Chapter 371 - 371 Dark Memories

371 Dark Memories

In the evening, Huo Xiaoran returned home from work.

The children were entertaining themselves in the courtyard while Qiao An sat on the sofa in the living room in a daze. Huo Xiaoran walked up to her and handed her a stack of exquisite greeting cards excitedly. “An’an, look, this is the wedding invitation I designed. Look, do you like it?”

He squatted in front of her, his eyes filled with stars.

Qiao An looked at the exquisite pattern on the invitation. It was a testament to their acquaintance and love. The elemental symbols inside represented every unforgettable past.

Qiao An was very touched. She asked, “Brother Xiaoran, who are we going to invite?”

Huo Xiaoran said, “I want everyone who knows us to witness our love. The Huo, Qiao, Li, and Xiao families are our closest relatives. We can’t miss anyone. As for your other relatives and friends, write them down if you want to invite anyone.”

Qiao An was delighted. She raised the invitation. “Then we’ll send invitations to the Huo and Xiao families after dinner?”

How could Huo Xiaoran know that she had an ulterior motive? He said, “Okay.”

After dinner, Huo Xiaoran brought his entire family to the Xiao family’s Zither Academy. The Zither Academy was where Xiao Yue’s grandparents lived. Every night after dinner, the juniors of the Xiao family would come to the Zither Academy to visit the two of them.

Perhaps it was because military families abided by the rules, so this habit was almost unwavering every day.

When Huo Xiaoran and Qiao An entered the lobby, the men of the Xiao family glanced over sharply.

Huo Xiaoran was afraid that the Xiao family’s sharpness would scare Qiao An, so he quickly protected her in his arms. He said, “Uncle, Uncle, although we respect your bravery on the battlefield, home is a warm harbor. Please don’t scare my family.”

The resolute men were a little embarrassed. They turned to look elsewhere.

The atmosphere in the lobby was actually very tense.

Huo Xiaoran said, “Looks like we came at the wrong time.”

At this moment, Xiao Yue’s father, a world-renowned anti-drug pioneer, was discharged from the military. He eased his expression and said very frankly, “Xiaoran, Qiao An, don’t think too much. Even though we don’t look good, we’re not targeting you. It’s really because our Xiao family has been in trouble recently, and everyone is unhappy.”

Xiao Yue also became a peacemaker. “Sigh, it’s all because of Brother Xiao Ming.”

Huo Xiaoran had been focused on his work and the Li family recently. He had not paid attention to the Xiao family for a long time and was very unfamiliar with Xiao Ming’s recent situation.

“What happened to Xiao Ming?” he asked curiously.

At this moment, Xiao Yue’s father stomped his feet in disappointment. “Don’t mention this unfilial son. He’s simply embarrassing his father. His father was a narcotics captain and died in battle for honor, but he went on the path of drugs. If I find him, I’ll definitely shoot him. This kid isn’t worthy of being part of our Xiao family.”

Qiao An’s heart ached.

Did Xiao Ming take drugs?

Did he finally embarked on this path?

She knew he’d never touch anything unless he had to. Because he hated drugs.

When the Xiao family mentioned Xiao Ming, they either sighed or hated him. It was as if he was a malignant tumor of the Xiao family and they could not wait to eliminate himl.

Their words were so intense that Qiao An, in the midst of their frequent output of hatred, felt her breathing become more and more suffocated.

Then everything went black and she fell to the ground with a thud.

Her world suddenly turned black.

Time went back to that year, when she was stabbed at the airport.

That day, after she was injured, she was in a daze and was about to faint. At this moment, two men ran over. One quickly handled the car accident scene, and the other dragged her into a car.

In a daze, she felt her body float.

After a long sleep, she slowly opened her eyes.

She realized that she had gotten into an old train that was heading somewhere.

The cabin was very messy, and there were men everywhere. They looked very wretched, as if they wanted to devour her.

“The wench’s not bad-looking. Hurry up and heal her wounds. I can’t hold back.”

Qiao An was so frightened that her soul almost left her body.

Jesus, what kind of people are they?

Instinct told her she was in hell.

Soon her guess was confirmed. People here took drugs. People who were disobedient would quickly disappear from the green train.

Anything could happen to her at any time.

Qiao An wanted to escape, but the exit was blocked.

Just as she was living her life on tenterhooks, a fierce-looking woman appeared. She clearly had very delicate facial features, but her actions were very rough, like a tomboy, so she couldn’t arouse the desires of men.

She saw the beautiful and gentle Qiao An and kick her fiercely as if she was jealous. She even scolded, “Stupid bitch, how dare you get pregnant with AIDS.”

At that moment, her mind exploded. When had she contracted such a disgraceful illness?

She was so worried about her child.

She wanted to argue. “I don’t have AIDS.”

However, when she saw those wretched gazes, she gave up arguing. This was good. At least she wouldn’t be bullied.

She had been treated very badly in the green car. She was already injured and pregnant, and was still beaten up every day. The double destruction of her body and mind had made her break down several times and want to commit suicide to escape.

But her innate tenacity made her give up on compromise.

She didn’t know where the exit to hope was until the man appeared.

At that time, the man was especially thin. Everyone was saying that he had taken drugs.

He always approached Qiao An, intentionally or otherwise, as if she was his private property and he would put his arms around her at night. Occasionally, he would swear at her. He would place leftovers in her bowl before ordering her mockingly, “Finish it.”

She was hungry, so hungry that she could eat tree bark. His leftovers were delicious to her.

She’d heard that drug users often got a lot of illnesses because of their decreased immunity, and she was worried about the child in her stomach, afraid that his illness would spread to the child, so she didn’t dare take it.

The man stuffed it into her mouth domineeringly.

Then he punched and kicked her. Perhaps it was because he had taken drugs himself and was weak, but his kicks felt like they were tickling her.

However, his scolding was too unpleasant. “Stupid bitch, how dare you despise my food? I’m not sick. I’m cleaner than you.”

When Qiao An heard that he wasn’t sick, she immediately grabbed the leftovers from his bowl and ate.

Her food and clothing problem was solved. With strength in her body, she began to think about how to escape.

One day, she felt a note in her mouth while she was eating.