Bai Miyin never thought that her life would one day turn into a cliché webnovel plot. Her fiancé, Gu Lun, cheated on her with her best friend, Chao Bisuan, who turned out to be her stepsister. Her father had cheated on her mother long ago. No wonder her mother had suddenly gotten so sick and died. It was him. It was his fault.
Not long after her mother passed away, her stepmother had entered the family. The sweet and kind Aunty Chao, mother of Chao Bisuan, whom she used to love, turned into a mocking stepmother. Her stepmother and former best friend who was now her step sister had schemed and framed and instigated so many plots against her that her name had been thoroughly blackened. At the same time, the shameless mother and daughter had ingratiated themselves into the extended family's good graces, making her out to be a cold, unfeeling and unfilial child in her grandparents' eyes.
She had always strived to be the perfect daughter and student. Always been obedient. Always been quiet and given way and look what that had gotten her. Complete betrayal. Nobody loved her or wanted her anymore. Perhaps, she had always just been a stepping stone for others.
Fine. Just fine. It was perfectly fine with her.
After the most recent bout of mud slinging and framing, her stepmother and stepsister had finally gotten what they had always wanted. Her fiancé from the Gu family had cancelled their engagement and gotten engaged to Chao Bisuan instead.
And now, even her father and grandparents had decided to severe familial ties with her.
"I, Bai Wenjing, don't have a daughter like you, Bai Miyin. Pack your bags and get out of my house," Father Bai shouted.
"The Bai family disowns you, this disgusting, dirty and rebellious granddaughter," Grandfather Bai said with a wrinkled face as if he had smelled something bad, picking up his phone. "I will have your name removed from the ancestral records immediately."
"You'd better go upstairs with her, daughter-in-law," sneered Grandmother Bai, speaking to Aunty Chao, "to make sure she truly only packs what is hers. Don't let her steal anything else from our family anymore."
And so, Aunty Chao, who was now Bai Miyin's evil stepmother had followed her upstairs to 'help' her pack her things.
She was allowed to take her identity documents, school transcripts and other similarly important documentation. Into an old luggage case with wobbly wheels, Miyin's few articles of clothes that she had bought herself, had grown out of or weren't in good enough condition to sell were thrown into the small suitcase. Her old underwear and bras that were a size too small because Aunty Chao refused to 'waste' money on an ungrateful wretch like her were included, as well as a motheaten and torn puffy jacket, threadbare jeans, socks with holes, and washed out t-shirts. A few well read books and her stationary, as well as the tattered patchwork blanket her mother had made for her when she was a child were stuffed in. That was about it.
The stuffed suitcase was pressed shut.
"Don't let her take that, we can sell it," they said when she had reached for her jewellery case, slapping her face and snatching her case.
"Don't let her take that either. We can't let her have a good life outside," they said when she wanted to take a warmer coat, pinching and kicking her, purposely tearing the coat up with the stanley knife they found in the drawer. They didn't seem to mind her taking her mother's old sewing kit though.
"Leave your skin care set behind," ordered Chao Bisuan, bashing Bai Miyin's head into her bathroom bench, before dragging Bai Miyin back into her bedroom and stuffing a roll of toilet paper into her reaching hands instead. "Here. Take this and be satisfied we're even giving you this much."
Bai Miyin stuffed it into her bag. She took her old school backpack containing her important documents and other miscellaneous items, and slung it onto her back. She looked around the room filled with memories for the last time while she was being pushed out the bedroom door.
"Looking. Still looking," a heavy palm struck Bai Miyin's already burning and swollen cheeks. Her face was swollen enough that it was affecting her vision. She could taste blood. "See what else you can take, you dirty little rat."
"Mum, take her mobile phone from her and the house keys," said Chao Bisuan, kicking Bai Miyin so that she stumbled into the wall. "We can sell the mobile phone and we don't want her to be able to come back to the house in the middle of the night."
Both mother and daughter pinned Bai Miyin to the wall, searching her bag and pockets until they found what they wanted, pinching and twisting her skin as they did so, not caring that they had torn her shirt buttons loose, making one pop off onto the floor. Bai Miyin carefully squatted down, wincing against her injuries as she did so, carefully putting the lost button into her pocket to sew back on later. She maintained her usual straight and stoic expression as if the person being bullied wasn't her.
The mother and daughter duo then shoved her staggering form down the stairs and tossed her suitcase down after her, so that it nearly made her fall the rest of the way down the stairs when it crashed into her back. If she hadn't held onto the stairs rails to help her sore, beaten body stay steady, she might have indeed been knocked down the stairs.
The two women then pushed her toward the front door with her luggage as if she was just another bit of rubbish to be thrown out.
"Wait. Let me take my mum's old wok," Bai Miyin dug her heels in when they were passing by the kitchen door, having spotted the old heavy cast iron wok in the corner of the kitchen where it had been gathering dust for the past few years.
Aunty Chao and Chao Bisuan paused for a moment.
"Why not?" Aunty Chao said after a bit of internal deliberation. "All it's doing here is taking up space and nobody wants to buy such old heavy things anymore. It's useless now. I can't even sell it. If you want to take it, then take it."
Bai Miyin entered the kitchen, took off the things that had been piled on top of the old wok and lifted it up with a grunt. It was really big and heavy. She found an old farm sack that her mother's family used to bring things for the family in from their old farm, back when she was still a child and the farm hadn't yet been sold. She put the old wok with its upturned lid into the big sack and wrapped it up, hugging it to her chest.
Under the glowering and unhappy gazes of all the family, as well as her ex-fiance and his family, Bai Miyin was shown the door for the last time. Seeing the familiar old sack and wok, her father took it from her to look at, his eyes softening for a moment. And then, Grandfather Bai snatched it from him while Grandmother Bai pushed Bai Miyin out the front door, so that she stumbled on the front steps and twisted her ankle, falling down. Grandfather Bai heaved the old wok covered by the old sack out so that it almost knocked Bai Miyin out when it landed on her, making her fall back down, hissing with pain. The luggage was kicked down the steps so that it knocked Bai Miyin down once more when she had been trying to get up.
