The uncle’s family thought that since I’m a girl, all our money should belong to them.
Because of the money – borrowing issue, my cousin slapped me, almost blinding me.
In the chaos, I endured the pain and opened my eyes.
What I saw was a terrifying scene that I would never forget in my life.
In a pool of blood, my uncle picked up a stone and smashed it hard on my father’s head.
My father fell to the ground with a thud and stopped moving.
My mother’s face was filled with horror and she was about to scream, but my aunt tightly covered her mouth.
Another smash, the stone in my cousin’s hand was slammed hard on my mother’s head.
My mother also lost consciousness.
“Mom!” I shouted.
They walked towards me with the stones, and I kept backing away, watching helplessly as they raised the stones…
1
Everything started a day ago.
My parents drove me back to our hometown in the mountains to pay respects to our ancestors during the Qingming Festival.
In our village, it’s the rule of “the one who occupies the mountain is the king”, so there are several places to worship on the mountain top.
At first, everything went smoothly until the last one, which was the highest and the one we respected the most.
At that time, our group carried the burdens and reached the mountain top, placed the offerings to worship our ancestors. Then my uncle, Song Zhicheng, suddenly knelt down in front of the ancestor’s grave.
“Ancestors, have mercy on us. Song Ji is the only male in our Song family. Are you just going to watch him be burdened with debts?”
I glanced at my cousin, Song Ji, and he happened to be looking at me. I didn’t know what he was thinking. There was only our family on this mountain top. I felt a bit scared and wanted to move closer to my father.
Before I could take a few steps, Song Zhicheng continued to cry, “Ancestor, you always taught us that family should help each other. But now Song Ji in our family is almost unable to survive, and some people are still stingy…”
I couldn’t stand this anymore.
Song Ji gambled online by himself, and his debts kept piling up. At first, when he borrowed money from our family several times, my father lent it to him considering we were family.
But later, he didn’t correct his behavior. How could we still give him money?
After my father clearly refused, their family kept making trouble.
I thought they had changed when they didn’t say anything today. I didn’t expect they were waiting for this moment.
Thinking of this, I said, “Uncle, cousin, what do you mean?”
Before Song Zhicheng could say anything, Song Ji beside him directly slapped me.
“What the hell are you? Just a girl. Your family will have no descendants. All the money should have been mine originally. What’s wrong with me taking some now!”
“Qiqi!”
I was slapped and took a few steps back. My foot stepped on a small stone, and I fell forward, hitting my eyes on a stone beside me.
In an instant, my eyes were filled with blood.
“My eyes, I can’t see. Dad! Mom!”
I was anxious to get up.
“Qiqi! Song Zhicheng, if anything happens to my daughter, I’ll never let your family go!” My father’s angry voice came, followed by a burst of footsteps.
“Song Zhigang, who do you think you are? Do you think you’re something just because you have some money? Your family is still going to have no descendants!”
“Song Zhicheng, shut up!”
“I’m telling the truth. Haven’t you ever told Song Qi…”
There was a chaotic noise, various screams and scoldings. It seemed that someone had done something.
I groped and got up, endured the pain and opened my eyes again.
Then I saw a terrifying scene that I would never forget in my life.
In a pool of blood, Song Zhicheng picked up a stone and smashed it hard on my father’s head.
My father fell to the ground with a thud and stopped moving.
My mother’s face was filled with horror and she was about to scream, but my aunt, Zhang Manqiu, tightly covered her mouth.
Another smash, the stone in Song Ji’s hand was slammed hard on my mother’s head.
My mother also lost consciousness.
“Mom!” I shouted.
Then they walked towards me with the stones.
2
Their faces were like evil spirits, extremely shocking.
My heart was pounding.
“Mom! My eyes!” I cried loudly, “Dad, Mom, where are you? I can’t see. Take me back quickly. I want to see a doctor…”
I kept crying.
I saw Song Zhicheng raise the stone in his hand.
Zhang Manqiu beside him held his hand, pointed at me, then at her eyes, and then at Song Ji.
Song Zhicheng nodded.
Then, Zhang Manqiu came over, reached out to support me, and imitated my mother’s voice, “Qiqi, don’t be afraid. Mom is here. It’s okay.”
I subconsciously wanted to pull my hand back, but I held back. I cried and said, “Mom, what happened? Where’s Dad?”
“Your dad is right beside you. Wait a moment. We’ll take you back to treat your eyes now.” Zhang Manqiu said.
I trembled all over and said okay.
She took me to sit down aside, asked Song Ji to watch me, and then pulled Song Zhicheng over there to say something.
Then, a strange and terrifying scene unfolded in front of me.
The two of them imitated my parents’ voices while answering with their own voices, and at the same time, they moved my parents’ bodies to the grass beside them.
“Big brother, I was wrong just now. I was just too anxious. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Zhicheng, now Qiqi’s eyes are important. We’ll go down the mountain first. The rest of the things are up to you.”
“Okay, you go back first. We’ll take care of the rest.”
I couldn’t stop shaking.
I don’t know how long it passed. Finally, Zhang Manqiu came to me.
During the Qingming Festival, the rain falls in succession. She and Song Zhicheng were wearing my parents’ coats.
She said, “Qiqi, come on. Let your father carry you down the mountain. Your uncle will take care of the rest here.”
…
We went down the mountain.
All the way away from the crowd, they held me tightly, and I couldn’t find a chance to escape.
They took me to the village health center. Everyone in the health center was from our village, and the one who examined my eyes was Zhang Manqiu’s own brother. I didn’t act rashly.
After the examination, he confirmed that my cornea was scratched, and the bleeding was due to hitting the blood vessels on the side of the skin.
And I said I couldn’t see, so I just pretended I couldn’t.
I heard Zhang Manqiu ask how long it would take for me to see. The other person said it depended on the situation and asked us to go to the hospital in the county or the city. It could be two days to half a month.
They took my phone and took me back, pretending to be my parents.
They were always by my side, including Song Ji.
They kept talking.
It seemed like they were all there.
Then, my “parents” went out. After a while, my “uncle and aunt” said it had been so long and my parents hadn’t come back, so they asked a passer – by to look for them.
Then my parents’ bodies were found.
It was said that they fell off a cliff. Maybe it was too dark and they didn’t see the road, so they fell. I heard their appearance was not good, all twisted and broken, a mess.
I was led to their corpses and cried bitterly.
Just then, the police siren sounded.
I thought my chance had come.
I wanted to escape and let these demons be punished!
As their voices got closer.
My heart was pounding like a drum.
I stood up.
Just then –
3
“Thud!”
A sharp pain shot through the back of my head, and my eyes went black.
I knew nothing.
When I woke up again, it was already late at night.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw three silent faces, six eyes like hidden knives staring at me.
4
I almost screamed.
But I held back at the last moment, just gasping heavily and sweating profusely.
“Uncle…” I heard the tremor in my voice.
“Aunt…”
I called out twice and randomly waved my hands.
