Chapter 7: Turbulent Childho

d demanded my father cancel the engagement.

后来传言我的未婚夫身体上有毛病，他有着不治之症。十六七岁的我咬着牙齿要父亲退婚。

How could I marry someone who was so sick?

我怎么能够嫁给一个病秧子呢？

My father agreed that the marriage was a bad idea and didn''t want to ruin my life, so he promised to help me cancel the engagement with the man''s family.

父亲也觉得这婚事不成，不能就这样毁了我一辈子，所以我父亲答应帮我去男方家退婚。

On the day my father went to cancel the engagement, I was still doing business at the market as usual. Amidst the bustling crowd, a neighbor came to inform me.

父亲去退婚的那天，我仍然像往常一样在集市做着生意，街上人来人往中，有邻居找来告诉我。

"Lotus, your father has been beaten!"

“莲儿，你的父亲被打了！”

"What? Who did it?" I asked angrily. Who was bullying him this time?

“什么，谁打他了？”我听闻愤怒道，这次又是谁欺负他？

Our family had been constantly bullied since we were young. My father was weak, and some neighbors who were bullies often looked for trouble, trying to beat my father. I would protect him each time, fiercely fighting back against those who bullied us, desperately shielding him.

我们一家从小受尽欺负，父亲懦弱，街里邻居有那些欺软怕硬者时常找麻烦，要打父亲，每次都是我护着，不要命地反击着欺负我们的那些人，拼命地护着他。