Chapter 8: The Bully’s Forced Marriage

At the phone booth, Jiang Zhining called the military unit where Song Yuzhou was stationed.

After a moment of waiting, a deep and rich voice came through the receiver. “Hello?”

The tone was calm, hard to read.

“Comrade Yuzhou,” Jiang Zhining’s voice was gentle, the end of her words slightly rising.

Hearing the familiar voice, Song Yuzhou suddenly became tense on the other end of the line. “Did something happen?”

Jiang Zhining smiled faintly, letting out a soft giggle. “Comrade Yuzhou, you sound nervous. Are you afraid I’ve run off with another man?”

Song Yuzhou cleared his throat awkwardly. “No, I’m not.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing. I said I’d marry you, so of course I’m going to cling to you,” Jiang Zhining replied playfully. “I just wanted to tell you something.”

She gave him a simple rundown of the situation and told him the name of the village where the Shen family lived.

“I’ll be waiting for you there,” Jiang Zhining said in a sweet, mock-complaining tone. “Don’t keep me waiting too long.”

“Alright,” Song Yuzhou replied, then suddenly remembered something. “Wait—I’ll send you a hundred yuan through the post office.”

His mind had been foggy the night before, and he had left in a rush without giving her any money. Now that he was back at the base, he suddenly realized he hadn’t given her any living expenses. He was worried life would be hard for her, but he couldn’t leave the base just yet.

Wow. Jiang Zhining’s eyes lit up. This man really was generous. In the 1980s, a hundred yuan was a substantial sum.

“Comrade Yuzhou, aren’t you afraid I’ll take the money and run? Then you’ll have lost both the money and the girl,” she teased.

“It’s fine,” he said calmly. Even if she did run, he’d accept it.

Hearing that, Jiang Zhining’s mood instantly improved. “Don’t worry, I’ve got money of my own. Comrade Yuzhou, do your best. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Jiang Zhining still had his deep, magnetic voice ringing in her ears.

So this is what it feels like to have someone willingly give you money.

Looking at Lin Chunmei, who had been quietly waiting nearby the whole time, Jiang Zhining’s eyes sparkled with warmth as she walked over to her.

Then, Jiang Zhining and Lin Chunmei set off toward their home.

The Shen family lived in Xinli Village, about forty kilometers from Beicheng, where Jiang Zhining had been staying. It was a remote and impoverished area.

Because of that, they had to take an ox cart—bumping and jolting the whole way there.

By the time they arrived at the village entrance, Jiang Zhining stepped down from the cart and immediately felt nauseated.

“Zhining, are you okay?” Lin Chunmei asked worriedly.

“I’m fine. Just need a moment,” Jiang Zhining replied, waving her hand.

After recovering a bit, she grabbed her suitcase and, still wearing heels, slowly made her way into the village.

Although she had transmigrated from the bottom of a cliff, Jiang Zhining hadn’t actually seen what a rural village looked like in this era.

And now that she had arrived in a real 1980s countryside, she was honestly shocked.

The houses were all made of wood, with a few rare ones built from piled-up stones.

Most of the homes were only two stories at most. The doors were old and worn—clearly steeped in history.

As Jiang Zhining appeared, villagers passing by stopped to stare.

“Who’s that girl? Looks like a fairy!”

“Isn’t she from the Shen family? I heard Shen An’an isn’t their real daughter and was switched at birth. Could this girl be the real one?”

Jiang Zhining listened to the chatter with little reaction. Villagers had always loved gossip—nothing surprising there.

Led by Lin Chunmei, the two continued down the road.

“Mrs. Shen! Something’s happened! That bully’s come again, making a scene and trying to take Yuèyuè away—you better get back quick!” a middle-aged woman ran up, panicked.

The moment she heard “bully,” Lin Chunmei’s face changed and she rushed ahead.

Before they even reached the house, they could already see a crowd of villagers gathered, and from a distance, the heart-wrenching cries of a girl could be heard.

Seeing this, Lin Chunmei became even more anxious. “Zhining, walk slower—I’ll go check first!”

Saying that, she ran ahead. Jiang Zhining said nothing, just silently quickened her pace.

When she arrived at the house, she saw Lin Chunmei shielding a young girl dressed in coarse clothing behind her. The girl’s face was full of terror.

In front of them stood a greasy-haired man in a jacket, radiating thuggish energy.

“Don’t touch my daughter!” Lin Chunmei cried, her voice tense.

“If you don’t pay me back, your daughter becomes my wife,” the bully snarled.

“You already have a wife!” Lin Chunmei said in horror.

The bully laughed lecherously. “She can be my second wife. With me, she’ll eat well, drink well—this is a blessing for her!”

Looking at his disgusting face, Lin Chunmei knew that if her youngest daughter Shen Yuèyuè were taken by him, her life would be ruined.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She pleaded, “We really can’t come up with that much money right now. Please, give us a few more days—we’ll find a way!”

“I don’t care. No money today? Then I’m taking the girl. Men, grab that little beauty for me!”

He had known all along that the Shen family couldn’t pay him back—that’s why he lent them money in the first place.

Looking at Shen Yuèyuè’s face, his eyes gleamed with lust.

At his signal, his lackeys rushed forward and grabbed the girl’s hand, forcefully trying to drag her away.

“No! Mom, help me! I don’t want to go with them!” Shen Yuèyuè screamed, clutching tightly to Lin Chunmei, crying her heart out.

She knew—if she went with them, her life was over.

Many villagers were watching, but the bully was infamous in the area, and no one dared get involved.

Just then, a clear and melodious voice rang out:

“Stop.”

The bully turned around—and when he saw Jiang Zhining, his eyes locked on her, practically glued to her body.

Seeing the lecherous gleam in his eyes, Lin Chunmei panicked. “Zhining, stay out of this!”

Jiang Zhining stepped forward, heels clicking, her qipao accentuating her graceful figure as she walked between the bully and Shen Yuèyuè.

She raised her head and met his gaze. “This is a lawful society now. You dare take multiple wives? Does the law mean nothing to you?”

The bully jutted out his chin and said proudly, “Around here, I am the law. Who are you? I’ve never seen such a beauty in this whole region.”

Seeing his lustful expression, Lin Chunmei panicked. “She’s just a distant relative! This has nothing to do with her!”

Jiang Zhining glanced back at her and saw the worry in her eyes. She understood instantly.

She smiled gently. “I’m the Shen family’s real daughter—the one who was switched at birth.”

The villagers gasped in shock.

The bully’s eyes lit up with lust again.

“Well, well, turns out the Shen girls are all stunning. Beautiful, I’ve got my eye on you. If you agree to marry me, I’ll cancel the Shen family’s debt. I’ll even divorce my shrew of a wife to make you my official one—how’s that?”

He leaned in with a sleazy grin full of wrinkles.

Jiang Zhining smiled slightly. Then, without warning, she raised her hand and slapped him clean across the face.

SLAP.