The lights were on in the exquisitely furnished living room.
“Get out! Get out of here right now! If you ruin your brother’s matchmaking today, I’ll tear you apart!”
“Dachuan hit you? That’s the same excuse every single time. Aren’t you ashamed? Because I sure am! Why does he hit you? Isn’t it because you’re naturally so unlikeable? Qiao Nian, have you ever stopped to reflect on yourself?”
“If you kept the house clean, took good care of the elderly and the children, and served your husband properly, I don’t believe Dachuan would still hit you! Don’t you think you’re partly to blame?”
“Look at Weiwei, then look at yourself. You’re both daughters of the Qiao family. She has a successful career and a happy marriage. If only you had even half of Weiwei’s ability, I’d burn incense in gratitude!”
The woman in her fifties spoke with a face full of disdain.
The person standing opposite her didn’t seem like her own daughter—it was as if she were her sworn enemy.
An elderly grandmother, her face deeply lined with wrinkles, chimed in.
“That’s right, Niannian. Your mother is right. Every time Dachuan comes to visit, he brings bags and bags of gifts. He’s far more filial to us than you are. Such a considerate young man. You mustn’t make up stories. You must have done something to anger him.”
“Husband and wife argue all the time. Every family has its fights. If everyone got divorced like you want to, how could anyone stay married?”
“No, Mom… Grandma… That’s not what happened.”
Qiao Nian’s left eye was swollen shut. Looking at them with fear and desperation, she pleaded,
“Please… please help me. I’m begging you… They’re really going to beat me to death. It’s not just Dachuan anymore—even the three children hit me whenever they feel like it. I’m really going to die.”
“Look… look here… and here. These are all from them!”
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves.
Dark purple bruises covered both of her arms, one after another—a horrifying sight.
She desperately hoped to awaken even the slightest trace of sympathy.
“Enough!”
A ceramic teacup came flying straight at her.
Qiao Nian instinctively shifted aside.
Crash!
The cup smashed against the floor.
Scalding hot water splashed onto her feet, making her gasp in pain.
Seeing that she had dared to dodge, the elderly man at the head of the room slammed his cane heavily against the floor.
“Shameless disgrace! If only you were even half as considerate as Weiwei… But no. You’re hopeless—mud that can’t be molded into a wall. You’re the shame of the Qiao family! Remember this: never come back again. From this day on, the Qiao family has no daughter named Qiao Nian!”
“Grandpa…”
Qiao Nian stared blankly at the old man.
Her entire body stiffened.
His eyes were icy, devoid of even the slightest warmth.
Every time he criticized her, he always brought up Qiao Wei.
But it was they who had sold her into the Li family to pave the way for Qiao Wei’s future.
How could her marriage ever compare to Qiao Wei’s?
Watching the scene unfold, Shen Guifang couldn’t hide the smug satisfaction in her eyes.
Her daughter had always been her greatest pride.
“Niannian, your grandfather is right,” she said with a sigh. “Listen to your Third Aunt. As women, if we don’t have ability, then at least we should know how to endure. Learn from Weiwei. You’re both daughters who married out of the Qiao family. Just look at the Fang family, then look at yourself. Besides, you know your own situation…”
Her gaze drifted toward Qiao Nian’s abdomen.
Curling her lips with contempt, she continued,
“Sigh… You can’t even have children anymore. If you divorced, what family would want a hen that can’t lay eggs? Only Dachuan doesn’t mind you. You should learn to be grateful.”
“Look at your two younger brothers. They’re both meeting potential brides now. Qihang has nothing to worry about—Weiwei is there to support him.”
“But you should think about your own little brother too. If he has a divorced older sister, how will he ever hold his head up in public? Niannian, don’t be so selfish.”
Hearing those words, her mother, Chen Hongmei, immediately changed expression.
“Qiao Nian! If you want to die, then die somewhere else! Ruining your own life wasn’t enough—now you want to drag your brother down with you?”
Shen Guifang quickly added,
“Exactly. Niannian, you only ever think about yourself. Look at how many mouths there are in the Qiao family. We’re barely getting by ourselves. We can’t afford to support another useless burden.”
