“Alright, I’ll help you look into this,” Hao Meili agreed readily.
The next second, her voice on the phone turned angry.
“Xixi, do you know who’s living in your old family house? It’s your paternal uncle’s family.
After your family accident, your cousin got himself a minor position in the Revolutionary Committee. Your cousin sister married the deputy director of the same committee. Now their whole family is living very comfortably.”
Wen Xi’s family home was a standalone two-story villa, originally her mother’s dowry.
Her maternal grandmother’s family ran a cloth shop in Bin City, relatively well-off but not considered bourgeois.
During the war, they strongly supported the country. All the men joined the army, while the women sewed clothes and bought grain to supply the troops.
But that very cloth shop was later used against them, labeling her mother as coming from a capitalist background.
“It’s expected. I knew they were involved in what happened to my family.”
The original owner’s parents only had one daughter. From her memories, Wen Xi knew her uncle’s family had long been trying to seize her family property because they had many children.
Her uncle had even proposed adopting his youngest son to her parents. After being rejected, he never gave up and kept scheming to take over their assets.
Before age sixteen, the original owner had been a slim and pretty girl. But within one year, she suddenly gained over fifty kilograms. Wen Xi suspected her cousins had tampered with her.
Her father was the factory director of the machinery plant, and her mother was a technician at the daily chemical factory. As a dual-income household with only one daughter, she had been raised in luxury.
Her cousins, born in patriarchal families, had always been jealous of her.
Wen Xi tightened her grip on the phone.
One day, she would make them spit out everything they had taken.
“Meili, thank you. Be careful while investigating. Don’t take risks. I’ll call you again in a few days.”
After a few more reminders, they hung up.
The call lasted four minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Wen Xi paid ninety cents and left the post office.
She wandered nearby for a while to get familiar with the area before heading back.
She still returned by running. By the time she reached the military base, it was already evening, the setting sun like a giant fireball sinking in the west, clouds dyed orange.
The sunset was especially beautiful when one was in a good mood.
Near the single dormitory area, she spotted Song Mingyuan pacing under a tree, clearly waiting for her.
Her good mood instantly vanished.
His eye sockets were even darker than before, and the slap marks on his face were still obvious.
Seeing her, his last hope that she might have left the base disappeared.
“Wen Xi, where did you run off to all day? I’ve been waiting here for a long time. Can we talk alone?”
He frowned, clearly anxious. Jiang Yuting would be back soon—he wanted to send this trouble away before she returned.
“You can rest assured—I won’t leave until the investigation proves me right,” Wen Xi rolled her eyes. “Talk? What, so you can admit to fraudulent marriage and return my dowry? Otherwise, don’t bother.”
She stepped back a couple of paces, keeping distance from him as if avoiding something filthy.
Her voice was not lowered at all, and nearby people immediately turned their heads, slowly edging closer.
The biggest gossip on base lately was these two—and now they were together again.
“Wen Xi, how did you become like this? So full of thorns. You weren’t like this before.”
Being looked down on by this dark, fat woman made Song Mingyuan’s face turn green with rage. He forced himself to calm down.
Wen Xi gave him a look like he was an idiot.
“That’s because I didn’t know you were a scumbag, and your family was a den of wolves.
Is your brain smaller than earwax? Or did yesterday’s beating not hurt enough? Where do you get the confidence that I should still be gentle to you after seeing your true face?
I have two watches you took, plus my money and belongings. When are you returning them?”
She stared at him coldly.
“These things were always yours to return. On top of that, you owe me compensation for three years. I won’t ask for much—one thousand per year, three thousand total.
I don’t want to waste words. Before you prepare the money and items, don’t show up in front of me again. You’re disgusting.”
She turned to leave.
At that moment, Song Mingyuan tried to grab her arm. He couldn’t let her go before achieving his goal.
“What exactly are you trying to do? What will it take for you to leave?” he lowered his voice.
Her eyes turned cold. She dodged, and when he tried again, she twisted his arm, pressed him down, and kicked his leg.
In two or three clean moves, he was pinned face-down on the ground, completely immobilized.
Wen Xi looked down at him with satisfaction.
“This much strength, and you still call yourself a man? A deputy battalion commander like this—can you even convince anyone?”
Curious gazes fell on Song Mingyuan. Doubt spread through the crowd.
Humiliated again in front of everyone, his face flushed red-black. He scrambled up, forcing an excuse.
“You… are you insane? I won’t argue with a madwoman!”
“Get lost. Or I’ll beat you again.”
Faced with defeat once more, Song Mingyuan left unwillingly, cursing her ancestors in his heart.
For the next two days, Wen Xi went to the machinery factory every morning, helping inspect and repair equipment, then ran back to the base in the afternoon.
With daily exercise and strict diet control, she felt herself slimming down, though it wasn’t visually obvious yet.
Song Mingyuan did not appear again.
On the fourth afternoon, Jiang Yuting, who had been away for training for several days, finally returned to the family compound.