When Jiang Sinian eventually learned that a child existed, the original owner had just been beaten to death, and the child was about to be sold off again.
At that time, the child was emaciated, with a pair of large, dull eyes that looked startling against the gaunt cheeks.
Jiang Sinian flew into a rage, beating those around him nearly to death and taking the child away to raise personally.
As for the original owner, she died without peace, unable to comprehend why simply wanting to study instead of marrying a lowlife delinquent had led to such a fate.
Ye Shizhi, having read through it all, could only sigh. Neither the male nor female lead was particularly admirable. The original owner had been trapped by the narrow-minded conventions of her world, one misstep after another.
The most pitiful of all was probably the child, Jiang Sui’an. Born unloved, he grew up without affection, enduring the harshness and coldness of the world.
As for Jiang Sinian, Ye Shizhi found him difficult to judge. If he had paid just a little more attention to the original owner, the tragic beginning for both her and the child might have been avoided.
Yet, she couldn’t deny that anyone constantly tormented by the original owner—while she herself brought her own misfortune—would naturally wish never to see her again, let alone pay attention.
Who was right or wrong? That belonged to the story’s characters. But now that she had entered the story, she was no longer a bystander.
Being “in the story” was merely a shift in identity.
Ye Shizhi instinctively touched her flat belly, which now nurtured a small life—a child intricately connected to her.
“Does your stomach hurt?”
Jiang Sinian, walking behind her, saw the motion and stepped forward, eyes fixed on where her hand rested, as if trying to see exactly what was there.
Ye Shizhi shook her head. “No, it just feels… amazing. There’s a baby in here.”
She pointed to her belly, hidden under her clothes, her eyebrows curved gently, exuding a soft, warm aura.
She was only nineteen, at the prime of youth, the age to enjoy life.
But everyone makes their own choices. Some marry and have children in their teens; some are still studying in their twenties. There’s no universal standard, and no one else needs to judge.
The path she had chosen had been determined by the decisions she made at certain moments. If her conscience was clear, the judgment of the world mattered little.
Jiang Sinian found her behavior unusual, especially when she lowered her gaze and spoke gently, making him slightly uneasy.
“Yes, a baby.”
He repeated the words stiffly.
Ye Shizhi glanced at him and noticed that he was unusually tense, his gaze fixed on her belly. Several times, he nearly tripped, though his skill allowed him to steady himself instantly.
If she hadn’t been paying attention, she wouldn’t have noticed these small details.
“Xiao Liu, Jiang Sinian really likes this child.”
Especially when he almost comically mirrored her movements, Ye Shizhi couldn’t help laughing.
When he looked at her with mild confusion and indifference, she reined herself in, trying to find words to build a bridge between them.
“How much further do we have to walk?”
As soon as she said it, Ye Shizhi wanted to slap herself, hoping he wouldn’t misinterpret her tone as sarcastic.
Yes, the widely read online novel After Death Escape, The Psycho Villain’s Danger Level No.1 by Zhi Zhi & Qing Xin.
Because the original owner had prior experience, the first time they walked home after the wedding, she had been frustrated along the way, muttering complaints about marrying a mediocre man who caused trouble everywhere, forcing her to endure stares and judgment from passersby.
She said everything she could think of, so furious that Jiang Sinian had immediately grown silent and cold, turning away for days.
“Just a little further.”
Fortunately, this time Jiang Sinian didn’t respond with cold words, answering politely instead.
In his eyes, she was just tired and sulking a bit.
“Earlier… the fight… nothing happened, right?”
Ye Shizhi recalled when she had found him according to the system’s route. He hadn’t participated in the fight himself, but the men had followed his orders.
Jiang Sinian was unconcerned: “I went in, not you.”
Then he looked at her strangely, squinting as if he had thought of something: “What are you worried about?”
Ye Shizhi had no reply. He always spoke in a teasing, cryptic way, prompting her to overthink.
“I’m wondering how my mother will give you a hard time.”
Unable to communicate, Ye Shizhi let it slide. She had noticed this man, fierce in appearance but extremely attentive to the child in her belly.
Feeling protected, she relaxed and spoke more freely, without the earlier caution.
“Heh!”
Jiang Sinian gave a sharp laugh, looking at her as if she were a strange creature, silently asking, Are you out of your mind?
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Jiang Sinian, speak properly.”
She inadvertently touched her belly while speaking.
Noticing this, his narrow eyes lifted, a faint, unreadable meaning in them.
“Threatening me?”
“Of course not!” Ye Shizhi smiled.
“I heard your younger brother came back from vacation.”
The topic shift caught her off guard. It took her a moment to recall: the original owner’s parents had used this younger brother as the reason to stop her from studying. Their family wasn’t wealthy, unable to afford schooling for two children.
In fact, the original owner had liked her younger brother. When she was forced to stop studying, he had pleaded with their parents, saying his grades weren’t as good as hers and that he should work to reduce the family’s burden.
But in that era, most families valued sons over daughters. Her parents stubbornly forbade her continued education, even growing to resent her for it.
The school vacation had just started, so the younger brother had naturally returned. When she went home to fetch her things, he would likely scold her worse than usual.
Jiang Sinian’s remark was a subtle jab—compared to him, she hadn’t done much better.
This round, Ye Shizhi lost.