Gu Xiao drove out of the military compound. At the gate, two young soldiers whispered among themselves.
“Wasn’t it said that Commander Gu ran off and became a deserter? How come he’s back?”
“You didn’t know? He went to catch human traffickers. I heard he even got injured protecting children.”
“He’s really impressive—just that icy personality of his, like the King of Hell. No one dares get close to him.”
“Watch your mouth. If he hears you, you’ll be rewarded with a five-kilometer weighted run.”
This living King of Hell had plenty of ways to torment people.
“Attention, villagers, attention, villagers. Everyone is to gather at the entrance of the village committee in half an hour.”
Shen Nian had originally planned to go into the city today, but she accidentally overslept and was woken up by the village loudspeaker.
From the loudspeaker came the village head’s hoarse voice.
Shen Nian jolted upright in bed and realized the sun was already high in the sky.
Li Hong and her children were already gone from the kang. At this hour, the two kids should have gone to school.
She straightened the bedsheet, folded the quilt, and placed it at the corner of the kang. Just as she stepped out of the room, Li Hong came back carrying a basket of wild vegetables.
“Awake, Nian Nian? I don’t know what’s going on—there’s a military jeep in the village. No one’s ever seen one before. As soon as the village head called out, everyone ran off to take a look. Hurry and wash up. Let’s go together.”
Shen Nian didn’t want to go. She still had a basket of duck eggs up on the halfway slope.
She casually wiped her face; her toothbrush and things were still in the thatched hut.
“Sister Li, I won’t go. I still have something to do.”
She was about to leave in a hurry when Li Hong grabbed her.
“Why the rush? Even if you’re leaving, eat breakfast first. I boiled sweet potatoes this morning—go grab two to eat.”
Last night, the fighting in front of the thatched hut had been intense. She needed to go take a look.
Ignoring the village head’s announcement over the loudspeaker, she headed straight toward the halfway slope.
She was just a lunatic—whether she attended that kind of collective meeting or not, no one would care.
When she reached the thatched hut, the lock that had been smashed last night was still lying on the ground. She went inside and saw that all her things were still there; only the wheat straw inside had been messed up. On the dirt floor near the door, there were patches of dried, darkened blood.
That must have been Shen Dafu’s blood.
She finally let out a sigh of relief, pulled some wild grass nearby, and tossed it into the duck pen.
She removed the reeds covering the top of the pen so the ducks could bask in the sun and get some calcium.
In front of the village committee.
Gu Xiao scanned the crowd, looking for Shen Nian.
Why hadn’t she come?
The village head said, “All commune members, last night several human traffickers were caught on our back mountain. Everyone must be sure to keep an eye on your children.”
The villagers began talking among themselves. Gu Xiao spotted Wang Dahua in the crowd at a glance—the woman who had been plotting last night about how to kill Shen Nian.
His brows knitted together. He got straight into the vehicle, which headed toward the village entrance.
Yesterday, Shen Nian had said she was going into the city today.
As the vehicle reached the village entrance, he saw, not far ahead, a familiar petite figure. With a basket hooked over one arm, she was walking briskly toward the county town.
The car slowed to a stop. He lowered his head and adjusted his clothes, then slowly drove up beside Shen Nian.
Hearing the engine behind her, she stopped and stepped aside, wanting to let the car pass first.
Instead, the off-road vehicle stopped beside her, and the window was slowly rolled down.
Seeing Gu Xiao’s familiar face and the military-green uniform he was wearing, Shen Nian froze in place.
So her guess had been right—he really was a soldier.
Gu Xiao grinned. “Comrade, going into the city? I’m heading there too. Want a lift?”
Shen Nian gave a fake smile. “You’re not dead? Don’t get friendly with me. Even if you’re a PLA soldier, don’t think you can skip out on paying what you owe.”
Gu Xiao chuckled. She really gave him no face at all.
Lu Chen had said that in uniform, he could charm half the troupe of the army’s art corps. Yet in front of Shen Nian, she didn’t even look at him twice.
He got out of the car. Standing in front of her, his tall frame loomed over her.
Whether it was the uniform or his height, Shen Nian found herself tilting her head up, and for some reason felt a strong sense of security standing beside him.
Gu Xiao reached out first, took the basket from her hands and put it in the back seat, then led her to the passenger side, opened the door, and waited for her to get in.
“Is it okay for me to sit in the front?” she asked.
“If I say it’s okay, then it’s okay.”
The car was quite high. As she got in, her foot slipped and she nearly fell. Gu Xiao, standing beside her, reached out and steadied her by the waist.
The close contact made Shen Nian uncomfortable.
Was he trying to avoid paying her back by using his looks?
After getting into the car, Gu Xiao reached out to fasten her seat belt, but she had already done it herself.
Gu Xiao spoke first. “Those traffickers from last night were taken away by the police. They asked us to go in today to give statements, so I came to pick you up.”
Then he added, “And to pay you back.”
“I thought you were trying to dodge the debt.”
“Didn’t I show up? Don’t worry—saving my life is a debt I won’t forget.”
Shen Nian was thinking about the statement. In fact, everything last night had been handled by Gu Xiao—well-trained, injured, yet still able to take down several traffickers in the dark. His skills were clearly impressive.
Thinking back now, in the reed marsh that day, he had really just been trying to scare her.
Seeing her silent, Gu Xiao felt a bit awkward and rolled the window down another half.
“Oh right, I noticed your family doesn’t treat you very well. Is there anything you need help with?”
Speaking of that—there actually was.
Maybe this was something Gu Xiao really could help with.
“There is. Can you help me transfer my household registration out of the Shen family’s household book?”
“Household registration is strictly managed. Either you have a junior high school diploma and sign up to support the frontier, then you can move your registration out.”
He paused, then added, “Or—you get married and transfer it through that.”
When he said the latter, his heart skipped a beat, and the corner of his eye secretly glanced at Shen Nian.
“Are those really the only options?”
“Yes. Only those two.”
The bit of hope that had just ignited in her heart was instantly doused by Gu Xiao’s cold answer.
Getting Shen Dafu to willingly transfer her registration was probably very difficult.
Forget it. Once they got to the police station, she’d ask the officers there.
Shen Nian said nothing more, gazing out the window at the emerald-green wheat fields and the golden rapeseed flowers.
The car soon arrived at the county police station.
As they passed the farmers’ market, Shen Nian said, “Oh right—Gu Xiao, that’s your real name, right?”
“Yes.”
At least on that point, Gu Xiao hadn’t lied.
As for his identity, before confirming her safety, he naturally couldn’t reveal it.
“Comrade Gu, it’s market day today. Please drop me here first. I’ll sell this basket of duck eggs and then head to the police station.”
Gu Xiao silently pulled over to the side of the road.
There were only a little over seventy wild duck eggs in the basket. In less than two minutes after she got out, two elderly women had bought them all.
Just as she turned to leave, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist. She looked up—and met a pair of eyes blazing with fury.