Episode 13 Bird in a Cage
Yan Yiming locked Lin Ying in the room for two days and two nights, not allowing her to go to work or contact anyone. He took her mobile phone and searched for her chat history with Jiang Shu - their chat history looked very normal, without any ambiguous meaning, and they should have mostly communicated by phone.
But he looked through the call records for a long time and did not see any frequent conversations between her and Jiang Shu. Until he saw in the WeChat friends list that Lin Ying had assigned a person to a separate group - and that person was Jiang Shu's other number.
Although they didn't chat every day, the content of their conversations was inevitably ambiguous and obscure. He would ask her how she was doing and whether she needed the key, or she would send some unsolicited ramblings. It seemed that there was no substantive communication...
He pressed her: "What is this key you're talking about? Where is your affair?"
If she refused to answer, or even resisted, he would torture her to death...
She revealed the location of the villa, but the two had their affair in many other places.
After knowing the location, Yan Yiming slammed the door and left in frustration, leaving Lin Ying locked in the house again. She wanted to escape and try to contact other people, but it was no use.
Both my body and mind are covered with bruises.
Those insulting words and actions, like sharp blades, stabbed her hard - "bitch", "slut", "shameless", "how did you become like this", "divorce for something like this", "how dare you ask for divorce"...
She was tired and could no longer say words of resistance or beg for mercy.
But she was still alive, hanging on to her last breath.
Even if she was the person described in those words, did she deserve to be tortured and imprisoned by her husband? Did she deserve to die?
She didn't expect Yan Yiming to remain calm, she just hoped that he would listen to her voice. Even if he didn't agree or was angry, she would understand.
But Lin Ying didn't understand. She had endured for so long, harbored so much resentment towards her husband, and had never considered physically assaulting him. So why did he treat her so cruelly?
Is she going to be tortured like this just because she cheated on her husband physically, just because she expressed her dissatisfaction with him?
Why? If she wasn't perfect once, she would have to sacrifice half her life?
Her body was severely damaged and she vomited and had diarrhea for two hours.
Finally, he collapsed in the bathroom.
When I woke up, it was raining heavily outside the window.
She knew that she could no longer stay in this house. She had to escape and survive.
The desire to survive always erupts in an instant. She searched through boxes and cabinets for a long time, and finally found some hidden cash in a locked drawer on her dresser...
And the key to the villa.
This is her only hope, no, not hope, but her only place to go.
She couldn't go back to the Jiang family. She couldn't explain her predicament to her father and stepmother, and she couldn't go to the Yan family to complain.
It's so sad. After living for twenty-four years, in this emergency, the only person she can turn to is her "lover".
She took great pains to contact the property management through the access control system at home, and asked the property management to call a locksmith company to come to her house. However, when they looked at her ID, they still had to call Ren Jiahui to verify - simply because Ren Jiahui was the owner of the house.
Lin Ying immediately stopped him: "Don't call her... I... I won't open it anymore, I won't open it anymore."
Perhaps there is always a way out. The person who came to handle her request for help was Xiao Cheng, the person she had the most dealings with every day when she went up and down the stairs. They were the same age and had taken this leisurely job right after graduation. Lin Ying could see her bored face every day when she went to and from work. At first, she always had conflicts with the elderly owners and was a little thorn, but every time she confronted those old stubborn people, her lines made Lin Ying feel refreshed.
Over time, she would bring some fruit to her when she came home from get off work.
Although Xiao Cheng is carefree in words, he is also thoughtful. He is one of the few outsiders who can see that Lin Ying's marriage life is not optimistic.
This time, it was the locksmith she brought with her who came to the door. When he heard Lin Ying's voice, he felt that something was not right and that things were not that simple. So, he suddenly had an idea and explained to the locksmith -
"Hey, Master Li, I'm very familiar with the owner of this house. The house is in the name of my mother-in-law, but the residents are a young couple. I contacted Mrs. Yan before you came. She and her husband are currently on vacation in the Maldives and are not in China. There's a time difference when you make an international call. It's not worth it for such a small matter..."
So, under the premise that Xiao Cheng guaranteed his credibility, the locksmith finally agreed to open the door.
But when Xiao Cheng saw Lin Ying in such a bad state, his face instantly turned dark:
"Are you sure you're okay? You don't need to go to the hospital? I can take you there..."
But even so, Lin Ying still insisted on going out:
"Thank you, Xiao Cheng. I know my body well. I just need to leave...leave here and everything will be fine."
She staggered and pushed Xiao Cheng away, her eyes wandering, but she grabbed her hand again and begged, "Please... please, don't tell this to anyone... anyone."
After saying that, she waved to stop a taxi and disappeared into the dark night where rain and neon lights intertwined.
By then, it was almost ten o'clock.
The thunder was approaching and the sky cried even louder.
When she arrived at the villa area, the rain was pouring down. She didn't bring an umbrella, nor any luggage. She just responded to the driver's urging and took out a red bill from her pocket...
"I don't have a cell phone, so don't bother looking for it."
After saying that, she rushed into the rain and followed the direction of her memory to find Jiang Shu's house.
When she arrived at the door, she found that the light in the house was still on, and her first reaction was - fortunately, it won’t disturb Liu Ma’s rest.
But soon, she realized Jiang Shu's cruelty.
He had changed the combination lock, and her key was no longer any use.
She fiddled with the combination lock screen with the key unconsciously, watching it wake up and then go out, just like her mood tonight.
How could he change the locks so quickly? Was he abandoning me too?