Something trickled down the side of her head and Bai Miyin touched it briefly. Wet. Trickling. Sticky. She looked at her hand. Oh. Blood.
Bai Miyin struggled into sitting to reach for the old shoes that were two sizes too small for her feet but were the only size her stepmother would allow her to wear. Part way through squeezing her feet into the pinching shoes, she paused. Why continue to torture herself or allow herself to be bullied. Wasn't she now free?
Under the silent gazes of the family and ex-fiancé who had rejected her, Bai Miyin held back the sudden wild rush of joy and exhilarated grin that threatened to spread out over her face. The flipping emotions were suddenly overwhelmed by the realisation that she was free. Finally free. She had finally escaped this hell hole and no fiery hounds or wild horses would ever be able to drag her back.
Bai Miyin didn't glance up at the looming figures who were blocking the door as if afraid that she might suddenly try to rush back inside. She used her luggage case to prop herself up, found a way to tie the sack containing the wok down onto the top of her backpack, struggled to heft it all onto her back and then grabbed the broken handle of her luggage case.
Old shoes in one hand, old luggage case in the other, she limped bare foot down the driveway toward the front gate. She limped and walked faster and faster away from the prison-like house and then fell into a joyful run, bursting out the front gate with an exhilarated whoop of delight, throwing her old shoes in the air behind her in celebration. The front gate banged and clanged harshly in the quiet of the day.
"I'm free! I'm free!" she hollered to the entire street when heads poked out doors and windows to see what all the noise was about. "The dirty cheater, Gu Lun, has finally broken the engagement after blaming me for getting in the way of his fun with multiple girlfriends. Who wants a stud with STDs? I, Bai Miyin, certainly don't," she crowed to the neighbours who were now coming out the doors to see what the fuss was all about. "May the dirty dog and his new bitch die enjoying suffering from their dirty diseases, and scratch their own skins off."
"What? The boy from the Gu family has that kind of disease?" exclaimed an aunty from a few doors down to her neighbour.
"The Bai family have disowned me and I can finally leave the den of thieves that are so greedy as to evade taxes, break laws and sell their own children," Bai Miyin continued to shout, the huge grin on her usually stoic face a shock to her own family and the neighbourhood. Nobody had seen her smile for years and now that she was smiling, it was terrifying.
"The child has gone mad!" she heard Grandfather Bai exclaim. "Quick, bring her back before she spouts more nonsense and completely loses all face for our Bai and Gu families."
"The murderers who ate up my mother's life and belongings to boost their own riches are on the brink of bankruptcy," Bai Miyin laughed and whooped, running with a pained limp down the street with her things, ignoring anything that was cutting into her feet and the blood still trickling down the side of her head, casually wiping the blood away with a hand. "They have to scheme against their own friends and destroy generations' old relationships just to climb the ladder, scheming to eat up the Gu family fortune. But I, after having seen and heard so much, I have been finally set free. I have managed to escape with my life! I have escaped hell! I am freeeee!"
"The girl's gone mad. Definitely gone mad," neighbours muttered, heading toward the Bai family to find out what was going on.
"It must be because they bullied her until she couldn't stand it anymore," said a sympathetic neighbour from across the road. "Some of you might not know or have seen, but their family sometimes didn't let the girl sleep. I've seen them force her to do the garden work at midnight without gloves or light, whipping her if she dared to stop or wipe her face. She wasn't even allowed to cry."
"The other day, I saw her washing and polishing the windows, not even using a rope while her step sister found some kids on the street to throw stones at her. When they broke a window, that step sister of hers pushed her down onto the broken glass."
"I saw her stepmother chase her out of the house once in the middle of winter, beating her with the poker stick from the fire. You know those old metal sticks used to stir the old wood fires back when we were young? The end of that stick was glowing red."
"Nonsense. Rubbish," shouted Grandpa Bai, closing the yard gate. "Go home and stop spouting lies and rumours. Be careful we don't sue you for slander."
"Last year, her cousin's best friend came to visit and tried to force her amongst the thick bushes of that house, right here in the street. We thought to report it to the family to try and rescue her, but what did they do? They beat the poor girl. There was blood everywhere, the girl was obviously injured and helpless in front of that bear of a youth, and still they blamed the girl. I saw everything. The girl didn't do anything. She was completely innocent and was just trying to carry all the shopping they had forced her to go and buy, not allowing her to bring a shopping trolley."
"What kind of family is that?"
"Forget it. It's none of our business. Have less contact with anyone from the Bai and Gu families. That's it. Keep yourself safe from wolves in sheep's clothing."
The neighbours, locked out of the Bai family yard and hearing the arguments from inside the house, scattered after security guards came out to stand at the gate and glare at them.
Bai Miyin ran until her sprained ankle gave up from the punishing exercise, causing her to fall hard, grazing both palms, a forearm and both knees. She sat on the ground and slowly sat up, wiping her wet and blurry eyes.
She was clearly happy to have escaped and to be set free. She was still grinning and laughing, so why were the tears pouring out of her eyes as if from a leaky faucet? Why did her chest ache so much? She clearly wasn't very injured, but why did it hurt so much?
A fancy sports car rolled to a stop by the nature strip in front of her.
"Hey, Bai Miyin."
"Hey, Ji Kunpeng," Bai Miyin wiped her face with the uninjured forearm and glanced up at the open window to greet her old classmate as if there was nothing wrong, but tears continued to make tracks down her red and swollen cheeks, making them sting. She had to keep wiping them away. "What's up?"
"So you really broke up with Gu Lun, huh?"
"Yeah."
"I told you he was no good."
"I told you I had no choice."
"It's good that you're free now. It's just that, do you have anywhere to go? Do you have any money?"
