Chapter 2: Catching an adulterous scumbag and a bitch

In her previous life, she had a childhood friend named Zhang Chunyan, who was also her classmate. Back then, she had poor judgment and didn’t realize until after marrying Song Fu that Zhang Chunyan was one of the people who had betrayed her. On the surface, Zhang Chunyan seemed close to her, but behind her back, she stayed in contact with Wang Huishu and conspired together to manipulate Tian Yongmei and Wang Qingcai into forcing her to marry Song Fu.

Zhang Chunyan pretended to sympathize with her but had already gotten involved with Song Fu behind the scenes. Judging by the time, the two were probably secretly meeting right now.

Just after lunch, Wang Huimin left her house and rushed straight to the eastern end of the village. Zhenxing Village had around two to three hundred households, her family lived in the west end, while the Song family lived in the east. When she arrived, she didn’t even enter the courtyard before her eyes were drawn to the man working inside.

He was wearing a sleeveless undershirt and a pair of faded pants. It was a hot afternoon, and under the sunlight, his body was drenched in sweat. As he exerted himself pulling weeds, the muscles in his arms rippled with clean, powerful lines. His entire being exuded a strong masculine energy. His face was sharp and rugged, with well-defined features and deep eyes beneath thick eyebrows. He looked much younger than he did in her final memories from her past life.

This was Song Jianjun, Song Fu’s third uncle, and the only person who had ever truly cared for her in her past life.

The Song family had three brothers. The eldest, Song Jianguo, was Song Fu’s father. The second, Song Jianfa, had become a live-in son-in-law and moved to the provincial capital, rarely returning. The third was Song Jianjun.

The Song parents had died early, and Song Jianguo had raised his two younger brothers on his own. He even managed to pull some strings to get Song Jianjun enlisted in the army. Unfortunately, the Song family seemed to have a short lifespan. Song Jianguo fell ill and died a few years later.

That same year, Song Jianjun was discharged from the army with a leg injury and returned home with a limp. The family had three children—the eldest, Song Fu, was fourteen; Song Xiaolong, seven; and little Song Xiaoxue, just three. With no adult laborer to earn work points for the production team, the household could barely scrape by on Song Jianjun’s meager military stipend.

Seeing how tough life had become, the eldest sister-in-law secretly ran off with another man. At that time, Song Jianjun was only twenty-three years old. But he never complained. He took full responsibility for the family, relying on his stipend and hard work with the production team to support the three children.

But Song Fu turned out to be a disappointment. He didn’t study well and had poor character. Even with an uncle like Song Jianjun, he still went astray and became a delinquent.

By the time Song Fu turned eighteen—which, in the village, was old enough to consider marriage—he had a terrible reputation. No decent family was willing to marry their daughter to him. So, relying on the land they’d received from the production team and some of Song Jianjun’s stipend, they offered a sky-high bride price of 1,000 yuan to marry off Wang Huimin to him.

After the marriage, Song Fu continued to cause trouble for his uncle—womanizing outside and beating his wife at home. Her own family never cared about her well-being. It was Song Jianjun who always protected her, even blaming himself, saying if he’d known Song Fu was such a scoundrel, he’d never have helped him get married.

Song Jianjun supported her decision to divorce and even beat up Song Fu to stand up for her. But in the end, she couldn’t hold on—she didn’t make it to the county hospital and passed away, with only Song Jianjun by her side.

Her biggest regret in her last moments was that she had married the wrong man—Song Fu the beast—instead of Song Jianjun. Now that she had a second chance, she would never miss the opportunity again.

When Wang Huimin arrived, Song Jianjun noticed her immediately, but the young girl just stared at him in a daze, silent for a long time. He had to take the initiative and ask, “Xiao Min, what’s wrong? Do you need something?”

His deep, magnetic voice was as pleasant to the ear as ever. Wang Huimin gathered her thoughts and replied, “Uncle Song, I came because I need something from you. Can you come with me for a moment?”

Song Jianjun paused. “Xiao Min, is it something you can’t say here?”

Wang Huimin nodded. “Uncle Song, this isn’t something I can explain with words. It won’t take long, it’s just by the East Bridge. Please, just come with me.”

The East Bridge wasn’t far. Seeing how insistent she was, Song Jianjun agreed to go have a look. But since she was soon to become his nephew’s wife, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to go walking around with her like this. So he went back inside and put on a jacket.

Seeing how proper he was about his role as an elder, Wang Huimin lowered her eyes. Soon, she would make sure that title no longer applied.

The two left together, and Wang Huimin led him straight to the East Bridge. In her past life, at this very time, those two were meeting up here. It was a quiet area, and under the bridge, it was hard to be spotted.

Sure enough, when they arrived, Song Fu and Zhang Chunyan were clinging to each other under the bridge. In this era, even holding hands in public was scandalous, let alone being wrapped around each other in secret.

When Song Jianjun saw the scene, his face darkened instantly. But Wang Huimin didn’t flinch—she was the one in the right now.

“Uncle Song, this is exactly what I wanted to show you. What do you think should be done?”

Hearing her voice, the two under the bridge quickly separated in panic. When they turned and saw Song Jianjun, whose face was thunderous, Song Fu instantly turned pale with fear.

He had always been most afraid of his third uncle and couldn’t even speak properly. “Th-Third Uncle… Xiao Min… W-Why are you two here?”

Zhang Chunyan quickly regained her composure and tried to explain to Wang Huimin. “Xiao Min, listen to me—it’s not what you think. I just had something to discuss with Song Fu, I…”

Wang Huimin yanked her hand away. “We saw it with our own eyes—what’s there to deny? In broad daylight, sneaking off alone with a man to cuddle and whisper sweet nothings—”

“You told your parents you were getting engaged to Xu Xiaowei, right? And you and Xu Xiaowei are doing well. Yet here you are with Song Fu. What, are you shopping for multiple husbands now?”

Xu Xiaowei’s father was the village elder, respected and relatively well-off. If this incident got out, Zhang Chunyan could kiss her engagement goodbye.

Song Jianjun’s expression had grown terrifying. Though Zhang Chunyan wasn’t part of his family, he couldn’t discipline her—but Song Fu had crossed a serious line. He’d been caught red-handed by the bride-to-be. A punishment was due.

Standing over 1.8 meters tall, when Song Jianjun glared, he looked like a grim god of war. Taking just two steps forward made the shorter Song Fu, barely 1.7 meters tall, back away in terror.

“Th-Third Uncle, please don’t be mad. It’s all my fault, I won’t do it again, I swear!”

He immediately pointed at Zhang Chunyan, trying to shift the blame. “It was her! She seduced me! She said that once I got engaged to Wang Huimin, we wouldn’t get much time together.”

“She also said Wang Huimin was a shrew, and once we were married, she’d control me completely. That’s why she asked me to come out today. If you’re going to blame someone, blame her—not me!”