Lin Xiao pursed his lips shyly and smiled bashfully.

On a crisp morning, the sun shines through the air onto the leaves, filling the air with the scent of sunshine.

Lin Xi lay on the bed and stretched out a big yawn. She hadn't had such a good sleep in a long time. At school, it was all about studying. Although she had already learned all those things, she couldn't be arrogant. In order to maintain her consistently good grades, she still had to review them carefully.

After changing my clothes, before I even stepped out of my room, I heard voices outside. It's so early, they probably aren't guests.

She walked into the hall and saw Lin Jianguo and Jiang's mother talking excitedly. A woman with her back to her was sitting on a stool. She was wearing a rose-red dress and her back looked somewhat familiar.

"Dad, Mom, who are you talking to? Why are you making such a racket?"

Upon hearing Lin Xi's voice, the woman quickly wiped away her tears, forced a smile, and turned around to say, "Xiao Xi, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Auntie? When did you arrive? Mom and Dad, Auntie is here, and you didn't even call out to me."

Lin Jianfang said with a hint of tears in her voice, "Well, I just wanted to chat with your parents. If you haven't slept well, go back to sleep. You've worked hard at school too."

Lin Xi shook her head and said, "I've slept well, Auntie. What's wrong? You seem a little off."

He ran up to Lin Jianfang and stared intently at her.

Feeling uncomfortable, Lin Jianfang tugged at her clothes, but Lin Xi, with her sharp eyes, still noticed: "Auntie, what happened to you? Why do you have so many injuries?"

Hearing Lin Xi's concern, Lin Jianfang couldn't stop her tears from flowing, and she burst into loud sobs.

Jiang's mother patted Lin Jianfang on the back and told Lin Xi about what had happened recently.

At first, they had no idea what kind of life Lin Jianfang was living at home; they always thought the young couple was living a happy and harmonious life.

A few years ago, Jiang's mother saw the injury on her body. In fact, although they hadn't had much contact with the old house in the past few years, they got along well with Lin Jianfang. Since they were both in the same town, they would visit each other from time to time.

When Jiang's mother saw the bruises all over Lin Jianfang's body, she was so angry that she wanted to confront Junzi. However, Lin Jianfang stopped her, saying that Junzi had acted accidentally and had already apologized. Since the person involved hadn't said anything, she, as his sister-in-law, couldn't say anything either. She had no choice but to let it go and told Lin Jianfang that she should tell her if anything happened.

As Lin Jianfang listened to Jiang's mother recount her story, she cried and said, "When the fists and feet were raining down on me, I was in so much pain, not only physically but also emotionally."

I don't know why he changed and started hitting people, but I think he might be under too much work pressure. I still have hope for him, and I think he can treat me well like before.

Furthermore, after he sobered up, he knelt on the ground crying and apologizing to me, even slapping himself. Seeing this, I forgave him.

But one day, I finally couldn't take it anymore and went back to my parents' home. Unexpectedly, my family told me to bear with it.

My mother-in-law and father-in-law didn't come; instead, a relative of theirs came. They sat together and discussed our situation.

"So what if you get hit? My husband gets hit by me every day, why are you so delicate?" This is what his relative said.

Not wanting my parents, who are already so old, to worry about me, and not wanting them to be anxious, I went back home after Junzi promised that he would never hit me again.

Several more months passed peacefully like this.

I was tidying up at home yesterday when he walked over, reeking of alcohol. When my mother-in-law saw that something was wrong with him, she turned and walked away. He then kicked me, knocking me to the ground, and started punching and kicking me.

I was stunned by the blow; the pain all over my body prevented me from screaming or even crying.

Finally, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was still lying on the cold floor. Junzi was fast asleep on the sofa. The house was quiet. My mother-in-law didn't come to see me once from beginning to end.

I'd had enough of this. I took some spare change from home, took a bus, and went back to my parents' house.

I originally thought that, given my mother's temper, she would definitely go to Junzi's house and make their whole family apologize to me.

To my surprise, my mother just advised me to bear with it and said that I should get pregnant soon. Junzi has been like this because he is depressed because he doesn't have a child.

My lifeline, my own mother, seeing me beaten so badly that there wasn't a single unscathed spot on my body, just casually said, "It would be better if I had children." Ha! Let alone not having children, even if I did have children, I would rather they never have come into this world than live in a family like this.

Junzi came over, and it was the same old routine: he knelt in front of his parents, tearfully admitting his mistakes, and brought some food. Just like that, my mother sent me away.

My heart was already dead. I thought, "That's it. Maybe I'll get beaten to death someday, and then this life will be over."

When I got home, Junzi grabbed a stool and started hitting me, cursing at me all the while. He said if I went home and complained, he would strangle me. He also cut all my clothes to shreds and wouldn't let me leave the house again. I only sneaked out because he was exhausted from making a scene all night. Brother, sister-in-law, I really can't live like this anymore. Either we get a divorce, or I'm going to jump into the river today. I've had enough.

Lin Xi looked at Lin Jianfang and saw that in just a few years, she had become so thin that she was unrecognizable. She was wearing ill-fitting clothes that were empty underneath, and when she picked up Junzi, her face was full of fear.

Lin Jianguo angrily kicked the stool: "This is too much! I'm going home right now to get my eldest and third brothers. We'll go to their house and teach them a lesson, no matter what."

Lin Jianfang stopped him and said self-deprecatingly, "They won't go. When I went back last time, my younger brother advised me not to take my blessings for granted, saying how good his brother-in-law's family is and telling me not to make trouble. Not to mention my older brother, he was afraid I would eat a single grain of rice at their house. As soon as Junzi arrived, he urged us to leave quickly."

"How could the third brother be like this? He's been eating at your house for years, and he doesn't side with you at all."

"Hehe, he ate Junzi's food and was indebted to them. He's long forgotten who it was that allowed him to stay in that family for several years."

"Second brother, I don't want to think about anything else now. I just want to get rid of this kind of life as soon as possible. I'm willing to beg for food even if it means it."

To be continued!