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墨書 Inktalez
"Get me some water," I said, wandering around her house. Glancing at the clock on the wall, it was already past nine in the evening. I wondered what her father did for a living and why he hadn't returned yet. I also pondered how the others were faring—were they as difficult to deal with as Zhang Xue?
I had no idea how to explain this to the others when I returned. Was I really the only one who had been seen through by a girl?
"Here’s some water." Zhang Xue placed a cup on the tea table and began tidying up her home. I could sense that she was stealing glances at me, as if she wanted to say something.
As I drank, I watched Zhang Xue busy herself.
Zhang Xue always gave me an elusive feeling; whether it was from the books she read or the way she spoke, there was something about her that was hard to grasp.
Li Zhinan's financial company operated on a nine-to-five schedule. Taking the subway line one home, their departure from campus almost coincided with Zhang Xue's. Was there a chance they might run into each other on the way?
If they did cross paths, would they talk?
And when she invited me up here, did she have any other motives? I felt that Zhang Xue must know more than she let on. Although I had exposed myself, perhaps there was still a chance to extract some information from her.
"Why is your father still not back this late? What does he do for work?" I asked, taking a sip of water while looking at Zhang Xue.
Zhang Xue offered a sad smile and replied, "He... I don’t know when he’ll be back. Sometimes I think it’s better if he doesn’t come back at all."
"By the way, what do you think of Li Taida?" Zhang Xue paused her chores to ask me.
I frowned and said, "I know what happened between him and his father, so I feel sorry for him. He’s stuck with such a burden that he can’t shake off. What? You seem to know about this too; you must have heard he’s planning to kill his father?"
Zhang Xue quickly waved her hands in denial. "I know Li Taida has a bad relationship with his father because he once shared stories about them with us. But I didn’t know he wanted to... kill his father. When he mentioned it in class, we were all shocked."
"I heard Li Taida got arrested, so I'm asking you to help him," Zhang Xue said, tears welling up in her eyes. To my surprise, she knelt before me and pleaded, "Li Taida is a good person. Don’t be fooled by his appearance; he seems like a delinquent, but he has a kind heart."
I reached out to support Zhang Xue, but she brushed my hand away and continued, "Li Taida never bullies anyone. He even adopted many stray cats and dogs outside of school and would go out to feed them. How could someone like that possibly be a bad person?"
Zhang Xue went on, "You know, because I come from a single-parent family and no one at home looks after me, I often get bullied. If it weren't for Li Taida, those people might still be picking on me. Zhao Erming is the same; those who bullied me have all been beaten up by Zhao Erming."
I honestly had no way to intervene, but Li Taida was a minor, and besides, Li Xian was not dead, so it shouldn't be too serious. Even if I didn't help, he probably wouldn't get a long sentence. With that thought in mind, I said to Zhang Xue, "Alright, get up. I can help you."
Zhang Xue stood up and sat down next to me.
Suddenly, Zhang Xue did something unexpected again; she removed her shirt, revealing her fair skin. Before I could react, she also took off her shorts. I hurriedly stood up and exclaimed, "What are you doing? Put that on!"
"In return for your help, I'm willing to do anything," Zhang Xue said with a look of desperation.
I grabbed her clothes and handed them back to her, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that her body was covered in bruises concentrated around her thighs and just above her stomach—injuries that were usually hidden by her clothing.
"Put your clothes back on first; I need to talk to you," I said.
Zhang Xue nodded but then tugged at my shirt hem. Seeing that I wasn't moving, she slowly put her clothes back on.
"Who taught you this?" I asked with a stern tone. "Why would you do something like this?"
"I learned it from my father," Zhang Xue replied, looking down.
A shock ran through me as I began to piece together the situation. She had been living alone with her father for years, and now at fifteen years old, she had blossomed into a young woman. Had Zhang Xue's father done something morally reprehensible?
"Tell me, has your father ever..." I couldn't bring myself to finish the question.
Zhang Xue nodded slowly and began to recount her experiences.
Zhang Xue's mother passed away when she was very young, leaving her to rely solely on her father. Until she turned twelve, her father treated her well, giving her whatever she wanted. Zhang Xue once thought that having her father was enough; she didn't need a mother.
