Chapter 162 Yuu Tachibana - Claude: No one knows her past...

While the rickshaw driver and his wife hurriedly went to pay the medical bills, Yao Xiaoyu and Tao Xiaoxiao also took the rickshaw back to the house they had prepared in advance. After changing their clothes, they slipped out through the gap in the wall as usual, but this time they didn't rush home. Instead, they put on veils and went to the place where the men had their legs broken. The old woman was no longer there, but it didn't matter; someone would eventually find out.

Yao Xiaoyu randomly pointed to a child who was peeking at them and traded a steamed bun for the old lady's information: luckily, the old lady hadn't really fallen; she had just twisted her ankle and would be fine after resting at home for a couple of days.

Fifteen minutes later.

"Knock knock knock".

The old lady, who was sewing shoe soles in bed, heard a regular knocking sound and instinctively tried to get up to open the door, but was immediately stopped by her quick-witted husband. The old lady knew that she was being inappropriate, and smiled guiltily while craning her neck to look at the door.

The old man, who had originally intended to scold his wife before opening the door, saw her in this state and had no choice but to change the order of his actions. He angrily opened the door, ready to give his stupid groundhog son a good scolding, but there was no one at the door, only a bamboo tube lying forlornly on the ground.

?

The old man picked it up with a puzzled look. The sound coming from inside made his face change. After looking around to make sure he hadn't attracted the attention of the others in the courtyard, he quickly picked up the bamboo tube, closed the door, and returned to the bedside. Before the old woman could react to what had happened, she was shocked to see five silver dollars poured out of the bamboo tube, which made her eyes widen in surprise.

"You can read, what does it say here?"

The old man picked up the note tucked inside the silver dollar, saw the symbol on it, and promptly handed it to his wife.

"The...compensation from this morning?"

The elderly woman, who knew a few words, read aloud what was written on the paper, word by word, and fell silent along with the old man who had heard about her morning's ordeal.

"...Those people are doing quite well?"

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, the old man finally tried to start talking, only to see his wife shake her head.

"They didn't send it."

The old lady said with certainty, "Those people aren't so kind. But the people sitting in the car..." Thinking of those men lying haphazardly on the ground screaming in agony, the old lady couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth into a smile.

If we have to name a kind person, it should be the one in the carriage. The money was supposed to be a portion wrapped in cloth by the driver, but unexpectedly, she also got a share.

"Take it, it's alright."

Seeing her husband's worried expression, the old lady didn't seem to care much. She was even thinking about whether to use the windfall money to buy chicken soup or meat to nourish her body. The old man said that he was too old to eat so well, but he had already taken the money and was walking out, preparing to buy some pig's trotters for his wife.

Although this thing is hard to wash and hard to make, and it's all bones with no meat, so it's not very cost-effective, the old lady twisted her ankle, so we can use the shape to make up for the shape!

...

The setting sun cast a blood-red glow on the dock, the ferry emitted a long whistle, and a petite girl stood on the deck, watching Shanghai gradually shrink in size. Her tense expression finally relaxed.

She escaped.

"Miss Claude, the restaurant is ready."

The waiter beside her spoke respectfully, and the girl glanced at Shanghai, which had become a small black dot, and stopped enjoying the breeze on the deck.

Claude was not her name, and she didn't have a name. When she was in the manor, people called her Miss or Young Lady, rarely even adding her surname. As for nicknames—her birth was... how could there be something so full of expectation and affection?

If God could truly give a girl a choice, she would never allow herself to be born. No one in the world would expect her arrival, including herself.

The girl was the product of incest, but her birth was not out of love, but rather due to coercion by the couple who did not recognize each other.

Her mother and... were cousins. When her mother was one year old, both sets of parents went on a trip together and were kidnapped by bandits. Her mother's parents risked their lives to save her sister and brother-in-law, but lost their own lives. Her mother's clan did not treat her well. The surviving couple raised the child in their own home, treating her as if she had given birth to twins.

The girl's biological father... she preferred to call him a beast. He was tall and strong at such a young age, but he did nothing like a human being. He always said he wanted to have a pet, but the animals he got never lived more than three days. He even got tired of the animals and started looking at people. If he hadn't been severely beaten a few times and become somewhat more restrained, who knows what kind of personality he would have had.

The Poli syndrome was first reported in 1961. People at that time did not know what a genetic defect was. They just assumed that he was violent and that his temperament was difficult to change and that he could not concentrate on his studies. So his family set a limit for him and did not expect him to inherit the family business. They just waited for him to grow up and carry on the family line, and prepared his grandson to take over the business in advance.

But even something as simple as growing up obediently is something that beasts can't do.

A disgusting creature who's always in heat has his eye on his sister's best friend, but open pursuit doesn't work. So he comes up with a "brilliant plan"—to defile the girl's body, then spread the news, and when the girl is in despair, he'll propose marriage, showing that he doesn't care about such things.

In this way, he gained fame and money, and the woman's family would be generous in providing resources to help him. Most importantly, he didn't suffer any losses. He thought this way and did this way. The only thing he didn't expect was that the person passing by the alley that day was not his sister's friend, but his sister herself.