“Uncle, aunt, where are you? Where am I? What happened to me?”
I saw them look at each other, and then Zhang Manqiu said, “Qiqi, auntie is here. Oh, you were so sad to hear about your parents’ death that you fainted.”
“But…” I pretended to be confused, reached out and rubbed my head, “Why do I feel such a headache?”
Song Zhicheng told a blatant lie, “Well, you couldn’t see, and when you stood up, you happened to hit the wall.”
This was obviously nonsense.
Then Song Zhicheng said that the police had come to see my parents’ bodies. According to the testimony of the local villagers, they saw my parents bring me back in the afternoon, and then they saw my parents go out to the mountains.
Basically, it was confirmed that no one was around when my parents fell, and they checked the traces. If there were no accidents, it was a fall due to carelessness.
“Qiqi, when the police came, you fainted. They said that when you’re in better condition, like tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we should take you to the police station.” Finally, Song Zhicheng said this.
I didn’t know if what they said to me was true or a lie, but…
I understood.
When they went down the mountain, they deliberately wore my parents’ coats and hats. The villagers saw my parents send me back, probably because they saw their clothes.
They wouldn’t let me see the police.
At least not until they achieved their goal.
But what was their goal?
I didn’t know.
I could only be sure that everything would happen before I went to the police station.
I couldn’t stop shaking.
I couldn’t help crying.
Zhang Manqiu “gently” hugged me.
She hypocritically said, “Child, don’t be afraid. We’re all sad about what happened to your father and mother. But child, we won’t abandon you. From now on, we’ll be your family.”
I lay on her shoulder, crying, and saw the evil – like smiles on Song Zhicheng and Song Ji’s faces.
“Come on.” After this hug ended, Zhang Manqiu let go of me, “It’s time to apply medicine to your eyes.”
She was holding something like eye drops in her hand.
This was a very terrifying scene. The three of them were looking at me.
Their eyes were smiling, and their mouths were curved, almost reaching the ears.
Oh no.
5
They didn’t let me see the police because they were guarding against me.
And the doctor had said before that my eyes would get better.
If I got better, what would I find out?
Or, their goal was related to my eyes. Then, now they wanted me to be completely blind.
What should I do?
If I dodged, they would know I was pretending. If they knew I knew the truth, they would surely kill me without mercy.
If I didn’t dodge, I might really go blind, lose all initiative. No matter what they did to me, I couldn’t defend myself, let alone escape. Once they achieved their goal, I would be doomed.
What should I do?
“Child, stop crying. You can’t see. Let auntie apply the medicine for you.”
What should I do…
Zhang Manqiu had already held my shoulders.
What should I do!
6
Perhaps because I was too nervous and scared, my stomach had a spasm.
I took the opportunity to fall to the side.
Pretended to vomit.
“Ugh…”
I didn’t vomit anything the first time.
I opened my throat wide and forced it the second time.
Ugh…
Forced it.
Until the third time.
I finally vomited out acid water.
The fourth time, I vomited out some mixtures.
It stank.
“Aunt…” I was sweating all over and shaking non – stop.
My two hands were waving around randomly, pretending to accidentally knock the thing in Zhang Manqiu’s hand, who looked disgusted. The thing fell into the mixtures I had just vomited on the ground.
I pretended to vomit again.
I directly vomited on the bed.
Then I continued to pretend to vomit.
Song Zhicheng and Song Ji had already run out, and Zhang Manqiu also jumped up, extremely disgusted.
“Aunt… I feel terrible. I want… Ugh…”
I vomited again.
“Aunt, where are you?”
I grabbed around.
“Aunt, I feel terrible. Uncle? Where are you?”
I kept vomiting.
Then I fell to the ground with a thud, falling into my own vomit.
I sat on the “medicine” with my butt.
“Uncle, aunt, where are you?”
I cried loudly. My body was covered with my vomit. I saw their family looking at me in disgust at the door.
Not enough.
I forced myself to vomit again.
There was vomit everywhere. I started crawling around on the ground.
Crawling and calling them.
After turning around, I even crawled towards the door.
This really disgusted them. They directly closed the door to prevent me from crawling out.
This was the moment I wanted.
While crying and calling for my uncle and aunt, I acted quickly.
I squeezed out the medicine in the previous bottle and filled it with the drinking water on the table to the scale I remembered before squeezing the medicine.
Then I put it back in place and mixed it with the vomit.
All this was done in an instant.
And the door opened at this moment.
7
Just before they opened the door, I fell to the side and slapped the wall with my vomit – covered hand.
“Uncle, aunt, where are you? I can’t see…”
“You, go and apply the medicine to her.” Zhang Manqiu pushed a girl who was shrinking aside and said in a low voice.
I saw the girl stumble a few steps, then disgustedly picked up the “medicine” from the vomit, rinsed it with the water in the cup on the table, and then walked towards me.
“Qiqi, don’t be afraid. The yard outside the house collapsed. We’re dealing with it. Let Xiaomei apply the medicine to you first.”
Song Xiaomei was another child of Song Zhicheng. She was a girl.
Their family had a preference for sons over daughters. Dirty and tiring work like this was always done by Song Xiaomei.
Song Xiaomei walked towards me and, under everyone’s gaze, dropped the “medicine” into my two eyes.
“Drop some more.” Song Ji said.
Song Xiaomei opened my eyelids and dropped some more.
I saw them all standing there looking at me, as if expecting something to happen.
Then I screamed.
I pushed Song Xiaomei away and covered my eyes.
“Uncle, aunt… My eyes hurt so much.” I rolled on the ground and cried loudly.
Through the gaps between my fingers, I saw them exchange a satisfied look.
Then I heard them comfort me, saying that my eyes were injured and it was normal to feel pain when applying medicine.
Then they asked Song Xiaomei to take me to wash up.
I was thrown on the bathroom floor by Song Xiaomei. I kept shaking and crying.
She was full of impatience. I closed my eyes and didn’t dare to look at her. After she finished for me and went out, I tried to open my eyes and take a look.
I was sitting in a clean room.
It was late at night. After Zhang Manqiu casually gave me a few anti – vomiting pills to eat, she told me to go to sleep, saying that everything would be discussed tomorrow.
Then she went over there and whispered something with Song Zhicheng and the others, and kept pointing at me.
I just sat by the bed, watching the various expressions on their faces change.
It was like watching a strange horror comedy.
I pretended to be dull and looked around the room. Through the door, I saw the chained – up front door and the keychain on Song Zhicheng’s waist.
How could I escape?
How could I get out alive!
I tried my best to stay awake, but finally, I don’t know how, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I saw a note under the pillow.
“Don’t tell them you can see.”
8
What did this mean?
Was it a test from Song Zhicheng’s family?
Or… did someone know everything and want to save me?
My heart was pounding.
As far as I remembered, only Song Zhicheng’s family could come to this room.
Who could it be?
Or…
This was a mountain village. Everyone lived in their own yard, not in buildings. So it was possible to sneak over the wall when no one was around.
