Kingdom of Cambodia, also known as Kampuchea, is located on the Indochina Peninsula, bordered by Thailand to the west and northwest, sharing borders with Laos to the northeast, adjacent to Vietnam to the east and southeast, and facing the Gulf of Thailand to the south. The country is home to the Mekong River and Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, Tonlé Sap Lake, with its capital in Phnom Penh.
It is one of the least developed countries in the world.1Please note that this novel was published in 2018, when Cambodia was still in the list of the least developed countries by the UN. They graduated from this list and was included in the developing countries list in 2021.
July. On the third day of Ruan Nianchu’s arrival in Cambodia, the weather was clear, with an outdoor temperature as high as thirty-six degrees Celsius. The rainy season was scorching and the summer is hot and humid.
She came to Cambodia for volunteer teaching.
In a small village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, the target group was several left-behind children aged around ten.
Like most villages in Cambodia, poverty was prevalent here, with many young adults choosing to work abroad, leaving only the elderly and children behind. Educational conditions were also poor, with only one teacher with a junior high school education in the entire village. Therefore, the arrival of the volunteer teaching team was undoubtedly a great help, and the villagers were very pleased.
The village primary school had around thirty students, ranging from six to fifteen years old, all crowded into one classroom without distinction between grades. Ruan Nianchu was responsible for teaching English, and occasionally, she would teach the children to sing. With her gentle personality, the children liked her a lot. They saw that the Chinese teacher is beautiful and kind.
An English class was not long and soon came to an end.
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Gp pbl prsjl, pbl vssj swv bla rbsdl, obknb bye y dlo ElUbyv xlppytl qasx bla xsvbla, alxkdekdt bla vs alhklo vbl RONMF lmyx iwlpvksdp lhlau dktbv.
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Uskdnkeldvyzzu, vbl hkzzytl oblal vblu olal hszwdvllakdt byrrldle vs cl kd vbl elzvy yaly clvolld vbl Yljsdt Skhla yde Msdzl Fyr Nyjl. Mbl oyvla iwyzkvu oyp tsse, yde vbl ycwdeydnl sq qkpb yde pbakxr oyp hkpkczl vs vbl dyjle lul.
Swyd Lkydnbw vbswtbv ycswv vbl ElUbyv xlppytl pbl bye fwpv alnlkhle, nsxryale vbl vos srvksdp, yde okvb y vokdjzl kd bla lulp, pbl alyekzu ytalle, “Fwal.”
In reality, her academic performance had always been average.
In terms of intelligence, she was just average; in terms of diligence, she wasn’t particularly outstanding. Her only advantage was her beautiful face and a good singing voice. In high school, her teachers were exasperated with her laziness, saying she was too lazy. If she continued like this, it would be difficult for her even to pass the regular exams, let alone enter a prestigious university. The teachers suggested Ruan’s parents send her to study vocal music, encouraging her to take the artistic route for university.
Ruan’s parents were already at their wit’s end, pulling their hair out in worry, so seized onto this lifeline and didn’t let go.
Later on, Ruan Nianchu became an art student at a top-tier institution. Although her major wasn’t particularly outstanding, she was still happy. Since childhood, she had not set high expectations for her own life, and achieving this result was already a pleasant surprise.
She was a person easily contented.
The family’s plan for her to “graduate from university and study abroad” went in one ear and out the other for Ruan Nianchu. Her parents, unable to do anything about their daughter, hastily enrolled her in an IELTS class during summer vacation. Ruan Nianchu didn’t want to go abroad, so she simply joined HELP BRIDGE to be a volunteer teacher in Cambodia.
She felt that in life, one should do something meaningful.
This self-proclaimed scumbag2academic underachiever was definitely not cut out to be a top student. Letting her go abroad for charity work was much more feasible than expecting her to study abroad.
~
The students in this elementary school were day students, and once school ended in the afternoon, the small and dilapidated campus became deserted.
Taking advantage of their rare leisure time, a group of volunteer students picked up fishing nets and grills and headed outside, chatting and laughing along the way. Ruan Nianchu and her roommate, a black girl named Lila, walked at the back, carrying some seasoning and bamboo skewers for the barbecue.
Lila was excited and clapped her hands, saying, “Do you know, Ruan? I’ve never grilled fish by the river with friends before. It must be so much fun!”
Seeing her like this, Ruan Nianchu playfully squinted her eyes and lowered her voice to scare her, “Hey. Phnom Penh is known for internal unrest, and this is the famous Mekong River region. Aren’t you afraid of encountering any danger here?”
Lila became nervous, “…I don’t think so.”
