Aunt Zhao left with the police officer. Walking alongside him, she explained Shen Li’s difficult situation, hoping the officer would pay extra attention to her.
Under the pitch-black night, a figure hid beneath a phoenix tree along the avenue. From this spot, Shen Li’s room was clearly visible.
“Little Miss, are you really going to let these people off so easily?”
It was Uncle Lu. A few hours earlier, besides sending Aunt Zhao to find Gu Xu, Shen Li had also arranged for Uncle Lu to be contacted.
Shen Li always prepared a backup plan. No matter how perfect her main plan, she feared the unexpected. She would never let herself face danger alone.
And this time, things were turning out even better than she imagined.
Shen Li lifted her head slightly, gazing toward her room in the small Western-style house. “Let them off? Not at all. This is just the beginning.”
She was waiting to see Gu Xu and Shen Liren tear each other apart.
As for Zhang Tiezhu…
Shen Li pulled a “twin-knot” charm from her pocket and tossed it toward the phoenix tree.
“Zhang Tiezhu, come out. Beat him up, but leave him alive. Leave the twin-knot here at the scene.”
The twin-knot symbolized Shen Li’s past hopes and genuine love for her newlywed partner—it was a pair she had crafted herself. One she had given to Gu Xu, who wore it today to please her. The other was now finally going to serve its purpose, so her effort wouldn’t be wasted.
Uncle Lu didn’t appear immediately. He remembered Shen Li had said that after tonight, Shen Liren might grow suspicious of her. He needed to act cautiously.
Only when Shen Li went inside did Uncle Lu emerge.
He was clever and knew Shen Li intended to “borrow a knife” to strike. Watching her slender yet resolute back, he realized the little miss he remembered needing protection had changed—she had grown strong.
Tonight’s events showed her counterattack was impressive.
He certainly couldn’t hold her back.
He needed to prepare the thickest, sturdiest iron rod he could find.
Inside the room
“It’s you! You were paid to come here. You said it would be a little girl. Are you deliberately trying to harm me?”
“Where’s the police? Bring the police back! I’m reporting you!”
Zhang Tiezhu yelled, trying to sound fierce. He had overheard the whole way and thought he had Shen Man’s leverage. He knew these people feared the police.
At first, he hadn’t understood, but after meeting Shen Man, he finally got it.
Gu Xu looked at Shen Man in surprise. Why had she sent someone over? No wonder Shen Liren had stopped Shen Li earlier. Everyone in her family knew about this, yet hadn’t told him.
In Gu Xu’s mind, they were in cahoots. But because they had hidden it, he had just suffered a huge loss.
He felt uneasy, a rift forming in his heart.
“Manman, you sent this person? You brought someone without telling me? What did you want them to do?”
His tone grew increasingly harsh.
Shen Man had to maintain her image in front of Gu Xu. She certainly couldn’t admit she had brought someone to embarrass Shen Li.
She looked at Zhong Shuhua. Knowing the importance of a woman’s reputation, Zhong Shuhua wanted her daughter to appear kind and virtuous. She said, “Shen Li took back her passbook last night. I was angry, so I sent someone to scare her. It was me who had Manman find them. She didn’t know the details.”
Shen Man’s eyes reddened. “I’m sorry, Xu-ge, I should have stopped Mom.”
“What your mom does isn’t your concern. Shen Li’s been causing trouble for me these past few days. What’s wrong with me scaring her? But tell me, Gu Xu… why are you here tonight? In Shen Li’s room? Shouldn’t you explain that?”
Gu Xu replied, “There were mice in the room. Shen Li was afraid and asked me to come.”
He hadn’t been able to buy a radio and feared Shen Li would be upset. Hearing she needed help, he rushed over.
He was cooperating with Shen Liren and the others and still hoped to marry Shen Man after divorcing Shen Li. He couldn’t let them know about his tight finances.
Shen Man and the others knew Gu Xu was from the Gu family of the capital, but didn’t know his real situation.
Last time, when Shen Li bought a few things, he approached Shen Liren, who had objections. He feared that if he couldn’t even buy a radio this time, Shen Liren and the others might suspect him.
Mice? Would Shen Liren not notice if there were mice at home? He felt Gu Xu was hiding something.
“Xu-ge, are you hurt?”
“Even if you’re here to accompany Gu Li, I won’t be jealous. I just worry about you getting hurt.”
Shen Man used retreat to advance. Like before, she lowered her head, looking weak, her delicate white hand reaching to hook his finger.
Gu Xu liked slender, soft hands. Shen Man cared for hers daily. Every time she hooked his finger, Gu Xu’s anger melted.
The sensation of her smooth hand came—yet instead of soothing him, it reminded him of Zhang Tiezhu’s rough, calloused hands. That disgusting memory resurfaced. His mind froze, and he disdainfully shook off Shen Man’s hand.
Shen Man froze.
Gu Xu had never treated her like this.
He realized his reaction was extreme. Just as he was about to explain, he heard footsteps and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Li Li.”
Shen Li arrived. Everyone went silent.
Shen Liren and the others dared not speak in front of her. He lightly kicked the man lying on the ground. “Get up. We’ll cover your medical expenses.”
Money could solve anything. To silence Zhang Tiezhu, Shen Liren had to spend unnecessarily.
He didn’t have enough on him, so he asked Zhong Shuhua to provide it.
Zhang Tiezhu demanded two large notes immediately. Zhong Shuhua didn’t carry that much. She wanted to haggle, but Shen Liren glared, scaring her into silence. She went back to her room to fetch the money.
Soon, Zhong Shuhua screamed, “Who the hell stole my money?!”
“Shen Li, how dare you steal my money! Return it, or you’ll regret it!”
Money was everything to Zhong Shuhua. She rushed toward Shen Li, intending to pinch her, but Shen Li pushed her away.
“Big Aunt, what are you saying? Did you just misplace it? Uncle has already filed a statement with the police. Nothing is missing at home. Or… are you saying Uncle is lying? That he stole your money?”
Zhong Shuhua glared at Shen Liren. She had hidden the money carefully; the only person who would know was him.
“Don’t blame others for your careless money. You only have a little, so stop pointing fingers.” Shen Liren truly despised Zhong Shuhua’s shallow suspicion—Shen Li said a few words, and she immediately doubted him.
Zhong Shuhua’s anger lasted only a moment. She revered her husband and didn’t dare contradict Shen Liren, so she told Shen Man, “Manman, give her the money.”
“Mom, I don’t have any money.”
“Didn’t you get some during the day to help Mingtang rent the house? The house isn’t rented. Take out two large notes.”
Shen Man had given all her money to Director Lin, leaving only a few coins. She hesitated, then said, “I already spent it.”
Zhong Shuhua’s anger boiled. She slapped Shen Man so hard that her face was turned aside. “You spent your brother’s money?”