Bai Miyin hadn't thought of that yet. She would have eventually, but she just hadn't gotten that far in her non-existent forward planning. Aunty Chao had taken control of her bank account when she first moved in and Bai Miyin hadn't seen what Aunty Chao's real attitude toward her was yet. All the money she had earned over the years had gone into that bank account that she had no access to. The only money she had was a few coins that she had managed to save up over the years. It wasn't enough to even book a night in a cheap motel.
Bai Miyin's tears stopped for a moment and then cascaded down her cheeks anew when Bai Miyin realised she didn't know where to go or what to do with herself.
"You really don't have anywhere to go?"
"I don't even have ten dollars, look," Bai Miyin showed him her near empty purse. "Don't worry," she grinned at him through her tears, making his heart twist uncomfortably in his chest for her. "It's enough to eat a snack before I die."
"Die? Why would you die?" Ji Kunpeng got out of the car to open his boot, taking Bai Miyin's luggage and backpack from her. He grunted at the wok. "This is seriously heavy," he grumbled.
"It's not like they're really going to let me go," Bai Miyin told him in a conspirational manner, turning her head in a suspicious manner as if to see if anyone was listening. "They'll just let me feel the fresh air and then quietly do away with me, while making themselves look good. Especially after I ran out shouting what has happened to the whole street. So, while I have the time and while I can, I should go and see what food I can buy with what I have, eat my first good meal in years and then find somewhere that I like the look of and leave in a more dignified manner than they're going to let me. I have no wish to be gang banged to death or sold to human traffickers."
"Surely Chao Bisuan wouldn't let that happen. You two were best friends."
"Emphasis on the 'were'. Past tense," Bai Miyin chuckled. "Only after she moved in and became my step-sister did I realise that she's jealous to death of me and can't wait for me to die. You have no idea how many times I just managed to dodge and survive her schemes to kill me these past few years."
"She really wants to kill you?"
"Yeah. My stepmother too."
"Tough."
A car driving into the estate paused upon seeing Ji Kunpeng's car parked at the side of the street. The driver saw Ji Kunpeng helping a resistant, unkempt and bloodied girl with a swollen face into his car.
"Kun, what's going on?" The driver asked, rolling down his window, his handsome face wrinkling into a frown. He looked only a few years older than Ji Kunpeng and Bai Miyin. "Who's the girl? You didn't beat her, did you?"
"No way! Am I that type of person in your eyes, Uncle Feng? This is my old highschool classmate, Bai Miyin. She is - she was the eldest daughter of the Bai family who lived in the house with the big fig tree at the front. Today, she was literally thrown out of the house. Her fiancé - ex-fiance, Gu Lun, you know, the heir of the Gu family, broke off their engagement and then she was disowned by her own family. I decided I'd better send her to the hospital to get her injuries seen to and help her find a place to stay, but she just told me that she just wants to eat her first proper meal in years and then find somewhere to die before her family sends people to bully her to death or sell her to human traffickers. Tell me, Uncle, how has such a family not been drowned in the spit of others yet?"
"Hi, Uncle Feng," Bai Miyin wiped her face, smearing blood all over it and combed her messy hair back with her fingers, trying to prevent Ji Kunpeng from forcing her to sit in his car. "Nice to meet you."
"Miyin, will you just behave? I'll take you to the hospital. Hurry up and sit in the car already. You're bleeding all over the place."
"Exactly. I'll dirty your car. I don't have money to compensate you and I'm sure not selling my body. There's no need. I'll be dead by tomorrow morning anyway. No need to make a fuss," Bai Miyin said, sitting herself down on the grass.
"Bai Miyin!" Ji Kunpeng stomped his foot with frustration.
"Wait there," said Uncle Feng, getting out of his car and then opening his car boot to take out a small first aid kit.
The two men squatted beside Bai Miyin to flush her abrasions with some saline solution, dabbed up the blood and excess fluids with paper towels and wrapped up her forearm graze with some gauze. Pressure was put on the bleeding scalp wound with another piece of gauze, making her wince.
An open newspaper was placed upon the car seat.
"Girl, go with Kun to the hospital. I have to go to his house to see his parents for something. After that, I'll meet you both there. Then we will have a good discussion as to what to do with you."
Feng Jinbo and Ji Kunpeng helped Bai Miyin up, although she flinched at their touch, wincing. She took a limping step toward the car, only for the world to whirl into darkness, her eyes to roll up and for her to slump back to the ground. Feng Jinbo didn't waste anymore time. He picked her up and placed her into the car, putting the seatbelt on for her.
"Girl. Wake up. Wake up, girl," he patted her cheek, but there was no response, only a lolling of her head, which he carefully pushed back to lean back into the headrest of the seat. He laid the backrest of her seat down. "Kun, hurry up and get in. Take her straight to the hospital. Don't dawdle. See if you can wake her back up on the way there. From the way she moves, I think she has more injuries than she's letting on. I'll meet you there after I've seen your parents and dropped some things off."
"Oh. Oh. Yes. Alright."
Ji Kunpeng hurriedly got into the car and drove toward the hospital with a screeching of tyres, while Feng Jinbo packed up the first aid kit and returned to his car.
At the hospital, Ji Kunpeng carried Bai Miyin into the emergency department, not even turning off his car engine. The moment he entered the doors, the triage nurse made a call for help. Seconds later a stretcher bed was being wheeled out to meet them and nurses helped Ji Kunpeng lay Bai Miyin onto the bed.
"Is this your girlfriend? Sister? What happened?"
"She's my old highschool classmate. I picked her up on the side of the road," Ji Kunpeng replied and explained what he knew of Bai Miyin's story so far, helping to fill in all her details. "I don't know her date of birth though. My car is still out front. Give me a moment. Let me move it to the carpark and then I'll come back and help deal with everything."
"Well take her in for investigations and tests first," the nurses told him. "Are you happy to be put down as her emergency contact?"
