If she made the slightest mistake, her father would slap her across the face without warning. When she cried from the pain, her brother would laugh at her.
And when she begged — truly begged — to be allowed to go to school, they just shook their heads and said the sa cold words:
"Girls don’t need an education."
Every night, she went to bed cold, her belly empty, her body sore, and her heart broken.
And then, the nightmare repeated.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The pain never changed. The cruelty never stopped. Each version of the scene hit harder than the last, dragging her deeper into the darkness.
Mirai thought her heart would break into pieces.
She felt her soul being crushed under the weight of it all — the hunger, the silence, the loneliness, the unfairness that never ended.
She scread into the wind, her voice raw with emotion, "Stop it! Please! I get it! I understand now!"
But nothing changed.
The world didn’t stop.
Yu Holea watched with a cold face as Mirai suffered. If she said that she wasn’t satisfied, then it would be a lie. Mirai in Yu i’s body was like an itch that won’t fade even when ti passes.
She had sched against Yu Holea repeatedly and got away with it every ti!
Just as she thought so her phone rang.
Yu Holea stared at her phone screen.
It was ringing.
Ou Lin.
She pressed the answer button without waiting.
"Hello?" she said.
"Are you ready for tonight’s banquet?" Ou Lin’s calm voice ca through. "Do you need anything? Dress? Accessories?"
Yu Holea smiled softly.
"No need. You’ve already done enough, throwing a banquet just to recognize . I’ve got the dress and everything else prepared. Don’t worry."
There was a small pause on the other side. Then Ou Lin said, in a gentle voice, "Holea, I’m going to tell you about your father tonight. You’ll et him. Be prepared... don’t be too shocked."
Yu Holea looked out the window, her eyes calm.
She chuckled a little. "Even if he’s my father, he was never there for . We’re strangers. I don’t think I’ll be as emotional as you think."
Ou Lin let out a small laugh. "You’re really honest, Holea. It’s... kind of refreshing."
There was a soft pause again. Then he asked, a little carefully,
"Do you... know where Qiao Li is?"
Yu Holea raised her eyebrow.
The na pulled out an old mory — her best friend Qiao Li had chased after Ou Lin since her childhood.
Wait a second... Her eyes lit up with curiosity.
"Are you going to marry Qiao Li?" she asked excitedly, leaning forward like a kid who had just found out a secret.
There was silence for a second.
Then, Ou Lin actually blushed a little. "I... was planning to," he said quietly. "But she’s not picking up my calls. I don’t know where she is."
Yu Holea’s smile faded a little.
Her mind went back to sothing recent. She had seen Qiao Li’s social dia update just a few days ago...
She looked at the phone, her voice suddenly unsure. "Ou Lin... did you know... she already has a boyfriend?"
There was a long silence. A heavy, painful kind of silence.
"...What?" Ou Lin finally asked. His voice was small. Like he couldn’t breathe.
Yu Holea nodded slowly. "She posted it online a few days ago. She’s dating soone now."
The air felt heavy.
Ou Lin didn’t speak for a while.
His heart felt like soone had taken it in their hands and crushed it. He stood there, frozen. He wanted to believe it was a joke. But Yu Holea had no reason to lie.
For the past years, he had waited.
Waited for the right ti. Waited for his world to settle, for everything to calm down so he could finally say yes to Qiao Li.
He never led any girl on. Never went on dates. Never replied to love letters. Because in his heart, only Qiao Li mattered.
He had always thought: When the ti is right... I’ll say it. I’ll tell her I love her. But the ti had never co.
Because back then... Ou Xiaoxiao wasn’t herself. Her body... was taken by soone else. Soone cruel.
She might have gotten jealous. She might make things hard for Qiao Li. Really hard.
And Qiao Li, being her sister-in-law, wouldn’t have fought back. She just had to suffer in silence.
Ou Lin didn’t want to drag her into more pain. That’s why he kept his feelings hidden. To protect her.