She instantly chuckled and said, “You’re so timid. Just kidding with you.”
“…” Lila pouted, raised her hand to pretend to hit her. Ruan Nianchu dodged to the side, grabbed a handful of leaves, and tossed them onto her roommate’s head. The two of them laughed and ran towards the river. As the sky darkened, the distant sunset hung in the sky, casting a radiant glow on the surface of the Mekong River.
The volunteer group consisted of young university students who had already bonded after a few days. The guys were responsible for setting up tents and catching fish, while the girls were in charge of grilling the meat. Everyone had clear roles, and they were busy but enjoying themselves. Unbeknownst to them, the sun had completely set behind the mountains.
Around eight o’clock in the evening, the night sky was as dark as ink, with clusters of stars hanging above.
The caught fish and shrimp had been consumed, and with everyone satisfied and nothing else to do, they decided to sit in the tent and chat about celebrity gossip. Ruan Nianchu, uninterested in the topic and feeling full, opted to take a walk along the river with Lila. Engaged in conversation, they realized they had wandered a few hundred meters away from the campsite.
As they prepared to return, Lila suddenly clutched her stomach and, exhaling cold air, said, “Oh, my stomach hurts.”
Ruan Nianchu was speechless. “Who told you to eat things that weren’t fully cooked like a starving ghost?” While looking around, she pointed to a large tree. “Go over there and take care of it. I’ll wait for you here; just call me if you need anything.”
“Okay.” Lila nodded and hurriedly ran off.
Bored, Ruan Nianchu stood in place, listening to music. Suddenly, she noticed a faint light emanating from the narrow, dark river channel in the distance, flickering through the dense water grass.
Initially thinking it was local fishermen, Ruan Nianchu gave it little thought.
It wasn’t until the boat gradually approached and finally docked by the river that she realized there were voices, speaking in Khmer, the Cambodian language. She couldn’t understand.
Two figures jumped off the boat, wielding tools and skillfully digging into the muddy riverbank. Ruan Nianchu frowned in suspicion.
Not fishermen?
In a reflexive move, she crouched down, hiding behind the waist-high grass.
Before long, the two figures finished their work, discarded their shovels, and bent down to lift a large iron box from the dug hole. Judging from their postures, the box seemed heavy.
They carried the box onto the boat.
A stout middle-aged man in a jacket and half-bald head emerged from the cabin, squinting as he smoked. In Khmer, he said, “Open it, let’s check the goods first.”
The two men nodded, and with a twist of a screwdriver, the lid of the iron box fell to the ground with a resounding thud. The middle-aged man stepped forward to inspect.
From a distance, Ruan Nianchu couldn’t see clearly what was inside the box, but she vaguely sensed something. It was too late to leave. Footsteps approached from behind, her heart tightened, and before she could react, someone grabbed her neck from behind.
A few minutes later, Lila returned but found no trace of Ruan Nianchu.
“…” Confused, she called out, looking around anxiously. “Ruan? Ruan? Don’t joke with me, where are you?” Her voice scattered in the wind, and the Mekong River in the distance remained calm and dark.
No one responded.
~
She had been kidnapped. That was Ruan Nianchu’s first thought after regaining consciousness.
And reality proved to be exactly that.
She opened her eyes and found herself thrown on the ground. The room was dim, with a damp, salty air and a pervasive scent of decay. Trying to move, she realized her wrists were tightly bound behind her back, and the same was done to her legs.
In just a few seconds, Ruan Nianchu’s brain couldn’t catch up. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. It was then she realized her mouth was gagged.
Her lips trembled, and fear engulfed her limbs and bones in an instant.
Outside the door, voices conversed, saying something she couldn’t understand. Ruan Nianchu took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She glanced around—a typical wooden house common in Cambodia, a table, a few chairs, dilapidated and simple furniture, a kerosene lamp hanging overhead with moths fluttering around the lightshade, casting eerie and unsettling shadows.
Faint sounds of water suggested that they weren’t far from the riverbank…
With a loud “clang,” the door was forcefully pushed open from the outside.
“…” Ruan Nianchu jumped in fright, instinctively moving backward, her back against the wooden wall, her bright eyes vigilant and fearful.
Three people entered the room, one of whom Ruan Nianchu recognized as the stout man from the fishing boat. The stout man glanced at her, grinned, and spoke to the other two men.
Watching this man’s lecherous smile, Ruan Nianchu pressed against the wall, feeling both anxious and afraid. The stout man crouched down, staring at her, and his greasy and dirty left hand reached out to touch her face.
