Chapter 7: 7. Chapter 7: Chu Yao

Chapter 7: Chu Yao

Huo Qingshan was caught on the spot by Chief of Staff Lu at the training grounds.

Lu Ming’s face was grim, his eyes revealing a hint of fury and an undeniable authority. "Huo Qingshan, you are simply acting out!"

Lu Ming's anger at this moment was palpable. "Not only did you fail to go to the infirmary to change your bandages on time after being injured, but you also dared to defy medical orders and resume training privately. Do you have no respect for your own body or the discipline of this unit? Just because others flatter you with titles like 'Soldier King,' do you truly believe your body is made of iron, Huo Qingshan?"

As Lu Ming scolded him sternly, he pointed toward the southwest of the training grounds. "I order you to go to the infirmary immediately to find the medic and change your bandages! If I see you on this training ground again in the next few days, I will absolutely not let you off easy!"

Lu Ming's tone was decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.

Upon hearing this, Huo Qingshan remained unmoved. He stiffened his neck and replied with total seriousness, "Chief of Staff, I know my own body. These are just minor injuries; they aren't that precious. I can train."

Seeing Huo Qingshan's stubborn and obstinate attitude, the fire in Lu Ming's heart flared up again. He glared fiercely at Huo Qingshan and roared, "Are you forcing me to kick your ass before you'll behave, you brat!"

At that moment, Zhong Heng, who was standing nearby, was perceptive enough to notice that the Chief of Staff was truly serious this time and realized things were taking a turn for the worse.

He rushed forward, grabbed Huo Qingshan, and whispered urgently in his ear, "Battalion Commander, don't be stubborn. The Chief of Staff is truly angry. Let's go change the bandages first; don't let this escalate."

Then, Zhong Heng turned to Lu Ming, stood at attention, saluted, and said with a solemn expression, "Rest assured, Chief of Staff. I will escort Battalion Commander Huo to the infirmary right now to change his bandages. I will personally supervise him to ensure the task is completed."

Having said that, Zhong Heng ignored Huo Qingshan's protests and managed to drag him away from the training grounds, half-pulling and half-dragging him.

*

The Infirmary.

Chu Yao was standing by the window of the duty room, glancing outside from time to time, a hint of hidden anxiety visible in her expression.

Just half an hour ago, she had specifically made up an excuse to go to the office building, pretending to run into Lu Ming, and then subtly hinted to him about the fact that Huo Qingshan had not come for his medical treatment for several days.

She knew that given Lu Ming's temperament, he would definitely force Huo Qingshan to come and change his bandages.

Her purpose was to create a reasonable and continuous opportunity for her and Huo Qingshan to spend time together.

Three days ago, Chu Yao had discovered to her immense shock that she had actually been reborn. However, the tragic experiences of her previous life were still vivid in her mind, too painful to look back upon.

In her previous life, her younger brother, Chu Yaozu, was a useless man who loved to cause trouble. He followed others in dropping out of school to try his hand at business, and in less than a year, he had accumulated a massive amount of debt.

After Liu Xiu'e learned of this, she spent her days in tears, constantly wailing about her miserable fate: "Oh, my life is so hard! I worked so hard my whole life just to put my eldest daughter through vocational school. I thought the good days were coming, that I could finally enjoy some peace, but I never expected this kind of mess to happen."

As she spoke, she made a motion as if to hit Chu Yaozu. "You unfilial son! All you know is how to mess around outside. Now that you've caused such a huge disaster, do you really expect someone to clean up your mess?"

However, the force of the slap she landed on Chu Yaozu's head was not even one-fifth of the strength she had used when she was angry and hitting Chu Yao in her younger years.

Chu Daqing also had a dark expression, sitting in the corner, incessantly smoking and sighing.

During that period, the house felt as if it were shrouded in thick dark clouds; the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

Chu Yaozu wasn't idle either. He pulled Chu Yao aside and whispered to her, "Sis, you're the only one who can save me now. Boss Xu is currently single. After I showed him your photo, he was very satisfied and fell in love at first sight. He told me that if you are willing to marry him, our family's debts can be wiped clean, and he might even provide a generous dowry."

He pleaded in an incredibly pitiful tone, "Sis, please save me. I'm still young; I don't want to go to prison. Sis! You can't just stand by and watch your own brother go to his death, can you?"

Looking at this brother she had raised since childhood, hearing him call her "Sis" over and over with such "sincere" emotion, it was difficult for Chu Yao not to be moved deep in her heart.

