Jiang Dagao’s temper had flared to terrifying heights, and his threat of violence hadn’t been an empty bluff. Liang Xiaoqing had been both shocked and terrified that Jiang Xu might suffer severe internal injuries. Unable to stand by any longer, she had started shouting at Jiang Dagao, nearly coming to blows with him. If Wang Cai hadn’t stepped in to intervene, Liang Xiaoqing would have been the one on the losing end.
With no other choice, a weeping Wang Cai wiped her tears as she physically dragged Jiang Dagao away, narrowly averting a disastrous escalation. To appease Jiang Dagao’s explosive mood, Wang Cai begged Liang Xiaoqing to look after Jiang Xu, especially given the heavy blow Jiang Dagao had just inflicted.
Liang Xiaoqing’s heart was still hammering against her ribs. In retrospect, she realized her outburst had been terribly rash—not that it did any good now. Jiang Xu was lying quietly in her arms, eyes closed.
She gave the girl’s shoulder a gentle shake. “Jiang Xu, are you alright?”
Her voice still carried a raw rasp from the recent shouting. Jiang Xu didn’t move, prompting Liang Xiaoqing to carefully scoop her up and carry her toward the door.
She figured Jiang Xu must have sustained some internal damage from that kick and needed to be taken down the mountain to the village clinic immediately.
The moment Liang Xiaoqing lifted her, however, Jiang Xu stirred, struggling in her arms to get down. Unable to maintain a secure grip, Liang Xiaoqing set her back on her feet.
The room was cluttered with miscellaneous items from floor to ceiling. Aside from the dining table, there was bare minimum furniture, and even the single lightbulb hung dim and gray-tinted.
Liang Xiaoqing tightened her grip on Jiang Xu’s hand. “Jiang Xu, come with me down the mountain to get checked out. Your father is completely out of his mind!”
Her tone brimmed with righteous indignation.
Instead of agreeing, Jiang Xu shook her head. “Teacher Liang, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
This wasn’t her first time being subjected to such physical abuse. Over time, Jiang Xu had figured out a coping mechanism to minimize the agony: curling her body up as tightly as possible, or simply blacking out so she wouldn’t have to feel the pain.
Right now, her chest felt infinitely better than it had moments ago. She rubbed the spot, her small face scrunched up into a tight knot as she brushed a stray footprint off her jacket.
Glancing down at the oversized denim jacket draped over her shoulders, she murmured softly, “Teacher Liang, it looks like I got your clothes dirty.”
Liang Xiaoqing was quick to reassure her, “It’s nothing, I can just wash it.” She squatted down halfway so that her line of sight leveled with Jiang Xu’s. “Are you really okay?”
Faced with that suddenly close face—dazzlingly fair and radiant—Jiang Xu felt her head spin in a strange, dizzy haze. Quickly averting her eyes, she looked away. “I’m fine, Teacher Liang.”
Remembering the large pot of water she had heated up earlier, she asked, “Teacher Liang, I boiled some hot water. Would you like to wash up?”
Liang Xiaoqing paused. With everything that had happened today, she hadn’t even had a moment to think about it. She looked down at herself; she was caked in mud from head to toe, even up to her forearms.
Furthermore, despite the overcast weather, she had hiked up the mountain and trudged through the fields with Wang Cai, working up a heavy sweat that had mixed with the rain. Her clothes clung to her skin, feeling sticky and thoroughly uncomfortable. Nodding, she agreed that a quick wash was definitely in order.
The makeshift washing area was located right next to the outdoor dry toilet, partitioned off by a tattered white curtain. Right beside the toilet was the pigsty—Jiang Xu’s family raised two pigs, the sale of which provided a crucial chunk of income at the end of the year.
The damp, pungent stench hung heavily in the air. A dim lightbulb overhead offered just enough illumination to make out shapes, though its glow was even weaker than the indoor bulbs, leaving most details obscured.
The mud-brick walls felt damp to the touch after the rain. Liang Xiaoqing was led by Jiang Xu right up to the makeshift bathroom area. Looking somewhat self-conscious and ill-at-ease, the younger girl darted back and forth, hauling a white plastic bucket over with visible effort and setting it inside the enclosure.