"Yes. She has no one else at the moment and she seems to think people will be coming to kill her tonight. I think she's cracked. I don't think she's quite with it anymore. She was grinning like a mad thing. It was so scary. I haven't seen her smile since her mother passed away at the end of highschool."
"Alright. Go move your car before you get a parking ticket or someone drives your car away. Just talk to Teiya, the triage nurse when you come back in and she'll let you in."
Half an hour later, Ji Kunpeng had returned after finally finding a parking space in the overcrowded hospital carpark. He found a doctor and a nurse in Bai Miyin's cubicle, discussing the results they had received so far.
"Young man, is this your girlfriend?" the doctor asked when Ji Kunpeng arrived, looking angry and cross.
"No. She's just an old classmate," Ji Kunpeng took a step back in surprise at the doctor's fiery temper. "I found her injured on the side of the road."
Ji Kunpeng had to repeat Bai Miyin's story again and tell the doctor what he had witnessed earlier today. In truth, the moment he heard and saw Bai Miyin limping out her family's gate, laughing and crying while howling her freedom to the entire street, he had noticed she was injured. He had hurriedly gotten into his car to see if he could help her.
"Ah. I'm sorry then," the doctor's attitude toward him softened. "Her body is covered with bruises and scars. The CT scans show long term physical abuse. We're waiting for the results of the blood test, but considering how her vital signs are all over the place, I expect to discover that she's very unwell from malnutrition and likely has been for a long time. She's all skin and bone. Do you know much about her family situation? This is a case where the police might need to get involved."
"I'm not very clear on her family situation," Ji Kunpeng hesitated. "I only know a little from the hearsay on the street."
"It'll do for now."
There was a knock on the wall.
"Ji Kunpeng? Are you there?"
"Uncle Feng?"
Feng Jinbo was let into the cubicle and he nodded at the doctor and nurse.
"Old Feng. It's you. Do you know this young lady?"
"No. My nephew picked her up on the side of the street and I stopped to help stop the bleeding and put her in the car when she passed out. She was too light and seemed to be more injured than she was letting on. I came to see how I could help and discuss with my nephew and her when she wakes up, where she plans to go and what she plans to do afterwards. Since her family have disowned her, I'm willing to play that role for her, after all, she was well known in our circle for being a very good girl until her stepmother married in and she got caught up in scandal after scandal. Many of us suspect there's been foul play behind the scenes but couldn't do anything help her. So while I know of her, I don't actually know her personally."
"Well, since you're stepping in, I can rest assured that she'll be well taken care of."
"Just tell me what is needed and we'll arrange it."
"Excellent."
++++
Bai Miyin work groggily, feeling dizzy and sore all over. Her head was throbbing and her eyes were heavy. She felt the sting of a needle in her arm and smelled the antiseptic scent unique to hospitals. Safe. She was safe here.
Someone touched the back of a hand and she flinched back.
"Sorry. Did I surprise you?"
"Yes," she mumbled, finding it difficult to get the words out. She felt so weak and tired. She didn't want to do anything. Who was this handsome man by her bed? She didn't know him.
"Does anything hurt?" the man asked with concern, taking a tissue to dab at the corners of her eyes.
Bai Miyin nodded.
"Everything," she said.
"I'll let the nurse know to bring you some pain killers," the man said, picking up a button attached to a cord and pressing it. "The nurse will be here soon. You're alright. You're going to be ok. The doctor said your body is run down and you're pretty sick, but once you've recovered and your injuries heal up, you'll be fine. You just need to rest and recover in peace. No need to worry or be stressed about anything."
The door burst open right at that moment and an older man with a portly belly rushed across the room with a hand aimed at Bai Miyin's face. Recognising her father, Bai Miyin scrunched her eyes tight and cringed in the bed.
"Mr Bai, none of that here. This is the hospital. A public place," the man by the bed rose and blocked Bai Miyin, protecting her from her furious father.
"How dare you, Bai Miyin," Father Bai didn't seem to even see the man, trying to get past to hit his daughter. "Seducing men on the street. Not even one but two. You've been making up stories and spouting nonsense, airing all our family's matters to anyone who will listen. You've lost all our family's face. Just how evil can you get? If I knew I'd raise such an ungrateful brat, I'd have made sure you were drowned at birth. How dare you fake injury and illness to come to the hospital to complain about your family to the police. Do you think you'll be safe in here from us?"
"Mr Bai, I said, that's enough," said the man with an edge to his voice.
Not feeling the painful blow fall, Bai Miyin opened her eyes to see the man protecting her from her angry father. She looked at his tall and firm figure, her emotions mixed and complicated. It was the first time someone had ever stood up to protect her from her father since her mother had passed away. There was a sour and stinging sensation in her nose that made her eyes well with moisture.
While her father shouted at her in his fury, he couldn't get past the man. Meanwhile, Bai Miyin wondered why the man's back what was protecting her looked somewhat familiar. His voice was familiar.
Ah. That's right. Ji Kunpeng's uncle. The one who had stopped with the first aid kit. What did Kunpeng call him again?
"Uncle Feng?" Bai Miyin said in hesitation.
Feng Jinbo glanced back at her and gave her a warm smile.
"That's right. I'm Feng Jinbo. Your highschool classmate's uncle. I'm glad you still remember me."
"How could I forget?" Bai Miyin said. "You stopped to help me. Thank you."
"No need to thank me. You just rest and get better and then go out there to prove to your family that you can stand successfully on your own two feet and live a good life."
Seeing the two ignoring him, Father Bai felt his blood pressure rise another level.
"You are one of the men she seduced on the street? How dare you play with my daughter? I'll teach you a lesson."
"Mr Bai," the man turned his head and snapped. "Enough. If you can't be civil and talk properly, don't come into the hospital to disturb the patients."
"Patient? She's a patient? She's just a money wasting loser like her mother. Waste of time and effort. All they want is attention. All they want is to drain me dry. She's just acting and pretending to be sick to get more attention. Probably even hurt herself on purpose."