Neither of them recognized each other in the darkness. The younger sister bit off half of the beast's two testicles. Although there was no actual penetration, she swallowed bowl after bowl of bitter medicine. However, the white stains on the ground from the tearing still led to her pregnancy several months later. She consulted both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine doctors, but the only conclusion was that abortion would result in the death of both mother and child.

The parents had both been sterilized due to drowning and other reasons. The animal was only capable of urinating. There were only two children in the family. The parents knelt down and begged their sister to give birth to the child so that they wouldn't have to bury their child.

The younger sister agreed and gave birth to a girl not much bigger than a kitten. Before the parents could even rejoice, they discovered the girl had six fingers. They were instantly devastated. After their daughter's postpartum period, the family of three took their possessions and emigrated abroad, leaving only the girl and the beast behind in the country.

The beast refused to let them take the girl, saying she was his only bloodline. His sister also didn't want to see this child who shouldn't have been born. In the end, the girl was left behind and grew up healthy. It wasn't that the beast liked her so much; it was mainly because her parents had established rules before they left:

Of the three hundred silver dollars sent back each year, the girl was expected to spend or receive at least half. They had reliable people watching over her, and if this wasn't done, or if the girl died, became disabled, or was abused, the money would be gone.

The beast was originally quite tough, but after being beaten down by society, he became a bit more obedient. The two lived relatively peacefully for more than ten years until the Qing Dynasty fell and the emperor was no longer as unapproachable as before. The beast lost his temper and became more docile, and took the opportunity to lick her hook. Over the years, his expenses gradually stopped relying on overseas, and the conflicts between them became increasingly greater.

The girl had no shortage of food and clothing, but because of her relatively small stature and six fingers that were completely different from others, she barely grew up in an environment lacking parental love, and could not be said to be physically and mentally healthy. Especially after learning about her background, she was filled with disgust and fear of marriage.

The thought of herself, with that beast's blood flowing through her veins, forming a family with someone made her physically resistant. Perhaps the Ye family was good, but what did that have to do with her?

But the beast wouldn't listen to any of this, and the girl didn't expect that something that was just wearing a layer of human skin could understand human speech. So when she seized the opportunity, she ran away decisively. Even though the beast had been stabbed by her when he was trying to mess with her maid, he still reacted very quickly. If it weren't for the help of the lady in the Western dress, the girl definitely wouldn't have been able to escape.

The restaurant was filled with a wide variety of delicious food, and the chef was still busy at work. The girl ordered a bowl of thin hand-pulled noodles, but after thinking about it, she didn't order the usual toppings. Instead, she took a plate of roasted mutton to eat with it.

Roasted mutton is a dish that is often available outside in the summer, but she can't often eat it at home. It's not because of any abuse, but mainly because the chef isn't very good at it.

The method for making this dish is simple: simmer the mutton in a rich broth until tender, then pour boiling sesame oil over it. However, the time it takes to pour the oil over the mutton is closely related to the flavor of the meat. The chef tried several times but couldn't get the hang of it, so he simply sent the girl out to eat.

The servants had been with the girl since she was a baby. Although they were paid to do their jobs, they were no less than family members after more than ten years. When the girl left, she opened that beast's private vault and picked out a lot of valuable things, which could be considered as fulfilling her last act of kindness.

After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she is unlikely to return to this country in the future. While unfamiliar places can be unsettling, in another land, no one knows her past.

The girl wasn't worried about her life. When she was thirteen, she received letters and lawyers from overseas. Her grandparents were afraid that she would die mysteriously or be unhappy without their knowledge. In addition to contacting the authorities there, they also found reliable people to contact the girl privately to prevent her from becoming deaf and blind due to deliberate concealment.

Private contact usually happens once a year, just to ensure the smooth operation of the channel. The girl didn't really understand the significance of it until the lawyer brought the documents across the ocean and asked her if she had received the house and property.

In short, the girl now owns her own house and property abroad, roughly equivalent to one-third of the family fortune her elders took away. Since she is not in the same country as her blood relatives, she can receive the property as long as she arrives safely. However, the girl did not expect that she almost failed to get to the dock.

"Claude, I think this is delicious!"

The blonde, blue-eyed girl, speaking broken Chinese, handed the girl a small cake and then started complaining about how it was unfair that she had shared her name with the girl but the girl only gave her her surname.

girl:……

Is it possible that I haven't told you my name because I haven't had time to choose one yet?

But when the girl looked at the archangel in front of her—the girl was named Angel, the same age as her, but almost two heads taller, and apart from the childishness in her eyes, she already looked like an adult.

“My name is Yuu Tachibana, and my full name is Yuu Tachibana Claude (dress cloud).”

The girl looked at Angel and gave an awkward smile: the lady in the dress had helped her, the clouds in the sky were always free, and the surname and first name were just random combinations on a whim, but they weren't bad.

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Author's Note: I revised it twice. The original girl's fate was too tragic. The next chapter will return to the story of Little Fish.

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