Chapter 41

“Stop! Ah! Stop it, Da Ge! You guys from the Ge family are too savage! I’m going to sue you… Ah! Stop!”

By the time Tian Mi and her sister hurried over, the scene was already a bit hard to watch.

The usually polite and cheerful Qian Sheng was being pinned down and beaten by a burly man, looking utterly helpless and in a pitiful state.

Nearby, Qian Jingjing, who had been keeping a low profile lately, stood by trying to intervene but was too far from the chaos to say anything useful.

The piercing screams that had reached Tian Mi’s ears earlier had come from Qian Jingjing.

“What’s going on? Stop fighting! Let’s talk this over calmly.”

As the sisters arrived at the scene, Mei Saozi from the Wang family and Feng Saozi from the Liu family also rushed over.

Mei Saozi wasn’t like Qian Jingjing, who just pretended to help; she stepped in decisively, her face serious.

“Everyone, stop it! Back off!”

Mei Saozi’s intervention had an immediate effect. The large, fierce man, who seemed like he could crush someone with a single hand, immediately halted his assault.

However, as he released the bruised and battered Qian Sheng, he didn’t forget to raise his fist, which was as big as a sandbag, and wave it threateningly in front of the utterly defeated Qian Sheng.

“What’s going on here? Are you guys from Ge Yun’s family? Why are you fighting? Explain yourselves!” Ruan Mei asked sternly, standing firmly between them.

Seeing this, Ge Yun stepped forward with the baby in her arms but was pulled back by the tall man in military uniform beside her.

The man stepped forward with a detached smile and said politely, “Comrade, I’m Ge Yun’s Da Ge^[1]Eldest brother, Ge Bing.”

He then pointed to the stern-looking man in military uniform next to him, introducing, “This is Ge Yun’s Er Ge^[2]Second older brother, Ge Jun.” He then pointed to the burly man who had just been fighting, the only one not in uniform. “This is Ge Yun’s San Ge^[3]Third older brother, Ge Wei. We’re just here today to seek justice for our Mei Zi.”

Upon hearing this, Ruan Mei felt a bad premonition growing, especially when she caught the evasive looks exchanged between the Qian siblings; the feeling intensified.

Thinking of certain possibilities, she didn’t follow through with her initial plan to take people to her husband’s office for mediation, instead directly asking, “What family matters could require physical fighting in our military?”

While her words seemed to defend Qian Sheng’s honor and dignity, anyone with a slightly keen mind would quickly realize the inappropriateness of the situation.

At least Qian Sheng was in a panic; having already been beaten once, he couldn’t bear the thought of facing a second public humiliation.

Especially since he had been trying to play the victim to divert everyone’s attention.

Qian Sheng was still dazed. Just moments before, he had been dealing with work in the unit when a young soldier came to tell him that his brothers-in-law had arrived. He immediately sensed that it wouldn’t end well.

Speaking of which, his father-in-law had three sons in total, and the youngest was a daughter, Ge Yun, who was truly raised like a treasure. Her three older brothers doted on her immensely, and when he married Ge Yun, he suffered quite a bit at the hands of her brothers.

Now, with the brothers suddenly showing up at his door just days after he had hit his wife, it was hard not to overthink the situation.

Yet, he couldn’t afford to leave them hanging and not go back. Although his father-in-law had retired, the connections he had were still enviable. Moreover, both his older and second brother-in-law had made it to the regiment level in the army, especially the older brother-in-law, who was a Political Commissar and truly crafty.

As it turned out, Qian Sheng’s concerns were not unfounded. He had barely stepped into the house and hadn’t even had the chance to put on a smiling face to greet them before he was knocked senseless by his third brother-in-law’s fist, which was as big as a sandbag.

He had thought about resisting, but how could he possibly compete with a third brother-in-law who was as tall and sturdy as an iron tower?

Plus, he might have felt guilty inside; before he could even fight back, he was already feeling defeated.

Now, he could only hope that after taking this beating, his uncles would cool down, at least not ruin his reputation outside and hinder his future promotions.

After all, he had only hit Ge Yun once and hadn’t caused her even a fraction of the pain he was now suffering.

Meanwhile, the three Ge brothers were completely unaware of Qian Sheng’s grievances. When they heard Ruan Mei’s words, their expressions visibly softened.

