Chapter 13

“Mi Yatou, you should go stay at your second aunt’s house for a few days.” Tian Hongxing looked weary; upon seeing his daughter, he didn’t have the energy to elaborate and directly stuffed some money into her hands.

After speaking, he felt it was inappropriate since it would be dark soon, so he added, “You can go tomorrow morning instead; tonight, you should hide at Aunt Yun’s house for a bit.”

Aunt Yun was the wife of Tian Tongxi, the production team leader. Tian Hongxing and Tian Tongxi had grown up together and had a very close relationship, like brothers.

The two families had frequent interactions, and Aunt Yun took good care of Tian Mi and her siblings. However, she was straightforward in nature and, since she didn’t have a daughter, looked down on Luan Hongmei’s preference for sons over daughters. Their relationship was more a matter of maintaining face for their husbands.

To be honest, in the entire village, going to Aunt Yun’s house was indeed a safer option.

One must say that this indicated Tian Hongxing had thought it through. At this moment, he had not been swayed by his parents.

This realization made Tian Mi’s tense nerves gradually relax.

She had won the gamble.

Yes, it was a gamble!

Not a gamble on whether Tian Hongxing would choose between his daughter and son, but a gamble on the integrity of a righteous police officer.

Although Tian Hongxing might ultimately still be unable to resist his parents, at least at this moment, she could breathe a sigh of relief.

As for handling Tian Chang Qing’s matter afterward and the old man and woman’s anger over their beloved grandson being locked up, ha… who cared? As long as she ensured her younger siblings’ safety and that they wouldn’t be dragged into this, she would leave immediately.

=

“Dad, did you see when the Revolutionary Committee took away big brother?” Tian Mi wanted to clarify this point; after all, whether he was deceived or acted voluntarily, she had to consider the subsequent solutions.

Tian Hongxing frowned. “I wasn’t in the village at that time; I didn’t see it… Just don’t worry about this; hide yourself well.”

She didn’t want to worry about it either. Tian Mi rolled her eyes inwardly but unexpectedly caught sight of her fourth sister rolling her eyes in the corner, which almost made her laugh out loud.

Clearing her throat, Tian Mi suppressed her inappropriate laughter and quickly informed her father of her suspicions.

Having been a police officer for over twenty years and having participated in numerous homicide cases, Tian Hongxing had developed sharp instincts and quick logical thinking.

He had been too distracted by the commotion from the old woman and man to think deeply before, but after hearing his daughter’s overview, he immediately cleared his thoughts and couldn’t help but darken his expression. “What do you think the chances are that this was done by Liu Xiangdong?”

Tian Mi pressed her lips together and answered decisively, “Ninety percent certainty.”

So that meant it was a hundred percent confirmed!?

Even if he was satisfied with Liu Xiangdong, he was still an outsider; Tian Hongxing naturally trusted his own child more. If this matter regarding Chang Qing was indeed a tactic to force his daughter to marry…

Thinking this way, his expression darkened as if ink were about to drip from his face.

Tian Mi kept a close eye on her father’s expression and immediately changed her tone a bit, “If it really was Liu Xiangdong, I feel a bit sorry for big brother. Wang Hongyan must have received some benefits; she’s just too ruthless, considering big brother dated her for half a year.”

“Hmph! He deserves it; I already told him not to date that Wang Hongyan, but he wouldn’t listen.” Tian Hongxing didn’t mention that he suspected his eldest son was not innocent in this matter.

However, regardless of whether it was from his position as a police officer or as a father, he didn’t want to voice this suspicion. On one hand, he lacked evidence to draw conclusions; on the other, he was afraid of damaging the relationship between the two children. As a parent, he naturally hoped for a harmonious and loving relationship between his children.

“Dad, if it really was Liu Xiangdong, what do you plan to do?”

Tian Hongxing snorted coldly. “Although the Liu family is powerful, your father is not made of clay.”

Let’s not even mention that her son-in-law is already at the regiment level; even Tian Hongxing himself, after working in law enforcement for decades and helping many people, must have some connections.

To take a step back, every family has a few relatives.

As long as he confirms that his eldest son is innocent, he won’t have to worry about seeking help from others.

If the Revolutionary Committee wants to pin a crime on Chang Qing, he, as a father, must see solid evidence first.

With that in mind, Tian Hongxing felt he couldn’t wait any longer and needed to see Chang Qing first.

=

Seeing her father leave in a hurry, Pan Di leaned over. “Jie, when it gets dark, I’ll take you to Aunt Yun’s house.”

Tian Mi shook her head. “No need; I’ll stay here.”

“That’s fine; hiding here is safer than going to Aunt Yun’s.” Pan Di thought that with their grandparents’ personalities, once their father went to the town, they might guess that her sister was hiding at Aunt Yun’s, making it very likely they would go over to cause trouble.

After coming to this conclusion, she patted off the straw stuck to her, then pulled her younger brother over to clean him up as well. “Let’s head back. When it gets dark, I’ll bring a blanket to keep you company and bring some food too.”

Tian Mi wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but thinking of the cold temperature in early winter nights and the desolation of the house, she ultimately couldn’t refuse. She just reminded him, “Be careful when you come over. If Grandpa and Grandma are waiting for me at home, don’t come out.”

Pan Di was confident. “Don’t worry; they won’t notice us.”

She had already planned to tell Luan Hongmei that their second sister had left with her bag.

