Behind an old-fashioned, paper-thin wooden door, loud curses and low sobs intertwined with memories, lingering in the mind like an unshakable curse.
As he closed the door and stepped inside, Pei Jinchuan could still hear the shouts echoing from upstairs and downstairs. Through the door, words like "drunkard," "good-for-nothing," and "domestic tyrant" rang out with startling clarity.
"You good-for-nothing waste, you finally decided to come back? Where the hell have you been hiding these days?" As the roar pierced his ears, a half-empty liquor bottle came crashing down on his head.
Blood instantly streamed down the boy's forehead, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
On the floor, the middle-aged woman, bruised and battered all over, shrank back even further.
She wanted to speak up for the boy, but the slightest movement sent pain shooting through her wounds. Her guilt-ridden gaze trembled as she silently shifted it elsewhere, as if by not looking, the violence unfolding around her would simply cease to exist.
"You useless brat, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?" The drunken, burly middle-aged man took two or three steps forward and kicked the boy squarely in the abdomen, which had not yet fully healed.
A snapped leather belt lashed wildly against skin not yet exposed to the air.
"Every single one of you is a waste! Can't earn a penny, eating my food, spending my money—utterly useless!"
"Why don't you just die? Worthless trash. I should've strangled you before you grew up."
"Just as useless as your mother. Keep staring at me with those creepy eyes, and I'll beat you to death, you worthless piece of—"
Unbearable curses mixed with the sharp cracks of the belt echoed from inside the room.
The young bodyguard’s face darkened. He had seen his share of despicable domestic abusers, but the commotion inside was truly horrifying.
His gaze shifted to the young woman frowning and panting as she climbed the stairs, and the disgust on his face instantly vanished.
Xu Qiao had already run out of patience by the time she reached the top of the stairs, holding her nose the entire way.
She had never in her life set foot in such a filthy place!
The grimy wooden door was slightly ajar, and through the crack, she clearly saw the boy—once healed—now lying on the floor covered in fresh wounds, looking even more pitiful than a stray dog tossed beside a trash bin.
"Young Miss, just as you predicted, Pei… Pei Jinchuan was… as soon as he returned…" The young bodyguard’s voice sounded oddly strained amid the cracks of the belt, his words trailing off.
But Xu Qiao knew what he meant.
Last night, she had overheard Cousin discussing with Xitong that Pei Jinchuan would be discharged from the hospital today and would be subjected to domestic violence by his foster father as soon as he returned.
Xu Rou planned to rescue Pei Jinchuan during the beating to boost the Gonglue Progress Bar.
Having secretly overheard all this, Xu Qiao decided to intercept the opportunity herself.
She just hadn’t expected the filthy commoner’s dwelling to be so disgustingly dirty!
As she looked at the boy lying in a pool of blood and filth, her emotions grew incredibly complex.
On the other side of the door, the lashing and cursing continued unabated.
"Bitch, it's all because you couldn't bear a son! That’s why we ended up adopting this useless thing, just to spite me. I should beat the lot of you to death—"
With a deafening crash, the creaking wooden door was kicked down.
Several well-trained bodyguards in black, wielding thick wooden clubs, stormed into the room, and the curses inside abruptly ceased.
Pei Sunian, still clutching the belt, was utterly terrified, his drunkenness evaporating instantly. Trembling, he stammered, "Who… who are you?"
The middle-aged woman was so frightened that she fainted on the spot. The boy lying on the ground squinted his eyes, curled up, and looked toward the door.
From behind the group of bodyguards emerged a young girl dressed in expensive clothing, with stunning features—snow-white skin, dark hair, a delicate nose, cherry-red lips, and large, round almond-shaped eyes that glistened with moisture.
She wore a pink puffy princess dress, pure white thigh-high socks, and spotless black round-toe leather shoes, all brand new and clean, forming a stark contrast with the dark, damp room.
In the boy’s blurry vision, she became the only splash of brightness in the dim, gloomy house.
Pei Jinchuan watched helplessly as that light walked up to him and then crouched down to examine him.
He curled up, trying to hide himself, and covered his face with his dirty, wretched hands. But with the slightest movement, the blood on his head kept flowing down, sticky and disgusting, like filthy worms crawling from top to bottom.
The clean, innocent young lady frowned, her eyes filled with disgust.
She was disgusted by him again.
That naked, straightforward gaze was like a sharp knife, cutting into his heart again and again. He didn’t even know why today’s pain felt so unbearable.
With nowhere to hide, he forced a smile at the corner of his mouth. He heard his filthy self say, "Long time no see, young lady."
"Long time no see, filthy thing," the young lady’s cherry-like lips parted, her tone thick with disdain.
Her gaze swept over his face, and even her venomous words sounded pleasant to his ears.
He caught a whiff of a sweet, sugary scent that made his teeth itch.
How he wanted to trap the clean, pristine young lady in his arms and take a hard bite.
He could even imagine that if he really did this, the young lady’s slap would immediately land on his face, and he might even be beaten to pieces by those bodyguards with their clubs.
As the fantasy faded, he heard the beautiful, proud young lady comment on him, "Useless filthy thing."
Pei Sunian sobered up completely. He finally realized that the person with the highest status among this group must be the expensively dressed little girl.
And that little girl seemed very interested in his cheap son.
Realizing this, his previous fear and terror instantly vanished.
He began to raise the price on the spot, "Miss, do you like my son? If you like him, give me money, and I’ll sell him to you. You can do whatever you want with him—even make him your dog!"
Pei Sunian had long known that this cheap son he adopted from the orphanage was good-looking.
In the past, many older sisters had wanted to sponsor him.
But in recent years, this good-for-nothing had gone crazy, completely disobedient, and he couldn’t control him.