"Your daughter is covered in scars, bruises and all sorts of injuries. Her feet are deformed, she has bones that have been broken over and over again, as well as burn scars that show someone has abused her multiple times, and you say she's pretending? She has a fever of over forty degrees Celsius, blood tests that show she should have been sent to a hospital long ago because a head injury and that someone has been starving and abusing her, and you say she's pretending? She's been in a coma for two days, you didn't come earlier and you dare to call yourself her father and still accuse her of pretending? Are you a pretend father? Are you her stepfather rather than her biological father? She was so injured and sick when your family threw her out. Mr Bai, with such a character as yours, it's no wonder neighbours say she celebrated when your family disowned her and had her engagement broken off. If I were her, I would have too."
"Who are you? How dare you talk to me like that, you upstart?"
"Didn't you hear me say it earlier, Mr Bai? I am Feng Jinbo, the Seventh Master of the Feng Family. The head of the Feng Family Enterprises. Surely if you don't recognise me, you recognise my Feng family's company that has been working with yours for so many years. I suppose you finally got news that we are breaking off all relationships with your company? What? Now you hear the news, you rush over to the hospital to blame your daughter for the trouble you started yourself? Not convinced? Go back and think about how your company started up in the first place and which wife it was that helped you develop relationships with the other companies in our circle to start with. Who developed the initial trust and contracts? Who truly put in the effort to bring your little family out from the slums to live in the open as rich people today? You dare look down on your first wife's background as a farmer? Isn't a farmer's family still better off than one who has lived in the slums for generations, living off the trash of society?"
Feng Jinbo's barrage stunned Father Bai into speechlessness, causing his face to go from red, to white, to green and purple. All sorts of colours. Finally his face bulged with an eggplant purple before he fell down with a bang.
A nurse came in and exclaimed, calling for help.
Feng Jinbo turned around to look at the expressionless Bai Miyin who was staring at her unconscious father on the floor.
"Don't worry," he said, covering her view so that she could no longer see her father on the floor while the nurses busied themselves with putting him on a bed and examining him. "As long as I am here, you will not be wronged. Not anymore."
"Where were you before?" Bai Miyin asked, still staring at the spot where her father had been while he was being wheeled out of the ward room on a bed. Where had such a kind person been while she had been suffering in the depths of hell?
"I was still finding my way and afraid you wouldn't want me. You were too good for me back then. First in the class. Good at everything. Popular. And I was just an average student with nothing to my name yet besides my family name two year levels above you. You never even saw me. And then you got engaged and so I stayed away so as not to disturb you. I can't even recognise you anymore. Your features have changed so much. The doctor said it was because the bones in your face have all been broken and smashed at various different times."
"That wasn't what I meant," Bai Miyin shook her head helplessly. "I didn't ask you to confess your feelings. I was just asking where all the nice people have been hiding for half my life. I didn't mean you specifically."
"Well," Feng Jinbo rubbed his nose. "Now you know. You're free. I'm free. I have now made something of myself and have the ability to protect you. Although I am your classmate's uncle, I'm truly only two years older, so you don't need to call me that. You can directly call my name. I am and always will be here for you from now on. Will you let me protect you?"
Bai Miyin looked up at the ceiling, unsure of how to answer the man. He took her hand again but this time, she didn't flinch away. She let him hold her hand and somehow felt relieved. Safe. Enough to fall back asleep before the nurse returned.
+++++
Bai Miyin was in hospital for a week before she was discharged. Feng Jinbo was constantly by her side and when he wasn't able to, Ji Kunpeng was there. During that time, she got a lot closer to Feng Jinbo, enough that she felt quite comfortable by his side. He didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to and he listened to her opinions carefully.
When she was discharged, Feng Jinbo directly took her to his apartment to finish recovering.
"This can't be appropriate," she resisted Feng Jinbo, not wanting to get out of the car. "Unmarried men and women shouldn't live together like this."
"If you want to talk about appropriateness," Feng Jinbo combed his hair back with his fingers with a hint of both laughter and helplessness, "Ji Kunpeng and I have both been with alone with you in your hospital ward room. We have both been alone with you in the car. We are now, man and woman, alone in the car. You just got out of hospital, have no where to go and probably don't have any money either, right? It's going to be some time before the police and bank investigate your identity and allow your bank account to be taken back. If you lived alone, I would be worried about your family coming to make trouble for you. In this way, I can protect you and I have a spare room in my apartment anyway. You can repay me for now by helping with the cooking and cleaning while you recover. When you are better, you can go and find work, but right now, your health is fragile and you need help. I'm not going to do anything inappropriate to you. Can you trust me?"
Bai Miyin closed her eyes, clutching her seatbelt, trying to calm herself down. She didn't want to naively get herself into a situation she couldn't escape from again. Although she did indeed need help right now, she could easily imagine the 101 ways someone could take advantage of her vulnerability and exploit her. Trap her. Squash the life out of her.
"Bai Miyin!" a warm hand shook her with slightly panicked concern. "Look at me. Look at me."
Bai Miyin looked at the kind and handsome man and didn't know what to do. How should she make a decision? Why was it so hard to breathe? Was the air this stuffy before? Why couldn't she breathe?
"Breathe," the blurring man shook her again. "Open your mouth and breathe. Look. Breathe in. Breathe out. Take a deep breath with me."
Letting go of the breath she hadn't realised she was holding, Bai Miyin clutched at the hands that here holding onto her and followed his instructions to breathe.
"Have you calmed down now?" Feng Jinbo asked and Bai Miyin gave an embarrassed nod of the head, breathing normally. He pulled her into a tight hug. "You, girl, might make me old before my time. Don't do that again. Don't just drift off and panic until you forget to breathe. Breathing is important. Life is a gift. Don't stop living. Live to show those mean bullies what the you living a good life is like to make them even more jealous. They can be jealous but won't be able to touch you, making them even angrier. Isn't that a good way to get back at them?"