Disgusted, Ruan Nianchu turned her head away without thinking, avoiding his touch.
The stout man chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and raised his hand as if to slap her. However, just before the slap landed, a middle-aged man around fifty at the doorway coughed. This man had white and gray hair, a square face, and a scar across his forehead to the left side of his face.
Seeing the interruption, the stout man dared not continue and withdrew his hand, standing up alongside the other men. They respectfully addressed, “Grandfather.”
The middle-aged man nodded slightly. In the next moment, his gaze shifted to Ruan Nianchu, showing displeasure. “What’s going on?”
The stout man reluctantly explained, “Grandfather, this woman saw our goods.”
“Didn’t you say that the place was very secretive and would never be discovered?”
The stout man was embarrassed, hesitating and unsure how to respond.
Grandfather snorted, sat down on a chair with a frown, and glanced at Ruan Nianchu. “Hasn’t Lee returned yet?”
As soon as he spoke, footsteps were heard outside, heavy and powerful.
Ruan Nianchu curled up into a ball. She didn’t understand a word of what these Cambodian people were saying. Only when she heard the footsteps did she subconsciously turn her head to look towards the doorway.
A pair of black short boots came into view, somewhat worn, stained with mud, and bearing traces of dark red blood.
The leg stretching upward was exceptionally long, encased in black trousers, elegantly shaped like a poplar tree. Ruan Nianchu’s gaze followed upward, and the figure and appearance of the leg’s owner gradually entered her view.
The man was exceptionally tall, with a towering stature, a narrow waist, broad shoulders, and a straight and slender back. His face was slightly lean, with dark skin, handsome and rugged features, thin lips, a high and prominent nose, and the most striking aspect was his deep and indifferent eyes—profound, casual, yet oppressively compelling.
He wore a simple black T-shirt, smoking a cigarette, and simply standing there exuded a powerful presence.
In the moment he flicked away the cigarette ash, Ruan Nianchu took a brief glance and noticed that the man’s arms were long and well-defined, with a bronze tone. Down the sleeves extended a giant dragon tail in a bluish-gray color, sinuous and ferocious.
Clearly, he was no ordinary character. Ruan Nianchu’s heart tightened, and with just a quick sweep of her eyes, she looked away. Sensing that the man had looked at her the moment he entered the room, his gaze scrutinizing, she felt his boldness.
“Grandfather.”
He pinched out the cigarette and spoke in Khmer. However, his voice was extremely low, and certain pronunciations were distinctive, clearly different from the others before. Easily recognizable.
Grandfather asked him, “How did things go?”
He replied indifferently, “Solved.”
Grandfather then smiled and said, “You’ve always handled things properly; I’m very reassured.” As he spoke, his gaze swept across, suggesting something. “If everyone could be half as capable as you, this old man wouldn’t have to work so hard.”
The stout man gritted his teeth, not daring to retort.
Grandfather seemed in a good mood, patting Lee’s shoulder, saying, “You’ve worked hard today. If you want anything, just say it. As long as Grandfather can provide it, Grandfather will definitely give it to you.”
He remained expressionless, glanced at the corner, lowered his eyes, and lit a cigarette. “What is that?”
“Oh, Brother Lee, it’s a little girl I brought back, a Chinese, probably a tourist. Tonight, didn’t I go to get the goods from Daen for us? This little stinker was sneaking around, peeking!” The stout man spoke, grinning and showing his teeth. “See how I deal with her later.”
Lee’s cigarette-puffing motion paused slightly, he lifted his eyelids and asked, “Chinese?”
The stout man chuckled a few times, pulled a leather-bound document from his pocket, and handed it to him. “This was found on her. Brother, take a look. Isn’t it a Chinese passport?”
Lee took it, squinted his eyes. After a moment, he ambiguously touched his lip and said, “Correct.” Then, he turned his gaze coldly towards the dirty girl curled up on the floor.
He said, “Just her.”
The people in the room were all momentarily stunned, confused. Grandfather furrowed his brow, “Her?”
“Yes.” Lee nodded, his tone cold and indifferent. “Just her.”
Sansukini: Hi Guys. To start the New Year, I’m starting a new translation. I hope you enjoy this one as much as After Rebirth, I was Entangled by the Second Generation Rich Guy Again, which this one is replacing. This novel was also translated into a drama with the same title, but the story line of that one was changed a little, so if you decide to watch the drama, please don’t associate it too much with the novel.
I’ll have 2 chapters out today to celebrate the New Year. Cheers!!!
Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)
You can also check out my other translations Here
So much going on in just the first ch?? Ok, I’m hooked!!