“The military district where Second Uncle is stationed is too remote. There isn’t enough time to transfer her there.”
Xu Hui shook her head, feeling that this plan would not work.
Su Jianguo coughed lightly. “Didn’t Second Uncle introduce Manning to an officer? Just have Manning resign and go there to meet him.”
Xu Hui flew into a rage. “What did you say? You call that meeting someone for marriage? Before there’s even a formal commitment, you want Manning to run off to the military district? What if that man turns out to be no good? Wouldn’t that ruin Manning’s whole life?”
“Second Uncle will be there.”
“Second Uncle and his wife are both a couple of big, unsophisticated louts. Manning could be taken advantage of right in front of them, and they wouldn’t even know it.”
Xu Hui firmly refused to agree. Of the three brothers in the Su family, she and the eldest brother had three sons, while the Second Uncle’s family had four sons. All seven children had been ordinary-looking since birth—until Little Manning came into the world.
The little girl had inherited her mother’s beauty from a young age. She was astonishingly pretty. Not only did Xu Hui and the eldest brother dote on her, Second Uncle and his wife doted on her even more.
After the third brother and his wife died on the battlefield, Xu Hui had fought tooth and nail to raise Manning herself.
Even after she later had a daughter of her own, she had never favored her own daughter in the slightest.
As it happened, that daughter of hers was both simpleminded and foolish. At seventeen, swept up in youthful idealism, she had been tricked into going to the countryside as a sent-down youth[1]TN: During the Cultural Revolution, large numbers of urban youths were sent to rural areas to live and work among peasants, a policy commonly known as the Down to the Countryside Movement. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3448830_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3448830_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Even now, she was still gritting her teeth and enduring life there, much to Xu Hui’s fury.
The thought of Manning leaving her too and going to such a remote place made her heart ache terribly.
Su Manning gently took Auntie’s hand. She had spent little time with her birth parents after arriving in this world; instead, Auntie was the one who had treated her best.
“Auntie, don’t worry. I’m not stupid. If that man turns out to be no good, I definitely won’t marry him.”
“Besides, I have medical skills. The military district must be short of doctors. Maybe I can find a job there first and take my time meeting someone.”
Xu Hui felt much better after hearing that. “That’s true. My Manning is the best. You have to choose a husband carefully—after looking at a thousand candidates. You absolutely can’t settle on someone casually.”
Su Manning listened to her ramble on without arguing. She was only twenty years old, so there truly was no hurry.
Early the next morning, just after Su Manning left the compound, she saw Cheng Shuo waiting there on a bicycle.
“Manning, heading to work? I’ll give you a ride.”
Su Manning did not want to argue with him. The area was full of people coming and going, all of them residents of the military family compound. If even the slightest rumor spread, a single report could get her dragged away for a struggle session(TN: Struggle session — A form of public denunciation during China’s Cultural Revolution, where accused individuals were publicly criticized, humiliated, and sometimes punished.))
.
She jumped onto her bicycle and pedaled away as fast as she could
With a cigarette between his lips, Cheng Shuo watched her bicycle wobble from side to side as she pedaled furiously away. The sight amused him enough to make him laugh.
Humming leisurely, he followed behind her with ease, occasionally shooting a cold glance at any man who tried to come over and strike up a conversation with her.
After a long while, Su Manning ran out of strength and stopped dejectedly on a deserted street. Panting hard, she turned around. “Cheng Shuo, can’t you leave me alone?”
Cheng Shuo shook his head. “No. I dream about marrying you every night.”
Su Manning was on the verge of breaking down. This despicable man was simply lusting after her body.
He was obviously lusting after her—couldn’t he understand that himself?
A melon forced from the vine wouldn’t be sweet.
Cheng Shuo sighed heavily, his expression dark. “Manning, how many times have I told you? As long as we get married, I can get you anything you want. Wasn’t there a nurse at the hospital who kept targeting you some time ago? I’ve already sent her entire family to the countryside. Now no one at the hospital dares to bad-mouth you behind your back.”
“And I’ll let yesterday’s blind date go. But if I see you flirting with another man again, I’ll break your legs.”
A chill ran down Su Manning’s spine. “You’re seriously sick!”
She could not be bothered to waste any more words on him.
Pedal, you damn legs—pedal faster!
She would resign today, and tomorrow she would go to Second Uncle’s home!
She would never see this scumbag again!
After Cheng Shuo finished his cigarette, his eyes grew gloomy. He called over the two thugs who had been following Su Manning the entire time.
“Keep a close eye on the Su family and Su Manning. Report any unusual movements to me. Don’t let her get away.”
The two thugs accepted the money and grinned broadly. “Rest assured, Miss Su definitely won’t get away. We’re still waiting to attend your and Miss Su’s wedding banquet.”
Cheng Shuo smiled smugly.
When Su Manning arrived at the hospital, the usual mockery and gossip had vanished. In their place was fear and an eagerness to avoid her.
She did not go to the consultation room. Instead, she went straight to the director’s office, knocked on the door, and placed the resignation letter she had prepared on the desk.
“Teacher… I want to resign.”
Director Tan glanced at her. “Have you thought it through?”
