Chapter 14: Despair

Li Dayong's heart was bleeding. He knew he had personally pushed Li Yuehua into the abyss, but he had no other choice.

His heart was bleeding; each beat was a reminder that he had personally pushed Li Yuehua into this abyss of despair.

He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, bringing waves of pain.

But how could this pain compare to even a fraction of the agony in his heart at that moment?

He loved Li Yuehua more than himself, but the cruelty of reality forced him to make a choice.

He had thought of rebelling, of running away with Li Yuehua, but he couldn't.

He still had a family, still had responsibilities. He couldn't let his entire family be plunged into utter ruin because of his momentary impulse.

He stumbled down the hillside, picked up the unconscious Li Yuehua, and, smelling the heavy scent of blood on her body, his teeth grinding together.

Li Dayong's hatred for Li Yaqin grew wildly in his heart like weeds, impossible to eradicate.

Not only had his child been abandoned, but his beloved woman was half-dead. Li Yaqin, you just wait.

To quell this storm, to secure his meager future,

Li Dayong gritted his teeth, practically squeezing money out of thin air.

He begged and pleaded, pulling strings and using connections to get Li Yuehua a temporary job at the town's textile factory.

In those days, even a temporary factory job was an enviable position.

But that wasn't enough. Li Dayong also had to grit his teeth and pay the Li family three hundred yuan in compensation.

This sum was astronomical for a rural family at the time.

It weighed heavily on Li Dayong's chest, making it hard to breathe.

He scraped together the money, borrowing from every relative and friend he knew, barely managing to gather enough.

Every crumpled bill was soaked with his sweat and humiliation.

His hands trembled as he handed the money to the Li family; his heart ached as if being cut by a knife.

On the last day before Li Dayong was to return to the army, he came to visit Li Yuehua in the hospital.

A series of hurried footsteps broke the heavy atmosphere in the infirmary.

Li Dayong appeared in the doorway, fine beads of sweat on his forehead, clearly having run all the way.

He saw Li Yuehua's distraught appearance.

His heart felt as if it had been ripped apart by an invisible hand.

The pain was so intense he could barely breathe; he loved Li Yuehua.

"Yuehua, what's wrong?" Li Dayong rushed to Li Yuehua's side.

His rough, calloused hands reached out to touch her.

But then she froze in mid-air, as if afraid to disturb a fragile porcelain doll.

"Don't touch me!" Li Yuehua screamed, her body trembling violently as if she'd seen a ghost.

She desperately tried to avoid Li Dayong's hands, her eyes filled with fear and resistance.

It was as if the man before her was some kind of monstrous beast.

"Yuehua, it's me, Dayong! Don't you recognize me?" Li Dayong's heart was pierced with pain; he forced himself to endure the agony.

He tried to make his voice gentle, attempting to rouse Li Yuehua's senses.

His voice carried a barely perceptible tremor and pleading.

“Dayong? Dayong…” Li Yuehua murmured, her eyes gradually focusing, as if a sliver of clarity had returned from the chaos.

She looked up at the familiar yet unfamiliar man before her, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.

“Dayong, why did you force me to have an abortion? That’s our child!”

She suddenly cried out, her voice filled with grievance and despair.

Like an abandoned child protesting the injustice of fate.

“Yuehua, I didn’t force you to have an abortion! Are you having nightmares?” Li Dayong’s heart ached as if it were being stabbed, he said softly.

Trying to soothe Li Yuehua’s emotions.

He knew what Li Yuehua had gone through; he had wronged her, he just wanted her to calm down.

“You still say you didn’t? You clearly said that if I didn’t abort this child, you… you wouldn’t want me anymore!”

Li Yuehua’s emotions surged again, she cried.

“Yuehua, how could I not want you? I love you so much!” Li Dayong couldn't care less about anything else.

He pulled Li Yuehua tightly into his arms, warming her cold body with his own.

He gently patted her back, speaking softly like he was soothing a child.

“It's alright, it's alright, it's all over.”

Under Li Dayong's comforting words, Li Yuehua's emotions gradually stabilized.

Like a wounded kitten, she nestled obediently in Li Dayong's arms.

Feeling the warmth and security emanating from him.

“Dayong, you really won't abandon me?” Li Yuehua looked up at Li Dayong, her eyes brimming with tears.

Her voice held a hint of uncertainty and longing.

“Silly girl, how could I not want you? You're my future wife, the mother of my children!”

Li Dayong gazed at Li Yuehua with deep affection, his eyes filled with love and unwavering determination.

He gently wiped away Li Yuehua's tears, his voice so tender it could melt hearts.

"Mmm..." Li Yuehua smiled through her tears, a happy smile spreading across her face, like a rainbow after the rain, beautiful and moving.

Li Xiaoyong watched from the doorway, observing the people inside the ward.

He watched Li Dayong tenderly embracing Li Yuehua.

His eyes, his actions, everything revealed his deep affection for Li Yuehua.

Li Xiaoyong's heart was a jumble of emotions, a mixture of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors.

He had originally thought that once Li Yuehua's premarital pregnancy was exposed,

Li Dayong would discard her like a worn-out shoe.

After all, this matter had a huge impact.

Moreover, Li Dayong was a prominent figure with a promising future.

Besides, Li Dayong is already married. Unless, of course, his eldest sister and Li Dayong...

Li Xiaoyong's heart was a jumble of emotions, a mixture of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors.

He just couldn't understand what Li Dayong was after.

Could it be that he truly loved Li Yuehua so much that he was willing to disregard everything?

As a man himself, he didn't believe there was some information he didn't know.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of his fifth sister, Li Yaqin.

His fifth sister's escape only deepened his confusion.

Li Xiaoyong snorted coldly, turned and left the hospital, head down, hurrying home.

A heavy weight pressed on his heart.

How could he help his eldest sister escape this predicament? Where had his fifth sister gone?

Li Yaqin was the fifth child in the family, who had taken care of him since childhood and was his closest relative.

In Li Xiaoyong's memory, his fifth sister had always been a gentle and kind person.

She never argued with anyone, nor did she hold grudges.

But this gentle and kind person had run away.

Li Yuehua was pregnant out of wedlock; if this got out, her life would be over.

His fifth sister was so weak-willed; how could she dare to run away?

"Why did you run away? Did someone give you some leverage over you?"

The more Li Xiaoyong thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his heart filled with anger.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Li Xiaoyong's mind.

“I know my fifth sister’s character. She’d rather die than do anything against her conscience.”

“My eldest sister got pregnant out of wedlock… If it were my fifth sister who got pregnant out of wedlock, once word got out, my eldest sister would be safe, but my fifth sister’s life would be over.”

“After all, if my fifth sister were alive, it certainly wouldn’t be my eldest sister who got pregnant out of wedlock.”

A thought suddenly flashed through Li Xiaoyong’s mind.

“My parents favor him, and they also favor my eldest sister.” A bitter smile appeared on Li Xiaoyong’s lips.

He knew that in this family, he and his fifth sister would always be the ones sacrificed.

When the eldest sister was in trouble, the parents' first thought was to sacrifice the fifth sister.

And he could only watch helplessly as it all unfolded.

Thinking of his fifth sister's usual gentleness and submissiveness, Li Xiaoyong suddenly felt a strong sense of unease.

He knew his fifth sister's personality; she would never run away unless she was driven to the brink.

So, what kind of desperate situation could have driven her to this point?

Unless, "To survive, the only option is to run!"