So…
I took a deep breath and controlled myself.
I didn’t pause or pay attention. I got up from the bed.
Then, I turned around and groped my way out of the room.
In front of my dull eyes, stood my uncle’s family, silent. Some of them had their eyes wide open, some were squinting, looking me up and down.
I tried my best to control myself not to show any flaws and walked forward, tapping the ground with a walking stick.
At this time, my cousin stretched out a foot.
I didn’t hesitate. I tripped over his foot and fell straight to the ground “Ah!”
I let out a miserable scream.
Then there was a commotion.
“Ya, Qiqi, what happened to you?”
“Qiqi, why didn’t you tell us when you got up?”
“Qiqi, did you hurt yourself? Oh, hurry and get the medicine. If anything happens to Qiqi, how can I face my deceased brother and sister – in – law!”
I lay on the ground crying, saying that I was in pain.
I listened quietly to their poorly – acted play.
They helped me up and sat me on the sofa in the living room.
I buried my head and cried.
A rustling sound came, and then someone stuffed a pen into my hand.
“Qiqi, don’t be sad. Your parents need to be dealt with. Here are the procedures for the crematorium. You need to sign.”
Zhang Manqiu helped me sit up properly and then guided my hand to touch the table.
I continued to wipe my tears.
I saw that the document was not the procedures for the crematorium or required by the police at all, but a property gift agreement of my family.
I remembered.
Song Ji owed money and had borrowed from our family many times before. This time, my father didn’t give him any. This was also the starting point of the series of things that happened in front of the ancestor’s grave.
But why didn’t they kill me too?
If our whole family died, the property would also belong to their family.
No.
If our family died out, they would be the biggest beneficiaries, and everyone would suspect them. But if they kept me alive, I would be the biggest beneficiary.
And I was blind.
Let me sign the property gift agreement. When they needed money, they could make me, a blind person, sign or operate various things, and they could get the money.
Then, they would wait for the right time. After a while, when no one paid attention to this matter anymore, they could transfer the property.
They also needed a witness to prove that they didn’t kill anyone.
And I was the best witness.
After figuring all this out, I was going to sign.
After they relaxed their vigilance, I could tell the police the truth, and this agreement wouldn’t take effect.
Just as I was about to sign my name –
Wait!
No!
I stared blankly at their faces, distorted by greed.
What if, what if they didn’t think that much and just wanted me to sign this agreement?
Once I signed it, they would kill me.
Make me disappear before I could see the police.
Now everyone in the village knew that I couldn’t see. If any accident happened at that time… it would be normal, right?
I suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
“Qiqi, why don’t you sign? What are you thinking?”
Zhang Manqiu urged me beside me.
Song Zhicheng and Song Ji looked like they were about to pounce on me at any moment. Song Zhicheng, for some unknown reason, was holding a thick hemp rope in his hand.
Cold sweat dripped down and soaked my back, making it sticky.
“Qiqi?”
9
If I didn’t sign now, would they kill me directly?
Should I sign or not?
Song Zhicheng was approaching me step by step.
What should I do!
“Qiqi?” Zhang Manqiu’s voice came.
I took the opportunity to throw the pen and threw myself into her arms.
I started crying.
“What’s wrong?” Zhang Manqiu pretended to ask me gently.
“Aunt, I want to see my parents one last time…” I cried, not daring to look in Song Zhicheng’s direction.
I buried my head in Zhang Manqiu’s arms and cried, “Aunt, can we wait a few days? Didn’t the doctor say my eyes would get better in a few days? When my eyes get better, I want to see my parents one last time.”
I cried loudly, and I felt Zhang Manqiu’s body stiffen.
I looked at the glass on the side through the gap under her arm.
Then I clearly saw that they were constantly exchanging glances, as if signaling something.
My heart was constantly in suspense.
Then I heard Song Zhicheng say, “Qiqi, your parents fell from the mountain. Their appearance is not good. You might be scared then.”
I said I wasn’t afraid. They were my parents.
Song Ji on the side said that it was already April, and it was not easy to preserve my parents’ bodies.
I directly kicked the table.
There was water on the table, and with this kick, everything was knocked to the ground. I saw from the gaps between my fingers that the water splashed on the agreement.
“Song Qi, what are you doing!” Song Ji scolded me.
“Song Ji, what do you mean!” I shouted back at him, crying while shouting.
I started to throw a tantrum.
I made use of the situation.
I cried and threw a tantrum at the same time.
I said they just didn’t want me to see my parents one last time. I just had this one request, but it wasn’t allowed. They even found all kinds of excuses, like the body was not easy to preserve. Couldn’t they buy more ice?
Other people didn’t necessarily die in winter either. How could others preserve their bodies?
Finally, I cried and said, “I must see my parents one last time. I won’t sign the so – called crematorium procedures. I won’t let you take my parents to be burned!”
I clearly saw the anger and ferocity on their faces.
But I didn’t care and didn’t dare to sign.
I was afraid that once I signed, I would lose my life.
They were still communicating with their eyes.
My hands couldn’t stop shaking.
Now I could only take a gamble.
Gamble on whether they would force me to sign or try to coax me.
After all, I was “blind” now, and it was easy to coax me. And handling the procedures would be much simpler if I was alive.
But what if…
I lowered my head, pretending to cry while looking around, planning my escape route.
Finally –
“Alas…” Zhang Manqiu hugged me in her arms, patting my back, “Qiqi, it’s our fault. We didn’t think of this. We were really afraid of scaring you.”
I felt a little relieved.
I knew I was temporarily safe.
So I threw myself into her arms and cried heart – rendingly.
This was a very strange feeling.
She might have thought I was sad about my parents, so she comforted me gently.
The people who killed my parents, who tried to take away all my family property and even endangered my life, were comforting me.
And I had to pretend to be attached to her.
Once I showed any flaw, I would lose my life.
I cried for a while before stopping, saying that I was tired.
They helped me into the room, brought a bowl of porridge, and I pretended not to see and groped to finish the porridge. Then they took the bowl out and closed the door.
I finally let out a sigh of relief, turned over on the bed, and looked under the pillow.
The note was gone!
For some reason, a sense of terrifying unease suddenly rose in my heart.
I subconsciously turned around and saw a pair of eyes between the gaps of the two curtains!
10
I almost screamed.
“So you’re not blind after all.”
The curtains opened, and Song Xiaomei walked out, step by step approaching me, and finally stopped in front of me.
She had been hiding behind the curtains before.
She was still holding a note in her hand.
It was the one that was placed under my pillow before!
“Didn’t expect that, did you?” She bent down close to me, “I’ve always been a dispensable existence in this family. But I’ve seen everything! Song Qi, what on earth are you up to?”
What should I do?
Did she see me turn over the pillow?
Or since when did she start suspecting?
Did she tell anyone else?
Was it still too late to pretend I didn’t know anything?
Could I still deceive her?
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through my mind, but I still couldn’t figure out anything.
