Bang—

When the train stopped again to wait for another express train to pass, the fat woman finally lost her temper.

“What kind of lousy train is this? It keeps stopping! This trip is a waste. It’s almost New Year, and I have to take a burden like you home. Tickets are hard to buy, and it’s freezing. Are you trying to wear me out?”

The thin woman remained silent, her eyes filled with despair.

[After being kidnapped for a year, I was finally rescued by the police. I thought I would feel warmth returning home, but my mother didn’t ask if I was hurt or if I had suffered. She just looked at my belly with disgust and kept complaining about her own hardship. My parents have always been like this. As long as my grades weren’t perfect, they would scold me for being lazy and remind me of their sacrifices as if all their suffering was because of me. To them, I am always a sinner.]

She was a recently rescued kidnapping victim, and the woman beside her was her mother. The mother complained while the daughter despaired, revealing a strained relationship.

Hearing the fat woman’s outburst, a man in a Mao suit sitting across from them spoke kindly: “Sister-in-law, are you going home? Don’t get angry right before New Year.”

The fat woman immediately vented her frustration.

“Going home for New Year, going home for New Year! What’s the point when everything keeps going wrong? And look at this disgraceful girl—” she glanced at her daughter’s frostbitten face and became irritated again.

She curled her lips. “Don’t you know how important a woman’s face is? Look at your frostbite! Who would marry you looking like this?”

Tinglan finally spoke, her voice ice-cold: “Marry? Do you think I can still get married?”

Her mother grew even more agitated. “Why not? You at least went to college for a year. You’re educated and not bad-looking. Your father can find you a man—maybe a widower or an old bachelor from our hometown. He wouldn’t be too picky.”

Tinglan laughed bitterly and traced a large “X” on the fogged-up window.

“Marrying me off to some uneducated old man in a rural village is no different from selling me off to a remote mountain village. You really love me.”

Her mother jumped up. “You ungrateful girl! Do you know how many times I went to the police station this year? Do you know how much you’ve ruined our family’s reputation?”

The argument caught the attention of the other passengers. They whispered among themselves:

“Did she elope instead of finishing college?”

“Maybe she committed a crime? Why else would she have been at the police station?”

“She looks nearly 30, but she’s so skinny.”

An elderly woman hesitated before asking, “Big sister, is this your daughter? She looks like she’s suffered a lot. What happened?”

The fat woman hesitated, unwilling to admit the truth. She simply glared at her daughter and muttered, “She brought this upon herself. It’s too embarrassing to talk about.”

[A female college student kidnapped on a train—what a disgrace. Tinglan was smart and beautiful. She was admitted to Kyoto University of International Business and Economics in 1989. Everyone envied her. But who would have thought she’d be kidnapped on her way back to school during her sophomore summer break? If people found out, it would be humiliating. How could a college student be abducted?]

Hearing this, Zhao Xiangwan looked at the thin woman again. She had enrolled in university two years earlier than herself and was at most 21 years old, yet she looked much older, with none of the vibrancy a young girl should have.

Zhao Xiangwan recalled reading about the case in the newspaper. Her aunt had used it as a warning for her and her cousin Fan Qiuhan.

“Girls must be careful when traveling alone. Don’t talk to strangers. Don’t accept food from them. Never reveal your name, address, or school. If you’re targeted and taken to some remote village, you’ll have no way to escape.”

Now, the very victim was sitting in front of her. Although rescued after a year, the scars of her suffering were etched deep into her soul.

“Shame on you, shame on you! That’s all you care about! Fine, I’ll just die, would that make you happy?”

Tinglan’s voice broke with anger and sorrow as she finally exploded, her outburst echoing through the train car.

Her cry was filled with despair, making everyone feel uneasy. Those who had been watching curiously now felt pity and began to speak up against her mother.

“Big sister, don’t push her too hard. Look at how thin she is. Take her home, make her something warm, and care for her.”

“Yes, auntie, I don’t know what happened, but don’t scold her here. There’s nothing shameful about surviving. Being alive is what matters.”

“Tomorrow is the Little New Year, and families should be together. What’s more important than health and unity?”_

When Tinglan’s mother heard everyone’s persuasion, she turned away, snorting, “You foolish girl, why are you tormenting yourself? We finally brought you back. Why can’t you behave?”

Tinglan was lost in self-abandonment.

Suddenly, she stood up and pushed the window open with both hands. The biting winter wind rushed in, making the temperature in the carriage drop suddenly. Everyone shivered.

“Who opened the window? It’s freezing!”

“What are you doing? Close it!”

Amid the exclamations, Tinglan stuck her head out of the half-open window, stretched her arms, and laughed hysterically. “Hahaha… So what if I’m back? I’ll still be despised!”

Sitting down, her loose cotton jacket hid it well, but now standing, her slightly protruding belly became visible.

[I am pregnant with my enemy’s child. It’s been over five months. Abortion is dangerous. What should I do? When I last tried to escape, they pulled my right hand so hard that my shoulder joint was severely dislocated. I was beaten daily, my head bled, and it hasn’t healed yet. I’m only 21, yet it feels like I’m walking on air. My mother despises me, my father refuses to see me. Do they wish I were dead? What’s the point of living like this?]

