Before Jiang Yu could leave the forest, he heard two male voices, one of which was very familiar.
"Xiaoyu, did Jiang Yu bully you again? I’ll go take revenge for you!" A deep male voice said angrily, with a tone full of resentment towards Jiang Yu.
A soft and weak voice responded, it was Qiao Shuangyu’s voice: "It’s not Brother’s fault. I made him upset. It’s my fault for not doing things well, which made Brother angry."
If someone familiar with the situation heard this, they would probably exclaim, "A fine, high-quality Bi Luo Chun" (a type of tea known for its delicate fragrance).
"Only you would defend him like that. If it were me, I would have beaten him half to death by now," the male voice said, extremely agitated. Hearing Qiao Shuangyu’s one-sided story, he had already developed a deep resentment towards Jiang Yu and wanted to teach him a lesson.
"Don’t say that, Brother. He’s nineteen already, and in the village, he should’ve gotten married by now…" Qiao Shuangyu hesitated, giving others enough time to imagine.
"Married? Oh right, I remember there’s an old cripple living on the back mountain, already in his thirties or forties, still unmarried. He doesn’t care about gender, so why not just marry your brother off to him? That way, your brother wouldn’t be so old and still unmarried. And he wouldn’t stay at home all day and cause trouble for you." The male voice suggested enthusiastically. Qiao Shuangyu lowered her head, a faint smile playing on her lips, completely in agreement with this idea.
Qiao Shuangyu weakly said, "Daniu, isn’t this a bit too much? Brother didn’t really mistreat me. Maybe he’s just upset because I took away Father and Mother’s affection."
"It’s all my fault, I’m the one to blame."
The man named Daniu immediately said, "Xiaoyu, you’re so cute, isn’t it normal for them to pamper you more? It’s too much to use that reason to bully you!"
Hearing Qiao Shuangyu call another man "Daniu," Jiang Yu figured out that this was likely Wang Shen’s son from the village, Jiang Daniu.
Jiang Daniu angrily spoke various malicious words to defend Qiao Shuangyu, cursing Jiang Yu.
---
After that, Jiang Yu could no longer listen. He hid behind a tree, pressing his mouth shut, making sure they didn’t discover him.
Jiang Yu lowered his head, his legs numb from standing for too long, sending waves of dull pain through him.
That old cripple was already thirty-eight years old, and his previous wife had been beaten to death by him. Now they wanted him to marry that old cripple? No, he couldn’t just sit back and wait for death.
He had to escape from this family as quickly as possible. He didn’t want to die.
But in his past life, even when his parents had chased him out, they never tried to marry him off to that old cripple. Could it be that it was because he had regained his memories that things had diverged from his previous life?
Jiang Yu felt disoriented, and he didn’t even know how he ended up back home. He was in a daze as he gathered the mushrooms that had been drying in the sun and cooked a big pot of mushroom soup.
He added a little bit of lard, which made it smell delicious. Even though there was no meat, it had a rich, meaty fragrance. The strong aroma wafted through the air, and the family next door, smelling the scent coming from the Jiang household, thought that Qiao Shuangyu must have found something good again, never once considering that it was because of Jiang Yu.
Although they outwardly envied the Jiang family for having a good son, inwardly, they were incredibly jealous. If Qiao Shuangyu had been their child, their family’s life wouldn’t have turned out like this.
"Uwah—!" The bear-like child, smelling the tantalizing fragrance that reached the heavens but unable to get any, let out a loud cry.
"I want to eat, I want to eat meat!"
The woman grabbed the child by the ear and slapped the back of his head, scolding, "Why are you crying? Are you trying to drive me crazy? You little hungry ghost, if you want to eat so badly, why don’t you go to their house? Ungrateful little beast, I’ve raised you so big, and now you want to beg others..."
The woman continued to scold as she yanked on the child’s ear, her loud voice even reaching Mu Mu, who was busy cooking.
Hearing the woman’s harsh words, Jiang Yu just lowered his head and focused on cooking. He needed to finish dinner before the others came back, or he’d be scolded again. After all, who said that being born into their family meant he would always get food? He was a perfect example of that, wasn’t he?
Once the mushroom soup was ready, Jiang Yu ate two big bowls by himself. Since it wasn’t the family’s grain and the others hadn’t returned yet, it didn’t matter if he ate it. They wouldn’t notice. If it had been the family’s grain, Jiang Yu wouldn’t dare to take any. Everything in the house was carefully accounted for. If he ate it, he would be scolded, and that was the mildest outcome. A few times, he had even been beaten.
After finishing the soup, Jiang Yu ate the two coarse wheat buns that Wang Hongmei had given him earlier. Afterward, he finally felt somewhat full.
He rubbed his slightly bulging stomach, almost brought to tears. It had been so long since he had eaten until he was this full.
He was naturally strong and did a lot of work, so he ate a lot. Two buns should be enough for anyone else to feel full, but after starving for so long and shrinking his appetite so much, he could barely manage half-full.
Why didn’t they like him? He always brought back a lot of food, and he worked hard too.
Jiang Yu lowered his eyes, a glimmer of tears seeming to flash in them.
He placed the mushroom soup back in the pot to keep it warm, then tidied up the yard. Only then did he go to the firewood pile and pull out a large heap of straw, spreading it over his little nest. It had been too cold yesterday, and if it continued like this, he might get sick.
If he got sick, he might be kicked out early. He hadn’t even found a place to stay yet.
Jiang Yu’s skin, as smooth and white as jade, looked especially pitiful against the rough, uncomfortable straw. His beauty was heartbreaking.
When the Jiang family returned in the evening, they happily devoured the entire pot of mushroom soup, without noticing where Jiang Yu had gone or why he hadn’t joined them for dinner.
They even thought that Qiao Shuangyu had brought the soup back, though it clearly had the flavor of Jiang Yu’s cooking. Yet, in their minds, it seemed as if a veil had been drawn over the truth.
Qiao Shuangyu sipped the soup, smiling without saying anything. Naturally, she wouldn't bring up anything about Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu lay on the straw pile in the pigsty, listening to the laughter and chatter from the yard. He curled his body into a small ball, like a child lacking a sense of security, as if this position would help him absorb warmth.
No one would think of him. It had only been a year, yet why had things turned out like this?
In Jiang Yu's beautiful eyes, crystal-clear tears slowly dripped onto the straw. It was all his fault for being so stupid—he could never win back his parents and brother.
The only thing he could do was watch them from afar.
If Qiao Shuangyu was the swan, then he was the ugly duckling. Was there any comparison between the swan and the ugly duckling? As long as he could leave this family, as long as he could leave Qiao Shuangyu, everything would get better. He would find people who would treat him well.
Jiang Yu fell into a deep sleep. It seemed like he was having a sweet dream, even with his mouth curled up in a smile as he slept.
YOU ARE READING
Quick Transmigration: The Extremely Beautiful Cannon Fodder
FantasyQuick Transmigration: The Extremely Beautiful Cannon Fodder Doesn't Want to Be Hurt He was born to be a celestial being, adored by all. Yet, through the interference of external forces, he became the tragic cannon fodder of each world. Until one day...
