The cold wind of autumn swept through the yellowing grassland. It was pitch dark at midnight, but it didn't stop two figures, a middle-aged man with a big belly and a thin girl in her late teens, from treading through the darkness as they headed toward a spacious horse shed within the farmland.
But if one took a closer look, they would realize that the man was dragging the girl forcefully, without an ounce of pity.
The girl was limping, her body shaking, but the fat man didn't hesitate to kick open the horse-shed door and throw her to the ground like a rag.
Her body swayed before she fell. Her gaze was hazy and her breaths were faint, but there was no trace of fear in her eyes, something that infuriated the fat man even more.
"You ungrateful wench! I told you that you should serve me in bed! I didn't adopt you out of that damn orphanage just to raise a waste! I've fed you for seven years, and now it's time for you to repay me with your body!" The fat man's voice echoed through the horse shed, and the horses began to neigh restlessly.
Meanwhile, the girl was barely clinging to consciousness. She could hardly make sense of left and right, but with all her remaining strength, she pushed herself up and stood her ground despite her shaking legs.
She stared at the fat man and, with unwavering determination, declared, "I would rather die than get raped by my own father!"
PA!
"STUPID BITCH!" She fell again after the hard slap. The fat man pointed at her and yelled even louder, "I don't want to play father anymore! You're old enough to get pregnant, so your responsibility is to be my wife, not my daughter!"
In the end, after realizing that the girl wasn't moving, the fat man kicked her stomach before spitting on her body, then left the horse shed.
He shut the door and returned to his house, leaving the girl battered from head to toe after nonstop assault.
If one examined her body closely, they would realize that not an inch of her skin was free from bluish-purple bruises. She was beaten almost every day. It was a miracle she still clung to her tiny life.
But she had a satisfied smile as she gradually lost consciousness.
Just like today, yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the many days before that, she had once again successfully resisted her adoptive father's advances.
She fought valiantly, struggling like a madwoman just to make sure that the fat bastard would lose his lust and replace it with wrath. She would rather be beaten to death than lose her virginity to a man she had seen as a father for seven straight years.
He needs to kill me first if he wants to wed me. Heh…
The girl snorted weakly. Even though her body was battered, her spirit remained unyielding. And once again, she lost consciousness.
**
"Sisi, can you help me feed the baby in cradle number five? I'm too busy right now."
"Yes, Matriarch!"
Eight-year-old Sisi was busy running errands around the nursery inside the orphanage. She was considered one of the older girls, so she had to help around the orphanage since nobody wanted to adopt her.
Sisi grew up in the orphanage. She never knew her birth parents; the Matriarch and the nurses said they found her at the doorstep when she was just a baby.
She had no name before, but because she kept mumbling "Si-si" when she was a toddler, the Matriarch decided to give her that name.
The Matriarch was benevolent to an abandoned girl like her, but Sisi knew better than to take advantage of her kindness. So she started helping around when she was five, and at the age of seven, she became a permanent helper in the nursery.
She was small for her age, but she was light on her feet, meticulous, and careful while handling babies, so she didn't find it difficult to care for the orphaned infants.
Like now, she was holding a baby boy, feeding him powdered milk while gently patting his bottom.
"There, there, don't cause trouble for Nurse Pollo or the Matriarch next time, alright? They're also your mothers," Sisi scolded the baby, though her face beamed with joy, her chubby cheeks forming dimples as she smiled.
"Looks like you're good at taking care of children, Sisi," the Matriarch, a kind, fifty-year-old lady, commented as she sat next to her. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and added, "If nobody adopts you once you turn fifteen, you should stay in the orphanage. You can be a nurse and work in the nursery permanently. What do you think?"
Sisi smiled and nodded without hesitation. "I'd love to. Thank you so much, Matriarch!"
She showed no sadness in front of the Matriarch, but deep down, there was a drop of sorrow in her heart.
She grew up without parents, and although the Matriarch and nurses were kind to her, she couldn't help but envy the other kids who got adopted early.
But she knew she was past the "adoptable" age in this orphanage, and had accepted her fate. In fact, it wasn't too bad, as she genuinely enjoyed caring for babies and toddlers and wished them all to grow up healthy.
There was something a nurse once told her that lingered in her mind:
You have a strong motherly instinct, Sisi. I'm sure your children will be happy to have a mother like you.
Sisi was content with her life in the orphanage and had no other plans… until Mr. and Mrs. Piker, her adoptive parents, saw her for the first time and decided to adopt her.
She still remembered Mr. and Mrs. Piker from seven years ago. Mr. Piker wasn't a fat middle-aged drunkard yet. He looked robust, being a farmer, while Mrs. Piker's health had always been frail. It showed in her pale, languid appearance.
"Sisi, these are your new parents. Say hi to your mom and dad," the Matriarch had said back then. She held Sisi's shoulder a little tightly, her voice hoarse.
Obviously, she was unwilling to part with Sisi, as they had formed a genuine bond. But every child wanted a proper family. She believed the Pikers would be a good home for Sisi, so she decided to let her go.
Back then, Sisi still remembered the tears dripping from the Matriarch's cheeks onto the top of her head.
Sisi didn't say much. There was a trace of grief at the thought of leaving the orphanage and the Matriarch, but also a newfound joy, she finally had a mom and dad.
Now, reminiscing about it, if Sisi could return to when she was ten years old, she would have refused the adoption. She would gladly have stayed in the nursery, caring for babies every day, and become Nurse Sisi once she turned fifteen.
Because her simple life became a hell on earth once she entered the Pikers' home.