Chapter 11: Saved an Ungrateful Snake

When Fang Daniu saw Zhao Xiaomei’s snow-white skin beneath her collarbone, his eyes turned red with lust, and he lunged at her.

Just as he reached to pull at her waistband, his head was struck by something, and a dull pain followed. Everything went black, and he collapsed on top of Zhao Xiaomei. His thick lips, drooling, landed right on her chest, drawing a sharp scream from her.

Song Yun kicked the unconscious Fang Daniu aside. Meeting Zhao Xiaomei’s terrified and wary gaze, she smiled and reached out her hand. “Get up.”

Zhao Xiaomei clutched her chest with one hand and took Song Yun’s hand with the other to stand up. She whispered like a mosquito, “Thank you!”

Song Yun smiled. “No need. Just happened to be passing by. You should go.” She turned to leave.

Zhao Xiaomei quickly stopped her, speaking louder than before. “Comrade, since you’ve already helped me, please help me a little more.”

Song Yun raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl in front of her, whose eyes were darting around. “Oh?”

Zhao Xiaomei glanced at Song Yun’s clothes and said timidly, “My clothes are torn. If I go back like this, people will gossip. Could you lend me your clothes?”

It was the height of summer, and everyone wore only one layer. Who had extra clothes to lend? Song Yun looked at her, half-smiling. “If people will gossip about you in torn clothes, what about me? If I lend you mine, what am I supposed to wear? Wouldn’t they gossip about me too?”

Zhao Xiaomei quickly explained, “I mean, you lend me your clothes first, I’ll go back and change, and then come right back to return them. You can wait here in the forest. I’ll be very quick.”

If Song Yun couldn’t see what this scheming woman was trying to do, she might as well be blind. Obviously, Zhao Xiaomei wanted to trap her here in the woods with ripped clothes, then disappear. As for what might happen to her savior afterward—well, that wasn’t her problem.

Tsk. The world sure is full of ungrateful wolves with black hearts.

Song Yun pointed in a direction. “I live over there, not far. You wait here, and I’ll bring you some clothes.”

Zhao Xiaomei panicked when she saw her leaving. “No need, really! Just give me your clothes. I’ll come back soon!”

Song Yun smiled and asked, “You’re Zhao Xiaomei, right?”

Zhao Xiaomei’s face changed slightly. “How do you know my name?” She hadn’t planned to reveal her name—just wanted to sweet-talk the girl into giving her clothes and then vanish. She never thought the girl would know her identity.

Song Yun pointed at the unconscious Fang Daniu. “Didn’t he just call you Zhao Xiaomei? He even cursed you—called you a little hussy.”

Zhao Xiaomei’s face twisted with anger and embarrassment. She opened her mouth to argue but saw Song Yun was already walking away.

She wanted to chase her down, but that would mean leaving the forest—there could be villagers nearby. If she went out like this, her reputation would be ruined instantly.

That moment of hesitation let Song Yun get dozens of meters away.

Zhao Xiaomei shouted, “Comrade! I’ll wait here! Please hurry and bring me the clothes—I’ll repay you!”

Song Yun called back with a grin, “Don’t worry. The clothes will be delivered very soon.”

Song Yun headed straight into town and reported the incident at the local police station, describing everything in full detail—even how Fang Daniu had called Zhao Xiaomei a hussy, how she had scammed him for money while secretly getting involved with a more eligible male educated youth.

She explained how she stepped in at a critical moment to stop the assault and knocked Fang Daniu unconscious.

The police officers were stunned for a moment, then quickly snapped to attention. “Fang Daniu and Zhao Xiaomei are still in the woods?”

Song Yun nodded. “Zhao Xiaomei’s clothes are ripped—she’s waiting for you to bring her something to wear.”

The officers realized Fang Daniu might wake up and try again, so they rushed out of the station, jumped on their bikes, and sped off toward the pine grove outside the city.

Their commotion didn’t go unnoticed. Villagers working nearby saw the officers rush into the woods and followed to watch the drama.

Zhao Xiaomei was completely dumbfounded when she saw the police. That woman had said she was bringing clothes—why did she bring the police instead?

And now, all the villagers were gathering, including people she knew. She clutched her chest, tears rolling down her face, her body trembling with fury.

That wretch! She could’ve just lent her the clothes and everything would’ve been fine. But instead, she brought the police. Now everyone knew she’d nearly been assaulted. How could she show her face in the Five Star Brigade again? Would Li Cheng still want to date her?

Meanwhile, Song Yun had no idea she’d earned the resentment of the very person she’d saved. She was already at the department store, thinking ahead to the freezing winters in Heilongjiang.

She had hoped to buy four cotton quilts, but her cotton ration coupons were short, so she only got two.

Next door was a shoe store. She bought four pairs of thick cotton shoes—one pair each for her, Ziyi, and their parents, based on shoe sizes in her memory.

She couldn’t find suitable scarves, hats, or gloves, so she decided to wait and buy those in Heilongjiang.

Then, finding an empty alley, she used her watch to scan and store everything into her spatial storage—automatically sorted and optimized, not a single inch wasted. Perfect.

Afterward, she went back to the store, exchanged all her local grain coupons for high-quality grains like rice and fine noodles. Coarse grains weren’t worth the space. She kept the national grain coupons to use up north.

She also used nearly expired snack coupons to buy Ziyi’s favorite treats, and grabbed some cooking oil and seasoning—just in case.

As the heir to a lineage of traditional Chinese medicine, what she really wanted to stockpile were medicinal herbs. Unfortunately, there were no traditional pharmacies anymore. If she wanted herbs, she’d have to forage secretly—getting caught could be disastrous.

After this spree, half of her 1-cubic-meter space remained. She’d spent over 200 yuan and finally left the store satisfied. She returned to the guesthouse before 5 PM, took Song Ziyi to a state-run restaurant for dinner, and packed four steamed buns for breakfast.

Song Ziyi, used to a good life, didn’t think her spending was unusual—it was all just normal to him.

That night, after Ziyi fell asleep, Song Yun quietly got up. She watched the street from the window to make sure no one was around, then climbed out.

It was pitch dark—no nightlife, no streetlights, no people. Hugging the shadows along the wall, she moved silently. Even if someone were walking nearby, they wouldn’t see her.

She arrived at the textile factory’s family housing, climbed over the courtyard wall, then scaled the outer wall to reach the second floor of her family’s unit.

The window latch in their small living room had long been broken—repaired multiple times but never fixed properly. That turned out to be perfect for her.

The window was small, but her slender frame just barely allowed her to slip inside.

When her feet touched the ground, not a sound was made.