86: Feelings quickly heat up
At this moment, Bai Jie, despite her mature and voluptuous appearance as a young woman, behaved like a delicate and pitiful young girl.
This extreme contrast gave her a fatal allure, even stirring a ripple in Jiang Feng's heart.
After a long while, Bai Jie's sobs gradually subsided and then stopped.
She still leaned against Jiang Feng, slowly raising her head, looking at him with slightly red and swollen eyes, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something, but then she hesitated.
She never told anyone her worries; even her closest confidante didn't know about her past.
Those past events were like deep scars, carefully hidden by her, unwilling to let others see them.
At this very moment, as Bai Jie looked at Jiang Feng's gentle face, a strong desire to confide suddenly welled up within her.
But she was conflicted: “Should I tell Xiao Feng about my past? Will he despise me? Will he think I’m a pitiful and troublesome woman? But, I also want him to truly understand me…”
Jiang Feng saw Bai Jie's hesitation and instantly understood.
He gently patted Bai Jie's back, his movements soft and encouraging, as if telling her not to be afraid, just to speak her mind:
“Sister Bai Jie, if you're willing, tell me everything that's on your mind. It might make you feel better… No matter what happened, it’s not your fault. I will always support you.”
In an intimate relationship, confiding one's deepest secrets is the most intimate act.
This can quickly warm the feelings between two people.
However, before confiding, one must consider whether the person is trustworthy.
Otherwise, when the relationship breaks down, those secrets will turn into a sharp sword, piercing deeply into your heart.
For Jiang Feng, a top-tier scumbag, his inner secrets were never spoken, but he was an excellent listener.
In his previous life, hundreds of women confided their deepest secrets to him, and Jiang Feng kept them all under wraps.
He never used these secrets to attack them, nor did he casually use them as gossip!
In Jiang Feng's view, Bai Jie was certainly a woman with a very pitiful background.
Her past experiences shaped her personality: insecure, sensitive, highly empathetic, and even prone to taking on others' blame.
But she was not defeated by reality; she was gentle as water, exuding maternal radiance.
She had endured too much alone, and Jiang Feng would listen patiently, giving her an outlet to confide and release all the pain in her heart.
Bai Jie sighed softly, as if carrying the hardships of her entire life.
She finally made up her mind; no matter Jiang Feng's reaction, she would honestly tell him about her past.
Her intuition told her that relationships built on deception were fragile, and only honesty could last, which was also her nature.
Bai Jie gently sat up from Jiang Feng's embrace, but her fair, small hand still tightly clutched Jiang Feng's clothing, as if he would disappear if she let go, just like the beautiful things she had lost.
She lowered her head slightly, looking at her toes, her voice ethereal and slow, as if coming from a distant place, as she began to tell her story:
“Xiao Feng… I was born in a very remote and backward village in the countryside, surrounded by rolling mountains, as if cut off from the world. My family had a very strong preference for sons over daughters, so from a young age, I had to do all sorts of chores: washing clothes, cooking, working in the fields—all the dirty and tiring work fell on me…”
As Bai Jie spoke, a hint of bitterness appeared in her eyes:
“Every day, before dawn, I had to get up and make breakfast for the whole family, then follow my parents to work in the fields, carry firewood, fetch water. I’d work all day until dark before I could come home… Once home, I still had to wash clothes, cook, and take care of my younger brother, while he could play carefree and didn’t have to do anything.”
“Those days were truly bleak. I was like a spinning top that never stopped, with no time to rest. I thought countless times about escaping that home, but where could I go? I had nowhere to go at all…”
“I looked at the rolling mountains, my heart filled with despair. Those mountains were like shackles, tightly binding me there, unable to break free.”
Bai Jie was in tears, sobbing:
“Fortunately, there was compulsory education from the state. My parents originally didn’t want me to go to school, but when the village cadres found out, they came to persuade and threaten them, and only then did they let me go to Hope Primary School… I cherished this opportunity greatly. Where others put in one part effort, I would put in three, waking up earlier and sleeping later than others. Through diligence, and with the national student aid, I managed to get into university!”
“I originally thought that once I grew up, I could escape that kind of life… But I never expected that for the bride price, my parents sold me to Liu Chuanzhi. They didn't care if I was willing or not; as long as it brought money to the family, they would do anything.
At that time, I refused to agree no matter what, crying and begging them not to marry me off. I said I could work more, I could get a job, earn more money to support the family, but my parents wouldn't listen. They locked me in the house, wouldn't let me out, and even threatened to break my legs if I didn't agree.”
“At that moment, I felt like a commodity, bought and sold by them at will, without any dignity.”
Bai Jie's body trembled slightly, her face filled with pain, her teeth tightly biting her lip.
Jiang Feng pulled her back into his embrace, comforting her silently.
He found it hard to imagine that in the twenty-first century, in places beyond the reach of law, such things still happened.
How could such parents be so cruel, pushing their own daughter into a fiery pit for money?
They didn't see Bai Jie as a person; in their eyes, there was only money and their son. Bai Jie was nothing.
Jiang Feng thought of his own mother. In his previous life, she had even chosen to commit suicide in an extreme attempt not to burden him.
He suddenly felt incredibly lucky. Although his father passed away young, his mother Luo Shuwan gave him even more love…
“After marriage, I thought life couldn't get any worse… But I never expected that this was just the beginning of the nightmare. Liu Chuanzhi was a volatile person, quick to resort to physical abuse.
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