Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jiang Huaizhou had taken a beating. There was no way he would let it go.

The next day, the police came to the door and took Lin Qi away.

He told me, “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going with you.”

Jiang Huaizhou had someone look into Lin Qi.

Just like he had done to the people around me before, he wanted to use the same old tricks-intimidation and threats.

But he discovered that Lin Qi had no family, no school records, and no employment history.

His only job was as my bodyguard.

And yet, he did have a legal identity.

Twenty-six years old this year, registered in the outskirts of the city, both parents deceased, no other relatives.

He didn’t even have anyone he was close to.

No weaknesses meant there was nothing Jiang Huaizhou could use to threaten him.

So Jiang Huaizhou chose to call the police and accuse him of intentional assault.

When the police questioned us, I revealed the marks on my neck.

Then I took out my phone and played the surveillance footage from last night.

The lights in the room hadn’t been on, so the footage wasn’t clear, but it was enough to show that Jiang Huaizhou had been the one to attack me first.

“Chen Yin, you installed surveillance cameras in the room!” Jiang Huaizhou stared at me in disbelief.

Not just in the room. I had installed cameras in many places throughout the villa.

Jiang Huaizhou was my husband, so it was difficult for the police to handle.

But fortunately, Lin Qi was fine too. He had acted to stop Jiang Huaizhou from committing violence.

After we left the police station, Jiang Huaizhou shot Lin Qi a warning look.

“You’d better not let me catch you.”

Lin Qi shot back without the slightest concern, “You’d better not let the law catch you.”

When I was twelve, I was adopted by the Chen Family.

My adoptive parents’ biological daughter, Chen Wei, hated me.

I heard her crying and throwing a tantrum at them.

“Why did you have to adopt someone else’s child?”

“Do you think I won’t live long, so you wanted to find someone to replace me?”

“I hate her! Make her get out!”

My adoptive parents patiently coaxed her. “We’re worried something might happen to you at school, so we specially found someone to take care of you.”

“If you don’t like her, just treat her like a maid.”

From then on, I became Chen Wei’s shadow and personal servant.

The Chen Family had housekeepers to do the chores.

But Chen Wei wanted to torment me, so she was always ordering me to wash her clothes and clean her shoes.

If anything displeased her, she would hit and scold me at the drop of a hat.

Once, when I was cleaning her room, I missed a tiny scrap of paper. She picked up a picture frame and hurled it straight at me.

The sharp corner struck my head, and blood began to drip down.

Every time I made her angry, my adoptive parents would make me kneel in the courtyard and reflect on my mistakes.

They said, “We feed you and clothe you. You should know how to be grateful.”

“You are Weiwei’s servant. You need to take good care of her and not upset her.”

At school, I was her lackey too.

I fetched water for her, carried her schoolbag, and ran errands for her.

During a ten-minute break between classes, she suddenly ordered me on a whim, “Go buy five cups of milk tea for me and Xiaojing and the others.”

Her friends all laughed at me, saying I was Chen Wei’s dog.

Actually, none of that really mattered to me.

As long as I had enough to eat, warm clothes to wear, and school to attend, I was already satisfied.

That life continued until sophomore year of high school.

That day at noon, after school let out, I ran a long way to the restaurant Chen Wei had specified to buy her lunch.

Under the scorching summer sun, I ran all the way from the school gate.

Sweat soaked my hair and dripped from my chin.

If I took too long, Chen Wei would lose her temper again.

While going up the stairs, I was so exhausted that I only lifted my leg halfway and failed to step firmly onto the next stair.

When I fell, my knee slammed into the step, and blood seeped through my pants.

The food in the takeout boxes spilled all over the floor.

I completely broke down and started crying.

I didn’t know if it was because of the pain, or because Chen Wei’s lunch had spilled.

Just then, Jiang Huaizhou appeared.

At seventeen, he was sunny and cheerful. He hadn’t become a madman yet.

“Are you all right?”

He handed me a tissue and asked with concern, “Did you hurt yourself?”

I shook my head without saying anything.

At that moment, my mind was filled only with how I was going to explain this to Chen Wei.

Seeing that I didn’t reach out, he took the initiative to wipe away my tears.

I lifted my head and met his eyes, which were full of warmth and laughter.

Jiang Huaizhou said, “I know you. You’re Chen Wei’s younger sister.”

Hearing that, I felt a little unused to it.

After all, everyone else said I was Chen Wei’s dog.

“Was that lunch for Chen Wei?”

I nodded.

When we returned to the classroom door, Chen Wei’s voice came through the door and windows.

“Where the hell did Chen Yin go? I’m starving to death!”

A classmate teased, “Weiwei, your dog runs way too slowly. You really should train her.”

Jiang Huaizhou pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling for me to stay quiet.

He pushed the door open and went in alone, his voice clear and bright.

“Who made our Miss Chen angry?”

“Huaizhou, why are you here?” Chen Wei’s mood improved instantly.

“I just saw the lunch Chen Yin bought for you. Were you eating that unhealthy stuff again?”

Chen Wei pouted unhappily. “Where is she?”

“I told her to take it away,” Jiang Huaizhou lied for me. “Eat less of that stuff from now on.”

“I just wanted to make her run farther. You told her to take it away, so am I supposed to starve?” Chen Wei complained.

Jiang Huaizhou placed the insulated lunch box he had brought in front of Chen Wei.

“The food was made by the housekeeper at my place. Don’t you love it the most?”

Chen Wei was instantly coaxed, and she didn’t bother with my matter anymore.

I had no friends. Jiang Huaizhou became my first friend.

When Chen Wei bullied me, he would speak up for me.

When Chen Wei made me run far away to buy things, Jiang Huaizhou would simply have someone call and deliver them.

When my adoptive parents scolded me, he would patiently comfort me.

I think I liked him.