Xiaofeng from Lihua Village was feeling down because she hadn't had her period in two months. Lost in her thoughts and staring at the ground as she walked, her mind wandered back to what had happened two months ago when a man in a floral shirt blocked her path.

Startled by the man's sudden appearance before her, Xiaofeng's eyes reflected her terror as she attempted to return to the village only to be grabbed by the man, who said lecherously, "Xiaofeng, why run when you see me? After all, I'm your boyfriend, right? Come on, let's head to the straw pile behind and get cozy. I've missed you so much."

The man, while dragging Xiaofeng toward a straw pile at the edge of the village, took liberties with her body, his intentions anything but good.

As Xiaofeng was being fondled against her will, her anxiety was unbearable, yet she dared not make a sound for fear of being discovered. She couldn't risk the shame if it was found out that she was involved with Liu An. She struggled silently.

But her feeble strength was no match for Liu An, and it wasn't long before he dragged her to the straw pile.

"Where did this hooligan come from? I'll kill you, you hooligan, how dare you bully my daughter!" preoccupied with dragging Xiaofeng toward the straw, Liu An failed to notice a man resting in the shade nearby.

Seeing them approach, the man didn't say a word but picked up a hoe and aimed it at Liu An.

Terror-stricken, Liu An pushed Xiaofeng forward and ran off, shouting, "Murder! Murder!"

The more the man heard Liu An, the angrier he got. He threw the hoe's handle at Liu An's fleeing figure, hitting him in the back and sending him tumbling face-first into the ground.

Xiaofeng, shoved by Liu An, stumbled forward and fell headlong near the straw pile, where there was a large rock—the very stone bench the man had been sitting on moments earlier.

With a "thud," Xiaofeng's head struck the stone, and blood gushed out.

…

"Have you heard? The doctor just came by and said that Fengfeng is pregnant. Tsk, tsk, such a shy and quiet girl; it's unexpected she's pregnant. Whose is it?"

"People, no matter how talkative, probably have the same flirtatious nature as their mothers; they can't wait to throw themselves at a man."

"Having a baby before marriage, that's pretty avant-garde."

"Avant-garde? It's downright shameful."

In no time, the news of Xiaofeng's pregnancy had spread throughout the village. From eighty-year-old seniors to toddlers as young as three or four, everyone knew that Xiaofeng was with child.

People crowded in front of Old Man Su's house.

Most of them came to gawk and laugh at the Su family's misfortune.

The noise was relentless—conversations overlapped with laughter, disrupting Xiaofeng's attempts to sleep, leaving her soul feeling like it was adrift, unable to find peace.

"Old Man Su, what's this about? Are you blaming me for not keeping a close eye on Xiaofeng? She's a grown woman; how could I watch over her every move?" A quarrel ensued beside the bed.

"Brother-in-law, you can't just blame my sister for this. Xiaofeng's old enough to make her own decisions; unless she's willing, no one could force her."

"Old Man Su, it might be better if Xiaofeng terminates the pregnancy. Having a child before marriage, tsk tsk, how is she ever going to face people?" A voice relished the misfortune.

With a grim expression, Old Man Su looked at Xiaofeng, who was still unconscious on the bed, and felt agitated as he began to shoo people away. "Go on, get out, all of you!"

This damned girl, once she wakes up, he thought about whether or not he should break her legs.

Satisfied with the spectacle, the villagers dispersed.

Xiaofeng remembered taking medicine, hoping to conceive a child with help from someone, but whether the medication was wrong or not, after taking it, she felt off all over. Her throat felt on fire, and her body ached terribly.

Wondering if this discomfort was a result of the medication, she flailed her arms in the air, as if trying to grasp something. "I feel terrible..."

She assured herself that things would improve after one night. Once she was pregnant, she'd raise the child alone—without marrying anyone.

Xiaofeng's hands reached for something in the air, and her body twisted as she muttered indistinctly.

Annoyed by her antics, Old Man Su struck her delicate hands with a thin whip: "Xiaofeng, tell me clearly, who's the father of the child in your belly?"

Such misfortune has befallen our family.

Upon feeling the pain, Xiaofeng's hands stopped their aimless movement, and in her dazed state, she thought: "What child? I haven't even started to 'borrow seed'; where would a child come from?"

She slowly opened her eyes, but the harsh light was too much for her to bear, and she closed them again.

To Old Man Su, her reaction seemed like she was feigning sleep, and he struck her arm again with the small bamboo whip. "Xiaofeng, stop playing dead. If you can't explain whose child you're carrying, then get out of this house, and don't ever come back."