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The sky had long begun to dim, casting an amber hue over the quiet city streets.
Ah Yan drove home on his scooter, exhausted from a long day of work at the restaurant.
But something didn't sit right in his heart.
He hadn't received a message from Lin Yue since morning, and she hadn't answered his calls either.
He had a strange feeling pressing down on him, like a weight he couldn't shake off.
As soon as he parked outside their apartment and walked up the steps, he noticed something unusual.
The door was locked, but the faint scent of alcohol clung to the hallway air like a ghost.
He quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open.
His heart dropped.
The living room was dimly lit, the curtains half-drawn, casting eerie shadows across the floor.
Scattered across the room were empty beer cans, at least eight of them, some toppled over, their contents spilled into small puddles.
In the middle of the chaos, Lin Yue lay crumpled on the floor, curled up like a child.
Her hair was a tangled mess around her face.
Her cheeks were flushed red, not from sleep but from the alcohol.
Tear stains ran down her cheeks, her lips slightly parted in her sleep.
Her brows were furrowed even as she lay unconscious.
"Yueyue!" Ah Yan dropped his bag and rushed to her side, kneeling down with panic laced in his voice.
He gently shook her shoulder. "Yueyue, wake up... It's me, Ah Yan."
Her lashes fluttered weakly.
She opened her eyes slowly, eyes glassy, unfocused.
For a moment, she looked confused.
Then, a small, sad smile crept onto her lips.
"Ah Yan... you're back..."
"Yeah, I'm back. I'm off work," he said softly, brushing a lock of hair from her face.
Without warning, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.
He staggered slightly from the sudden weight but didn't push her away.
Her voice cracked, slurred with alcohol and thick emotion. "Ah Yan... do you think... I'm cursed?"
He stilled. "What? No, Yueyue, what are you talking about?"
She pulled back just slightly, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I lost my job today. That bastard boss fired me... said I missed too many days... but he—he wanted me to sleep with him, Ah Yan... said he'd let me stay if I gave him my body..."
Ah Yan clenched his fists.
His entire body went still, rage flashing in his eyes.
That bastard boss.
"You did the right thing walking away," he said gently, holding her closer. "You did nothing wrong. That man doesn't deserve even a second of your time."
She whimpered against his chest. "But I have nothing now... no job... no future... no family..."
He stroked her back, each word of hers piercing his heart like shards of glass.
"You have me."
She sniffled. "Why did they hate me, Ah Yan...? Why did they abandon me... my real parents?"
"Maybe... Maybe they're looking for you, even now."
She shook her head violently. "No! It's been twenty years! If they loved me, wouldn't they have found me by now?"
Her voice cracked, her body trembling.
"Do you know... how my adoptive parents treated me?"
He looked into her eyes, his heart heavy.
"They burned all my school books... just because I was doing better than my sister. They didn't want me to outshine her... I was fifteen when they made me get a job, scrubbing floors at a supermarket... Every time I brought home money, they took all of it... all of it, Ah Yan..."
His breath caught in his throat. He didn't know.
"When they cooked meat, they gave me the scraps, the bones... said I should be grateful to even have that."
Tears streamed down her cheeks freely now, hot and uncontrollable.
"They made me sleep outside one winter because I forgot to do the laundry. I was wearing just a T-shirt. I got sick... really sick... but no one cared. I still had to do the chores the next day."
Her voice dropped to a whisper, haunted.
"I heard them one day, when I was fourteen... arguing about me... That was when I found out... I wasn't even theirs... I was adopted."
She laughed bitterly, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "It all made sense then... the beatings, the hate, the way they looked at me like I was a burden. I tried so hard to make them like me... But it was never enough. Never enough..."
Ah Yan said nothing.
His voice had left him.
His mind reeled with images of a younger Lin Yue, crying silently in a corner, holding a broken doll, nursing bruises alone.
He imagined her small, cold hands doing dishes while her stomach growled.
He imagined her reading old,textbooks under candlelight, only to have them snatched away and set on fire.
His chest tightened painfully.
This woman—no, this strong, broken soul—had lived through hell and still smiled every morning.
She still got up, went to work, cooked for him, laughed with him, cared for him.
She stared at him for a long moment, her gaze filled with pain, longing… and something else.
Something deeper.
And her lips met his.
It was soft.
Hesitant.
The kiss of someone searching for something to hold onto—someone on the verge of breaking, grasping at the only warmth they had.
Ah Yan froze, heart hammering in his chest.
Her lips trembled against his.
Her hands clutched his shirt like he was the only thing anchoring her to this world.
Soft.
Desperate.
Heartbreaking.