The Lost Lamb's Trap - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Moon

Duan Jiayang’s hatred for Lin Wan was deeply rooted. She had remembered this person since she was a few years old, when her mother held her in her arms.

When she was a child, her mother covered her ears. She only vaguely knew that her mother was unhappy. She only remembered a few words: Lin Wan, first love, secretly communicating. Later, after her mother passed away, she looked up the words in the dictionary, one by one, and understood their meaning. When put together, these things were called betrayal.

Lin Wan also hated her. Duan Jiayang tormented her to prevent her from entering the house. In order to pretend to be a virtuous wife and loving mother, she could only tolerate it, but Duan Jiayang never gave her any face, making her feel very embarrassed.

Back then, after Duan Jiayang jumped from the balcony, she didn’t hit anyone. She pushed Lin Ke, who was blocking the door, aside and limped downstairs. She started swinging the cleaver she used to smash garlic around the house. Finally, she swung the knife hard between Duan Litian and Lin Wan. Her eyes were red and wet. Everyone in the house was so scared they kept backing away. Duan Litian’s cigarette burned a hole in the sofa.

“If you dare to bring this woman to live in our house, I’ll chop you to death, chop her to death, chop you two cheating lovers to death. Don’t think I won’t!” Duan Jiayang screamed hoarsely. Her appearance was not fake. Seeing that Lin Wan wasn’t moving, she rushed over directly. Duan Litian was also scared. Lin Wan was frightened out of her wits. In the end, Lin Wan left in a sorry state with Duan Litian, forgetting to take Lin Ke, who was in the next room, with her.

Duan Jiayang’s eyes were red as she carried the knife upstairs. She pushed Lin Ke hard as she passed by. Lin Ke’s back hit the door, and her coat-hanger-like body hit the door with a “squeak,” as if she would break at any moment.

Duan Jiayang pointed at her nose and warned her, “If you know what’s good for you, leave my house early, or you’ll be the next one I chop.”

At that time, Duan Jiayang didn’t have a correct sense of right and wrong. She only knew one thing: if anyone dared to enter her house and take her mother’s place as the owner, she would kill them. As for the consequences, she didn’t think about them at all.

Duan Jiayang’s first battle was a success. She slept with the knife every day and didn’t go to school for a whole week. During this week, air conditioners were installed in every classroom at school.

The incident of Duan Jiayang copying tests was suppressed.

If it were anyone else, they would not only be publicly criticized, but also receive a demerit. The school asked her to bring a parent. Duan Jiayang knew that Duan Litian wouldn’t come and that she would be beaten again. She said, “I can bring a parent. I’m guilty, but why isn’t Lin Ke? Isn’t she guilty for letting me copy?”

The grade-level director told her to write a self-reflection. Duan Jiayang, whose mind was particularly flexible, said, “What about Lin Ke? Why isn’t Lin Ke being punished? I got first place because she let me copy. If there’s no demand, there’s no harm!”

Lin Ke was the top student in the city and had returned from the United States. She was already the school’s darling. Duan Jiayang left a few people speechless. They had to talk about fairness and justice now.

Anyway, she was already very embarrassed. It was no big deal to be even more embarrassed. If Lin Wan dared to come to the school, she would yell everywhere that Lin Wan was a mistress, and that she deliberately had her daughter frame her. If she was going down, they were all going down together.

She was desperately tying herself and Lin Ke together, not letting anyone have an easy time.

Neither Lin Wan nor Duan Litian came. Duan Litian didn’t blame Duan Jiayang for this incident. Duan Jiayang’s young, crazy demeanor could be summed up in one word: fear.

Lin Ke stood in front of the dean of students with her head down, her shoulders slumped. She looked like a cat curled up in a corner. The grade-level director stopped talking after a couple of sentences.

They were a sharp contrast. Duan Jiayang, even when she was wrong, was still very sharp, like a knife that got sharper the more it was sharpened. Everyone who saw her wanted to criticize her a little more.

Because of Duan Jiayang’s “arrogance,” the punishment was increased. They had to stay in the grade office for at least half a month.

