"Ya Nuo, can you tell me who did this to you? Was it the chained man at the three paths intersection?"
Her hands clenched on the blanket, "He was the one hired to keep track of me.. and they wanted me back so they could.. marry me off..and get money."
"That man is very strong. I saw one of his moves and I could tell that he must have trained for a long time. Do you know his name?"
"Everyone calls him the Boogie Man."
"I know these questions might get you uncomfortable and I won't ask you much. I need to know who is coming after you so we could do anything to prevent that from happening. Who wants to marry you off?"
"....my.. father.."
Tears rolled down her flushed cheeks as she cried and repeated, "My own..father.."
Marina's heart ached from hearing her cries, "Don't cry honey. It's alright. You're safe now.. you're safe.." She hugged Ya Nuo and rubbed her arm gently as she comforted her.
hiccups
"They're not human... they're nobody to me..they never treated me like their daughter."
Grandpa Hoon's nail dug into his palm leaving deep blue marks behind. "Alright, get some rest. You're tired from all this chasing."
"Grandpa Hoon.. Aunty Marina.. I don't want Huan Hei and senior Qi Yang to know about me.. so.."
Grandpa Hoon rubbed her head gently, "Don't worry. Your secret's been safe with me for all these years. I won't tell anyone."
Ya Nuo nodded and smiled slightly, "I'm kind of tired. I want to rest."
Marina fixed her pillow and helped her get in a comfortable spot, "Sleep well, honey. If you need anything, just call for us."
"Okay.."
Grandpa Hoon and Marina exited the room and was surrounded by Huan Hei and Qi Yang.
"How is he doing?" Huan Hei asked anxiously.
"He's fine. He only needs a good rest. Some bruises, nothing serious. Don't worry."
"Can we go inside and see him?"
"No. He just went to sleep. Let him rest. Go help Marina in the kitchen. She is going to make Ya Nuo's favorite dishes."
"Okay..." Huan Hei said in a low-spirited tone.
Marina smiled and patted his shoulder, "When he wakes up, you'll get to see him and eat with him."
"Mmm.." He smiled slightly as he followed Marina to the kitchen.
Grandpa Hoon sighed after the two left because ever since they came out of Ya Nuo's room, Qi Yang has given him a suspicious glance.
"Now that they left, grandpa, be honest with me."
"What do you mean?"
"You really think that I can't distinguish between a girl and a guy?"
"huh? I don't know what you mean." Grandpa Hoon tried brushing him off by pretending he didn't understand a word that Qi Yang was saying.
"Something must have happened in that room and I know it because I noticed the redness from Aunty Marina's eyes. Do you want me to prove it to you by going to Ya Nuo now?"
Grandpa Hoon hesitated in answering him.
"Alright, I guess I'll just go and try pulling off that so-called wig. Ahhh right, that also might wake her up."
Grandpa Hoon stopped him, "Stop!"
"Why? Because you know I can prove that he is a she?"
Grandpa Hoon sighed and dragged him to the garden.
"I didn't tell you it. You guessed it. This doesn't count as breaking a promise does it?"
"Who did this to her?"
"Private reasons, I can't say."
"Grandpa! That person probably wanted her life! And you can't tell me who it is so I can beat the crap out of him? Fine, if me alone can't do it, then what about gathering our whole Taekwondo trainees? That should beat that pig head!"
"No. I promised her that I won't mention any of this to anyone. This includes you."
"But"
"I already told her that if anything ever happens like this again to tell me. She promised. So until then, don't do or say anything to her."
"Since you won't answer my first question, I'm guessing the following question wouldn't be answered too."
"Depends on what it is."
"Why does she have a deep scar on her back."
"how did you.."
"When I carried her earlier, I felt it. From the roughness and shape of it, it is a scar from a long time ago. Although I didn't see it, my hands knows the difference between the wrinkle of a one-piece and scar.
Sigh
Grandpa Hoon shook his head.
"Then how about I interpret it? From the looks of it, Aunty Marina cried inside the room. The only time she ever cried for as long as I could remember was when she heard the story of a child being abused to death. Now, Ya Nuo has a scar on her back. Chances are that Aunty Marina saw it and she also noticed that Ya Nuo is a girl. That is why she didn't allow Huan Hei and I in the room while she treated her wounds. This wound is related to someone close to Ya Nuo.. perhaps.. her own family.."
Qi Yang's interpretation was correct to the point where Grandpa Hoon almost lost his balance.
"You're silent because I am right." Qi Yang cracked his knuckles while grinning evilly, "Let's start with her family then.."
"Stop. Don't do anything reckless. We don't know what the real situation is. If she decides to tell us later, then we will have the right to help her."
"Grandpa! Have you ever thought of Yan Yan? We watched Ya Nuo grow up and was by his side all these years. What if Yan Yan is facing the same situation as Ya Nuo? Would you still say what you're saying now? I treat Ya Nuo like my family so I don't want to see any bruises on her, let alone thinking about my sister!"
"We need to respect her privacy. If it was Yan Yan facing these problems, of course that will be a different case. How could I let anyone bully my granddaughter?"
"Exactly! so what is the difference between Yan Yan and Ya Nuo, other than that they are different by blood and name huh? Is our Xian family this easy to bully?"
"Qi Yang.. you don't understand. If we don't know anything and we just barge into somebody's life like that, it might end up with more people getting hurt. Just listen to me and don't do anything unless Ya Nuo asks. okay?"
"...fine. But don't stop me if I ever find out or see that someone is trying to hurt my junior. I'm not letting anyone off."
"Qi Yang, don't let other people know about Ya Nuo okay?"
"Don't worry. There is nobody to tell this to. Qi Yang walked towards the kitchen area and left Grandpa Hoon at the garden.