If I don't leave, will I be beaten if I stay?
She ate a few quick mouthfuls of the unpalatable porridge before her appetite vanished. She set down her bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and walked outside. The setting sun was bloodshot, staining half the sky red and casting a bleak golden hue on the dilapidated farmyard. As the sky darkened, the sound of a dog barking in the distance only added to the silence. What would happen tomorrow?
Chen Xiaoru traced her memories and found the original owner's room. It wasn't really a room, more like a corner that barely offered shelter from the elements. A creaky wooden bed and a rickety old wardrobe were all the room's belongings. The quilt smelled musty and felt rough to the touch.
"I can't live like this anymore." Chen Xiaoru fell powerlessly on the bed, looking at the tangled spider webs on the roof, her heart filled with despair.
Just when she was completely desperate, the door was gently pushed open, and the young man walked in with a basin of steaming water. He silently placed the basin beside the bed, then squatted down and began to take off Chen Xiaoru's shoes and socks.
Chen Xiaoru was stunned. She didn't resist, simply staring at the young man in front of her. He lowered his head, his expression unclear, but Chen Xiaoru keenly caught the flicker of disgust in his eyes. It was a hidden, suppressed, yet unconcealable emotion. He seemed extremely reluctant to do this, yet he had to suppress it, carefully completing his "task."
The boy's rough hands gently lifted Chen Xiaoru's feet and placed them in the warm water. The mist blurred his features, but it also made Chen Xiaoru more aware of his body's stiffness and resistance. These feet once belonged to another woman, a woman he perhaps hated, perhaps loathed. And now, he had to serve her against his will.
Chen Xiaoru's heart was suddenly struck by an inexplicable emotion. Was it pity? Sympathy? Or... a hint of guilt? She didn't know. She only knew that the young man before her, like herself, was a pawn on the chessboard of fate, powerless and powerless to resist.
"Do you want to leave here?" Chen Xiaoru suddenly asked.
The young man was carefully testing the water temperature, his concentration as if completing a crucial ritual. At these words, his hand holding the basin trembled violently, and a few drops of warm water spilled out, splashing onto the rough ground like broken tears. His face instantly lost all color, paler than the pale moonlight outside. The basin in his hands fell to the ground with a sharp clang, sending hot water splattering everywhere.
As if bitten by a venomous snake, the young man suddenly fell to his knees, his knees clattering heavily against the hard ground. He ignored the pain, the spilled water, and trembled like a sieve, his head lowered, almost buried in the dust. His voice was filled with tears, and he begged incoherently, "Please, don't sell me, please... I will do my best, I will be more obedient, please don't sell me..."
He kowtowed repeatedly, each time louder than the last, his forehead quickly becoming red and swollen. Chen Xiaoru was startled by his sudden reaction. She had only casually asked, and had not expected to cause such intense panic in him. Seeing the boy's trembling body and his almost desperate pleas, Chen Xiaoru's heart was shaken, and a complex wave of emotions surged. She finally understood what kind of existence the original owner had in this family.
"Did I say I was selling you?" Chen Xiaoru frowned slightly, her tone tinged with displeasure, but more so with confusion. She gently lifted the boy's chin with her toes, forcing him to look up. The boy's face was streaked with tears, his snot smeared on his shirt, and he looked utterly disheveled. The stiffness and aloofness he had displayed earlier when he was serving water were gone, leaving only naked fear and vulnerability.
Chen Xiaoru looked at his frightened eyes, sighed inwardly, and softened her tone. "Huh? I'm just asking. Why are you crying like a little cat?" She paused and ordered, "Hurry up and dry my feet, clean up the water on the floor, and pour it out."
The boy heard Chen Xiaoru's tone soften. Sold it? Not sold? He was momentarily lost for words. He looked up blankly, tearful eyes blurring as he gazed at her, as if trying to discern the truth from the falsehood. Seeing the faint hint of impatience in her expression, he suddenly woke up, scrambling to his feet. Sobbing, he frantically picked up the fallen cloth and clumsily wiped Chen Xiaoru's feet. "Yes, yes, I'll wipe it right away, I'll wipe it right away," he mumbled, his movements flustered and cautious, fearful of further angering this moody woman.
Chen Xiaoru looked at him, a frightened look, with mixed feelings. She had only said a casual word, and yet he was frightened to such an extent. This showed how the original owner had always been domineering and bullied this young man.
"It's all the fault of the original owner..." Chen Xiaoru sighed silently, a sense of powerlessness washing over her. Now that she had inherited this body, it seemed she had to shoulder all the "debt" left behind by the original owner. This was truly... a headache.
"System, tell me! What's going on with this family? If you dare to fool me again, we'll all be destroyed together!" Chen Xiaoru threatened inwardly, gritting her teeth. She didn't want to live her life in confusion, and she certainly didn't want to take the blame for the original owner.
The system was silent for a few seconds, as if trying to organize its words, before slowly speaking: "The original owner, Chen Xiaoru, was from Chenjia Village and a member of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Her father, Chen Laizi, was an idler who loved gambling, but..."
"But what? Stop hesitating and say it all at once!" Chen Xiaoru interrupted impatiently.
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