"Auntie! Uncle! I..."

Yu Hao was interrupted by a loud shout before he could finish his sentence.

"Shut up!"

Xu Wenbo's eyes were bloodshot, and his anger seemed to be about to burst from his chest. He stared intently at Yu Hao, his gaze wishing he could pierce two bloody holes in him.

"What did we tell you before we sent you down to the countryside? We told you to stay put and take good care of Siyuan!"

"You brought him to this godforsaken place, do you think he has too much life left?!"

"No! I meant to..."

What are you thinking?

Yu Meijuan's voice suddenly became sharp, completely shattering her usual gentle facade.

"We've sent a letter to your uncle and arranged everything!"

"As long as Siyuan is obedient, he can go to the port city to visit his grandfather during the Chinese New Year!"

"Why did you bring him here?! Why did you do this?!"

These words struck Yu Hao and Yu Siyuan like bolts of lightning.

Yu Hao's mind went blank with a "buzz".

Go to the port city?

Looking for Grandpa?

He stared blankly at his pale-faced aunt, then at his uncle who was trembling with anger, and finally realized what was going on.

He didn't come to save people.

He personally blocked his cousin's only way out.

"I...I don't know..."

His throat was so dry it felt like it was on fire, and he could barely stand.

"you do not know?"

Xu Wenbo let out a cold laugh, a laugh filled with piercing sorrow.

"You know nothing, yet you dare to make decisions for others!"

"You know nothing, yet you're dragging him into this cannibalistic quagmire!"

"Yu Hao, what's the point of your head?!"

A barrage of questions, each word like a whip, lashed Yu Hao's face, draining all color from his face.

He was wrong.

It's terribly wrong, hopelessly wrong.

Yu Siyuan, who had always been protected by his father, suddenly pushed his father's hand away.

He took a step forward.

Those tear-stained eyes shone eerily brightly under the dim oil lamp.

"Dad, Mom, it's not my cousin's fault."

The boy's voice was still hoarse, but it exuded an unusual calmness.

"I came here of my own accord."

"you……"

"If I hadn't come, how would I have known you were collecting cow dung here?"

Yu Siyuan interrupted his mother, his smile more painful than a grimace.

"You said in your letter that everything is fine, the team is taking care of us, and the work isn't heavy."

"Is this what you call 'good'?"

He raised his hands, which were wrapped in tattered rags, and his palms were a bloody mess, a truly gruesome sight.

"You sent me to the port city, and then what?"

"You let me be well-fed and clothed in the port city, enjoying everything it has to offer without any guilt, while you're left here to suffer?!"

The boy's voice wasn't loud, but it was like small pebbles, hitting the two adults' hearts hard.

Xu Wenbo's raised hand froze in mid-air before finally falling limply to the ground.

Yu Meijuan covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face as she could no longer hold them back.

What they considered a foolproof plan turned out to be cruel in the eyes of the child.

Yu Hao stood to the side, feeling a tightness in his chest, as if a large stone was lodged there.

He opened his mouth, only to find that whatever he said would be wrong.

For the first time, this fearless young master from Beijing felt like a good-for-nothing who was more trouble than a good person.

The room was deathly silent.

Only the flame of the oil lamp flickered gently, reflecting the howling wind and snow outside the window.

…………………………………………

The collapse of the sky and the sinkhole at the cowshed did not affect Ruan Tang's good sleep at all.