During the day, while others were on lunch break or evening break, they were in the grade office writing self-reflections. At that time, when Duan Jiayang looked up, she could always see the crown of Lin Ke’s head. Lin Ke’s hair lacked care, and the few strands on top were always frizzy, as if they would burn in the strong sunlight at any moment. Sometimes, she would feel a surge of sympathy and think that Lin Ke was pitiful for having a mom like that. But when she went to school in the morning and left in the evening, Lin Ke always sat in the same car as her, always sitting next to her without moving an inch. Duan Jiayang would get so angry. She would grit her teeth, always wanting to break Lin Ke like a bamboo stick. Lin Ke’s presence in her teenage years was a sore sight.

From the sky being hazy, to the sky being bright like the belly of a fish, to the streetlights dimming and the surroundings becoming pitch black, the two of them were in the same car, but they rarely spoke.

At that time, Duan Jiayang had a great-aunt in Hong Kong. Her grandfather had helped her out before, and later, when she became successful, she would often buy her luxury goods.

Her great-aunt sent her a limited edition Chanel set as a graduation gift. Only a few foreign celebrities had worn the clothes. Duan Jiayang excitedly tried them on secretly at home. She didn’t even take pictures. She was just waiting to wear them to school to stun the whole school.

But on the day she went to school, she saw the exact same outfit on Lin Ke.

Previously, Lin Ke had always been a commoner, only wearing the school uniform.

Duan Jiayang clenched her fists. The driver in front sensed that something was wrong and helped explain that the outfit Lin Ke was wearing was brought back from abroad by her mom’s friend.

The next day, Duan Jiayang took out a Dior outfit to wear. Lin Ke came out of her room wearing a Prada outfit. On the third day, Duan Jiayang wore an LV, and they matched again.

Duan Jiayang was so angry in the grade office that her liver hurt. Because a few deans were there, she could only let it go. But the students watching from the sidelines started gossiping about her.

They said she was only pretty because she was piled with luxury goods, and that a low-key person like Lin Ke was the real beauty. They said she was actually very rich and used a Montblanc pen.

Duan Jiayang felt uncomfortable hearing this. Lin Ke was rich? If she was rich, why did her mom have to be a mistress?

Duan Jiayang was young and proud. She took out a school uniform she had never worn to school, wanting to compete with Lin Ke. Lin Ke also seemed to want to compete with her. She deliberately wore the school uniform. When Lin Ke was tidying her clothes, Duan Jiayang discovered her little trick. The inside of her school uniform had been tailored. While others wore it loosely, it became fitted and showed off her waist. The legs of her pants were also altered, hugging her long legs.

When they got out of the car, Duan Jiayang reached out and gave her a hard push. There was a telephone pole in front of Lin Ke. She avoided the telephone pole, but her leg scraped against the concrete wall. A piece of skin was also scraped off her palm.

Lin Ke winced and trembled in pain. She could barely stand up straight by holding on to the wall. After that, she didn’t resist. She frowned slightly and limped back to school.

The girl who was wearing a school uniform again had a slender back and long, flowing hair. Because of her injury, she stumbled when she walked, which made many boys turn their heads. A brave boy ran up to her and asked her how she got hurt.

At that time, they weren’t in the same class. Duan Jiayang followed her for a step. The dean of students came out and glared at her fiercely. Duan Jiayang turned around and went back to her classroom.

After a class, her mind was full of Lin Ke’s knees.

She couldn’t understand why Lin Ke didn’t fight back. One moment, she thought Lin Ke would tattle on her, and she would be criticized. The next, she thought Lin Ke would gossip everywhere, and it would escalate into school bullying. She would never be able to hold her head up again and would be ostracized by everyone.

The first time she bullied Lin Ke, she felt guilty and scared.

During a long break, Duan Jiayang ran to the nurse’s office and bought a bunch of disinfectant and bandages.

Duan Jiayang didn’t think about apologizing to her. There was a male student in her class who liked Lin Ke and brought her breakfast every day. She gave the things to the male student. The people in the class immediately started making a fuss and whistling.

