Meng Yao shook her head without hesitation.
“I don’t know about other places, but I don’t think there’s anyone else in the entire Xiangyang District who shares both my first and last name…”
Jiang Jun’s heart jolted.
Good heavens.
He had searched everywhere without success, only for her to appear right before him effortlessly.
He had originally planned to find some time to investigate what the woman that brat had mentioned looked like.
Well, that saved him the trouble.
She was standing right in front of him.
Thinking that Meng Yao might very well become his future sister-in-law, Jiang Jun narrowed his eyes and carefully examined her.
Not only was she beautiful, but she was also intelligent. She was indeed a good match for that foolish brat.
However, he could not understand how two people who seemed completely unrelated had become involved with each other.
These were only Jiang Jun’s private thoughts. Meng Yao had no idea that he was secretly evaluating her.
She tightly held the household registration booklet in her hands, her eyes full of gratitude, and showered Jiang Jun with praise.
She repeatedly complimented him for being an outstanding police officer who genuinely served the people.
Jiang Jun smiled.
“It’s what I should do. Should you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come and find me at any time.”
After all, someone had entrusted him with looking after her.
The young woman did not have an easy life, so he would help whenever he could.
At that moment, Meng Yao felt more relaxed than ever before.
Not only had she escaped from the Meng family, but she had also taken a considerable amount of their money. For the time being, she would not have to worry about food or clothing.
She was now a genuine little rich woman with more than ten thousand yuan.
The value of being a ten-thousand-yuan household in the 1980s was self-evident.
Meng Yao wandered around the streets for quite a while and treated herself to a satisfying meal before returning home.
After the incident with the chicken soup, even if she were given ten times more courage, she would not dare eat at home again.
However, as soon as she reached the entrance, she saw her belongings scattered all over the courtyard.
“What’s going on?”
“What are you doing?”
Li Yuqin sat on a stool with her sleeves rolled up and one leg crossed over the other, cracking sunflower seeds between her teeth.
“Pah!”
“Hand over the bankbook!”
The bankbook?
Had they discovered that the cabinet had been emptied?
Meng Ying leaned against the doorway, staring directly at her with a venomous gaze.
“Mom said that when you turned eighteen, they gave you a bankbook containing all the New Year’s money you had received since childhood.”
She shamelessly stretched out her hand and ordered, “Give it back to me!”
So they had gone through all this trouble merely for the eight hundred or so yuan in New Year’s money.
How laughable.
But Meng Yao had far more than just that eight hundred yuan in her possession.
Since the money had already been given to her, it was impossible for them to make her return it.
“I don’t have it.”
Li Yuqin immediately stood up and stared at Meng Yao in disbelief. Her shrill voice pierced the air.
“What did you say?”
“What do you mean you don’t have it? Where did the money go?”
Meng Yao sneered.
“I donated it.”
“What?”
Meng Ying rushed forward in fury.
“You donated it? To whom? Where did you donate it?”
“To a homeless man by the roadside. He probably used the money to settle down somewhere.”
The man could have gone anywhere in the vast country.
Finding him again would be like searching for a needle in the ocean.
There was absolutely no possibility of recovering the money.
Meng Liangcai happened to return after drinking. When he heard this, he became so furious that he raised a wooden stick and swung it toward Meng Yao.
“You wasteful woman! You took my money and used it to perform charity? I’ll beat you to death today!”
Had he not been drunk, Meng Liangcai would never have acted so impulsively.
After all, he was no match for the current Meng Yao.
Meng Yao dodged the attack, but loudly cried, “Help!”
Then she deliberately ran inside the house.
Seeing Meng Liangcai chase Meng Yao while trying to beat her, Li Yuqin and Meng Ying stared in shock.
Could it be that some evil spirit had truly possessed Meng Yao a few days ago, and she had finally returned to normal today?
The old Meng Yao had indeed been extremely afraid of them.
Meng Ying was the first to recover.
“What are you waiting for?
“That wretched woman has made us suffer so much. Today, we’ll settle everything with her properly!”