She just stared at me with narrowed eyes.
Just as she was about to speak again, I said, “Who are you? Who’s here? Who’s talking?”
As I said this, my hands started waving around, trying to push her away and get outside.
The next moment, she grabbed my hand.
“Song Qi, don’t play this trick with me. I saw everything.” She said to me in a low voice.
“I noticed it when you vomited yesterday.”
“Although you were very careful, I was the one who dropped the eye – drops for you, and I was also the one who cleaned the room full of vomit later!”
“Do you know? When I picked up the medicine from your vomit, I felt something was wrong. When I picked up the water cup on the table, I was even more certain. Song Qi, guess what I found?”
I didn’t say anything. My heart was pounding.
Maybe seeing that I didn’t respond, she let out a short laugh.
She said, “Maybe you were too hasty, so you didn’t notice that when you changed the medicine, you even got the vomit on the medicine bottle into the water. They were floating on it, spreading out in circles.”
I opened my mouth, wanting to say that it might have splashed in when I vomited, but she blocked my mouth first.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you want to say.” She laughed.
“I wasn’t very sure at that time either. But later, when I came to the room to clean, I took a closer look. You know, you made a mess everywhere. You thought you made it very chaotic, but I found all your movement routes.”
“I clearly saw all the routes you crawled on the ground. You crawled towards the door and then returned straight to the bedside, and then directly threw yourself to the other side.”
“Song Qi, I saw everything that happened in the room clearly from the outside.”
“In such a short time, you accurately came to the bedside and then threw yourself to another corner. Even when I came in and picked up the cup, the vomit on the water surface was still slowly spreading in circles.”
“Your movement route only shows one thing, Song Qi. You’re not blind.”
She smiled and put the note in front of me.
“So, I put this note under your pillow, hid in the room when you were all in a commotion, and took the note back.”
“Song Qi, do you think your reactions just now can deceive anyone?”
11
I had no way to refute.
I couldn’t find any excuse.
All I could do was repeat that I couldn’t see, but that wouldn’t make things better.
At that time, the time was too urgent. I didn’t have any time to pay attention to many things, and I left a loophole.
And Song Xiaomei found it!
Although their family had a preference for sons over daughters, between Song Xiaomei and me, they would definitely trust Song Xiaomei more.
Not to mention that Song Xiaomei had evidence.
Once she said something, I would be finished.
To be on the safe side, they might directly kill me.
What should I do?
Cold sweat dripped down one by one. I ordered myself to calm down.
If she wanted to tell Song Zhicheng and the others, she would have done it long ago. She wouldn’t be here interrogating me.
She had her own plans.
Song Xiaomei, a poor girl living in a family with a strong preference for sons over daughters. What would she want to do after discovering such a thing?
I thought about it.
“What do you want?” I asked her, not admitting that I wasn’t blind, leaving myself a way out.
I saw a terrifying smile on her face, which was seven – tenths similar to Song Zhicheng’s, the same as theirs.
“What exactly happened on the mountain?” she asked me.
They didn’t regard Song Xiaomei as a member of the Song family, so they didn’t allow her to go up the mountain to worship the ancestors.
At that time, she was ordered to stay at home to clean and cook, so she didn’t witness everything with her own eyes.
“Your parents were killed by them together, right?”
Before I could say anything, she spoke, her face full of a strange smile.
I actually saw… excitement in her eyes?
A wave of fear washed over me.
“I won’t lie to you. I’m just confirming with you. You can’t deceive me.” she said.
I could only nod.
The excitement on her face became more obvious.
I didn’t know what she was happy about.
I just felt extremely scared.
She jumped excitedly.
Then she stared at me intently and said, “They’re re – printing your property transfer agreement. You’ll sign it later.”
12
Why was this her request?
How could this be!
I immediately said no.
“Once I sign it, they’ll kill me!” I retorted.
She didn’t care and directly grabbed my neck, “I don’t care. You must sign it! And right now, immediately!”
Finally, she added –
“Song Qi, be good. Your life is in my hands now. If you don’t sign, I’ll tell them you’re not blind!”
I stared at her blankly.
Actually, I had a glimmer of hope in my heart just now, thinking that she didn’t say anything because she pitied me and might help me escape.
But this was her request?
I didn’t understand what she was up to.
I had just used the excuse of wanting to see my parents one last time to avoid signing the agreement. Now I was going to compromise?
Gamble on whether they would kill me immediately after I signed?
I couldn’t afford to take that risk!
But…
Faced with this conflict, I had to make a choice!
Should I sign or not?
I tried to think of a way quickly, but I couldn’t come up with any.
Her hands were very strong, choking my neck and making me dizzy from suffocation.
Looking at her face, which was seven – tenths similar to Song Zhicheng’s, a terrifying thought suddenly popped into my mind.
They were both forcing me, both wanting to kill me. If I had to choose between the two, could I solve the problem temporarily by getting rid of one of them?
I could still deceive Song Zhicheng and the other three, and I couldn’t fight against three people alone. But what about Song Xiaomei?
“Are you going to sign or not!”
Song Xiaomei forced me.
I couldn’t think clearly anymore. I suddenly exerted force.
She seemed to not expect me to resist. She was pushed away by me, but in the end, she still grabbed my collar.
We both fell to the ground.
As soon as we landed, she came to choke my throat again.
I tried my best to attack her.
Get rid of her first!
Then find a way to escape and deal with their whole family!
None of them would escape!
13
“What are you two doing?”
Just as we were fighting fiercely, a voice came.
Oh no!
It was Song Zhicheng and the others!
“Haha!”
I saw Song Xiaomei show a victorious smile.
As Song Zhicheng and the others approached step by step, I saw Song Xiaomei raise the note in her hand and silently mouth to me –
“Are you going to sign or not?”
Every step Song Zhicheng took behind me seemed to step on my heartbeat.
Getting closer and closer, I was so nervous that my hair stood on end.
Just as I felt Song Zhicheng was beside me, I nodded vigorously.
“What are you doing!” Song Zhicheng’s questioning voice came the next moment.
I raised my hand and slapped Song Xiaomei.
There was a clear slap.
I saw her face distort as she looked at me, and then I started crying.
“I won’t allow you to speak ill of my parents like this!” I cried.
Zhang Manqiu and Song Ji also rushed over.
I made up a lie.
I said Song Xiaomei spoke ill of my parents, and I was complaining to Song Zhicheng and the others.
It was such a strange feeling.
I was complaining to the people who killed my parents, accusing their biological daughter.
Song Zhicheng turned to Song Xiaomei.
She had already put away the previous note. She was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, “I didn’t say anything. I just said they were smashed to pieces, and she hit me!”
I slapped Song Xiaomei again.
“You!”
She was about to choke me again.
I also pounced on her.
We were about to fight again.
Zhang Manqiu and Song Zhicheng immediately pulled us apart, preventing us from fighting.
Song Xiaomei and I cursed each other.
