Yu Zhile narrowed her eyes as she watched Zhang Zhaodi approach, her movement so fast she practically left an afterimage.
In her memory, Zhang Zhaodi was exceptionally fierce and protective of her brother. Every time Zhang Yaozong was bullied, she would lead her two younger sisters to the perpetrator’s door to settle the score. Because this happened so often, people in the village avoided Zhang Yaozong like the plague.
“Mei-ni!” The Old Party Secretary ordered some people to block Zhang Zhaodi and her sisters.
Zhang Zhaodi insisted on forcing her way in, shouting at the top of her lungs, “Whoever bullied my brother, come out! I’m going to make you pay today!”
Her sisters, Zhang Laidi and Zhang Songdi, had personalities that were the polar opposite of hers; they lowered their heads timidly.
“Nonsense!” the Old Party Secretary barked.
Seeing that she truly couldn’t get through the door, Zhang Zhaodi took a few steps back and yelled, “Laidi, Songdi, throw them!”
The three sisters pulled out handfuls of what looked like dried cow dung patties from nowhere and began hurling them directly into the courtyard. Zhang Yaozong joined in excitedly, though he was throwing small stones he had scavenged from the ground.
One second, Mother Huang was beaming with pride for her son; the next, her expression changed drastically.
With a series of splats and thuds, the foul-smelling cow dung traced parabolic arcs through the air. Some landed squarely on the heads of Mother Huang and her group, while others exploded upon impact, splattering them with filth.
Meanwhile, most of Zhang Yaozong’s stones fell short, but a few—each larger than a quail egg—streaked through the air directly toward Yu Zhile and her brother.
Zhou Yuesheng pushed the door open just in time to witness this. His elite military instincts kicked in instantly. His movements were so fast no one could react; in the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of Yu Zhile and Yu Yue like a shield.
The stones hit the ground with soft clicks, waking everyone from their shock.
“Zhang Yaozong!” The Old Party Secretary’s voice was thick with suppressed rage.
Zhang Yaozong’s bravado deflated like a punctured balloon. He tried to run, but Second Uncle Yu cracked his whip in front of him, blocking his path.
“Dajin, seize Zhang Yaozong. We’re reporting him for intentional assault,” the Secretary said darkly to his eldest grandson.
Zhang Yaozong collapsed to his knees, begging, “Grandpa Feng, don’t arrest me! It was all Zhaodi’s idea! It’s all her fault!”
“Don’t take my Yaozong! Let Songdi go to jail in her brother’s place!” Before the Secretary could speak, Mother Huang started clamoring.
“Right, right, right! Let Zhang Songdi go! She’s so ugly she’ll never get married anyway, let her go!” Zhang Yaozong reached out to grab Zhang Songdi.
Terrified, Zhang Songdi hid behind Zhang Zhaodi, frantically pulling her hair forward to hide the red birthmark at the corner of her eye.
“Le-ni, what about them?” The Secretary glanced at the three Zhang sisters, his tone tinged with helplessness.
From the trajectory of the sisters’ “projectiles,” Yu Zhile had picked up on a different intention, but she didn’t plan on letting herself be wronged either.
“Then add another hundred work points in compensation.”
Her airy sentence sent Mother Huang back into a fit of screaming and shouting.
“Deserved,” the Secretary agreed.
Yu Zhile watched Mother Huang and her son cause a scene with cold eyes before saying, “Grandpa Feng, let’s go.”
Zhang Yaozong struggled and refused to get on the ox cart. Dajin couldn’t handle him alone, so his younger brothers, Ermu and Sanshui, stepped in to help, using rope to bind Zhang Yaozong until he couldn’t move.
“Move out,” the Secretary said, casting a glance at Zhang Caihong.
Zhou Yuesheng wanted to go to the town as well, but Yu Zhile told him to stay behind.
Zhang Caihong walked slowly. As Yu Zhile passed her, she whispered, “Yu Zhile, my fiancé is a senior engineer at the shipyard. You think you can put me in jail? Keep dreaming!”
Yu Zhile rolled her eyes and ignored her.
The group boarded the ox cart, and the old ox began to plod along at a leisurely pace. Everything seemed to return to peace as the onlookers dispersed.
However, they hadn’t traveled far toward the village entrance when they ran into the children who had been scared off earlier by Zhang Zhaodi.
“A car is coming to the village! A green car!”
They ran and shouted, and the crowd that had just dispersed began to gather once more. Within seconds, a jeep appeared around the corner at the end of the road.