Bai Miyin had noticed that once in a while, this Uncle Feng could get really naggy and talk too much. He wasn't this talkative around his nephew.
"Ok," Bai Miyin felt like her head was muddled. It was easier just to do what she was told right now. She was still feeling sick and wanted to go back to sleep as soon as possible.
She undid her seatbelt and allowed Feng Jinbo to support her, obediently following from the car to the lift and then up to his apartment, leaning tiredly against him. She was just too tired right now.
At his urging, she took some clothes and went to take a quick shower, not even bothering to dry her hair before falling into the bed he had pointed out to her, barely having the strength to cover herself properly before falling back asleep. Not long later, Feng Jinbo stuck his head into the room and seeing her asleep like that, softly went to cover her up and tuck her in. He also took a towel to gently dry her hair.
When he was finished, he left a kiss on her cheek and crept out the room, closing the door behind him.
Ji Kunpeng visited quite often.
"Don't get the wrong idea," he told Bai Miyin. "I'm not interested in you in a boyfriend/girlfriend way at all. I only care about you as an old classmate and because I can't stand how you've been treated by your family and Gu Lun. I'm just doing what a good person should do to help you. And also, because I know my uncle used to have a crush on you in highschool. I'm just looking after you on his behalf. It looks like he still likes you. If you get together with my uncle, it won't be a bad thing. My uncle would definitely not treat you badly. My grandmother would be happy to see that he actually does have interest in girls. The rest of my family have been wondering if my uncle is bent or has no desires, while I was the only one who knew he was actually secretly pining for you. I was amazed when he didn't even recognise you that day when I picked you up. He really forced himself to stay away to avoid making his heart ache. If he had kept his eye on you, perhaps you wouldn't have been so badly bullied by your family."
"Shut up," a fist came down on Ji Kunpeng's head from behind when Feng Jinbo entered the room with a steaming mug which he put down on the coffee table.
Bai Miyin was sitting on the couch in the lounge where she had been looking out the window and Ji Kunpeng had been helping her to change the hot compresses used to relieve the pain on her deformed feet. The doctors had said that surgery could be performed to correct the deformation, but that her health wasn't up to it yet. They would have to wait until her health had stabilised and become more robust.
"What? It's all true," Ji Kunpeng scowled at his uncle who was only one year older than hi, trying to return the fist on his head with one of his own.
"Even if it's true, you can't talk about it," Feng Jinbo smacked away the fist that Ji Kunpeng had halfheartedly thrown in his direction.
"How are you feeling, Miyin?" Feng Jinbo easily fended off Ji Kunpeng and then wrestled him into a headlock, making him frantically tap the arm in surrender.
"A lot better," Bai Miyin smiled up at the man who was funding all her health care. Her heart felt bitter at all the accumulating favours and debts she was owing these two men. They both treated her so well. She had not been treated so kindly for such a long time that she had forgotten what it was like. Her heart felt warm, sweet and sour all at the same time.
There was a clattering at the front door and the three turned their heads to see Feng Jinbo's parents, grandparents and Ji Kunpeng's parents all flood into the little apartment.
"See? I told you Uncle Feng was hiding a woman in his house," crowed a little boy, Ji Kunpeng's youngest brother. "You all owe me now."
"Yes, yes," all the adults nodded, patting the cocky little boy's head absentmindedly. They crowded around Bai Miyin, making her shrink back in fright.
After looking at her silently for a moment, all the elders started talking at once, reaching out to touch Bai Miyin, examine the hot compresses on her feet and look her over. They all talked to her and Feng Jinbo at the same time, squeezing Ji Kunpeng out of the way.
Feng Jinbo squeezed into the crowd to push away all the people surrounding Bai Miyin and huffed when he saw that she had already fainted from fright.
"You all scared her!" he growled. "She's so sick and so weak. How could you frighten her into a panic?" Feng Jinbo turned to his parents who were Ji Kunpeng's grandparents, "Didn't I tell you that I would bring a girl you were happy with home when I was ready?" He glared at Ji Kunpeng's parents. "Didn't I tell you to stop sticking your nose into things that don't concern you?" He also glared at the quailing Ji Kunping, Ji Kunpeng's youngest brother. "Didn't I bribe you to keep this a secret until she's stronger and healthier and can handle meeting my parents?"
"That's enough, boy," said Feng Jinbo's grandfather, reaching out to pat Feng Jinbo's heaving shoulders. "Your grandmother heard the news and insisted on coming. Everyone understands you're worried about your girlfriend and your heart aches for her. We all got concerned after interrogating the truth out of Little Jiping's mouth, just wanting to find out what was keeping you so busy these days. It turns out you're rearing a wife. Were you only going to tell us about her after she had already given birth?"
"Grandpa!" Feng Jinbo squeaked, turning so red that it felt like his blood could be juiced out with a pinch of his skin. "She's not pregnant! She's just..."
"What? My grand-daughter-in-law is pregnant?" exclaimed the slightly deaf elderly woman sitting beside Bai Miyin and rubbing her abdomen. This was what roused Bai Miyin from her faint. Seeing her wake up, the old woman asked her directly. "You're pregnant with Feng Jinbo's baby?"
Bai Miyin turned so red with embarrassment and shame and panic such that she fainted again.
"She's not pregnant!" shouted Feng Jinbo with frustration. "She's barely even agreed to let me pursue her. You'd all better not scare her into running away, or you'll never hear the end of it from me. If she runs away. I'm running away after her."
"Uncle is mighty," crowed little Ji Kunping. "Uncle is domineering. Uncle will chase down the little aunt and corner her with kisses until she surrenders and gives herself to him."
Ji Kunpeng slapped a hand over his little brother's mouth to stop him from speaking.
"Little brother, if you don't know when or how to speak, you should learn to become a mute," he said.