Ultimately, pressured by her parents and the desperate pleas of her brother, she followed their arrangements and married Chu Yaozu's creditor.

At that time, she was completely unaware of her true identity; the bond of blood made her unable to refuse in the moment.

Furthermore, the Chu couple and that troublemaker Chu Yaozu constantly deceived her, saying that Boss Xu in the east of the city owned two machine factories, three food factories, and a large transportation company with a massive fleet. They said his family was very wealthy, and that he was an honest, reliable, and gentle man—a person of character. They told her that once she married him, she would just have to wait to live a good life as a wealthy lady.

Thus, under their relentless persuasion and flowery words, caught between coercion and inducement, Chu Yao finally compromised and agreed to the marriage.

To her surprise, after marrying into the family, she discovered she was actually Xu Penggang's fourth wife; it was said that his first three wives had all died.

After marriage, the man became violent and temperamental. Infidelity was a common occurrence, and he would return home drunk every day to beat and verbally abuse her, exercising arbitrary violence.

Every time the Chu couple heard her complaints, they would only offer lukewarm, non-committal platitudes, advising her: "In a marriage, nothing is ever smooth sailing. There will always be big and small frictions. It's only if both people are willing to spend more time together and adjust to one another that things will get better over time. These aren't big deals."

In short, they maintained an attitude of complete detachment, showing none of the humility or guilt they had displayed when they were begging her to marry into the family.

Initially, Chu Yao was truly heartbroken several times, but later she gave up on the idea of seeking help from them.

She just couldn't understand how they could be so cold and indifferent toward their own flesh and blood.

Growing up, it was one thing for her parents to love her brother more; such gender bias was not uncommon in other families.

Chu Yao could choose not to care about her parents favoring her brother over her, but now, to them, she might not even be worth as much as a passing stranger.

It wasn't until one time, when Xu Penggang, dissatisfied that her workplace was filled with men and wanting her to quit and stay home, began to kick and punch her after she refused.

When she resisted this assault, he flew into a rage, ran to the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and swung it at her.

After being rushed to the hospital, she required thirty-five stitches and lay there half-dead for over half a month. Not a single person from the Chu family came to visit her once.

Once she had recovered from her illness, she made up her mind that she must divorce Xu Penggang no matter what. She returned to the Chu house to inform them of her decision.

Just as she used her key to open the door, she heard the conversation between the Chu couple and Chu Yaozu inside.

Chu Yaozu's voice was anxious: "Boss Xu gave me an order. Chu Yao must return to the Xu family within three days. If he doesn't see her within three days, he told me to pay the money back and said he'd send me to prison for life. Mom, Dad, what should we do?"

Chu Daqing flicked his cigarette, his mouth curling downward, and spoke first: "Don't panic. Your sister is still in the hospital. We'll have your mother go and persuade her to go back first. If that doesn't work, we'll drug her soup to knock her out. Then, even if we have to tie her up, we'll drag her back to the Xu family."

His tone was forceful, and his eyes grew increasingly sinister as he spoke.

Sitting to the side, Liu Xue'e quickly chimed in: "Let's do that. After her biological father died of illness, her biological mother didn't want her either; she just dumped her on the main road at the entrance of the village and ran off. If we hadn't been kind enough to pick her up, she would have frozen to death in that snow and ice long ago.

Our Chu family raised her this big and even paid for her vocational school. Now that she has secured a good job like a medic, it is time for her to repay us."

Listening to the back-and-forth conversation inside the room, Chu Yao felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, a bone-chilling cold spreading through her entire body.

The truth had appeared before her so suddenly, without any warning.

In an instant, Chu Yao's world collapsed. Her mind went blank, and she entered a state of near-numbness, yet the violent, dull ache in her heart was impossible to ignore.

Was it disbelief?

Was it heartache?

Was it disappointment?

It seemed to be more than just simple disappointment.

For all these years, she had given her all to this family.

As a child, as soon as school was out, she would run to the fields to do farm work, waking up early to cook for the whole family, even when she was much shorter than the kitchen stove.

When her mother's shoulders were sore, she would immediately put down her homework to help massage her.

The first bit of money she earned from part-time jobs during summer vacation went toward buying the cigarettes her father loved to smoke.

When her brother was bullied by boys at school, despite her thin and weak frame and her fear, she would still stand in front of him to protect him.

And in the end... in the end, she was met with such cruel treatment.

So, she was an adopted child.

So that was it; everything finally made sense.

(End of Chapter)