Duan Jiayang was already annoyed. She slammed the table hard and said, “I saw Lin Ke hurt her leg. Take this to her. Don’t tell her it’s from me.”

The male student leaned back in his chair in a sloppy way, deliberately teasing her. “Why? Is this a thank-you gift for letting you copy her test last time?”

“Just give it to her or not.”

“Fine. You’ll have to treat me to dinner next time.”

Duan Jiayang agreed and reminded him again not to say that she was the one who gave it to him. The male student was more than happy to do so. The medicine was expensive. High school students had limited allowance. He could benefit from someone buying it for him.

The male student took it to Lin Ke. The boys and girls from both classes started making a fuss. The dean of students on the first floor could hear them clearly. Duan Jiayang didn’t go out to see what was happening at the time. During lunch break, she went to the grade office to copy. Lin Ke didn’t come. The dean of students looked at her with a complicated expression and said that Lin Ke was sick and not feeling well.

Lin Ke was sitting alone in the classroom. All the medicine was on the floor, in the same state she had received it.

Lin Ke was writing a test with the Montblanc pen that everyone was talking about. She was very serious. Suddenly, the light was blocked. She didn’t move at first. After a while, there was hardly any light left. The shadow filled the entire test paper. She tilted her head and saw that familiar, beautiful, and fierce face. Her lips were bitten until they bled, and there was sweat on the tip of her nose.

Duan Jiayang tapped on the window, her lips pursed.

Lin Ke directly closed the window. Duan Jiayang clung to the window and said fiercely to her, “Don’t you dare talk nonsense about what happened this morning. If you dare to talk about it…”

“If you dare to tattle on me, I’ll kill you.”

Lin Ke glanced at her. From Duan Jiayang’s angle, she always felt like Lin Ke was rolling her eyes at her. Lin Ke asked, “You kill me, then what?”

Then what?

Duan Jiayang had not thought about what would happen next.

Lunch was almost over. People were gradually passing by in the hallway and downstairs. The sun was shining directly on her. Duan Jiayang’s back was hot, and her neck was sunburned. Duan Jiayang clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and ordered her, “Put on the medicine!”

“Mm.”

During the evening self-study break, Duan Jiayang came again. She glared with her big round eyes and called out to her, “Lin Ke, use the medicine.”

“I don’t need to,” Lin Ke replied.

Duan Jiayang was both annoyed and scared. She clenched her fists and knocked on the window to warn her.

Lin Ke stopped writing and glared at her fiercely.

Duan Jiayang said, “I’m serious. I’ll kill you, and then I’ll kill myself.”

“Oh.” Lin Ke tilted her head and saw that she was about to cry. “Okay, fine.”

…

That night, she went home.

Duan Jiayang was changing her shoes in the back. Lin Ke was sitting on the sofa, rolling up her pants. She took a cotton swab and dabbed some medicine on the wound.

The wound wasn’t deep, just a purple bruise.

But… Duan Jiayang squinted her eyes. Her long legs were covered with some dark, old scars, which were glaringly obvious on her fair skin.

Lin Ke curled her lips and smiled at her.

Duan Jiayang almost missed a step.

By coincidence, Duan Litian brought Lin Ke’s mom home.

Lin Wan’s eyes instantly turned red. She went over to ask Lin Ke what was wrong. Lin Ke stared at her, also very surprised. Lin Wan pinched her leg and asked, “Does this happen often? Are you bullied often?”

Duan Jiayang felt something was wrong and immediately retorted, “This is the only time! I only hit her once!”

At that moment, a guest came into the house. The guest was shocked to see Lin Ke’s bruised legs. After a few words of comfort, they left immediately.

Duan Litian was furious. He picked up his belt and started hitting her. He scolded her while he hit her. “Duan Jiayang, you’ve gotten so gutsy!”

