Chapter 12
A dark, filthy corner, reeking of alcohol and violence.
Xu Nianlei's struggles, cries, and pleas for mercy seemed utterly insignificant in the face of absolute power and madness. Fists and slaps rained down like raindrops, and pain swept through her entire body. The sound of clothes being torn was like the mournful cry of her life being ripped apart.
When that final, tearing pain came, Xu Nianlei felt as if her soul had been forcibly ripped from her body. She stopped struggling and crying out, her eyes staring blankly at the small patch of gray sky above the alley, devoid of any light.
On this afternoon when she turned eighteen, the world completely collapsed and plunged into endless darkness.
After venting his anger, Xu Jianguo cursed as he fastened his pants, then rummaged through her clothes again, snatched the few dollars she had, and staggered away.
It was unclear how much time had passed before a passerby discovered Xu Nianlei lying unconscious and disheveled in the alley, and frantically called an ambulance.
Xu Nianlei woke up to a blinding white light and the smell of disinfectant.
Every part of my body screamed in pain, especially my lower body; the feeling of being torn apart and defiled was incredibly clear. Memories flooded back like a tidal wave: that alley, that demon, that atrocity…
She suddenly opened her eyes wide, overwhelmed by fear and nausea, and began to gag, but nothing came out.
"Leilei! You're awake?" Wang Xiuqin's hoarse and anxious voice rang out from beside her.
Xu Nianlei stiffly turned her head and saw her mother's swollen eyes and haggard face. Her mother's face no longer held the usual harshness and resentment, but was instead filled with immense grief, anger, and a trace of... a feeling similar to regret that she had never seen before.
“Mom…” she opened her mouth, her voice dry like sandpaper.
“That damned beast! He’s not human! He’s an animal!” Wang Xiuqin grabbed her hand, tears streaming down her face. “The police have already arrested him! He deserves to be torn to pieces!”
Xu Nianlei listened to her mother's cries and curses, staring blankly at the ceiling. Tears streamed down her face, soaking her pillow, but she couldn't feel herself crying. She only felt cold, a cold that seeped into her bones, as if her soul had been frozen.
The ward door was gently pushed open.
Xu Nianlei thought it was a nurse and didn't turn around.
Until that figure, accompanied by a gust of wind, strode quickly to the bedside, casting a shadow. She smelled a familiar, clean scent, now tinged with panic and sweat.
She turned her head sharply and met Lu Baiyan's red eyes, which were filled with shock, pain, fear and disbelief.
His face was ashen, his lips bloodless, and his chest heaving violently, as if he had run all the way there. Looking at the fragile girl on the hospital bed, who seemed to have lost all life, he felt as if an invisible hand was gripping and tearing his heart apart, the pain almost suffocating him.
He walked step by step to the bedside, slowly squatted down, and met her gaze. His voice trembled violently, filled with a heavy, suppressed sob:
"Leilei... I'm sorry... I failed to protect you... I'm sorry... I'm late..."
This was the second time he had called her "Leilei," filled with endless regret and heartache.
Upon hearing his apology, tears streamed even more fiercely from Xu Nianlei's empty eyes.
Looking at his red-rimmed eyes, at the undisguised tears streaming down his face for her, a pathetic, twisted warmth stirred within the barren, frozen ground of her heart. She realized that there really were people in this world who could grieve for her like this.
But precisely because of this, she couldn't afford to be a burden to him.
With all her might, she forced a broken smile that was more painful than crying, her voice as soft as dissipating smoke:
"Are you stupid...? Why are you apologizing...? Xiao Bai, I know what you're going to say to me..."
She paused, gathering the last bit of resolve and clarity in her life:
"But I have to reject you. It's not realistic... We've never been from the same world. Your mother won't agree either... Go away, and let's not contact each other again."
After saying these words, she seemed to have all her strength and hope drained away. She closed her eyes tightly and refused to look at him again. In the cruelest way, she severed all possibilities between them.
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