It was only in the last two years that things had gotten slightly better.
This young girl was dressed expensively and had several bodyguards with her.
Even the bodyguards wore suits made of fine fabric.
She must be rich, and she was completely incomparable to those older sisters and wealthy women from before.
"Oh? You want to sell him to me?" Xu Qiao sneered, her tone tinged with mockery.
The smile on her face, as bright as freshly fallen snow under a clear sky, was as dazzling as a galaxy of stars, leaving Pei Sunian momentarily stunned.
He couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy and resentment.
What a lucky break for this kid, to find such a beautiful and young wealthy woman!
"Yes, yes, yes, I'll sell him to you. Just give me thirty or fifty thousand a month, and he's yours. You can do whatever you want to him, and I guarantee he won't resist at all!" Pei Sunian said excitedly.
Lying on the ground, Pei Jinchuan's pitch-black eyes, for once, held a glimmer of light, chasing the only brightness in the room, shining brilliantly.
But Xu Qiao couldn't help but laugh. She sat down on the clean chair tidied up by the young bodyguard, adopting a serious negotiating posture.
"Oh? How can you guarantee he won't resist? I know this filthy thing has a terrible temper and a stubborn streak."
Hearing this, the person on the ground frowned, his lips tightly pursed, looking as if he wanted to argue but was struggling to hold himself back from speaking.
Pei Sunian, however, chuckled darkly, "Simple. As long as his mother is still in my hands, this brat will never resist."
With that, he walked over to the middle-aged woman who had already passed out and kicked her in the abdomen, brutally waking her up.
Then, grabbing the hair of the woman whose face was twisted in pain, he said maniacally, "This bitch is that brat's weakness. The kid turned eighteen last year—he has the ability to survive on his own. But why has he still been living with us these past two years? It's all because of this bitch."
"As long as this bitch is still with me, no matter what I do, that brat won't resist!"
"Fifty thousand, fifty thousand a month. I'm not asking for much. The kid's got a handsome face—these past few years, plenty of people have wanted to sponsor him. If you're not interested, miss, he might already be sponsored by someone else next time you come." Pei Sunian coaxed persuasively, laying out the pros and cons.
Xu Qiao turned and smiled at Pei Jinchuan on the ground. She saw the boy's deep black eyes wide open, glaring fiercely at Pei Sunian not far away, as if he were about to stand up and tear the man apart.
So, Pei Jinchuan's weakness is his adoptive mother?
"Miss, what do you think? This deal is a bargain. Fifty thousand really isn't much—for someone as wealthy as you, it's just a drop in the bucket." Seeing that Xu Qiao hadn't responded, Pei Sunian urged anxiously.
He tightened his grip, and the middle-aged woman whose hair he was pulling screamed in pain, instantly shattering the silence in the room.
"You're right, fifty thousand really isn't much," Xu Qiao nodded, speaking earnestly as if she had fully taken Pei Sunian's proposal to heart.
Pei Sunian was overjoyed, wishing he could wash Pei Jinchuan clean and deliver him to Xu Qiao's bed right then and there.
Just as he was about to ask for the money, he suddenly saw the girl's large, round eyes fixed on him. She smiled sweetly and made a waving gesture.
Immediately, the group of black-clad bodyguards standing behind her stepped forward in unison, holding batons.
"You—"
"What are you doing?" Pei Sunian trembled with fear, his words slurring.
Through the surrounding black-clad bodyguards, he saw the girl sitting in the chair, smiling brightly as she sweetly commanded, "After dealing with him, leave fifty thousand for his funeral expenses. Then burn fifty thousand in paper money for him every month. If he insists on having it, I have no choice."
"No, I won't sell him anymore. I was wrong, miss, I was wrong… ah… help… me…"
Late at night.
Xu Qiao led a group of bodyguards, carrying the boy wrapped up like a white rice dumpling once again, into Zuoan Jiayuan.
The group's movements were subtle, yet they still caught the attention of some onlookers.
The man in the suit who had been following them couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.
"Young master, should we inform Chairman Xu about Miss Xu's situation? It doesn't seem appropriate for a young lady to bring a man home." The assistant, who had been following them all along and witnessed the entire scene in secret, carefully chose his words.
He couldn't quite figure out what his boss was thinking.
From six in the afternoon, he had followed the young girl out, all the way until one in the morning. He watched as she punished the domestic abuser, carried the injured young man from the slums to the hospital, and then moved him into another property owned by the Xu family outside their main residence.
Every step seemed reasonable, yet every step felt unexpected.
"No need," the man replied softly, lowering his eyelids slightly, the smile still lingering at the corners of his lips.
Recalling how Xu Feng often described his younger sister as innocent, kind, and naive, the man couldn't help but chuckle.
So this innocent, kind, and naive young lady also knew how to support a man?
Xu Rou felt as though she was utterly out of luck!
Xitong had informed her yesterday that after Pei Jinchuan was discharged from the hospital today, his adoptive father would beat him half to death.
She had hired two thugs early on to help Pei Jinchuan, but halfway through the car ride, they got into a car accident.
Even though no one in either vehicle was seriously injured, the other driver insisted on taking everyone to the hospital for a check-up.
When she refused, the other party, in a moment of impulsiveness, called the police. What started as a minor incident escalated, and in the end, the entire group ended up at the police station.
By the time she finished giving her statement and rushed to the slums, Pei Jinchuan and his family were nowhere to be found.
Xitong speculated that they had likely been taken to a hospital.
But which hospital? The original book didn't mention it.
She asked the neighbors around the Pei family, but not a single person knew.
Xu Rou felt that lately, she wasn't just hitting a wall—she was practically being haunted by ghosts.