?Chapter 1367:<fna2ab> Checktest chapters at fin?novel</fna2ab>


    By day, she swept streets as a cleaner; by night, she gathered recybles, driven by the ceaseless demands of her drug-addicted son.


    Ahead, perched atop a trash can,y a discarded bouquet of roses and an exquisite cake. Ruby hastened her steps, but she was still toote.


    Another elderly scavenger, an old man, had already imed the cake. Ruby reached for the roses.


    She knew that at times, women would turn away from roses and leave cakes untouched simply because their hearts held no fondness for the men who offered them.


    Every so often, a glimmer of fortuney concealed within the roses—perhaps a ring or a ne—treasures that, once discovered, could amount to several months’ earnings for her.


    But before Ruby could grasp it, the old man snatched the bouquet.


    “Elm Street is my turf. Who gave you permission to rummage through the garbage here? Show up here again, and you’ll regret it.” Though his clothes were tattered and age had etched lines upon his face, the old man had an intimidating presence.


    Ruby, never one to shrink from a challenge, shot back, “Who do you think you are, chasing me off? This street doesn’t belong to you. I’lle and go as I please!”


    The old man’s eyes narrowed, his finger jabbing toward Ruby menacingly. “Say that again?”


    Unfazed, Ruby said, “I’ll say it a hundred times if I want. You don’t scare me!” She lunged forward to hit him.


    The old man, not one to back down, dropped his haul and fought with Ruby. Years of hardbor on the streets had made him far sturdier than Ruby, and within moments, he had struck her down, leaving her sprawled on the ground.


    Fuming, Ruby eximed, “How dare you shove me! Do you even know who my daughter is? She is a member of the powerful Harper family!”


    The old manughed derisively. “Sure, and mine is the president’s daughter!” He didn’t buy Ruby’s ims for a second.


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    Ruby staggered back to her feet and hurled herself at the old man once more. With a swift kick, he sent her crashing down, then struck her with a few more brutal blows. “Get out of here! Push me again, and I’ll cripple you.”


    Ruby fell to the ground again, her hand grazing the rough pavement, a thin trickle of blood marking her pain. She winced, her eyes shing with defiance as she red at the old man rummaging through the nearby trash. The cake and the bouquety abandoned on the ground. Ruby looked at them for what felt like an eternity before scooping them up and running away. The old man caught sight of her fleeing figure and gave chase, his hand quickly snatching her hair and yanking her back to the ground.


    “You bitch! Do you really think I won’t beat you up?” he shouted, snatching the items back andnding a flurry of blows and kicks on Ruby’s trembling frame. Rubyy there, battered and breathless, her cries of pain echoing in the stillness.


    After a while, the old man finally stopped, gathered his belongings, and shuffled toward the next dumpster.


    After what seemed like forever, Ruby stirred, her body aching as she staggered to her feet. She searched desperately for her woven bag, filled with a night’s worth of scavenged recybles, but it was gone—taken by the old man.


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