Once she finished, she turned back to Liang Xiaoqing and explained earnestly, “Teacher Liang, I use this bucket for washing clothes, it’s not dirty. I scrubbed it inside and out just now, so you can use it without worry.”
Truthfully, given the surroundings, Liang Xiaoqing didn’t really want to wash up here at all. But watching Jiang Xu huff and puff as she poured basin after basin of water into the plastic bucket and then looked up at her with eyes full of eager anticipation once she had enough. She didn’t have the heart to refuse.
She had no idea how to explain her hesitation to the girl.
Perhaps sensing her anxiety, Jiang Xu lingered after finishing the water. “Teacher Liang, go ahead and wash. I’ll stand guard outside for you, don’t worry.”
Liang Xiaoqing froze for a second, then instinctively reached out to pat Jiang Xu’s head. “Thank you.”
Compared to the alternative of skipping a wash, the sticky, damp sensation clinging to her skin felt far more unbearable. With Jiang Xu standing guard outside, she felt much more at ease.
She kept her guard up, glancing outside where a vague silhouette was cast against the grayish-white curtain. The figure shifted slightly, and then Liang Xiaoqing heard a voice: “The ground inside is very slippery, Teacher Liang, please be careful.”
“Mm,” Liang Xiaoqing responded, intending to make it quick.
The water in the bucket was a little warmer than body temperature, which felt just right to Liang Xiaoqing. She pinned up her hair and took a quick shower.
Once finished, she made do by pulling her muddy clothes back on. She felt a hundred times fresher. When she pushed back the curtain, she saw Jiang Xu leaning against the mud brick wall, facing her direction.
Before she could even react, Jiang Xu stepped forward and gently tugged at her arm. “Teacher Liang.”
Liang Xiaoqing thanked her again and asked, “Jiang Xu, do you want to wash up?”
Jiang Xu said she did.
Then Liang Xiaoqing stood guard outside for her in turn, though what she really wanted to see
was Jiang Xu’s chest.
The sheer, unbridled force of that kick was more than an adult could handle, let alone a frail little girl like Jiang Xu.
Just how vicious could Jiang Dagao be to hit his own child with such cruelty?
In truth, Jiang Xu hadn’t left much of an impression on her before. The only thing she vaguely
remembered was a colleague mentioning that Jiang Xu’s grades were decent, which made it all the more a pity that she couldn’t keep going to school.
That was why Liang Xiaoqing had inquired extensively about Jiang Xu’s family background and decided to come talk to her parents. She often did this kind of work; sometimes she successfully persuaded parents to let their children return to school, and other times she failed, visiting Jiang Xu’s family repeatedly without managing to convince them.
The other teachers called her stubborn, saying she was bringing trouble upon herself for a meager salary of a few hundred yuan.
Some told her that a mountain child’s education was up to fate, and that there were unavoidable reasons for dropping out. Once she had been transferred from the city long enough to understand the basic situation in Shuiqing Township, she would realize that Jiang Xu’s case was far from an exception.
Yet Liang Xiaoqing believed that some things simply required stubborn persistence to succeed.
While waiting outside, Liang Xiaoqing called in to ask if she could step inside for a moment. Before Jiang Xu could even answer, she had already stepped in.
The space in the dry toilet was cramped; adding one more person made it instantly crowded. Liang Xiaoqing knew barging in like this lacked a bit of etiquette, but her concern for the kick Jiang Dagao had delivered clearly outweighed everything else.
“Jiang Xu, I…”
Before she finished her sentence, she was suddenly nudged back, nearly stumbling to the ground.
Jiang Xu came out right behind her, a lingering panic still evident on her face. “I’m sorry, I thought…”
Jiang Xu’s hair was damp, clinging in strands to her neck. Her face caught the glistening sheen of the water, and her complexion looked somewhat healthier than it had that morning. Bracing herself against the earthen wall behind her, Liang Xiaoqing shook her head.
