Before they even reached the door, the man was already impatiently unfastening his belt.
Xiao Mandong slipped into her space from the main room. She had planned to quietly leave once the two of them went into either of the other rooms to fool around.
But the pair did not follow any ordinary pattern. They began indulging themselves right there on the table in the main room.
Xiao Mandong lay on the grass inside her space, covering her ears. This was the second time she had overheard Liu Mengyao having an affair. To be honest, judging by the sounds alone, Liu Mengyao was definitely a seductive woman.
Diandian lay on her arm, eyes wide, occasionally letting out a soft whine as though it understood what was happening.
Just as the two were locked in an intense struggle, the door was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang.
Then came the rapid clicking of a camera.
Xiao Mandong abruptly sat up. What was going on? Where had the sound of the camera come from?
The man’s furious roar followed.
“You filthy bitch! You set me up?”
Smack! He slapped Liu Mengyao across the face.
“You’re talking nonsense! I didn’t!” Liu Mengyao hurriedly protested.
Then she began to sob and plead with Lin Guoan. “Guoan… I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once, all right? It was him. He forced himself on me.”
“Bullshit!”
The man’s pupils contracted sharply. He was about to hit Liu Mengyao again when Lin Guoan kicked him to the ground.
“In that case, we’ll report this to the police. A rape charge is enough to get you executed by firing squad.”
“Guoan, listen to me. That bitch seduced me. I swear!”
Lin Guoan turned and started toward the door. The man immediately dropped to his knees.
“Guoan, I’m an animal. I deserve to die. I really know I was wrong. I swear I’ll never dare do it again.”
Lin Guoan turned around and kicked him once more, then spat in his face.
“Jiang Shaohua, I, Lin Guoan, have never believed I did anything to wrong you. Why did you do this to me?”
Jiang Shaohua’s eyes darted away. He did not dare answer.
“If you don’t want to say, then forget it.”
When Jiang Shaohua saw Lin Guoan about to leave, he panicked.
“Wait! I’ll tell you. But after I do, will you let us go?”
Lin Guoan glared at him without saying a word.
The man wiped his face and slumped onto the floor. He let out a long, heavy breath.
“Ruan Shanshan and I grew up together. We were childhood sweethearts. You were the one who took her away from me. The day before your family formally proposed to the Ruan family, they had just agreed to our marriage proposal.”
“Just because your father was the director of the Public Security Bureau, they went back on the marriage they had already arranged.”
“I hated your family. So, on the night before Ruan Shanshan married you, she stayed with me. I was the one who took her virginity.”
As he spoke, the man’s expression grew almost crazed.
“Shanshan became pregnant. But after she got pregnant, she changed. She wanted to cut off all ties with me. She said she wanted the child to grow up in a healthy family.”
“She started avoiding me and kept away from me for seven months. Then, one day, I finally saw Shanshan again. She was heavily pregnant. We lost control and slept together again. I was furious. Why should my woman give birth to your child? So I lost my mind and took her violently. I truly never imagined she would suffer such severe bleeding.”
Jiang Shaohua covered his face and began crying on the floor.
“Shanshan died, but you went on to have another child with another woman. I wanted that woman to end up like Shanshan. I was blinded by hatred.”
“Guoan, I was wrong. I swear I’ll never dare do it again. You know my father died last year, and my mother is paralyzed. If something happens to me, there’ll be no one to care for her. Besides, that bitch was the one who came after me first.”
Lin Guoan laughed. After all these years, he had finally learned that he had been nothing but a complete fool.
He took a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips. After lighting it slowly, he blew out a ring of smoke and spoke in an even voice.
“If you don’t want to be executed, submit your resignation tomorrow. Within three days, bring me three thousand yuan. Otherwise, I’ll spread your photographs all over the streets.”
“There’s one more thing I’ve never told you. That child isn’t mine.”
Lin Guoan had only found out a few days earlier. He knew that his daughter had type B blood, and he had always been suspicious. Finally, he had mustered the courage to ask a doctor. The doctor told him that if both husband and wife had type O blood, they could not possibly have a child with type B blood.
At that moment, Lin Guoan had truly broken down.
At first, Jiang Shaohua did not understand what Lin Guoan meant. But after thinking it over for a moment, he suddenly raised his head.
“What… what did you say?”
Lin Guoan pressed the lit end of his cigarette against the back of Jiang Shaohua’s hand.
“Ah!”
Jiang Shaohua trembled all over from the pain.
Lin Guoan spoke one word at a time.
“I said that the child Ruan Shanshan gave birth to back then isn’t mine. Of course, if you want to take the child back, that can be arranged. But you’ll have to pay me back for the child’s living expenses over the past two years. After you resign, bring two thousand yuan and take the child away.”
“You don’t have to take the child if you don’t want to. I’m about to have a child of my own, and I plan to send that bastard child to the countryside to fend for itself.”
With that, he stood up, opened the door, and softly uttered one word:
“Get out.”
Jiang Shaohua still wanted to ask something, but when he saw the look in Lin Guoan’s eyes, he did not dare. He staggered out without looking back.
After he was gone, Liu Mengyao rose from the floor.
“You promised me all the money. What about the two thousand yuan?”
Lin Guoan gripped Liu Mengyao’s chin.
“That two thousand is compensation for the hardship my parents went through raising the child. What, are you tired of living?”
Liu Mengyao hurriedly waved her hands. “Let go. I was only joking.”
Lin Guoan released her, and Liu Mengyao quickly backed away.
“When are you going to give me my photographs?”
“After you marry Jiang Shaohua.”
“You…”
As he spoke, Lin Guoan headed outside.
“Don’t worry. He’ll marry you.”
The main room fell silent.
Xiao Mandong waited inside her space for a while longer. Once she was certain there was no movement, she slipped out. The smell in the room made her nauseous, so she covered her mouth and hurried outside.
After leaving the alley, she found that it was still early. She stood by the roadside and took several deep breaths of fresh air before walking toward the post office.
There were hardly any people inside. She made an anonymous phone call to the military and reported everything.
Only after making all the necessary arrangements did Xiao Mandong board the oxcart back to the village.
By the time the oxcart stopped at the village entrance, dusk had already fallen.
Xiao Mandong jumped down and leisurely made her way home, her mind still reeling from the shock Lin Guoan had given her.
Just then, she seemed to catch sight of a familiar figure sneaking toward the western end of the village.
The figure was far too familiar. It was Zhou Xiaomei.
She hunched her shoulders, poking her head out and glancing around. There seemed to be something in her arms.
Without making a sound, Xiao Mandong followed Zhou Xiaomei from a distance, driven by curiosity.
Before long, Zhou Xiaomei arrived at the backyard of Zhao Tiezhu’s house.
After looking around and making sure no one was there, Zhou Xiaomei softly meowed twice.
A moment later, the back gate creaked open.
A figure quietly stepped out of the courtyard.
