Chapter 55 An'an, who thought she had been abandoned
She stopped what she was doing, propped the hoe on the ground, and looked around.
The entire Xigoupo area was deathly silent.
Everyone seemed rooted to the spot, staring intently at her.
The initial mockery was long gone from those eyes, replaced by shock, fear, and a hint of... dread.
An old farmer, his lips trembling, dropped his pipe with a "thud" at his feet.
He looked at Xu Zhili, then at the barren hillside, and then at the mud-covered hoe in her hand, as if he had seen a ghost.
He made a hoarse sound in his throat, and finally, a word with a trembling tone escaped his lips:
"What a...strong girl!"
The shout caused an uproar, and the crowd stirred with excitement, their gazes toward Xu Zhili completely changing.
It was no longer about looking at a female educated youth, or even a capable laborer, but about looking at a... cold, inhumanly strong monster.
Xu Zhili seemed not to have heard the shout of "strongman" or seen the fearful looks in their eyes.
She simply knocked the mud and grass off the hoe and picked it up.
Then, she dusted off her hands, called over the scorekeeper, and once she had ten work points, she turned around and, amidst countless horrified gazes, steadily left Xigoupo.
The team leader specifically instructed that as long as all the work was done, people could leave. After all, even if they did more work, they would only earn ten work points at most, so there was no need to linger there; it was better to leave sooner rather than later.
The sun shone on her back, but it couldn't dispel the chilling aura emanating from her.
The wasteland where she shaved her head stood like a glaring scar, clearly telling everyone—a formidable character had arrived at Xiangyang Brigade.
At the entrance of the educated youth compound, the morning light was faint and the air was slightly cool.
Xu Zhili practically rushed back to the educated youth compound.
That superhuman speed created a gust of wind, rustling the grass and leaves along the roadside.
There was only one thing on her mind—An'an.
That little person who was the only one in the cold apocalypse who made her feel the warmth of her blood.
When she left, An'an was still fast asleep. Now... he woke up and couldn't see his only support. How terrified he must be?
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, my eyes were immediately drawn to a small, huddled figure in the corner!
Beside the cold threshold of the men's dormitory, An'an sat alone on the cold ground like an abandoned cub.
His thin body was curled up in a ball, his thin old clothes couldn't keep out the morning chill, and his small shoulders twitched and shrugged.
He was haphazardly wiping away the tears streaming down his face with the back of his dirty little hands, making suppressed, broken sobs, like the mournful cry of an injured kitten.
"Sister... Waaah... Where are you... Sister... Don't lose An'an... An'an will be good... An'an will listen... Waaah..."
The helplessness and deep-seated fear in that voice were like a blunt, icy knife, stabbing fiercely into Xu Zhili's heart.
boom--!
An indescribable, excruciating pain instantly swept over Xu Zhili's entire body.
That wasn't sadness, but a more violent, destructive urge mixed with raging fury and heart-wrenching pain—this was her brother.
In this cold, alien world, she has the only blood relation to him, a life she is willing to protect at all costs.
"An'an!"
Xu Zhili's voice trembled slightly, and she strode to An'an in a few steps, her movements so fast that they left afterimages.
An'an, who was immersed in great grief, suddenly heard his sister's voice and his crying stopped abruptly.
He looked up in disbelief, and through his teary eyes, he saw his sister's familiar figure. Her dim eyes instantly burst forth with an amazing light.
"Sister—Sister—!" A heart-wrenching scream, choked with sobs.
An'an sprang up from the ground like a small cannonball and threw herself into Xu Zhili's arms with all her might.
The small arms burst forth with astonishing strength, tightly gripping Xu Zhili's neck. Scalding tears instantly soaked Xu Zhili's clothes. He cried so hard that his whole body trembled violently, and he was incoherent.
“Sister! Waaah… Sister, where did you go! An’an… An’an woke up… It’s dark… Sister isn’t here… An’an is so scared, An’an thought… Waaah… thought Sister didn’t want An’an anymore! Like… like before… Waaah… An’an is an unwanted burden…”
The words "unwanted burden" were like the sharpest needles, piercing Xu Zhili's most sensitive nerves. A terrifying crimson flashed across her eyes. How dare that beast surnamed Lin?
How dare they treat her An'an like this? A chilling killing intent surged wildly in her chest, almost solidifying into a tangible form.
But at this moment, the trembling in her arms and the scalding tears forcefully suppressed all her violence.
Xu Zhili took a deep breath, then slowly squatted down. She carefully and little by little pried open An'an's little hands that were tightly wrapped around her neck, and cupped that little face that was red from crying and covered with tear stains.
She reached out her cool fingertips and gently wiped away the crisscrossing tear tracks on An'an's face. Then, she gently pinched his cold little nose with her fingertips, her voice deliberately softened and sweetly coaxing.
“Silly An’an,”
Her voice was like a feather brushing against my heart, "How could your sister not want you? Your sister is going to work to earn work points, buy delicious food for An'an, and raise our An'an to be plump and healthy, like...like a little piglet, okay?"
An'an sobbed, her big eyes still brimming with tears, but she stared at her sister without blinking, her expression filled with deep unease.
"Sister...is it...is An'an eating too much? Am I causing you trouble? An'an...An'an can eat less! Really! One meal a day is fine! Sister...please don't abandon An'an, okay? An'an will be very, very good..."
He pleaded humbly, his cautious tone like a dull knife repeatedly cutting into Xu Zhili's heart.
This is a deep imprint left by long-term neglect, marginalization, and even the indoctrination of "superfluous" ideas; it is the spirit of child abuse.
Xu Zhili's heart ached so much she felt like she was suffocating.
She suddenly pulled An'an into a tighter embrace, lowered her head, and rested her chin on the top of An'an's soft hair, her words clearly reaching An'an's ears.
"An'an, listen to me!"
"From now on, wherever your sister is, that will be your home. Your sister will protect you, protect you with her life. No one will ever let you suffer any more injustice! No one will ever say a bad word about you again. If anyone dares to lay a finger on you, your sister will make them regret ever being born!"
She loosened her embrace slightly, cupped An'an's face in her hands, and let him see the seriousness and determination in her eyes.
“The Lin family’s place is a stinking ditch. We left long ago. We’re with you, sister. We’re free. We can laugh when we want to laugh and cry when we want to cry. You only have eyes for me. When you finish building our new house, it will only be you and me. We’ll be together forever and never be separated again! You’re not an unwanted child. You are my life, understand?”
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