killing someone and being in prison."

Hearing this, Uncle Xie finally relaxed.

He moved the motorbike to the entrance of Xu Xingguang’s courtyard, sat on the bike, and looked down at Xu Xingguang as he started talking endlessly about Huo Wen’an’s past.

He said, "A Zui was the smartest and best-looking boy in our town. In an ordinary family, wouldn’t the parents be proud to death? But his mom is a strange person, she seems to dislike seeing him do well."

"I remember the year A Zui graduated from elementary school, he was the only one in his grade who got the additional points for the math Olympiad question right. Back then, principals from several city middle schools even personally drove to the town to find him, promising to waive his tuition fees."

"You’d think with such good news, which parent wouldn’t be happy, wouldn’t be proud? But not A Zui’s mom. She got very angry and chased all those principals who came to find A Zui away."

"Why?" Xu Xingguang found it unfathomable.

"I don’t know. She not only drove away the principals, but also threatened A Zui not to go to the city, saying if he dared to go study there, she would drink poison and commit suicide."

Xu Xingguang felt her forehead pounding. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

What kind of mother is this? Such psychological abnormality?

"So in the end, A Zui went to the town’s middle school." Uncle Xie pointed toward the dark end of the town and said, "That school is close to his home. If you go four more li forward, you’ll see it."

Xu Xingguang nodded and said, "I’ve seen that school."

The last time Huo Wen’an invited her to view cherry blossoms, they passed by that school, and Huo Wen’an had mentioned it was his middle school alma mater.

"But he was determined. Even if he was stuck in this mediocre school in Cangshan Town, he remained at the top of the city academically. We all thought he would rank first when he graduated from middle school. But the unexpected happened so suddenly, he didn’t even get to take the high school entrance exam before he ended up inside."

Xu Xingguang also felt regretful for Huo Wen’an.

If he had been born in a normal family and received high-quality education, with his learning talents, he might have already become a high-profile talent in a certain field now.

Perhaps a college professor, maybe a research scientist, or perhaps a director stunning the art scene.

In any case, he would have infinite possibilities.

Instead of being like this now, having his future delayed, only able to stay in Cangshan Town running a photography studio, taking ID photos and funeral portraits for people.

"You just said A Zui’s mom liked to beat him, what’s up with that?" Xu Xingguang was more concerned about this matter.

Boss Xie frowned and cursed: "His mom is just a lunatic with some sort of illness. What’s it called? Paranoia, paranoia what?"

Uncle Xie was a rough person and couldn’t remember the professional term for the illness.

Xu Xingguang helped fill in: "Paranoid delusion."

"Yes, that’s the illness." Uncle Xie spat on the ground, cursing and muttering, "His mom isn’t mentally well, maybe she was hurt by men when she was young and feels all men in the world aren’t good. Anyway, there isn’t a single man in our town who hasn’t been cursed at by her."

Uncle Xie said indignantly, "Once I saw little Huo Xin playing with the electrical panel at the door, and I was afraid she’d get electrocuted, so I carried her into the yard. As a result, her mom saw it and pointed at my nose, cursing me as a pervert, a beast."

Talking about this made Uncle Xie feel annoyed. "Anyway, his mom is just a lunatic. It’s one thing to be aggressive toward us, but she’s even worse to her own son."