Duan Litian didn’t hold back. When he whipped her with the belt, Duan Jiayang’s skin turned red. Her body was burning with pain and quickly swelled up. Duan Jiayang raised her hand to block. Her mouth was very stubborn. She wouldn’t apologize or admit defeat, but she was afraid of pain. She couldn’t be stubborn for long with her neck stretched out. She was so whipped that she jumped up and down. She squatted on the ground, holding her head, sobbing, and continued to call Duan Litian a gigolo.

Lin Ke was sitting below, wiping her legs. Her movements slowed down. Lin Wan took over and put a cotton pad with medicine on her. Duan Jiayang was so whipped that her snot and tears were running down her face. Lin Wan was also shedding tears. After applying medicine to Lin Ke, she went to protect Duan Jiayang. Duan Jiayang didn’t appreciate it. She threw things and cursed at her for being fake. In the end, the housekeeper a-yi stopped her and carried her into her room. Duan Jiayang was not beaten to death.

Duan Jiayang was locked in her room again.

That night, the housekeeper came to bring her food. Duan Jiayang was angry and didn’t eat. She lay in bed, her limbs aching. She felt like she was going to die from the pain. She endured the pain and sent a message to He Xiao, telling her that they would be friends in the next life. She also wrote a suicide letter to her great-aunt. Midway through, her tears had soaked the notebook.

The villa became extremely quiet because of today’s outburst. A beam of light came in from the dark balcony. The source was from the balcony next door.

Duan Jiayang grabbed a handful of tissues, wiped her face clean, and got up. Lin Ke was standing on the balcony next door with a flashlight. There was a clear smile in her eyes.

It was malicious.

When Duan Litian was hitting Duan Jiayang, she had kept her head down the whole time. She disdained to look. Now, she was carefully examining the red marks on Duan Jiayang’s arm. In her eyes, Duan Jiayang was just a piece of trash.

Duan Jiayang was very unwilling.

Lin Ke was the daughter of a mistress. Why did she always look at her with such a condescending look? Contemptuous, dirty, as if they were the same.

Before, when she jumped to Lin Ke’s side, Lin Ke wouldn’t give any reaction. She was listless.

Now, she was listless and malicious. Especially under the bright moonlight. The seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl had finally found some fun.

Lin Ke held the flashlight and asked her, “Why don’t you come and kill me?”

Duan Jiayang thought of going down together. Her fingers touched the hilt of the knife, and her fingertips felt the sharpness of the blade.

But when she went to take it out, my arms and legs hurt. Her whole body was in pain. The fruit knife fell to the floor. Duan Jiayang was injured and couldn’t jump over like last time. She cursed, “You’re sick, you’re sick.”

The wind blew against Lin Ke’s cheek. She spoke slowly and gently, “Mm, I want to see you kill yourself.”

The flashlight beam fell on her arm. She asked, “Does it hurt?”

Duan Jiayang couldn’t tell how serious she was. She turned and went back, tearing up the suicide letter she had written.

She wouldn’t die. If she died in the future, she would kill Lin Ke first.

Lin Ke’s flashlight shone back and forth on the balcony. Duan Jiayang lay in bed, panting. Sometimes she felt that Lin Ke was like a piece of paper that would crumble if she tore it. Whatever others turned her into, she would be. She was at the mercy of others. But sometimes, she would become sunny and cheerful, as if two souls lived in one body.

After a while, the circular beam of light on the ground gradually shrank. Her finger was on the switch, and she pressed it. All the light in the room disappeared.

Lin Ke held the flashlight. As she turned around, the smile on her face gradually disappeared. Lin Wan waved at her. She put the flashlight behind her.

Lin Wan came to Lin Ke’s room secretly. After watching her and Duan Jiayang’s interaction, she asked softly, “Do you like Duan Jiayang?”

“No.”

“Then why did you ask her if it hurt?”

Lin Ke also cursed her.

“She’s so annoying. She’s always angry. And she’s stupid and bad.”

“She even hit me. My leg has been hurting all day.”

She was a few words short of writing “annoying idiot” on her face.

