Night had fallen, the bright moon hung high on the branches, and all was quiet except for the sound of cicadas.
On the path outside the village, a figure staggered forward, clutching a bottle of liquor tightly in his hand, taking swigs every now and then, and slowly uttering obscene words.
"You bitch! Now that I'm broke, you're giving me attitude. I'll kill you tomorrow."
The Yan family's house was a small courtyard surrounded by a fence. A few chickens were kept in a corner, and in the center was an ordinary mud house. The father and son's room was only separated by a cloth curtain. Yan Dabiao was a lazy and gambling man. He had gambled away all the valuables in the house, leaving them very poor.
He found his way home with practiced ease and kicked open the wooden door. Yan Dabiao, reeking of alcohol, barged into the room, slumped onto the bed, and roared with great force.
"Yan Rui, you brat, get out here right now and fetch me some water to wash my feet."
The familiar voice and tone startled Yan Rui, who immediately trembled and curled up into Wuyou's arms, his body shaking uncontrollably.
"Good boy—I'll go check on him." Wuyou patted the child's back, settled him down and covered him with a blanket. She was about to go and teach Yan Dabiao a lesson when she suddenly felt a pull on her body and looked at Yan Rui.
"Mom, Dad... Dad will hit you, let me go! I... I'm used to it." Despite her trembling little body, Yan Rui still straightened her not-so-broad chest.
Wuyou felt as if something had suddenly pierced her heart. It wasn't that she hadn't raised children before; all those children were strong and independent. Yan Rui, so frail, was the first she had ever seen. Yet, Yan Rui was so sensible that it broke her heart. Wuyou couldn't tell if this feeling was her own or Liu Wuyou's.
"Xiao Rui, no one will hit you anymore." Wu You hugged Yan Rui in his arms. Rather than let Yan Rui live in Yan Da Biao's fear forever, he should not let him face it, otherwise he would never get out of this predicament.
Wasn't Yan Rui's problem in his past life caused by prolonged domestic violence? He tried to please everyone, satisfying everyone else but hurting himself.
Yan Dabiao's angry curses were getting closer and closer. The curtain was pulled back, and Yan Dabiao's tall figure was cast in shadow on the ground.
"You little wench, you still dare to come back? No wonder this brat dared to ignore me. It turns out you were the one instigating me behind the scenes. I'll beat you both to death."
The bottle in his hand instantly transformed into a weapon, which he threw at my head. Yan Rui instinctively closed his eyes, trying to use his tender body to shield Wuyou from the blow.
The sound of a bottle shattering rang out, but Yan Rui felt no pain. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw a glass bottle shattered into pieces in the corner.
Without even glancing at the dumbfounded Yan Dabiao, Wuyou placed Yan Rui on the ground, telling him to stay obediently in the corner. Then, she twisted her wrist and walked towards Yan Dabiao with a gloomy expression.
The cracking sound of bones colliding as his wrist twisted sent chills down one's spine. Yan Dabiao felt a moment of fear, but then his expression grew even more ferocious.
That bitch has really gotten bolder; she dares to threaten him after just a few days apart.
"You filthy bitch, kneel down and kowtow to me right now. If I'm in a good mood, I might spare your life. Otherwise, see how I deal with you." Yan Dabiao's face was full of anger. How could he be intimidated by this woman? This made him feel that his authority had been threatened.
He casually pulled up a stool, sat down, crossed his legs, and swung them back and forth. Yan Dabiao could already imagine the other person crying and trembling.
"Fine, kneel down and I'll spare your life." Wuyou retorted expressionlessly, unmoved. Under normal circumstances, Liu Wuyou would have been trembling with fear long ago. Her fear of Yan Dabiao was deeply ingrained in her bones. Perhaps the boldest thing she had ever done in her life was to divorce Yan Dabiao and leave this terrifying man.
Unfortunately, she escaped the sea of suffering, but left her own flesh and blood in purgatory, unable to struggle and escape.
Seeing Wuyou's behavior, Yan Dabiao's anger flared up instantly. He slapped her across the face with his large, fan-like hand, showing no mercy whatsoever, and cursed viciously, "Bitch—"
Sitting idly by and waiting for death is never Wuyou's style. She quickly turned her head, grabbed a broom from the side, and swung it down on people's faces. The broom in her hand was like falling snowflakes, or like a dense net that made it impossible for anyone to resist.
"Ah—" Yan Dabiao, who was always the one hitting, suddenly became the one being hit. This huge contrast caught him off guard, and he eventually had no power to fight back. He could only passively take the beating and scream in pain.
Wuyou swung her stick at Yan Dabiao's eyes. Under the intense pain, the man's still-tall body collapsed quickly. Wuyou then stepped on Yan Dabiao's chest, her slender body unleashing astonishing power. Yan Dabiao found that he couldn't even flip her over.
This woman… how did she suddenly turn into such a shrew? Lying on the ground, Yan Dabiao met Wuyou's cold, downcast gaze and inexplicably shivered, only able to utter groans of pain.
Wuyou gave him no chance to react, the stick in his hand raining down on Yan Dabiao like a fine net, tightly binding him and giving him no chance to fight back. At first, Yan Dabiao tried to snatch the stick, but when he discovered that Wuyou was surprisingly strong and hit him even harder when the stick was taken from him, he dared not resist anymore. He could only imitate Liu Wuyou's actions from before, desperately protecting his head and letting out pitiful howls.
"If only someone could save me..." In a daze, Yan Dabiao had this thought, which was surprisingly the same as Liu Wuyou's. The two people's situations and thoughts perfectly overlapped despite the separation of time and space, which was strangely incongruous.
Unfortunately, Yan Dabiao's expectations were destined to be dashed. In the past, when Liu Wuyou was beaten, some neighbors would kindly try to persuade him, but later they gradually stopped saying anything. After all, everyone is minding their own business and who has the time and energy to meddle in other people's affairs? At most, they would take pity on Yan Rui and give him a couple of bites of food, which was already more than enough.
For Yan Dabiao, every minute and second felt incredibly long, like an eternity, even though only half an hour had actually passed. Wuyou felt a bit tired, so she took a rope and tied Yan Dabiao up, then turned to comfort her little darling.
"Mom, Dad, he..." Yan Rui stared blankly, stammering. The scene seemed familiar, but the roles had completely changed! However, deep down, he still preferred the present.
"It's nothing, I just can't stand him anymore. Who told him to be so unreasonable?" Wu Yu smoothed his stray hairs and waved casually, instantly touching Yan Rui.
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