After Feng's mother left, the room was deathly quiet. Feng Yechuan was now crippled and young. Even with a hundred malicious thoughts, he had no opportunity to act on them. He could only blame fate and rage at himself.
"How is that child Yechuan?"
"He's the same as usual, dear. Do you think Yechuan will resent you for what you've done? You've raised him for so many years, don't you feel anything?"
"We don't have much family fortune left, and Yechuan's illness is a bottomless pit. He needs to be sent abroad for consultation with top specialists. Our family can no longer afford it. I have to force myself to be hard-hearted. I don't want to be left with nothing when my own son returns."
"But Yechuan has called you Dad for so many years. Can you bear to see him bedridden for life?"
"It's already the utmost benevolence that I continue to support him. I hope his biological parents can be found soon. It's not right to raise someone else's child forever."
"You mean you plan to send him away in the future?"
"Do you want to support him for life? What future does he have in his condition? Keeping him is just a burden, and you'll have to take care of him in your later years."
Feng's mother shivered inexplicably, instantly sobering up. She said nothing, fastened her seatbelt, closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep. Feng's father started the car and drove away from the hospital.
From that day on, Feng Yechuan was moved from the VIP ward to a general ward. A young attendant was hired for him, and Feng's mother visited every few days.
He knew the Feng family had given up on him, and he had lost the chance to walk again. He became utterly dejected and stopped his rehabilitation. Those futile efforts only served to remind him of his crippled state each time.
After being discharged, he went directly home, and a nanny was hired to manage his meals. Feng Yechuan saw his parents less and less. They were busy searching for their own biological son and had completely forgotten about Feng Yechuan.
After searching fruitlessly for two years, Feng's father took up with two mistresses, hoping they would bear him a son.
Feng's mother was plagued by nightmares every night, constantly dreaming that her child was suffering in various places and calling out to her. She would wake up to find nothing, and her hair had turned white with worry over these two years.
Finally, Feng's father's wealth was all swindled away by the two mistresses. Feng's mother, consumed by grief, fell ill and died shortly after experiencing such a drastic change.
Feng's father became deranged and wandered aimlessly, and before long, he was devoured by wild dogs. Feng Yechuan was eventually sent to a welfare institute.
He was paralyzed in bed, becoming an anomaly in the welfare institute. He had a bad temper, was ostracized, and looked down on everyone there, earning the dislike of all.
No family looking to adopt children from the welfare institute took a liking to him. He grew up in the institute until he was eighteen, lacking talent, virtue, and any substance in his head.
He couldn't even maintain his handsome appearance, becoming a gloomy, emaciated figure. He looked as though a gust of wind would blow him over. The pitying glances from outsiders made him deeply uncomfortable, and his life had been worse than death these past years.
...
"Six thousand six hundred for the bride price is enough. My daughter is so beautiful, you're getting a bargain, you kid."
"Alright, alright. I'll go home and prepare. I'll come to pick up my wife tomorrow. You can't go back on your word."
"Of course not."
For the past ten years, Xu's parents' bodies had been ravaged into empty husks by the่่ซ (gu worms). Their son, Xu Dafu, was academically uninterested, skipping school to associate with hoodlums.
Knowing their time was short, they decided to secure a future for their son by arranging a marriage for Xu Zhaodi with Zhang Datou from the neighboring village.
Zhang Datou was thirty-three years old. His previous wife had divorced him two years ago due to domestic violence. At his age, he still had no heir. His family pooled together some money for the bride price.
No other family would push their daughter into such a situation for such a meager sum, so the Zhang family was growing anxious. After Xu's parents inquired, the two families readily agreed to the engagement.
"I won't marry. I won't marry. If you want to marry, marry yourselves. I already have someone I like."
"Aren't you ashamed, girl? I've watched you grow up. I know how many boys have been around you. Where does this 'like' come from? Can your father and I harm you?"
"Yes, Zhaodi. Don't mind his age. Older men are more caring."
Xu Zhaodi looked at them with hatred. These two were demons. She wasn't even an adult yet. She had run away and escaped over the years. Before she could find her Brother Feng, the police had sent her home.
The police had lectured Xu's parents. After the police left, her parents would give her a severe beating. All the money she had managed to save over the years was taken by her mother.
Sometimes she thought about just dying, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Several times, when Xu's parents were asleep, she had held a kitchen knife, but still lacked the courage to strike.
Days passed one after another. She was worn down to nothing, her body depleted. Now, to be sold by weight to support her brother, she was unwilling.
Xu's father stepped forward and slapped her hard. "You will marry whether you want to or not. Parental authority and arranged marriage. Tomorrow, you will obediently go with them. Next year, you'll give their family a healthy baby boy, and they won't mistreat you. If you're bullied in the future, your brother will stand up for you. It's not a loss for you to contribute to him now. Otherwise, if you're bullied by outsiders in the future, you'll have no family support and will be a laughingstock."
"I don't need you to back me up. I will only marry the person I love."
"You stubborn brat! Can love be eaten? If he really liked you, why wouldn't he come to propose? Were you tricked or taken advantage of by some boy?"
"Hurry up and tell us whose brat it is! Your father and I will go and demand justice for you. He slept with our daughter and didn't pay!"
These words were like throwing Xu Zhaodi's reputation on the ground and trampling it. Xu Zhaodi's face turned red, and she hastily argued.
"I didn't. I would never do such a shameless thing."
"That's good, otherwise the Zhang family might look down on you and haggle with us. This sixty-six hundred is already the lowest price; it can't be any lower."
"You... you are too much. Waaaa~"
She had caused too many scenes over the years. The Xu family was used to it and all went to sleep. After all, she had no money, and she couldn't escape anyway.