The Lady I Flirted With Is Here - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Perversion

“What is all this for?” Although Chen Yu’s speech was incoherent and she seemed mentally unstable, hemp ropes and duct tape were certainly not normal items to be carrying around.

At Daiyu’s question, Chen Yu’s father let out a bitter smile, his eyes weary with the weight of experience.

“It’s a family disgrace that shouldn’t be aired in public, but the whole village knows by now, so I suppose my old face doesn’t matter anymore. You’re Xianxian’s classmate, right? Girl, my daughter has come down with a ‘madness.’ I have to tie her up. If I don’t, she wanders off everywhere and hits people randomly.” As he spoke, his eyes filled with shame. He looked at the ground, a grown man appearing pitiful and helpless.

One of the young men behind him interjected: “Don’t bother with the talk, Uncle. No one wanted this to happen. Let’s just get Xiaoyu home quickly.”

“Yes, yes.” Chen Yu’s father snapped back to attention. Before Fang Daiyu could block them, the group swarmed past her. Finding the living room empty, they headed straight for the second floor.

Inside the bedroom, Chen Yu was panic-stricken, like a trapped bird. She heard her father’s footsteps. Without time to explain to Lin Xian, she scrambled under the bed. Since no one had lived in this room for a long time, the floor was thick with dust. Chen Yu began to cough, but her voice was a desperate wail: “Lin Xian, I beg you, take me away from here. We are the same kind of person, you must understand me.”

Lin Xian had heard the group of men as well. She found it strange; Chen Yu didn’t seem truly “delirious” right now. She asked, “What exactly is going on that you keep begging for help? You haven’t explained the situation!”

Chen Yu poked her head out from under the bed, her eyes wide with terror. “I’ll tell you the truth, Lin Xian. I had a girlfriend in university. When I came out to my family, they acted like they agreed. But when I came home for Spring Festival, they locked me in. My parents won’t let me go back to school. They think I’m sick.”

This outcome? Lin Xian didn’t know what to say. Perhaps she had read too many similar stories online, or perhaps because it was happening right in front of her, it felt surreal. She was paralyzed by indecision.

Chen Yu didn’t stop: “Maybe I really am going crazy, I don’t know. I started pretending to be mad to cope, but then I gradually lost control of my emotions. A few days ago, I heard my mom say you were back. Last night, your grandma came to borrow a hoe, and I heard you were coming home today. Lin Xian, this village is huge, but only you can understand me.”

Lin Xian stood frozen as the girl spoke.

Outside, Chen Yu’s father opened doors one by one until he reached Lin Xian’s room. He turned the handle and found it locked. Panic flared in his chest—he had read his daughter’s diary and feared she might do something drastic. He knocked urgently, his voice tentative: “Xianxian? It’s Uncle Chen. Is Xiaoyu in there playing with you?”

Lin Xian remained silent. Chen Yu moved to speak and kowtow again, but Lin Xian signaled her to be quiet.

She walked to the door and answered softly, “She’s here, Uncle. Xiaoyu and I haven’t seen each other in so long.”

“That’s good.” Hearing his daughter was inside, the father sighed in relief. “Xianxian, open the door. Xiaoyu has been out too long; her mother is waiting for her to come home for dinner.”

If it weren’t for his daughter being in the room, he probably would have just shouted that she was “mad.” But he knew she was fragile and didn’t want to startle her.

“Uncle, I bought a gift for Xiaoyu—a new dress. She’s trying it on right now. How about this: let her eat dinner at my house, and I’ll walk her home afterward?” Lin Xian couldn’t bring herself to agree to Chen Yu’s plea to escape, but the idea of her being locked up filled her with dread. For now, stalling was the only tactic.

Chen Yu crawled out from under the bed, appearing calmer, the frenzy leaving her eyes. She said softly to Lin Xian, “It’s no use. My father will take me back.”

Sure enough, the father spoke again: “Then open the door first and let me see her.”

By now, Fang Daiyu had followed the group to the second floor. Seeing the ropes and tape, her face darkened with displeasure. Chen Yu’s father was practically leaning against the door, poised to pounce.

Coldly, Daiyu spoke up: “Uncle, this isn’t your house. Could you put the ropes and those things away? They’re quite an eyesore.”

The father was distracted by Daiyu, but inside, the mention of “ropes” triggered Chen Yu again. Like a mouse fleeing a cat, she dove back under the bed, whimpering, “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me!”

Lin Xian’s heart sank. This was becoming grave. Looking at Chen Yu’s reaction, she realized the girl had likely been bound many times before.

Lin Xian knelt by the bed, looking into the shadows at Chen Yu’s terrified eyes and trembling body. “Chen Yu, tell me. How long have they been locking you up?”

Chen Yu just huddled, crying “No! No!” over and over. She wasn’t even hearing Lin Xian anymore.

“Stay here. I’m going out for a moment. I won’t let your father lock you up.” Lin Xian reached under the bed and touched the girl’s cold, rough fingers, giving them a reassuring pat. Even for a stranger, she couldn’t stand by and let a person be imprisoned like this.

