Extraordinary Soldier King in the City-Chapter 566: Bitter Past

Liu Lili’s complexion was normal at first, but when she heard Chen Feng ask that question, her face suddenly changed, and her eyes were filled with sorrow.

"There’s... there’s nothing!"

Liu Lili bit her lower lip lightly and hesitated, speaking in a halting manner.

But Chen Feng could tell that Liu Lili must have encountered some difficulty and felt embarrassed to speak about it to him.

"What’s the matter, really? Are you facing some kind of difficulty?"

Chen Feng continued to ask while looking at Liu Lili.

"It’s really nothing much. Maybe you should stop asking; I really don’t want to bother you with my problems!"

Liu Lili shook her head, speaking somewhat apologetically.

"What’s there to bother? Aren’t we friends? Just tell me, maybe I can help you out a bit!"

Chen Feng said with a slight smile.

"You have already helped me so much!"

Liu Lili muttered, biting her lip.

"Oh? How so?"

Chen Feng asked with a smile.

"If it weren’t for you, I definitely couldn’t have become the Deputy Director of the Human Resources Department, and then I wouldn’t be earning such a high salary now. This is a great favor to me and my family!"

Liu Lili looked at Chen Feng with a face full of gratitude.

"What does this have to do with your family?"

Chen Feng asked with a smile.

"You’ll understand once we get to my house," Liu Lili said softly.

Upon hearing this, Chen Feng nodded and didn’t ask any further.

All the way there, Chen Feng didn’t slow down much.

Under Liu Lili’s direction, Chen Feng drove the car out of the city center and into a poor district near the suburbs.

Finally, the car stopped in front of a small courtyard in the slum.

Looking at the dilapidated and rundown courtyard that had seen better days, Chen Feng turned to Liu Lili, questioning, "This is your home?"

"Yes, what do you think? Pretty shabby, huh?"

Liu Lili nodded, speaking in self-deprecating jest.

"I think it’s okay," Chen Feng said with a smile.

Liu Lili knew Chen Feng was trying to comfort her, shook her head with a slight smile, and then said to Chen Feng,

"You were asking why no one has visited my house in so many years, right? Now, I’ll answer your question."

Then, Liu Lili began to explain to Chen Feng.

Five years ago, when Liu Lili had just graduated from college, her father suddenly fell seriously ill and needed surgery for his treatment.

The cost of the surgery was prohibitively expensive, a total of five hundred thousand!

At that time, the Liu family was not wealthy, and all the money they could gather in the household—even if they sold everything they owned—was at most one hundred thousand.

Even after borrowing from all their relatives, they could only muster two hundred thousand in total.

In the end, having no choice, they reluctantly gave up on the surgery in favor of medication treatment.

But that was a bottomless pit and merely treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

Gradually, Liu Lili’s father’s condition became more and more serious, eventually leaving him paralyzed in bed, barely maintaining his life with medication.

If it were just that, the Liu Family wouldn’t have fallen on such hard times.

But as they say, misfortune never comes singly.

In the same year, Liu Lili’s mother, already of an advanced age and suffering from chronic high blood pressure, was urged by her employer to retire early.

As a result, the entire financial burden of the household fell upon Liu Lili, a girl who had just graduated from college!

Moreover, she had a younger sister in school, at a time when expenses were sure to arise.

That period could be said to have been the most difficult time for the Liu Family, and particularly trying for Liu Lili.

Having just graduated from college with a low starting salary, she took on three part-time jobs to help support the family’s expenses.

Still, this was like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water when it came to the family’s needs.

With no choice and insufficient funds, they had to survive by borrowing money from relatives and friends.

But human warmth can be as variable as the weather, society can be harsh and indifferent.

Seeing the family’s situation and aware they had no ability to pay back, all of the relatives avoided Liu Lili.

Even if they encountered her on the street, they would pretend not to recognize her.

When Liu Lili called them, they would not pick up the phone, terrified she might ask to borrow money.

In that moment, Liu Lili realized that if she wanted to get through these tough times, she could only rely on herself.

So during that time, Liu Lili worked desperately to make money, all to keep the family afloat.

It wasn’t until Chen Feng appeared that Liu Lili’s fate completely changed!

"For the past five years, all of our relatives and friends have kept their distance, they dare not even answer the phone, let alone visit our home," she said, her eyes red as she managed a smile. "During the holidays, it was just the four of us, with not a single relative coming by. So I mean it when I say, you are the first visitor we’ve had in many years!"

Liu Lili’s eyes were red, and her smile was tinged with sorrow.

Clearly, sharing so much with Chen Feng had brought back those bitter memories.

After hearing Liu Lili’s story, Chen Feng felt an increasing admiration for her.

A young woman who had just graduated from college had kept a family going with her own two hands.

What kind of courage, what kind of greatness was that?

No wonder Chen Feng felt that Liu Lili was different from other girls the first time they met.

This girl had been through so much, and it had made her who she was now!

"Chen Feng, am I very incompetent? If I were really capable, I could earn money to support my family myself. I wouldn’t have had to borrow money from them, wouldn’t have scared them away from even entering our home," Liu Lili said, looking at Chen Feng with tear-filled eyes.

Chen Feng reached out and gently patted Liu Lili’s shoulder, smiling as he comforted her, "You’re already doing great. If it were me, I don’t think I could have managed!"

"Don’t try to comfort me. You’re so young and yet you’re on equal terms with our chairman. If it were you, you would surely do even better than me!" Liu Lili said, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"I’ve had some special circumstances. Let’s not talk about this anymore. Your aunt must be getting anxious. Let’s go in," said Chen Feng with a smile.

"Okay!"

Liu Lili nodded, then opened the car door and got out.

Chen Feng parked the car on an empty space nearby and got out, too. Together, they walked toward Liu Lili’s home.

Upon opening the gate, they entered the small yard.

The courtyard wasn’t very large; in fact, it was quite small and cluttered with various odds and ends.

The house was a run-down bungalow, extremely worn.

On the right side of the bungalow’s door stood a brick stove, on which sat a gas stove and pots and pans.

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