Chapter 257: Don’t Be Afraid, I’m Here

“It’s not your fault.”

No one had ever said these words to Qiao Sisi. From as far back as she could remember, the words she heard most frequently were: “It’s all your fault! It’s because of you!”

Memories long buried surged through her mind at that moment, overwhelming her rationality.

A flicker of pain and struggle flashed in Qiao Sisi’s eyes, but she couldn’t resist the shadows of her childhood and completely fell into her recollections.

She was seven years old, in a dimly lit room filled with the noise of loud arguments, making it impossible to sleep.

Unable to find her slippers, she walked barefoot on the cold floor to see what her parents were doing.

Torn clothes, a woman lying on the floor, and scattered dishes and food told the story of an intense fight that had just occurred.

“Qiao Yuan! You can’t treat me like this! How can you go out and find another woman? How can you do this to me?”

The woman, her clothes in disarray, hair a tangled mess, and face streaked with tears, was her mother.

Her pretty eyes were swollen from a slap, completely losing their original double eyelid shape.

And the man, drunk and bleary-eyed, barely able to stand without leaning on the table, was Qiao Sisi’s father, Qiao Yuan.

His face was full of scorn as he glanced at his daughter standing by the door, as if looking at something filthy.

Qiao Sisi heard him say, “What’s the use of giving birth to a worthless daughter?”

“Fangfang gave me twins!”

He said the latter part with such pride, the contrast was glaring.

Little Qiao Sisi stood there, feeling utterly unnecessary.

She was terrified, anxious, and confused.

She didn’t understand why her father said those things.

Nor did she know why the twins he mentioned were so much better, making him so proud.

Wasn’t she also his daughter? Why the differential treatment?

Then her mother, as if having lost her mind, started screaming.

The piercing sound was enough to almost rupture everyone’s eardrums.

“Ah!!!”

“I’m going to kill that woman!”

After having no strength left from the fight, her mother suddenly sprang up like a wild beast, seemingly ready to confront the woman named Fangfang.

Qiao Yuan wouldn’t allow her to go berserk and grabbed her harshly, slapping her across the face.

He then choked her, pressing her against the table, and threatened menacingly, “If you dare go, I’ll kill you first!”

His fierce expression, bulging veins, and unrestrained force all spoke of his deadly intent.

Qiao’s mother, face turning red from being pressed against the table, struggled with her legs, but a woman’s strength couldn’t match a man’s.

Soon, her strength waned, and her struggles became feeble.

In such a dire situation, Qiao Sisi’s tears streamed down her face.

She, like a rocket, rushed to her father’s leg, hitting it with her tiny fists while crying, “Let go of mom! Let go of mom!”

But her father remained indifferent.

In desperation, little Qiao Sisi bit her father’s hand.

Qiao Yuan, feeling the pain, glared at his daughter and slapped her to the ground.

The man, reeking of alcohol, squinted at his wife and child, sneering, “Two worthless.”

After cursing, he released his grip on Qiao’s mother and staggered back to the bedroom to sleep.

The thunderous snoring from the bedroom echoed with the cries of the woman and child in the living room, creating the most ironic scene in the world.

“Sob, mom… it hurts.”

The little girl, clutching her face, cried, seeking her mother’s embrace.

She crawled towards her mother, but was met with a cold, heartless “Get lost!”

At that moment, Qiao Sisi saw the hatred in her mother’s tear-filled eyes.

Her once beautiful face was now tear-streaked, her neck red and swollen from being choked.

Her frail body trembled as she pointed at her daughter, spewing the most venomous words.

“It’s all your fault!”

“If it weren’t for you, your father wouldn’t have gone looking for another woman, wouldn’t have had kids with her!”

“Why don’t you just die! Why do you stay here torturing me, constantly reminding me how much of a failure I am!”

Qiao’s mother grew increasingly agitated. For a moment, Qiao Sisi thought she might faint.

But she was too young to understand, responding to her mother’s accusations only with tears and self-blame.

The stuffed doll she had carried out of her room also fell to the floor, covered in dust, seemingly crying with its owner.

***

“Sisi, are you alright? Are you okay?”

In the study, Fang Zhou saw Qiao Sisi’s eyes grow vacant, her previously calm demeanor turning agitated.

She held her head, curled up in the chair, trembling as if remembering something terrible.

“No… don’t hit me…”

“I’m sorry… it’s all my fault…”

She mumbled, her words fragmented.

Fang Zhou couldn’t make out all of her words, but from the few he did, he understood she was trapped in a nightmare of memories.

Qiao Sisi curled up in the chair, shaking like a leaf, clearly terrified to her core.

Fang Zhou’s heart suddenly ached, his thoughts enveloped in sympathy and pity.

What a brute! Hitting his own wife and child!

He silently cursed Qiao Sisi’s father, his anger giving way to pity for Qiao Sisi.

He had never seen her like this.

From their first meeting to their reunion on the show, she had always been bold and proud, almost arrogant.

She seemed like a princess, spoiled from a young age.

But he never imagined she had such a drastically different childhood.

Fang Zhou couldn’t fathom how Qiao Sisi had endured so much to become the lively and cheerful person she was now.

She was just a hedgehog, afraid of getting hurt.

In that moment, Fang Zhou opened his arms and embraced the shaking girl.

He stroked her back and head gently, whispering in her ear.

“It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”