My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

In one night, there were many people who experienced different things. There were some who lost all their lights and crawling blindly in dark, there were some who was happy because their beloved were picking them off work, there were some who was drifting aimlessly without home to return to, there were some who was angry, crying, embarrassed, cursing, also there were some that, no matter how the Earth rotated, they had to work hard just to get a mouthful of rice to eat everyday.

Yang Shijin was included in the last category.

She was only eighteen, but was forced to drop out of school due to not having enough money, her mom was diagnosed with stroke, and her dad had run off with some other rich woman, leaving her to shoulder the burden of the family of three.

The situation was hopeless, and she was a girl. Thus, instead of her sixteen years old brother, she was the one who was sacrificed to hold up the pillar to support the family. She worked to her bones, day and night without fail, her money was either spent on her mom's medicine or her brother's school fee.

Sometimes, she just didn't understand. Why was she the one who was born a girl?

She slammed her locker off and slung her backpack to her shoulder. Her skin was wan, her hair greasy and dry, her face full of pimples. At the age where girls should have shined the brightest, she had dimmed like a candle in its last breath.

"Shijin!"

"Oh!" She turned around and a smile instantly appeared on her face. "Senior, what's wrong?"

The sleazy, monkey faced bastard man was called He Ruifo. Dressed in clothes no better than a beggar, he still could strode toward her as if he was a supermodel, his crooked nose was ugly to death. Yang Shijin forced herself to keep the smile on her face even though she could smell a disgusting stench coming from his body like unwashed socks.

"Are you off work now?"

"Yes, what's wrong, senior?"

"Aren't you scared?" He closed in to whisper. "After all, the police haven't caught the serial killer yet."

Yang Shijin laughed daintily even though she was rolling her eyes inside. In the time when she needed money the most, where could she find the time to worry about some kind of killer? If the criminal could kill her father, then she would kneel on his foot and acknowledge him as her ancestor.

"What? You're scared?" she teased.

"What the fuck are you saying?!" He flared his nostrils and gritted his teeth. "Senior is just worried about you!" He rudely pinched her chest and even fondled it a bit.

Yang Shijin jerked back and shouted. "Senior!" Her face flushed in embarrassment.

Hearing her screech and her fierce eyes, He Ruifo harrumphed and put the plastic bag he brought to the table. He pointed at it. "For you." Then, without waiting for Yang Shijin's answer, he sauntered out and slammed the door.

Yang Shijin's breath was harsh and she glared at the door with hatred, her eyes reddened in tears.

Her gaze fell upon the plastic bag, and in a fit of anger, she flung it off the table. The food inside of it was packaged quite tight, even though it had fallen off, it still didn't fly open and scattered all over the floor.

The phone on her hand beeped, and she glanced at it.

It was from her brother, Yang Shiluo. [Sis, when are you coming home? Mom is sick!]

Not even ten seconds later, a new message came in. [Don't forget to send me money. I don't even have any penny for lunch tomorrow!]

Yang Shijin felt that she couldn't breathe.

She was here working her bones off, and her brother was home, feigning doing his homework and only knew to play video games all day. Yang Shijin had spared a month of pocket money for him, but not even one week, it all had been spent.

Yang Shijin hadn't even eaten lunch.

That meager money she didn't even dare to spend on her food and chose to save for her mother.

All of a sudden, her limbs felt like it was seeped out of all strength and she felt tired, so tired that she wanted to find somewhere to sleep. She laughed mockingly to herself and lifted the fallen food on the floor.

Even though He Ruifo often harassed her at work, she still gritted her teeth and endured because the man would buy her food occasionally.

Honestly, she couldn't bear it anymore.

She locked the door to the warehouse and breathed out a huge sigh. The night in the harbor was very cold, the wind was chilling. Cargos were stuck one top of each other and the sound of people's conversation on boats could be heard intermittently.

With her head bowed, she tightened her hold on the strap of her bag and walked home.

When she turned over a corner, she could hear a piece of conversation getting louder and louder. It was He Ruifo. "..that bitch doesn't know what's good for herself! What's wrong with playing with this young master for a few hours. Not even beautiful but her attitude is sickening! You see, if I brought her food, then she would definitely bite it away like a dog! Pui!" He spit and cursed. "Who will want such a woman except for me?!"

The people opposite him laughed, every one of them was holding a cigarette, the smoke blown away by the harsh wind. "That girl who works with you? Her figure is not bad, if you ignore her face hahaha!"

"If you have had your fill, don't forget your bro ah!"

"Hey, He Ruifo, you pig. Your dad has been calling me for days! He wants to break your legs off because you steal his gambling money!"

Yang Shijin's hold on the plastic bag trembled violently, and she suddenly felt so, so dirty. Her eyes red, her heartbeat thundered on her ears and she gnashed her teeth so hard that her gum bled. The taste of blood filled her mouth and she swallowed it back down.

She knew she couldn't win. In this vast world, she was just an insignificant being. Compared to them, she was only an ant. Thus, the only thing she could do was endure.

She turned around and ran out of the harbor, bringing with her the salty taste of air and tears.

Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, and for a second, she really wanted to throw the food away into a garbage bin. But then, she remembered how she could save three people's dinner money with this, and her movement halted.

She crouched down in the desolate street and cried, cried so bitterly. No one would hear her anyway. Even if they heard, no one would care.

It didn't even take five minutes for her to finish crying. She couldn't afford the luxury to cry, she didn't have the time to. She straightened up and wiped her face, then continued to walk down the street.

The dim streetlamp illuminated her shadow, making it long and eerie.

She wasn't scared though. Even if a ghost appeared in front of her, she still wouldn't be scared. She had gotten used to it already.

With ease, she took the small road that cut through to the main city where it was bustling. Sniffles were heard intermittently, her eyes stung because of the wind. She lifted her head and saw the crescent moon up in the sky.

So alone, so lonely, just like her. She didn't know why, but her feelings lightened somehow.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone call broke off the tranquil night.

She jolted in shock and her steps paused. The phone was still ringing with no sign of anyone answering it. Her brows furrowed and she looked around. The small alley was desolate with wood fences on both sides. One was directly faced with dense bushes and sparse land while the other was the rows of houses with their lights turned off.

There wasn't any sound except the occasional chirp of cicada, her thumping heartbeat and the ringing phone.

As she waited, the ringing finally stopped.

She heaved a sigh and started walking again.

Not long after, it rang again.

She couldn't help but curse. "Who the fuck left their phone here?!" But then, realization dawned on her. She could have sold the phone for extra money. No one would know.

It was a split second decision, but it took her whole life to repay.

Gingerly, she passed through alleys toward the source of the ringing sound.

A dim light shone deep in the corner of a dark alley. It was the phone. She almost whistled in joy. The phone looked like it was the latest model that was being sponsored by a popular actress. It should be worth quite a lot of money.

With a smile, she bent down and picked it up.

On the screen, there was a phone call from an unknown number. Then, the call was cut off and the screensaver appeared. It was only an art of smirking lips, but the lips were frighteningly wide, with rows of sharp teeth that were dripping with blood. Below the lips was a word written in gory letters, 'Hello'.

Yang Shijin raised her brows and she felt her hands become wet.

"What the—" Her eyes widened as she used the light on the phone to look at her hand.

It was red and sticky.

Behind her, came the voice so hoarse that it was doubted to come from a human. "Hello."

Before Yang Shijin could react, a sharp pain shot through the back of her neck.. Then, everything became dark.