Chapter 03: The Madman and The Doll (3)

Youth: You Were My Redemption

Chapter 3: The Madman and The Doll (3)

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It was clearly a hot summer night. Cicadas were chirping incessantly outside the window due to the heat. The stifling wind blew through the curtains, making the window shutters open and close, and the air was thick and stuffy…

Yet, Song Shu felt cold all over.

Song Chengjun mentioned her, his eyes and words were filled with disdain, but interspersed with his doting affection for Song Ruyu. Those chaotic images and sounds clashed and shattered in her mind.

She shivered uncontrollably from the cold.

Until the young man hugged her from behind.

He took her away from that solitary world of ice and snow.

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Fsdt Fbw oyp pvkzz ckvkdt bkp oakpv, nzwxpkzu hldvkdt bla lxsvksdp wdela bkp twkeydnl.

Gde vbl uswdt xyd zywtble yde xsnjle bla.

“Tyhld’v usw lyvld, eszz? Uyd usw wpl y ckv xsal pvaldtvb?”

“……”

“Xa kp uswa byvale qsa uswa wplzlpp qyvbla vbyv olyj?”

“……”

Fsdt Fbw ckv esod byaela.

Mbl xlvyzzkn vypvl sq czsse qzsole kdvs bla xswvb, yde vbl uswdt xyd bszekdt bla bkpple kd rykd, vbld pbl blyae y xsal wdalpvaykdle zywtb vbaswtb bkp bkpplp.

“That’s right, doll, the more it hurts, the harder it is to forget.”

“……”

“No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait with you. When the time comes—” The young man laughed hoarsely, dark and raspy: “We’ll make them cry too. When they cry, we’ll laugh, as loudly as we can.”

“……”

Song Shu thought the adults were right. Qin Lou was indeed a dangerous lunatic, with a heart full of festering wounds and scars.

But he was the only madman who gave her warmth and a hug.

So it didn’t matter what he was.

…

The aftermath of venting her emotions was rather tragic.

By the time Song Shu followed Qin Lou to the servant’s room to find medicine and gauze for bandaging, she had calmed down and, for the first time in her life, felt the emotion of “guilt.”

Walking along the dark-patterned carpet in the hallway, she saw the boy’s thin back. The left sleeve of his hand hanging by his side was rolled up to his elbow, and the exposed skin glowed with a porcelain-like quality under the light.

Two bite marks on his wrist were very conspicuous. In the soft light of the hallway, dark red blood dripped from his fingertips onto the carpet.

The servant on duty in the servant’s room was startled.

Qin Liang treasured his only grandson, Qin Lou, immensely, which was evident from Qin Lou’s completely unrestrained behavior. If Qin Liang believed that Qin Lou’s injury was due to their negligence or mistake…

The servant was on the verge tears as he pulled out a medical box containing medicine and gauze. “Young master, how did this happen to you?”

Qin Lou stretched out his hand to block the servant’s view of the wound.

Where the servant couldn’t see, he smiled at the expressionless girl and then said nonchalantly, “I broke a couple of vases for fun and accidentally got cut.”

The servant choked, “……” Does that even sound like something a person would say?

The servant took out diluted alcohol, ready to wash his hands and bandage Qin Lou, but was stopped.

“No need,” Qin Lou smiled and turned back, his dark eyes staring intently at the girl behind him. “Someone else will help me.”

Only then did the servant notice Song Shu, who had been obscured by Qin Lou’s figure. He hesitated, “Shushu, do you know how to do this?”

“Do you know how?” Qin Lou asked.

Song Shu looked at the gauze and shook her head.

The servant breathed a sigh of relief and was about to step forward when Qin Lou grabbed the medical box from his hand and thrust it into the girl’s hands. “Then learn.”

“……”

“As my ‘doll,’ how can you not know how to do something this simple?”

“……”

After the two left, the servant shook his head and sighed: Fortunately, the little girl has a good temper. If it were someone more irritable, they might have splashed iodine all over the young master’s face.

