"The coldness invaded my whole body, and my consciousness gradually blurred. Just when I thought I was going to die here, I heard a song in my ears."
"The singing wasn't particularly pleasant, but strangely, I felt warmth all over my body. Then, a hazy flame appeared before my eyes, gradually approaching..."
"When I woke up, I found myself lying on a bed. There was a foul smell in the air. When I held my head and sat up, I saw a boy sitting beside me with a pot of food. The water in the iron pot on the fire rack next to me was boiling."
"I sat up, and the boy noticed I was awake. He wasn't surprised. He sat down beside me, poured a bowl of rice and put it there. He held the pot and started eating. He looked very hungry. When he had almost finished eating, the boy asked me why I didn't eat."
"I shook my head, and he smiled and told me that he had lost a calf and was looking for it in the forest when he found me. He then asked me why I was there after dark."
"I didn't think about anything else. I just asked, 'What song were you singing?' The boy scratched his head, smiled and said it was a song to scare away ghosts. He was afraid to be alone late at night, so he sang it to give himself courage."
"He asked me where I was from and offered to take me back. I shrank back and shook my head. He became distressed and said he didn't have much to eat and couldn't even get enough to eat. I quickly said I could work."
"He saw that I seemed afraid to go back, so he agreed tentatively. I was so hungry that I drank the bowl of porridge on the table. I didn't understand why it was all water if it was porridge."
"That was the first time I left that cage. It was like the hands that were strangling my neck loosened, and I felt incredibly relieved."
"This must be freedom. I really enjoy this feeling. I don't think too far ahead. All I long for is a tomorrow that will be just like today, free and unfettered."
"I tried to burn firewood for the first time and got a black face. I tried to catch a chicken for the first time, but the chicken chased and pecked me... Although I was very embarrassed and tired, strangely enough, I felt incomparably happy and joyful."
"His name is Gu Yu. Although he's carefree and makes me work for food, he always quietly finishes the meal himself when he sees I mess up. When he sees I can't finish the food, he'll run out and buy me a pancake. When I ask why he only bought one, he says it's okay and he doesn't like to hold onto things."
"Although I rarely interact with outsiders like this, I'm not stupid. Apart from the housekeeper, I've never experienced such care from another person. We get along more and more harmoniously, and then subtle changes occur."
"Unconsciously, I regarded Gu Yu as my everything, my only support. He held my face and told me that if I didn't want to go back, then I should never go back. When I saved enough money, I would take me to a very far place."
"From that moment on, I constantly fantasized about going to a place where no one would bother me. But this idea was always naive and childish. They soon found me, kicked down the door, smashed the food, and took me back. Gu Yu tried his best to save me, but was knocked unconscious and fell in a pool of blood."
"He and I were brought back together. Gu Yu was thrown into a cage. They pushed me into the hall and forced me to kneel down."
"That day, the man's family was there too. Ever since I escaped, they were furious and sent a large number of people to capture me. When they found out I was with Gu Yu, my mother almost fainted from anger, and the man was so angry that he smashed a cup."
"I was thrown into a thatched hut, and my former maid brought me food. I asked her how Uncle Lin, the housekeeper, was doing. The maid reluctantly told me that the next day, Uncle Lin was hanged from the beams of the courtyard. First, their hands were shackled, and they hung there for two full days. On the third day, they put a shackle around his neck, and he was hanged to death."
"I became distraught, thinking of Gu Yu's fate. The maid brought me food on time every day. I asked her all the time, and she shook her head, but from her expression, I was afraid that something had happened."
"I locked myself in there, stopped eating, and couldn't sleep at night."
"The maid told me one day that Gu Yu was still alive, which made me feel relieved. For him, I started eating."
"But then one day, the maid brought me news that the man's family wanted to criticize and denounce me. After exposing my crimes, they wanted to hang me."
"I couldn't imagine where I had gone wrong. I thought my parents would try to help me find a solution, but to my despair, they agreed."
"Why? That was the only thing on my mind at the time. It seemed like I wasn't really family to them. From the moment I was born until now, I've been a commodity, a valuable commodity."
"When I was pushed out, I saw Gu Yu. His face was covered in blood from the torture, and the tendons in his hands and feet were all broken. When he saw me, he forced himself to smile and asked, 'Are you okay?'"
"I was crying so hard I couldn't take care of myself, but his response was still so gentle."
"It's okay, I'm fine. Don't look at me like this, it's actually not painful at all. This is all they can do."
"He said this, but blood kept flowing from the corner of his mouth."
"When I left the yard, I saw my parents. Their faces were the same as they had been since I was little, and just like my brother, they uttered two words: 'bastard'!"
"My tears have long dried up, and my voice is hoarse. I can't express any emotion. I just asked a question I wanted an answer to: Are you really my biological parents?"
"They didn't answer, but their cold faces seemed to reveal the answer."
"At that moment, I hoped it wasn't true. If it was, how ironic would that be? Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, so what about these two?"
"Gu Yu and I were tied to a pillar on the town committee platform. Below were the only people in the town. They were whispering to each other. Although they had heard a lot, they still didn't understand what was going on."
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