Until Song Xiaomei was driven out, I sat down on the ground and cried.
Zhang Manqiu hypocritically comforted me, saying that she didn’t educate her daughter well.
I ignored her and continued to cry.
I was extremely anxious.
I had already promised Song Xiaomei. If I signed later, I would surely not be able to escape.
I didn’t dare to bet on whether Song Xiaomei had a moment of kindness.
I wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t expose me even if I didn’t sign.
What should I do?
“Dong, dong, dong!”
Just then, a knock on the door came.
Who was it?
14
The police?
Was the police coming to look for me?
My heart was beating very fast.
If it was the police, then I had to be ready to get rid of them at any time!
I didn’t dare to look up immediately. I just wiped my tears while secretly looking at them from the corner of my eye.
Zhang Manqiu and Song Zhicheng exchanged a look, then Song Zhicheng walked over to open the peephole and look outside.
Then, he opened the door.
I continued to peek.
As the door opened, my heart almost jumped out.
But it wasn’t the police. Instead, it was a short, wretched – looking old man.
As soon as he entered, he looked around, then his eyes locked on me. He pushed Song Zhicheng aside and walked straight towards me.
“Is this the one?” he said, reaching out to touch me.
I immediately shrank into Zhang Manqiu’s arms.
“Aunt, who is this person? I can’t see,” I kept burrowing behind Zhang Manqiu. If the old man wanted to touch me, he would have to touch Zhang Manqiu.
Zhang Manqiu was clearly disgusted too, so she pushed the man aside.
“Not her. It’s over there,” she said, pointing at Song Xiaomei.
Song Xiaomei stood there like she was frozen, not daring to move at all.
The old man looked at me, then at Song Xiaomei.
I used to live in the city and was my parents’ only child, while Song Xiaomei had always been in the countryside. Their family favored sons over daughters and mistreated her in every way.
With just one look…
“Can’t we change to her?” the old man pointed at me, indicating that he wanted to change to me.
In that instant, I secretly glanced at Song Xiaomei’s face, filled with fear and expectation, and then at the old man’s wretched and disgusting appearance.
I seemed to understand.
“No way. We had an agreement before!” Zhang Manqiu said with a cold face.
The old man was about to say something else.
Zhang Manqiu said, “We originally agreed on tonight. Why are you here early? This is my niece. I can’t make the decision. Don’t even think about it. If you have any objections, you won’t be able to take anyone away!”
The old man finally nodded regretfully and walked towards Song Xiaomei.
“No! It’s not even night yet. We said it was for tonight! Mom, I have something to tell you! Make him come back tonight!”
Song Xiaomei almost screamed.
But Zhang Manqiu ignored her and let the old man walk up to her, hold her hand, touch her face, and even pat her.
Song Ji just stood aside, watching with a smile.
“Mom! Mom!” Song Xiaomei screamed, “He’s not following the rules now. What will happen later, Mom! I have something to say to you!”
Zhang Manqiu looked over there again and then said, “She’s right. We should follow the original agreement. The time we agreed on was evening. You go back first.”
Song Ji sneered and shook his head with a “tsk – tsk” sound.
Song Zhicheng pulled the old man aside and pushed him out the door.
The house became quiet.
No one said anything, and I didn’t dare to either. The few of them looked at each other, communicating silently.
Finally, Song Ji let out a snort of laughter and went back to his room, while Song Xiaomei knelt on the ground.
I thought for a while and said, “Aunt, what was that all about? Who was that? What was Xiaomei talking about?”
After all, it would be too strange if I didn’t ask at this time.
Zhang Manqiu told me it was nothing, just a person from the neighboring village, and then she locked me in the room and went off somewhere, I didn’t know where.
I waited for a minute, pretending to be dull and walking around.
I first took a look around, then “felt” my way to the window. But there was a security net installed there, and I couldn’t get out at all.
Moreover, the window was not close to the outside, and we were inside the courtyard wall. I couldn’t even ask passers – by for help.
Just as I was carefully pretending to be blind and checking, suddenly, I faintly heard voices from the next room!
15
Sitting on the bed, I couldn’t hear anything. But when I quietly opened the window a crack and put my ear to it, I could hear the voices.
“Mom, you’re going to get Song Qi’s money soon. Why do you still want to marry me off? Mom, before, there was no other way, but now we clearly have money!”
This was Song Xiaomei’s voice.
I understood. The reason Song Xiaomei asked me to sign the property gift agreement immediately just now was for this.
Then Zhang Manqiu said something. Because she was speaking in a low voice, I couldn’t hear clearly, just some mumbled words.
But the words Song Xiaomei said later made me guess what Zhang Manqiu had said.
Song Xiaomei said –
“Mom! I’m also your daughter. I came out of your womb! Although Song Ji is a boy, I’m also a life! You’ve seen that old man. Don’t you understand what kind of life I’ll have if I marry him!
“Mom, now Song Qi is blind. Her money will sooner or later be ours. Right now, no! This instant, I’ll take that agreement and make her sign it. I have a way to make her sign, even if I have to force her! Please don’t treat me like this!”
I wanted to hear more, but suddenly, I heard the sound of the door lock turning.
My heart pounded violently. I immediately threw myself onto the bed.
Just as I lay down on the bed, the door opened.
Through the reflection of the glass, I saw Song Ji standing at the door.
There was an extremely greedy smile on his face. He walked quietly from the door to behind me and just stood there, looking at me.
He didn’t say anything, just smiled.
Looking at me was like a butcher looking at a pig waiting to be slaughtered.
It was terrifying.
16
Suddenly, a shrill cry came.
I immediately sat up and reached out to grab around.
Song Ji cursed and went out.
I “stumbled” out as well.
I walked in the direction of the sound.
Then I saw Song Xiaomei kneeling on the ground, crying, and Zhang Manqiu sitting beside her with a cold face.
“Song Xiaomei, you have to marry him today, whether you like it or not!” Song Ji sneered.
“You!” Song Xiaomei seemed to be on the verge of going crazy.
Then she saw me standing at the door.
Her eyes were filled with venom.
I suddenly had a bad premonition.
I immediately turned around, but it was too late.
“What about her? Let her go! Anyway, that person wanted her more before! And…”
Song Xiaomei didn’t finish the rest of the sentence because Zhang Manqiu covered her mouth.
I pretended not to understand and asked, “Xiaomei, what are you talking about? Who are you talking about?”
Song Ji giggled on the side, while Song Xiaomei looked at me with hateful eyes.
“Nothing,” Zhang Manqiu said, then gave Song Ji a glare. “Qiqi, you go back and rest. I’ll come find you later.”
I nodded and then groped my way away.
But I could feel that Song Xiaomei’s gaze was still on me.
I understood what Song Xiaomei meant.
She had given me a deadline of evening. Before evening, I must sign the agreement. Otherwise, she would definitely drag me to hell with her!
What should I do?
How could I escape before evening?
Only by escaping could I get out of this conflict.
I sat on the bed with the door open, blankly watching them perform all kinds of strange scenes outside.
