Huo Tingxuan leaned over and quietly said something to the orderly beside him. The soldier immediately nodded and jogged off in the direction Political Commissar Zhang had gone.
Huo Tingxuan withdrew his gaze, then seemingly by chance glanced in Su Jiuyue’s direction.
His eyes were deep and thoughtful, carrying a trace of scrutiny… and perhaps a hint of concern that was difficult to detect.
The intensity of his gaze made her cheeks warm. She quickly turned away, took Jiaojiao’s hand, and hurried inside as though she hadn’t noticed him at all.
With her back against the door, her heart beat a little faster.
Huo Tingxuan…
He had been her father’s close friend despite the age gap. By seniority, she should call him Uncle Huo, even though he was only twelve years older than she was.
But he had never married, looked remarkably young, and somehow always felt more like someone from her own generation.
In her previous life, he had seemed to pay special attention to what was happening to her family. He had even vaguely warned her to “be careful.”
Unfortunately, back then, all she could see was Li Yanchuan. She hadn’t listened.
Later, after she had been driven “mad,” she never learned what happened afterward.
This time around…
Was he simply watching the commotion?
Or was it something else?
Either way, today’s performance had gotten off to a good start.
Li Yanchuan had suffered a setback.
Her money had been saved.
His reputation had been dragged through the mud.
And Bai Lili…
She probably wouldn’t be able to sit still much longer.
Su Jiuyue walked to the cabinet and pulled open a drawer with a loud clatter.
It was more than half empty.
The pair of enamel mugs decorated with bright red Double Happiness characters that she’d brought as part of her dowry were gone.
The blue floral cloth she’d bought last year—still unused because she’d been reluctant to cut into it—had also disappeared.
Even the half bag of white sugar she’d hidden in the very back, which she occasionally used to make sweet sugar water for Jiaojiao, was gone without leaving even a scrap of paper behind.
Good.
Very good.
So angry that she laughed instead, Su Jiuyue felt a blaze of fury burning in her chest.
This wasn’t “packing up the deceased’s belongings.”
This was outright looting.
No—
It was stripping someone clean while they were down.
What a devoted “husband.”
What a thoughtful, caring “sister-in-law.”
She forced down her anger as she mentally listed every missing item.
Just then, Jiaojiao came running out of the inner room, her little face flushed red, eyes brimming with tears.
“Mama! Mama! My little car is gone! The one I kept beside my pillow!”
Su Jiuyue’s heart skipped a beat.
The little toy car Jiaojiao was talking about had been a birthday gift from Division Commander Huo Tingxuan when he came to their house for dinner last year.
It was a green tin jeep.
Once wound up, it could race across the floor for quite a distance.
Jiaojiao treasured it so much that she rarely even took it out to play.
Li Tao had coveted it several times, but because it had been a gift from Commander Huo, even Li Yanchuan had never dared openly scheme to take it.
He had only vaguely suggested that Jiaojiao let her little brother play with it for a while.
And now…
Even that toy had disappeared?
It seemed Li Yanchuan wasn’t the only one who had helped himself.
Bai Lili must have taken advantage of the chaos and brought Li Tao over while both she and Jiaojiao were away.
She had deliberately chosen the perfect opportunity.
Wonderful.
The hatred from both this life and her previous one surged through Su Jiuyue all at once.
Taking a deep breath, she crouched down and gently but firmly held her daughter’s tiny shoulders.
Looking straight into Jiaojiao’s tear-filled eyes, she spoke each word clearly and resolutely.
“Don’t cry, Jiaojiao.”
“Come on.”
“Mom is taking you to get it back.”
“…Get it back?”
Jiaojiao froze, forgetting to cry as she stared blankly at her mother.
If this had been before, her mother would have told her to endure it.
This time…
She wasn’t telling her to endure anything.
Endure?
Give in?
Why should they?
Seeing the mixture of shock and hope on her daughter’s little face, the last trace of hesitation vanished from Su Jiuyue’s heart.
She stood up and tightly clasped Jiaojiao’s cool little hand.
“That’s right.”
“We’re taking it back.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried the determination of someone ready to risk everything.
“And not just your little car.”
“Every single thing stolen from our home…”
“I’m taking you with me.”
“And we’re getting every last one of them back.”
Her hand was warm and steady as she strode forward with firm, hurried steps.
Jiaojiao practically had to trot to keep up.
But this time she didn’t complain about being tired.
Instead, she gripped her mother’s hand just as tightly, gazing up at her mother’s unusually bright eyes, which seemed to shine with an awe-inspiring determination.
This version of Mama…
Was wonderful.
Starting now.
Starting with that little toy car.
Everything she had lost…
Everything that had been stolen from her…
She would take it all back with her own hands.
One piece at a time.
After leaving the courtyard, Su Jiuyue removed the old padlock and replaced it with the brand-new one she’d bought at the supply and marketing cooperative.
She was about to leave when she paused, thought for a moment, then went back inside and came out carrying a hammer.
If she was going up against two people alone, she’d better have a handy tool.
Before leaving, she deliberately loosened a few strands of her neatly combed hair, letting wisps fall over her forehead.
Combined with her pale, haggard face and blazing eyes, she looked like someone who had been driven into a corner and was prepared to fight with everything she had.
“Stay close to me, Jiaojiao,” she said softly, tightening her grip on her daughter’s hand.
Mother and daughter headed straight toward Bai Lili’s house.
With that determined expression and the heavy hammer in Su Jiuyue’s hand, they immediately attracted the attention of the neighbors.
“Hey, isn’t that Battalion Commander Li’s family? Where are they going?”
“She’s carrying a hammer! And look at her face… Didn’t she just change the lock on her own house?”
“My goodness… Something’s about to happen! Isn’t she heading toward Company Commander Li’s place?”
“Come on, let’s go take a look! We can’t let this turn into a disaster!”
Driven by curiosity and concern, military spouses and off-duty soldiers followed behind them in small groups.
The crowd grew larger and larger.
Fearing that things might escalate into bloodshed, someone took off at full speed toward the political commissar’s office to report what was happening.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside Bai Lili’s house was unusually tense.
Li Tao sat on a little stool, happily playing with the brand-new green tin jeep.
He wound it up and watched it zip across the concrete floor while gleefully imitating a car horn.
Bai Lili, however, sat on the edge of the heated brick bed, her face clouded.
That afternoon, she had “borrowed” quite a few things from Su Jiuyue’s house, hoping to please Li Yanchuan.
Instead, when he came home, not only was he unimpressed—
Still furious over the humiliation he’d suffered at Su Jiuyue’s hands and the scolding he’d received from Political Commissar Zhang, seeing the stolen items only made him angrier.
“You think I don’t have enough trouble already? You’re so shortsighted!”
Wronged and irritated, Bai Lili argued back in a low voice.
The two had only exchanged a few heated words before lapsing into icy silence.
Then—
Bang!!!
With an explosive crash, their courtyard gate, which hadn’t even been bolted, was kicked wide open from the outside.
The two hurried out.
Standing at the entrance was Su Jiuyue, looking as though she had cast aside all hesitation and was ready to fight to the end.
A large crowd had gathered behind her.
The sight instantly made Bai Lili panic, though she forced herself to remain composed.
“Jiuyue… what are you doing?”
Su Jiuyue didn’t even look at her.
Her eyes were fixed solely on Li Yanchuan.
“Brother-in-law. Sister-in-law.”
“If your family was short on something, all you had to do was ask.”
“I’m a widow whose husband just died.”
“No matter how difficult things are for me, for my child’s sake, if I can help…”
“I, Su Jiuyue, would never refuse.”