The car sped off, leaving a trail of dust. The two men still chasing each other in the woods suddenly came to their senses.
"Damn it! We’ve been played!"
Ji Xianbei’s eyes blazed with fury, his face livid.
Ling Qinghan stared at the taillights blurring in the distance, his brow tightly furrowed.
’She... How does she know how to drive?’
He remembered that Song Yao had dropped out of high school and had been a farmer for a long time.
There were almost no private cars in the village, let alone anyone with a driver’s license.
But that series of maneuvers just now had been clean and decisive; she didn’t seem like a novice at all.
Meanwhile, Song Yao was gripping the steering wheel, speeding all the way toward the county seat.
In fact, the moment Ji Xianbei had slipped Liu Yumin that money, alarm bells had started ringing in her head.
’Why would a subordinate, supposedly here to pick me up, need to bribe a village cadre in private?’
’Unless his real goal wasn’t to take me home.’
’If they were really sent by my cheap old dad, shouldn’t they have been furious and anxious to see me being forced to marry an old man?’
But those two had been unnaturally calm.
’Plus, given my current identity as the "supporting female villain,"’ she thought, and it only took a moment for her to figure it out.
’My cheap old dad’s secret investigation into that old case must have been leaked long ago!’
’Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent people to get me at this exact moment.’
’It’s definitely that bitch Shen Shuangshuang.’
’Wasn’t stealing my life enough? Now you want to kill me too? You natural-born jinx! I swear, I’m not done with you!’
’Thinking back on all the rotten things Liu Yumin did in my last life, Shen Shuangshuang was probably the one pulling the strings. That blockhead Liu Yumin, coming up with so many vicious schemes on her own? In her dreams!’
’Back then, I went to great lengths to scare off Zhang Laosan, using the promise of helping him make money to buy myself two years of peace. But then Liu Yumin came back from a trip, got cozy with Zhang Laosan behind my back, and God knows what nonsense she fed him, but he tore up our agreement and ambushed me in my sleep! If I hadn’t been on edge every single day, never daring to relax, I would have died at his hands long ago!’
Song Yao replayed these past events in her mind, grinding her teeth so hard they nearly broke from hatred.
’I was so close back then. I had almost saved enough money, I could even get my hands on a letter of introduction, and I was about to leave that shithole village... Shen Shuangshuang, you must have seen that I was about to run, so you panicked and immediately ran to Liu Yumin to snitch!’
So many things from her past life that hadn’t made sense were now crystal clear, seeing that Shen Shuangshuang had been pulling the strings all along.
’Fine. Originally, I couldn’t have cared less about returning to the Shen Family. It’s not like that pair of cheap parents is any good—their eyes don’t work, and their hearts are even blinder, stubbornly treating an adopted daughter like you as a treasure... But now, well, I’ve changed my mind.’
Song Yao’s eyes grew cold.
She hadn’t been given a second chance for nothing.
After her death in her previous life, her soul had lingered, and she had overheard quite a few things while staying in the Shen Family home.
Especially news about that cheap old dad of hers.
June 18th, 1982. That was the day her cheap old dad was to return to his hometown in glory.
The newspapers had already published the news, stating that Mr. Shen would be arriving at Nanhui Station on a green-skinned train.
The place she was in now was Shunping Village, Yannan Town, Sanhe County, in Nanhui City.
It was a remote and isolated place with poor transportation.
Most of the villagers made a living by farming and cutting firewood, knowing very little about the outside world.
She could have continued to play the part of a docile, weak girl there.
This time, she would rewrite the ending with her own hands.
If she had to rely on her own two feet, it would take at least two days to walk there.
An ordinary person would be exhausted to the bone making such a trip.
But now...
The roar of a car engine echoed on the mountain road. She gunned it.
「June 18th, Nanhui Station.」
A welcome message played repeatedly over the broadcast system.
The commander of the local military garrison had arrived early.
Today was the day Mr. Shen was arriving. No one dared to be careless.
The public could watch from a distance but were not allowed near the core area of the platform.
Song Yao said she was there to pick up a relative. After a security check confirmed she wasn’t carrying any metal objects, she was allowed in.
Having successfully blended into the station, she quietly touched her arm.
There was a cut there, one she had made herself.
She waited quietly. The train had not yet entered the station.
The station’s broadcast announced that the train would arrive in seventeen minutes.
The crowd began to stir, everyone looking eagerly toward the tracks.
Before long, a long whistle blast sounded as a green-skinned train slowly glided into the station.
Passengers began to exit from the various cars.
"All units, attention!"
A soldier’s voice suddenly rang out.
All the soldiers immediately stood ramrod straight, chests out, eyes forward.
"On alert!"
Faced with such a display, no ordinary person would dare to push forward.
A tense atmosphere filled the air.
As soon as the train came to a complete stop, the lead soldier strode forward, heading straight for the door of a specific car.
Song Yao knew what was happening.
’My cheap old dad is definitely getting off from this car.’
But she didn’t move.
Pushing forward now would be suicide. She’d almost certainly be arrested as an enemy agent.
The moment the door opened, a man in a military uniform appeared, only to be immediately surrounded by a tight circle of people.
The guards quickly formed a protective detail, enclosing him in the center.
But just as everyone’s attention was focused on the leader, something unexpected happened.
"What is all this commotion?"
The man’s voice was deep and angry.
"I’ve told you before, don’t make such a chaotic scene!"
Impatience was written all over his face as he shoved aside the adjutant standing in front of him with his right hand.
The platform fell silent in an instant. Even the sound of the wind seemed to pause for a moment.
His voice was loud, and everyone around could hear him clearly.
A soldier bowed his head and offered a placating smile. "Sir, please don’t be angry. This mission is urgent. I’ll explain the details on the way."
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he spoke, handing over a military cap and a briefcase.
This particular leader had always hated formalism. The more ostentatious the display, the more likely it was to anger him.
Mr. Shen glanced around, knew this wasn’t the place to lose his temper, snorted coldly, and started walking toward the station exit.
At that very moment, a scream suddenly erupted from the crowd.
"AHH!!"
A second scream followed, even more shrill.
The soldiers on guard reacted quickly, trying to maintain order, but the commotion in the crowd could no longer be contained.
In an instant, the people around Mr. Shen formed a human shield, blocking him completely from view.
The next second, someone shouted in a trembling voice.
"Blood! There’s blood! She’s bleeding!"
It was a young man, standing less than three meters from where the incident occurred.
"Go and see what’s going on!"
Mr. Shen ordered in a low voice.
Two medics immediately broke from the ranks, rushing forward with a first-aid kit.
A soldier frowned and advised, "Sir, let’s leave first. I can handle things here."
Before he could finish, Mr. Shen shot him a cold glare.
The soldier’s throat tightened, and he swallowed the rest of his words.
A short while later, two soldiers escorted a pale-faced young woman over.
As they passed through the crowd, many people instinctively shied away.
"Reporting, sir! This female comrade says she was attacked!"
The soldier snapped to attention and saluted, his voice loud and clear.
Another soldier presented the weapon that was found.
It was a small folding knife, its blade stained with blood.
Everyone’s eyes on the scene focused on the young woman.
Mr. Shen glanced at her arm.
Fresh blood was dripping down her forearm from a long, deep gash that gaped open, revealing flesh and tissue.
"Get her to a hospital immediately."
A soldier beside them immediately gave the order.
But Mr. Shen raised a hand to stop them.
"Wait."
The soldier paused and turned to look at him.
"Sir, do you have other instructions?"
Mr. Shen stared at her and asked coldly, "Who are you? And who sent you?"