Men are really equally ruthless. One will hit you if he says so, and the other will turn against you if he says so.
It was at this moment that she finally couldn't bear the grievance in her heart anymore.
The crying was drowned out by the thunderstorm, becoming silent.
Until the door was suddenly opened by Jiang Shu...
She explained her purpose incoherently - "I'm sorry, I thought you hadn't changed the locks yet. Can I stay here for a few days?"
After saying this, Lin Ying felt as if she was dreaming. When she woke up, she was wearing warm pajamas, had dried her hair, and was lying in bed.
The dim bedside lamp flickered, but it made her feel extremely peaceful.
Hearing someone knock on the bedroom door, she allowed in a hoarse voice, "Come in."
Jiang Shu walked to her bedside with a cup of ginger tea, "Get up and drink some ginger tea, don't catch a cold."
Lin Ying took Jiang Cha's hand and touched his fingertips, and couldn't help but flinch for a moment...
I took it anyway and drank the tea, which was just the right warmth.
"...Say my apology to Aunt Liu for disturbing her so late at night to make tea for me."
Jiang Shu was silent for a moment before he reluctantly admitted, "I cooked this. Aunt Liu had gone to bed before you came. I'm not as exploitative of my employees as you think."
…
"Then...thank you."
The air was deadlocked for more than ten seconds. There was no other sound in the room except Lin Ying gulping down ginger tea and the ticking of Jiang Shu's watch.
"Recently you..."
"Are you okay..."
After their conversation clashed, Jiang Shu gave her the priority—"You speak first."
"Are there any new people coming to your villa recently? I'm staying in the second bedroom. Will it be inconvenient?"
"Didn't you advise me to be casual when I moved in before? Why do you think it's inconvenient this time?"
"I'm afraid you'll think I'm a burden. Didn't you change the chain?"
Jiang Shu explained: "The locks weren't changed to protect you, but to protect the people who came here before. I'm the only one here lately, no one else will come here."
"So, you've given the key to other women too?" Lin Ying stared into his eyes. "Do you... use this trick on everyone you want to have sex with?"
Hearing her interpretation, Jiang Shu's heart was in turmoil - it was understandable that she would think so, after all, this was the impression he had always given her. Putting aside his previous frankness about relationships between men and women, even with her, he had wanted to be more tactful, but he started so casually.
"No, I only gave it to you."
"Do you think I'm special?"
"You are special."
Lin Ying nodded helplessly and drank the ginger tea in one gulp.
Jiang Shu took the empty cup and was about to leave when she suddenly asked again -
"Has Yiming come to see you?"
He said in a disgusted tone: "Well, I said some nonsense."
"I'm sorry, he took my phone away. He saw the chat history between me and your other number and asked me for my address... I didn't mean for him to bother you."
"In that case, what are you saying sorry for?" Jiang Shu asked back, "Aying, you haven't done anything sorry to anyone, either recently or in the past. It's others who do owe you an apology."
Lin Ying shook her head helplessly, "I'm also wrong. It's just that I couldn't control myself between the two of us..."
"If Yan Yiming cared about you enough, would you need to 'control' yourself?"
Jiang Shu said solemnly: "I know what you think of me, that I'm promiscuous and irresponsible, but I'm looking for a bed partner for mutual needs. If we can't reach a consensus, then I won't have sex with the other person. Under this kind of contract based on non-responsibility, I don't understand why we need to talk about responsibility..."
"So you think the same of me? Because we have a special relationship, even if there really is something wrong, we can't talk about it openly. You've already anticipated that I wouldn't dare to bring this matter to light..."
"I can take responsibility for you."
Jiang Shu seemed to have reached the point of no return. "After you get divorced, I can just ask my parents to marry you. We're not siblings anyway."
He looked confident, but his tone was full of compromise.
Lin Ying smiled weakly, "I don't need you to be responsible for me. When I had an affair with you, I didn't think about the consequences. Whether the divorce is successful or not, I will not marry you. I don't want to jump into the next cage."
That night, Lin Ying had nightmares all night long, dreams that were full and terrifying.
In her dream, she was chased and insulted by the Yan family. Those ugly names hit her head like bricks. She fled to Jiang Shu. Jiang Shu kissed her to the bed. The two made crazy love. She screamed loudly and passionately... She couldn't stop after being pushed to orgasm several times, and kept begging him to give her more.
However, this outrageous scene was witnessed by her father who rushed in. He grabbed her hair and dragged her off the bed. The skin on her legs hit the floor, breaking through two layers of skin, leaving large red marks...
Her father slapped her twice, and for a moment, she felt nothing except the weight of her head hanging down.
"Shame on you, Lin Ying! Did I raise you just to seduce your brother?!"
"How could I give birth to a scum like you? You are not my daughter, get out of here!"
Jiang Shu's mother, Jiang Yueling, also hated her deeply.
"You're really a tough guy. You're married and still not honest? You actually did something so shameless."
The dream ended with her in disheveled clothes, being severely beaten and scolded by Yan Yiming...
"No! Help!"
She screamed and got up, realizing she had a nightmare. Her pajamas were soaked with sweat, and her face was covered with sweat...
The person who opened the door was Aunt Liu. Seeing Lin Ying's miserable state, she hurried over to show concern.
"Ms. Lin, are you okay? Mr. Jiang asked me to take you to the hospital today for a checkup..."
Hearing words like "hospital" and "examination", Lin Ying refused reflexively:
"No, I'm not going to the hospital."
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