allonlinenovel Chapter 1037 Listen to the Chapter! Be Sensible!
Chapter 1037 Listen to the Chapter! Be Sensible!
Li Shouren could even imagine the temperature of his scalding tears falling on his daughter's cheeks, and he could imagine his daughter crying loudly in his arms, letting out all her fears and then feeling a slight sense of relief.
But reason—no, not reason—was like Yusuke's venomous, cold gaze and naked threat of death, like an invisible, cold, hard iron chain that tightly constricted his throat, bound his hands and feet, and nailed him to the spot.
He can't! He absolutely can't!
He had to harden his heart and finish the play that was destined to push his daughter into the abyss of despair!
In order for her to grasp that seemingly "bright" but actually uncertain "path to survival" in this cannibalistic world, he must sever all her hopes for him!
Make her hate him, resent him, and even despise him, so that she can "peace of mind" and have no choice but to accept her new "fate"!
This realization was like a dull knife, repeatedly cutting into his internal organs.
He gritted his teeth, and the taste of blood in his mouth became even stronger.
Under his daughter's expectant and dependent gaze, he made a move that even he found incredibly cruel: he released Xiaojuan's hand and pressed it back down.
The movement was so large that Xiao Juan's extremely weak body swayed slightly, aggravating her wounds, especially her severed arm, causing her to let out a soft groan: "Hmm..."
Xiao Juan's aggrieved expression froze instantly.
She stared in astonishment, her pupils filled with disbelief, shock, and confusion.
She looked at her father, at his familiar yet suddenly strange and cold face, as if she didn't understand what had just happened.
Father... Why did Father pull his hand away? Father's expression... Why does it look so strange?
Li Shouren forced himself to ignore the hurt and confusion that was rapidly building up in his daughter's eyes.
He hardened his heart, his facial muscles stiffening as he tried to force out what he considered a greedy, relieved, or even shameless smile, as if he had sold his daughter for money.
However, the smile that ultimately appeared on his face was a distorted expression, even uglier than crying. The corners of his mouth were unnaturally stretched upwards, while his eyes were empty and panicked, unable to meet his daughter's pure gaze.
He spoke in a deliberately raised, almost boisterous voice, as if afraid the military police and medical staff "monitoring" him wouldn't hear. Every word was like a shard of ice pulled from an ice cellar, harshly striking the fragile child on the hospital bed: "Xiao Juan! It's good that you're awake! It's good that you're awake!"
He repeated it, his voice carrying an unnatural excitement and trembling, as if he were trying his best to hide something.
He rubbed his hands, which were covered in calluses and chilblains, his eyes darting around, sometimes glancing towards the doorway, sometimes fixed on a point in the air, but he dared not look into his daughter's eyes.
"Father... I have some amazing news to tell you! You... you'll have endless good fortune from now on! You'll never have to suffer with me again!"
As he spoke, Li Shouren hurriedly pulled out the blue homespun cloth that Old Mr. Chen had given him, which was now warm from his body heat.
His fingers trembled violently from the immense pain in his heart, completely out of his control.
The knot tied on the package seemed like the most intractable problem in the world at that moment.
He tore at it forcefully, nearly letting the slippery cloth slip from his trembling hands several times.
To onlookers, his disheveled actions made him look like a greedy man eager to show off his windfall.
Finally, with his almost violent tearing, the knot came loose.
The blue cloth fell away, revealing something inside that was golden yellow, still gleaming with a cold yet alluring luster under the soft lights of the ward—ten gold bars, commonly known as "big yellow croakers"!
They were neatly stacked together, heavy with weight, representing a huge fortune that would provide an ordinary family with enough food and clothing for many years.
The golden light not only illuminated Xiao Juan's face, which had grown even paler from blood loss and shock, but also pierced Li Shouren's eyes like needles, wounding his last shred of dignity as a father.
This was originally entrusted to him by Mr. Chen to save the lives of those orphans and find a true way to survive. But now he is using it to display the proceeds from "selling his daughter." What an irony and humiliation!
"Look! Did you see that?!" Li Shouren brought the bag of gold bars almost to Xiao Juan's eyes, so that the cold, hard texture was almost touching the tip of her nose.
His voice, distorted by the strained performance of "excitement" and the genuine torment within, sounded sharp and strange: "This is real gold and silver! Real gold croakers! Ten of them! A full ten!"
With the cruelest tone, Li Shouren stabbed his daughter's heart with the carefully crafted lie, word by word:
"Father! Father sold you! Sold you for an unprecedented price! Sold you to the Japanese! From now on! You! Li Xiujuan! Are no longer a girl of the Li family!"
Li Shouren observed his daughter's reaction while gathering the courage to continue speaking.
Xiao Juan's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking in shock, filled with bewilderment and confusion, as if she hadn't fully grasped the meaning of those words.
Li Shouren steeled his resolve and continued in that grating voice, "From now on... from now on you must serve your master well!"
Be obedient! Be sensible!
If your master tells you to go east, you can't go west! If he tells you to beat a dog, you can't chase a chicken! Do you understand?!
As long as you behave, you'll enjoy endless wealth and luxury! You'll wear fine silks and eat the finest delicacies!
He spoke extremely fast, as if if he slowed down even for a second, the grief and tears accumulating in his chest would burst forth.
This lie must sound incredibly real. My daughter must believe that Li Shouren is a greedy, inhuman beast who would easily sell his own flesh and blood for money!
Only in this way can all her hopes be severed, and only in this way can she be made to stay "wholeheartedly" by the side of the Japanese. Perhaps, only in this way can she earn a glimmer of hope in that unknown environment by relying on this "obedience" and "acceptance of fate".
This was the most helpless and cruel "way out" that this incompetent father could devise for her in a desperate situation.
Xiao Juan was completely stunned.
Her still-settled mind was reeling from the sudden news.
Sold? Like selling a family's old hen at the market, or like that poor little girl on the street corner who was sold by her own father to a wealthy family... Sold?
She stared blankly at the familiar yet utterly unfamiliar smile on her father's face, then lowered her head, staring blankly at the pile of gold bars gleaming with a cold light before her.
Is this golden thing the price that took her away? Is this the thing that made her leave her parents?