“It’s fine.”
Jiang Xu had already slipped into an oversized T-shirt. It was a muddy brown color, faded from too many washes, with the hem hanging down to her knees like a loose sack. The collar was far too wide, and Liang Xiaoqing immediately caught sight of the red mark on Jiang Xu’s chest.
“Does it hurt?” Liang Xiaoqing stepped closer, squatting down halfway to look her in the eye. Her fingers trembled, instinctively wanting to reach out and touch the spot, but she pulled her hand back at the last second.
Faced with a situation like this, Liang Xiaoqing had no idea what she should do.
Jiang Xu looked up at her slightly, her dark eyes shifting.
“If you have a teacher here, and it really hurts that much, I can take you down to the clinic to get it checked out.”
“…”
After a brief hesitation, Jiang Xu finally spoke to Liang Xiaoqing.
“Teacher Liang, actually this isn’t the first time. Jiang Dagao doesn’t just kick me; he beats my mom too. So, I don’t really blame my mom for not helping me, because if she tries, she gets beaten too. Besides, when Jiang Dagao is in a good mood, he doesn’t hit us.”
Jiang Xu’s voice remained raspy, delivered without any distinct emotional fluctuation—unnaturally calm.
Any ordinary young girl in her position would have been crying out of fear.
Liang Xiaoqing froze, a wave of deep shock washing over her.
She had originally intended only to check Jiang Xu’s chest, but hearing those words, she instead reached out and grabbed the girl’s arm.
Jiang Xu was frighteningly thin; Liang Xiaoqing could feel nothing but bone beneath her fingertips. Resting in her palm, the arm felt weightless, like a wisp of air.
She hadn’t noticed it in the morning rush, but now, under the dim, yellow glow of the old lightbulb shrouded in cobwebs overhead, the full extent of the bruising was exposed on Jiang Xu’s slender arm.
Purple and greenish bruises were scattered all across her tiny arm—some fading into faint yellow shadows, others freshly added.
Incredulous, Liang Xiaoqing rolled up Jiang Xu’s sleeve all the way to her shoulder. The higher she looked, the more horrified she felt; the entire arm was mottled with bruises.
She examined the skin closely, leaning further in and lowering her posture until she was squatting directly in front of Jiang Xu.
Jiang Xu didn’t move.
After a long moment, Liang Xiaoqing slowly let go of the sleeve. Her grip tightened slightly on Jiang Xu’s hand, and behind her glasses, a pair of bright, moisture-rimmed eyes stared straight at her.
Liang Xiaoqing heard the furious tremble in her own voice: “How can your father hit you like this?!”
Jiang Xu looked back at her with absolute calm, as if she were long accustomed to it.
“This is child abuse!”
Her cheeks flushed with anger, Liang Xiaoqing stood up abruptly without letting go of Jiang Xu’s hand. Off-balance, Jiang Xu stumbled forward, pitching right into Liang Xiaoqing’s arms.
Luckily, Jiang Xu was so underweight that Liang Xiaoqing managed to catch her, preventing them both from crashing to the floor.
“Are you alright?” Liang Xiaoqing asked, steadying her instantly.
Relying on that soft warmth to find her footing, Jiang Xu wearing a pair of battered, broken-strapped sandals shifted her bare feet against the ground. She lingered for just a fraction of a second before gently distancing herself from Liang Xiaoqing.
She shook her head, the faint scent still lingering near the tip of her nose. “I’m fine, Teacher Liang.”
When she looked up, her wide eyes were swimming with moisture. Slowly pulling up the hem of her shirt, she revealed a striking mark on her abdomen. “Teacher Liang, there’s actually one here, too.”
The large patch of bruising made the injuries on her arm look like child’s play. Liang Xiaoqing’s breath hitched. She gripped Jiang Xu’s hand tighter, burning with an anger far fiercer than before, yet utterly helpless as to how to vent it.
Pulling Jiang Xu into a hug, she declared, “Jiang Xu, you have to keep going to school.”
