Old Liu’s eyes were bloodshot, as if flames might burst out at any moment. His finger shook as he pointed right at Shen Nian’s nose.
“So you were playing dumb all along, you crazy old hag! Rat poison stewed with potatoes, wetting the bed three times in one night—so it was all an act, huh? Just now I saw you selling duck eggs with others, doing the math clear and neat. You didn’t look crazy at all! Get your ass home with me right now!”
Shen Nian frowned, her gaze cold. She suddenly yanked her wrist free with such force that Old Liu stumbled.
“Get lost. Who do you think you are? Daring to mess with my business—are you itching for another beating?!”
She shook her clenched fist, knuckles whitening.
Seeing this, Old Liu sneered. “I didn’t bother with you before because you were pretending to be crazy. But if you dare lay a hand on me now, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
Hearing that, Shen Nian’s eyes lit up. She swung her arm in a full arc and, with all her strength, slapped him hard across the face.
Old Liu never expected her to actually do it. He was sent spinning in place, stars bursting in his vision. With two dull thuds, two large teeth flew out of his mouth.
Shen Nian rolled up her sleeves and let out a strange, cackling laugh. “Hah! Ask around within ten li—who doesn’t know that I, Shen Nian, am not right in the head? I’ll say it straight: I can beat you for nothing. Don’t believe me? Try me!”
“You stinking bitch, just you wait! I’ll see if I can’t get you thrown in jail!”
“I’ve beaten plenty of people, and aren’t I still just fine? I’m already on record at the police station as a lunatic. Go ahead and try. Let’s see if I don’t deal with you once I get out!”
The moment Old Liu heard that, his eyes instantly cleared.
If Shen Nian really latched onto him, with his frail body, he truly wouldn’t be enough for her to limber up with.
All his earlier arrogance collapsed at once. He muttered weakly, “Y-you’re all liars, your whole family!”
“Whoever lied to you, go find them. Every debt has its owner. If you dare keep pestering me, don’t blame me for digging up your family’s ancestral graves.”
Seeing that he was on the verge of tears, Shen Nian snorted coldly, shot him a look, and turned to leave.
Only after watching her walk away did Old Liu finally let out a breath. He looked down at the two teeth in his hand and felt like crying.
Shen Nian had originally planned to go straight to the police station to give her statement, but when her peripheral vision caught sight of a military-green off-road vehicle not far away, she changed her mind and walked straight toward it.
The farce just now had been seen clearly by the people in the car.
Gu Xiao rolled down the window, his gaze falling on the grass-stained cuffs of her pants. He spoke tentatively.
“That man just now—do you know him?”
“A husband the Shen family found for me.”
Shen Nian’s tone was flat, but Gu Xiao slammed on the brakes. The vehicle jolted violently.
He knew Shen Nian’s father, Shen Dafu, was no good, but he hadn’t expected him to be this despicable.
Last night, he had personally heard them plotting to strangle her. For this girl to have escaped alive from that household—how many hellish days must she have endured?
A dull tightness welled up in Gu Xiao’s chest. His gaze slid uncontrollably to the back of her hand resting on her thigh.
That hand was covered in scars left from frostbite and festering wounds, crisscrossed like cracks in dead tree branches.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. He said nothing more.
The off-road vehicle soon drove into the police station courtyard. The moment they got out, Captain Zhao came out cheerfully from the duty room to greet them.
But when he saw who stepped down from the passenger seat, the smile froze on his face. His feet seemed nailed to the ground, his eyes bulging like bronze bells.
Good heavens!
Wasn’t this the infamous madwoman of the county?!
Captain Zhao grabbed Gu Xiao and pulled him into a corner, lowering his voice anxiously. “Commander Gu, this is the Shen Nian you were talking about?”
“It’s her. What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? Everything’s wrong! This girl is a well-known lunatic. She’s set fire to people’s woodsheds before, knocked out an old neighbor lady’s dentures. Even dogs tuck their tails and run when they see her. She—”
Captain Zhao pointed at his own temple, his expression as grave as if he were reporting military intelligence.
“Something’s wrong up here!”
Gu Xiao’s gaze darkened. Only now did he fully understand why Shen Nian had pretended to be mad and slashed at people that day.
But before he could speak, a cool, clear voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
“Captain Zhao, I didn’t set fire to anyone’s woodshed. I burned a hornet’s nest. A hornet’s nest that big—if I didn’t burn it, should I have left it to sting your head? And I did hit that old lady, yes, because she favored boys over girls. Same children, but she gave all the good food to her grandson. When her granddaughter wanted some, she stabbed her with a needle. If I didn’t stab that old woman, should I have kept her around to be your mother?”
At some point, Shen Nian had come to stand behind them, her gaze open and straightforward, without the slightest hint of evasion.
Captain Zhao was left speechless. Gu Xiao looked at her frank, unreserved expression, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but lift.
This temperament—no hiding, no beating around the bush—was quite to his liking.
Captain Zhao coughed twice, circling Shen Nian a couple of times. Even after repeated confirmation, he still couldn’t quite believe it.
“Y-you—you really are Shen Nian? How… how are you not crazy anymore?”
“The real me, guaranteed authentic. What, should I have stayed crazy forever?”
Shen Nian lifted her chin slightly, a streak of stubbornness showing through.
Captain Zhao wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself that this was truly damned bizarre.
An illness doctors couldn’t cure—how could it just clear up overnight?
Could she have run into something? Been possessed by something?
Though his mind was full of doubts, Captain Zhao still nodded. “Alright, go on.”
After the statement was recorded, seeing that Gu Xiao and Captain Zhao were on good terms, Shen Nian stepped forward politely.
“Captain Zhao, I have a personal matter I’d like to consult you about.”
Captain Zhao stared at her normal demeanor, still suspicious.
Doctors couldn’t cure her madness—how could she suddenly be fine?
But he nodded anyway. “Alright, go ahead.”
“I want to check my household registration.”
Shen Nian clenched the hem of her clothes, her voice tight. “I’ve never seen a household register my whole life. I suspect my father never registered me at all.”
Captain Zhao froze for a moment, then shook his head. “You indeed don’t have a household registration. We investigated that before.”
Shen Nian’s heart sank. As expected.
She took a deep breath and asked again, “Then if I want to take the college entrance exam, can the village head issue a household registration certificate?”
“Pfft—”
Captain Zhao sprayed the tea he had just taken into his mouth. Wiping his lips, he turned to Gu Xiao with a bitter smile. “Commander Gu, see? I told you she’s not fully better. She’s never even gone to elementary school and wants to take the college entrance exam?”
“Just because she didn’t go to school, she can’t take it?” Gu Xiao frowned, his tone tinged with displeasure.
“Exactly!” Shen Nian immediately echoed him, looking at Gu Xiao with a bit more favor.
This guy was pretty righteous.
Captain Zhao looked back and forth between Gu Xiao and Shen Nian, disbelief written all over his face.
But for Gu Xiao’s sake, he could only say helplessly, “I’m not sure. You’d have to ask the admissions office. But without a household registration, you definitely can’t sign up.”
Leaving the police station, Shen Nian was weighed down with worries, her mind filled with household registration and the college entrance exam.
Gu Xiao caught up and blocked her path.
“Walking so fast—where are you going?”
“Something to do. I’m leaving.”
Shen Nian tried to go around him, but Gu Xiao blocked her again.
The next second, a heavy envelope was pressed into her hand. Gu Xiao’s voice carried a firmness that brooked no refusal.
“This is the money I owe you. Take it.”
Shen Nian was about to open it when he pressed a hand down on the back of hers.
“Look at it when you get back. And this too.”