Dean Ward, noticing that I didn't respond, bit down hard on my chest, right where my "bitch" tattoo was.

"Are you deaf or mute?"

The flickering cigarette butt pressed painfully against my skin, and I finally cried out in agony.

"I'm a bitch; I don't deserve to want Mr. Shaw!"

When he heard my words, Dean Ward let out a satisfied grunt.

A foul liquid trickled down from the corner of my eye, pooling at the edge of my mouth.

I knelt there, dazed, too scared to wipe it away, fearing it would only provoke more abuse.

"Jade Taylor, remember how you feel today!"

"You should know what to say and what not to say!"

"If you say anything you shouldn't, I can just call Mr. Shaw and have him deliver you to me personally, understand?"

"I have plenty of new tricks waiting for you; remember that!"

He slapped my face twice, then sneered at the flickering red light off to the side.

After changing my clothes and shouldering my bag, I slowly walked out of the training camp's gates.

I should have felt relieved to escape this hell, but instead, I was filled with anxiety.

The Shaw family taking me in might only be temporary, and they could easily send me back later.

Having hope only to have it ruthlessly crushed is the most despairing feeling of all.

I never expected Xander Shaw to come in person. He stood by the car, looking down at his toes.

It had been a year since I last saw him, and he seemed even more mature, radiating an invisible pressure.

I stopped in my tracks, fidgeting with my hands as beads of sweat formed on my forehead.

Just seeing him brought back memories of that hellish experience and the endless pain I had endured.

I couldn't bring myself to look at him or get any closer.

"Jade?"

He turned to me, momentarily stunned, hesitating before speaking.

I lowered my head, clenched my fists, and summoned all the courage I could muster.

"Yes!"

"Are you really just going to stand there, or are you waiting for me to greet you?"

Xander frowned deeply, seeming a bit impatient.

Dean Ward had called me a disgusting, lowly person who didn't deserve to want Xander, warning that if I didn't obey, he would call a bunch of coaches to teach me a lesson.

The repeated beatings, the burning cigarette butts, the crisscrossing whip marks on my back, and the pepper spray...

I felt as if my consciousness was being controlled, and my body trembled uncontrollably.

"No, please don't!"

Xander finally lost his patience and strode over, grabbing me as if I were a small chick.

I shut my eyes and struggled wildly.

"Don't touch me, don't touch me!"

He shoved me into the car and then sat down beside me.

"Jade, what game are you playing now?"

"Acting weak, playing the victim, trying to lure me in? Such a low-class trick, and you dare to perform it in front of me?"

I didn't dare to retort; instead, I curled up, pressing myself against the far side of the car as much as I could.

Xander looked at me coldly, his eyes filled with mockery and disdain.

"You look so pathetic; it's really nauseating! Stop pretending!"

I slid off the seat and knelt on the narrow car floor, bowing my head and repeatedly apologizing.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"You finally know how to apologize; it seems the training camp wasn't a waste of time!"

Seeing his attitude soften, I silently shrank back, remaining still as I watched the sunlight rush by outside.

He stared at me intently, his eyes filled with emotions I found hard to understand.

"Jade, how did you end up like this?"

What does "like this" even mean? The once proud and lively Jade Taylor has been shattered and destroyed by all of you; now, I'm just a walking corpse too afraid to die.

In the past, wherever I was, my chatter filled the air.

I often clung to Xander, claiming the passenger seat as if it were my throne.

But now, the Dean says I can't get close to Xander and must not speak to him first.

All my energy goes into holding myself back from jumping out of the car.

The car quickly pulls up outside the Shaw residence.

Just before getting out, Xander turns to look at me, his gaze dangerous and his tone heavy with pressure.

"My mom is back. When you see her, don't act like this anymore, or else..."

His demeanor starts to blend with that of the Dean in my mind, and I tremble as I straighten up, kneeling respectfully.

"Yes!"

The director always punishes me like this: first with a slap, then with punches and kicks, and finally with a stun baton.

Until I'm on my knees, barking like a dog and licking their shoes without any dignity, they won't stop.

I push through my discomfort, promising every word.

"I will definitely behave well!"

So please, spare me, I beg you—don't send me back to that training camp.

"So obedient! You've made quite a bit of progress; the money wasn't wasted!"

I nodded mechanically.

When we arrived at the Shaw residence, Xander had someone take me to get cleaned up.

I didn't want to interact with the staff for too long, so I made excuses to send the maids away.

