Chapter 16 Don’t be afraid, I’m here~

“No, get away~~”

In her dream, Ye Wuyou found herself once again in that nightmare—those men were trying to put their hands on her. Disgusted, she tried to push them away, but at that time she hadn’t awakened her powers, so she was no match for them. They tore at her clothes, and in the end, Ye Wuyou could only cry in despair.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here. Don’t be afraid.”

Feeling the girl beside him crying, Ling Yu was at a loss. His hand instinctively touched her face, and seeing her so miserable and hopeless, he felt an impulse to pull her into his arms and comfort her.

Perhaps because of the warmth of his embrace, Ye Wuyou gradually stopped struggling. She unconsciously clung to him instead, sobbing harder.

“There, there. It’s fine now. It’s all over~~”

Seeing her like this, Ling Yu thought she must be dreaming of some terrible thing her family had done to her. Holding this frail girl in his arms, he felt for the first time just how hard her life must have been.

Ye Wuyou cried the whole night, and Ling Yu spent the whole night coaxing and comforting her. It wasn’t until nearly dawn that her voice finally faded away.

Boom~~!

A clap of thunder split the sky outside, startling Ye Wuyou awake. She opened her eyes and saw that it was pouring rain again. Slowly, she came back to herself.

“What the—did you go out thieving last night?”

Her gaze fell on Ling Yu’s face, where two dark circles hung beneath his eyes—clear signs of a sleepless night. She couldn’t help blurting it out in surprise.

Ling Yu rolled his eyes at her. If it weren’t for this troublesome girl, would he have stayed awake all night? And this was her way of thanking him? With a trace of sarcasm, he retorted:
“I wasn’t out stealing—I was stealing you. Since you’re awake now, get up and don’t disturb my sleep.”

His sharp words left Ye Wuyou baffled. She hadn’t offended him—why was he acting like a lunatic so early in the morning?

“Did you eat gunpowder or something? Snapping like that… what a lunatic.”

She rolled her eyes back at him and ignored him, stepping over him as she got out of bed to check outside.

But barely had she set foot on the floor when a drop of water landed on her head. Looking up, she saw the thatched roof leaking. Below, the ground was already damp—clearly it had been leaking all night, but she had slept too deeply to notice.

“The roof’s leaking. Do you want to get up and fix it?”

She thought she’d better warn him—if the rain got heavier, the hut might collapse. But when she turned toward Ling Yu, all she heard was the steady rhythm of his breathing.

“Tsk, already asleep again.”

She shook her head and didn’t bother him further, leaving the house instead. After all, she didn’t plan on staying here long. Even if the roof collapsed, it wasn’t really her concern.

When she reached the kitchen, Ling Zixiao was already tending the fire.

“Sister-in-law, you’re up? You could’ve slept in a bit, what with this rain. And… your eyes~~”

He turned, ready to suggest she rest more, but stopped when he saw her swollen eyelids from a night of crying.

“Huh? What’s wrong with my eyes~~?”

Ye Wuyou had felt some discomfort upon waking, but without a mirror in the house, and with nothing more than a bit of soreness, she hadn’t thought much of it.

“It’s nothing. They’re just swollen. I’ll boil an egg for you—you can roll it over your eyes. Maybe you just slept too long; that can cause swelling.”

Ling Zixiao had experienced it himself before.

“Go wash up, Sister-in-law. I’ll boil the egg right away.”

He handed her a basin of wash water. Only then, hearing his words, did Ye Wuyou recall her dream from last night.

She remembered almost all of it clearly—memories of the apocalypse in her previous life, the things she feared most. And in that nightmare of despair, she seemed to recall a voice beside her, comforting her.

Thinking of Ling Yu’s dark eye circles, she wondered: could it have been him? Was he the one who comforted her?

But she shook her head quickly. Impossible. With how sharp and venomous his tongue usually was, how could he patiently comfort her? She must have imagined it.

Soon the egg was ready. After rolling it over her swollen eyes, she didn’t waste it—she ate it.

Then she sat down at the table. A pot of thin porridge, boiled brown rice, and a few boiled cabbage leaves—that was lunch.

Looking at it, Ye Wuyou realized again just how poor this household was. Hardly any meat in sight.

Her mind turned to the value of things in this world. It was 1973. Reform and opening had begun, but people’s lives were still tough. A single egg cost 5 cents, a pound of meat 1.5 yuan. Ten pounds of meat—just 15 yuan.

And yet Ling Yu had spent 200 yuan on her without hesitation. That was enough to buy meat for a very long time. She suddenly realized how “expensive” she was.

If he had kept that money instead, the family could have eaten much better.

As she ate the plain porridge in silence, she glanced at Ling Yu. For the first time, she thought maybe he wasn’t such a bad man after all. If not for him, she might already be dead.

But then again—should she kill him one day, once she recovered? He had seen too many of her humiliations. And his poisonous tongue kept forcing her to admit she was ugly.

Forget it. That was for later. For now, she couldn’t kill him even if she wanted to.

“What are you staring at? Eat. Stop letting your eyes wander.”

Ling Yu had already noticed her gaze. If it weren’t for remembering how pitiful she’d been last night, he would’ve snapped earlier. Now, seeing her still holding her bowl and gawking around while he and his brother were already finished, he finally scolded her.

Ye Wuyou glared at him, her decision hardening. No matter that he had saved her—his mouth was too vicious. One day, she would kill him.

By the time they finished eating, it was already noon. The heavy rain outside had stopped, leaving only a few scattered drops falling from the eaves.