Night had completely fallen.
A dim yellow glow shone through the windows of the nearby houses, carrying the distant chatter of adults and children.
This abandoned lot, however, was eerily quiet.
Yang Yuan widened her eyes and carefully scanned her surroundings. Standing on tiptoe, she edged along the wall one step at a time. She silently thanked the original owner’s body for having been well-fed enough that she didn’t suffer from night blindness.
The old house’s roof beams had long since collapsed. At the corner beneath the half-standing window wall was a large patch of darkness.
Smart, Yang Yuan thought.
It really was a perfect blind spot. Whether viewed from inside or outside, it would be difficult to notice anyone hiding there.
She slipped over quietly and pressed herself against the outside of the window wall. Only a single layer of bricks separated her from the people inside. She could even hear their breathing.
…
She rolled her eyes.
Seriously? They’re still flirting? I thought they’d get to the important part already.
Silently counting in her head…
By the time she reached one hundred and thirty-five, voices finally broke the silence.
She immediately held her breath and focused.
“It’s all your fault,” the girl complained in a soft, affectionate voice. “You dragged me here, and now it’s completely dark.”
The young man chuckled.
“Isn’t that even better? Now your big brother can finally…”
“Stop it.”
The girl sounded half embarrassed, half annoyed.
“I brought all the money today. I was going to wait until it got dark and there weren’t many people around before returning the bride price to him, explaining everything, and breaking off the engagement. But now… what am I supposed to do? Why wouldn’t you let me go? Do you even know…”
“I know.”
His voice turned gentle.
“I know breaking off an engagement is humiliating. You don’t want your parents to be the ones to bring it up because you’re worried they’ll lose face. I understand all of that.”
“But right now, I’m powerless. With parents like mine, I don’t even want to go home myself. How could I bear to marry you into that family and let you suffer?”
“Do you really expect me to stand by and watch you cancel this engagement, only for your parents to arrange another marriage for you?”
“I couldn’t bear it.”
“Yinyin… please don’t torture me like this.”
Ugh…
In the darkness, Yang Yuan clamped a hand over her mouth.
Goosebumps erupted all over her skin.
Damn. This is even more melodramatic than one of Aunt Qiong’s TV dramas.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she bit the tip of her tongue, forcing herself to stay focused.
“I just can’t bear to leave you.”
“You know what? My mother said today that she’s planning to ask that family when his job assignment will finally come through. She said I’m already a year older than him and can’t keep waiting forever. She wants us to get married first.”
By the end of her sentence, the girl’s voice choked with tears.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“I only love you.”
“I only want to marry you.”
“So what if his family is better off? So what if he went to college? So what if they paid a five-hundred-yuan bride price?”
“My heart belongs only to you.”
“And besides… I’ve already… I think I…”
“What?”
Silence.
Only the rustling of clothing could be heard.
Yang Yuan frowned.
Why’d they stop talking…?
Then realization struck her.
Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Holy crap…
Are things really getting this intense?
People were this bold back in the ’60s and ’70s?
Just as she was debating whether to leave…
“Y-Yinyin… you really…? I… what…?”
The young man’s voice stammered in disbelief.
Yang Yuan scratched at her heart in impatience.
What is it?!
The girl laughed and cried at the same time.
“I think so.”
“I’m pregnant.”
“We’re going to have a baby…”
Yang Yuan’s heart skipped a beat.
A pregnancy… This is serious.
She decided she didn’t need to hear any more.
She checked that the strings of the cap covering her face were tied securely.
Then she tucked one sleeve into her pocket, withdrew that arm inside her padded jacket, and pressed it against her throat to disguise her voice.
With her gloved free hand, she picked up a brick.
Then she leaped through a gap in the broken wall.
Thud!
“Don’t move!”
“Mmph!”
The girl barely managed a frightened scream before the young man clamped a hand over her mouth.
He himself was so terrified his legs nearly gave way.
He bit down hard on his sleeve to keep from crying out.
Several nearby households immediately extinguished their lights.
The darkness grew even deeper.
Yang Yuan lowered the arm holding the brick ever so slightly.