But everything changed when she turned twelve.
One night, while Zhang Xue was still asleep at home, her father returned home drunk, accompanied by his Superior Leader. At twelve years old, Zhang Xue was quite sensible. She opened the door and welcomed both men inside, pouring them tea to help them sober up.
They sat on the sofa drinking tea while Zhang Xue went back to her room to sleep.
In the middle of the night, someone pushed open the door and walked in. Twelve-year-old Zhang Xue sat up in a daze as a figure climbed onto her bed. She wanted to scream for help, but a large hand covered her mouth. Then another hand slipped under her clothes.
She couldn't cry out or muster the strength to resist; this person was her father's leader.
Zhang Xue was terrified and didn't know what to do.
Then they violated her.
From that day on, Zhang Xue would have nightmares every night.
When her father finally came in, the leader was still lying on the bed sound asleep. Zhang Xue was frozen in fear, unable to say a word, only knowing how to cry. Her father looked at her disheveled clothes and the bloodstains on the bed and understood everything.
Zhang Xue would never forget that night. Her father rushed into the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and aimed it at the sleeping leader. Just as he was about to strike the leader's neck, Zhang Xue's father suddenly stopped.
The leader would never know that five years ago, he had nearly died at the hands of a kitchen knife.
Zhang Xue's father put the knife down and returned with a camera in his hand instead.
"Get next to him!" Zhang Xue's father instructed Zhang Xue.
Zhang Xue remained still, crying.
Then her father slapped her across the face, his voice low and hoarse as he said, "I told you to crawl over to him, do you understand?"
Fearful of being hit again, Zhang Xue obediently crawled over.
Her father pressed the shutter of his camera, capturing one photo after another.
Later, when the drunken leader woke up, he found himself on a large bed, stained with blood, and he had no idea when he had lost his pants. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as memories of last night flooded back. If his subordinate reported this, his life would be ruined.
Trembling, he stepped out of the room and immediately spotted Zhang Xue's father sitting on the sofa, his eyes red-rimmed. Next to him sat Zhang Xue, still without clothes and looking dazed.
The leader chuckled awkwardly, "Well, Zhang, you know I had too much to drink last night."
At that moment, Zhang Xue's father smiled and replied, "I won't say anything about last night; after all, you were drunk too."
From then on, Zhang Xue's father rose rapidly in his career. No one knew why the leader favored him so much. There was a highly competitive position that he clearly wasn't qualified for in terms of experience or ability, yet he ended up securing it.
People began to realize that he had powerful connections.
But only Zhang Xue's father understood that this came at the cost of his own daughter.
From that day on, Zhang Xue was afraid to sleep alone; she could only fall asleep when she was with her father. Whenever she closed her eyes, memories of that night would haunt her. A year later, when Zhang Xue turned thirteen, she gradually emerged from her nightmares, unaware that an even greater nightmare was just beginning.
That night, her father did the same thing to her again.
When Zhang Xue awoke in terror from her dreams, she saw her father's twisted expression and his bloodshot eyes.
Her father said, "It's been over a decade, and you look more and more like your mother. And since you've lost your innocence, why should I hold back? Right, my dear daughter? Isn't that true? What have I done wrong? I haven't done anything wrong."
Zhang Xue never expected her father would do such things.
From that moment on, Zhang Xue lived in hell.
At work, her father was respected, but at home, he was like a beast. As Zhang Xue grew older, she began to resist. But each act of defiance only resulted in more bruises on her body.
Zhang Xue had once seen a photo of her mother, and yes, they looked so alike.
As Zhang Xue resembled her mother more and more, her life became increasingly difficult. Her father had completely shed his false facade; sometimes he would even bring his superiors home. The way those men looked at her was always lewd, and Zhang Xue understood all too well what that meant.
Sure enough, that night, she once again became a victim of her father's power struggles.
Soon, more and more leaders came over, and Zhang Xue felt as if she were a courtesan in an ancient brothel.
So Zhang Xue thought that no matter what she was asked to do, as long as it was like this, it would be fine.
At sixteen, her heart had already grown numb.
"Beast!" Hearing Zhang Xue's words, I couldn't help but shout out.
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