Chapter 5

Jason, who was originally in a deep state of sleep, leapt up from his bed, his face full of panic, and clumsily tried to climb off the bed. "What are you doing?!" Willow firmly pushed him back onto the bed, scowling, "Still feeling unwell and you want to move about." Her tone was rather harsh, but her action of dressing the young boy was extremely gentle. With a face full of fear, Jason stuttered, "I, I need to light the fire, or else they will get mad." They'd punish him if they got mad. One after another. Willow knew exactly who the young boy was referring to when he said "they". Her anger intensified, but fearful of further alarming the young boy, she suppressed her rage, and firmly pushed him back onto the kang, "I will speak to them, they won't need you to light the fire today, all you need to do is lie down and focus on recovering." "But..." "No buts!" Willow intentionally put on a stern face to frighten him, "Are you only afraid of their anger and not mine? I order you to stay in bed obediently and you shall not get down without my permission, understand?" Sure enough, Jason got frightened and crawled back into bed, pulling himself into a small ball. Willow then put a damp cloth back onto his forehead and poured him a glass of water, placing it next to the bed, before she walked out of the room leisurely. As soon as she stepped outside, she forthright collided into an angry woman. This woman appeared to be in her early thirties, had a plump figure with rough, tanned skin, and had chaotic hair bundled into a bun at the back of her head, resembling dry straw. Upon seeing Willow, the woman immediately bawled, "Sister-in-law, where is that little brat? Hurry and wake him up, there's a bunch of chores waiting for him in the kitchen!" Willow was stunned for a moment before realizing that the woman in front of her was her sister-in-law in her previous life, named Martha Jones. The family relations of her husband, Aiden, were somewhat complicated. Eva Hope, Aiden and Jason's biological mother, fled to Five Gates Village over two decades ago. Tragically, she died there from a difficult childbirth when Jason was born. Less than a year later, Nate remarried to Wendy Brick. Wendy was also a widow, her late husband's surname was Smith. She had two sons and a daughter. For some unknown reasons, Nate was very partial against his own sons - Aiden and Jason. Contrarily, he was more kind to the two stepsons and stepdaughter Wendy brought with her. Once Wendy gave birth to his youngest son Harry, he no longer viewed the sons left by his previous wife as human. Aiden had to leave home at a young age to join the army, striving to earn his own fortune so that he could separate from his family as soon as possible. However, he didn't realize that by his action, it led to his only biological brother falling into a trap. Aiden was smart and strong, with a hint of ruthlessness pervading his entire being. When he was at home, even though Wendy held resentment towards her two stepsons, she didn't dare to act too outrageously. However, once Aiden left to join the army, and after marrying Willow — a daughter-in-law which was easy to manipulate, her true nature was immediately exposed. Jason's injuries were all administered under the orders of Wendy. Yet, it is the original owner of this body, the foolish one, who was blamed for all. Not even Aiden knew that it was his stepmother Wendy, not Willow, who was the real threat to Jason. Acting upon the memories of her original self, Willow maintains her composure and simply says, "Sister-in-law, little Jason is sick, he's not able to work today." This woman before her, Martha Jones, is the wife of Jerry Smith, who is the son of Wendy's ex-husband. Martha always obeys Wendy's commands. In regard to abusing and torturing Jason, she is always at the forefront. As expected, after hearing Willow's words, Martha starts roaring, "Sick? I see him as just trying to slack off. Let me tell you, little sister, this brat has a lazy bone in him. If you don't beat him for three days, he gets itchy. I will go drag him out right now." "There's no need. It's just starting a fire, I'll do it." Hearing Willow's words, Martha looks at her inexplicably. This little sister, who is usually lazy and vain, has changed? She even takes over the work from that little brat Jason. Could it be that she can't get up because she was beaten last night?