At that moment, both Qian Weidong and Liu Suzhen were so stunned by Jiang Fusheng’s “acting” that they couldn’t recover.
It had been three years, and this was the first time they’d ever seen Jiang Fusheng like this.
It was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight!
Xiao Changhe’s towering figure suddenly loomed before the two of them.
“W-what are you doing…” Liu Suzhen was terrified and quickly hid behind Qian Weidong.
Qian Weidong’s legs went weak with fear as well; if not for all the people watching outside, he would have collapsed to his knees.
“Apologize!” Xiao Changhe glared coldly at Liu Suzhen, enunciating each word clearly: “You. Right now. Apologize to my wife!”
Liu Suzhen’s lips turned white with fear. “Why should I apologize?”
“You bullied my wife!” Fueled by rage, Xiao Changhe spoke rapidly.
“I didn’t!” Liu Suzhen shook her head, tugging at Qian Weidong’s shirt. “Cousin, I didn’t bully my cousin’s wife. She started it first… Ah!”
Before Liu Suzhen could finish her sentence, Xiao Changhe grabbed her by the braid, yanked her out from behind Qian Weidong, and shoved her to the ground.
“You’re bullying a woman! Are you even a man?”
Seeing his beloved childhood sweetheart treated this way, Qian Weidong raised his fist in anger.
But at a single glance from Xiao Changhe, Qian Weidong froze.
Even Jiang Fusheng was stunned; she hadn’t expected Xiao Changhe to lay a hand on Liu Suzhen for her sake!
“Bullying me… my wife—whether man or woman, I’ll beat you!” With that, Xiao Changhe took a long stride forward.
“No, don’t! Cousin, save me!” This time, Liu Suzhen was truly scared into tears.
Xiao Changhe grabbed Liu Suzhen by the collar, effortlessly lifting her off the ground, then raised his hand and slapped her across the face. “The first slap is for all the times you… you bullied… bullied my wife!”
Smack! Another slap followed.
“The second is for you… for causing trouble for my wife just now!”
After landing the two slaps, he tossed the dazed Liu Suzhen to the ground.
The sales clerk watched the scene, frozen in place.
Fortunately, the clothes here were quite expensive, and few customers ever set foot in this store; otherwise, they would surely have been surrounded by a crowd!
“You actually, actually…” Qian Weidong was shocked. He turned and glared fiercely at the sales clerk. “What are you standing there for? Call the police! Call the police right now!”
The sales clerk swallowed hard and turned to leave.
“Hold on!” Jiang Fusheng shouted. “Comrade, this is our private matter. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
Hearing this, Qian Weidong assumed Jiang Fusheng was scared, so he smirked provocatively. “Scared? If you’re scared, get down on your knees and lick my shoes clean, and I’ll forgive you and this stray man by your side!”
“You’re the one who’s a stranger! You moronic idiot, you blind and heartless piece of trash!” Jiang Fusheng cursed.
Qian Weidong’s breathing grew ragged, and his chest ached with rage.
She’s changed!
She never used to treat him like this!
“Let me beat him… up a bit,” Xiao Changhe said, rubbing his hands together.
“Don’t.” Jiang Fusheng stopped Xiao Changhe and soothed him gently, “Don’t get physical. It’s not worth getting dragged to the police station over a scumbag like that. Leave it to me.”
“But he insulted… you!” Xiao Changhe clenched his fists.
Jiang Fusheng reached out and patted Xiao Changhe on the chest, leaning in to whisper, “Honey, calm down.”
Instantly, Xiao Changhe’s ears burned, and his heart skipped a beat.
Honey?!
Where did she pick up that term?
Why does it sound so nice coming from her mouth…
Qian Weidong watched the affectionate couple, a vague sense of unease gnawing at him. With a sour expression, he stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Fusheng. “Jiang Laidi, have you no shame! Snuggling and hugging another man right out in the open—you—”
Smack!
A crisp slap echoed through the air.
A bright red handprint appeared on Qian Weidong’s face.
One could only imagine how hard that slap had been.
“You dare hit me?” Qian Weidong clutched his face and looked up in disbelief.
“Do all of you people like to ask, ‘You dare hit me?’ after getting slapped?”
“You…”
“What ‘you’? I hit you because I wanted to. What are you going to do about it? You’re the one accusing me—do you even have the right? Open your dog eyes and look clearly: this is my marriage certificate!”
Jiang Fusheng, shedding her earlier meekness, pulled out the red booklet with a cold expression.
Qian Weidong’s eyes widened.
The photo showed her and that tall guy—but that name… had she just changed it?
“Jiang Fusheng?”
“That’s right—it’s your old lady here!” Jiang Fusheng snapped the marriage certificate shut, cracked her knuckles, and before Qian Weidong could react, she slammed a fist into his face, sending him reeling. “Remember this: I’m not your ex-wife Jiang Laidi—I’m someone else’s wife, Jiang Fusheng! If you dare to touch me or lecture me again, you’ll be charged with sexual assault!”
“Jiang Laidi, how dare you hit my cousin!” Liu Suzhen, having recovered, ignored the swelling on her face and lunged at her with a desperate look on her face.
“Screw you!” Jiang Fusheng raised her foot and kicked Liu Suzhen hard in the stomach.
“Ah!” Liu Suzhen grimaced in pain; the strange sensation in her lower abdomen made her face go pale. “The baby… the baby…”
Hearing this, Jiang Fusheng suddenly recalled the plot that followed in the book.
That’s right.
At this point, Liu Suzhen was already carrying Qian Weidong’s child—and she’d actually forgotten all about it!
“Cousin, cousin… save me, save the baby…” Liu Suzhen clutched her stomach, weeping bitterly.
“I won’t let either of you get away with this!” Qian Weidong gritted his teeth, quickly rushing over to pick up Liu Suzhen. “Suzhen, don’t be afraid. Your cousin will take you to the clinic right away!”
Before leaving, he threatened the onlookers—the sales clerks—warning them that if word of today’s argument got out, they’d be in for it.
Only after Qian Weidong left did the sales clerks vent their frustration.
“So what if he’s rich!”
“He’s just lucky to be born into a wealthy family. Otherwise, he’d be just as miserable as us ordinary workers!”
“That’s right! Let’s wrap this up and get back to work! I worked hard to find this stable job—I don’t want to get into trouble.”
“Me too…”
Jiang Fusheng glanced toward the doorway and ground her back teeth.
According to the original story’s plot—and given the era—this child couldn’t be exposed to the light of day, so Qian Weidong had to find a fall guy for Liu Suzhen, and the child was raised under that fall guy’s name ever since.
However, Qian Weidong would still secretly hook up with Liu Suzhen behind the fall guy’s back, right up until the female lead showed up.
That wasn’t the point. The real issue was that this fall guy was the biological cousin of her best friend, Meizhen!
In the book, because of those two troublemakers, Qian Weidong and Liu Suzhen, Meizhen’s cousin’s family went from a thriving business to living on the streets in just a single year.
Meizhen didn’t know the child wasn’t her biological nephew. Although she despised Liu Suzhen, she still felt sorry for her cousin’s family and begged her parents to help them.
The outcome, of course, was disastrous.
Thinking of this, she clenched her fists.
This weekend, she must remind Meizhen to intervene and nip this in the bud!
Suddenly, Jiang Fusheng felt a tight grip on her shoulder as Xiao Changhe pulled her into his arms.