Zhiwan had rarely experienced her adoptive father treating her with such unusual kindness. Sensing that something was wrong, she refused to eat.
Her adoptive father picked up a piece of meat and forcibly shoved it into her mouth.
“How is it? Tasty?”
Afraid of making him angry, Zhiwan cautiously answered, “It’s good.”
Her adoptive father suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
“This is the dog you raised! You took such good care of it! Hahaha!”
Zhiwan’s face instantly went pale.
She stumbled into the kitchen and saw the bloody dog hide that had been stripped from her puppy. Tears immediately streamed down her face.
The piece of meat she’d been forced to eat made her vomit violently.
Eight-year-old Zhiwan cried and begged her adoptive father to give her puppy back, but he slapped her across the face.
“I’ve raised you for so many years! What’s wrong with eating your dog? Hell, I could even sell you for money if I wanted to!”
How could an eight-year-old girl possibly fight back against a grown man?
When her adoptive father saw that she wouldn’t stop crying, he pulled out his belt, preparing to beat her.
Her adoptive mother didn’t care at all. She simply held their son and comforted him.
At the time, Xu Yingzi lived next door.
When she heard the child’s cries, she immediately rushed over. Unable to bear seeing Zhiwan being hurt, she took the girl back to her own home, allowing her to escape another beating.
After that, Zhiwan never dared to raise another dog.
But Xu Yingzi knew how much the girl truly loved dogs.
Whenever Zhiwan saw a puppy on the street, her eyes would light up.
But she was afraid now.
The experience had left such a deep psychological scar that no matter how much she loved dogs, she never dared to raise one again.
So many years had passed, yet whenever Xu Yingzi remembered what happened, her eyes still filled with tears.
Zhiwan had barely enjoyed a few peaceful days in her adoptive family’s home.
After she returned to the Yu family, Xu Yingzi didn’t know exactly how she had been treated either.
After all, she couldn’t possibly know every single thing that happened inside the Yu household.
She had heard that the Yu family favored their adopted daughter, Yu Xiangxiang…
Now that Zhiwan was married, Xu Yingzi didn’t ask for anything else.
She only hoped that this man would treat Zhiwan well.
Yu Zhiwan asked about her cousin’s condition and chatted with her for a while.
While Xie Jingmo was busy lowering his head and peeling an apple, the young girl secretly tugged at Zhiwan’s sleeve.
“Big Sister, is Brother-in-law good to you? If he ever treats you badly, tell me and Mom and Dad. We’ll stand up for you!”
Seeing her act so seriously despite being so young, Zhiwan couldn’t help laughing.
She reached over and gently patted her head.
“I know. You need to get better quickly too, so I won’t have to worry about you.”
Her cousin giggled.
“The doctor said I’ll be able to get out of bed and run around soon!”
Xie Jingmo continued peeling the apple with his head lowered, seemingly as though he hadn’t heard their conversation.
However, when the girl mentioned “Brother-in-law” and said that her family would stand up for Zhiwan, a warm tenderness appeared in his eyes.
Even if they were scrutinizing him, it didn’t matter.
As long as they genuinely cared about Zhiwan, he was happy to see it.
He sincerely hoped that more and more people would treat her well.
After the two finished their little conversation, Xie Jingmo poured a glass of water for Zhiwan and asked whether she wanted to move her cousin to a better hospital room.
Zhiwan thought for a moment.
“No need to change rooms. I’d rather find an experienced specialist to examine her and make sure she’s completely recovered and won’t have any complications.”
Xie Jingmo nodded and took out his phone.
He made a call.
Not long afterward, several highly experienced medical specialists hurried over.
Even the hospital director came personally.
A large group of people arrived, all of them extremely respectful.
Xu Yingzi and her husband were completely stunned by the scene.
Even Yu Zhiwan was confused.
She turned to look at Xie Jingmo.
He simply held her hand.
“It’s fine. Let them examine your cousin.”
Soon, several specialists conducted a joint consultation.
They confirmed that the patient’s condition had been successfully treated. As long as she followed the doctor’s instructions, there shouldn’t be any complications, and she would make a full recovery soon.