The place for the treatment was Song Shu’s room.

After some effort, Song Shu managed to wrap Qin Lou’s left wrist with a bandage, forming a bulky circle, and then tied a rather ugly… bow.

Qin Lou raised an eyebrow at the bow.
“Is this your way of getting back at me?”

Song Shu stared expressionlessly at the indeed very ugly bow, her eyes showing a rare hint of serious thought.

The room fell silent again. Just as Qin Lou didn’t expect a response, he heard the somewhat raspy voice of the girl. “This is the only way I know.”

“……”

Qin Lou suddenly turned to look at the girl, his eyes dark and deep. After a few seconds of staring, a smile tugged at his lips.

Besides those monosyllabic words, this was the second full sentence he had heard Song Shu say.

And it was spoken only to him.

Qin Lou suddenly realized that he wanted to hear more from her—the more, the better.

But cracking open this little clam was going to be quite a challenge.

There was a flicker of fiery emotion in Qin Lou’s eyes. He thought about it and, deciding there was plenty of time in the future, suppressed the spark within him.

“I’m going back. If someone bullies you, come to the third floor to find me. My toys aren’t for others to play with.”

Song Shu looked up at him.

Although the girl didn’t speak or shake her head, her eyes were still empty. Yet, Qin Lou could read rejection in that blank stare.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, “Is there a problem?”

Song Shu stood still for a moment, then turned and walked to the bedside, rummaging through her backpack.

Qin Lou leaned against the wall and waited patiently.

A few seconds later, the girl walked back to him, holding out a messy six-sided Rubik’s cube.

Qin Lou was stunned and then laughed, his eyes darkening. “Doll, are you asking me to solve the Rubik’s cube for you?”

This tone would have frightened Song Ruyu or any other child to tears. However, Song Shu simply looked up at him with her expressionless little face and nodded.

She held the Rubik’s cube out further.

Qin Lou’s expression darkened, his smile fading, and his voice lowered. “Am I giving you too much face?”

Song Shu remained silent.

Then she slowly lowered her hand. She wasn’t dejected, regretful, or sad—just very calm.

Qin Lou felt an inexplicable anger burning within him, scorching countless holes in his heart, then bursting out, making him feel hot and irritated.

Song Shu turned to put the Rubik’s cube back, but suddenly felt it slip from her hand.

She looked back in confusion.

The frowning young man glared fiercely at her before lowering his head. Ignoring his injured hand, he quickly inspected the Rubik’s cube and began to twist it rapidly.

People with beautiful hands make everything look like art.

Song Shu watched quietly, entranced, for an unknown amount of time until suddenly her own hand was pulled forward.

With a “snap,” the Rubik’s cube was unceremoniously slapped into her palm.

“…… I’ve really spoiled you.”
The young man gave her a dark, brooding look before turning and leaving.

Song Shu stood there for a moment.

Then she raised her hand, holding the Rubik’s cube up to her face, examining each side.

A few seconds later, a faint smile gently curled at the corners of her mouth.

——

The next morning, Qin Liang was amazed to find his grandson actually appearing in the dining room on the first floor. The servants and the Qin family, including Qin Fujun and Song Chengjun, were even more shocked.

There was an extra set of utensils for the breakfast table, causing a dilemma for the servants on where to place them, but Qin Lou walked in boldly.

He stopped beside Song Shu and single-handedly pulled out a high-backed chair. Perhaps due to a lack of strength, the chair was dragged out crookedly.

Qin Lou didn’t mind and sat down directly.

Qin Liang was the first to recover, “Why… the sudden change? Not eating upstairs anymore?”

“Yeah.” Qin Lou responded lazily. Then he turned slightly, glancing to his side. The girl sat on that tall high-backed chair, her toes barely touching the floor, making her look even smaller.

She didn’t move, not even raising her head at the sight of him entering the dining room, which had astonished everyone else.

Tsk.