With a soft sigh, Liang Xiaoqing told Jiang Xu to finish washing up while she waited outside.
When Jiang Xu came out, Liang Xiaoqing helped her wash her hair as well. The conditions were crude; aside from a bottle of cheap, heavily perfumed shampoo sitting in the corner, there were no other options.
Worse still, there was no towel available to dry her hair.
With autumn bringing chilly weather, failing to dry her hair after a wash could easily lead to a cold.
Hair dryers weren’t common back then and were considered a luxury item—one that Liang Xiaoqing had saved up several months’ salary to buy.
Thinking she couldn’t just let Jiang Xu freeze like this, Liang Xiaoqing decided to use her own thick coat to dry the girl’s hair.
“It’s cold these past few days. It’ll be bad if you catch a cold.”
Because of malnutrition, Jiang Xu was shorter than most kids her age. Squatting down halfway, Liang Xiaoqing carefully dried her hair while talking to her. Jiang Xu nodded every now and then to show she was listening.
The cramped space was thick with rising steam. Built from old stone blocks, the little room was weathered with age; the stones felt soft to the touch where moisture seeped in, almost as if they might crumble at any moment, while a whining, freezing wind whistled through gaps the size of a fingernail.
Fearing that Jiang Xu would catch a chill, Liang Xiaoqing pulled her a little closer.
Water dripped drop by drop from the gaps onto the floor below.
Drip, drop.
Liang Xiaoqing felt as though the damp chill had seeped into her own clothes as well, but she patiently dried Jiang Xu’s hair without a hint of annoyance. Up close, face-to-face in such proximity, Liang Xiaoqing finally noticed what a truly pretty girl Jiang Xu was once she was cleaned up.
Her brow bone and eye contours possessed a subtle depth, and her features were exceptionally refined.
In the past, her extreme thinness and unkempt hair must have been the only reasons she blended into the background.
With a soft smile, she couldn’t resist lightly pinching Jiang Xu’s cheek. “It looks like our Jiang Xu was a little beauty all along!”
Having spent over a year in Shuiqing Township teaching so many students, Liang Xiaoqing had seen every personality under the sun.
She had met obedient ones, rebellious ones, troublemakers, and the painfully quiet ones.
Yet this child, Jiang Xu, was so heartbreakingly well-behaved. Just hearing a simple compliment made her cheeks flush with shyness. To think that someone so young wouldn’t be able to continue her education—she shuddered to think what kind of future awaited her.
Legal awareness was still remarkably weak back then, and the old adage “spare the rod and spoil the child” was treated as gospel. Jiang Dagao beating Jiang Xu would at most be chalked up to routine parental discipline, carrying zero legal consequences, and outsiders had no right to interfere.
After all, nobody wanted to deliberately invite trouble into their lives.
Still, Liang Xiaoqing couldn’t help thinking: If only I had noticed this child sooner, maybe she wouldn’t have had to drop out.
Once her hair was mostly dry, Liang Xiaoqing led Jiang Xu out of the makeshift bathroom, past the pigsty, and back into the main room. In the center of the hall, a fire pit burned with thick logs and glowing embers, finally radiating a bit of warmth.
Pricking up her ears, Liang Xiaoqing listened for any movement from the adults’ room and breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing Jiang Dagao and Wang Cai had quieted down.
Driven by the body’s instinctive search for warmth—having lent her outer coat to dry Jiang Xu’s hair—she was left wearing only a form-fitting white T-shirt.
Walking over to the hearth, she spotted a small wooden stool on the ground and sat down unceremoniously, rubbing her hands together and extending them toward the flames to warm herself.
Jiang Xu carried over a small stool of her own to sit right beside her in a neat row. The flickering firelight danced across her face as she sat with exemplary posture, looking up to ask, “Teacher Liang, are you cold?”
“I’m alright.”
The entire room remained shrouded in gloom, swallowed by the pitch-black night outside, with only the warm glow of the hearth casting a faint light.
Speaking in a gentle tone, Liang Xiaoqing tilted her head to look at the dark shadow sitting right next to her.
