56. Settlement

Inside the Chen family villa, Chen Ruomin casually chose one of the vacant guest rooms and asked He Wanqin to give Guo Jingyuan a full medical examination.

He Wanqin and Guo Jingyuan were not strangers; a few months ago, Chen Ruomin had brought her for treatment after an injury. But this time...

He Wanqin sighed.

Such a young girl, barely in her teens—who could be so ruthless?

After applying medicine and bandaging Guo Jingyuan’s wounds, He Wanqin left all the medication that would need to be changed over the coming week. She picked up her medical kit and closed the guest room door behind her.

“The situation isn’t great, but it’s not entirely hopeless,” He Wanqin gave a brief report to her employer. “She has plenty of both new and old injuries. Whoever beat her was skilled, choosing spots that are hard to see and causing mostly internal damage. She’s also moderately malnourished; it looks like she hasn’t properly eaten for at least half a year. The only good news is that, aside from these most recent injuries, the older wounds haven’t left any scars.”

Good news? Is that really good news?

Chen Ruomin frowned. Last time Guo Jingyuan was hurt, she thought it was just an isolated incident. But He Wanqin said she had “many new and old wounds,” which clearly meant... she was beaten regularly.

South City No. 1 High was a prestigious school. Even if there were a few troublemakers, the worst they’d do was pull hair or slap someone. It couldn’t possibly be as severe as He Wanqin described. Could it be that all the injuries came from her own family?

“A child like her—who could be so heavy-handed?” Yang Anxin fretted aloud. As a mother who couldn’t bring herself to touch even a strand of her daughter’s hair, she couldn’t imagine anyone being so cruel to such a pretty little girl.

“She has a stepmother. I suspect she’s involved,” Chen Ruomin explained simply.

Yang Anxin’s expression darkened.

“A stepmother wouldn’t necessarily go that far, would she? She’s just a child. Even if she did something wrong, couldn’t they just talk it out? Must violence be the answer?”

Yang Anxin’s own childhood was unhappy, so she had always been opposed to hitting anyone; it was a sore spot for her. Because of this, Chen Ruomin—despite her usual brashness and knowledge of self-defense—had never laid a hand on anyone.

“I don’t know,” Chen Ruomin soothed her agitated mother and nodded to He Wanqin.

“Thank you, Dr. He. It’s getting late—I’ll have the housekeeper prepare a guest room for you. You should stay here tonight.”

He Wanqin hesitated, then nodded.

“That’s best. If Miss Guo has any sudden issues, I’ll be able to handle them right away.”

Chen Ruomin replied with a simple “mm,” appreciating the wise woman’s understanding and saying nothing more.

Yang Anxin, however, was very concerned about the classmate her daughter had brought home. Hearing of Guo Jingyuan’s malnutrition, she immediately instructed the kitchen to prepare several dishes and told Chen Ruomin to check in on her.

When Chen Ruomin knocked on the guest room door, she saw Guo Jingyuan sitting quietly on the simplest wooden chair in the room, wrapped in the blanket Chen Ruomin had tossed to her in the car. She stayed far from the comfortable, soft bed in the center of the room, as if she wished to shrink into the corner.

“Why are you sitting all the way over there?” Chen Ruomin closed the door, puzzled. “Didn’t Dr. He tell you to lie down?”

Seeing Chen Ruomin enter, Guo Jingyuan bit her lip and rose from the chair.

“I…”

“Sit down.” Chen Ruomin cut her off without waiting for her explanation.

“I…”

Chen Ruomin frowned and pushed Guo Jingyuan onto the bed. Guo Jingyuan was startled, instinctively bouncing back up as if the mattress might hurt her. But she was so weak that with just a little pressure, Chen Ruomin had her settled back down.

“There aren’t any nails in the bed. What are you so afraid of?” Chen Ruomin folded her arms, looking down at the restless Guo Jingyuan. Each time Guo Jingyuan tried to stand, she pressed her back down with a firm hand. After a few rounds, Guo Jingyuan finally gave up.

“Was it your stepmother again?” Chen Ruomin asked.

Guo Jingyuan shook her head. “It was my father.”

Chen Ruomin raised an eyebrow. “What excuse did he use this time?”

The question seemed hard for Guo Jingyuan to answer. She was silent for a long time before whispering, “My stepmother said... I stole her necklace...”

“And your father believed her and demanded you hand it over?” Chen Ruomin filled in the rest. Seeing Guo Jingyuan’s surprised look, she shrugged. “That’s how it always plays out on TV.”

This time, Guo Jingyuan didn’t respond. She stared at her knees, one hand tightly gripping the fingers of the other, leaving deep red marks on her pale skin.

“I… Could I borrow some money from you?” After a long silence, Guo Jingyuan finally spoke up.

“What for?” Chen Ruomin asked.

Once the request was out, the explanation flowed more easily.

“I want to move out.”

“How much will you need?” Chen Ruomin asked.

At last, this woman was showing some backbone. If she’d suffered so much and still intended to return home, Chen Ruomin would have lost all respect for her.

“Ten… ten thousand,” Guo Jingyuan said, biting her lip.

Renting a room in South City—even the most remote single rooms—cost seven or eight hundred at least. To last until September when school started, she’d need at least five thousand for rent. College tuition would be another four or five thousand. Food could be kept basic; three buns a day would suffice.

Ten thousand was the minimum.

“After the college entrance exams, I’ll work and pay you back. Could you… lend me some for now?”

Guo Jingyuan looked up at Chen Ruomin, her eyes filled with anxiety. Her tightly clasped hands betrayed her intense unease.

Ten thousand?

That was nothing to Chen Ruomin.

From what Guo Jingyuan said, she needed the money just to get through until she was accepted into university. But what could ten thousand buy? Rent? With South City’s prices, where could she find such a cheap place—some slum?

Chen Ruomin stared at Guo Jingyuan for a while and shook her head.

“No.”

Guo Jingyuan’s gaze dimmed, but she said nothing, just bit her lip and lowered her head. Her hands gradually relaxed.

“You have a better option,” Chen Ruomin said, tapping her toe against the floor as she looked at Guo Jingyuan. “You can stay in this room. As for rent… you can decide.”

Guo Jingyuan looked up abruptly, eyes wide with disbelief, as if she couldn’t accept that Chen Ruomin would take in someone with such a terrible reputation, chaotic family circumstances, and so much baggage.

But she didn’t immediately accept the offer. After the shock passed, she hesitated.

“My family situation is complicated… I’m afraid I’ll bring trouble to you…”

“Trouble?” Chen Ruomin snorted, her face showing disdain. “Trouble fears me—I don’t fear trouble.”

She stepped forward, tugging at Guo Jingyuan’s ragged pajamas with visible distaste.

“Don’t dress like that in my house—it’s awful. I’ll have the housekeeper find you some of my old clothes. Our figures are about the same; you should be able to wear them.”

After a moment’s thought, she added, “By the way, I don’t like people touching my things. So once you’ve worn those clothes, don’t return them. As for the money… write an IOU and leave it in my room.”

Guo Jingyuan bit her lip, and tears she had held back for so long finally spilled from her eyes.

She looked at the woman standing before her—her face full of disdain, yet carefully preserving the last shred of her fragile dignity—and then reached out, wrapping her arms around Chen Ruomin’s slender waist, burying her face in her abdomen, and wept.