"Roulan, be good with your auntie, ok?"
"Mom-"
"What did your mother say?"
Roulan looked towards the man towering over her and her mother. She quickly looked away upon seeing his glaring eyes.
Her mother, Cao Ju, smiles at the young Roulan before glaring at her husband, who snickered quietly at Roulan's reaction.
Li Yuanjun, Roulan's father, received a smack from his wife, causing him to wince in pain. His hands rubbed the part where he received the smack.
He quickly squatted down, gently grabbing Roulan's face and turning it his way. He quickly smiled widely, causing Roulan's scared feelings to go away a little bit.
"We'll only be away for a week; make sure to be good around your auntie, ok?"
Speaking of her auntie, an engine outside of their house was heard. Yuanjun and Ju both look towards the entrance of their manor, seeing as Yuanjun's sister, Li Jingfei, goes inside with her luggage.
"Auntie Lan, help Jingfei carry her suitcase."
An old lady who had been serving the Li family for 15 years went out of the kitchen and smiled widely at Jingfei.
She quickly grabbed the suitcase from Jingfei's grip, pulling it towards the guestroom on the first floor.
Ju went towards Jingfei and pecked the younger woman's cheeks with hers as a greeting. The younger woman smiled a little.
"How are you?"
"I'm good; no need to worry."
"We're sorry if we're leaving for a week; I know how hard it must be for you."
Yuanjun said, his hand coming into contact with his sister's shoulder as he patted it gently. Jingfei recently had a funeral with her son two weeks ago.
It was the most devastating week of their lives after a 3-day vacation on the beach, but it suddenly turned into a nightmare for the family. Li Yun, Roulan's only cousin and the potential successor of the Li family, died by drowning.
Roulan looked towards her auntie and heard what her father said. At such a young age of 7, she already understood the world.
She knows that her auntie needed her family at this devastating time, so as a good daughter and niece, she went towards her auntie and hugged her legs.
"It will pass, Auntie."
She said she was trying to comfort the older woman. Jingfei looked at Roulan before carefully hugging the girl. Yuanjun and Ju smiled at each other before they nodded their heads.
"We'll head out now, alright?"
Yuanjun said, his hands grabbing the two suitcases beside him as his other arm went and snaked around his wife's waist. Jingfei broke the hug as Roulan went and clung to her mother's legs.
"Mom."
"Roulan, baby, we'll come back after a week with toys."
Ju squatted down and rubbed Roulan's cheeks with her thumb. The girl could only tear up as she nodded her head and looked down on the floor. She quickly went away from her parents, not wanting to disturb them more.
She went towards the living room, putting her face on the pillow as she sobbed. Ju and Yuanjun look at each other before smiling sadly.
"Jingfei, we're really sorry; please take care of Roulan."
The younger woman nodded at her brother before she escorted them out of the Li Manor. Upon seeing that the two were already out, her hands balled into a fist before she stormed inside the manor.
She quickly went towards the living room and gritted her teeth, seeing the 7-year-old Roulan continue to cry. Her hand came into contact with the kid's butt, spanking her.
"Auntie!"
Roulan cried, her head shooting up to stand up from the couch and rub her buttocks. Her eyes were tearing up more as her nose oozed out snot from crying too hard.
Jingfei's eyes went red, and she couldn't control her hands. It quickly went towards Roulan's arms and butt as she continuously spanked the girl.
Roulan couldn't help but cry out loud, her eyes looking towards the two entrances of the living room, waiting for Auntie Lan to see what her auntie was doing.
"You should be the one dead!"
Jingfei yelled, her eyes tearing up as she remembered how pale her son's face looked. She was quickly pushed away from Roulan as Auntie Lan went and looked at the kid worriedly.
"Ms. Li, what are you doing to your niece?"
She asked worriedly, her hands wrapped around Roulan's as she gently rubbed the kid's back to try and soothe the girl.
Jingfei didn't answer the old woman's question; her eyes glared toward Roulan as she went away to console herself inside the guestroom.
This physical and mental torture that Roulan feels whenever she's alone with Jingfei goes on for 10 years. Without her parents knowing.
Jingfei was good at knowing where she should hit Roulan and blackmail Auntie Lan. After the first week of torture, the poor old woman was about to talk it out with the parents, but Jingfei interrupted her.
And she threatened the old lady with killing her daughter. This leaves Auntie Lan no choice but to stay quiet and watch as Jingfei painfully tortures Roulan.
Yuanjun and Ju always saw how Roulan's sunshine personality suddenly turned into a gloomy one. The garden that they're taking care of suddenly died as the day passed, and Roulan continued to grow.
Until one day, Ju felt like something was wrong and went to take a vacation with Roulan.
"Roulan, baby, is there something wrong?"
Roulan was already a teenager; her personality still hadn't changed, and she rarely smiled. The teenager looks at her mother before smiling a little as she continues to draw on the sand.
Ju took the seat beside her daughter, looking at her carefully. The wind suddenly blew hard, causing their hair to fly and Ju's eyebrows to furrow.
"Where did you get that?"
She asked, her hand grabbing her daughter's hair before carefully raising it. She released a gasp, seeing a fresh bruise on Roulan's nape.
Her eyes suddenly tear up while Roulan looks away in fear. Ju quickly wiped her tears before she gently grabbed Roulan's face and made her look at her.
"Baby, tell me who did that."
"No, Mom. I just slipped in the bathroom."
Roulan said, her eyes looking away, which caused Ju to shake her head and gently turn her daughter to look at her again.
"Tell me."
It went on for half an hour until, finally, Roulan said Jingfei's name. Ju couldn't believe it; how could her husband's sister hurt her niece?
She couldn't feel anything but anger. Her hands went towards her pocket, and she quickly dialed her husband's phone. In not even a single minute, Yuanjun's car drifted into their rest house.
"Is it true?"
"We're going to your sister's house."
And that very same day, because of how angry Yuanjun was and how badly he wanted his palm to stick to his sister's cheek, he fastened the drive of his car.
Which resulted in a car crash with another car.
"Roulan."
The mentioned woman opened her eyes; she quickly shot her head up, and her eyes teared up upon seeing Yanmei at the door. She quickly stood up and hugged the older woman, shocking Yu, who stood behind Yanmei.
"She - she tr-tried to hurt me."
Roulan sobs, her head buried on the older woman's shoulder as her cries become a little louder. Yu quickly grabbed her phone and dialed Lanfen, to which the woman quickly responded with a hang-up the call and ran to the other side of the campus.
Yanmei doesn't know who Roulan's talking about, but her arms were wrapped around the taller woman's body, and she tried to comfort her.
"Shhh, no one's going to hurt you."
"Stop crying now, baby; it's alright."
"I'm here; I'll kill whoever touches you."