7. A Broken Family
After another twenty-two hours of flying, Tao Xinyu finally landed at Taiwan's international airport.
Returning to her small bookstore and residence, she immediately collapsed onto her bed and fell into a deep sleep. The time difference left her drowsy and listless for two days before she finally returned to normal.
Once she recovered and finished organizing all her items, her independent bookstore resumed business.
As usual, there were hardly any customers on weekdays. However, since all the books she'd sourced had been pre-ordered by paying customers, Tao Xinyu wasn't worried about having no sales.
Just as she was busy packaging books, her phone rang. The caller was her younger brother, Tao Xincheng.
Tao Xincheng was eight years younger than her, a sixteen-year-old high school student. At this hour, he should be in class. Why was he calling her at this time? Could it be...
A sense of foreboding immediately arose in Tao Xinyu's heart.
"Hello? Xincheng?" Tao Xinyu answered the phone.
"Sis... sis... you're finally back!" Tao Xincheng burst into tears, his voice filled with excitement and anguish.
"What's wrong? What happened? Don't cry, calm down!" Tao Xinyu's fears had come true. She tried to compose herself as she comforted her brother, urging him to speak properly.
"Mom... Mom... she's in the hospital!" Tao Xincheng sobbed.
"What? How did this happen?" Hearing that her mother was hospitalized, Tao Xinyu immediately grew anxious.
"The day after you left for abroad, Dad wanted Mom to call you and ask you to send money home. When Mom refused, Dad beat her badly. He cracked her head open and then went out again. Mom was bleeding, unconscious on the floor. I didn't find her until I came home from school and took her to the hospital." Tao Xincheng spoke through tears, his voice filled with helplessness.
"Is Mom awake now?" Tao Xinyu's heart ached as she listened, desperate to know her mother's condition.
"She's awake..."
"Alright, I'm coming over now." Knowing her mother was conscious, Tao Xinyu immediately set aside her work and rushed to the hospital where her mother was staying.
Half an hour later, Tao Xinyu finally saw her mother—head injured and crying sorrowfully.
"Where is he? After something this serious, where has he run off to?" Tao Xinyu asked her mother with a stern expression, her tone icy.
"Where else could he go? He's surely gone to that woman again..." Tao Xinyu's mother had a weak personality, helpless against her husband's years of abuse. Not to mention his affairs—she had no way to deal with her husband and that woman's illicit relationship, only able to endure it all.
"Is that woman making him come back for money again? The filial support money I send back every month, he takes it without a second thought. What's this now? Is he getting too used to it? Not getting the money means he resorts to violence? I absolutely won't tolerate this anymore!" Tao Xinyu said emotionally. "Mom, move out with Xincheng! It's too dangerous for you and Xincheng to stay in that house. Listen to me for once, move out quickly! Alright?"
Tao Xinyu's mother fell into deep thought. After this severe beating, she was finally willing to face the fact that her fate with her husband was over. For the sake of that woman outside, he'd been verbally abusive at best and physically violent at worst to her and her children. Whether herself or her son, they'd been living on tenterhooks next to a ticking time bomb.
Her daughter Tao Xinyu had entered the workforce early due to the family's circumstances. She worked hard to earn money for her brother's schooling, helped share the family expenses, and was both hardworking and filial. She'd repeatedly advised her mother to let go of this marriage and had urged her several times to move out of that broken home, but she herself had been unwilling to give her husband up to another woman, trapping herself in that hell with no escape.
Today's severe beating had finally made her see through her marriage. For the sake of her son still in high school, she could no longer selfishly cling to her marriage. So, raising her tearful eyes to her daughter, she slowly spoke:
"Xinyu, you still have room there, don't you? Xincheng and I will trouble you then."
Hearing that her mother was finally willing to leave that dysfunctional home, Tao Xinyu could have jumped for joy. With tears of happiness in her eyes, she clasped her mother's hand and smiled:
"What do you mean 'trouble'? I couldn't be happier! This is wonderful—you've finally come around!"
Her obedient, sensible brother Tao Xincheng quietly approached and placed his hand over theirs, saying:
"Mom, don't worry. When I grow up, I'll take responsibility for the family. You and Sis will always have someone to rely on. I'll work hard to become your support."
Facing such a mature and understanding son, Tao Xinyu's mother couldn't help but shed tears again—only this time, they were tears of gratitude, tears that made all the hardships feel worthwhile.
---
After three days in the hospital, Tao Xinyu's mother was discharged. Tao Xinyu took her directly back to her independent bookstore. The old two-story building was rented—the first floor served as the bookstore, the second floor as her living space. Being in a rural area, the rent was quite affordable, making the space very cost-effective for Tao Xinyu.
There were two rooms on the second floor. She planned to share one with her mother, and the other would be for Tao Xincheng alone. As a teenager going through adolescence, having his own space would be more convenient.
Once settled, Tao Xinyu's mother and brother began their new life here. Mother and children, having escaped from their terrifying father, started living a stable and peaceful existence.
But this peace didn't last long—their father soon tracked them down.
