Chapter 383: Abandoned by the Times

"I said, Lai Di..." He slowly squatted down, his whole body reeking as he leaned closer to me. "Ever since you were little, I could tell you were a real beauty in the making. Who would have thought that at thirty-five, no one has snapped you up yet?"

"What...?"

"You know, your mom told me all about it—you've got something wrong with your head." He grinned widely, revealing his mouth full of yellowed teeth, and exhaled a foul stench. "If you behave, I won't lay a hand on you. But if not, I'll come by every day until I've beaten you into submission."

"Beaten... into submission...?"

I could hardly believe that something like this could happen in modern society. As a lawyer for ten years, I've faced threats and even been confined, but no one has ever dared to openly attack me.

"Do you have a problem...?" I said, clutching my abdomen. "There's nothing wrong with my head... No matter how much money you gave my family, just let me go, and I'll pay you back double."

"Pay me back?" Ma Tuhu extended a hand and lecherously lifted my chin. "You're my wife now. We're a couple, so your money is my money. What's there to pay back?"

"Do you even have any common sense...?" I tried to keep my voice steady, without any tremble. "A marriage needs a marriage certificate to be valid... You and my family made some deal and then tied me up here. This goes against my will and could even count as human trafficking. It's a serious crime—you could go to prison!"

Ma Tuhu fell silent for a moment after hearing that, then flashed an ugly smile.

"You really are messed up in the head." He sneered. "I went through a matchmaker and gave your old man the bride price. Both the matchmaker and your dad agreed, so why shouldn't you? You went to university and got an education, right? You know the saying 'Fumu zhi ming, Meiyao zhi yan'—don't you?"

"What 'Fumu zhi ming, Meiyao zhi yan'...?"

I felt it was utterly ridiculous. What year is this, anyway?

Have I time-traveled back to ancient times?

I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but society has developed so rapidly that it's created a contradictory divide among people of the same generation. Those who can keep up with the times are getting better and better, while those who can't are forever stuck in the past.

I remember when I was young, even making a phone call meant going to the only commune in the village. But as I grew up, a phone the size of a palm could "scan" away all obstacles.

Now, in the same province, you can hear cheesy ads like "If you love her, give her the first cup of milk tea in autumn," while at the same time, people are spouting weird ancient ideas like "Fumu zhi ming, Meiyao zhi yan."

All I can say is, times have changed too fast. Some people just don't want to keep up and get left behind in the shadows.

"Anyway, you took my money... So for the rest of your life, you're my wife." He pinched my face and said, "In the village, a sweet sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl only costs ten thousand yuan. Don't act like you're too good for this."

Truth be told, I was really scared.

From his perspective, there's no way he'd back down.

As the village's notorious troublemaker, if someone was willing to send their daughter into the lion's den, he wouldn't still be single at fifty-something.

Now, he's "bought" me with money and has no intention of returning me.

So, how on earth can I escape?

He's much stronger than I am, and the only good news right now is that he hasn't forced himself on me—

But that's probably just a matter of time.

"I don't agree..." I gritted my teeth and said, "What you're doing is illegal. If anyone finds out, they'll call the police. I advise you to stop now, and I promise not to press charges."

"You're making this way too serious..." Ma Tuhu's eyes gradually filled with contempt. "I'll say it again—we're already a couple. You're my wife, got it?"

"Go to hell with your couple nonsense!!" I couldn't hold back anymore. "Are you even listening to me? I don't want this! I don't! There's nothing wrong with my head; I just don't want to get married in this village. Is not wanting to get married a disease?!"

Ma Tuhu sighed after hearing me, his breath still foul. "You don't want to marry in the village—do you want to go to the city instead? What's so great about the city? Can you trust the men there? Everyone knows you're just a lawyer in the city, sounds like a tough life. You won't have to do that anymore. I'll give you free pork at home, and you just have my kids for the Ma family. I promise I won't go looking for other wives."

Absurd! Utterly absurd!

What was that just now?

A confession? A proposal?

I'll give you pork, and you give me kids.

What kind of ridiculous person says something like that?

"I said... I refuse." I said with a trembling voice, "If you let me go now, there's still a way out. If you wait any longer, it'll be too late, and you'll be in real trouble."

I thought we might at least talk normally, but as soon as I finished, another slap landed on my face.

Smack!

His hand felt like it was covered in pig grease—rank and sticky.

"Ungrateful wretch!" Ma Tuhu scolded. "Just you wait. I'll starve you for five days, and then you'll be begging to be my wife."

What...?

He stood up to leave, but I blocked his way.

"Hey! If you don't give me food or water, in this weather, I won't last five days—three days, and I'd be dead." I tried to reason with him from his point of view. "You want me as your wife, right? So you can't let me die. If I die, your ten thousand yuan will be wasted."

He snorted coldly: "Five days, and even a pig wouldn't starve to death. Are you saying you would?"

"I'm a person, not an animal." I shuddered as I covered my face and said to him, "At least give me some water. I haven't had any in a long time."

He thought about it for a bit, then shoved me hard to the ground and walked out, locking the door again.

I felt the situation was dangerous. This man really sees me as a pig.

He might actually let me starve to death here.

What I didn't expect was that a few minutes later, a bottle of mineral water and a bag of bread—one day from expiring—was thrown through the window in the wall.

I checked the mineral water bottle cap and the bread packaging; neither had been opened, so it should be okay.

If Ma Tuhu was careful enough to drug the water or food, there's nothing I could do about it.

I swallowed down the bottled water and the bread, feeling a bit better, but how am I supposed to get out of this tiny room that's only five or six square meters?

How long will I be trapped here?

Oh, right... Xiao Sun?

I suddenly remembered Xiao Sun. It's evening now, and he lost contact with me this morning. Will he realize I'm in danger?

Well... it's hard to say.

To him, this is my hometown.

There's no way he'd guess that my own parents sold me to a butcher.

And he'd never imagine that Zhang Chenze—someone who charges at least twenty thousand yuan just to handle a case in Chengdu—could be sold off for ten thousand yuan.