Chapter 18

Wu Qiao’s face flushed red. Her reaction was so obvious that denying it would have been impossible. She twisted a shy smile and nodded vigorously.

Her forthrightness left Zhao Yunsheng with nothing to say.

“I’m not close to him. If you’re really interested, you can go ask around yourself.”

After all, Pei Hechuan was tall, well-built, and handsome—everyone noticed him wherever he went. Finding out about him wouldn’t be difficult.

Zhao Yunsheng’s response was deliberately casual, intending to distance herself from Pei Hechuan. But Wu Qiao interpreted it as evasive and deliberately hiding something.

Her expression shifted, her tone turning sharp.

“Comrade Zhao, you’re really stingy! All I asked was for a little matchmaking. Is it necessary to be so secretive? Even if the soldier isn’t interested in me, he surely wouldn’t be interested in you either.”

After Pei Hechuan’s warning yesterday, she no longer dared call Zhao Yunsheng a widow and now only attacked her through Yuanbao.

“Carrying a kid around, it’s not just soldiers—everyone in the workshop looks down on you.”

Zhao Yunsheng was utterly speechless. Wu Qiao was like a mad dog, relentlessly harassing her. Couldn’t she pick someone else?

She was in a hurry to get home and now had to endure this barrage of questions. Anger boiled up.

“Wu Qiao, if your brain’s broken, go get it fixed—”

“Wu Qiao! Wu Qiao!”

Suddenly, a couple of voices interrupted Zhao Yunsheng. She frowned in annoyance and looked toward the source. A middle-aged woman, accompanied by two men, was approaching.

Zhao Yunsheng was puzzled, and Wu Qiao even more so.

“What’s going on?”

The woman cheerfully approached and introduced Wu Qiao to the two men.

“Comrades, this is Comrade Wu Qiao.”

Seeing Wu Qiao’s questioning look, she quickly explained.

“I was just heading home from work and ran into them looking for you. Since we know each other, I brought them over.”

Wu Qiao didn’t ask further and turned to inquire, “May I ask why you’re—”

Before she could finish, one of the men removed handcuffs from his belt.

“Comrade Wu Qiao, right? We received a report from the soldier identifying you as having slandered a soldier’s wife and cursed a soldier. You are to come with us for investigation.”

Before anyone could react, a click sounded as the handcuffs clamped onto Wu Qiao’s wrists.

The suddenness of it drew the attention of passing workers, who stopped and whispered among themselves.

Wu Qiao’s mind went blank. Only when the two plainclothes officers started leading her away did she snap awake, screaming at the top of her lungs, lunging toward Zhao Yunsheng.

“Comrade Zhao! Comrade Zhao! I didn’t do it! You have to help me! I’m innocent!”

She had been behaving herself recently, only warned by Pei Hechuan at noon. She thought it was just a casual warning—she never expected he’d report her.

Even the police mentioned a soldier’s wife… could Zhao Yunsheng really be that soldier’s spouse?

Zhao Yunsheng herself had denied it; otherwise, Wu Qiao wouldn’t have dared get close.

“I didn’t know he was your husband! I didn’t slander you, and I didn’t curse him. Please, explain to the police! I’m really innocent!”

Wu Qiao’s voice cracked as she begged. She was crying uncontrollably, her legs weak, almost collapsing onto Zhao Yunsheng.

Yuanbao, frightened, hid behind his mother, peeking out curiously.

Zhao Yunsheng stood firm, indifferent. Wu Qiao hadn’t committed any major offense, but her constant harassment had been disgusting. Letting the police take her away for a few days of cooling off was perfectly fine.

Seeing no help forthcoming, Wu Qiao’s face went pale with regret.

She had been blinded by infatuation—why meddle with someone else’s husband? She was only hurting herself.

Crying loudly, she was dragged away by the officers.

The commotion drew attention, and people began gossiping. Zhao Yunsheng had become the center of attention. The woman who had guided the officers realized her good intentions had backfired and quickly waved her hands nervously.

“It’s not my business! I was just leading the way…”

She mumbled awkwardly.

“Look at this mess… I thought finding her would be important…”

The woman muttered and hurried away, avoiding the curious gazes.

With Wu Qiao out of the way, Zhao Yunsheng didn’t care what others thought. She scooped up Yuanbao and left confidently.

It was the boy’s first time seeing the police. The shiny handcuffs lingered in his mind, and he asked innocently:

“Mom, will Aunt Wu get executed?”

Zhao Yunsheng almost laughed.

“No, silly. Aunt Wu just said the wrong thing. The police will educate her.”

Yuanbao nodded. “Okay, Mom. I want to be a police officer too.”

“Why?”

Zhao Yunsheng was surprised; he had never mentioned this before.

“Because then I can protect Mom! I’ll catch all the bad people who bully Mom, like Aunt Wu.”

His serious expression and big, earnest eyes made Zhao Yunsheng laugh and cry at the same time. She kissed his cheek.

“Mom doesn’t want you to become a police officer just for me. You have to do it for yourself, not for anyone else, understand?”

Yuanbao hesitated, nodding slowly, then frowned.

“Why?”

“Because I want you to be happy.”

“But protecting Mom is happiness.”

The boy was too young to fully understand, so Zhao Yunsheng changed the subject.

“The bike you rode here belongs to your uncle. We need to return it. Ours is still in the bike shed.”

Mother and son chatted as they walked. In the distance, a particularly fair-skinned teenage boy stood under the shed.

Around fifteen or sixteen, dressed simply, yet his refined features and handsome eyebrows still gave off a pleasant aura.

“Zheng Dong.”

Zhao Yunsheng brightened and called out to him.

The name didn’t quite suit his look, but matched his wild personality.

Xu Zhengdong heard and, smiling, approached.

“Yunsheng-jie.”

He took Yuanbao from her arms, teasing cheerfully:

“Shame on you, still needing Mom to carry you at your age.”

Yuanbao huffed. “Well, you let Grandma Xu carry you too.”

Xu Zhengdong was Xu Mingjuan’s son, a local middle schooler approaching his entrance exams. He rarely came home, and Yuanbao had practically grown up under his watch. He often spent his small allowance buying treats for Yuanbao.

“Zheng Dong, are you looking for the bike? You weren’t home these past few days, so I rode it.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. You can ride it. My mom told me your tire is flat, so I came to help push it to get fixed.”

Zhao Yunsheng hadn’t expected that—it warmed her heart.

“I can manage myself.”

Ignoring her, Xu Zhengdong set Yuanbao on the bike’s rear seat.

“You’ll ride this good one; I’ll take the broken one.”

“How can that work? Why don’t you just help? You take Yuanbao, I’ll go fix the bike?”

After a long debate, they decided to go together.

Fortunately, the repair shop was nearby, only a ten-minute walk.

Mother and son walked out of the meat processing plant, laughing, when suddenly a small car honked from behind.

Beep—

Startled, they jumped. Zhao Yunsheng turned, ready to scold, only to see Pei Hechuan sitting inside.

His face was dark, brooding, and unnerving.