Once they checked their second sister’s belongings and confirmed something was indeed missing, they would definitely go after her. By then, there would be no one at home, making it easier for her to act.

However, she didn’t plan to say this; her second sister and third sister were both a bit clueless, so she had to worry a little more…

=

Completely unaware that she appeared silly in her younger sister’s eyes, after sending off the three, Tian Mi didn’t idle around. She spent about ten minutes digging a small hole in the pile of grass against the wall.

The hole was small, just enough for one person.

After creating her temporary nest, she tidied up the room so that it wouldn’t show any flaws before climbing into the grass pile.

At that moment, nestled in a cramped and concealed space, feeling the prickly sensation of the straw against her back, Tian Mi truly relaxed and began to think about her next steps.

Having lived another life, one’s intelligence and experience wouldn’t skyrocket; she was still that ordinary person who had just graduated from school for a couple of years, a little clever and a bit bold.

She had never encountered situations involving scheming or retaliation in her previous twenty-plus years of life.

The worst person Tian Mi had ever personally encountered was the thief who stole her phone during her freshman year.

It was embarrassing to admit that to this day, she didn’t even know what that thief, the worst person she had ever been closest to, looked like.

Because her previous life was so comfortable, Tian Mi knew her own limitations well. Therefore, informing Tian Hongxing and involving him was the best course of action.

Even if it was somewhat risky, it was better than rushing in alone.

With her father’s decades of experience in law enforcement, he should be able to find out a lot, including who the Liu family’s rivals were.

As for her, she still had other things to do tomorrow…

Even a cornered rabbit would bite.

Was Liu Xiangdong really idle?

Having roughly skimmed the original book, she suddenly had a flash of inspiration and already thought of a way to keep him busy.

=

With this matter on her mind, Tian Mi woke up before dawn the next day.

After a simple wash and change, Tian Mi scraped some black ash from the bottom of the earthen pot brought over by her younger sister to alter her appearance slightly. She then said goodbye to Pan Di, grabbed her bag that was always ready for a quick escape, and headed to the county town alone.

The earliest bus to the county town left at 5:30 in the morning. By the time Tian Mi took the first bus and arrived in the county town, it was still not yet 7:00.

Perhaps due to the deep-seated unease within her, she subconsciously avoided going to her father’s suggestion of her aunt’s house in the neighboring village and instead went to the guesthouse in the county town.

With a letter of introduction, some money given to her by Tian Hongxing, and her own savings, she had a little over eighty yuan on her, making staying at the guesthouse feel manageable.

She chose the guesthouse also because it was the only place, apart from the post office, where she could make a phone call.

Tian Mi didn’t know if Liu Xiangdong had people at the county post office, but she wasn’t going to take any risks and didn’t mind imagining the worst.

She was well aware that since Liu Xiangdong had played such a big game to force her, it meant he had given up on gentle methods.

If that scumbag went crazy, who knew what irrational things he might do?

The plot in the original book had gone completely off the rails since the moment her aunt came to act as a matchmaker.

But… no matter how chaotic the plot became, Tian Mi knew how chaotic public security was in this era.

So, until the crisis was resolved, it was better for her to keep a low profile.

However… while comforting herself, she still couldn’t help but feel so angry that she wanted to hit someone.

Damn it, she was just a decent citizen, but because of a scumbag, she was forced to live in hiding like a criminal who had done something wrong.

After being furious for a while, Tian Mi tried to soothe herself again.

Just wait a bit longer, just two more days; as long as she could hold on for two more days, her chance for revenge would come…

=

At 9:00 in the morning.

After most of the guests at the guesthouse had gone out, Tian Mi went to the counter to make a phone call.

Yes, she decided to call her elder sister. The letters she had sent would take about half a month to reach the military base.

But she… couldn’t wait that long.

Moreover, if she wanted to seek refuge, she needed to ask if her sister was willing to temporarily take her in.

Without her elder sister’s consent, she couldn’t just rashly run over there.

“Comrade, could you please help me? I want to make a phone call.” Tian Mi leaned her head toward the little lounge behind the counter and noticed that the front desk staff had been replaced by a middle-aged woman who looked more serious than the girl who had registered her in the morning, but she didn’t have an arrogant air.

The middle-aged woman put down the sweater she was knitting, glanced Tian Mi up and down, and said in a stiff tone, “Serving the people, letter of introduction.”

Do I need a letter of introduction to make a phone call? Tian Mi didn’t understand, but she immediately took it out from her inner pocket and carefully handed it to the service staff.

After the woman confirmed that the letter was genuine, she returned it to Tian Mi and pointed to the desk, saying, “The number!”

Tian Mi quickly handed over a piece of paper with the number written on it.

Once the woman dialed the number for her, she handed the phone back to Tian Mi and pointed at the receiver again, saying, “Just hold it up to your ear like I showed you, and you can talk.”

Hearing this, Tian Mi, who had been a bit nervous, felt a little awkward but softly said, “Thank you for your help.”

It was unclear whether Tian Mi was being overly polite or if the ash on her face was too noticeable, but the service staff gave her a few more scrutinizing glances. Once Tian Mi positioned the receiver correctly at her ear, the woman picked up her knitting needles and walked away a bit.

Seeing this, Tian Mi let out a sigh of relief and immediately said, “Hello?”

Then, on the other end of the line, over two thousand kilometers away in the 836th Army’s Political Commissar Office, a warm voice came through, “Hello! This is Chen Gang. May I ask who is calling?”