Chapter 30: Love

Early in the morning, the soldiers from the arts troupe hadn’t yet come back from their morning exercises. The farm workers were already up and about; there were people all over the dam. Su Zhaodi was held down by a large, burly man, her hair disheveled, her face a mess, with two streams of blood dripping from her nose. The man seemed to be in a rage. He grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to lift her head, and panted in a threatening voice:

“Bitch! Slut! Worthless woman! Do you admit it? Are you blind? Who’s your lover here on the farm? Who the hell told you to make a phone call to town? Speak up!”

Su Zhaodi was wearing coarse, plain clothes, with the collar opened, exposing her fair collarbone. Some bystanders couldn’t bear to watch and tried to dissuade him: “Huo Er, that’s enough. Your wife barely leaves the farm — we barely even know what she looks like. Who would aid her in this mess.”

Huo Er spit in contempt. “She’s gone down to town repeatedly. Someone’s been helping her. This woman’s so tight-lipped — I’m going to break her today!”

The wounds on Su Zhaodi’s arms, many from lashes, were bleeding, her body trembling — yet she kept silent. Perhaps there was a softness in her heart, or perhaps she was retaining her last piece of leverage. “No one helped me.”

This answer only fueled his rage. He dealt her another heavy slap, causing her ears to ring and her vision to fade, until she fell to the ground. Even then, Huo Er didn’t let up — he kept kicking her, as if trying to force someone hidden to come forward.

Just as Su Niannian was about to rush forward, a stone suddenly fell and struck the man’s leg. Huo Er cried out in pain, “Who? Who’s there?” Just then, Gu Zhiye, who had gone for his morning run, slowly came forward. His black hair glimmered with drops of sweat. “Are you the one causing trouble here? Or is beating a woman something you’re proud of? Where are you from? This incident needs to be reported to the Women’s Federation.”

His aura — that of a person in a high position — made even Huo Er falter. He frowned in disbelief. “Are you… her lover?” someone said. An icy voice fell upon him: “Watch your mouth — this is the commander from the Northwest Military District!”

Huo Er’s confidence faltered. “So what if you’re a big official? This is a family matter — I paid a heavy price to bring back this wife of mine. She’s lazy, disobedient — I can beat her if I want. It’s none of your business…”

“It’s my business — she’s a distant relative.” Gu Zhiye sneered. Then he raised his hand to summon his liaison. “Go to the farm office. Call Qinggang Brigade’s Xiangyang Village — tell them everything. And you”—he turned back toward Huo Er—“the person responsible for causing trouble by beating a woman — this will be dealt with. The farm’s supervisor will bring you to make a formal apology.”

The farm supervisors fell over themselves in appeasement, rushed forward to carry the injured Su Zhaodi to the health clinic, and insisted that Huo Er go to the brigade to account for his crimes. Huo Er was forced to swallow his resentment alongside his own blood.

Gu Zhiye turned away from their gazes and casually made his way toward the team leader’s home. After a few drinks, he slipped away under the guise of going to the restroom. As soon as he came out, he saw Su Niannian sneaking around the back of the thatched hut — much like a cat that had stolen a meal.

He came up quietly from behind and patted her on the shoulder. “Waiting for me?”
Su Niannian’s large, moist, pure eyes glimmered in the dimness. She pressed a finger to her lips and whispered, then tugged him toward the back, boldly asking, “Why did you admit you’re related to Su Zhaodi? Aren’t you afraid she’ll cling to you after this?”

Gu Zhiye lowered his gaze and explained quietly, “Your cousin isn’t someone we can ignore in a situation like this — and I suspected it might expose our relationship if I stayed out of it. Besides, for your grandma’s sake, I couldn’t ignore it. I think you were the one who got her out, anyway…”

“That’s not true — she chose to go to town by herself. I’m guessing she called Second Uncle and Second Aunt, or else she wouldn’t have come back. Don’t get involved. Let the Su family deal with their own mess. Let her learn a hard lesson… so in the future, she won’t lie and cheat anymore.”

Ultimately, Su Niannian was worried that Su Zhaodi’s mess might affect Gu Zhiye. All her worries were clear on her face — it made him grip his hands tighter until his knuckles turned white, veins surfacing. Then a breeze passed by, and he slowly raised his hand to tuck a strand of her hair back behind her ear, pinching her fair cheek. “Don’t worry about me… How’s your stomach? Is it feeling any better now?”

“I…”—just as Su Niannian was about to answer, she noticed something. She turned and saw Liu Tao staring at them in astonishment. Alone together — the kind of moment people could easily gossip about. Su Niannian hadn’t gotten her senses back when a slight pain fell upon her forehead — a gentle tap. Gu Zhiye’s expression turned stern, and he said, reluctantly, “If there’s a next time, I won’t let it go.”
Then he turned and walked away in big strides.

A small red mark appeared on Su Niannian’s fair forehead, and tears glimmered in her eyes, adding to her vulnerable expression — much to Liu Tao’s distress. Liu Tao rushed forward, exclaiming, “What’s going on? Did Captain Gu hit you? From a distance, I thought you two were… passionate — but this?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Su Niannian forced down the rush of nervousness in her heart. “He knew I helped that woman escape. So I got a small punishment. Do not tell Mr. Yang and the others — I’m ashamed…”