The three men crept into the courtyard with knives in hand. One of them pried open the door and went inside.
Zhang Youcai said, “Remember—once we’re in, grab the woman first. Take the money and leave. Don’t waste time.”
An accomplice complained, “Escaping with a woman will be such a hassle.”
“Why don’t we just finish her off…” He made a throat-slitting gesture.
Zhang Youcai stopped him. “No! I don’t want blood on my hands.”
His daughter had said that the woman could be sold to some remote mountain area. That way, the theft could be blamed on her, and they would be safe.
Using the cover of night, they went straight to the second floor and entered Xia Wanqing’s room.
It was very dark inside, and they couldn’t see clearly. By the faint moonlight, they could vaguely make out a woman lying on the bed.
They worked in coordination: one covered her mouth, one pinned her down, while Zhang Youcai tightly bound her with rope, using the same technique he used when tying up a New Year’s pig.
With such a commotion, the woman finally woke up. She tried to scream, but something had been stuffed into her mouth. The stench made her nauseous, and she could only let out muffled “mmph mmph” sounds through her nose.
She struggled desperately. Her wrists and ankles were rubbed raw and painful, yet she couldn’t break free. Something was also pulled over her head.
In her struggle, she kicked something off the bed, which landed squarely on one man’s foot.
He sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, angrily kicked the object away, and cursed, “Damn it, that hurt! What are you making such a fuss for?!”
A slap followed, and the woman was knocked unconscious.
“Don’t waste time. Find the money first. Her man is skilled—don’t draw him over.”
Afraid of alerting anyone, they didn’t even dare to use a flashlight.
“Boss…” one of them said excitedly. “This sack feels like money.”
The man who had kicked the sack felt something was off and opened it to take a look.
“Grab the money and go. If we attract people, we’re done.”
…
As they were leaving, Zhang Youcai paused mid-step.
They had come quickly and were leaving just as fast.
Everything had gone too smoothly. Could something go wrong?
Zhang Youcai shook his head. He must be overthinking it.
Not long after they left, the quiet night was pierced by a shrill scream. “Thieves! There are thieves in the house! Help!”
At this hour, everyone was asleep. Hearing the noise, neighbors rushed out to help.
But they didn’t even see a shadow of the thieves—only that the Xia house was empty, completely cleaned out.
“Wuu wuu wuu… there’s nothing left in the house. How am I supposed to live now?”
Xia Wanqing rubbed her eyes hard. When she lowered her hands, her eyes were red, making her look pitiful and fragile.
The “hat bureau” came again, led personally by Director Li.
Her father was suspected of murdering her mother, she had been abused since childhood, alone and helpless, and now her home had been ransacked as well. Naturally, the bureau took the case very seriously.
Neighbors spoke up one after another.
“I saw Xia Yiyi with a man, sneaking around.”
“I saw it too. Xia Jiayao looks almost exactly like that man. If you didn’t know better, you’d think Xia Jiayao was his son.”
“I saw them as well. Come to think of it, I even saw Zhou Huiping appear with that man before…”
“Most likely they worked together to take everything from the house.”
The discussion drifted further and further toward gossip.
The officers organized the information and split into two teams.
One team investigated the suspicious individuals; the other questioned Xia Jianye and Zhou Huiping at the bureau.
When Zhou Huiping heard mention of that man, her eyes darted away and her voice wavered. “I—I don’t know him!”
From her reaction, the officers immediately concluded she was lying. Under relentless questioning and a mix of pressure and inducement, Zhou Huiping finally told the truth.
When Xia Wanqing heard all this, it took her a long while to process it.
Her stepmother and scumbag father had been childhood sweethearts. Later, Zhou Huiping happened to meet Ruan Jianian. With no friends, Ruan Jianian became close to her.
But this “friend” grew covetous of Ruan Jianian’s money, so she schemed to make Ruan Jianian fall in love with Xia Jianye.
Zhou Huiping’s plan was for Xia Jianye to take the Ruan family’s money and then run away with her.
She never expected Xia Jianye to develop real feelings and truly want to live with Ruan Jianian.
So Zhou Huiping offered herself to him, wanting him to never forget her.
Later, she discovered she was pregnant and was forced to marry Zhang Youcai.
Zhang Youcai had a “virgin complex,” and after marriage he beat and abused Zhou Huiping constantly.
Xia Jianye, with his strong pride, always felt inferior when he was with Ruan Jianian. He began to miss Zhou Huiping again, who knew how to soothe him.