Mostly because… this brick is actually pretty heavy.
“Wang Honghe!”
“You’ve really inherited the rotten morals of your elders.”
The young man trembled all over.
Slowly removing his hand from the girl’s mouth, he asked shakily,
“S-Sir… you know me?”
It wasn’t surprising he addressed the stranger so respectfully.
In the darkness, the figure before him looked like a small mountain.
Broad shoulders.
Massive waist.
One arm looked thicker than both of Wang Honghe’s legs put together.
Yang Yuan let out a cold snort.
“You’ve got two choices.”
“Either I drag you two shameless adulterers straight to the Public Security Bureau…”
“…or you hand over the money you’re carrying and buy my silence.”
In those days, being charged with hooliganism could even carry the death penalty.
Even if the woman testified that the relationship had been consensual, having a child before marriage would still mean public denunciation, humiliation, and severe punishment.
After speaking, Yang Yuan kicked a loose rock flying into the distance.
She also raised the brick in her hand a little higher.
Wang Honghe and the girl exchanged trembling glances.
They had still been hesitating…
But hearing the possible consequences—and seeing the brick—made them imagine the worst.
They hurriedly nodded.
The girl kept her head lowered, shrinking into the corner.
Wang Honghe turned, took the cloth bundle from her hands, but still didn’t dare approach too closely.
He stepped forward only once and carefully placed the bundle on the ground.
As Yang Yuan glanced over, she caught sight of half the girl’s face.
She looks familiar…
Have I seen her somewhere before?
Lowering her voice even further, she barked,
“You.”
“Whose daughter are you?”
“Get over here.”
The girl began trembling even more violently.
She crouched down, covering her head.
Wang Honghe pleaded for mercy several times.
Seeing the stranger remain unmoved, he could only coax and comfort the girl as he led her forward one hesitant step.
She was crying so hard she looked like pear blossoms drenched in rain.
Although she wore the same patched cotton jacket and coarse cotton trousers as every other girl, her skin was delicate, her cheeks full and healthy.
At a glance, it was obvious she had never done hard labor.
Her family had to be very well off.
The moment Yang Yuan saw her face clearly…
Her entire demeanor turned ice cold.
The brick in her hand no longer felt heavy.
In fact, she suddenly wanted to smash it straight into the faces of the cheating couple.
Clack.
Afraid she might actually lose control, she threw the brick aside.
She grabbed the cloth bundle from the ground, stuffed it into her pocket, and stared fixedly at the girl’s face as she backed away.
The rubber shoes on her feet landed with heavy thuds, each step sounding like iron striking the earth.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
To Wang Honghe and the girl, each footstep pounded against their hearts like deafening drums.
Only after backing completely out of the ruined courtyard did Yang Yuan turn around.
Then she broke into a full sprint along the escape route she had planned in advance.
She had gotten the money.
But she no longer felt nearly as happy as she had expected.
After weaving through countless twists and turns to make sure no one had followed her, she cautiously headed toward the Dashuai Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
As she got closer, she looked around.
But she couldn’t find Yang Wenping anywhere.
“Fourth Brother? Are you here?”
“If you’re not, I’m heading home by myself.”
She deliberately spoke in a way that wouldn’t leave anyone any evidence against her.
Suddenly, she heard rustling behind her.
“Little Sister, I’m up here.”
It was Yang Wenping.
He slid down from the big locust tree.
“What are you wearing?”
“What on earth were you doing?”
Earlier, when he’d seen the huge figure approaching, he’d been frightened out of his wits.
Unable to find anywhere to hide, he’d climbed the tree instead.
Yang Yuan was speechless.
It’s the middle of winter.
The tree doesn’t even have leaves.
If a bad guy had actually come, climbing the tree would’ve made you even easier to spot.
She didn’t feel like explaining.
Instead, she urged him to hurry.
She took off the bulky rubber shoes she had been wearing over her regular cotton shoes.
Since her hands were cold, she made Yang Wenping carry the rubber shoes.
The two siblings hurried carefully through the darkness…
…and finally made it home.