She ripped off the IV drip on her hand, glancing at it, and grabbed the clothes beside her, throwing them on.
“Ah Ning, take Xiao Jinzi back.”
“Sister, you can’t go. Brother Yi entrusted you to me. If something happens to you again, how will I explain to Brother Yi!”
Xia Weiliang put on her raincoat and pushed aside the curtain, stepping out.
The rain was still falling. She had only taken two steps when the wound on her leg felt like it was splitting open. She lunged towards a puddle ahead, but fortunately, a pair of arms caught her!
“Thank you.” Xia Weiliang broke out in a cold sweat. When she turned around, she saw who it was. “Su Yuxi?”
Su Yuxi said nothing. He directly helped her back into the tent and pushed her onto the bed.
“I need to go…”
“I’ll go.”
He covered her with the blanket and looked up at her. “I’ll go look for her.”
She didn’t need to ask anything; he knew what she wanted to do.
Xia Weiliang watched him quietly. The person in her eyes gradually overlapped with the figure she saw before leaving the hotel in her previous life, but then they separated again.
Su Yuxi settled her in and left. Ah Ning also asked an old woman from the village to look after Xia Weiliang, and he was going to help as well.
“Those going to Wushui Village for rescue, gather here. Bring your equipment, water, food…”
Outside the tent, Lang Yue, holding a loudspeaker, stood on a rock and called for village volunteers.
Compared to Gumo Village, Wushui Village was much larger, with over two hundred households and more than a thousand people. Half of them were working elsewhere, and the rest were mostly elderly and children.
Because of its low elevation, it was severely affected by the disaster. Due to the mountain torrents, the road was cut off. The county fire rescue team was trapped halfway and was working hard to clear the road. Therefore, only a forest rescue team was currently helping to transfer villagers, and they needed to rush to assist immediately.
“I’ll go!”
“Me too!”
The owner of the general store raised his hand, about to volunteer, but was grabbed by his wife. “What are you going for? Are you trying to die!”
The owner shook off his wife. “I’ve been a coward my whole life. If I’m a coward again now, what kind of man am I!”
“You–”
His wife glared at him fiercely, then turned to Lang Yue and said, “Count me in!”
The owner was shocked. “See? Did you see? I told you long ago my wife is a true man!”
“Get lost!” The wife chuckled, annoyed, and quickly brought out the food, water, and flashlights she had brought from the general store to distribute to everyone.
Listening to these sounds, Xia Weiliang’s eyelids involuntarily closed again.
Suddenly, she opened them wide, afraid that if she fell asleep, she would return to her previous life upon waking.
What she feared most now was someone telling her that her rebirth was just a dream. That would be more cruel than learning she wasn’t the biological daughter of the Xia family.
But as soon as her mental focus relaxed, her body felt heavy, as if filled with lead, making it impossible to move.
That night, she developed a high fever.
The old woman gave her a bowl of local herbal medicine, and she drifted off into dreams again. In her dreams, she chased after that figure, always chasing, but no matter how she called his name, he never looked back…
When she woke up, it was already bright daylight. The rain had stopped, and the weather was gradually clearing up.
“You can’t even watch your younger brother properly, what’s the use of raising you?”
“Oh, Big Tree, how can you hit the child?”
“I’m hitting my own kid, what business is it of yours! Get lost!”
The noise outside the tent gradually seeped into her ears. Xia Weiliang slowly opened her eyes, confirming she was still in Gumo, and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Meow–”
“Ah, you little beast! How dare you scratch me?!”
“Meow–”
The cat’s meow was mournful, followed by a child’s cry.
Xia Weiliang recognized it as Xiao Jinzi’s voice and immediately got up. After lying in bed for a day and a night, sitting up made her head spin, and she almost fell over.
She put on her clothes and, limping, went out of the tent.
Opposite her, a man of medium build, holding Xiao Jinzi in one hand, threw her away!
A small black cat darted out from his feet, jumped onto the man, and bared its claws, fiercely scratching the man’s neck!