Song Xiaomei and Zhang Manqiu communicated silently.
Song Ji slapped Song Xiaomei directly in the face.
Song Zhicheng came back at some point, glanced at me, and then kicked Song Xiaomei to the ground.
The Song Xiaomei who had threatened me before was not in a much better situation than me.
I didn’t say anything, just sat there, and countless ideas flashed through my mind.
Finally, Zhang Manqiu slapped her again, tied her up, and threw her directly into the room where I was.
Suddenly, for some reason, I had a premonition that my chance had come.
17
Song Xiaomei was still crying and banging on the door, asking Zhang Manqiu to exchange me for her, but the people outside ignored her.
She seemed to have been warned and didn’t dare to say much.
Although she and I both knew everything clearly.
Finally, she cried herself out and stopped talking, just crying behind the door.
When I thought it was about time, I blankly locked the window, drew the curtains, and then walked over to her.
I leaned against the door and looked at her.
She looked back at me.
Then, she suddenly whispered, “I won’t help you escape. Don’t even think about it!”
“I don’t understand,” I also whispered. “You could have escaped and started a new life somewhere else.”
She laughed mockingly.
“Do you think I haven’t tried?”
“Do you know what the final result was?”
“Song Qi, you’re so lucky. We’re both girls in the Song family, but we’re worlds apart.”
“No, you’re in a similar situation as me now.”
She laughed softly, looking crazy.
I watched her laugh for a while.
Then I said, “I’ll take your place.”
She was stunned, looking as if she didn’t understand.
“I’ll go with that man instead of you.”
This was the only way I could think of to get out of here without signing the agreement.
That was to go with that man instead of Song Xiaomei.
Wasn’t this what Song Xiaomei had been dreaming of?
She would definitely help me.
And because I was going to go with that man, she wouldn’t force me to sign the agreement before evening.
This matter could be postponed.
But she laughed even more insanely.
She lay on the ground, laughing for a long time before finally catching her breath.
Finally, she only left me with one sentence –
“Song Qi, do you know why I’d rather stay here than go with him? Do you really think it’s easier to escape from him than from here?”
18
This was something I hadn’t thought of.
But I knew I could only take a gamble because if I stayed here, I would surely die.
So I told her whether I could escape from there had nothing to do with her. I just asked if she was willing to help me.
Of course she was willing.
Because after I left with the other person, even if the Song family found out, they would try to kill me, not her.
So she kept laughing. She stared at my face intently, as if she wanted to remember my stupidity.
So in the evening, she let the others take her out.
I didn’t know what would happen next, but I knew she would do everything she could to exchange me for her.
The man came and knocked on the door.
He first went to the door of Song Xiaomei’s room and took a look. Then Song Zhicheng and Song Ji pulled him out. It seemed they were discussing the price. As they talked, they all went outside to argue about something.
Suddenly, I saw Song Xiaomei’s face at the door.
She made a gesture to me.
I came out and heard the sound of Zhang Manqiu cooking in the kitchen.
Song Xiaomei directly pulled me into her room, threw the wedding dress she had taken off at me, and the veil.
Then she put on my coat and slipped away.
I understood what she meant.
I quickly put on the wedding dress and covered my head with the veil.
Just as I finished, I heard footsteps.
I clenched my hands tightly, took a deep breath, and tried not to tremble with nervousness.
“Okay, you can take her away,” it was Song Ji’s voice. He sounded quite happy, probably because they had successfully increased the price.
The old man gave a lewd laugh and walked towards me.
As he got closer step by step, I suddenly discovered a fatal flaw in this plan.
The old man would definitely check the goods first when he took the person away. So…
I started trembling again uncontrollably.
And his hand had already grabbed my veil.
What should I do!
19
Before I could figure it out, the old man had lifted my veil.
All I could do was pretend to be dull and stupid, as if I couldn’t see anything.
“Ha, Old Wu, except for her, the only other one in this house is the blind girl. What’s there to see?” Song Ji’s voice came from outside.
I saw the lewd smile on the old man’s face grow even wider.
I suddenly knew what I had to do.
So I pretended to be confused and was about to say something. He immediately covered my mouth and made sure to block Song Ji’s view from outside with his body.
The touch of his hand made me almost vomit, but I knew this was the moment of truth.
“Hehe, there’s no need,” the old man said, then put my veil back down.
His hand was still covering my mouth, and he whispered in my ear, “I’m a doctor. I’m here to take you to see a doctor. If you want to cure your eyes, be good and don’t talk.”
I nodded.
He then let go of me.
Then he grabbed my arm and pulled me up.
“Then I’ll be going,” he said, pulling me outside.
“Aren’t you going to have dinner before leaving?” Zhang Manqiu’s voice came.
“No, no,” I heard the excitement in the old man’s voice.
As he said this, he directly dragged me outside.
“Ha, Mom, he’s in a hurry to go back and be the bridegroom. How can he care about having dinner? Don’t stop him,” Song Ji’s voice came.
The old man gave another lewd laugh.
Then he dragged me and walked outside.
Of course I followed.
As we got closer and closer to the door, my heart almost jumped to my throat.
Just as I was about to step out of this door.
Suddenly –
“Qiqi, come out for dinner,” I heard Song Zhicheng walking towards the room where I had been staying.
It’s over!
The sound of the door opening came.
The old man seemed to understand what was happening. He dragged me and started running outside.
We ran out of the small door. Just as we reached the gate of the courtyard, I heard an angry roar.
“Song Xiaomei! What are you doing here! Where’s Song Qi!”
Then there was a burst of scolding and Song Xiaomei’s hysterical laughter.
“Old Wu!”
Someone was chasing after us.
But the old man let out a huffing laugh.
“Run with me quickly. You’re blind and don’t know. They want to kill you. You can only survive if you come with me,” Old Wu said to me.
I immediately started pretending to cry and shaking non – stop.
I didn’t need to pretend because I was really shaking.
I couldn’t tell if it was fear, nervousness, or excitement.
Maybe it was all three.
Old Wu pushed me into the car and then went to the driver’s seat.
He locked all the car doors.
Just as he started the car, someone slapped the car window.
“Old Wu, let her come back. I’ll give you money, double the amount!” It was Song Zhicheng’s voice.
“Ha, you think I’ll believe you? You’re so poor that you’re selling your daughter. How can you give me double?” Old Wu sneered and drove the car away.
Song Zhicheng was still saying something behind us, but because the car was driving too fast and the road was bumpy, I couldn’t hear clearly.
The veil had fallen off.
What should I do next?
Song Xiaomei’s fear wasn’t fake.
Her reasons were valid.
Escaping from the old man wouldn’t be easier than escaping from the Song family.
There was no time to lose. Now the old man was still excited. Later, the Song family would surely try to contact him again and offer an exchange condition. At that time, maybe they would all force me to sign the agreement together, and I would become a slave imprisoned by the old man for the rest of my life.
I would be in a living hell.
