Chapter 5
Chapter 5
By the time I woke up again, it was already morning.
I must have drifted off in a daze last night.
I went to the bathroom and freshened up briefly.
The person in the mirror had a face that was far too frail and pale.
I took a deep breath and told myself, “No matter what, I have to stop them from coming to the house today.”
In the corner of the living room, there were a few more black trash bags, bulging and full.
I could even smell a faint, metallic scent of blood wafting from them.
A wave of nausea rose in my stomach.
I didn’t need to guess to know what was inside.
But what confused me was the number of bags; it didn’t seem right.
There were much fewer than before.
“Ruanruan, come eat breakfast. Dad made lean meat porridge just for you.”
Dad was wearing an apron, smiling brilliantly.
A pot of steaming porridge sat on the dining table.
The air was thick with the rich aroma of meat.
My brother, dressed in a suit, sat at the table and elegantly ladled a bowl of porridge.
I sat down, my face pale, staring at the bright, overly vivid red chunks of meat floating in the porridge.
Could this be…
A horrific association formed in my mind.
My brother took a small sip of the porridge and said with a faint smile, “Ruanruan, why aren’t you eating? As expected, the meat of young people tastes much better than the elderly…”
The next moment, I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I ran to the bathroom and began to dry heave.
My mother’s complaining voice rang out from the living room.
“You child, stop teasing your sister all the time. You know Ruanruan is easily frightened… I bought this pork from the market early this morning…”
Hearing my mother’s words, I let out a long sigh of relief. I slumped onto the floor, weak, only to turn my head and meet my brother’s smiling eyes.
I had forgotten.
He loved seeing me in a wretched state more than anything.
I refused the driver’s offer to take me and took the bus to school, feeling utterly distracted.
The moment I entered the classroom, those several pairs of eyes I feared so much fixed on me in unison.
Like predators spotting their prey.
I walked uneasily to my seat and sat down.
As soon as I did, I felt something was wrong.
Muffled laughter erupted behind me.
I tried to stand up.
But my skirt was stuck firmly to the chair.
Suddenly, the crisp sound of fabric tearing rang out.
Every student turned their head.
My skirt had been ripped open.
No one laughed out loud.
But the looks they gave me were filled with blatant mockery.
In an instant, my face turned deathly pale.
“Oh dear, who poured glue on Ruanruan’s chair and made our Ruanruan look so foolish? Here, wear my jacket.”
Chu Sisi approached me intimately and gently draped her jacket over my lower body.
I shrank back in panic.
“Yang Li, get Ruanruan a new chair.”
A tall, sturdy boy with a buzz cut responded readily and quickly swapped the chair for me.
But I caught the flash of malice in his eyes.
“Alright, Ruanruan, class is about to start. Sit down quickly.”
Chu Sisi pushed me down without allowing any room for argument.
The next moment, an excruciating pain radiated from the top of my thighs.
I let out a short cry of pain, and cold sweat instantly broke out on my forehead.
Chu Sisi leaned close to my ear, speaking in a voice only the two of us could hear: “Ruanruan, did you know? In ancient times, female dogs were drowned in pig baskets. But I thought that was too cruel for you, so I just stuck a bunch of thumbtacks on the clothes… You should be grateful!”
I was in too much pain to speak, only able to let out sharp gasps for air.
The bell rang for class.
Chu Sisi returned to her seat.
I could feel blood seeping out of my skin.
Sticky and warm.
The homeroom teacher walked in.
When I looked up, my eyes happened to meet hers.
She saw my face, which had lost almost all its color from the pain.
But she quickly looked down and opened her textbook as if nothing were wrong.
Actually…
It wasn’t that I hadn’t sought out the teachers.
I had told her.
She said she would help me.
That day, she even said she wanted to have a good talk with me after school.
The teacher’s expression had been very sincere. Perhaps I was too desperate and had ignored her slightly trembling hands and unnatural gaze.
The teacher took me to a quiet private room, saying she wanted to communicate properly with me there.
But the moment I entered the room, what I saw were the brilliantly smiling faces of Chu Sisi and the others.
That day really hurt.
But I got used to it.
In a daze, I began to mock myself.
I clearly knew that Chu Sisi’s father was a high-ranking official who had donated a lot of money to this school.
No one dared to offend her…
The pain was becoming increasingly unbearable. I turned my head away, only to see a familiar figure seemingly flash past the window.