Jiang Xu’s home was tucked deep up in the mountains; it had taken Liang Xiaoqing a grueling effort to climb up that morning. Now, deep into the night, the only sound was the crackle of sparks from the fire pit.
Outside, the light rain pattered continuously against the tile roof.
Liang Xiaoqing smiled softly, resting her left hand lightly on Jiang Xu’s shoulder. “Are you cold?”
For Jiang Xu, living in such an environment was already second nature. Or rather, she had accumulated a wealth of experience in resisting the bitter cold.
All she had to do was let her hands and feet remain ice-cold until her limbs completely lost all sensation, and then she wouldn’t feel cold anymore. This was a method Jiang Xu had figured out after gritting her teeth through two brutal winters.
It was remarkably effective.
From then on, even when she saw other students at school wearing heavy cotton-padded jackets in the winter, she never felt envious.
Still, this method had one minor drawback.
She had to keep a close eye on the occasional injuries her hands and feet sustained, and if scars formed, she just had to let them heal on their own. As a result, Jiang Xu’s hands were frequently plagued by frostbite, making them always look far rougher than those of her peers.
Faced with Teacher Liang—who was always so caring toward the students and had now suddenly shown up at her house, sitting right beside her and asking if she was cold—Jiang Xu felt a strange flutter of emotions. She had always only silently listened to her classmates discuss Liang Xiaoqing without ever participating in the conversations herself, yet that hadn’t stopped Liang Xiaoqing’s name from leaving a deep impression on her.
Her classmates always said she was a good teacher, gentle and kind-hearted.
She shook her head at the very first person who had ever asked her if she was cold. Liang Xiaoqing seemed to pull her a bit closer, and Jiang Xu felt herself lean against Liang Xiaoqing’s body.
It was so warm, and so soft.
She felt her hair being gently stroked. “Your hair is almost dry.”
Next, Liang Xiaoqing took her hand and asked where her room was.
Since it was too late to leave for the night, Wang Cai had instructed Jiang Xu to let Liang Xiaoqing make do and share a bed with her.
In truth, a family as impoverished as Jiang Xu’s didn’t have a spare room to spare. In the past, she always slept in Wang Cai and Jiang Dagao’s room. As Jiang Xu grew a bit older, Wang Cai used an old, battered door panel to partition off a small, makeshift space for her to sleep in.
With the family being so poor, Jiang Xu could never hope to have a real room of her own.
Yet Jiang Xu had always known that there were two rooms upstairs. Among them, the largest one, with the best lighting, the only one that didn’t leak when it rained and the only one equipped with a television set, belonged to her older brother, Jiang Lun.
Jiang Dagao constantly doted on his son, believing he had a bright future, was capable, and could actually study. As long as Jiang Lun was willing to study, he was willing to fund his education for the rest of his life.
In contrast, Jiang Dagao never mentioned any such things for Jiang Xu, refusing even to clear out a single proper room for her.
The only reason Jiang Xu even remembered having a room of her own was because of Wang Cai. Usually submissive and timid, Wang Cai had put her foot down and made this single demand for her daughter’s sake, only to be met with a vicious beating from Jiang Dagao, who believed that giving Jiang Xu scraps to eat was already the utmost extent of his benevolence, yet she was ungrateful enough to demand a room.
Jiang Xu remembered how Wang Cai had been beaten until her face was bruised and swollen, and just when she thought Wang Cai was going to give up, Wang Cai still managed to clean out a room for her. It was located on the second floor, tucked far away from Jiang Lun’s room.
In the past, this room had been used to pile up all sorts of miscellaneous junk, but Wang Cai had spent an entire day cleaning it up neatly for her.
Though it couldn’t possibly compare to Jiang Lun’s room, Jiang Xu had still been overjoyed when she moved in that night.
At the very least, it meant she could sleep through the night without being disturbed.
Jiang Xu led Liang Xiaoqing toward her room, her hand held securely in Liang Xiaoqing’s grasp.
The two of them walked up the creaking, dilapidated wooden staircase and arrived at Jiang Xu’s room.