Lin Wan was very satisfied. She put all the clothes she had bought for Lin Ke in the closet. A look of relief appeared on her face. Lin Ke felt that Duan Jiayang wasn’t very stupid. She was a little smart and wasn’t fooled by the sugar-coated bullets. She saw Lin Wan’s “evil” at a glance.

Lin Wan took off the altered school uniform and admired it. She had specifically asked a friend in the clothing industry to design it. She said, “You’ll still wear the school uniform later. I’m taking this one.”

Lin Ke hummed. Lin Wan said, “Soon, we’ll be able to live here.” Lin Ke didn’t smile or hum. Her expression darkened for a moment. Lin Wan asked, “Xiao Ke, weren’t you helping me today?”

Lin Ke pulled her leg back and frowned. “I was just scaring her.”

“But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we can live here.”

“Mommy is doing all this for your own good. You don’t want to go back to the States, do you?”

Lin Wan massaged her daughter’s hair and said gently, “Xiao Ke, just bear with it…”

In the morning, Lin Wan started eating at the Duan family’s house. Duan Jiayang threatened her with a knife, and her eyes were red, but it was no use. Duan Litian always used one sentence as an excuse.

“You’re hitting someone, and you’re in the right? You hit Lin Ke so hard she has a fracture. You’d better take good care of her until she’s healed! If I ever hear that you’ve laid a hand on anyone again, I’ll break your legs!”

Duan Litian slammed the medical report on the table. Duan Jiayang stared at it in shock. She looked up and saw Lin Ke’s crutches. Her bright eyes looked moist. She lowered her head and finished her meal, stuffing her mouth full.

“Don’t you dare live in my mom’s room… Don’t you dare touch her things.” She cried so hard that she wiped her face with her sleeve. She got an oil stain that was difficult to remove on the Chanel set that her great-aunt had given her.

Lin Wan compromised gently and said understandingly that she would respect the child. She gave Duan Jiayang a new Chanel set, but Duan Jiayang didn’t even look at it and threw it away.

Lin Ke ate slowly. When she got up, Lin Wan put the crutches in her hand. Duan Jiayang was sitting on the floor, changing her shoes. Duan Jiayang warned Lin Ke, “Just give up. I will never admit that you are my…”

Sister, that word was stuck in her throat. Her face was flushed.

Lin Ke didn’t reply. She just looked into her eyes.

Duan Jiayang limped away, hugging her backpack. There were chaotic and mottled whip marks on her arm. Lin Ke also limped behind her with her crutches.

Duan Jiayang’s style was always a bit Hong Kong-esque. She always wore a hair clip.

There were many pictures of her mother on the walls of this house. It wasn’t hard to see that Duan Jiayang was deliberately imitating her mother’s appearance. Her mother looked like a smart and wise woman, while Duan Jiayang’s outfit was pampered and willful.

Lin Ke heard her mom say the most: “It’s all that woman’s fault.”

And everyone’s evaluation of Duan Jiayang was: “idiot.”

After a month, Lin Wan finally moved into the Duan family’s house.

The adult’s cunning was used on a rebellious teenager. She became the mistress of the Duan family and took the keys to the Duan family’s gate from the housekeeper.

Duan Jiayang would still come back to live every day. She moved her room next to her mother’s, like a little guard, fiercely guarding the treasure in her heart. The little guard’s eyes were always red. She felt guilty for not being able to protect her mother’s things. She hated the Lin family’s mother and daughter more and more, especially Lin Wan. She really wanted to kill her.

In fact, Lin Wan never cared about her mother’s belongings, and she would never hang her own pictures next to her mother’s. The living would only despise the things of the dead. In the eyes of others, she was gentle and generous, but in reality, Lin Wan didn’t care.

Lin Wan’s goal had always been to live in this house, spend Duan Litian’s money, and indulge in a lavish lifestyle.

So when Duan Jiayang secretly cried, Lin Wan’s heart was calm, and she was even a little happy.

But who would have thought that the little parasitic beast she had raised would one day completely parasitize Duan Jiayang, living for her and by her, and without Duan Jiayang, she would be neither human nor ghost, completely unrecognizable.