The village road was narrow. As the ox cart and the jeep met, Second Uncle Yu pulled the reins, and the vehicle opposite them slammed on its brakes.
The back door opened, and a man covered in bruises and swellings was kicked out of the car. Then, a pair of polished leather military boots entered everyone’s sight.
In the next second, the sight of a wooden prosthetic leg peeking out from under a pant leg shattered everyone’s expectations.
Ning Tan had his right lower leg amputated, but his gait was slow and steady.
“Armed Forces Department, Ning Tan.” He produced his ID.
The Old Party Secretary had heard of Ning Tan—a famous figure in the town whose first act upon taking office was to overhaul the stagnant Armed Forces Department, making life miserable for those under him.
“Director Ning, how can we assist you?” The Secretary did not lower his posture too much despite the other man’s rank.
Ning Tan pointed at Yu Zhile. “Looking for her. Yu Zhile.”
Yu Zhile met his gaze, finding his eyes piercingly cold. Gasps of surprise erupted from the crowd.
Zhang Caihong was secretly delighted.
Unexpectedly, Ning Tan’s finger shifted slightly, pointing at her. “Don’t smile. You too, Zhang Caihong.”
The smile on Zhang Caihong’s lips froze. “Looking… looking for me for what?”
“Is Liu Mingcong your fiancé?” Ning Tan used his wooden leg to nudge the man on the ground.
Zhang Caihong couldn’t believe the wretched man on the ground was her elegant engineer fiancé. Panic rising in her chest, she asked tentatively, “Teacher? Teacher, is that you?”
“Ma… Master.” Liu Mingcong’s front teeth were broken, and he spoke with a lisp.
It was Liu Mingcong’s voice. Zhang Caihong’s heart sank.
Yu Zhile glanced at Zhang Caihong; the way these two addressed each other was certainly “interesting.” In reality, only Ning Tan and Zhou Yuesheng knew who Liu Mingcong was actually calling “Master.”
At that moment, Zhou Yuesheng approached and discreetly made a hand signal to Ning Tan, indicating he had new clues. Furthermore, those clues pointed toward Yu Zhile.
“Let’s go.” Ning Tan’s gaze toward Yu Zhile grew even colder.
The Old Party Secretary pondered for a few seconds. “Xiao Zhou, accompany Le-ni to the Armed Forces Department and cooperate fully with Director Ning.”
Zhou Yuesheng was about to agree when Yu Zhile, who had stepped off the ox cart, pinched the soft flesh at his waist.
“Grandpa Feng, he’s not feeling well. I can go by myself,” Yu Zhile said, taking a sharp breath and marveling at how hard the muscles on the “little steward’s” waist were.
“I’m not—”
Yu Zhile scratched his palm, interrupting him. “It’s fine, I’ll be back soon. You stay home and be good.”
The Armed Forces Department was full of veterans. If the “little steward” went there with his fake identity, it would be like walking into a tiger’s den. She couldn’t let him be caught and taken away for research.
Thinking that Yu Zhile might be a bloodthirsty enemy agent, Ning Tan felt his scalp go numb at the way she spoke to Zhou Yuesheng like she was coaxing a child.
Another official traveling with Ning Tan said impatiently, “It’s a simple question of whether you’re coming or not. We don’t have all day to waste with you.”
Just then, Yu Chi ran out, one hand grabbing Yu Zhile’s hem and the other anxiously tugging the red string around his neck.
After comforting him, Yu Zhile turned and boarded the jeep. The Old Party Secretary and the others continued on to the police station with Zhang Yaozong.
The rural roads were in poor condition. Between the speed and the bumps, Yu Zhile felt dizzy and nauseous. In her daze, she heard the notification sound from the Cloud Live Stream.
She opened her eyes and felt Ning Tan’s gaze on her, but she ignored it and opened the system platform.
Cloud Live Stream had sent two messages.
The first was a long paragraph of text, from which Yu Zhile quickly extracted three vital points:
The truth has been cleared up; the live stream is unblocked.
The Streamer PK Competition is nearing its end; her ranking has dropped out of the top tier.
The Small Window (Storefront) feature is officially live!
That last piece of news made Yu Zhile instantly alert and excited. It meant her chance to make money had arrived!
The second message, however, made her instantly sober. An emotional monitoring feedback chart for the robot steward appeared, showing that his current emotional fluctuations were extremely high.
Yu Zhile poked her head out of the car window and looked back at the road behind them.