“Ye Zhifan, who happened to be the village official at that time, was even furious about this, accusing Old Mrs. Ye for being stupid, how could she let Ye Jian live in the village!”
“Old Uncle Gen was still in the army at that time. When he returned, everything was settled. Ye Zhifan didn’t care if his family would be blocked by Ye girl, together with Sun Dongqing, he came to pick her up and returned to the whole village, which was a happy thing for the entire village because they didn’t have to worry that one day Ye girl will be arranged to live in their home.”
“It didn’t take long for Old Mrs. Ye left Shuikou Village with her daughter and son-in-law to the coastal city with her husband. The reason they left was that Ye girl was too stubborn; she would piss her off.”
The people in the village more or less believed in “fate”, so they didn’t doubt Old Mrs. Ye at all; even if Sun Dongqing treated Ye Jian badly later, the villagers did not stand up and say anything.
Ye girl’s “life” was too tough. Sun Dongqing could be considered not bad. It was normal for children to be beaten and scolded. It was the same as you beat or scold your kids when they didn’t want to listen to you, right?
But who knew that Sun Dongqing not only beat and scolded Ye Jian, but she also sometimes didn’t give Ye Jian food. Other than dressing similar to Ye Ying, who would know what they did to Ye Jian behind those doors?
Principal Chen recalled the Old Uncle’s expression when he talked about these things, every wrinkle on his face full of vicissitudes with deep guilt for Ye girl.
Although Xia Jinyuan knew that Ye Jian’s childhood had been bad, he never thought that she would be so miserable. He endured his anger, closed his eyes lightly, suppressed the surging anger waves in his heart, and said to Principal Chen, “Uncle Chen, could you tell me about Ye Jian’s childhood again? I want to see if there is anything else suspicious.”
He wanted to know about her. He wasn’t in her past, but he wanted to know because by knowing everything about her, knowing how painful her life had been, he would love her more in the future.
He wanted to make up for the sins she had suffered for the rest of his life.
“Ye girl’s childhood, alas…”
Before speaking, Principal Chen sighed. His long sighs turned into sharp thorns, piercing straight into Xia Jinyuan’s heart after they entered his ears, making the softest part of him so dull that he needed to clenched his fists tightly to suppress his anger.
“Ye girl’s life is not bad, well, at least in the eyes of the villagers. Ye Zhifan is a good person. Every time he comes back, his first sentence would definitely be ‘Ye Jian, come out and see what delicious food I brought you?’ That is to let the neighbors think that Ye Zhifan is worthy of his elder brother and sister-in-law, and he is not afraid of being “unfortunate” to adopt his niece Ye Jian to live in his own home.”
“Old Uncle always inquires about Ye girl he comes back from the army. Naturally, what he heard is that Ye girl is doing well. She had food and clothing and went to school.”
“Later, when Ye girl grew up, everyone in the village perceived she was skinny, loved to cause troubles, and liked to lie, and sometimes she even needed Ye Ying to apologize for her.”
“When she was in fourth or fifth grade, she almost died in the snow. Luckily Old Uncle Gen found out, and he took her home. It’s a pity. At that time, Ye girl was not the Ye girl she is now. She didn’t accept Old Uncle Gen’s help at all. Every time Old Uncle went over, he would be scolded by Sun Dongqing.”
“After trying for a few times, Old Uncle stopped. So just like that, Ye girl had been living in Ye Zhifan’s house. She led a life that everyone thought was good. But no one knew that she was actually beaten, scolded, and framed. These were common family affairs in her younger life.”
