Chapter 68: Hardships
Xia Yu sat at her desk until the bell rang, signaling the end of school. Only then did she slowly stand up, stretching her stiff limbs. She walked out of the school gates alone, not carrying anything back like she did yesterday. The tear streaks on her face had long since dried away from sitting for so long.
On the road, some people recognized Xia Yu, but upon seeing her gloomy expression, no one dared to approach her.
Soon, she reached a fork in the road. This time, instead of taking the main road like last time, she directly entered the narrow, overgrown path that always made her uneasy.
Yes, Xia Yu was already somewhat defeated. At this moment, she only wished someone would kidnap her halfway, but as she finally walked out of the path, there she still remained, unharmed…
Back home, predictably, her grandma was waiting with a long wooden stick used for firewood, ready to punish her.
Indeed, after Xia Yu skipped school today, Wang Ruixue told Xia Hong about Xia Feng’s situation, and Xia Hong called Xia Yu’s grandma. Since he wasn’t at home, there was nothing else he could do but leave it to the two elders to handle.
As soon as Xia Yu walked through the door, her grandma swung her whip. Without saying a word, she struck Xia Yu’s thigh with a fiery pain. But Xia Yu didn’t move; where could she go? Away from this family, she was nothing in these mountains.
Xia Yu stood there motionless, allowing her grandma to continue. She thought maybe if her grandma whipped her enough, she’d eventually stop. Sadly, such whipping wouldn’t be fatal.
After several lashes had released some of her frustration, grandma stopped and angrily asked, “Why skip class? You don’t want to study anymore, huh? Huh?”
But Xia Yu didn’t answer grandma’s relentless questions. She knew her voice would quiver with emotion, and what was there even to say?
Seeing that Xia Yu wasn’t showing any sign of remorse, grandma continued with a few more lashes before asking again. She couldn’t believe how stubborn Xia Yu was being.
Xia Yu had lost count of how many times she had been whipped, but she knew her legs and arms were almost numb. The pain caused tears to well up uncontrollably in her eyes.
Suddenly, Xia Ling’s giggles were heard from outside. This signaled to both Xia Yu and grandma that Xia Ling had come back.
Entering the kitchen, Xia Ling immediately saw Xia Yu trembling while standing as punishment and grandma holding the wooden stick. There was no need to guess what had happened.
Originally, Xia Ling wanted to ask grandma to stop, but seeing what grandma was holding frightened her.
Instead, she turned her attention to Xia Yu and anxiously asked, “Second Brother, what’s wrong with you? Why have you been acting like this all day?”
Looking at Xia Ling’s concerned face, Xia Yu couldn’t help but think back to when Xia Ling once threatened her. Forget it, she shouldn’t expect too much.
Seeing that grandma wasn’t focused on her anymore, Xia Yu slowly started moving upstairs. If nothing else happened, she wouldn’t come down tonight.
