On the wanted poster, my ugly ID photo was attached.

I grabbed the newspaper and crumpled it fiercely, so angry that my tone of voice changed:

"The wanted victim, what a joke!"

I breathed heavily and looked up at Zhang Peng, who was hysterical:

"The police are looking for me. Let's go to the city and report to the police now. Let's see who's afraid of whom!"

Zhang Peng hooked the corner of his mouth and reached out his right hand to touch my head.

The car was slowly driving through the town.

The car window behind him reflected the town temple.

I couldn't help but be stunned.

Zhang Peng didn't give me a chance to react.

His hand touched the top of my head,

and his voice was deadly tempting:

"Sleep, when you wake up, you'll understand everything."

My clear mind suddenly became confused, and everything around me became vague.

It was like being in a strange dream.

In the dream, I was born in a poor rural area where I could only solve problems by buying a wife.

I had parents who favored sons over daughters and were greedy for money, and a foolish brother.

I took care of that fool during the day and studied hard at night under the only light at the village entrance,

and finally got into college with almost all my strength.

That's how I met my roommate Xu Qinghuan and became as close as sisters with her.

Unlike me,

Xu Qinghuan came from a wealthy family and was the only daughter at home.

She also had a boyfriend who loved her sincerely, Zhang Peng.

The boy I fell in love with at first sight, but could only hide my love for him.

Xu Qinghuan had always been good to me.

She would often buy an extra meal and pretend she couldn't finish it, then give it to me.

When there were good job opportunities, she would take me with her first.

But the more she did this,

the stronger my hatred grew.

Xu Qinghuan wasn't really good to me,

she just wanted to use me to show off her kindness and happiness.

And I had to be grateful for her meaningless charity.

The strong hatred grew day by day,

and finally one day, it erupted completely.

During that winter vacation,

my parents told me that the Zhou family in the neighboring village was willing to pay 100,000 yuan to buy me as their daughter-in-law.

They were excitedly planning,

saying that the money could be used to buy a wife and raise two grandsons.

No one cared that I couldn't go back to school,

and I could only stay in this poor mountain valley for the rest of my life.

I protested loudly, trying to run away,

but all I got was being locked in the woodshed.

That night, I silently shed tears,

watching the sky outside the window turn from dark to light.

At that moment, what I hated the most,

was not my parents, not my foolish brother,

but Xu Qinghuan.

Why was she born in the big city,

while I struggled to get out of the mountains with all my might;

Why could she get the clothes and bags that I didn't even dare to think about,

just by calling her parents and acting cute.

And Zhang Peng.

Why did the person I loved with all my heart only have Xu Qinghuan in his eyes.

Clearly, I worked harder, looked better, and was more considerate than her.

...

If Xu Qinghuan were also in this mountain, they would see how good I am.

I told my parents that as long as they let me go,

I could find a college student wife for my brother.

When her parents died, they could inherit a large amount of property from the city.

Three days later, at the New Year's Eve party,

I hugged Xu Qinghuan, who was covered in blood, and personally put her on my foolish brother's bed.

I was free.

But that freedom only lasted for three years.

Zhang Peng found me.

By then, he had rescued Xu Qinghuan, who was almost beaten to death,

and even sent my parents and the villagers who had helped them to jail.

But he still wouldn't let me go.

He swore to make me taste everything Xu Qinghuan had suffered.

"Bang, bang, bang," the huge pain on my face woke me up.

Xu Qinghuan was smiling and slapping me:

"Do you remember everything now?"

In the familiar house, with the familiar musty smell,

I was back at Xu's house.

Father-in-law handed envelopes full of money to Wang Daqiang, Zhou's eldest son, and others:

"For my daughter, thank you all."

Mother-in-law looked at Zhang Peng with tears in her eyes:

"Xiaopeng, thank you so much for doing so much for my daughter these years."

Zhang Peng just smiled gently, looking at Xu Qinghuan with deep affection:

"For her, thousands and thousands of times."

For the first time in so long, I saw a genuine smile on Zhang Peng's face.

Why did Xu Qinghuan end up like this, and why did those people still love her so much!

The pain and unwillingness made me suddenly clear-headed.

That wasn't a dream just now,

it was my sealed memory.

Everything I experienced at Xu's house was fake!

They made me,

experience Xu Qinghuan's pain over and over again,

ignite hope again and again,

and then shatter that hope again and again,

walking between endless hope and despair.

"Please, hand me over to the police. Don't torture me anymore."

I begged desperately.

But they all looked at me happily,

their eyes like those watching a monkey in a circus.

"That would be too cheap for you."

Xu Qinghuan said with a smile.

"You still have a long way to go to atone for your sins."

Zhang Peng walked towards me with a smile.

His right hand pressed on my head again,

and his words were like commands:

"Sleep, when you wake up, you'll live Xu Qinghuan's life..."

No!

I can't fall into a new cycle!

I repeated to myself over and over again:

"Zhang Peng and Xu Qinghuan want to harm me."

"Everything is designed by them, and everyone around me is an actor."

"I have to escape from this endless cycle."

"I have to leave here..."

...

I opened my eyes.

In the dilapidated kitchen, I stirred the big pot with a ladle, again and again.

This was my third year being abducted by Xu Qinghuan to her hometown,

and I had to leave here.