Su Manning was somewhat uneasy. “Yes. Thank you for nurturing me all these years, Teacher. I’ve let you down.”
Director Tan had been a close friend of her mother’s.
Manning had studied medicine under Director Tan since childhood. Director Tan, however, disliked the old-fashioned master-disciple formalities and had always insisted that Manning simply call her “Teacher.” In times like these, drawing unnecessary attention to such traditions could only invite trouble.
It seemed that ever since she had transmigrated into this world, aside from meeting that mad dog Cheng Shuo, she had been quite lucky at other times.
Director Tan sighed. She had taught Manning everything she knew, hoping that one day the girl would carry on her medical legacy.
Unfortunately, her young disciple had bad luck and become entangled with people from the Revolutionary Committee.
Traditional Chinese medicine was in decline. Although her excellent medical skills had allowed her to maintain the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department’s position at the hospital, it was no longer as prestigious as it had once been.
She had helped her young disciple with what had happened to her, but she could not contend with power. At present, she could only barely protect herself.
“Leave the resignation letter with me. I’ll give you two days off first. After you’ve left, I’ll finalize your resignation.”
With that, she took another letter from the drawer. “Take this letter of recommendation. Wherever you go, don’t let your medical skills go to waste. A woman must have a skill to rely on. That is what allows her to establish herself.”
Su Manning was deeply moved. “Teacher, thank you.”
“By the way, Teacher, did something happen at our hospital these past two days?”
Director Tan adjusted her glasses. “He Xiaofen’s whole family was exposed for embezzling funds and replacing the hospital’s medicines, and they were arrested. She herself was reported and sent to the far northwest for a struggle session.”
Su Manning’s face paled slightly. “Was it because of me?”
He Xiaofen’s father was the director of the hospital’s logistics department, while her mother was the vice president’s daughter.
He Xiaofen had always been arrogant and had tripped Su Manning up repeatedly. This time, she had even taken the lead in ostracizing her.
But in the end, this had only been a grudge between the two of them. The fact that an entire family could be dealt with and sent to ruin at the drop of a hat made Su Manning’s heart tremble.
“There’s no need to feel guilty. If the He family had been clean, they wouldn’t have been brought down in just two days. This has little to do with you. Sooner or later, this result would have come.”
Su Manning felt somewhat relieved. As long as no innocent people had been implicated because of her, that was enough.
She did not leave in a hurry. Ever since the failed blind date, she had known that Cheng Shuo would definitely have people watching her.
She completed everything she needed to do that day, then only went home after work.
By the time she arrived, Eldest Uncle had already asked someone to buy her train ticket, while Auntie and her cousins-in-law had packed her luggage.
That evening, the whole family had one last dinner together,after that, they returned to the room, and Su Manning took out the letters she had exchanged with He Yan over the past year.
The two of them had not exchanged many letters. Most of them had been about trivial matters in their daily lives.
The only thing that had left a deep impression on her was a line in a letter from three months earlier:
“Comrade Su, once this mission is over, I plan to visit Sucheng so we can formally discuss marriage.”
A jade pendant had been sent along with the letter.
Su Manning was actually somewhat resistant to marrying far away, especially since military marriages were difficult to dissolve.
Even though Second Uncle spoke highly of the other party, she had always placed him at the very bottom of her list of choices.
However, since she was destined to go to the military district, she would not hesitate.
The next day, before dawn, Eldest Uncle had people tie up the thugs who had been watching them. He then drove Su Manning to the train station.
Su Manning carried her suitcase, her heart filled with reluctance.
“If I leave, will Cheng Shuo do something to harm you?”
Now that the moment had arrived, all kinds of thoughts surfaced in Su Manning’s mind. The memory of Cheng Shuo’s crazed nature made her especially frightened.
Su Jianguo put on an indifferent expression. “You’re still a child. You don’t understand the struggles between adults. For Eldest Uncle to have reached this position, I must have the ability to protect the people in my family.”
“Besides, we’re a martyr’s family. Your grandparents were martyrs, and so were your parents.”
Su Manning had never met her grandparents. All she knew was that her father and Second Uncle had both been raised by Eldest Uncle.
Remembering that the Cheng family had never dared to force the Su family into anything, she relaxed slightly.
“Eldest Uncle, Auntie, and my brothers, take good care of yourselves. Once I get there, I’ll take good care of Little Sister Tongtong.”
Su Jianguo held back his tears. “All right, go quickly. The train is about to leave.”
Su Manning gave him a reluctant look and boarded the train.
Just then, Cheng Shuo came running in like a madman.
The instant the train began to move, he recklessly tried to grab hold of its edge.
The next second, Su Jianguo and the security officer pulled him down and pinned him to the ground.
Su Manning hurriedly shut the window.
Cheng Shuo’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. The exertion made the veins on his neck stand out, but he only stared fixedly at the train as it gradually disappeared into the distance.
“Su Manning, you actually dared to run from me! When I catch you, I’ll break your legs!”
“Su Manning, I won’t force you anymore. Don’t leave.”
“Su Manning, I know I was wrong. Come back, come back!”
References[+]