Because of Wen Yu’s escape, Shitou, his mother, and the man they brought back no longer dared to stay at home, afraid that the police would suddenly come to arrest them.
“Spit! What bad luck! I’ve been doing this for over ten years and never made a mistake. How did I let that girl run away today?”
“Mom, it’s your fault! If you had let me watch her at home, this wouldn’t have happened!”
“I only thought she looked delicate and didn’t expect this slip-up. The courtyard walls were so high—even grown men couldn’t climb out. Who would’ve thought she’d escape from the roof?”
“Stop talking. Let’s leave quickly. If the police catch us, it won’t just be a few years in prison.”
“Go, go, go. What terrible luck! I thought we could retire after this job, but now we’ve even lost our home.”
“Good thing that girl is a fat sheep. Otherwise, we’d really be at a loss this time.”
“…”
Footsteps gradually faded away. Wen Yu finally loosened her hand from her mouth and nose, gasping for air as she calmed herself.
She moved her injured leg slightly, and a piercing pain shot through her body, making her cry uncontrollably.
Afraid of making noise, she could only silently let her tears fall.
They say the most dangerous place is the safest place—and somehow, Wen Yu had ended up back in the very room where she had originally been locked up.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to leave, but her left leg was broken. She simply couldn’t go far. She also didn’t know whether nearby households were connected to the traffickers, so she didn’t dare seek help recklessly.
If she stayed outside, she would eventually be found. After much hesitation, she risked everything and returned while they were out searching for her.
She tightly held a knife—taken from the kitchen. If she was discovered again, she would fight to the death.
Fortunately, the traffickers hadn’t returned to this room yet. She had narrowly avoided disaster.
She placed the knife aside. Night had fully fallen, stars scattered across the sky. Her watch had been taken, so she had no idea what time it was.
Has anyone noticed she’s missing?
Will anyone come save her?
Her mind was in chaos. Part of her feared going out, while another part worried they might return at any moment.
Leaning against the wall, she shifted her injured leg slightly. She was in pain, hungry, exhausted—completely miserable.
She let out a bitter smile. All the suffering she had never experienced in her life had come all at once today.
Suddenly, faint footsteps sounded outside.
Wen Yu immediately grabbed the knife and forced herself to stand, staring cautiously at the door.
Under the moonlight, a tall shadow appeared, dark and indistinct.
The footsteps grew closer, the shadow moving with them. Wen Yu held her breath—only her pounding heartbeat filled her ears.
Just as she was about to strike—
The person suddenly grabbed her wrist. The knife fell to the ground.
“Wen Yu, it’s me.”
Hearing Shao Wenyue’s voice, Wen Yu’s tightly strung nerves finally broke. She collapsed against the earthen wall, drained of all strength.
All her fear finally found an outlet.
“You’re finally here… do you know how scared I was?”
“I’m sorry. I came late.”
Tears fell endlessly, landing in Shao Wenyue’s heart like burning drops, making him ache.
He reached out and wiped her tears away.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s over now.”
For others, it might have just been a scare.
But for Wen Yu, it was a real ordeal. Even now, terror still lingered in her heart.
Her tears kept falling uncontrollably. The man said nothing, only quietly wiping them away.
His fingertips brushed her delicate skin. Shao Wenyue felt no inappropriate thoughts—only that her tears were burning hot, scorching his heart with pain.
“Stop crying.”
Wen Yu glared at him with tear-filled eyes. “I don’t even have the right to cry anymore? If I hadn’t come here to marry you, I wouldn’t have come to the Southwest, and none of this would’ve happened!”
Her mind was too chaotic to stay rational.
“Now I regret liking you at all! I shouldn’t have come here to marry you in the first place! I was humiliated by you, and now I’ve suffered this kind of disaster!”
The word “like” made Shao Wenyue’s body stiffen.
He thought she had no feelings for him—only agreeing to the marriage to obey her elders.
If she truly liked him, then how much pain had she suffered before?
Not just humiliation—but a broken heart.
He panicked and could only keep apologizing.
“I was wrong before. I won’t make you sad again.”
His voice was unusually gentle, unlike anything she had known before.
Wen Yu looked at him for a moment, then lowered her gaze.
“We’re not married. You don’t have responsibility toward me. You don’t need to promise anything.”
Shao Wenyue pressed his lips together.
In his heart, she was already his wife.
But this was not the time to argue.
He supported her shoulder. “Is your leg injured?”
“Yes.”
As a reconnaissance soldier, he could tell immediately.
He helped her sit properly and knelt down in front of her.
“Don’t move. I’ll check it.”
Wen Yu nodded.
She didn’t dare gamble with her body—especially now that it might be a bone injury.
But when his hand touched her thigh, she instinctively closed her legs.
Shao Wenyue’s face instantly turned red.
“Open them a bit… I can’t examine it.”
“…Okay.”
She relaxed slightly.
His hand moved along her leg, and when it reached her knee—
She cried out in pain.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes…” Tears filled her eyes.
“It’s dislocated. Bear with it—I’ll fix it.”
Wen Yu hesitated. “Shouldn’t we go to a hospital—?”
Before she could finish—
A sharp cry rang out.