What should I do?
I sat in the back and cried.
Through the gaps between my fingers, I saw the old man looking at me even more lewdly.
20
The car was bumping along the road.
I cried and said, “Uncle, thank you.”
He smiled and said it was nothing. He kept looking at me through the rear – view mirror, looking extremely disgusting.
“Uncle, can you lend me your phone? I want to call the police,” I cried.
“I’ve already called the police. I’ll take you away first. Otherwise, if they come after us in desperation, it’ll be over,” he continued.
I continued to cry.
But I still nodded and said gratefully, “Uncle, you’re so kind. Although I can’t see, I’ll definitely repay you.”
He gave a strange laugh.
After crying for a while, it was completely dark. I knew this road. Soon, we would cross a bridge.
So I said, “Uncle, I don’t seem to hear any sound. Are we safe? I… I need to go to the bathroom.”
He hesitated a bit.
I wiped my tears and deliberately made an embarrassed look.
“Um…”
I stammered, “Uncle, I can’t see. Can you… can you take me there?”
His eyes widened immediately, and a lewd light flashed in his eyes.
I knew what to do.
So I said, “But uncle, you can’t peek. When you take me there, you have to turn around… understand?”
I made a shy look.
He burst out laughing.
“Don’t worry,” he said.
Then he stopped the car, opened the locked car door, and came to my side to hold my arm.
“Come on, child, hold on to me and get out,” he said.
I nodded, pretending not to see anything, and got out of the car with him.
“Follow me,” he said, holding my arm tightly and leading me into the woods.
Just as we were about to cross the bridge, suddenly, the sound of a car came from behind.
“Old Wu!”
It was Song Zhicheng’s voice.
21
“Damn it!” the old man cursed and was about to take me back to the car. “We have to go back quickly!”
No way!
This was the decisive moment! I looked at the high bridge and the swift – flowing river below. I couldn’t care less anymore. I bit the old man’s arm hard.
He let out a scream and released me. I pushed him away, took a few quick steps, turned around, and jumped off the bridge.
With a splash, I entered the water. It hit me so hard that my whole body ached. The wedding dress absorbed water and was heavy, making it difficult for me to float up. But I didn’t dare to break the water surface immediately. I held my breath and swam downstream for a while before finally emerging.
“Quick! Go and catch her!”
“Hello! Yes, it’s me. Hurry to the downstream…”
They were already calling their people to block the downstream. Then there was another splash, and someone else entered the water.
I didn’t dare to stop and continued swimming. When I reached a bend, I tore off a piece of cloth and tied it to a branch, then continued. After doing this in several places, I went ashore.
The water flow was very rapid. All this only took me a short time. The wedding dress was just worn over the outside, so I could easily tear it off and let it wash downstream.
I then ran into the forest and chose a tree to climb up. Just as I climbed to a suitable position, I heard a commotion.
“Damn it, this girl is quite cunning. She threw so many pieces of cloth to deceive us. She must not be blind!”
“Now, quickly find someone. If she’s really not blind, we’re in trouble!”
They were talking as they approached the tree I was in. I hugged my clothes tightly. I had just come out of the water, and my clothes were still dripping! If the water dripped on them when they passed by, I would be discovered, and then it would be like catching a turtle in a jar. I couldn’t escape!
They were still cursing as they came towards me. I looked at the tree trunk. Although I was hugging my clothes, the water was flowing down the trunk.
“Ah… I’m exhausted,” a man leaned against the trunk of my tree.
My heart almost jumped out of my throat.
22
Another guy was standing nearby, fanning himself.
“To be honest, I think all these places with her clothes are just her tricks. She led us here and then went to a place without any marks. We won’t be able to find her no matter how hard we look.”
“I think so too.”
“Alright, anyway, just take a look. If we don’t find anything, let’s go back. It’s late at night.”
“Yeah.”
The two of them stopped under the tree for a while and then left. When their voices faded away, I let out a sigh of relief. I was safe for the moment.
Of course, it was only temporary. They would definitely block all the exits. The most important thing was how to escape from here and call the police. There was no police station in the village. The nearest police station was in the township government area, but they would surely block the roads there. So I could only go to the county.
Although they might also block the roads to the county, there were so many roads leading to the county. Song Zhicheng and the others only dared to ask their own people for help, and with limited manpower, it would be a bit easier.
I recognized this place. If I could cross over here, I could reach the county. Now, I just had to wait patiently. Wait until they finished searching this area, and then I would climb down the tree.
The sky was pitch – black. I had no phone and no reference to calculate the time. I had no idea how long it had passed, whether it was ten minutes or an hour. I was so cold that my whole body was shaking. But I could still hold on.
When I thought it was almost time, I climbed down and carefully walked in the dark. My body was covered with mosquito bites and bloodstains from being scratched by stones and branches. It was very uncomfortable. But I knew that if I didn’t escape, my fate would be a thousand times worse than this. So I could only endure it.
I don’t know how long I walked. Finally, I crossed the mountain and reached the exit near the county. By this time, the sky was already slightly bright.
I was dizzy and drowsy. I didn’t dare to go out immediately. First, I struggled to climb onto a nearby tree and looked around to make sure there was no one in ambush.
Maybe they thought, like the two people who came to search before, that the places where I left the cloth were just tricks. Or maybe they thought that as a person living in the city, I didn’t come back to the countryside often and wouldn’t know these remote paths, so they focused their attention on the main roads.
I didn’t care. I just ran out desperately. I didn’t trust anyone. Any person could be someone they arranged to wait for me to fall into the trap.
The few people on the road looked at me strangely, but I didn’t care. I rushed all the way to the police station. I could already see their people waiting nearby, ready to rush out and catch me. So I shouted desperately.
“Help! Someone is trying to kill me! Help!”
Song Zhicheng’s people had already caught me, but the police from the station had also arrived. There was a commotion.
And then, I was saved!
23
The people who came to catch me were not Song Zhicheng himself, so they surely wouldn’t be too dedicated for him. Thus, I was saved.
I cried and told the police about my experiences in the past few days, informed them of the truth about my parents’ death, and asked them to quickly arrest that evil family.
They didn’t hesitate at all and took action immediately. But when I woke up in the hospital, the news I got was that they only caught Song Xiaomei, who was abandoned by Song Zhicheng’s family in a pool of blood. Song Zhicheng and the other three had run away. Old Wu had also escaped.
However, they were already wanted, and all exits were blocked. The police were dispatched to conduct a large – scale search.
After Song Xiaomei woke up, she told everything. She was also one of the victims. Even if I said she forced me to sign, she had no choice.
Finally, both of us were hospitalized due to our injuries. I cried my heart out.
From then on, I was the only one left in my family. I asked the police if I could get my phone back, but they said they didn’t find it.
I said I wanted to see Song Xiaomei. A policewoman took me there.
I told Song Xiaomei about this. She looked at me and suddenly smiled.
“Song Ji has been using your payment code to buy things,” she said.
