CHAPTER 601: CHAPTER 601: SU RONG’S DILEMMA

But exhaustion crushed him. Soon, he fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he couldn’t move. His arms and legs were bound tightly with rope. He panicked, thrashing around.

"What’s happening?! Who tied me up?!"

The door creaked open. A tall man walked inside, calm and silent.

Ou Lin’s eyes widened. "Who are you?! Let me go! If you do anything wrong, I’ll report you!"

The man ignored him. He only said in a low voice, "Stop struggling. You are destined to become food."

Ou Lin’s face turned white. His voice cracked. "W-what?! Food? You... you can’t mean... You eat people?!"

The man’s lips curled in a faint smile. He didn’t answer.

Ou Lin began to scream, thrashing in the ropes.

"No! Let me go! You can’t do this! The base leader of Hope Base... she’s my girlfriend! If you touch me, she’ll kill you all!"

At that, the man finally turned his head. He looked at Ou Lin with cold amusement.

"Girlfriend? Don’t make me laugh. One of my relatives lives in Hope Base. I know the truth. Their leader’s boyfriend has blue eyes. You... don’t."

Ou Lin froze, his face pale. "N-no... I’m telling the truth... I..."

The man didn’t care. He turned away, his voice cold. "Save your breath. Tonight, you meet your fate."

Ou Lin struggled for hours, screaming until his voice broke. But the ropes never loosened.

When night came, they dragged him outside. A fire burned in the middle of the camp. The heat was suffocating.

"No! No! Please, I beg you!" Ou Lin shrieked, kicking wildly. "I don’t want to die! Please!"

His cries were ignored. Slowly, they pushed him closer to the flames. His skin burned as he got nearer. Tears poured from his eyes.

"Lianhua! Su Jiyai! Someone help me!" he screamed desperately.

But no one came.

In the end, Ou Lin was shoved into the fire. His screams filled the night, then faded into silence. His life ended before he could even understand how it had all gone so wrong.

................

Su Rong stood at her little stall, her hands gripping the edge so tight her knuckles turned white.

She could feel it again... the stares. Everywhere she looked, people were whispering, glaring, or avoiding her as if she carried some kind of disease. Her face burned with shame.

Beside her, Su Han stood with his arms crossed, his face twisted in anger. He was only thirteen, but the dirty looks aimed at him made him snap.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Su Han suddenly shouted.

His voice cracked but was filled with rage.

"If you don’t like me, then don’t come buy food here! Let’s see if you can eat anything delicious without us!"

The crowd gasped. Murmurs rose louder.

"Such arrogance..."

"Even now, he dares to talk like this?"

"This family has no shame at all."

Su Rong’s face turned pale. She quickly turned to her younger brother, grabbing his arm.

"Su Han, stop it! Don’t talk like that!" she whispered harshly.

But Su Han shoved her away, glaring at her with a red face.

"Shut up! Do you think your soft little words make me feel better? Do you think you’re some gentle princess? You can’t even find my mother! If you don’t find her, I’ll tell everyone how useless you are!"

Su Rong’s whole body trembled. For a second, she wanted to slap him, hard.

But she held herself back. If she raised her hand against him in public, people would side with him, not her. After all, he was just a child.

Taking a shaky breath, she turned back to the crowd and raised her voice.

"Everyone, please listen! I know I made mistakes when I was younger. I know I was... not very kind. But I have changed! I swear I have changed! I never harmed Su Jiyai...Boss Su... after she entered the military! Please believe me!"

But her words didn’t ease the tension. A woman in the crowd crossed her arms.

"Changed? If she weren’t Boss Su, would you even say that?"

A man snorted.

"Exactly. You’re only pretending now because she has power. If Su Jiyai was still weak, you’d still be stepping on her like before."

Others joined in, their voices rising one after another.

"She’s a scum."

"She should be kicked out!"

"Someone like her doesn’t deserve to stay here!"

Su Rong’s heart pounded in panic. Her ears buzzed as the crowd’s angry voices reminded her of the scene with Ou Lin just a few days ago.

