Although Third Brother Bai hated his elder brother, they were still brothers by blood. Saving him came first. He quietly slipped away from the crowd and ran home…
“Just wait a moment. The police station is so close—it’ll only take a few minutes.”
The Women's Director refused Second Brother Bai’s request. No one was allowed to hit anyone. Otherwise, she herself would have liked to step forward and slap him twice. A filthy man like him deserved to have that hand beaten to a pulp.
As soon as Wang Dani heard that the police had been called, she quietly slipped out of the crowd…
At some point, Gao Huizhi had gone home and returned with an IV bottle for Xiao Mandong, filled with hot water.
Xiao Mandong took the bottle from Gao Huizhi. Her heart felt warm.
Before long, the police arrived. After learning what had happened, one of them took Xiao Mandong, Gao Huizhi, and several onlookers to give statements.
The other two officers ordered Second Brother Bai to go back and find the diary.
Second Brother Bai was terribly anxious. He had no idea whether Lao San had managed to get rid of it.
Just as he was about to leave, he ran into Lao San coming back. Lao San gave him a nod, and only then did Second Brother Bai’s heart settle. As long as there was no evidence, he could simply deny everything and insist that he had been framed. At most, he would have to endure some gossip; he wouldn’t face any official punishment.
But just as they reached the nearby stairwell, Wang Fang called out to the police:
“Comrade, I was afraid the evidence might disappear, so I put it in the vegetable cellar. Please wait while I go get it.”
Behind the residential compound stood a row of small sheds. Every household had a vegetable cellar for storing vegetables and firewood during the winter.
When Second Brother Bai heard Wang Fang’s words, he truly felt as though the sky had collapsed. His lips trembled, and his eyes pleaded with her.
“Xiaofang, our child is only four… He can’t grow up without a father. If I’m arrested and end up with a criminal record, people will look down on him and curse him in the future. He’s still so young. One day he’ll need to marry and have children of his own. You… You really won’t think about him?”
He genuinely hoped Wang Fang would consider their child and leave him a way out instead of handing over the evidence…
Clearly, he had miscalculated. Wang Fang turned back to him.
“If you’re arrested, I’ll divorce you, take our son, and remarry. I’ll decide what surname he takes. In any case, it won’t be Bai. I’ll even make him forget that you’re his father, because you’re truly disgusting. You don’t deserve him.”
She bit out those final three words through clenched teeth. At last, she was about to leave the man who sickened her, and she felt much lighter all over.
Third Brother Bai had never imagined that the diary would be in the storage shed. Then what had the one he found beneath the wardrobe been? He found an empty place where no one could see him and opened it. There was nothing inside. Furious, Lao San tore the notebook to shreds.
He had never expected this second sister-in-law to be so crafty. This time, they were truly finished. Third Brother Bai scratched at his hair. Would it be even harder for him to find a wife in the future? Would people suspect that he had been involved with his elder sister-in-law as well? At the thought, his chest felt as though a heavy stone were lodged inside it…
Xiao Mandong was taken to the police station. After giving her statement, she was preparing to leave with the neighbors when she saw Lin Wenya emerge from an office. It wasn’t quitting time yet, so she was probably busy. Even so, Xiao Mandong felt she should at least say hello.
“Wenya,” Xiao Mandong called.
Lin Wenya turned around. Her eyes were red and swollen, making it obvious that she had just been crying.
When she saw Xiao Mandong, she froze for a moment, then sprang to her feet.
“Mandong, what are you doing here?”
Seeing the state Lin Wenya was in, Xiao Mandong told the others not to wait for her.
She took Lin Wenya by the hand and sat with her on a bench at the police station. After briefly explaining what had happened, Lin Wenya sighed.
“That’s why a woman has to marry for love. When there’s no love in a marriage, that’s when men cheat.”
“Is Lin Wenya here?” a male voice called from behind them.
They turned to see a man standing at the entrance of the police station with a lunchbox in his hand.
Before he could say anything, Lin Wenya’s little mouth began firing off words as sharp as poison.
“Why are you here again? Didn’t I tell you not to come?”
The man didn’t get angry. He only gave an awkward smile. “Auntie Lin said you were working overtime today. She wasn’t feeling well, so she asked me to bring you some food. Make sure you eat it while it’s still warm.”
He nodded at Xiao Mandong and said goodbye to Lin Wenya. When he received no response, he could only turn and leave.
Watching his retreating figure, Lin Wenya curled her lip, her face full of disdain.
“That man is the one my father introduced me to. His name is Xue Haochen, and he works at a bank. I told my dad I wasn’t interested in him. I want to find someone I actually like. I want a marriage built on love.”
“But my father says he’s exactly my type. He keeps saying that financial security is the foundation of marriage and insists that I give him a chance. He says Xue Haochen has a stable job, comes from a good family, and is the only son. His mother is reasonable, too. If I marry him, my life will be smooth sailing.”
“But… I’ve followed their arrangements ever since I was little. This time, I want to choose my own marriage. The kind of marriage I dream of is built on love. I don’t want something so materialistic.”
“My sister’s husband was chosen by my father, too. Now he’s stationed at the border, while my sister has to stay home alone and take care of the children. If my parents weren’t there to help her, how would she manage on her own? And there’s my brother—my parents made that decision for him as well. He raised a child for several years, only to find out the child wasn’t his. Now he’s left the capital to support development in the remote regions. Tell me, if their judgment is so poor, why do they always insist on controlling my marriage?”
“Mandong, have you ever felt that way? That sudden rush of the heart? The kind where your heartbeat speeds up the moment you see him…”
At Lin Wenya’s words, images of her encounter with Gu Jianghan at the hospital flashed through Xiao Mandong’s mind…
Lin Wenya lowered her voice and leaned close to Xiao Mandong’s ear.
“I’m telling you, I’ve read *Dream of the Red Chamber* and *The Romance of the Western Chamber*. They were books confiscated by the bureau. I envy Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying so much. They fell in love in secret, pledged themselves to each other, and stayed together in the end no matter how much their families tried to stop them. That’s the kind of person I want to find—someone who makes my heart race the moment I see him, someone I can love and spend the rest of my life with.”
Xiao Mandong wanted to say, “Have you ever read *The Story of Yingying*? The scoundrel changed as soon as he passed the imperial examinations and abandoned Cui Yingying. They each married someone else in the end. He had used her and then cast her aside.”
But… she couldn’t say that…
Xiao Mandong was feeling a little unwell. She touched her forehead and found that it felt hot.
Perhaps she had caught a chill. She needed to go back, drink some spirit spring water, and take some medicine.
“Wenya, I need to head home.” Xiao Mandong rose to her feet.
“I’ll walk you home,” Lin Wenya offered, glancing outside. It was already completely dark.
“No, no, it’s not far. I can get back on my own. You should finish your dinner.”
Before Lin Wenya could say anything else, Xiao Mandong had already turned and left. Once she stepped outside the Public Security Bureau, the cold cut through her, and she felt dizzy as well. She hurried toward the hospital.
Just as she reached the hospital entrance, she ran into someone she knew.
Their eyes met. Shen Linzhou was supporting the heavily pregnant woman Xiao Mandong had seen that night at the military guesthouse...
Shen Linzhou instinctively let go of the woman’s arm. “Doctor Xiao, long time no see...”
