Ling Mo was completely confused and wanted to refute, but he didn't know where to begin.

She secretly thought to herself, "She's clearly a carefree and unburdened white dragon in the waves. When did she start having a family?"

Could it be that these two people in front of her need to be dragged along by a minor like her?

"Girl, you don't really have some unspeakable secret, do you?" Zhan Hanjue's handsome eyebrows furrowed, his words full of concern.

Qin Beiming crossed his arms and quietly observed Ling Mo's expression before suddenly asking:

"The garbage collection station is very close to Ouyang Bin's residence. You didn't go to his house alone, did you?"

"Are you guys broken records? How many times have I asked you this already?" Ling Mo looked away guiltily, hurriedly pushed Qin Beiming aside, and ran into the bedroom, leaping onto the bed in a flash. "I'm going to sleep."

As soon as she finished speaking, she simply closed her eyes and lay down on the pillow, pretending to be asleep.

Upon seeing this, Zhan Hanjue immediately went into silence mode, turned off the light for her, and then gently closed the door.

Qin Beiming remembered the last time she fainted briefly due to pain during her period, and he was really worried about her now.

About twenty minutes later, he returned, quietly pushed open the bedroom door, and secretly slipped the newly bought hot water bottle into Ling Mo's bed.

Knowing she was still awake, he whispered a special message in her ear:

"You still need to be careful during your period and avoid doing anything reckless. Applying a hot water bottle to your stomach should help relieve the discomfort."

"Where did you learn that? You know quite a lot."

Unable to contain his curiosity, Ling Mo, disregarding the fact that he was still pretending to be asleep, suddenly spoke up.

Qin Beiming affectionately patted her head and said softly, "Since you're so bad at taking care of yourself, I'd better learn more."

"..."

Ling Mo blinked, gazing intently at Qin Beiming, who appeared exceptionally gentle in the darkness. Though her expression remained unchanged, a hint of emotion stirred within her.

"Sweetie, go to sleep."

Qin Beiming was worried that he might disturb Zhan Hanjue, who had excellent hearing. After tucking her in, he got up and left the bedroom.

Ling Mo, carrying a fluffy hot water bottle, gently said goodnight after he closed the door.

For some reason, as she tossed and turned in bed, she recalled those things from many years ago that she never wanted to mention to anyone else...

I remember it was a sweltering afternoon, and as usual, the sycamore trees outside my grandmother's house were filled with the noisy chirping of cicadas.

Ling Mo, who was supposed to help mop the floor, was suddenly writhing in pain, his face pale, on the simple wooden bed.

Her aunt mistakenly thought she was faking illness to slack off, and without saying a word, she grabbed a feather duster and started hitting her.

"You lazy, good-for-nothing good! I've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have you. All I asked you to do was mop the floor, why are you pretending to be dead? If you're going to die, go die outside, don't dirty my bed."

After smoking for a while, my aunt was obviously tired. She threw the feather duster aside, put her hands on her hips, and breathed heavily.

"Auntie, my stomach hurts a little."

Ling Mo swallowed her grievances, not expecting this arrogant and domineering woman to be tolerant of her.

However, she was in so much pain that she was almost dying and couldn't get out of bed to work at all.

"Mom, look at the bloodstains on my cousin's pants. She's probably on her period." Shi Yi, leaning against the door, picked his teeth. Although he still looked like a teenager, the signs of his shrewdness were already beginning to show.

"You unlucky thing! Get up and wash the sheets for me!" Auntie kept muttering to herself, as if she regarded Ling Mo as something dirty, her eyes full of disgust.

Ling Mo noticed the bloodstains on his pants and thought he had contracted some serious illness, which made his whole body tremble with fear.

She vaguely heard Shi Yi suggest to her aunt that they sell her, this "bad luck thing," for some money.

She knew in her heart that if she were really sold to the old widower's family in the village, her life would be over.

In order to get her aunt to let her stay, she hurriedly got up, trembling, changed the blood-stained sheets, squatted in front of the wooden tub, and rubbed them over and over again.

After washing the sheets, she started endless housework again.

Grandma usually doesn't let her get involved in these things.

But Grandma accidentally fell and broke her leg. She's still in bed resting and can't even get out of bed.

Without his grandmother's help, Ling Mo felt particularly helpless.

She worried that she might die from blood loss, but she was also very worried that if she closed her eyes and opened them again, she would become the young wife of the old widower in the village.

I don't know how much time passed.

Hearing her sobs, her grandmother hobbled over to Ling Mo, who was numbly dragging her feet, and comforted her again and again, telling her that she was not sick and would not die from it.

Afterwards, Grandma secretly took two coins from her pillow and, limping, bought her a box of sanitary napkins with extremely simple outer packaging.

"Don't be afraid, my dear child, it will be fine in a few days."

"Um."

Ling Mo nodded heavily, wanting to cry but ultimately holding back his sobs…

Even now, although the fear has faded, whenever she thinks about it, she can still hear her aunt's incessant cursing.

Recalling the many pains of the past, even though she is now strong enough to be fearless, she still feels a pang of fear when she hears her aunt's stern voice in her mind.

It was precisely because she had personally experienced a period of utter darkness that she began to become indifferent, rebellious, and like a hedgehog, always wanting to arm herself with her sharp quills.

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