Robin's Tears

"Ah... It was so late. Would he be all right out there alone?" Standing at the door and gazing into the pitch-black night sky, Robin was still deeply worried. Though she regretted having driven Ye Chen away so heartlessly, it was getting late. She glanced at the lit domed attic behind her. It was time to cook for her aunt and the others.

"Robin, why did you only just come over? Look how filthy the floor is! Hurry up and clean it up. And I'm hungry—go cook right now. Just wait until my mother gets back. You'll be sorry."

Her aunt's daughter wore a fashionable chiffon dress and was dressed up like a flower. She had clearly been the one to mess up the room, but when she saw Robin, she put on the lofty, bossy airs of a princess. One moment she ordered Robin to mop the floor, the next she ordered her to cook. Frail and helpless, Robin could only agree and begin bustling about the house.

"Ah..." Robin's uncle was reading the newspaper. Seeing Robin struggle to mop the floor, he felt a little sorry for her, but in the end, he still said nothing.

After an unknown amount of time, night had completely fallen. Robin's aunt, Luo Ji, finally came back from outside, her bloated body swaying atop high heels. The moment she entered, tipsy from a bit of alcohol, she nearly slipped and fell. Luo Ji flew into a rage, shooting a hateful glare at Robin, who was wiping the table. She stomped over and grabbed Robin by the ear. "How did you clean the floor? You made it so slippery! Are you trying to make me fall to my death? We let you eat and drink for free in this house, and you still won't work properly? Hmph..." As she spoke, Luo Ji began striking Robin with her fat palm.

Robin's uncle could not bear to watch any longer. He had just risen and cleared his throat when Luo Ji glared at him. He immediately lost his nerve like a mouse seeing a cat and could only murmur weakly, "She's still a child!"

"Hmph, her mother probably died somewhere outside long ago and dumped this burden on us. She's eaten and drunk for free under my roof all these years, yet she can't do anything right. Hmph, if not for your sake, I would have thrown her into the mountains to feed the wolves long ago."

While Robin was beaten, Luo Ji's daughter watched from the side with glee. Luo Ji had had terrible luck playing cards that day and lost quite a bit of money, so naturally she was in a foul mood. At dinner, she merely tossed Robin a piece of stale, hard black bread.

Robin gritted her teeth, tears of grievance hanging in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back. When her aunt's family ate, she did not even have the right to stand nearby. Every day, she suffered her aunt's vicious beatings and scolding, as well as her cousin's cold stares and mockery. As for food, she got no more than two filthy black breads a day.

The reason she endured it all was because Robin believed her mother would definitely return. She would never abandon her.

Back in the wooden hut where she lived, Robin heard the wind picking up outside and hurriedly shut the doors and windows. The island's weather could change at any moment. A crescent moon had clearly been hanging in the sky just moments ago, but suddenly the heavens darkened. Before long, a bolt of lightning tore across the night sky. Violent winds rose outside, accompanied by terrifying thunder, and raindrops as large as beans came pouring down mercilessly.

Robin hugged her knees and curled up on the bed, frightened and cold, her body trembling nonstop. Her stomach growled with hunger. Just as she was about to eat something, Ye Chen's frail, helpless figure suddenly flashed through her mind. It's raining outside. Will he be all right? He must be hungry too, right?

The rain grew heavier and heavier. Robin hesitated for a moment, but then climbed out of bed, opened the door, and ran outside. There was nothing in her room. The instant she stepped out, the merciless rain drenched her head, and before long, Robin was soaked through.

She had not run far from the house when she found Ye Chen beneath a nearby eave. He had originally been sheltering in the woods, but with the wind and rain—and his stomach aching from hunger—he could not resist coming out. He did not know anyone here. Robin was the only person he knew, yet Ye Chen could not bring himself to shamelessly beg her for help. He could only hide not far from Robin's home, taking shelter from the rain as he waited. Even he did not know what he was waiting for.

"Why are you here?" Seeing Robin drenched from head to toe, her purple dress clinging to her body, Ye Chen hurried into the rain and pulled her beneath the eave.

Robin said nothing. Though she was shivering all over and her teeth chattered loudly, she grabbed Ye Chen's hand and ran straight toward her home.

The torrential rain poured down mercilessly over them. Two frail figures staggered through the storm, struggling to run. They fell to the ground several times, but each time, one pulled while the other tugged. Their tightly clasped hands, fingers interlocked, never let go.

Although Ye Chen had spoken rudely and even taken off his pants in front of her, Robin and Ye Chen were alike at that moment. They shared the same fate, and each regarded the other as a friend they could rely on.

Once they ran into Robin's room, they looked at each other. Though both were shivering from the cold, they broke into foolish grins at the same time.

"Put on some dry clothes first. Don't catch a cold!"

Ye Chen politely turned his body away. But after waiting for a long time without hearing the slightest movement behind him, he froze for a moment and turned back. Robin was huddled on the bed, trembling uncontrollably.

"Don't you have any clothes to change into?" Ye Chen asked, heart aching for her.

Robin shook her head. Even her lips had turned purplish-blue from the cold. Though there were blankets on the bed, they still could not warm her body.

"How could this be?" Though Ye Chen was shivering as well, he was a boy after all, and no matter what, his mind could be considered that of an adult. (In truth, he was not nearly that mature. Just imagine, how mature could a spoiled young master be? Even at eighteen in his previous life, he knew nothing beyond eating, drinking, and having fun.)

"Are you cold?" Robin pointed beside her, signaling for Ye Chen to lie down too.

Ye Chen shook his head. "Men and women should keep their distance. I can't lie down with you!"

Robin's eyes widened as she stared blankly at Ye Chen. Then she suddenly could not help laughing. "But just now, when you were here, you even took off your pants."

The moment she recalled that embarrassing scene, Robin's face immediately flushed red, like a ripe apple—rosy and delicate, so tempting one could not help wanting to bite into it.

"I didn't do it on purpose."

Ye Chen shook his head proudly. Though he had been a wastrel in his previous life, he still had principles. When it came to women, he believed in winning them over with his own abilities. He did not know how to explain what had just happened. In any case, his mind was still a little muddled. Being thrown into another world without warning was not something anyone could easily accept!