After My Flash Marriage with the Sick Beauty, I Reached the Pinnacle of My Life - Chapter 100

If she could, she wanted to completely abandon her old life.

However, her mother didn’t have that option.

Ye Murou specifically bought a train ticket and traveled for a full day, arriving just as night fell.

She pulled her coat tighter and headed toward the restaurant where Wei Xixue had agreed to meet. Wei Xixue also finished work around the same time, and they arrived almost simultaneously.

The other woman looked very tired. The medical profession wasn’t easy, especially for a well-known doctor like Wei Xixue.

Wei Xixue took off her glasses. “You said you want to cover her medical expenses?”

Ye Murou nodded.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to acknowledge her?”

“That’s different.” Ye Murou lowered her head. “My presence won’t do her any good.”

Wei Xixue, however, said, “She wants to see you.”

Though it was an extremely flat statement, Ye Murou couldn’t take it anymore. “I don’t want to see her!”

She raised her reddened eyes, which were filled with extremely complicated emotions.

“She abandoned me. It wasn’t her fault, but she abandoned me.”

Ye Murou knew very well that it was a place of despair and agony. Precisely because she knew it too well, it was hard to accept.

In her memory, it was a place where no light could shine.

Ye Murou looked out the window.

This was a prosperous metropolis. It was like this ten years ago, and twenty years ago, too.

Back then, with what kind of mindset did her mother choose to go to that backward place to offer assistance?

It must have been with trust and hope for her country.

However, she was dragged into the abyss by the malice of that place.

It was truly a small mountain village where patriarchal preference was especially severe. They would rather throw a newborn girl into the river than raise her.

Then, they would try every possible means to acquire a wife.

There were few women left in the village, so the bachelors could only turn their attention outward.

To them, Ye Murou’s mother was a beautiful, helpless woman with no one to rely on.

A group of people forcefully tied her up, coercing her into marrying that man. If she disagreed and tried to resist, they had countless ways to torture people, just like managing disobedient livestock.

They forced Ye Murou’s mother to give birth to a child so she wouldn’t bear to leave.

To their disappointment, it was a daughter.

The only reason Ye Murou was allowed to stay was that someone had paid fifty yuan to reserve her, intending to bring her home later to be a wife.

How could Ye Murou not resent such an absurd place?

From the time she could understand things, every time she went to see her mother, the look in her mother’s eyes—as if she wished to strangle her—was deeply etched in her memory.

The young child only felt fear at the time and didn’t like this woman who was locked up in the pigsty. She followed the other little girls in the village to do farm work.

Later, another group of people came to the village, also a group of young university students.

She stood on the field ridge, curiously watching them, and was noticed by a female university student among them who liked children.

That person was very kind and offered her candy. Ye Murou could never forget that sweet taste.

The villagers started setting their sights on them again, but this time there were more people, so they didn’t act rashly.

The young female university student often sought out Ye Murou and even gave her a new name: “‘Pandi’ (A name meaning: Hoping for a little brother)? This name is no good, it’s too feudal.”

Ye Murou cautiously asked her, “What is feudal?”

“It’s a kind of ideology that should be abolished. It is filled with the oppression and poisoning of women. We should all resist it, so you can’t be called that name anymore. Let me think, from now on, you’ll be called Murou. You must remember, this name isn’t meant to make you weak. On the contrary, it’s meant to remind you to take care of other women after you succeed.”

Ye Murou didn’t quite understand.

She only wished that this female university student could be her mother.

Then, she remembered that the villagers had also said her mother was a university student. So, Ye Murou set aside her fear and went to see her mother again.

By this time, her mother was very, very thin. Because she hadn’t given up resisting, she was considered disobedient and had constantly been starved.

Her mother lay there, half-dead. Ye Murou thought for a moment and handed her own meager food to her.

Ye Murou herself didn’t eat very well, but the female university student had told her to help other women.

She crouched there and clumsily told her mother about the female university student.

Her mother listened quietly, then said to her, “Can you let me see her too?”

Ye Murou agreed.

It wasn’t a difficult request. All she had to do was tell the female university student, “My mother wants to see you,” and the rest was not for her to worry about.

The university student was surprised but agreed to the request.

However, she was careful and invited a few companions to go with her. When they saw the scene before them, things truly began.

They wanted to rescue Ye Murou’s mother.

This matter was very important, and they had no time to deal with Ye Murou. When the man learned that it was Ye Murou who had brought them, he hit her hard. Ye Murou had been beaten many times, but none had hurt like this. She cried terribly, and the harder she cried, the harder the man beat her.

“It’s all your fault, you good-for-nothing, you’re all a bunch of backstabbers.”

In the end, the man didn’t have time to deal with Ye Murou; he was only concerned with how to keep his “wife.”

With the help of that group of university students, Ye Murou’s mother was successfully rescued, but Ye Murou was left behind.

Because she belonged to this village, she was that man’s child, and she couldn’t leave no matter what.

Her mother had her own home, but her home was here.

Ye Murou began to understand what suffering meant.

She vaguely understood that the outside world wasn’t like this. Outside, she wouldn’t have to be called Pandi, wouldn’t be beaten, and wouldn’t be forced to work as soon as she learned to walk. On the contrary, boys her age had eggs to eat.

No wonder her mother disliked this place so much, disliked her, and constantly wanted to go back.