She continued, “Your phone is set so that payments under 1000 yuan don’t require a password. When you were unconscious, Song Ji used your fingerprint to unlock the phone screen and changed the lock screen password. If it wasn’t difficult to change the payment fingerprint lock since you didn’t set it, Song Ji would have changed it long ago.”
The police immediately called to check my payment records. I looked at her, and she had a calm expression.
“You said it was Song Ji,” I noticed.
The smile on her face suddenly widened.
“Yeah,” she laughed.
“Because Zhang Manqiu and Song Zhicheng stopped giving him money. If he wanted to spend money, he had to find another way.”
I looked at her smile and understood. If Song Ji could control himself, his debts wouldn’t keep piling up. And since Song Zhicheng and Zhang Manqiu didn’t give him money, if he found a way on his own, he surely wouldn’t let them know.
So, if my phone couldn’t be found, it must be in Song Ji’s hands. The police immediately started investigating along this line.
Sure enough, they found a lot of records, including today’s. Song Xiaomei and I didn’t say much and just went back.
But before leaving, I looked back at her, and she gave me a meaningful smile. I smiled back.
24
Before long, Song Zhicheng and the other three were caught. After a series of interrogations, Song Ji couldn’t hold on anymore, and along with Old Wu, they were all arrested.
When they accidentally met, they almost fought.
By this time, my body had completely recovered. Although I was a bit weak, like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness, I was finally okay.
I went to the police station and looked at their ferocious faces. I told the police that I wanted to talk to them. They agreed.
As soon as I appeared in front of them, they tried to pounce on me, but they were already controlled and couldn’t harm me. So they could only curse me, using all kinds of dirty words.
But I didn’t care. I sneered.
I said, “This is what you deserve. You killed my parents for money and even wanted to kill me. This is your retribution!”
Song Zhicheng suddenly burst out laughing maniacally. He looked at me with red eyes and said, “Do you really think Song Zhigang is your father?”
I was stunned and asked with red eyes, “What do you mean?”
Song Zhicheng went crazy and said, “Everything in big brother’s family should have belonged to us! You’re not big brother’s biological daughter at all. You were adopted by them!”
“I’m dying of laughter. Do you still think you’re the apple of their eyes? A wealthy young lady? Song Qi, it’s just that you don’t remember. Your biological parents died when you were four. Since they couldn’t have children of their own, they adopted you. Do you really think they’re truly sincere to you?”
“Yes! We were just taking back what was ours. We didn’t want the things of our Song family to be taken away by you, an outsider! What’s wrong with us!”
The whole family started talking all at once.
“Killing is a crime!” The police couldn’t stand it anymore and immediately rebuked.
I took several steps back. I looked at them in disbelief.
“You must be lying!” I couldn’t help but scream.
They just kept laughing, seemingly happy to make me suffer.
Because of their madness, they were forcibly taken away. I was still crying. The policewoman saw me pitiful and comforted me.
Finally, I still went to check. I was indeed adopted.
Life had so many ups and downs. Everything seemed illusory. But I could only move forward.
Before long, they were sentenced. Some got life imprisonment, some got several decades. In short, the three of them and Old Wu would almost spend the rest of their lives in prison.
And I, dragging my exhausted body, left the courthouse.
Just as I walked out of the courthouse.
“Qiqi!” A familiar voice came.
I looked up. It was my ex – boyfriend, Cheng Han.
His eyes were red. He walked up to me, looked at me, and said, “I’m sorry. I just found out about what happened to your family. You… please accept my condolences.”
Then he hugged me.
I nodded with red eyes, and over his shoulder, I saw Song Xiaomei standing not far away.
There was still that strange smile on her face.
25
I separated from Cheng Han.
I was the one who broke up with him back then.
Now I didn’t get back together with him either. I just regarded him as an old friend who comforted me.
Later, Song Xiaomei and I went to a restaurant. There was no one around.
She suddenly leaned close to me.
“Song Qi, guess what I just found out?” There was a strange light in her eyes.
I looked at her and took a sip of my drink. “What?”
“Your ex – boyfriend is a medical student!” she said with a smile.
I nodded.
I said, “So what if he’s a medical student?”
She looked at me for a while and then sat back in her seat. She looked at me with great interest.
Then she said, “I happened to talk to him before and learned about your relationship.”
I didn’t say anything and just lowered my head to drink my drink.
“He said you two got together in your first year of college. You confessed to him.”
“He also said that your relationship was very good at that time. You often accompanied him to class or study in the library, and sometimes you even missed your own classes.”
I ignored her and listened to her continue.
She became more and more excited as she spoke, and finally said, “I also heard him say that you broke up when you were about to graduate. You were the one who brought it up.”
Hearing this, I smiled and looked up at her.
Her face was really a typical Song family face.
I said, “So? Isn’t it normal for a couple to be affectionate when they’re in love and separate when they fall out of love?”
She looked at me with narrowed eyes, as if trying to see something from me.
“I overheard Song Zhicheng and the others say that you were adopted,” she said.
I let out a long sigh, my eyes reddened, and I nodded. “I just found out. I didn’t expect…”
I wiped my eyes. “But they were very good to me. I’ll consider them my biological parents for the rest of my life.”
Song Xiaomei frowned, looking very confused.
Finally, she didn’t say anything. She just said that we would never see each other again and then left.
I cried for a while, then composed myself, paid the bill, and left.
I returned to my rental house. It had only been a few days since I left, but it felt like a century. I stroked the medical books on the bookshelf, then put all the things here into a box, drove to a very remote place, and watched them being engulfed by the fire.
I completed all the procedures, inherited my adoptive parents’ estate, and converted it all into cash.
Everything was done.
Three days later.
I drove with my adoptive parents’ urns to a remote place.
On the mountain here, there were two adjacent tombs without inscriptions.
I came to the tombs, touched them, and then placed the urns there.
“Dad, Mom, I brought them here,” I said.
26
I stayed there for a while, then left with the urns.
I walked to the foot of the mountain, where someone was feeding pigs. I watched from a distance.
When the person who was feeding the pigs went to get the pig feed, I walked to the pigsty, opened the urns, and poured their contents into the pigs’ trough.
Watching the pigs gobble it up, I suddenly burst out laughing.
The memory of that bloody scene when I woke up from my sleep at the age of 4 appeared in my mind.
My biological parents died.
My parents’ murderers adopted me.
They got all my biological parents’ property through me and successfully moved from the countryside to the city.
They didn’t know that I saw everything.
I also pretended not to know anything.
Now, they were also dead. Killed by their own brother’s family.
I laughed for a long time, until tears came out.
It was not until the person who was feeding the pigs came back with the pig feed, looking at me warily and asking what I was doing, that I stopped.
I had already hidden the urns. I reached out to touch the pig and said, “I think your pigs are raised really well.”
“Of course,” the other person said proudly.
I nodded, patted the pig’s head again, and then left.
A month later.
I left the city with two urns, never to return.
“The End”