Tinglan’s mother suddenly yanked her back and slapped her hard.

A crisp “Snap!” echoed. Everyone shuddered—this mother was ruthless to her own daughter!

Even after slapping her, Tinglan’s mother wasn’t satisfied. She kept hitting her arm, crying and shouting.

“I’ll beat you to death, you wretched girl! Do you know how much your father and I have worried about you? You’ve never once fulfilled your filial duty, yet you dare to die first? Do you know how our former colleagues at the fertilizer factory mock us? Do you know that after your disappearance, your father had a stroke and nearly died?

We sold our house searching for you. Now, we can only afford to rent a shabby place. What more do you want from us? We finally found you, yet you act like a hedgehog, always trying to die! You were so obedient as a child. If I had known you’d turn out like this, I would have rather died outside!”

Tinglan remained motionless, numbly enduring her mother’s fury.

During the year she was kidnapped, Tinglan suffered immensely. Once a cherished daughter, she was reduced to a village wife. A simple girl turned into a tool for venting, shackled at the bedside, tricked, violated, and humiliated. Forced to bear a child. It was enough to break anyone.

Tinglan endured it all.

But today, her mother’s scolding and rejection cut deeper than any suffering. Her soul felt as though it had been whipped, leaving her breathless from the pain. She could no longer bear it.

[I am a sinner. I am a sinner.]

She repeated the thought over and over, her tears silently soaking into her navy-blue jacket, leaving no trace. She no longer struggled, simply lowering her head, allowing her mother to beat her. Her spirit drained away.

For some reason, watching Tinglan suffer stirred something in Zhao Xiangwan. Unpleasant childhood memories surfaced.

To prevent Zhao Xiangwan from outshining Zhao Chenyang, her adoptive mother, Qian Shufen, never spoke kindly to her. No matter how much she achieved or how much housework she did, she was only met with scorn. “Why did I give birth to such a useless girl? You’re nothing but a burden!”

Zhao Xiangwan still remembers graduating from elementary school, begging her mother to let her continue studying, only to be beaten with a broom and mocked: “Why would a girl need so much education? You’d be better off raising chickens!”

Thinking of this, Zhao Xiangwan, who usually stayed out of others’ affairs, looked at Tinglan’s mother seriously. “Stop hitting her! She’s already severely injured.”

Tinglan’s mother hesitated, her raised hand pausing midair.

Zhao Xiangwan turned to Tinglan. “It’s not your fault. Don’t be afraid.”

Tinglan slowly lifted her head, her tear-filled eyes showing a faint glimmer of light.

Though Zhao Xiangwan was young, her serious expression made Tinglan’s mother—who cared deeply about others’ opinions—feel pressured. She snorted, withdrew her hand, and sat down awkwardly.

The carriage grew quiet.

Tinglan no longer struggled and sat quietly. Her mother stopped scolding, though her face remained dark.

Six hours later, the green train finally arrived in Luo County.

Zhao Xiangwan stood up with her luggage. Tinglan’s mother, sitting beside her, also began preparing to get off.

Zhao Xiangwan glanced at the dazed Tinglan, recalling the inner thoughts she had overheard during the journey.

[The elderly woman on the train seemed pitiful, saying her son was sick and hospitalized in Kyoto. She had never traveled far before and begged me to help her get to the First Hospital.

I believed her. Her pitiful eyes reminded me of my grandmother. If I were sick one day, my grandmother—who had never left the countryside—would be just as lost. So, I stayed with her, helped her off the train. But as soon as we stepped outside, two men jumped off a small truck. I was knocked unconscious and sold deep into the mountains.]

The reason female students fall victim to such schemes isn’t their intelligence or education level but their kindness and inexperience. Kidnappers often feign weakness, luring in good-hearted people. Who could escape their grasp?

Thinking this, Zhao Xiangwan smiled kindly at Tinglan, about to speak, when Tinglan’s mother suddenly became defensive. Seeing her approach, she immediately shielded her daughter and glared. “What do you want?”

Zhao Xiangwan couldn’t see Tinglan’s reaction, so she had no choice but to turn and leave.

Although Luoxian Railway Station was small, many people traveled home for the Spring Festival. Following the crowd out of the station, Zhao Xiangwan walked south for half an hour to reach her aunt Zhao Dacui’s house.

After her divorce, Zhao Dacui bought an old house in the county’s old town, near Luo County Middle School. The house, built by early residents, had only one bedroom, a utility room, and a small toilet.

The bedroom, about 16 or 17 square meters, served as a dining room, living room, and study. It was packed with a dining table, desk, wardrobe, bed, sofa, coffee table, and two chairs.

Lacking a kitchen, Zhao Dacui extended the eaves by one meter to create a small cooking area. She set up a coal stove and a wok, using an old table as a cutting board. Though simple, it kept the rain out and was sufficient.