She had seen how quickly people could turn into a storm. If they really decided to throw her out, she would have nowhere to go.

Terrified, she dropped to her knees.

"Please! Please don’t! I regret it! I truly regret it!" she cried.

Her voice cracked, her forehead pressed to the ground.

"I will never harm Boss Su again! I will even apologize to her myself if you want me to!"

Her husband, who had just arrived, rushed to her side.

His face was pale, but he immediately knelt too.

"Everyone, please calm down. My wife is telling the truth! She was only childish back then. It was never real hatred. She just didn’t know better. Please, don’t judge her so harshly!"

But the crowd was unmoved.

Someone suddenly pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. Su Rong lifted her head and froze. Her blood ran cold.

It was Wang Xue.

Of all people, it had to be her.

Su Rong’s lips trembled.

Her mind flashed back to the past, the neighbor who had lived in the same building as Su Jiyai, the one who had always looked at her with disgust whenever she and Su Yun bullied that girl.

Wang Xue’s voice rang out, clear and strong.

"Everyone, don’t be fooled by her fake tears. I lived in the same building as Su Jiyai. I saw everything with my own eyes. From childhood to adulthood, Su Rong and Su Yun never stopped tormenting her."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Su Rong’s face drained of color.

Wang Xue stepped closer, pointing directly at her.

"Su Jiyai had no proper room to sleep in. They made her stay on the balcony, even in freezing winters and burning summers. I saw her curled up out there, trembling, while they slept warm and full inside. And when Su Jiyai went hunting for food, it was Su Rong and her brother who ate the best parts while she often got nothing!"

The crowd erupted.

"Monsters!"

"Heartless!"

"No wonder Su Jiyai never spoke of her family. Who could, after such cruelty?"

Wang Xue’s eyes narrowed even more.

"And that’s not all. Su Rong even schemed against Su Jiyai because her own crush liked Su Jiyai more. Out of pure jealousy, she bullied her even harder. Tell me, is that someone who deserves forgiveness?"

The crowd roared with fury. Fingers pointed at Su Rong, faces twisted with disgust.

"She’s worse than trash!"

"She should be thrown out at once!"

"People like her don’t deserve to live in this base!"

Su Rong shook violently, her tears streaming down. She couldn’t take it anymore.

Pushing herself up, she ran desperately, forcing her way through the crowd. Her legs almost gave out, but she kept running, running straight toward the reception hall.

And there, her worst nightmare, she saw Su Jiyai.

The moment their eyes met, Su Rong fell to her knees with a loud thud.

Her voice broke as she begged,

"Boss Su! Su Jiyai! Please forgive me! I was wrong! I was blind and foolish! Please, I beg you, let me start over. I will be a new person, I swear it!"

The crowd that had followed stopped a few steps behind, waiting silently, their anger simmering.

Su Jiyai looked down at the kneeling woman. Her face was calm, her eyes unreadable.

Slowly, she spoke. "Su Rong, do you really think a simple apology can erase everything?"

Her tone was soft, but every word was like a blade.

Su Rong’s body stiffened. She lifted her tear-streaked face, trembling. "I... I regret it. I truly do! Please, give me one chance. Just one!"

Su Jiyai didn’t answer immediately. She simply stared at her, her gaze heavy.

For Su Rong, every second of silence felt like a lifetime. Her mind flashed with images of all the times she had mocked, hurt, and schemed against the girl now standing above her.

Back then, she never imagined Su Jiyai would rise so high. She thought she was untouchable, safe to be cruel.

Now, kneeling like a beggar, she realized how wrong she had been.

But Su Jiyai’s voice finally cut through her thoughts, calm yet cold.

"You only regret because I have power now. If I were still weak, you would still be the same. Isn’t that true?"

Su Rong’s lips opened and closed, but no words came out.

The crowd murmured in agreement.

"She’s right."

"Su Rong is only scared now. That’s not real regret."

"She deserves whatever judgment Boss Su decides."