But they didn't dare go far, lingering at the door and whispering to each other.

"Is this really the adopted daughter of the Shaw family? I heard she was supposed to be overbearing, but she doesn't look like that at all!"

"Yeah, she's worse off than the left-behind children in my hometown. Could she have been abused...?"

"Shh, you don't want to lose your job..."

I took off my clothes, and the reflection staring back at me in the mirror was terrifyingly unfamiliar.

I was skin and bones, my body covered in bruises, with scars crisscrossing everywhere. The bright colors of my tattoos looked like the gaping mouths of ferocious beasts, ready to swallow me whole at any moment.

My parents named me "Jade," hoping I would live a life as pure and carefree as the white clouds in the sky and the jade stones in the mountains. Instead, I found myself imprisoned in a cage, sullied and filthy.

I wondered if there is a soul after death; if there is, would my parents be ashamed of me?

I grabbed the most conservative hoodie I could find and put it on.

As I entered the living room, the lively chatter abruptly stopped, and everyone fell silent, all eyes turning to me.

Mrs. Shaw stood up from the sofa and walked over, taking my hands in hers and examining me closely from head to toe.

"Jade, it's only been a year. How did you get so thin?"

"I heard from Xander that you went to some kind of closed-door training. Was it really that harsh? If it was too tough, you don't have to go back!"

Mrs. Shaw's hands were warm, and it was clear she genuinely cared about me.

I stole a glance at Xander; his brows were furrowed, and his gaze was sharp as he looked at me.

I flinched in fear and quickly shook my head.

"It wasn't harsh at all..."

Mrs. Shaw was about to say more when she was interrupted by a voice like ringing bells.

"Mrs. Shaw, you can't say that! It was I who kept you company the entire time Jade was away for her studies. You can't just forget about me!"

At the sound of that voice, I instinctively shrank back.

Mia Moore smiled playfully, but her eyes were filled with disdain as she looked at me.

She was Xander's childhood friend and also my former best friend.

The year we graduated, I had a huge fight with her over Xander.

That same night, the villa caught fire, and when she was on the brink of death, I rushed in to save her, ignoring my own safety.

Yet she falsely accused me of starting the fire and insisted on sending me to prison.

Xander, believing her one-sided story, ultimately sent me to the finishing school she had recommended.

Now, in that training camp, I felt like I was barely alive, while in her eyes, I had become an ungrateful child who refused to accompany my foster mother out of selfishness.

I suddenly dropped to my knees before Mrs. Shaw, bowing my head three times in a show of respect.

"Mrs. Shaw, I was immature in the past, and I'm sorry for that! I promise I'll never be so overbearing again!"

These were the first words I had to say every morning when I woke up at the training camp, and the last ones before going to bed at night.

I had never done anything wrong, nor had I committed arson, so initially I refused to utter a single word.

However, the Dean and his people had their ways. They inserted silver needles into each of my ten fingers, eventually breaking my unyielding spirit.

"My dear, it's been a year. Why are you still so distant from me?"

Mrs. Shaw sounded a bit melancholic, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

I vaguely recalled being brought to the Shaw family at age ten. Mrs. Shaw had tenderly dressed me in pretty dresses and braided my hair.

She had hugged me then and promised to treat me well for the rest of her life.

I tried to reminisce about the past, hoping to shake off this numb and gloomy feeling, but my head started throbbing in pain.

At the training camp, they would attach monitoring devices to me. Whenever I recalled the past and felt even slightly happy, they would remotely activate the electric shocks.

Over time, just thinking about the past gave me splitting headaches.

Xander gave me a cold look, as if blaming me for not performing well enough.

"Mrs. Shaw, let's have dinner!"

Mia timely interrupted Mrs. Shaw's concern for me, guiding her to sit down at the table.

They chatted and laughed as they settled in, while I stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

At the training camp, I wasn't even allowed to eat from a bowl.

They locked me in a cage with dogs, forcing me to compete with them for scraps of food.

"My dear, come sit with us, don't just stand there!"

Mrs. Shaw kindly intervened, inviting me to sit beside her, directly across from Xander.

As soon as I picked up my fork, I noticed him watching me.

In my fright, I knocked over the bowl of rice in front of me.

Everyone turned to look at me, and I fearfully knelt down, shoving the fallen grains into my mouth. What I couldn't pick up with my hands, I licked directly from the floor.

"I'm so sorry, I was wrong! I'm sorry, I was wrong!"

"I'll definitely finish every last bit, I promise!"