Yu Zhiwan finally let out a sigh of relief.
Xu Yingzi and her husband were equally delighted and repeatedly thanked the doctors.
The hospital director politely declined their thanks, gave Xie Jingmo a respectful nod, and then left with the other doctors.
Yu Zhiwan and Xie Jingmo stayed a little longer before finally saying goodbye.
As Xu Yingzi watched the two of them leave, she couldn’t help feeling emotional.
When Zhiwan holds her wedding, I’m definitely going.
Then she suddenly remembered.
Wait.
She finally realized where she had seen Xie Jingmo before.
It was the year Zhiwan had just started high school.
At that time, Zhiwan hadn’t returned to the Yu family yet. She was still living with her adoptive parents.
Xu Yingzi remembered that her adoptive father had lost a lot of money gambling that day and took his anger out on Zhiwan.
Knowing that Zhiwan had been teaching herself fashion design, he deliberately twisted her wrist so hard that he nearly fractured it.
He had also slapped her, leaving a red mark on her swollen cheek that didn’t disappear for hours.
That very evening, Xu Yingzi had worked overtime and was returning home late.
As she passed an alley, she suddenly heard the heavy sounds of a beating.
There were also screams from a man.
The streetlight in the alley was broken, flickering on and off.
Xu Yingzi turned her head and looked inside.
Several teenagers who looked like students were surrounding a middle-aged man and beating him.
When the streetlight flickered on again, she saw his face clearly.
The bruised, bloody man being beaten was Zhiwan’s adoptive father.
And the teenager leading the beating…
Was Xie Jingmo.
The young man’s expression had been terrifyingly fierce, his features cold and brutal, as though he genuinely wanted to kill the man.
He had beaten Zhiwan’s adoptive father until the man was barely conscious.
Xu Yingzi never knew exactly what had happened in that alley.
She only knew that after that night, Zhiwan’s adoptive father was hospitalized for a long time.
He never dared lay a finger on Zhiwan again.
In fact, he seemed inexplicably afraid of her and wouldn’t even dare get too close to her.
Not long afterward, the school’s academic affairs director contacted Xu Yingzi.
He said they knew Zhiwan was struggling at home and wanted to provide financial assistance.
But because they knew Zhiwan’s parents couldn’t be relied upon, they had approached Xu Yingzi instead, handing the money to her and asking her to take better care of Zhiwan.
The sponsor had also given Xu Yingzi a separate sum of money as a token of appreciation.
Xu Yingzi remembered that besides the academic affairs director, there had been several other teachers in the office.
And there had also been a teenage boy in a school uniform.
He had carried himself with an arrogant, carefree air.
At the time, Xu Yingzi’s attention had been focused entirely on the teachers, so she hadn’t paid much attention to the boy.
But now that she thought about it carefully…
That teenager had clearly been Xie Jingmo.
So…
Was Xie Jingmo the one secretly sponsoring Zhiwan?
He knew Zhiwan’s adoptive parents couldn’t be relied upon, so he had arranged for the financial assistance to be passed through the teachers to Xu Yingzi, asking her to take better care of Zhiwan.
And later, when Zhiwan’s adoptive father was arrested for gambling and sent to prison…
Was that connected to Xie Jingmo too?
Xu Yingzi suddenly understood everything.
No wonder Xie Jingmo had looked so familiar.
He had been seventeen back then, while he was now in his twenties. He had matured considerably, but his features were still remarkably similar.
That was why she had recognized him without quite knowing why.
So Xie Jingmo had been quietly looking after Zhiwan for that long…
Had he been secretly in love with Zhiwan since high school?
For a moment, Xu Yingzi was overwhelmed with excitement and conflicted feelings.
She was thrilled because, if Xie Jingmo had loved Zhiwan for so many years, then surely he would treat her well in the future.
As Zhiwan’s aunt, she could finally feel at ease.
But she was also torn.
Should she tell Zhiwan that Xie Jingmo had been secretly in love with her all these years?
And should she tell her about everything he’d quietly done for her in the past?