Qin Lou’s smile faded slightly, and a strange sense of irritation suddenly arose within him—he was accustomed to his unpredictable moods and knew himself well—but this time felt different. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, which only made his expression more sinister and the atmosphere in the dining room so tense it felt like water could be wrung from the air.

No one spoke.

Until Qin Liang noticed Qin Lou’s left wrist, wrapped thickly like a club, and his eyebrows knitted into a knot.

“What happened to your hand?”

“Broke a vase, got cut.”

“A vase? What vase?”

“……”

Qin Lou didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he lifted his gaze slightly, looking across the long table with a half-smile.

Qin Fujun’s face changed, his grip on his knife and fork tightening unconsciously.

The atmosphere at the table grew even more subtle.

After a few seconds of tension, Qin Lou sneered and lowered his gaze.

“The two vases on the landing between the second and third floors—I didn’t like the look of them, so I smashed them.”

“…… Is that so?”

Sensing something, Qin Liang glanced at his daughter but ultimately said nothing and moved on from the topic.

With Qin Lou present, the dining room’s atmosphere remained stifling and oppressive all morning. Across the table, Qin Fujun’s family of four stayed silent, with Song Ruyu and Song Shuai, the brother and sister, too frightened to lift their heads in Qin Lou’s presence.

The breakfast felt like a punishment.

Song Shu was probably the least affected. After eating just a little, she quietly put down her utensils and looked up calmly at Qin Liang.

Qin Liang smiled faintly, “You may go.”

Song Shu pushed her chair back and began to slide out, but was abruptly stopped halfway. She didn’t show surprise or make a sound, simply turned to look at Qin Lou who held her.

Qin Liang also glanced over, “Why are you pulling Song Shu’s arm?”

The dining room fell abruptly silent. The servants handling dishes instinctively lightened their steps, casting fearful and wary glances at Qin Lou.

Song Ruyu, still shadowed by the events of the previous day, felt even more unsettled.

However, contrary to their expectations, Qin Lou just glanced at the plate in front of Song Shu, his lips curling slightly. “Eating so little, no wonder you don’t have the strength to bite anyone.”

No one at the table understood what he was saying.

Song Shu did.

She looked at him, blinked slowly, still expressionless.

But under this emotionless gaze, Qin Lou inexplicably released his grip. He watched as the stubborn little clamshell slipped off the chair and left the dining room without looking back.

“Tsk.”

Qin Lou tossed down his fork and knife in annoyance, then hopped off his chair.

Qin Liang frowned, “You’re not eating, where are you going?”

“Back to my room.”

“……”

Qin Liang thoughtfully watched the direction Qin Lou left.

After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and glanced at Qin Fujun and his wife.

Then Qin Liang returned his gaze, speaking calmly.
“Fu Jun, it would be wise to rein in certain thoughts, and keep your actions clean.”

“Dad?” Qin Fujun looked up, puzzled, with a hint of evasion in his eyes. “I don’t understand what you mean?”

“You understand. I understand. As for Qin Lou,” Qin Liang paused with his knife, raising his gaze, “do you think with his intelligence, he wouldn’t understand?”

“Dad…”

“When he grows up, the Qin family will be handed over to him sooner or later. His mind and abilities won’t be an issue, at most, it’s his temperament. These years, whatever rhetoric you’ve deliberately stirred up outside, don’t think I don’t know, and don’t think I’ll change anything because of those rumors.”

“I’m sorry, Dad, I…”

“Enough, you don’t need to explain anything to me. Just think carefully. You’re his aunt, and besides me, you’re the only elder he has left in this world. You should weigh what you should and shouldn’t do.”

With that said, Qin Liang also stood up and left.

Qin Fujun sat at the table, her face grim. After the servants left, she turned to her husband beside her, gritting her teeth, “Song Shu must leave.”

“But Dad already doesn’t trust us.”

“That’s why we can’t let her stay in the Qin family! Since we can’t speak up, let her come to the decision herself!”

“Are you suggesting…”

Song Chengjun met Qin Fujun’s gaze, and after a few seconds, he nodded.

