Worried that something was wrong with her mind, Gu Xiaoxu began carving words on her body with her fingernails.
She wrote her name over and over again on her hands, arms, and thighs.
Before that boy, Gu Xiaoxu had two other children.
The first one is a girl.
After an experienced elder in the village examined the situation, Zhou Lai Fu got a bowl of abortion pills from somewhere and aborted the four-month-old baby.
He pierced the fetus' body with a needle and buried the body on the road outside his house.
Zhou Lai Fu did it on purpose. It is said that in this way, girls would not dare to be reborn into their family.
Gu Xiaoxu's second child is also a girl.
Gu Xiaoxu has been in poor health since she had a miscarriage. She miscarried when she was three months pregnant.
She had no maternal feelings for the two children, but the two embryos reminded her that she did not belong here.
Here, she is a pig or a dog, a beast, a tool for procreation, in short, not a person.
Gu Xiaoxu’s misfortunes were far more than these.
After the miscarriage, before she had recovered, Zhou Lai Fu grabbed her hair and dragged her to the ancestral hall.
Because she couldn't give birth to a son, the elders in the village said that she was possessed by evil spirits and they wanted to exorcise the evil spirits in the ancestral hall.
All the men, women, young and old in the village, beat her with fists and feet. They first beat her until she vomited blood, and then whipped her with a whip dipped in salt water until her skin was torn and flesh was exposed.
In order to prevent her from resisting, four women held down her limbs.
The blood from her lower body had not yet dried out, and Zhou Lai Fu started again every night.
This time, it's a boy.
When the baby was born, Zhou Laifu was so excited and proud that he even untied the dog chain to reward Gu Xiaoxu and allowed her to go out and meet people.
He got a jade Buddha pendant from somewhere and asked Gu Xiaoxu to wear it to bless his son's safety.
Gu Xiaoxu threw the pendant away on the spot and was beaten again.
It was very difficult for Gu Xiaoxu to give birth to this child. Watching the child grow up day by day, she felt no joy at all and only wanted to die together with Zhou Laifu.
And she did just that.
While the peddler was in the village, she bought a few packets of rat poison.
On her way back, she was stopped by a beggar.
The beggar asked her: "Do you know Gu Yiming?"
Gu Xiaoxu's escape was not smooth. When she was about to leave the village, Zhou Laifu and the men in the village came.
Gu Xiaoxu was really desperate at that time. Cui Baixing told her again and again that this was not the place for her to stay, and that as long as Gu Xiaoxu wanted, he would take her away.
Gu Xiaoxu mustered up all the courage in his life and left that hell.
In order to protect her, Cui Boxing and Lin Dapeng were both beaten. The village chief even threatened that if Gu Xiaoxu was not kept, none of them would be able to leave.
Later, it was Lin Dapeng who fired the gun and they finally surrendered.
Lin Dapeng was punished for this and missed the promotion that year.
After returning to Haicheng, with the help of the Women's Federation, Gu Xiaoxu changed her name and identity to An Xile.
But for a long time, Zhou Lai Fu's vicious eyes made her unable to sleep.
The psychologist said that her condition was rather complicated, with both post-traumatic stress disorder and depression tendencies.
The most difficult time has passed, and Gu Xiaoxu wants to live a good life. She takes medicine every day and sees the doctor on time. Although her condition has recurred, it is generally getting better.
She had already started living.
After hearing her past, Gu Yiming hugged her and burst into tears.
Gu Xiaoxu was on the verge of collapse, but she had to comfort him first.
She stretched out her hand to reach for the tissue, but saw Zhao Ruihe at the door.
Gu Yiming was in such a hurry when he came in that he forgot to close the door.
He didn't know how much he had heard, and when he saw Gu Xiaoxu looking at him, a look of panic appeared on his face, and he ran away.
Soon, Gu Xiaoxu heard the elevator door open and he left.
Gu Xiaoxu became scared again.
Will he tell others that his daughter is Xiao Xu
Will he look down on himself
Gu Xiaoxu wanted to cry, but her tears wouldn't fall. The tears were stuck in her throat, choking her and almost suffocating her.
There was a pair of shoes in sight, Gu Xiaoxu raised his head, it was Zhao Ruihe.
He is back again.
At this moment, his expression became firm. He asked, "What can I do for you?"
He suggested, "How about we hold a press conference and explain—"
It seemed that all the grievances had found an outlet, and Gu Xiaoxu collapsed and shouted:
"What's there to explain? The law has already sentenced that bastard and his mother to human trafficking."
"The law has ruled that I am a victim."
Zhou Laifu also hugged his son and cried in front of the camera. Gu Xiaoxu said:
"Everyone who protects wild animals knows that there will be no killing if there is no buying or selling. If no one needs me, I will not be sold."
"He is not a victim, he is an accomplice. In his arms is the evidence of his crime."