Li Yuqin threw away the sunflower seeds in her hand and rushed into the house.
She even thoughtfully locked the door behind her.
She was preparing for a serious fight.
If she did not beat that girl until she knelt and begged for mercy and could not leave her bed for half a month, then her name was not Li Yuqin.
“Ahhh!”
“Help!”
“They’re killing me!”
“I was wrong! I was really wrong! Stop hitting me! I’ll never dare do it again…”
The terrified, piercing cries shattered the lonely evening and slowly spread through the autumn wind.
The nearby neighbors poked their heads out one after another and looked toward the source of the commotion.
Ma Lijuan, who lived in the staggered high-rise building across the street, sensed that something was wrong. She brought several of her friends and rushed toward the Meng family’s small building.
They anxiously knocked on the Meng family’s front door and shouted.
“Brother Meng, Sister Li, what’s happening inside?”
“Oh my, those cries sound awful!”
“What exactly is going on in there? Who’s being beaten?”
Li Xiaohu and his mother, who lived next door, also rushed into the Meng family’s courtyard with worried expressions.
Could Meng Yao be the one getting beaten?
What should they do?
Li Xiaohu was burning with anxiety and shouted, “Everyone, move aside! Let me do it!”
As he spoke, he raised his foot, preparing to violently kick open the locked door.
Just as he charged toward it, the door suddenly opened.
Because he had been running too quickly, he had no time to slow down or stop. He could only plunge headfirst into the house.
He barely managed to maintain his balance and avoid falling.
At that moment, Meng Yao walked out from inside, covered in blood.
She calmly looked at the confused crowd as tears streamed down her face.
She sobbed, “Please save me. Mom and Dad insist on forcing me to take Meng Ying’s place and marry into the Qi family. When I refused, all of them beat me together because they wanted to force me to submit.
“Boohoo…”
As she spoke, her strength seemed to fail her. She collapsed to her knees and could no longer speak.
Zhang Guilan was the first to react.
She hurried forward, pulled Meng Yao into her arms, and cursed loudly.
“You heartless beasts! First, you drugged Yaoyao and plotted against her, trying to ruin her reputation.
“When she refused to obey, you tried to use violence to force her into submission.
“What kind of parents behave like this?
“Anyone born into your family must have committed terrible sins in a previous life!”
She lovingly stroked Meng Yao’s head and said gently, “Don’t be afraid. Auntie will seek justice for you.”
Meng Yao raised her eyes and looked at Zhang Guilan, tears of gratitude falling from them.
Whether in this life or her previous one, aside from her grandmother, Zhang Guilan had always been the person who treated her best.
In her previous life, after Meng Yao had been drugged and forced to marry Qi Yunhai, Zhang Guilan had tried to save her.
The night before the wedding, she had entered Meng Yao’s room under the pretense of offering congratulations.
She secretly pressed a small bundle into Meng Yao’s hands and earnestly said, “These are Auntie’s savings from half a lifetime. Take them.
“The Qi family truly isn’t a good place for you. Listen to Auntie. Take this money and run!”
It was not that Meng Yao disagreed with Zhang Guilan’s suggestion.
However, they were not related by blood or marriage. How could she accept the woman’s money?
Moreover, it was Zhang Guilan’s entire life savings.
Although Zhang Guilan had taken over the job left by her husband, Li Jianguo, the fixed salary from the textile factory was only enough to support her and her son.
They did not have much money to spare.
She was a woman raising a child alone, and Li Xiaohu was a boy who would eventually need money to marry.
Meng Yao had immediately refused.
She had said gratefully, “Auntie, I can’t accept this money. Please take it back.
“My body has already been ruined. Even if I run away, where could I possibly go?
“Besides, the Meng family raised me. I can’t simply leave without repaying their kindness.”
Thinking of how foolishly filial and stupid she had been in her previous life, Meng Yao now wanted to slap herself repeatedly.
“Boohoo… Auntie, just now they were truly trying to beat me to death…”
“Boohoo… Fine, I’ll marry him! I’ll take Yingzi’s place, all right?”