Xiao Shan stared at her until she finished a bowl of congee. After a pause, she looked up and naturally handed the empty bowl back to Xiao Shan.
Her demeanor was as if she considered him a servant.
Truly a young lady from a good family.
Xiao Shan found it amusing. He deliberately put on a stern face and said coldly, "Can't you speak?"
She was stunned by his question, and vigilance resurfaced in her eyes.
Xiao Shan felt something was odd, as if something was amiss.
Just now, after finishing the congee, there were some specks of it on her lips. If he hadn't been mistaken, her hand seemed to have made a wiping gesture, not with her hand, but pinched between her thumb and index finger, as if holding a handkerchief.
This indicated it was a habit left over from her previous life.
Upon realizing it, a brief look of confusion crossed her face.
This was the strange part.
Xiao Shan was indeed a rough man, but his observational skills were sharp. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risen from an unknown soldier to a general.
Her eyes again fixed on the empty bowl, her meaning obvious.
"Speak! Otherwise, don't expect any more food!"
This little beast, with her wildness, needed to be tamed.
Hearing his command, her beautiful eyes flashed with anger, bringing her entire face to life.
They stood in a stalemate for a while. Xiao Shan snorted coldly and turned to leave.
The woman's shoulders slumped. She touched her aching stomach and became lost in thought again.
In the end, she did not receive another bowl of congee.
This led her to mentally categorize Xiao Shan among human traffickers.
Though one used a whip and the other emphasized tactics, their essence was the same: they wanted to turn her into a docile beast of burden.
Never!
Xiao Shan ate in the kitchen and returned to the room to find the young lady back in bed.
There was only one bed in the room, which was barely enough for him. Now with another person, they could squeeze together. He would build a larger one another day.
He had gone to the restaurant after hunting today and had been busy since returning, not having had time to tidy up himself.
He washed himself with cold water outside, wearing only a loose pair of half-pants. The original quilt, stained with blood, had been thrown out. Now, he was using the only new quilt in the house.
As his hand touched the quilt, the woman nimbly turned over. In the process, she seemed to have pulled a wound, her entire face contorting in pain.
Her gaze was wary, as if ready to fight to the death.
"Relax, with your body, I have no interest."
Although he found her somewhat pleasing to the eye, he wasn't so desperate that he would prey on a frail, chicken-like woman.
Moreover, he had always been uninterested in matters between men and women.
He let out a soft scoff and looked at the still tense woman, saying, "You've been starving for too long, and you can't eat too much at once. In another hour, go to the kitchen and have another bowl of congee. And avoid overeating."
With that, while she was still dazed, he snatched the quilt, stretched out his long legs, and lay down on the outer side.
"I have to get up early tomorrow!"
As if talking to himself, or perhaps to her, Xiao Shan lay flat and closed his eyes, his broad body occupying most of the bed.
For a long time, there was no movement, but Xiao Shan knew that the little thing's gaze was fixed on him, like a small mouse standing at the entrance of a hole, observing the outside world. As soon as there was any sign of trouble, it would immediately retreat to a safe zone.
Although the analogy wasn't quite fitting, this image appeared in Xiao Shan's mind.
Sigh—
She was pitifully timid, yet always put on a fierce, overconfident front. What was the point of that ferocious expression?
Xiao Shan ignored her defensiveness and slept soundly. It wasn't until he felt the person inside cautiously cross over him and get off the bed that he heard movement from the kitchen soon after.
A while later, she returned. For convenience, he hadn't extinguished the candle. Squinting, he saw her standing barefoot on the floor, listlessly, not moving towards the bed.
A surge of anger welled up in Xiao Shan's chest.
Before he could figure out the source of this anger, the woman had already walked to the wall and squatted down, burying her head between her legs.
Was she planning to stay huddled there for the night?
Xiao Shan exuded a chilling aura. He swung his long legs off the bed and walked to the wall. Before she could react, he picked her up in her squatting position.
"Ah! Let—"
"Shut up!"
She doesn't cry when she should, but cries out when she shouldn't! Spoiled her!
"I bought you to serve me! Don't be so sickly. If you can't cook or wash clothes within three days, I won't keep you!"
He tossed her onto the bed, ignoring her pained grimace, and impatiently commanded again, "Sleep!"
...
The next morning, Xiao Shan prepared breakfast. It was still crystal clear white rice, cooked even thicker this time. He also boiled a few eggs.
The woman sat on the bed, staring at him with an unfriendly expression.
During the day, she finally got a clear look at the man's appearance. He wasn't an old man as she had thought, but his beard, which hadn't been trimmed, covered half his face. He had thick eyebrows and piercing eyes, full of spirit.
Thinking of the man's actions yesterday, she gnashed her teeth in hatred.
He dared to hold her in his arms. If she hadn't been unable to move with her back to him, she would have bitten his neck!
"Eat first!"
Still in a commanding tone, he directly brought the low dining table to the bed.
She pursed her lips, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes looking at the eggs.
She hadn't eaten eggs in a long time.
Soon, peeled eggs were thrown into her bowl.
After peeling two eggs, the man casually asked, "Name?"
She opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. Her gaze once again showed confusion.
Xiao Shan's eyes narrowed. His large hand reached out and pried open her mouth.
Indeed, he hadn't been mistaken. The root of her tongue was bitten open, and the wound had not healed. That area had turned black and swollen. It was obvious she had tried to commit suicide by biting her tongue.
No wonder she didn't chew when drinking congee; he had thought she was just very hungry.
Yesterday, when he cleaned her, he had seen the cinnabar mark on her arm. So, this purity was protected with her life?
He had been too naive. How could those inhuman traffickers let her go just because she was ugly?
After all, she possessed a body that any man would find irresistible!
She bristled again like a hedgehog, not even willing to eat. She retreated to the edge of the bed, watching him warily.
Was she trying to escape again?
Xiao Shan looked at her with a complex expression, his heart softening.
How much suffering had she endured?
"Eat! I bought you to cook and wash clothes, nothing else. If you find your family later, I won't keep you."
"Fam...ily?" She said it with difficulty, but her voice was clear, like a nightingale's song.
The strangeness reappeared.
Xiao Shan frowned, "Don't you remember who you are?"
Yes, she didn't remember.
She didn't know who she was or where her home was. For several months, she had woken up in the hands of human traffickers.
They beat her, starved her, and even tried to assault her.
It hurt too much, so she could only force herself to be fiercer and fiercer. When people approached, she would bite them, or bite herself.
They all said she was crazy.