Anan

005 Completely defeated (1)

Li Xinyuan has only one elder sister. Before Li Xinyuan was born, her family lived in the countryside. However, her parents, diligent and resilient, left their hometown and moved to the city. They started by setting up a stall for small businesses and later rented a small storefront. Surprisingly, they managed to save a small fortune and bought a two-bedroom apartment in the city.

Li Xiaoyi was born in the countryside, while Li Xinyuan was born in the city. When Li Xinyuan was babbling, Li Xiaoyi was already helping her mother and taking care of her younger sister. Li Xiaoyi's character resembled her mother's: gentle, kind, diligent, and honest. With a beautiful and charming appearance, she had no shortage of suitors since her teenage years. Her current husband, Zhou Zhihao, was one of them.

Li Xinyuan's character was completely different from her sister's. She had never experienced life in the countryside and was the pampered youngest child in the family. With the love of her father, the care of her mother, and her sister always putting her first, Li Xinyuan developed an extremely cheerful and positive disposition, laughing and joking with everyone.

Li Xinyuan was a girl who grew up surrounded by love.

Therefore, when she was with Xie Zhilu, Li Xinyuan always exchanged sincerity for his heart, never considering the practical issues Xie Zhilu mentioned. In her opinion, love was the most important thing, and both should adhere to their commitments.

So, when Xie Zhilu suddenly gave up, she was caught off guard.

Because she had never been so disappointed by anyone before.

---

Even though it was late at night, Li Xinyuan didn't hesitate to call her sister after seeing her sister's text message.

After ringing for a dozen times, someone finally answered.

Li Xinyuan: "Sis, what's wrong?"

On the other end of the phone, Li Xiaoyi remained silent, with only the sound of breathing carrying a certain stagnant moisture.

"I'm sorry! I worked late last night and was busy today, so I just saw your message... Are you okay? What happened? Sis, tell me."

Li Xiaoyi smiled bitterly, "It's nothing, just the same as before."

Anger surged in Li Xinyuan's heart, "Did he hit you again?"

Li Xiaoyi whispered, "Mm-hmm."

But Li Xinyuan felt both sorry for her sister's misfortune and angry at her resignation. Having graduated from a prestigious university and transformed into a sophisticated urban woman, she couldn't understand why her sister, who graduated from vocational school and stayed in her hometown, lacked the courage to fight against her fate.

So when Li Xinyuan spoke, there was a hint of resentment in her tone: "How many times have I advised you? Why don't you divorce him? This scum who abuses you, should you keep him for the New Year?"

Her sister just choked back tears.

"Sis, you should get a divorce!" Li Xinyuan's eyes also teared up, "After you divorce, you and Niuniu come to Xiangcheng and live with me! If you want to find a job, find one. If you don't want to, I'll support you both! I'm your way out!"

Her sister cried, "Thank you, Xinyi. But, it's not that easy. He won't agree to a divorce. If I mention it, he'll never let me go... Even if we really divorce, I've looked into it. In our situation, his family is wealthy, with storefronts and shops. I've been working as a saleswoman in his family's store for the past few years, with low income. The child is likely to be awarded to him. How can I leave Niuniu to him? Niuniu is my life, she's my life! That beast, he's even hitting Niuniu now. If he remarries in the future and abuses Niuniu with someone else, what should I do?"

"Are you just going to endure this? You texted me yesterday saying you had made up your mind, what decision did you make?"

Li Xiaoyi: "It's nothing..." Suddenly, there was a noise on the phone. Through the phone line, Li Xinyuan could feel her sister's trembling. Li Xiaoyi hurriedly said, "He's back, I can't talk anymore."

The call ended.

Li Xinyuan stared blankly at her phone, her first thought was to call her brother-in-law Zhou Zhihao and scold the bastard. But she knew it wouldn't work. Even if she scolded him and felt relieved, Zhou Zhihao, that insidious person, might still apologize with a smile on his face. Then he would turn around and beat her sister even harder—such things had happened before.

She called her father instead.

Her father was awakened, his voice deep and concerned, "Xinyi? What's wrong?"

Li Xinyuan, tears in her eyes, said, "Dad, go and pick up my sister and Niuniu! Sister was beaten again by Zhou Zhihao! Let her divorce him! Get divorced quickly!"

Her father was also startled, "Did your sister tell you this?"

"Yeah!"

"I'll call your sister and brother-in-law right away!"

Li Xinyuan's mind settled a bit. After a while, she suddenly realized that this wasn't right—Zhou Zhihao had already come back home.

Her elder sister was being wronged, she reflexively sought help from her parents, which was foolish.

She immediately called her father again, but the line was busy, and her mother didn't answer either.

After about half an hour, Li's father called

her back, sounding relieved, "Xinyi, it's all right now. You, a young girl who's never been married, don't understand things. Don't make a fuss. I just talked to your sister and brother-in-law on the phone, and they're fine. They were just joking and laughing, saying they had a little argument during the day, and your sister called to complain. Zhihao repeatedly assured me that he just lost control due to drunkenness last time and won't do it again."

Li Xinyuan's heart sank, "Dad, don't believe him, he's lying to you, sis acts as if nothing happened... She must have been threatened."

Her father didn't like hearing this. He had always been a simple and honest person, and his biggest wish was for the family to live in harmony. Thinking back to last month when Zhou Zhihao brought their eldest daughter and granddaughter home, he was so respectful and considerate. Subconsciously, he didn't believe it.

He said, "Nonsense, what threats? Your sister is an adult, if she's really aggrieved, won't she say it? Last time, he knelt down and apologized to your sister and us. A man kneels down, it's worth its weight in gold! Last month, Zhihao bought your sister a gold necklace, we all saw it. If he really treats her badly, would he be willing to spend money? Okay, it's late at night, don't interfere in your sister and brother-in-law's affairs!"

Li Xinyuan was furious, shouting, "He's pretending! What's a gold necklace? It's just covering up! Despicable and low!"

Her father couldn't help but laugh, and her mother chimed in from the side, "Alright, alright, Xinyi, are you doing okay recently? Is Zhihao okay? Did he pass the civil service exam?"

Her father added, "Yes, did he pass?"

Li Xinyuan suddenly felt deflated and answered, "The results haven't come out yet... Okay, if you don't believe me, I won't say anymore. Go to bed early, hang up."

Li Xinyuan buried herself in the quilt, "Ah, ah, ah, ah," scratching and hitting randomly, venting for a while. She lifted her head, looked at the cool moon outside the window, shining on the countless reinforced concrete buildings. The city was so quiet and vast. Having been in Xiangcheng for seven years, she had never felt as weak and helpless as she did at this moment.

Even though she had always been obedient and hardworking since childhood, with consistently good grades, excelling in everything she did—computer programming, financial accounting, and even drawing, casually drawing for a few years could match those with special talents; she had always been carefree and confident, a little goddess in college, even the acknowledged male god Xie Zhilu was her follower.

But why did she feel like such a failure now?