The woman widened her eyes. “Th-There’s no witness here!”
This was the first time she had ever been asked for evidence.
“No witnesses, then on what basis do you claim my husband touched you five times?”
“You! I don’t care, he did touch me. If you don’t pay the five yuan today, none of you are leaving here.”
As soon as she finished speaking, two men carrying water pipes rushed out from inside the gas station.
One of them looked at Miss Yang with a lecherous gaze. “Miss, your man enjoyed himself and now refuses to pay? Then you’ll have to see if our sticks agree.”
Miss Yang smiled. “Brother, try hitting me if you dare. If I’m not mistaken, provincial leaders will pass by here today. Once you strike me, my family will immediately report this gas station for colluding with thugs and illegal activity.”
“At that point, the state-run unit here won’t be able to bear the consequences.”
“Come on, hit me. If I get injured, I’ll just claim more compensation. Oh, and include my big brother too. His leg is injured anyway and he can’t afford treatment. We might as well sue you all together.”
Zheng Chao stepped forward. “And I agree. You might as well hit me too.”
Doctor Zheng said calmly, “Brother Fu, should I lie down now, or wait until the provincial leaders arrive before I collapse?”
Miss Yang almost laughed out loud at their coordination.
A fellow passenger in the bus earlier suddenly spoke up, “Brother, you should lie down now. I just saw a military vehicle with a red flag license plate behind us, a Beijing plate. It should be the leaders’ car, it’ll arrive soon.”
The gas station staff panicked immediately.
Just as Fu Ziheng was about to fall, a man rushed over. “Comrades, let’s talk this out. It must be a misunderstanding.”
Miss Yang looked at him. “Comrade, these people all came out of your gas station. Are they yours or not?”
“How could that be? I don’t know them at all!” the staff member quickly denied.
“The leader’s car is here!”
Someone shouted.
The woman and the two thugs turned pale instantly.
The woman tried to run, but Miss Yang casually extended her foot and tripped her to the ground.
One thug froze in fear, unable to move.
The other tried to run but was stopped by a soldier who had just stepped out of the military vehicle.
A middle-aged man in military uniform, clearly a brigade commander, walked down from the passenger seat with a stern expression.
“What happened here?”
Miss Yang met his gaze. A flicker of recognition appeared in her eyes, but she quickly hid it and calmly explained everything that had just happened.
The commander’s face darkened with anger. “So there’s such a thing? Call your responsible person over. I want to know why this wasn’t reported to the police immediately!”
The staff member trembled. “I… I’ll call them right away.”
The commander looked at Miss Yang approvingly. “Young lady, standing up to this kind of wrongdoing makes you a good comrade.”
Only then did he notice Fu Ziheng sitting in a wheelchair. His eyes widened. “You… you are… What is your relationship with Fu Jianguo?”
Fu Ziheng was slightly stunned. “You know my father?”
The commander immediately grabbed his shoulders, visibly excited. “You are Fu Jianguo’s son?”
“Yes, I am. May I ask who you are?” Fu Ziheng asked cautiously.
The commander’s gaze fell on his crutch. “Child, what happened to your leg?”
“I injured it accidentally.”
“Can it be treated?”
“It should be possible.” Even Fu Ziheng himself was not certain.
“Good, good… where are you heading?”
“We are going back to Tuocheng,” Miss Yang interrupted before Fu Ziheng could finish.
“Tuocheng? Then I’ll give you a ride. I happen to be going there for business.”
“Thank you, Commander, but there’s no need. We already have tickets, and we have luggage,” Fu Ziheng refused.
The commander did not insist. “Alright then. When I finish my work in Tuocheng, I’ll come find you. Leave me an address.”
Fu Ziheng declined again. “Commander, the place I’m going is remote and vehicles can’t reach it. Thank you for your concern.”
With that, he helped Miss Yang onto the bus and they left.
After the vehicle disappeared, a soldier beside the commander frowned. “Commander, he was really ungrateful. You offered him a ride and he didn’t even appreciate it.”
“Watch your words,” the commander said coldly, his expression darkening as he stared in the direction the bus had gone.
Inside the bus, Miss Yang kept glancing back.
Fu Ziheng finally asked, “Miss Yang, do you know that man?”
“I don’t,” she replied quickly.
Of course she did.
In her previous life, Commander Liang was a dangerous man. She could not let Fu Ziheng’s family get involved with him.
But she could not say that.
“Then why did you lie to him just now?” Fu Ziheng asked.
“We don’t know him. Why should we tell him where we are going?” Miss Yang answered naturally.
Fu Ziheng studied her for a moment but saw no flaw in her expression, so he said nothing more.
The journey continued in bumps and jolts until night fell and the bus finally stopped.
As soon as they got off, Miss Yang stretched her arms. “Ah, finally here. Brother Ziheng, we must work hard and buy a car one day.”
“Alright,” Fu Ziheng replied casually.
“Little sister.”
A voice suddenly rang out.
Miss Yang turned around and saw Yang Tiechu holding a metal flashlight, walking quickly toward them.
“Big brother? Why are you here?”
“Eldest Uncle said you should arrive tonight, so Father asked me to bring a tractor to pick you up. Come, let me take your bags.”
Yang Tiechu took the snake-skin bags from her hands and also picked up the one on Fu Ziheng’s lap.
“Follow me, the tractor is outside.”
He walked ahead, constantly looking back to make sure she did not get lost.