Wen Zhile was pleasantly surprised to discover that what Shu Cheng’an had taken out was scar removal cream.
The ointment was a pale grass-green color, stored in a small tin container with a handwritten label of the cream’s name affixed to the outside.
So her aunt had noticed her scars after all, but hadn’t said anything, quietly preparing this scar removal cream for her.
Her aunt must be an angel! For her uncle to have married her, he must have saved the entire universe in his past life!
As the police car drove away from the street, Wen Zhile didn’t immediately enter the hotel.
She tucked the scar removal cream into a compartment of her backpack and went to the nearby market to buy a pound of pork before returning.
“Sister Xiuxiu, I came to see you,” she said.
She had made this special trip to let Fang Xiuxiu know she was alright.
Fang Xiuxiu had been waiting for her, finally relaxing when she saw her: “Are you settling in okay at the new place?”
“It’s quite good. Grandma Qu and her family have been very kind to me.” Wen Zhile quietly placed the pork behind the service counter. “Sister Xiuxiu, this is for you.”
“I went to the nearby market for meat yesterday evening. This vendor’s meat is very fresh, so I saved a pound for you using Grandma Qu’s refrigerator.”
“I went late yesterday, so the shopkeeper gave me a discount.” Originally priced at four yuan per pound, the shop owner’s wife had given her a fifty-cent discount.
Fang Xiuxiu hadn’t expected her to bring pork, her lips curving into a smile: “How timely—I actually got you a gift too.”
“My husband and I went to the night market yesterday evening and bought you some hair ties for your braids.”
She took out a small plastic bag: “Here.”
Wen Zhile exclaimed in delight: “They’re pretty, I like them.”
The hair ties were black with several plastic beads strung on them.
Truthfully, Wen Zhile didn’t particularly care for this type of hair tie, feeling they left marks in her hair, but she didn’t show it, immediately gathering her long hair that fell down her back and tying it up.
Fang Xiuxiu watched her with an affectionate, motherly smile.
This child Xiao Dai grew more and more endearing the more you looked at her.
She put the pork in her own bag and asked: “Did you need something?”
Talking with perceptive people certainly made things easier.
Wen Zhile smiled: “Nothing escapes Sister Xiuxiu’s notice.”
“I’d like to borrow a room for half an hour.”
Fang Xiuxiu readily handed her a key: “It’s the same room you stayed in before. Go ahead.”
“Great.”
The young girl ran upstairs, locked the door behind her, and began to undress.
She wanted to borrow a room to apply the scar removal cream.
Since her memories from her previous life had awakened, she hadn’t carefully examined the scars on her body.
This time, while applying the medicine, she looked at them seriously, her mood growing heavy.
It was no exaggeration to say that every scar on her body was because of Zhang Danhua.
From age three to sixteen, whenever Zhang Danhua was displeased, she would take her anger out on her.
Over those thirteen years, Wen Zhile had been burned with red-hot metal, pinched by hand, pricked with needles, and cut with knives.
Compared to Zhang Danhua, Dai Rong and Dai Guangzong would only yell at her or hit her with a broom, causing bruises that didn’t leave scars.
She felt that Zhang Danhua had intentionally abused her.
Wen Zhile carefully recalled the time periods when the particularly large scars on her body had been inflicted—each instance pointed to after Zhang Danhua had taken her son to the county town.
Every time they returned from the county town, they carried large bags of shopping, yet no happiness could be seen on Zhang Danhua’s face. She would immediately call her out and drag her to the storage room to beat her.
It seemed the county town the Dai family referred to wasn’t Jianghe County, but rather Jingzhou City.
Wen Zhile finished dressing, drew open the curtains and opened the window to air out the medicinal smell, then continued pondering.
Did Zhang Danhua have arguments with her parents when she went to the city? No.
In her previous life, Zhang Danhua would regularly bring children to their home, but back then it was Dai Nuan she brought, and her parents never treated them coldly.
The Wen family had never wronged the Dai family.
Although her relationship with Dai Nuan in her previous life was merely cordial, they could still exchange a few words.
Dai Nuan wasn’t the type to endure insults quietly—even if Zhang Danhua pinched her, she would complain about it during their chats. Though Dai Nuan had a hard life due to her family’s preference for sons over daughters, she had never been beaten.
Recalling the past, Wen Zhile grew even more certain that Zhang Danhua had intentionally mistreated her.
She descended the stairs, a smile reappearing on her face. “Sister Xiuxiu, I’ll be going now. I’m heading to the bookstore downtown.”
Fang Xiuxiu saw her off at the hotel entrance. “Take Bus No. 3 to the bookstore. Keep an eye on the window so you don’t miss your stop.”
“Got it.”
Wen Zhile wanted to go to the bookstore to buy review materials for the college entrance exam.
With only twenty days left until this year’s exam, she intended to take it directly.
In her previous life, she had been admitted to Jingzhou University at sixteen.
But after starting university, she no longer studied high school subjects, and during her postgraduate studies, she didn’t touch them at all. Feeling a bit uncertain, she decided to buy a few sets of practice questions to test herself.
Among the subjects for the college entrance exam, she was most confident in English, having majored in English and studied it daily.
Wen Zhile got off at the bookstore stop.
There weren’t many people inside. She carefully selected five or six books and a set of past exam papers. As she was about to check out, she spotted a military-themed book and, thinking of Zhou Jihuai, she didn’t hesitate to add it to her purchase.
That book was the most expensive, costing five yuan.
After leaving the bookstore, Wen Zhile went to the adjacent department store to buy some rice, flour, cooking oil, and snacks. She didn’t stop until she had more than she could carry, then struggled to hold all the food and drinks as she got into a taxi.
The driver dropped her off right at her doorstep.
The gate of the Siheyuan was open. As soon as Wen Zhile got out of the car, she saw Shu Cheng’an striding out quickly. “Whoa, you bought so much.”
He took everything himself.
Wen Zhile followed empty-handed and was unexpectedly met with three faces: Tang Heping, Shu Ying, and Wen Shuren.