Late at night.
When the rusted iron door creaked open again, I braced myself for another round of torture. But the footsteps were lighter this time, accompanied by the faint rustle of plastic.
I looked up and saw Shao Song.
He came back.
But, this time, he wasn't just holding a food container. There was a small medical kit, a neatly folded set of clean clothes, and a bottle of mineral water. He looked at me with no hesitation, but with the weight of a decision already made.
"I couldn't bring much," he said, crouching down and laying the items in front of me one by one, "But it's something."
I stared at him. My throat was dry and burning, but I said nothing
He opened the bandages with practised hands, soaked a cotton cloth in disinfectant, and began dressing my wounds. "Don't ask why," he murmured.
I clenched the mouldy fabric beneath me, teeth grinding against the searing pain.
"I'm just… repaying a debt."
"Debt?" I forced out the word that scraped my throat like a blade.
He kept dressing my wounds without meeting my gaze. The disinfectant seeped into the torn skin, burning like fire. Pain shook through my entire body, but I didn't make a sound.
"Twenty years ago, my mother worked for the Bai family. Your mother was her superior, and also her saviour."
He paused, staring at something only he could see.
"She had a bleeding episode while she was pregnant with me. The doctor said it was dangerous. At the time, the Bai family was hosting a banquet and my mom was just a low-ranking servant, and no one cared. It was your mother who personally took her to the hospital and even got her the best obstetrician."
"If it hadn't been for her, my mom would've died that night. And I wouldn't even be here."
I froze.
So this was how deep that kindness truly ran.
"When your mother was transferred, she gave my mom some money. Told her to leave the Bai estate and raise me somewhere safe."
He gave a faint, bitter smile. "My mom never forgot. She told me that never forget kindness, no matter what."
"Neither should you," I said.
He was silent for a long while. Then said softly, "I haven't forgotten."
"But you're still with them." I stared at him, anger rising for the first time. "You watched them beat me, watched me dying, and now you come to save me?"
He dropped his gaze, lips pressed into a tight line.
"This is how you repay a debt?" I shouted at him.
"You don't know who they are," he said suddenly, voice low and taut like a stretched wire. "They're not just kidnappers. They're mercenaries or killers. Hired by someone who has a personal vendetta against the Bai family."
I was stunned.
"What do you think I could've done? My mom's still in their hands. If I betray them, she will die."
Silence wrapped around us like a noose.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
"…But I still came," he said, like a plea. "Tomorrow, they're planning to 'dispose' of you. Burn your body. Forge a death certificate. Erase you completely."
My heart suddenly clenched.
"The factory will 'accidentally' burn down. Your body…just another anonymous corpse. No one will be able to find you."
My voice came out hoarse, "So this is my only chance…tonight?"
He nodded: "I can only help you once."
He spread out a hand-drawn map, marking a red circle.
"This is a ventilation shaft in the old district's sewer system. I explored it secretly this afternoon. If you can make it there, you'll be able to escape the lockdown zone."
He took a small folding knife from his pocket, along with a bottle of water and two pills.
"Painkillers," he said, "and… in case you really can't move anymore, just don't make too much noise."
I looked at him, and suddenly, it felt like there was nothing left in this world I could rely on—nothing, except this person.
Even if it was just out of a sense of obligation.
"Thank you," I said softly.
He didn't answer. He just stood up and placed a set of clothes on my knees.
"Put these on and leave while they're switching shifts. It'll be chaotic. I'll make some noise outside to help distract them."
"You won't… be caught, will you?" I asked, looking up at him. "Will you escape with me?"
"I can't," he said, barely above a whisper. "They're already watching me. If you make it out alive… just consider the debt to my mother settled."
I nodded and didn't ask more.
As he turned to leave, he suddenly paused and said in a low voice: "They could've let you go that night. Bai Wanyi's money was enough to ransom you… but the order came from above is to release only Li Junxi."
My heart jolted.
"Why?"
He murmured, "Because… you're her biological son."
"They wanted Bai Wanyi to suffer."
And at the moment the door closed, I realised something for the first time:
The cruellest punishment in the world isn't pain. It's being forced to walk into death when you could have lived, and all because of the blood that runs in your veins.