Chapter 14 The Hanger Lesson
Time passed quickly. Six years slipped by in the blink of an eye.
Ji Shijing had spent every day chasing after me to clean up my messes. He had just turned forty, yet he already looked like a worn-out housewife.
He had quit everything to raise me at home. All company matters went straight to Si Han.
Si Han handled everything smoothly and never needed his help.
Of course, the moment she got home she would flop onto the sofa and deliver her usual line.
"Working all day is exhausting. Taking care of the kid is nothing."
Over the years she had quietly put on quite a bit of weight.
The year I entered my final year of high school, Ji Shijing found a love letter a classmate had written me.
He pulled me aside and spoke with heavy seriousness.
"Boys at this age are still figuring things out. They treat love like a novelty. Very few of them have real responsibility. Dating is fine, but you must protect yourself first."
I looked at the white strands that had started to appear in his hair.
It hit me that he had grown old.
Without realizing it, I had spent eighteen years tormenting him.
"Little rabbit, are you even listening?"
Ji Shijing noticed I had zoned out and tugged my ear in frustration.
Strangely, the system did not shock him this time.
A weird smile curved his lips.
I shouted in alarm and bolted to my feet.
The system no longer protected me.
Ji Shijing was going to get his revenge.
He slammed the door shut, pulled a hanger from the closet, and weighed it in his hand.
"Lin Yi, a childhood without beatings is incomplete. Now Dad can finally make up for what you missed and give you a perfect life. Excited?"
I backed into the corner, shaking.
"No... I think my imperfect childhood is fine. People have to accept their flaws..."
Ji Shijing ignored me and stepped closer, looking thrilled.
I hugged myself and tried to threaten him.
"Don't come any closer. If you do, I'll pull your oxygen tube when you're old."
He laughed.
"Don't worry. Dad won't let you live that long..."
"Si Han! Save me! Your husband is trying to kill me!"
"Stop shouting. I sent her out for a manicure. She won't be back for three hours."
Damn it.
I was the weak girl with no strength to fight back.
The hanger was about to crack my skull.
I shut my eyes and curled into a ball.
In the end, Ji Shijing simply pressed the hanger into my hands.
"I can't protect you forever. You need to learn to protect yourself. Not every man will treat you the way I do."
My eyes suddenly stung.
Later I entered university and found a job without any trouble.
The system never spoke to us again during that time.
Except when I refused to send money to Si Han.
Then it would force itself online and transfer half of my three-thousand-yuan salary straight to her.