Chapter 19 She’s Mine

She glanced around subtly, and noticed that everyone’s eyes were filled with sympathy and pity toward her—and with nothing but disdain and contempt for Tian Yongmei. The neighbors had not returned to their homes yet, in part because they wanted to protect this poor child. But another part of them also wanted to see if Tian Yongmei, who refused to back down today, might really be guilty of the theft she accused her daughter of.

Wang Huimin’s eyes flickered, and the expression on her face grew even more pitiful. Choking back sobs, she said, “You’ve already searched my pockets—what more do you want? I really don’t have any money on me.”

“You treat me like a thief every day. You change the place you hide your money hundreds of times a day just so I won’t know—like I’m some outsider. Maybe you just forgot where you hid it yourself, and now you’re blaming me.”

“I only have a few places on me to hide anything. Where could I possibly stash money? What, do you think I swallowed it?”

“If that’s what it takes, then I’ll let you search me completely. I only ask that you let me go afterward!”

She shouted the last few words through sobs. Then, trembling, she raised her hands and began unbuttoning her shirt—finally taking it off entirely.

Wang Huimin was a young woman now. Though she hadn’t had much to eat growing up and her development was modest, her figure was still graceful. It was the 1980s, and people in rural villages were still very conservative. Even girls wearing short sleeves were rare; long sleeves were the norm.

The morning air was chilly, so Wang Huimin had layered a short-sleeve shirt under a cloth outer garment when she left home. After taking off the outer shirt, only the short-sleeved one remained—any more and she’d be undressed.

Tian Yongmei, as her mother, had now publicly forced her daughter to strip—an act already deeply humiliating. The villagers around them were visibly outraged, pointing at Tian Yongmei and scolding her, saying she was pushing her own child to the brink. Some even said she’d bring retribution upon herself for such cruelty.

Tian Yongmei’s face darkened with embarrassment, and she shouted at the crowd, “Enough! Why are you all butting in? This is our family’s business. What does it have to do with any of you?”

“I never told her to take her clothes off! She did that herself! I know exactly where I kept my money—I’m not mistaken!”

“I checked just yesterday. Everything was there. Now the money’s gone, and there are only a few people in the house. If she didn’t steal it, who did?”

“This damn girl has lied since she was little—not a word out of her mouth is true. Don’t be fooled by her!”

A neighbor auntie finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Tian Yongmei! No one bullies their own child like this—how can you do this to your biological daughter?! Are you trying to drive her to her death?!”

“You’re the one holding her back from leaving—you’re the reason she had to take her clothes off to prove herself! Heaven is watching you—have some conscience!”

Tian Yongmei was fuming. “You—!”

Just then, a large, warm men’s jacket dropped gently over Wang Huimin’s shoulders, covering the young woman who had been left in nothing but a short-sleeve shirt. It wrapped tightly around her, shielding her completely.

In the chill of the early morning, the warmth brought a wave of comfort over Wang Huimin.

She turned abruptly and met the sharply defined, rugged face of Song Jianjun. His eyes were filled with concern for her. Although she didn’t truly feel helpless inside, the moment she saw Song Jianjun, she was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Her eyes turned red, and her voice trembled as she asked, “Why are you here?”

She immediately realized: with all the commotion this morning, it was no surprise he’d found out. They all lived in the same village.

When Song Jianjun saw her—forced to take off her clothes, her nose bleeding, her spirit crushed—his heart ached.

They were now legally married, and there was no need to hide anything anymore. He pulled the coat tighter around her and drew her gently into his embrace.

There was guilt and care in his eyes. “This is my fault. I should have come to get you yesterday. If I had, you wouldn’t have suffered like this.”

Wang Huimin’s tears finally fell. This time, they were genuine tears of gratitude. She leaned obediently into Song Jianjun’s arms, seeking his protection.

The two of them—him, tall and handsome in a rugged way, and her, a natural beauty—really did make a good match, aside from his injured leg.

When Song Jianjun turned to face Tian Yongmei, his expression was dark and menacing.

“Auntie Wang,” he said coldly, “by rights, I should be calling you mother-in-law now. Xiaomin is already my wife. What gives you the right to hit her?”

Everyone in the village had heard that Song Jianjun had served in the army and had taken on special missions. Rumor had it he had even killed before. Right now, with his face dark and his presence fierce, he seemed to carry a dangerous air.

Even a shrew like Tian Yongmei felt a twinge of fear and didn’t dare look him in the eye directly.

But she still thought she was in the right. After all, Wang Huimin was her daughter. Even if she was married off, she was still her child, and disciplining her was only proper. She wasn’t about to let a son-in-law intimidate her.

So she forced herself to appear strong and replied, “Son-in-law, that’s not the way to talk. Even if you two are married now, she’s still my daughter. As her mother, I have the right to discipline her.”

“And she’s committed a serious offense. I only slapped her a few times. She stole all the money from the house! I was just trying to get her to give it back—but the damn girl won’t admit it, so I had to teach her a lesson.”

As she spoke, her gaze toward Song Jianjun shifted subtly. She even began to wonder—could he have had a hand in the missing money? But without evidence, she didn’t dare voice the suspicion. Song Jianjun wasn’t someone to mess with.

See, she had no proof and dared to bully her daughter, but when it came to dealing with an outsider, she didn’t even dare say a word—that was Tian Yongmei in a nutshell: a typical bully who preyed on the weak and feared the strong.

Song Jianjun’s expression didn’t change. He simply held Wang Huimin protectively and looked at Tian Yongmei with cold detachment.

“Xiaomin is my wife. I know her character. She would never do something like this. And you have no proof that she took your money—what you’re doing is slander.”

“If money is missing from your home and you want to find it, you can go through official channels. I’m sure the village committee will help.”

“But Xiaomin is now an adult, a legal citizen of this country. She has rights. Even if you are her biological mother, you have no right to physically or verbally abuse her. That’s assault—and it’s illegal.”

“This matter should be handled through the law. You have no authority to keep her here against her will.”

When Tian Yongmei heard Song Jianjun speaking of laws and rights so clearly and confidently, fear crept into her heart.

Though the legal system wasn’t fully entrenched yet, it was a new era—society was beginning to emphasize human rights and legal protections.

And since Song Jianjun had served in the military, he was clearly well-versed in these matters. If he chose to pursue this seriously, she could very well end up in real trouble.