But she also wanted to leave this place, yet her mother hadn’t taken her.

She waited for a long time, hoping her mother would come back for her, but she never did.

Later, Ye Murou, who was sent for nine years of compulsory education, understood even more clearly.

Her mother wasn’t wrong. The fault lay with that man, and with her birth.

A child like her, who was not wanted, was lucky to be alive.

Ye Murou sadly looked at Wei Xixue. “What’s the use of her seeing me? She saw me last time too. Did she feel better? Did her illness get cured? Neither. My appearance will only remind her of the pain she suffered.”

Wei Xixue remained silent, just looking at Ye Murou, who was unconsciously shedding tears.

“I’m different from everyone else!”

Ye Murou clenched her fist, then released it. “Do you know, if it weren’t for Xia Shishi sponsoring me with two thousand yuan every month, I wouldn’t have been able to get into university at all, and I wouldn’t be sitting here now.”

“Two thousand yuan is very little for children now, but it bought my life.”

The now-understanding Ye Murou told that man that he would only get the money if he sent her to school.

That’s how she got the chance to study.

However, the money that came every month was in that man’s hands. He didn’t give Ye Murou a single cent. Ye Murou had to go out after school to collect plastic bottles and sell them to the recycling center.

She could only spend one yuan a day on steamed buns, or some kind-hearted teacher would ask her to join them for a meal in the office.

By high school, she had to earn her own tuition.

Fortunately, she could start working part-time then, using all her spare time to study and review. She desperately wanted to leave that place. Once she left, she would never return.

She finally got into university and saw the outside world, a place completely foreign to her.

She finally left.

She could finally avoid going back.

Ye Murou was very grateful to Xia Shishi. This kind of gratitude was hard for others to grasp, but she knew at least that without Xia Shishi, she might have been sent off, perhaps for those fifty yuan plus a dowry, to a family of another bachelor, living a life of toil forever.

“I don’t blame her for not coming to find me.”

Especially when she saw her lying in the hospital bed, only being cared for by Wei Xixue and Wei Xixue’s mother, she couldn’t bring herself to blame her anymore.

Ye Murou: “She’s not wrong, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to see her.”

“I want to pay for her medical expenses because of her, I was able to be born. Since my birth was a form of pain for her, I have to find a way to repay it.” As for meeting her, they truly had no mother-daughter affection.

Their relationship was a mistake, leaving behind only sickening memories.

Ye Murou lowered her head, looking disheartened. “Anyway, thank you. Thank you for being willing to help her, and for being willing to help me.”

Wei Xixue’s voice was still level. “You don’t need to thank me. Perhaps you misunderstood. I’m not doing this out of kindness.”

She listened to Ye Murou finish, and her face showed no pity or sympathy; her attitude remained the same.

This made Ye Murou feel much more at ease.

Ye Murou knew that if she were to say these words to Xia Shishi, Xia Shishi would definitely be outraged and might even go to that place to vent her anger on her behalf.

Xia Shishi had a good heart, but that would make Ye Murou very weary.

Perhaps later, she would ask Xia Shishi to help with this.

But now, Ye Murou just wanted to rest for a while. She had worked too hard for too long and wanted to relax.

Ye Murou: “I’ll transfer the money to you later.”

Wei Xixue had no objection. “Can I ask you a question?”

Ye Murou nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Can your salary cover the medical expenses?”

“She currently needs at least thirty thousand yuan a month. If you want to pay the medical expenses, you must ensure your monthly income is greater than thirty thousand. But I suggest you also save a sum for yourself, so your current salary… are you still working for Xia Shishi?”

Ye Murou fell silent.

She had planned to go out and find a job on her own, not wanting to rely on Xia Shishi indefinitely.

But she was sadly realizing that if she didn’t let Xia Shishi help, she simply couldn’t afford the medical expenses, let alone save money for herself as Wei Xixue suggested.

“I can.” After much deliberation, Ye Murou nodded with difficulty.

She could take Xia Shishi’s suggestion to film a drama, which would give her a considerable income.

Wei Xixue frowned, showing annoyance. “I was going to tell you another proposal, but since you can handle it, then forget it.”

Ye Murou looked at her. “It’s fine, you can say it.”

They looked at each other for a moment. Wei Xixue gave Ye Murou time to change her mind. After a while, seeing that Ye Murou was still waiting for her to speak, Wei Xixue put on her glasses and spoke to Ye Murou very formally.

“We can date.”

Ye Murou showed a stunned expression.

Since she had spoken, Wei Xixue didn’t plan to back down or give up. Her voice was extremely steady. “Let’s try to spend some time together. During this time, I will also take on my due responsibilities. I can pay the medical expenses, it’s fine. Because I can pay the medical expenses in a timely manner and also save a sum of money. If we both feel compatible and want to get married, there won’t be much financial pressure after marriage.”

Ye Murou was momentarily unable to comprehend.

Why would Wei Xixue say these things to her?

Wen Jiao liked Xia Shishi because Xia Shishi was genuinely likable, but what about her? She wasn’t beautiful enough, nor smart enough. Compared to Xia Shishi’s brilliance, she was just dust in a corner.

Wei Xixue being able to see her was understandable, but to actually propose dating.

And on the premise of being able to get married.

Did she have anything worthwhile to offer? Ye Murou: “If it’s because of the relationship between our mothers, you don’t have to do this.”