328. It can be described as a complete mess.

These words seemed to finally strike a chord with Tao Wanbi, who slowly raised her eyes: "It's nothing, I was just thinking about things before I transmigrated here, things I haven't thought about in a long time."

The system stopped urging her to leave and instead asked, following her lead—

[Really? What was your life like before you transmigrated here?]

Tao Wanbi lowered her head, her fingers slowly tightening into a fist: "It's terrible, you could say it's a complete mess."

"I was born in a poor rural area. My family was poor and favored boys over girls. I was my parents' first child."

"I don't know if I was lucky or not. Because it was my first child, even though I'm a girl, I survived."

“My dad has a bad temper. He becomes violent at home when things don’t go his way. He hits my mom and he hits me too.”

"My mother is timid and only knows how to cry; she never dares to resist."

"They both had only one thought: to have a son to carry on the family line."

"My mother was pregnant several times, and each time she gave birth to a daughter. Her first few sisters were given away. Her later sisters had no one to give them away, so my father killed them..."

“I watched my mother cry again and again, watched those children just die like that, and we couldn’t do anything about it.”

The room was quiet for a while, with only Tao Wanbi's soft breathing.

Is this why you had those extreme thoughts before? I think I understand now.

"You don't understand at all."

Tao Wanbi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down: "I really love my mom."

“I remember when my dad hit me, my mom would always shield me from behind. No matter if my dad’s fist hit her back or arm, she would not dodge. She would just hug me and say, ‘Don’t hit the child. Hit me instead.’”

"At that time, I thought that my mother was not weak, but had no other choice. If she dared to resist, my father might beat her even more severely, and he might not even be able to protect me."

"She could only endure it, swallowing all her grievances, just to protect me."

"Later... my mother finally gave birth to my younger brother."

"My dad bought firecrackers that very day and set them off in the village for most of the day, telling everyone he met that he had a son."

"My mother was lying in bed, and although she was pale, she smiled. It was the first time I had ever seen her smile so easily."

"I also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that now that I have a younger brother, my dad should no longer beat us or force my mom to abort the child."

"But I'm overthinking it."

Why? Is your father still beating you and your mother?

Tao Wanbi nodded.

But didn't he get what he wanted?

Shouldn't he consider your mother a great contributor?

Why the beatings and abuse? I don't understand.

"Who knows him?"

Tao Wanbi continued, "In less than a month, this beast revealed his true colors."

"He lost money drinking and came back to cause trouble. First he cursed my mother, and then he hit her."

“When I went to stop him, he hit me too, while cursing, ‘So what if you have a son? You still have to listen to me. If you dare to disobey, I’ll hit you too.’”

"Only then did I realize that the reason he hit me and my mother before wasn't because he didn't have a son, but because he never considered me and my mother as family. His son was just a face for him, and we were just punching bags for him."

"Later, I passed the entrance exam for junior high school and had to live in the town. My dad said directly, 'What's the point of a girl studying? You should go out and work as soon as possible to save money for your brother to get married.'"

"He refused to give me living expenses and made me drop out of school."

“I refused. I thought that studying was my only chance to leave that home, so I packed my things and went to school by myself.”

"For the first two weeks, I didn't have money for food, so I drank the free soup from the school cafeteria every day."

"Later, I was so hungry that I couldn't stand it anymore, so I ran home to find my mom."

"As soon as I saw her, I couldn't hold back anymore. I hugged her and cried, saying I was hungry and I wanted to study."

"My mom hugged me and started crying too."

"After crying for a while, she found a cloth bag in the corner of the room, opened it layer by layer, and found it full of small change, such as one-mao, five-mao, one-yuan, and five-yuan coins, which she had secretly saved up and was reluctant to spend."

"With trembling hands, she stuffed all the money into my hands and said, 'Mom is sorry, I'm not capable of saving more for you. Take this and spend it sparingly. If you need more, just tell Mom and Mom will find a way to help you. Study hard.'"

"My hands were shaking as I held that money."

"From then on, I studied even harder. I read when others were sleeping and I read when others were eating."

"I know I'm not smart, and I'm even a bit stupid, so I just have to work harder."

"I just want to get into high school and university as soon as possible, earn money, and take my mother out of that house so that she won't be bullied or have to suffer in silence anymore."

She raised her hand to wipe her face, her voice hoarse, yet with a hint of gritted teeth: "Later, when I lived at school, I would also go home on weekends to see my mom."

“One time when I went back, as soon as I opened the door, I saw my dad grabbing my mom’s hair and slamming her against the wall while cursing.”

"I don't know where I got the courage from, but I didn't hide and cry like before, and I wasn't just afraid like before."

“I rushed up to my dad and started punching and kicking him. My dad was stunned for a moment, then turned around and started cursing at me, and even reached out to hit me.”

"I didn't dodge. Instead, I pounced on him, grabbed his arm and bit him, and kicked his legs. No matter how he hit me, I wouldn't let go. I just wanted to make sure he didn't hit my mom anymore."

"At that time, I was like a madman, fighting like I didn't care about my life, and in the end, I actually bit off a piece of flesh while still alive."

“I stood in front of my mother, my mouth full of blood, glaring at him, and said, ‘If you hit my mother again, I’ll fight you to the death.’”

"My dad was so scared that he slunk away."

"I won. That was the first time I dared to stand up to my dad. Although I was more seriously injured, I was very sure I won."

“I turned around and smiled at my mom and said, ‘Mom, I’ll protect you from now on, he’ll never dare to hit you again.’”

At this point, Tao Wanbi sniffed, but tears fell, large drops landing on the back of her hand.

The system remained silent for a moment, analyzing her emotions.

She said she won, so she should be smiling, but why is she crying?

So, her current mood must be sadness, right?

When people are sad, they need comfort.

Although it couldn't comprehend human emotions, the system still spoke up to comfort her based on its judgment.

Don't be sad, at least you still have a mother who loves you.

After you complete the mission, you can take 100 million yuan back with you and let your mother live a good life.

Cheer up! Think of your mother; she loves you so much, and she's waiting for you to come home.

"Haha...haha..." Tao Wanbi laughed.

She let out a few bitter laughs, tears still streaming down her face, making it difficult for the system to distinguish whether she was crying or laughing.

Do you know how my mom reacted?

"I looked at her with a hopeful smile, but my mother didn't smile. Instead, she suddenly cried, not because she felt sorry for me, but because she was angry."

She pushed me, saying, "How could you hit your father? He's your father, the pillar of this family. What you did is unfilial! What will people say about our family if word gets out? Go apologize to your father right now!"

Tao Wanbi paused, her eyes vacant, as if she had returned to that day: "I was stunned, standing there, not knowing what to say."

"I was clearly trying to protect her, I was clearly saving her, but she blamed me for being unfilial and made me apologize to the person who hit her."

I asked her, 'Mom, he hit you, didn't it hurt? I helped you, why are you blaming me?'

"She just cried and said, 'I can't help it even if I'm in pain. He's your father, and I'm his wife. This is what I have to suffer. Don't worry about it.'"

"I didn't understand at the time, until later, I discovered something even more terrifying."

Tao Wanbi seemed to have thought of something extremely terrifying, and took several deep breaths.

The system fell silent again.

Because it seems unable to imagine anything more terrifying than being betrayed by the person you cherish and want to protect.