Chapter 17 – Secret Crush

The moment the name “Sang Feiyu” came through the receiver, Ning Zhiyuan’s heart skipped a beat.

The phone nearly slipped from his hand—luckily, he caught it with his other hand just in time.

He asked urgently, “Dad, the Sang Feiyu you mentioned—is she Grandpa Sang’s granddaughter from Yangcheng?”

Commander Ning narrowed his eyes slightly. Based on his years of experience judging tone, this boy definitely had something going on!

When had he ever shown this much interest in a girl?

The more he thought about it, the more something felt off.

Zhiyuan had met Sang Feiyu when they were kids. They had both been young. Could he really have developed feelings for her that early?

Regardless, he still replied, “Yes.”

“It’s her.”

Upon receiving confirmation, Ning Zhiyuan gripped the phone tighter. If one looked closely, they would notice his body trembling slightly.

“Dad, why are you suddenly bringing her up?”

Commander Ning, clearly being deliberate, waited a moment before responding, “I want to arrange a matchmaking meeting for you two. Would you be willing to…”

“I’m willing!”

Realizing he sounded too eager, Ning Zhiyuan quickly added, “Dad, I’m willing to go on a matchmaking meeting with her.”

Commander Ning was taken aback by his son’s reaction. So the boy really was interested!

“Be honest with me—have you had a crush on Sang Feiyu since childhood?”

Ning Zhiyuan hurriedly denied it. “No!”

“Dad, don’t misunderstand.”

“I just think I’m not getting any younger—it’s time I seriously considered marriage.”

Commander Ning didn’t believe a word of it. He voiced his concerns plainly, “Sang Feiyu is a capitalist’s young miss. If you truly want to marry her in the future, you better think about the consequences.”

“And you’re always so busy—do you even have time to go to Yangcheng for a date?”

Ning Zhiyuan responded immediately, “I’ll try to coordinate my schedule later.”

“Mhm. Let me know once you’ve settled on a time.”

After hanging up, Commander Ning shook his head and sighed, “My son’s all grown up—can’t keep him home anymore!”

On the other end, Ning Zhiyuan was still in a state of disbelief. He pinched his thigh hard, desperate to confirm this was real.

The sharp pain told him: this was reality.

Without delay, Ning Zhiyuan applied for leave and even asked someone to help him purchase a train ticket to Yangcheng.

“Captain Ning, when would you like the ticket for?”

“The sooner the better.”

Ning Zhiyuan’s heart was already far ahead of him in Yangcheng.

Two years ago, he had been assigned a mission in Yangcheng.

During that time, a friend had taken him to a Cantonese restaurant for a meal—and that’s where he saw Sang Feiyu.

That day, Sang Feiyu was celebrating a birthday in a private room at the restaurant. A beggar came to ask for food and was about to be driven away by the staff, but Sang Feiyu came out after hearing the commotion and stopped them.

After learning that the man had been trafficked to Yangcheng, she asked the staff to bring him food and even helped him contact the police station.

With their help, the man was able to catch a train back to his hometown.

As far as Ning Zhiyuan knew, she had even helped arrange the ticket for him. If it hadn’t been for her persistence in following up on the case, it wouldn’t have been resolved so quickly.

He knew plenty of rich heiresses, but someone like Sang Feiyu—kind, helpful, and not blindly naïve—was rare.

When someone came to her with ulterior motives, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell them to get lost.

…

Sang Feiyu, on the other hand, still didn’t know how the matchmaking matter was progressing. After all, even if she was anxious, it wasn’t something she could rush.

Her current focus was still on dealing with her uncle’s family—and finding a way to drag the old couple from the Tao family down with them.

Better to lock them up than let them prance around outside.

Lying on the bed in the guesthouse, she thought things through for quite a while—until an idea finally struck her.

Since the Tao elders reported her, she could report them back!

Let’s see who ends up rescuing them then!

Sang Feiyu shared her plan with her grandparents, and both fully supported her.

“At first, I still thought about leaving them a little dignity,” Zhao Hui sighed, “but after they repeatedly accused you in public of being a capitalist’s daughter and tried to get the Revolutionary Committee and police to arrest you—I’ve completely lost all sympathy for them.”

Sang Feiyu borrowed pen and paper from the front desk and, like she was divinely inspired, wrote a several-hundred-word letter of accusation. She personally delivered it to the Revolutionary Committee.

“Brother Dashou, my grandparents knew my uncle’s family was hiding assets, but they tried to protect them and even wanted me to take the blame. I can’t swallow that!”

“They slandered and wronged me in public, called me a jinx with ideological problems!”

“People like them should be arrested and made an example of—otherwise everyone will think it’s fine to throw dirty water on others without consequence!”

Dashou nodded in agreement. “You’re absolutely right.”

“You treated them as real grandparents, but they wanted you dead!”

He had biased grandparents too, so emotionally, he really sympathized with Sang Feiyu’s experience.

And besides, the Tao family’s crimes were already ironclad—no amount of denial could save them now.

Dashou personally delivered the letter to the director’s office.

After reading it, Director Li didn’t hesitate and gave a direct order: “Go arrest them immediately.”

Given his ties to Commander Ning and Commander Sang, this was a favor he had to repay.

The Tao elders were still racking their brains trying to come up with a way to save their family when a group of Red Armbands suddenly barged in and arrested them.

Madam Tao instinctively resorted to her countryside tactic of throwing tantrums and rolling around. She even bit the arm of one of the Red Armbands!

Smack!

A slap landed out of nowhere, leaving her dazed.

“You even dare bite me—what won’t you do?!”

“People like you should be sent to labor reform and learn how to behave!”

Remembering how her tantrum had worked at the police station, Madam Tao started up again, yelling, “Help!”

“The Red Armbands are beating people!”

“Is there no justice left in the world?!”

She tried running several times, only to be dragged back each time.

The Tao elders never stopped cursing. Their words were so filthy that passersby had to cover their ears—and anyone who accidentally overheard even a little felt tainted.

That did it. They’d now offended every Red Armband there.

Finally, one of them couldn’t stand it anymore and stuffed stinky socks in their mouths before hauling them away.

Even as they arrived at the Revolutionary Committee and were un-gagged, they resumed cursing.

They insulted all eighteen generations of the Red Armbands’ ancestors!

Director Li’s ears buzzed with the noise. Furious, he ordered them to be locked up and taught a harsh lesson!

As the Tao elders were whipped during their punishment, both couldn’t help but wonder—

Why… was this so different from the police station?!