I never expected that after nearly twenty years, regardless of whether Teacher Ning was healthy, I would be the one dying.

What would I become? In this place, there was nothing but cockroaches and insects.

Would I become an insect?

No… I didn’t want that.

I hated insects.

I felt myself about to pass out, yet I was just one meter away from reaching that bottle of water…

Let me have just one sip, I’m so thirsty.

Loud chaotic noises came from outside the door, but my eyes only focused on that bottle of water.

Bang!

The door was kicked open, and I heard someone rush in.

“Sister Zhang!!!”

What Sister Zhang… Don’t touch me right now, anyone, I just want to drink water.

I felt someone lift me up, and intense pain shot through my entire body.

Don’t touch me, right now, don’t anyone touch me…

“Sister Zhang!!” That person screamed heartbreakingly, their voice cracking over just those two words.

With difficulty, I turned my head to look at the person before me.

Who was this?

It seemed like Xiao Sun.

But Xiao Sun didn’t look like this.

This person had stubble all over, bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, and clothes full of wrinkles. He looked just like me—like he hadn’t bathed in over twenty days.

How could he possibly be Xiao Sun?

“I, I’ll call the police right now!!” he shouted.

“Don’t…”

Hearing the words “call the police,” I finally grasped the situation before me and slowly grabbed the man’s hand.

“Don’t call the police…” I said. “Just take me away… just take me away…”

“Huh…?” The man before me was stunned, then frowned. “Sister Zhang, you… are you sure?”

“I’m sure…” I said with the last of my strength. “Whatever you do, don’t call the police… please…”

…

When I opened my eyes again, I saw a pure white ceiling.

I didn’t know where I was, only that I was lying somewhere very comfortable.

I must have reached heaven.

Vaguely, I suddenly felt someone touching my arm.

I instinctively screamed and pulled my hand back. I seemed to have recovered some strength, though my skin was still shriveled.

“Ah!” A girl in a nurse’s uniform jumped in fright. “You, you’re awake? Please don’t move, I’m setting up your IV.”

“Don’t touch me!!” I shouted. “No one touch me anymore!!”

The nurse before me seemed terrified and involuntarily took half a step back.

“Sister Zhang!!”

A man and a woman pushed the door open, with someone dressed as a doctor following behind them.

Only then did I recognize that the man before me really was Xiao Sun. He looked so weathered, as if he had aged ten years.

The other girl was Mengmeng, her face full of worry.

Had her honeymoon ended? Did I… cause her trouble?

“Sister Zhang, you’re finally awake. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?” Xiao Sun asked with some concern. “Does your abdomen hurt? Are you dizzy?”

After speaking, he reached out to grab my arm, but I dodged in absolute terror.

No, I couldn’t let Xiao Sun touch me.

I was just too filthy.

“Don’t touch me…” I said. “No one can touch me…”

“Sister Zhang…” Xiao Sun’s eyes were bloodshot. “It’s okay, everything’s okay now. You’re safe. We’re here with you. No one will hurt you anymore.”

“No… I’ll never be safe…” I shook my head somewhat absently. “You should all leave… no one look at me… no one can touch me…”

“But we need to give you an IV. You’re somewhat malnourished right now…” Xiao Sun said in an extremely gentle voice. “Once you recover a bit, I’ll take you to eat your favorite desserts, okay?”

The gentler Xiao Sun’s tone was, the more my heart ached.

The happiness that I could once touch by standing on tiptoes and trying my hardest—I could never reach it again now.

“That’s right, that’s right!” Mengmeng also squatted down before me with tears in her eyes. “Sister Zhang… I bought your favorite peaches for you, but you can’t eat them yet. Will you be good and listen to the doctor, okay?”

Seeing my condition, the person dressed as a doctor slowly took a step forward and said to me in a low voice, “Miss Zhang… I deeply sympathize with your ordeal and understand that you don’t want anyone to touch you… but right now we’re treating your condition. How about you make a compromise? Under normal circumstances we won’t touch you, but in critical moments and medical situations we must, otherwise your condition will become more dangerous.”

Critical moments and… medical situations?

Yes, except for critical moments and medical situations, no one could touch me.

I slowly lay down, letting my head fit as closely as possible with the pillow. This feeling was truly comfortable.

“Sister Zhang…” Xiao Sun sat beside me. He seemed to want to hold my hand but didn’t move for a long time. “These past days I’ve been looking for you… I’m sorry… I was too stupid… I never imagined you’d be so close to home…”

“It’s okay,” I said with a bitter smile. “Xiao Sun, never mind you—even I never imagined my biological parents would do such a thing.”

Soon, the nurse set up my IV and left the room with the doctor.

Seeing them leave, Xiao Sun dragged his chair closer to me. Mengmeng tactfully stood by the door, staring out the window at the passersby outside.

I had never seen him wear such an expression.

“Sister Zhang…” he said with furrowed brows. “Why won’t you let me call the police…? I don’t know if your thoughts were confused at the time, but shouldn’t that man face legal punishment? Without your permission, I already collected samples of the fluids that man left in your body. If you need it, we can have him imprisoned immediately. No matter what leverage he has, it doesn’t matter—I can pull strings to get a rapid police response. He won’t have time to react.”

Have Butcher Ma imprisoned?

No… I didn’t want to do that.

I took a deep breath, looked into Xiao Sun’s eyes, and said very seriously, “Xiao Sun, do you know? In our village, once the betrothal gifts are given and the parents nod their approval, we’re already considered husband and wife. Before, someone was trafficked to our village, and after the village secretary mediated, that girl simply registered a marriage certificate and stayed there forever.”

“What…?” Xiao Sun was clearly stunned. “Sister Zhang, what are you saying? How could such a thing happen…?”

“You’ve never fought legal battles with mountain folk, have you?” I said with a bitter smile. “Many times, local customs are also important sentencing considerations. My parents took his betrothal gifts, so by custom we’re husband and wife. Even though this is illegal, it’s still the local customs and practices.”

“You’re saying…”

“Xiao Sun, let me quiz you,” I slowly turned my head to look at him. “What crimes did that man commit?”

“Illegal detention, intentional injury, human trafficking, rape,” Xiao Sun answered without hesitation.

“Now ‘human trafficking’ is very difficult to establish. Even if the remaining three charges are all proven, with combined sentencing for multiple crimes, what’s the maximum sentence this person could receive?”

After hearing this, Xiao Sun slowly narrowed his eyes…

“Twenty days of illegal detention… intentional injury… rape…” He quickly discovered the problem. “If the circumstances are serious, it’s generally life imprisonment. If the situation is extremely egregious… he could get a death sentence with reprieve…”

“Let me ask you again—how long does ‘life imprisonment’ actually last?”

“With good behavior, a maximum of around twenty-two years.”

“And how is ‘death sentence with reprieve’ handled?”

“‘Death sentence with reprieve’…” Xiao Sun slowly lowered his head, unable to say a word.

“You and I both know that ‘death sentence with reprieve’ doesn’t mean death, so I can’t let him go to prison,” I said. “If he lives peacefully in prison, that’s unfair to me.”