But now... now it was too late.
Qiao Li had moved on.
Ou Lin felt like he couldn’t breathe.
His heart — which had been holding onto hope for so long — suddenly cracked. He rembered the mont Qiao Li confessed to him... her soft voice, her shy eyes.
And he... had said all those hurtful things in desperation.
He had thought he was doing the right thing. But now... he realized he had lost her.
Yu Holea bit her lip before calling out softly, "Ou Lin?"
There was a quiet pause on the other side.
Then, slowly, Ou Lin spoke, "Yeah... I’m here." His voice was low and a little shaky, like he had just woken up from a dream.
Yu Holea nodded to herself and said gently, "It’s okay, you know. Qiao Li’s just dating him right now. He’s only her boyfriend... not her husband. Once she understands everything, I think she’ll break up with him and co back to you."
Ou Lin’s eyes lit up just a little. A tiny spark of hope entered his heart.
"Do you really think so?" he asked, his voice a bit more hopeful.
Yu Holea smiled. "Yeah. You’ve always cared about her. And love like that doesn’t just disappear."
Ou Lin let out a soft laugh. But sowhere, deep in his heart, a strange, dark thought crept in.
If Qiao Li could just see how many flaws her boyfriend has... maybe she’ll realize he’s not good enough.
His voice turned calm again as he asked, "Holea... do you have his number?"
Yu Holea tilted her head, a little confused at first, but nodded. "Yeah, I do. Want to send it to you?"
"Please," he said.
A mont later, the number arrived on his phone. He smiled and said, "Thank you. If Qiao Li becos my wife, I’ll give you all the credit."
Yu Holea laughed lightly. "Then I’m waiting for my reward."
They ended the call.
As soon as the phone call ended, Ou Lin’s face changed.
He quickly dialed another number and said in a serious voice, "I need you to investigate soone. This is his phone number. I want everything — background, friends, family, school, work... everything."
anwhile, in a quiet little café near the university, Qiao Li was sitting with a tall, kind-looking boy.
She smiled politely and said, "Thank you. I’m really grateful for your help."
The boy — her senior from college — blushed a little and scratched the back of his head. "No need to thank . You asked for help, and I just did what was right."
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Qiao Li nodded and stood up, ready to leave.
But the boy stood up too and said, "Wait, Qiao Li."
She looked back, surprised.
He took a deep breath. "If you really want to forget about Ou Lin and move on... you have to give a real chance. Let’s keep going out on dates. Not fake ones... real ones. Give yourself the chance to feel sothing new."
Qiao Li looked down for a mont and then nodded slowly. "Okay... I’ll try."
The boy smiled, but then said sothing that made her heart freeze.
"In the next few days, Ou Lin might reach out to you. He’ll pretend he cares now... but it’s just because he doesn’t want to lose."
His voice turned serious. "Don’t fall for it. You chased him for ten years. Ten whole years, and he didn’t say yes or no. Then, when you finally try to move on, now he wants to act like he loves you?"
Qiao Li clenched her hands. She rembered those words Ou Lin had said back then — words that made her feel like she was nothing.
She nodded again, stronger this ti. "I know. I’m not going back."
She quickly said goodbye, saying she had sothing to do, and walked out of the café.
Back at the Qiao mansion, Qiao Li stepped into the house, ready to head to her room — but then she heard laughter from the living room.
She paused.
Who could be here?
She raised an eyebrow and walked over.
Inside the room, two families were sitting on the couches, talking and laughing.
The Ou family — Mr. Ou, Mrs. Ou, and... Ou Lin — were sitting together. And across from them sat her own parents.
As soon as Mrs. Qiao saw her, she smiled warmly. "Qiao Li, co here."
Then she looked at the others and smiled as if rembering sothing funny.
"Do you all rember when Qiao Li used to run around behind Lin, calling him her boyfriend?"
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦
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