Chapter 245: 245 encounters
When Yuanyuan was about to get up, she suddenly spoke.
"I came from A City. I’ve been hopping trains the whole way. I have no money, and more importantly, I’m too afraid to take a train.
Hehe. I killed someone in A City and fled here. In truth, I had no real destination—I just boarded whichever train came. I didn’t expect to end up here and meet someone I could talk to."
Yuanyuan’s pupils contracted slightly, remembering the woman who fled after killing a man, which they had discussed.
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you for coming over to talk to me? After all, no one knows you here, nor your past."
The woman let out a wretched laugh, "Do you believe me if I say I don’t have the courage to turn myself in? Do you believe me if I say I want to be caught?"
Yuanyuan turned her face to look at the woman sitting on the ground beside her.
"So what’s your purpose in finding me?"
"Me? I don’t know. I don’t even know what I want now. Actually, throughout the journey, I kept wondering why I hadn’t been caught yet.
I don’t have the courage to confess."
Yuanyuan was overwhelmed with confusion, "Are you implying you want me to report you?"
The woman turned her face, and Yuanyuan earnestly looked into her eyes, full of sorrow and desolation.
What kind of life had this woman lived? For the first time, Yuanyuan felt sympathy for someone who had made mistakes.
But her sense of right and wrong didn’t allow her to help someone like this.
Yuanyuan battled with herself internally, finally pulling out two kiwis from her bag and handing them to the woman.
"I don’t know why you did what you did. But if there’s a hidden reason, the law does sympathize with the weak and will give you a fair explanation."
The woman let out another bitter laugh, "Really? Is that possible?"
"Yes, it is possible. I know there’s a reason behind everything that happens.
You’ve come here, and to be blunt, if you don’t want to admit any guilt, it’s hard for anyone to find you if you choose to live here anonymously.
But you sought me out, which means you don’t want to live like this."
"Yes, I’m tired, truly tired. I’ve thought about suicide, but then I feel it’s so unfair to myself. It’s not worth it.
Even though I’ve erred, I don’t want to die with unclarified truths. I’m done with living such a miserable life."
Yuanyuan watched her speak so calmly, unsure of how to console her.
"I don’t have a name. Since I can remember, people called me Daya. I don’t know my biological parents or why they threw me into a lion’s den.
I’ve never had a full meal or worn new clothes.
I could bear all that, and even endure their endless beatings and scoldings."
"Then why did you do what you did?"
"Hehe, I don’t know why I did it at the time either.
From the age of thirteen, I’ve been serving that man in my household. People say I’m a child bride, that man’s wife, but really, I’m just a victim of that old bastard.
The whole family are beasts. That man couldn’t perform, so they thought up this idea of getting me pregnant.
Ignorant at the time, I served that dirty old man at night and endured the impotent man’s torture by day.
This time, it was because I got pregnant. I’ve been pregnant three times before, but none of the pregnancies were kept. I heard what people said outside, I knew it was wrong. So I didn’t want the baby.
But they watched me very closely.
I didn’t want my child to come into this world; it would be unfair to him.
So after the baby was lost again, I felt relieved, but the family of three went mad with anger.
I’m not afraid of beatings, but you don’t know how they torture people.
On the third day after my miscarriage, that old beast tried to sleep with me again, and I don’t know what came over me—I took the scissors and stabbed him.
The impotent man was very excited when he found out, holding my hand and making me stab the old beast multiple times.
He became more and more manic; his mother came to stop him and was also injured by him.
When I saw that lazy woman who tortured me every day bleeding on the floor, I felt joyful inside.
That man had gone mad. He laughed crazily with the scissors, then burst into tears.
I had never seen anyone like that before. I was frightened and wanted to run.
Just as I was leaving the room, that man stabbed my arm."
Daya finished speaking and rolled up her sleeve. The wound was ghastly but had scarred over.
Perhaps this was why her conditioned responses to mistreatment had triggered her body’s healing powers?
Yuanyuan suddenly handed Daya a fruit candy, feeling only sympathy and pity for the woman after everything she’d been through.
Daya accepted the candy and put it in her mouth, a satisfied smile appearing on her face. So this is what candy tastes like.
Seeing her expression, Yuanyuan’s nose stung. She took out several more candies and placed them in Daya’s hand.
It’s so hard for a woman to live in this world.
Daya turned her face, smiling at Yuanyuan, "When I first saw you at the train station, I felt that I should come to you. No matter what, I should come to you."
Yuanyuan sighed, "Have you thought about what you want to do now?"
Daya nodded, "I want you to take me back. I know I won’t survive, but I want everyone to know I’m not a murderer.
I heard people talking about it on the train; they all said I’m a murderous demon.
But am I not? Am I not a murderous demon?"
Daya kept staring at Yuanyuan, and only when she nodded did tears fall from Daya’s eyes.
Yuanyuan’s eyes turned red. In her heart, she promised to find a way to stop this poor woman from bearing such a stigma.
"Why did he die after injuring you?"
"After he stabbed me, I ran desperately outside.
I lived in the innermost room, and to escape, I still had to pass through the old beast’s room.
At that time, I was weak, tripped over the threshold, and that man chased me with scissors, stabbing at me again. I dodged, kicking him.
Despite being a man, he had no strength at all and was knocked over by me. He lay on the ground laughing crazily.
Suddenly, he leapt up, knocked me over, and again held my hand, stabbing into his own chest."
Yuanyuan felt sorrow for that family. Perhaps that man was the only one with a shred of conscience, yet in the end, he still ruined this unfortunate woman.
"Come back with me to turn yourself in, I’ll do everything I can to help you. Do you believe in me?" Yuanyuan sincerely asked, gazing into Daya’s eyes.