From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

After hearing her story, I immediately understood and nodded slightly.

"No wonder you were shaking all over when they were drawing your blood."

Su Qing sighed helplessly, "You saw how pathetic I looked just now, it was so embarrassing."

Seeing that her tense emotions had eased a lot, I laughed along with her: "What's so shameful about this? Everyone has something they're afraid of, and I have mine too."

She suddenly became interested, looked up at me curiously, and asked, "So what are you afraid of?"

I slowly lowered my head, my gaze falling on the cold floor tiles beneath my feet.

After a long silence, she lowered her voice, her tone tinged with self-deprecation: "Don't laugh at me when I tell you, I'm afraid of the dark."

Su Qing froze on the spot, then burst out laughing the next second.

Her eyes widened, and she said in a slightly exaggerated tone, "Seriously? You, a grown man, are afraid of the dark?"

"Hmm. Now you know how embarrassed I am, are you finally feeling a little better?"

She squinted, nodded slightly, but then asked curiously, "Then why are you afraid of the dark?"

That past event remains the deepest scar in my heart, a trauma left from my childhood.

For so many years I have selectively forgotten and never been willing to bring it up.

But Su Qing, completely unprepared, frankly told me about her hidden past.

I have no reason to hide it, both morally and logically.

After a long silence, I finally spoke slowly: "Do you know how my father passed away?"

Su Qing was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then gently shook her head, her large eyes filled with confusion.

I exhaled a heavy breath, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing on my chest.

"I have never mentioned this to anyone; it is a childhood trauma that I can never erase from my life."

She hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "So... are you going to tell me?"

"Do you want to hear it?"

Su Qing looked at me quietly for a long time, her eyes extremely serious: "Just say it. Keeping it inside for too long will make you feel terrible. Saying it might make you feel better. But let me be clear, I can't guarantee I'll keep it a secret."

It's not really a secret, it's just that I've always been unwilling to recall those painful memories.

I took a deep breath and remained silent for a moment.

The story, buried for many years, finally came out of my mouth slowly: "When I was eight years old, a group of robbers broke into our house late at night. They ransacked the house and stole all the few hundred yuan in cash that we had left."

"Before they left, they even planned to take our family's pig. That pig was our family's only hope; the money from selling it would be my tuition for next semester. My dad stood in front of the pigpen, desperately begging them to leave the pig behind."

As I finished speaking, my heart clenched, and a sharp pain swept through my entire body.

That bloody scene from back then is clearly etched in my mind.

As a child, I stood by and watched the tragedy unfold, unable to do anything about it.

In a moment of desperation, I rushed forward and bit one of the thugs' arms hard.

But I was too weak to stop them, and I was shoved to the ground by that person.

After pausing for a while, I finally regained my composure and continued:

"When the bandits saw that something had happened, they scattered and ran away. My dad was rushed to the hospital, but he couldn't be saved. He gave his life to protect that pig."

After I finished speaking, Su Qing fell completely silent.

The smile on her face vanished completely, her brows furrowed tightly, and her expression gradually shifted from calm to anger, her chest heaving slightly with rage.

She immediately pressed on, "And then what happened? Were those robbers ever caught?"

I nodded slowly: "They've all been caught. The ringleader was sentenced to death, and the rest have all been punished by law and given heavy sentences."

Su Qing gritted her teeth and said indignantly, "They got off too easily! People like them should all be shot!"

I didn't reply, unwilling to continue dwelling on that painful memory.

In the silence, Su Qing cautiously looked at me and asked softly, "So... have you gotten over this trauma yet?"

"If I said I've completely moved on, I'd be lying to you."

I gave a wry smile and then said, "So even now I'm still afraid of the dark, and I always have to leave a small nightlight on in my room when I sleep at night."

I paused, then added with a self-deprecating laugh, "Don't laugh at me, but I still can't live alone. Since entering the workforce, I've always lived with my cousin and have never lived alone before."

After listening to my words, Su Qing sighed heavily.

Without saying a word, she suddenly took a step forward, opened her arms, and pulled me into her embrace.

She gently patted my back, and her soft voice whispered in my ear, "It's alright, it's all over now."

Feeling her warm and soft embrace, I could smell her faint fragrance.

My body, which had been tense for so long, gradually relaxed.

After a long while, she slowly let go of me.

His brows were still furrowed, and he looked at me with a puzzled expression: "But I've always had a question in my mind. Why did your father have to fight so hard to stop those bandits from taking the pig, even losing his own life in the end? Was it really worth it?"

Many people have this thought, and even I, when I was young, thought about it more than once.

But the situation back then was far more complex than can be explained in just a few words.

I shook my head bitterly and said, "You haven't experienced those hard times, so it's hard for you to understand. Back then, my family was dirt poor, and that pig was my only hope for going to school."

"My dad was desperately trying to stop me. He wasn't just stopping a pig; he was doing everything he could to protect my chance to change my destiny through education."

After hearing what I said, Su Qing's eyes immediately reddened.

She gritted her teeth, muttering angrily, "Those robbers deserve to die!"

I forced a smile: "But like you just said, it's all in the past now."

Her gaze fell softly on my face, her eyes filled with heartache:

"No wonder you're usually quiet and reserved, and not very willing to open up to others. It turns out you've been carrying such a heavy past in your heart."

I retorted defiantly, "Who said I'm not sociable? I'm just not very talkative. I have plenty of friends, and if I need anything, a whole bunch of them are there for me. Have you forgotten that?"

Su Qing, however, saw things clearly. She shook her head and said seriously:

"Those people are willing to help you because they recognize your character. But ask yourself honestly, do you really have a single friend around you with whom you can truly confide and share everything?"

I was instantly speechless and fell into a long silence.