“Third Aunt… Mom… I never wanted to burden the family. I just… I have nowhere else to go.”
Her voice trembled with desperation.
“Please help me. As long as I can get divorced, I’ll leave immediately. I’ll do anything for the family. I’ll find a job. I can support myself. I won’t spend a single cent of the family’s money.”
She truly had no other choice.
Li Dachuan refused to agree to a divorce.
She had gone to the police, but as long as they were husband and wife, they called it a “family matter” and refused to intervene.
She had sought help from the Women’s Federation.
All they did was mediate and tell her to be patient.
Nothing more.
She had come back to her parents’ home again and again.
Although every visit ended with her being driven away in humiliation, she still clung to the faintest hope that they might save her.
This…
…was her last lifeline.
Sitting beside Shen Guifang was a young man in his twenties.
He frowned impatiently.
“Cousin, you’re just too selfish. Showing up covered in bruises like this—what are other people supposed to think of our family?”
The slightly younger Qiao Qiming also spoke up.
“That’s right, Sis. Brother Dachuan treats all of us really well. He’s especially kind to Sister Weiwei. Why is he only bad to you? Maybe you really should reflect on yourself.”
After saying that, Qiao Qiming looked at Qiao Qihang with obvious envy.
His own sister only brought him shame.
Unlike Sister Weiwei, who was beautiful, married well, and made everyone envious to know they were related.
Qiao Nian felt her stomach churn violently.
She swallowed the metallic taste of blood rising in her throat, making one final attempt.
“Qiming… Qiao Wei… For the sake of the job I once helped you get… please help me. Give me a way to live… please.”
Qiao Wei met her pleading gaze with utter contempt.
Gracefully walking toward her, she smiled faintly.
“Cousin, what are you talking about? Everything I’ve achieved today is the result of my own hard work.”
“What does any of it have to do with you?”
She stepped closer, leaning toward Qiao Nian’s ear, her voice low and heavy.
“Cousin, do you know something? Back then, I was the one who told Second Uncle to marry you off to Li Dachuan. In exchange, I got your job. And you know what? Second Uncle actually agreed.”
“Oh, and by the way… the job I got in exchange for your happiness? It turned out to be wonderful.”
“The Qiao family only needs one daughter. So tell me, Cousin… why did you have to come back?”
Seeing Qiao Nian glaring fiercely at Qiao Wei, Qiao Qiming immediately rushed over and shielded Qiao Wei behind him like a mother hen protecting her chick.
Filled with anger, he shouted,
“Are you trying to bully Sister Weiwei again? Every time you come back, nothing good ever happens. Why do you keep coming back?”
So…
So that was the truth all along.
Qiao Nian forced her tears back.
Watching him protect Qiao Wei so fiercely, her heart turned colder and colder, filled with indescribable bitterness.
There were more than a dozen people in the room, some sitting, some standing.
Yet not a single one spoke up for her.
At that moment, she felt that her entire life had been nothing but a cruel joke.
How ridiculous.
And selfish…
Everyone called her selfish.
But…
Was she really selfish?
She had returned to this family when she was six years old.
From that day on, every household chore became her responsibility.
Yet all she was given to eat was a thin bowl of wild vegetable gruel, so watery it reflected her face.
She had only attended school for two years before her grandfather declared that there was no one to take care of the household, forcing her to drop out.
Meanwhile, Qiao Wei—also a daughter of the Qiao family—didn’t have to lift a finger and enjoyed everything the family had to offer.
Qiao Wei was only four months younger than her.
Whenever anything went wrong during their childhood, Qiao Nian was always the one blamed.
Then, when she was seventeen…
Qiao Wei failed the high school entrance exam and didn’t have a job.
Under the policy at the time, she was supposed to be sent to work in the countryside.
Instead…
For a bride price of 500 yuan and a work position given to Qiao Wei, the Qiao family simply handed Qiao Nian over to Li Dachuan—
A man twenty years older than her, already raising three children.
The Qiao family had never made a single plan for her future.
She had existed for only one purpose:
To serve as the stepping stone that allowed Qiao Wei to climb higher.
In her entire life…
She had never wronged anyone.