“I understand. I’ll try.”

After breakfast, Song Shu returned to her room. With nothing else to do, she spread out her sketchbook and sat at her desk, flipping open a new blank page. Just as she lined up different types of pencils based on their softness and hardness, there was a knock on her door.

Song Shu looked up.

The knocking came again, more urgently this time, clearly from someone not known for their patience. Or rather, not known for being patient with her.

Song Shu got up to open the door.

Standing outside was Song Chengjun.

“Xiaoshu, can I come in?” the man asked in a low voice.
Song Shu looked up at him silently.

The man’s smile was gentle, and his lowered expression was also tender. It was like… when he had carried Song Ruyu at the entrance before. But it was still different.

[If you’re really worried, then tomorrow I’ll talk to Dad and say that Song Shu doesn’t want to live with Qin Lou. Let her go to boarding school—then you won’t have to see her again.]

[In my heart, only Ruyu and Xiaoshuai count as my children.]

[Song Shu? If it weren’t for Dad favoring Bai Song, I wouldn’t even want to see the two of them…]

Song Shu lowered her head and silently stepped aside to clear the way in front of the door.

Song Chengjun stepped quickly into the room. He seemed unsure how to start with his daughter. After an awkward silence that lasted for a dozen seconds in the room, he finally spoke, “Xiaoshu, are you still adapting in the Qin family?”

Song Shu didn’t say anything.

Song Chengjun unconsciously frowned, but quickly suppressed his displeasure. “I see you’ve been getting close to Qin Lou. Have you met him before?”

…

Song Chengjun gritted his teeth. “Qin Lou’s character is not good. It’s not good for you to get too close to him. I’ve arranged for you to go to a boarding school. Get ready in a few days and go there to study.”

Upon hearing this, the girl finally reacted.

She lifted her head and looked at him with her expressionless face and vacant eyes.

The smile on Song Chengjun’s face suddenly froze.

For some reason, in the emotionless eyes of this child, it seemed like any disguise he attempted would be seen through. His selfish and dirty thoughts couldn’t be concealed beneath those eyes.

He felt this was the fundamental reason he disliked this child—she was originally an unlikeable little monster, and that was her fault.

Song Chengjun put away his smile.

“Xiaoshu, Dad is talking to you. You should answer, it’s basic courtesy. Didn’t your mother teach you that?”

However, Song Shu remained unresponsive.

In her dark and vacant eyes, there was a near-cold indifference. She just quietly stared at him.

Song Chengjun felt like he was going crazy. Realizing that coaxing like this wouldn’t yield any results, he decided to be direct.

“This matter is decided. I’m your dad, so you must listen to me. Later, I’ll take you to see Mr. Qin. Just stay quiet like now and don’t cause any trouble—understand?”

Without further ado, Song Chengjun grabbed the girl’s hand, opened the door, and pulled her into the corridor. He then strode towards the staircase, paying no attention to the girl stumbling a few times behind him.

Perhaps even if he had noticed, Song Chengjun wouldn’t have cared.

Five minutes later, outside the same door.

“Doll—”

The last word trailed off as the brazen smile froze on the young man’s face leaning against the door.

A few seconds later, he turned back and forcefully pushed open the door to the servant’s quarters diagonally opposite.

The servant inside was startled and turned around. Upon seeing the intruder clearly, their initial annoyance turned to fear involuntarily. “Y-Y-Young Master, what’s wrong?”

The young man standing outside the door had a fierce expression in his eyes and a gritted-teeth smile.

“My ‘doll’… where has she been taken?”

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Sansukini: Seriously… this dad is so hateful. I’ve been watching some short-form Chinese dramas these days, and most of the dad characters who married a second time are like Song Chengjun. So hateful. That’s still your biological daughter. Show some care, atleast.
Well, Qin Lou, the adorable lunatic, to the rescue. The first arc will have 15 chapters, btw. Then a time skip to adulthood for the second arc.

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