“Ah! You little beast!”
The man grabbed the little black cat and threw it fiercely to the ground. The little black cat flipped over and ran away again.
Since the man couldn’t catch it, he took his anger out on Xiao Jinzi, slapping her small face. As he was about to hit her again, he was suddenly pushed away–
“Try touching her again!”
Xia Weiliang trembled with anger. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed he could be so harsh with his own daughter!
The man knew Xia Weiliang was a big star and couldn’t afford to offend her, so he glared at her viciously.
Xia Weiliang went over and pulled Xiao Jinzi up. How could the little girl’s face withstand the man’s slap? Half of her face was bleeding, and her cheek was severely swollen.
Xiao Jinzi seemed stunned by the blow, forgetting even to cry. Her expression was blank. She opened her mouth slightly and then closed it again.
This was the child she had risked her life to save. Xia Weiliang’s chest was about to explode with anger. “Why did you hit her?”
“I told her to watch her brother. She fell asleep, and her brother’s face got scraped. Shouldn’t I beat her to death?” Li Dashu said righteously.
The old woman who had been trying to persuade him couldn’t stand it any longer. She came over and scolded him in dialect: “Xiao Jinzi is still so young, how could you hit her? This child has suffered a lot since coming to your home. You normally don’t provide for her food and drink, and you didn’t even bring her along when escaping! Your hearts, truly black!”
“You old hag, who are you calling black-hearted!”
The curtain was suddenly lifted, and Xiao Jinzi’s mother came out, holding a one-year-old boy in her arms, eating biscuits.
The woman put her hands on her hips and scolded, “Who are you calling black-hearted? You’re so kind, why don’t you take her in and raise her!”
Seeing this couple, and then looking at Xiao Jinzi, Xia Weiliang suddenly understood something.
She stared intently at the two of them and said word by word, “Yesterday, you weren’t forgotten. You did it on purpose.”
The couple’s eyes flickered. The old woman next to them sighed continuously, “It’s not the first time… it’s not the first time…”
“Old hag, what nonsense are you spouting!”
The woman was fierce, and the old woman dared not provoke her, so she lowered her head and walked away.
At this point, only a few elderly villagers were left in the resettlement area, or those like Xia Weiliang who were injured. The only young and strong individuals were this couple who had not participated in the rescue.
They didn’t feel anything was wrong. The woman even pointed at Xiao Jinzi and yelled, “What did Mommy tell you? When Mommy and Daddy sleep, you are responsible for watching your brother! How did you watch him? Isn’t it all your fault that your brother’s face is so bruised? Aren’t Mommy and Daddy right to discipline you?”
These words were spoken deliberately for outsiders to hear. In fact, the neighbors all knew that they never needed a reason to beat or scold Xiao Jinzi.
Lang Yue had gone to them several times about this matter, but it was useless, and eventually, they even refused to open the door for her.
Xia Weiliang stared at the woman, thinking of Xiao Jinzi’s effort to stuff half a piece of chocolate into her pocket, and her heart ached immensely.
She didn’t deserve such a good daughter at all!
Xia Weiliang pulled Xiao Jinzi over and pointed to her red and swollen face. “Then have you seen her face?”
The woman glanced at it. “So what? She did something wrong, and her father disciplined her!”
She didn’t want to say more. She went over, grabbed Xiao Jinzi with one hand, and dragged her into the tent. “You go in, don’t embarrass yourself out here. If any busybodies see, they’ll think we’re abusing you!”
Xiao Jinzi only reacted at this moment, hugging Xia Weiliang’s thigh and refusing to let go, crying even louder.
Li Dashu’s eyes widened. “Let go of my hand! Didn’t you hear me tell you to let go?!”
He raised his leg to kick her–
Xia Weiliang’s leg was injured, and she was being held by Xiao Jinzi, so she couldn’t move her leg. In her desperation, she squatted down and shielded her in her arms!
Before Li Dashu could even touch her, he was kicked hard in the stomach by someone–