One day a week later, Tao Xinyu's father arrived with several thugs at her bookstore. As soon as he entered, he ordered the thugs to start trashing the place.
Tao Xinyu and her mother huddled together in the corner behind the counter, two women with no way to fight off the thugs.
"You sl*t! How dare you run away! You think hiding with your daughter means I can't get to you?" Tao Xinyu's father cursed at her mother viciously.
Unable to bear her father's abuse toward her mother, Tao Xinyu shielded her mother behind her and couldn't help but shout back:
"Stop humiliating my mother! How can you be so heartless? You're lazy, never work steadily, gamble, visit pro$titutes, and now you're keeping another woman. The wages Mom worked so hard for, you steal them to support your mistress. You don't even spare the money I send home every month. Are you trying to drive Mom to her death?"
Enraged by his daughter's outburst, Tao Xinyu's father flipped over a nearby cabinet.
"Say one more word and I'll burn this crappy store down, you hear me!" he threatened viciously.
Just then, neighbors drawn by the commotion gathered outside. Seeing thugs smashing things inside while Tao Xinyu protected her mother in the corner, the onlookers felt deep sympathy. Some of the older women, angered by the scene, began shouting:
"Everyone, grab something! Our little Xinyu's being bullied!"
At this call to action, several middle-aged men from neighboring businesses grabbed whatever weapons they could find and rushed into Tao Xinyu's store.
In an instant, more than ten nearby shopkeepers and neighbors had crowded in. Tao Xinyu's father and his four thugs, outnumbered by the enthusiastic locals, froze in fear.
"You heartless creature, get out! If you cause trouble for our little Xinyu, you're causing trouble for all of us!" The fruit stall owner, an elderly woman, knew that the troublemaker was Tao Xinyu's father and was well aware of what a despicable man he was.
"What right do you have... this is my daughter's place, I can come and go as I please!" Though intimidated by the hostile crowd, Tao Xinyu's father stammered in protest.
"You call her your daughter? You just threatened to burn her store! You have no shame!" the elderly fruit seller continued.
"Enough talk. Get lost!" shouted the owner of the nearby motorcycle shop, his face fierce.
Seeing the situation was against him, Tao Xinyu's father realized he probably wouldn't get the money he'd come for. He cursed under his breath, then warned Tao Xinyu:
"You're lucky today. I'll be back for this month's money in a couple of days. Don't try anything funny!" With that, he left with the thugs.
As soon as her father was gone, Tao Xinyu's mother began to sob. She said to Tao Xinyu:
"Xinyu, I think I should leave. As long as I'm here, your father will keep coming to cause trouble. You'll never have peace, and you won't be able to run your business. You worked so hard to escape that hell of a home—I can't drag you down like this."
The fruit stall owner objected:
"Xinyu's mother, don't talk nonsense. You can stay here."
"That's right! Settle in with peace of mind. All of us neighbors often trouble little Xinyu for help with all kinds of things. We see her as family. There's no way we'll stand by and watch her get bullied. Don't worry about being a burden—just settle in and stop worrying Xinyu." The motorcycle shop owner joined in the persuasion.
Seeing how enthusiastically everyone was helping her, Tao Xinyu's eyes reddened with warmth. Embracing her mother, she thanked the neighbors:
"Thank you all for your help! I'll talk to my mother properly. Everyone can rest assured—it's fine now. Please go back home."
Understanding that this was ultimately a family matter, the crowd dispersed once the troublemakers had left.
Only the fruit stall owner stayed behind. Taking Tao Xinyu and her mother aside, she said earnestly:
"Xinyu, your father is so greedy that you'll likely face endless extortion from him. You have elderly and young ones to care for—Xinyu is just a young woman, and there's no strong man in the household to stand up for you. This isn't a sustainable situation."
Hearing this, Tao Xinyu's mother felt the older woman's words were quite reasonable. So she humbly sought her advice:
"Excuse me for asking, but what do you think we three should do?"
The fruit stall owner looked directly at Tao Xinyu and said:
"If little Xinyu could marry a capable, responsible man who could protect the three of you, that would probably be the best option."
"Wh-what?" Tao Xinyu was dumbfounded. She hadn't even thought about marriage! How did the topic of marriage suddenly come up? Did anyone know she was only twenty-four?
Wasn't twenty-four too young to get married?
No, that wasn't the point—the point was she didn't even have a prospect!
But her mother and the fruit stall owner were now staring at Tao Xinyu with keen interest, ignoring her wrinkled expression as they thought to themselves that perhaps they should arrange some matchmaking gatherings for her, since she currently had no boyfriend.
And so, this tumultuous day came to an end...
Late that night, after her shower, Tao Xinyu sat on the small sofa by the window, lost in thought.
The fruit stall owner's suggestion about marriage had shaken her deeply. She had to admit that, given her current situation, she truly couldn't stand up to her father.
If she could build a stronger, more solid family—a man who could shelter her from the storm, someone who could easily handle a father who had no love for them, only wanting to use them—that would be ideal.
For the sake of her already broken family, Tao Xinyu had no choice but to consider arranged marriage. She needed to find a strong husband—strong enough to protect her family.
***
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