Lin Xian walked to the door, opened it quickly, slipped out, and pulled it shut behind her before the father—who was still arguing with Daiyu—could react.

“Xianxian, what is the meaning of this?” He had waited a long time without seeing his daughter. Even though he had watched Lin Xian grow up, his patience was wearing thin.

“Uncle Chen, Xiaoyu is just trying on the gift!” Lin Xian said with feigned composure. “She’s in the room; she’s not going anywhere.” She scanned the items they held—the ropes, the rags, the tape.

She could hardly believe this was happening in her own village. Her legs trembled, but Daiyu was there instantly, discreetly supporting her. Lin Xian bit her lip, then looked up with a calm expression. “Can we talk about Chen Yu? It won’t take much of your time.”

The father hesitated.

Lin Xian gritted her teeth. “Uncle, what exactly did you plan to do, breaking into my home with ropes and tools?”

The father stomped his foot. “Fine! You’re a university student, Xianxian. I’ll talk to you!”

…

The young men were sent away, leaving only the four of them. Lin Xian had Daiyu stay on the second floor to watch over Chen Yu. She sat with the father in the living room and poured him tea.

He took a sip, closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were full of sorrow. “Xianxian, you don’t know… Xiaoyu, she’s a pervert!” As he said the word, the middle-aged man began to weep, tears carving paths through his weathered, sun-baked face.

Lin Xian gave a small, sad smile. “You mean the fact that she likes women?”

He looked up in shock. “You know? Did your mother…?”

Lin Xian shook her head. “Not my mother, and not my grandma. Uncle, I only found out today. Chen Yu told me herself.”

“Bah! Shameless!” he spat. “We’ve spent so much on gifts for every household just to hide this, yet she feels no shame! All that education went to waste—how did I raise such a shameless daughter?”

Normally, Lin Xian would have flared up. Now, she suppressed her anger, telling herself to understand the cultural gap. “I don’t think it’s perverted. It’s quite normal.”

Her tone was so certain that the father, who expected a fellow “educated person” to understand his pain, was stunned. “How is this normal? It’s nature for a woman to marry and have kids. Have you ever seen a woman liking a woman? It’s a perversion!” He was so agitated he was practically shouting.

Lin Xian remained calm. “Uncle, liking a woman, liking a man, or liking a cat or a dog—it’s all normal.”

He thought she had misunderstood. “Liking is fine, but Xianxian, I’m talking about romance!”

Lin Xian smiled. “I am too. Everyone is born differently. Sexual orientation is something you’re born with. It’s like how you naturally like women. If your father told you that was perverted, could you change and start liking men?”

“Of course not! Liking men—that’s perverted!”

Lin Xian felt exhausted. She sighed. “Uncle, if you can’t change who you like, neither can Chen Yu.”

“Why not?” He scoffed. “If she just listens and finds a man, our family will be harmonious again.”

“But Xiaoyu isn’t happy!”

“She will be,” he said dismissively. “She’ll get used to it.”

Lin Xian realized she was losing the argument. She discreetly turned on a recording device. “Uncle, when did you find out?”

“In her sophomore year. I should have listened to the elders and not let her study so far away. Her heart went wild. Learning all sorts of filth, she even got a girlfriend.”

Lin Xian pinched herself to stay calm. “And after that? She said you didn’t let her finish her degree? You can’t do that!”

“What’s the point? It only made her worse! If she goes back, I’m afraid she’ll just run off with someone!”

“And why tell people she’s ‘mad’?” Lin Xian prodded. “She seems quite rational to me.”

“If we don’t say she’s mad, how can we keep her tied up at home? You know as well as I do, Xianxian—if people knew she was a lesbian, wouldn’t they call her a pervert? ‘Madness’ is better than ‘perversion’!” He truly believed he was doing the right thing.

“Aren’t you afraid of making her sick? People go crazy when they’re oppressed. She’s an adult; have you tried actually talking to her?”

He waved her off. “Don’t give me that. She already looks half-mad to me! I’d rather lock her up for the rest of her life than let her be a pervert!”

Lin Xian knew there was no point in talking further. She asked one final, sincere question: “Uncle, Xiaoyu had a bright future ahead of her. She would have graduated, taken care of you, and had a respectable job. By locking her up, you’re driving her to her death. She’s your daughter—do you truly believe she’s a pervert?”

The father went silent. After a moment, he pulled out a pack of cheap cigarettes, lit one, and sighed. “Xianxian, her mother and I have seen so many doctors and spent so much money. You kids don’t understand these things. What right do you have to judge?”

He stood up, his back hunched, and walked toward the exit. “You aren’t a ‘pervert’ like that. Your future is honorable and bright, so you think everything is beautiful.”

“Her mother is waiting for her for dinner. Remember to send her back soon.” A ring of smoke drifted through the air—a final compromise, allowing his daughter to spend a few moments with someone her own age.

“Uncle, if she comes home, will you promise not to bind her or lock her up again?” Lin Xian called out as he reached the door.

The man turned, gave a short nod, let out a heavy sigh, and walked out.