"Isn't the law the bottom line for humanity? Why does the law punish him? Why does the law allow him to say such things?"
"What should I explain? What do I need to explain? Should I tell you about my days in hell and make it a topic of conversation in your spare time?"
"The only explanation I need is why this beast is still alive and why I didn't kill him in the first place!"
The light in her eyes was so captivating that no one could doubt that if Zhou Laifu appeared in front of her now, she would immediately tear him into pieces.
She was so excited that her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was bleeding.
Zhao Ruihe was startled and quickly comforted her. Gu Yiming stopped crying and helped his sister stop the bleeding.
At this time, Gu Xiaoxu's cell phone rang.
Gu Xiaoxu thought that Zhou Laifu and his gang had found him, and his emotions, which had just calmed down, became agitated again.
Gu Yiming found the phone, only to discover that the caller was Cui Boxing.
Cui Baixing's voice was steady and calm, which made people feel safe. He only said two words to Gu Xiaoxu: "You are An Xile, live your life peacefully."
Gu Xiaoxu trusted him very much and gradually relaxed.
She said worriedly: "... They are scheming you."
Cui Boxing said: "If you are upright, you have nothing to fear. Besides, I am a journalist and I live in public opinion."
Cui Boxing sounded indifferent, as if everything was under his control.
In fact, as soon as he finished the call, he turned off the phone.
The vice president sneered and threw the document in front of him, "You review this major project."
Cui Baixing took it and asked, "Why didn't you ask me to come over?"
The vice president looked at his desk and saw that the internal phone had been disconnected.
Since the latest issue of "Wei Guan News" was released, Cui Boxing and "You Xian Reading Newspaper" have been almost bombarded with calls. Although He Youwei did not name anyone, everyone knew that she was talking about Cui Boxing's "undercover in the mountain village to rescue abducted women."
The vice president felt sorry for his old friend: "You put so much thought into teaching a fool."
Cui Boxing shook his head, "Everyone has their own aspirations, don't get angry about this kind of thing."
"Besides, you know what the current situation is in our circle. Everyone has long been shameless in order to attract attention. To be honest, I thought He Youwei would invite me to participate in the show and confront me face to face."
The vice president looked at Cui Boxing cautiously, pushed his glasses, and was about to speak, but Cui Boxing interrupted him, "No, don't even think about it. I won't let the person involved come out to clarify."
"I accepted the compliments back then, and I can also endure the scolding now."
The vice president was anxious, "But they are spreading rumors, they are talking nonsense. It's not fair to this person or to that girl!"
"We don't need her to come forward. Can't we interview her over the phone? I'll change her voice so no one will recognize her."
Cui Boxing still disagreed, "What if? We can't be sure, no one recognized her."
"Don't underestimate today's technology, and don't underestimate how bored people are today. Don't underestimate the extent to which a person is eager to bring chaos to the world."
"You know very well that some people have no bottom line just for a few minutes of conversation and their own voyeuristic desires."
"That girl has finally returned to a normal life, and I don't want to disturb her."
The vice president cursed, "Okay, I am a mean person, and you are noble. Just let them throw dirty water on you. Do you know that 'Cui Baixing' does not belong to you alone? 'Cui Baixing' represents 'Youxian Reading Newspaper'!"
"You can bear it if you don't clarify. Do you know that every report you made before will be doubted—"
Cui Boxing interrupted him, "I don't care. My report complies with procedural justice and the law. I don't care if they question it."
"Have you ever thought that we report so much news, and every time someone questions it, we clarify it. Then why don't we just work?"
He advised the vice president, "It's okay. He Youwei just wants to disgust me. Let her make a fuss for a while and then just ignore her."
The deputy editor-in-chief got angry and cursed: "This bunch of journalists in our country are just not as good as those in foreign countries—"
Cui Baixing interrupted him, "No, please don't say such things. I have worked abroad and I have the right to speak."
"If you ask me, we in the same industry are being led astray by foreigners."
"I won't say any more. Just look at five years ago. People were not so impetuous. They all wanted to help the people solve their problems in a down-to-earth manner."
"Look at the past few years. As soon as foreign capital came in, whether it was directly involved or through domestic companies, as soon as they came in, the entire employment environment immediately became the same as that abroad. We who play with words are no longer human beings, but just tools of those rich people."
"Whether it's excluding dissidents or spreading rumors, as long as there's money to be made, all the character of a scholar or the dignity of a journalist goes to hell."
"You know what's most frightening? In just a few years, we have forgotten our roots. Haven't you noticed that many journalists, no, we should call them media people, have a sense of superiority?"
"They know that their pens are useful, and that the words they write are useful, so they start to control public opinion."
"They cut off the beginning and the end of their reports. They only report the parts that are most likely to cause public opinion. They hate peace and prosperity the most because only when there is chaos can they feel their presence."
“But these are not the most fatal things.”