The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 630
Chapter 630: Indifference
On the day of the wedding.
His mother’s grave was still fresh, and he and his younger brother spent the entire night weeping before it. Their father—he never even noticed that they hadn’t returned home.
Later, their stepmother became pregnant and could no longer tolerate them.
He never dared to leave his brother at home. Even when going up the mountain, he carried his brother on his back, afraid that their presence might offend their stepmother.
But as she bore a son of her own, the family’s struggles only deepened.
She even caused several uproars over it.
His father, full of remorse, tried to console her, but in the end, he was helpless. He had a new wife, a new son, a new family.
His father had become a stranger.
Then one day, his father brought a slave trader into their home.
That night, he fled with his brother.
They slept beneath bridges.
Upon graves.
Within abandoned temples.
They begged for food, living hand to mouth.
He protected his brother as best as he could.
But in the end, he still couldn’t escape fate.
When they were captured, he fought back and was beaten black and blue. His brother, crying, received a vicious kick. Later, he fell ill and passed away on the journey.
His only brother—gone.
He had promised their mother he would protect him, but he had failed.
Now, clutching Shan Shan in his arms, he sat trembling in the corner. The child’s body burned with fever, just like his brother had back then—so weak, so frail.
Mai Feng’s hands shook as he gently patted Shan Shan’s face. He had cared for a sick brother before. He hurriedly fetched a basin of water, wet the corner of his sleeve, and carefully wiped away the heat from the child’s body.
But his hands trembled too much.
“Don’t be afraid, little brother, don’t be afraid… I’ll cool you down. I know it hurts…” he whispered, methodically wiping Shan Shan’s body.
Yet the child’s fever raged on.
“What do I do? He’s so small… a high fever can kill him.” The thought of death made him shudder violently.
He scrambled to the door and pounded against it with all his strength. “Open up! Open the door! Hu Lu has a fever! Open the door!”
“Please, have mercy! Hu Lu is sick! Give us some medicine, I beg you!”
“He’s just a child! He won’t survive this! Please, please, save him! Someone, help!” Mai Feng hammered the door, his voice raw from shouting.
Inside, the other children flinched at the noise.
“Mai Feng, stop! If they hear you, they’ll beat you again! Hu Lu isn’t your brother—everyone has their own fate.”
“You fool! He’s not your brother! Guo Guo is dead! Wake up!” They all knew Mai Feng had never been the same since his brother died.
He had always blamed himself, believing it was his failure that led to his brother’s death. Now, looking at Hu Lu, he saw Guo Guo instead.
They pitied Hu Lu, but fear paralyzed them.
They had been beaten too many times to defy their captors.
Shan Shan lay feverish and delirious, a disastrous start indeed.
His body felt damp and uncomfortable, but he knew—he would not die.
He was different from ordinary people.
He curled into himself, shivering from the alternating waves of heat and cold, his stomach twisted in hunger. The pounding on the door and the desperate cries rang in his ears.
Who was crying?
Were they crying for him?
In his fevered state, he saw Mai Feng stumble toward him, pressing a trembling hand to his forehead.
Something warm dripped onto his face.
Onto his lips.
Shan Shan licked his lips. A hint of blood.
No. To him, it was sweet.
Ever since he was young, the scent of blood had always lured him. That sweetness. But his sister had smothered that instinct before it could take root.
Was it blood?
Had Mai Feng’s hands been wounded from pounding on the door?
“Hu Lu, are you hungry? I saved a cornbread bun. Here, eat it. I’m not hungry…” Mai Feng’s voice was hoarse as he broke the bun into pieces.
Shan Shan had heard his stomach growling all night.
Mai Feng crushed the bun into fine crumbs and carefully fed them to Shan Shan, piece by piece.
“This water is filthy. You can’t drink it. It’ll make you sick… Little brother, don’t leave me. I’ll protect you. I swear I will protect you. Guo Guo… Hu Lu…” He hugged Shan Shan tightly before crawling back to the door to beg for help once more.
The cellar was pitch-black, with no way to tell night from day.
His throat was raw from screaming, when suddenly—a sharp click echoed from outside.
His eyes lit up. Someone was unlocking the cellar door.
But the footsteps were heavy. Ominous.
Mai Feng looked up in desperation. “Hu Lu has a high fever! Please, medicine—he needs medicine! Without it, he’ll die! Please! He’s just a child—please save him!”
His plea was met with a heavy club, slamming against his back.
Mai Feng instinctively shielded Shan Shan with his thin, battered body.
“You little brat! You nearly got me killed!”
“Tch! Damn you!”
“The officials outside are cracking down, and you just had to scream and wail! If I hadn’t been careful, we’d be in shackles now!”
“Damn brat! Dead or alive, what difference does it make? Think I’d waste money on medicine for some worthless whelp?!”
“Ever since that other little runt died, you’ve been a raving lunatic!” Another blow came down, then another. Mai Feng’s body tensed, but he still shielded Shan Shan with all his might.
Through the haze of fever, Shan Shan forced his eyes open. Through the dim light, he saw Mai Feng’s twisted face of pain.
Blood dripped onto his face.
The man, reeking of alcohol, eventually grew tired and tossed the club aside.
Seeing a woman enter, he kicked her viciously. “Useless wench! I told you to leave the boy in the house, but no—you had to throw him into the cellar!”
“Now, who would buy a sickly brat like this?!”
“If this loses me money, you’ll pay for it!”
“Go to the hunchbacked village doctor, get some herbs. Boil it. If he lives, fine. If not—dump him in the mountains!” The man spat curses as he stormed out, and the woman, shooting Mai Feng a glare, locked the door behind her.
The darkness swallowed them again.
Mai Feng lay on the ground, gasping, his body wracked with pain. Every inch of him trembled uncontrollably.
A strange feeling stirred within Shan Shan’s heart. He felt… heavy.
“Are… are you alright?” In the dark, his normally impassive eyes flickered with rare unease.
He could see Mai Feng’s lips dripping blood, his face pale as death, drained of all color.
He was weak. Weaker than an ant.
A mere, ordinary mortal.
Yet he seemed so strong.
Blow after blow, he endured them all—never once loosening his grip on Shan Shan, never allowing a single strike to land on him.
Shan Shan had always been proud. It was in his bones.
Toward mortals, even his own parents, he had always held a detached indifference.
But now.
Something in his heart trembled.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation