Ruan An’an slipped silently back to her own courtyard, eyeing the least noticeable shadow along the wall. From her space, she pulled out an old rattan rocking chair, wrapped herself tightly in an old blanket, and curled up in it like a night-crouching cat.
The window of the side room glared with harsh incandescent light, dazzling enough to make one’s eyes ache.
The kerosene lamps flickering in the neighboring houses looked like fireflies in comparison.
Ruan An’an snorted coldly to herself: “Heh, the lights sure are bright! Not your own electricity—spend it all you want, huh?”
She remembered clearly that before Old Mrs. Xu was caught, Su Qingyue had been so frugal she’d practically split candles in half just to use them.
Now, with the old lady gone and home alone, both rooms’ lights were glaringly bright!
Ruan An’an clicked her tongue in a mix of admiration and exasperation.
Especially after today’s terrifying “black-on-black” incident at the black market—she had truly learned a lesson.
Being a heroine was all about “acting”!
The black market? A place that would eat you alive!
Today, she had purposely dressed in red and green, in a style so tacky it hurt, and still almost got herself into trouble just because of a hundred bucks.
Su Qingyue and Old Mrs. Xu had gone to the black market several times to steal her antiques, and each time, they’d come back scot-free.
From that alone, it was clear that Su Qingyue’s skill at putting on a show was even stronger than hers.
“Learn from your mistakes!” Ruan An’an silently warned herself. “This time, I have to deal with Su Qingyue once and for all!”
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the glaring light in the side room suddenly went out with a “click.”
The door creaked faintly. Su Qingyue, like a thief, tiptoed out, clutching a kraft-paper envelope and sneaking toward the courtyard gate.
Ruan An’an narrowed her eyes, using the moonlight to examine Su Qingyue’s outfit closely—
A thick cotton coat with red floral patterns, a glaringly green headscarf, and a pair of black cloth shoes washed to a pale gray…
Ruan An’an almost laughed aloud.
Wasn’t this the same outfit she’d worn to the black market during the day? A perfect copy!
Looking at Su Qingyue’s ridiculous getup and recalling her own ordeal at the black market, a lightning-fast thought struck Ruan An’an’s mind:
“Scapegoat, huh? Delivered right to my doorstep?”
Just as Su Qingyue’s hand was about to touch the cold door latch, a chilling voice came from the shadow.
“Well, sister-in-law, what a festive outfit in the dead of night… where are you rushing off to ‘visit neighbors’?”
“Ah—!”
Su Qingyue’s soul nearly flew out of her body. She jumped back, almost twisting her ankle.
Terrified, she looked toward the voice and finally saw Ruan An’an sitting in the shadow.
The pale moonlight slanted down perfectly, illuminating half of Ruan An’an’s face.
Her lips curved into a half-smile, half-snarl, looking like a vengeful ghost crawling out of a grave!
A chill shot from Su Qingyue’s feet to her crown, her teeth chattering, voice trembling: “Y-you… Ruan An’an? Why… why are you sitting… here in this haunted place in the middle of the night?”
Ruan An’an slowly stood from the rocking chair, stepping toward the trembling Su Qingyue. Her cold fingers, impossible to resist, grabbed Su Qingyue’s chin.
“What a delicate, pale little lotus flower…”
Ruan An’an’s voice was sickly sweet, but her eyes were venomous. “But did you forget whose territory this is? Hmm? This is my home, Ruan An’an’s home! I can sit wherever I like! Even on the roof chimney! Does some outsider like you have the right to boss me around?”
She leaned closer, her breath nearly on Su Qingyue’s ashen face. Her voice sharpened: “And you, Su Qingyue… sneaking around my courtyard in the dead of night. Could it be… that your hands weren’t clean, touching my things?”
Su Qingyue’s chin was squeezed painfully, the bone threatening to break.
“N-no! I… I didn’t! An’an, you’re misunderstanding!”
Su Qingyue clutched the envelope behind her back, tears flowing as her voice choked with grievance: “I… I just worried you’d be scared alone… after what happened with the Xu family, it’s just the two of us sisters-in-law left… I… I just wanted to stay with you…”
“Hahaha!” Ruan An’an laughed as if she’d heard the world’s biggest joke. Her voice was piercing in the silent night.
Her wrist flicked like lightning. The envelope in Su Qingyue’s hand was snatched away in an instant.
“A report?” Ruan An’an glanced at the envelope and sneered.
“Give it back!” Su Qingyue’s face went pale, screaming as she tiptoed forward to grab it.
“Smack—!”
A loud slap, brutal and unforgiving, struck Su Qingyue’s cheek.
Su Qingyue clutched her burning face, her usual big, pleading eyes now filled with fear and resentment.
“Stop… stop hitting… I’m… I’m pregnant! An’an… I know you hate me… but this… this was all Xu Yanli and his mother’s plan! They schemed to take your family’s property! I’m just a weak woman… what could I do? What could I do?!”
She sobbed uncontrollably, trying to shift all the blame onto others.
Ruan An’an shook her slightly numb wrist, her gaze like she was staring at a disgusting mess, stepping closer again.
“Su Qingyue, do you think I’m that fool Xu Yanli? You say a few soft words, shed a couple drops of cat urine, and I’m supposed to believe you?”
“N-no! I didn’t mean that!”
Su Qingyue panicked completely.
The Ruan An’an in front of her had the cold, ruthless clarity of a predator—no longer the fool she could toy with.
She was clearly a demon in human skin.
Su Qingyue hated and feared her: “How can you be like this? You’re a woman too… how can you be so cruel…”
“Smack—!”
Before Su Qingyue could even finish her thought, sharp pain shot across her scalp. Ruan An’an grabbed her green headscarf with one hand, and the other hand delivered another merciless slap.
“Cruel?” Ruan An’an’s voice carried a near-mad thrill, icy and exhilarating. “Cruel? You deserve it!!”
“Smack—!”
Another slap, even harder.
“Have you forgotten how that bastard inside your belly came to be? His father is a worthless scum who cheats and robs! His grandmother schemed against my Ruan family’s property! And you, Su Qingyue, are a ruthless, scheming **!”
The third slap landed. Su Qingyue felt the world spin, tasting blood in her mouth.
“Ugh… ughhh…”
She could no longer endure it, sliding down the cold wall to the ground, muffled sobs of pain and humiliation escaping.
“Please… let me go, An’an… I know I’m wrong…”
Ruan An’an didn’t spare her an extra glance.
Under the still-bright moonlight, she quickly read through the envelope.
After scanning it, a cold, ironic laugh escaped her lips. “Su Qingyue, your talent for fabricating lies… wasted on this! Claiming I seduced ***? Had an affair with him?”
Ruan An’an shook the paper, as if shaking off some filth: “Those three days, Li Sao personally hosted me! Last night, we even slept on the same kang, cursing you and Xu Yanli’s entire ancestors!”
“Ah?” Su Qingyue suddenly froze, her swollen face distorted in shock.
“You didn’t seduce ***… you… you seduced his wife?!”
Ruan An’an: “……”
She gave Su Qingyue a look of utter disbelief, complicated but ultimately settling into a tired, exasperated sigh: “Forget it.”
Why waste words on a pampered wife-style heroine whose only thoughts are about men and survival?
Su Qingyue was genuinely confused.
Could manipulating a man’s wife also mean manipulating the man?
Really…?
But her “academic discussion” was doomed never to get an answer.
Because the next second, a sharp sting ran along the side of her neck. Ruan An’an’s face seemed to split into two…
Then, the world plunged into thick darkness.
Ruan An’an expressionlessly withdrew a tiny syringe back into her space.
She stared coldly at the unconscious Su Qingyue on the ground, her gaze unflinching.
If you don’t remove the roots, weeds will grow again.
The original owner’s previous life had proven this with her life.
So Ruan An’an would give Su Qingyue no chance to recover.
With a thought, the unconscious Su Qingyue vanished.
From the small Ruan family building to the district security office, it only took twenty minutes on the 28-inch Da Gang bike.
Ruan An’an dumped the inert Su Qingyue in front of the security office’s tightly closed doors, hanging the crucial “evidence”—the Zhou family seal—securely around her neck.
Done with all that, she hopped back on her bike and quickly melted into the night.
This whole day had been either riding a bike or preparing to ride one.
On the bumpy roads of the early 1970s, the jolting almost displaced her internal organs.
Her backside felt like it had been split into eight pieces—numb and sore.
“Hiss… a hot bath as soon as I get home, or my bones will scatter.”
But thinking of Su Qingyue, Ruan An’an’s lips curled into a cold, satisfied smile.
With both witness and evidence in hand, no matter how clever Su Qingyue was at twisting the truth, she would not escape this time.
Near the entrance of her alley, Ruan An’an saw a small figure in military green standing under the dim streetlight.
Looking familiar, it seemed like one of ***’s bodyguards.
Seeing who it was, she dismounted swiftly: “Comrade, so late at night… any business?”
The guard immediately straightened, shoving a bundle into Ruan An’an’s hands.
His tone was serious, mission-completed: “Comrade Ruan! This is an urgent telegram just arrived from the island! Also, the military district has prepared a letter of introduction for you and a train ticket for tomorrow noon to the island! Take care of them; you’ll depart tomorrow!”