"That's such a good idea," Feng Jinbo's grandmother cheered and clapped her hands. "That's the way it should be done. Go forth, my grandson and conquer the young girl's heart and body. Bring forth more descendants for our Feng family. How about now? Now is a good time. The young girl has fainted. If you take her now, then the deed will be done by the time she wakes up and she'll be pregnant before she knows it. Then she'll have no choice but to stay with Jinbo."
Feng Jinbo and almost all of the other people in the apartments all clapped a hand over their foreheads at this.
"Grandma, I can't do that to the girl I love. What do you think I am. A beast?"
"A beast," Feng Jinbo's grandmother nodded innocently. "You're definitely a beast."
"Not human?"
"Not human. My grandson is a domineering, wife chasing beast. As long as he is willing to show interest in a woman, Grandma will make sure he can have that woman. I'll hold her down. You do the deed. Make her yours."
"Wife, what nonsense are you spouting?" asked Feng Jinbo's grandfather, unable to take it anymore. "I forbid you from watching anymore of those rubbish romance dramas. Look what nonsense, inappropriate and illegal actions have filled your head."
"No! My dramas are my life," Feng Jinbo's grandmother wailed, taking hold of her husband's sleeve and swinging it, trying to act coquettish.
Her wails and complaints woke up Bai Miyin, while they seemed to give the rest of the family a headache.
Feng Jinbo took advantage of this distraction to pick Bai Miyin up to carry her to her bedroom while his parents blocked the view so that the old lady couldn't see Feng Jinbo carrying Bai Miyin away. It took a while to calm the old lady down and she fell asleep on the couch. The rest of the family huddled in the kitchen around the kitchen bench to interrogate Feng Jinbo who was making hot drinks for all his visitors. Nobody noticed his mother slip away into Bai Miyin's bedroom.
"So you're Bai Miyin," Feng Jinbo's mother sat by the bedside and took Bai Miyin's hand in hers. She felt the rough skin and callouses, and examined the scars, recognising the hand of a person who had done hard physical labour and also been abused. She gently rubbed a finger over an old burn scar. "Jinbo used to keep a diary in highschool, filled with romantic nonsense and record what he had seen you do that day or whether you had smiled. I happened across it once when I was cleaning his bedroom. I've always wondered what kind a person you were that you could make my cold and overly mature boy do such a teenager like thing."
Bai Miyin looked at the woman and wasn't sure what to say or how to respond.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"What are you sorry for? Did you do anything wrong?" Feng Jinbo's mother gave a gentle laugh and stroked Bai Miyin's head.
Bai Miyin shook her head, shrinking away.
"Then there's no need to apologise," Feng Jinbo's mother smiled. "Your parents and I were classmates back in the day. Who would have thought that your father was actually a scumbag behind his gentle demeanour?" She shook her head. "So I know about your background and where you come from. When I saw my son's interest in you during highschool, I also kept my eye on you. When he stopped paying attention, so did I. If I had kept a distant eye on you, I might have been able to help you a little. But now you are here in our Feng family. Although your mother and I weren't close, we knew each other. She was a good woman. I'm willing to take her place and continue taking care of you for her. If you don't like Feng Jinbo, that's fine. You can be my adopted daughter. That kid, Kunpeng is a bit interested in you as well, although he denies it. The way he looks at you when he thinks nobody is watching says everything. So, if you'd rather become my granddaughter-in-law, that's also acceptable. It's just a matter of whether you want to be in the older or younger generation. Your studies have been interrupted and your health affected. I saw the medical reports. They really made my heart ache. When you are better, you tell me what you want to do and I will arrange it. If you want to study, I will help you with the money and organise it. Just maybe not in this city. Any other city or even overseas, I can help you with. Why not this city? Because although I can protect you, your family and the Gu family united can easily bully you when I turn around. I think you'd prefer to go somewhere else. If you would rather work, we'll arrange for you to intern or to start out in our family's company or one of the companies under our enterprise's umbrella. With your qualifications, you'd only be able to start out from the bottom, but starting out from the bottom would be good for you. It will give you time to adapt, learn, study and grow. And however far you reach, it will be all on your own merit. You won't feel guilty about having had any strings pulled for you."
Bai Miyin listened and her heart did a series of painful tumbling and acrobatics. She didn't understand why this aunty would be willing to do so much for her.
"Good girl, don't cry," Feng Jinbo's mother said. "You have plenty of time before you have to make a decision. Your health has to get better, number one. Then you are probably going to have to have a series of operations. The doctors told me that there are many things wrong with your body due to the years of abuse. If you want to live with less pain and live a more healthy life, you are going to have to work hard. The rehab won't be easy, but if you persevere, maybe in five or six years, you'll be able run and jump, just like any other person. I'll also ensure you have swimming lessons, as an exercise that you can do to improve your physical condition. And then, perhaps, just perhaps, if my son has managed to move your heart by then and you are willing to accept him, maybe, if you are willing, you can give me a grandson. No hurry. No pressure. If you want and when you are ready. Our Feng family isn't like other families out there. We're very united. Once the family have agreed to accept you as one of our own, and I'm sure they will, you can rest assured that we will never force you to do what you don't want to do. We will always have your back and be your strongest support."
Bai Miyin sat up and reached over to hug the older woman hard. She was unable to speak but the older woman knew what she was trying to say, patting her on the back.
"It's ok. One day you will pay our family back everything we have helped you with and more. You have that potential. I believe in you. Don't hurry to pay us back. The greatest form of return would be for you to marry my son and give birth to a child in a few years. Otherwise I'm afraid the child will never get married with how much he loves you. He'd likely sacrifice everything he has for you, so please, whatever you do, don't break his heart ok? If you really can't be with him, let me know. I'll arrange for you to be sent overseas or to another state."
Bai Miyin squeezed the woman a little harder.