On the day Ruan Jianian gave birth, the two confronted her and angered her to death.
As for Zhang Youcai, Zhou Huiping arranged for him to fake his death and secretly kept him hidden.
She did this partly out of a desire to take revenge on Xia Jianye.
Later, when she couldn’t get pregnant with Xia Jianye, Zhou Huiping accidentally conceived another child with Zhang Youcai. She went along with it and gave birth.
Unexpectedly, it was a son, which delighted Xia Jianye. He felt the family finally had an heir.
The officers listed Zhang Youcai as the prime suspect and immediately went to his residence, but only found a trembling Xia Jiayao.
Xia Jiayao cried, “Uncle Zhang went out, then my sister went out too. They never came back—waaah!”
The officers wanted to take Xia Jiayao back to the bureau, but he was terrified of it. Whenever he misbehaved before, Zhou Huiping would threaten him, saying the officers would come and take him away.
He bit an officer’s hand, then bolted and ran.
When Zhou Huiping learned that her daughter was missing, she broke down in tears. “I—”
Xia Jianye couldn’t believe his ears. “What? Xia Jiayao isn’t my child?”
He truly couldn’t believe it.
Xia Jiayao didn’t really look like him, and he had suspected it before. But that man was supposedly dead, so he always thought he was overthinking it.
Now, hearing that the man was still alive, he smashed the table in rage. “Bitch! Bitch!”
“I raised her for so long, and she stabbed me in the back!”
…
Gu Huaichuan handed Xia Wanqing a cup of water. She held it and spoke slowly. “Director Li, are you saying that what happened back then is hard to prove, and there’s no evidence of murder?”
Director Li sighed. “There’s no evidence that he fed your mother blood-boosting medicine. There is evidence that he angered her to death, but causing someone to die of anger doesn’t carry legal punishment.”
“And he beat you…”
Xia Wanqing tightened her grip on the cup. The water inside rippled, spilling a few drops onto the back of her hand.
She understood the implication.
In this era, children were considered the private property of their parents.
Whether beaten, scolded, or even beaten to death, there would be no legal punishment.
But she wouldn’t let Xia Jianye off so easily.
On the way back, she kept thinking about what else she could do to make Xia Jianye face legal consequences.
Gu Huaichuan watched her lost in thought, his gaze deep.
…
With everything in her house gone, it wasn’t convenient for Xia Wanqing to stay there. She rented a room at the inn where Gu Huaichuan was staying.
She took a desk out of her space and placed it in the house, then took out paper and pen. Using her left hand, she wrote a report letter. Under the cover of night, she went out and dropped it at the door of the bureau.
So much money had been stolen—its source was something Xia Jianye might not be able to explain clearly.
On her way back, she unexpectedly ran into Gu Huaichuan.
He handed her an envelope. “This might be useful to you.”
Xia Wanqing entered the room, turned on the light, and opened the envelope. Inside was evidence of Xia Jianye secretly doing business with people in the black market.
“Where did this come from?”
Gu Huaichuan wasn’t from Shanghai—how could he get this so quickly?
“I have a friend who lives in the Shanghai alleyways. He knows all kinds of people. It’s easier for him to gather information.”
No one was willing to testify in court.
Xia Wanqing clasped her hands to her chest, looked up at Gu Huaichuan, and said in a soft, sweet voice, “Gu Huaichuan, you’re really so good. Thank you so much.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it.
Her voice sounded a little too coquettish. Would he think she was putting on an act?
It was all because of her teammates at the base—they always liked to act cute with her, and she’d been influenced by them.
Her cheeks burned. Xia Wanqing stole a glance at Gu Huaichuan. The corners of his mouth twitched, as if he was holding something back.
“It’s late. Get some rest early.”
As soon as Gu Huaichuan stepped out, Xia Wanqing hurriedly shut the door and fanned herself.
So embarrassing.
Outside the door, however, Gu Huaichuan couldn’t suppress the smile rising at the corners of his lips.
Wanwan is so cute.
The next day, she woke up early.
After washing up, Xia Wanqing was about to look for Gu Huaichuan when the door next to hers happened to open.
“Gu Huaichuan, what a coincidence!” Xia Wanqing greeted him with a smile.
The morning sunlight slanted down onto her. Her already fair skin looked dazzlingly white.
“What a coincidence,” Gu Huaichuan replied, smiling as well.
“Mr. Gu, do you have time to go register the marriage?” Xia Wanqing shook the household register in her hand.