“Don’t think I haven’t noticed all the sneaky tricks you’ve been pulling behind my back. Let me tell you—everything I own is marked, especially my money and ration coupons.”
“If you’d only stolen a small amount, even if I caught you, there wouldn’t be much I could do.”
“But you know exactly how much you’ve taken, don’t you?”
“Hand it over voluntarily, or I’ll call the police right now. The value of what you stole from me is more than enough to get you detained for ten days or half a month.”
“Add in this jade pendant, and what you did with those breeding drugs—and you might just end up sitting in a cell for quite a while.”
“Go ahead and test me if you want. But don’t get your hopes up. The fact that you stole my mother’s jade pendant alone means I will never let this slide.”
Wang Yurou didn’t know much about the law, but from what Shen Zhaozhao was saying, she assumed Shen Zhaozhao had noticed everything long ago—just waiting until the total value of what was stolen was high enough to expose her, ready to teach her a proper lesson.
Wang Yurou clenched her fists tight. She wanted to talk back, but she was terrified Fu Shixuan would find out.
Shen Zhaozhao read her expression easily, and spoke right to the fear weighing on her mind.
“Fu Shixuan only just agreed to marry you. You aren’t even engaged yet—you haven’t met each other’s parents.”
“We don’t even know if he’s truly willing to marry you. Now tell me—if everyone sees you as a habitual thief who frames others, do you really think he’ll still want to marry you?”
Shen Zhaozhao smiled, amused.
Wang Yurou’s heart gave a violent lurch. Scared out of her wits, she spilled everything.
“I—I’ll give it all back! Is that enough?”
She hurried back into the room, dumped out all the White Rabbit Creamy Candies she’d hidden away, and handed them to Shen Zhaozhao.
“I already ate a few—this is all that’s left. I’ll make it up to you later, I promise!”
“And…”
She fumbled a stack of cash out of her pillowcase, pulled out fifty cents, one grain coupon, and two cloth coupons. She stared at them longingly, then gritted her teeth and handed them over.
“That’s everything. I’ve given it all back.”
Everything?
Shen Zhaozhao wanted to check if anything was missing—she knew Wang Yurou wasn’t being honest. But without knowing exactly how much had been taken to begin with, she couldn’t demand more.
She narrowed her eyes, thinking, and caught sight of the thick stack of cash and coupons still clutched tight in Wang Yurou’s hand.
That looked like quite a lot.
Shen Zhaozhao curled her lips into a faint smile.
“I don’t think you’re being very truthful, are you?”
Wang Yurou frowned, putting on an air of righteous indignation.
“I… I haven’t lied about anything! I gave you back all your things!”
“Whether you gave back all of it—you know it, and so do I.”
“On top of that: you stole my grain coupons, cloth coupons, and money. Because of you, I only had one meal a day for the last few days of last month. And my mother’s jade pendant—something so precious—you kept it for ages. Don’t you owe me compensation for all that emotional distress?”
Wang Yurou’s face tightened instantly.
“This is extortion! You’re blackmailing me!”
Shen Zhaozhao let out a short, cold laugh.
“Debts must be paid—that’s only right! That jade pendant was the most important thing my mother left me. I wouldn’t trade it for a thousand pieces of gold, and you just took it.”
“Jade holds spiritual energy. Who knows what kind of bad luck or foul aura you’ve left on it? How do you plan to make up for that damage?”
Wang Yurou’s face flushed with anger.
“You’re just making trouble out of nothing!”
Shen Zhaozhao sneered.
“The world really has turned upside down—now thieves dare call the victim unreasonable.”
“What? Do you think stealing is right? That you’re justified in taking what isn’t yours?”
“And besides… right now, this is only between us. But I’ve never been good at keeping secrets. Without a little hush money and compensation for my suffering… I can’t guarantee who else might hear about all this.”
The original owner had been bullied by Wang Yurou for far too long. It was high time Wang Yurou paid up—and learned her lesson.
Her words hit Wang Yurou right where it hurt.
She knew she was cornered.
Clenching her teeth, she asked: “How much do you want?”
Shen Zhaozhao said plainly: “Ten yuan.”
Wang Yurou’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
“What?! Ten yuan? Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea how much that is… You might as well rob me!”
“I only stole fifty cents from you! You’re asking for twenty times that amount?!”
Shen Zhaozhao smiled faintly. “Don’t want to pay?”
“Ten yuan to stay out of jail? That’s a bargain.”
“If you won’t pay, I won’t force you. I’ll just go call the police right now. We can talk about compensation once they get here.”
“Maybe once I see you locked up… I’ll be in a better mood, and might even ask for less.”
Shen Zhaozhao turned to head for the village phone booth. Terrified, Wang Yurou’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest—she lunged forward and grabbed her sleeve.
“I’ll pay! I’ll give you the money!”
Compared to ten yuan, her reputation—and her standing with Fu Shixuan—meant everything.
If she won Fu Shixuan over, married into his family’s compound, and lived a good life with him… she’d have all the money she could ever want.
For now, she’d just have to swallow the loss.
Shen Zhaozhao stopped walking, a knowing smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
She’d known Wang Yurou would pay. She’d never actually intended to call the police.
After all, she and Gu Shichuan—and Fu Shixuan and Wang Yurou—were already informally engaged. By village custom, they were already considered Fu Shixuan and Gu Shichuan’s wives-to-be.
Gu Guanghui and Luo Erfen also publicly called Fu Shixuan their adopted son—which meant she and Wang Yurou were essentially sisters-in-law.
If word got out, everyone would just see it as a family matter. If things got too ugly, Luo Erfen and Gu Guanghui would lose face—and they’d probably turn around and blame her for making a fuss.
She only had thirty days left before she went back to the city. Shen Zhaozhao didn’t want to stir up trouble that would make Luo Erfen and her husband turn against her—she just wanted to get through this peacefully.
And Wang Yurou was only admitting to stealing fifty cents, one grain coupon, and two cloth coupons. She had no way of knowing the real total. Even if she reported it to the police, Wang Yurou would only get a day or two of detention at most.
Even if this did drive a wedge between Wang Yurou and Fu Shixuan… there was nothing in it for her. She didn’t actually have feelings for Fu Shixuan.
All things considered—getting compensation for her trouble was the smarter choice.
She was still new to this world, after all. Having money in her pocket meant peace of mind.
Shen Zhaozhao was quite pleased with herself—but Wang Yurou felt like bursting into tears.
She’d really tried to steal something, only to lose even more. If only she hadn’t slipped and dropped that jade pendant!
Now she was trapped—Shen Zhaozhao had all the leverage, and she had no choice but to pay up to make this go away.
This Shen Zhaozhao… she was truly cruel! She’d only taken fifty cents and three coupons—and she was demanding ten whole yuan! Ten yuan—money she’d saved up for ages!