"From now on," Feng Jinbo's mother said, "you can either call me Mum, just like my son does, or you can call me Aunty Di. What do you prefer?"
"Mum," Bai Miyin croaked. "Call you Mum."
"Alright, my precious daughter. You can rest easy. Mum has you in her arms. She'll never let you go."
"Daughter?" Feng Jinbo entered the bedroom with a frown, carrying two steaming mugs. One for his mother and one for Bai Miyin. "What daughter?"
"Daughter-in-law then," Feng Jinbo's mother grinned cheekily at her son and then helped Bai Miyin sit straight on her bed, smiling at the girl's blushing reaction.
"That's about right," said Feng Jinbo with satisfaction. "What do you think, Miyin?"
Bai Miyin's blush deepened in colour and she covered her face.
"Would you prefer me to call you my daughter or my daughter-in-law?" asked Mrs Feng with sudden interest. It looked like Bai Miyin had already almost been won over by her son. Good boy. Good catch. She gave her son a look of acknowledgement, making his smile deepen just enough for a dimple to show. Ah. Her son was also nervous and cute.
"Should I call you Kunpeng's classmate, Kunpeng's girlfriend or my, Feng Jinbo's wife?"
Bai Miyin wriggled under the blankets in embarrassment. Feng Jinbo easily pulled her back out and back up into sitting, holding her in his arms. He began tickling her, making her wriggle and squirm to escape.
"Mum," Bai Miyin looked at the amused older woman for rescue. "Help. He's bullying me."
Feng Jinbo paused and kissed her forehead.
"You're still only going to call me 'he' or 'him' or 'that person'?"
"Annoying," Bai Miyin lowered her head and turning her face away from him.
"Is this how you thank your saviour and the person who has been taking care of you?" Feng Jinbo teased. "You're already calling my mother 'Mum'. What haven't you agreed to?"
"Your younger sister," Bai Miyin pouted, struggling to climb off Feng Jinbo's lap and out of his grasp.
Feng Jinbo's arms tightened around her so hard that she whimpered in pain, struggling to breathe. Feng Jinbo's eyes lit up.
"Wife. You've agreed to be my wife," his eyes glowed, staring at Bai Miyin.
There was a long silence. Bai Miyin carefully lifted her head to see what Feng Jinbo was thinking so that she could plan her next move, but her gaze collided with his passionate one and got stuck.
"You've agreed to marry me," Feng Jinbo repeated slowly and in a deep voice.
Bai Miyin lowered her head to look at her twiddling hands and then slowly nodded. Mrs Feng did say that this would be the best form of repayment to their family. Besides, Bai Miyin loved the warmth and generosity that the family had shown so far, even if it had frightened her half to death earlier.
Feng Jinbo took a deep breath and then lifted her head, cupping her little face with his big hands where he kissed her passionately, completely forgetting that his mother was sitting by the side of the bed and watching. Bai Miyin resisted at first but then surrendered to his passion and excitement, feeling her entire body melting into a limp puddle in Feng Jinbo's arms.
The voice of Feng Jinbo's mother broke into the heated moment.
"No husband and wife initimate activity for at least another three weeks," Feng Jinbo's mother said in a dry and amused voice. "I already spoke to the doctors to ask for advice. They said her body needs time to recover and recuperate. And then, she shouldn't get pregnant for at least the next three years, otherwise her body might not be able to withstand the pregnancy. We have to wait until she has fully recovered."
Feng Jinbo stiffened and then looked up at his mother, quickly turning lobster red.
"You can kiss, hold hands and hug at the most for the next three months. Nothing more than that," Feng Jinbo's mother said, standing up and straightening her skirt. "You hurt my daughter-in-law and I will disown you, my son. Don't delay her recovery or I will beat you into next year. Understand?"
"Yes, Mum," Feng Jinbo said in a stiff voice, repositioning Bai Miyin in his arms, as if to hide something.
"I'll start arrangements for the wedding. Let's aim to have the ceremony by the end of the year or beginning of next year, when Bai Miyin should have recovered enough from all her surgeries to be able to withstand all the stress and being able to stand freely. In the meantime, get dressed. Let's go and get the wedding certificate for the both of you now, since both of you have already agreed."
"What? Now?" Feng Jinbo and Bai Miyin looked up with astonishment.
"What better time is there than the present?" Mrs Feng pulled Bai Miyin off her son's lap and pushed Feng Jinbo out of the bedroom. As she did so, she shouted to the rest of the family, "The kids have decided to get married. Quick, you men take my silly son to get dressed into something nice. Call ahead to the department to book the last timeslot of the day. You ladies come here and help me with my daughter-in-law. Her feet aren't in good condition and she's going to need help. We have to take her out to quickly buy clothes and get styled before the office closes for the day. We have to make sure she looks beautiful and gets her certificate tonight."
By the end of the day, Bai Miyin, dressed in a new dress and made up beautifully, found herself sitting next to an equally dazed Feng Jinbo at a dining table within a private room of an expensive restaurant staring at the new wedding certificates in their hands while the whole family around them ate and drank a huge feast, plying them both with food and filling up all the bowls and plates in front of them with excitement. Still not having quite understood what was going on, Bai Miyin was pulled to perform the tea ceremony in front of all the elders and offer them tea.
Bai Miyin was given juice or tea to drink toasts, while Feng Jinbo was forced to drink wine until he could barely sit straight.
That night, the couple returned back home to their apartment late, carried, showered and changed by the excited and drunken family members. And then the couple were tucked scantily clad into Feng Jinbo's bed, and the family left noisily. It seemed that even Feng Jinbo's mother had forgotten about the doctor's instructions regarding intimate relations.
Bai Miyin wasn't drunk but she was so tired that she couldn't bring herself to move. Besides, she was encased in Feng Jinbo's iron arms, ensconced within his embrace. It was comfortable and warm. Feng Jinbo was so drunk that he had fallen asleep immediately. It took Bai Miyin a little longer before she could fall asleep.