Ge Bing nodded at Ruan Mei before turning to pull his sister out from behind him. “Xiao Yun, don’t be afraid; your brothers are here.”

Hearing this, Tian Yu, who had managed to shuffle over to Ge Yun’s side, also patted her back in encouragement.

At that moment, Ge Yun was still in a daze. She had no idea how her family had found out she had been beaten; when her three brothers suddenly appeared, she thought she might be imagining things because she missed them too much.

“Xiao Yun, don’t be afraid; just tell the truth. Your brothers are here; no one will dare to hurt you again.” Ge Bing, seeing his sister in a daze, gently patted her head, just like he used to when she was unmarried.

The familiar touch on her head made Ge Yun’s eyes widen in surprise, staring blankly at her brother. Then, without warning, tears suddenly streamed down her face, pouring out all her recent heartache and grievances.

In less than a month, her world had completely changed.

Filled with joy, she thought she had found a lifelong partner, but her husband turned out to be a hypocrite who not only hit women but also deeply despised her.

At first, she had made excuses for Qian Sheng, but those hollow justifications crumbled into ridiculous illusions the moment she unintentionally witnessed interactions between the fierce Commander Lou and Tian Mi.

It seemed that from the beginning, Qian Sheng’s kindness had only existed in his words. Looking back, she realized that even when she was sick, that hypocritical man had never bothered to bring her a glass of water.

Once a person sheds the filters they’ve built for themselves, they gain clarity.

Upon reflection, Ge Yun realized that it wasn’t just the mutual care between Commander Lou and Tian Mi; in fact, in the entire family courtyard, most men may not be good at sweet talk, but they would always lend a hand with household chores.

Even Commander Wang and Commissioner Liu had been seen in her memory collecting laundry at their doorstep.

In contrast, since marrying Qian Sheng, she had practically treated him like a master. She did everything from cleaning to organizing, even setting the table perfectly when it was mealtime.

Ironically, she had come close to feeding him like a child.

Ge Yun knew that her recent state of mind was terrible. She felt trapped in a dead end; even though Tian Saozi came every day to comfort her, she appeared fine on the surface, but inside she was still stuck.

There were many things she couldn’t understand.

She didn’t understand why, if he didn’t like her, he had pursued her so passionately in the beginning.

She also didn’t understand why, after working hard to become an excellent wife, she was still despised.

Most confusing of all was how a man who didn’t like her could still become her husband, engage in the most intimate acts, and even father a child.

So many questions had nearly driven her mad in recent days.

Just when she didn’t know what to do and felt that life was too exhausting, with thoughts of ending it all, her three brothers suddenly appeared before her.

Then, the husband she once thought she would cherish was beaten to a pulp, bleeding from his head, with bruises all over his face.

Ge Yun thought she would feel heartache, but… she felt nothing at all.

Holding her child, she watched like an outsider as Qian Sheng wailed in pain and saw Qian Jingjing pointing at her and her brothers, hurling insults at them.

In these late nights, Ge Yun had countless times questioned herself, wondering if she wasn’t good enough, if she had really become ugly, and if… she just didn’t deserve to be liked.

However, after countless moments of self-doubt, at that moment, when her eldest brother said, just like before, “Xiao Yun, don’t be afraid, your brothers are here,” she could no longer hold back. Instinctively, she hugged her child tightly, her mind consumed by a single thought as she murmured repeatedly, “Ge… I miss home… I want to go home… I’m so tired…”

Seeing this, Ge Bing’s eyes instantly reddened. He bit down on his molars with a crunch and pulled his sister into his arms. Clearing his throat to suppress his sobs, he hoarsely said, “Alright, we’ll go home. Gege will take you home.”

Hearing this, Qian Sheng, who had been pretending to be dead on the side, immediately protested. He mustered the courage to step forward, trying to reason with them, “Da Ge, I… I’m married to Xiao Yun. We just have some minor misunderstandings; it’s normal for couples to argue, you can’t…”

“I can!” Ge Bing coldly interrupted Qian Sheng’s pretentious words. If looks could kill, he would have gladly shredded this hypocrite to pieces.

When his sister had fallen for Qian Sheng, no matter how much their family had advised her against it, she was determined to marry this man. 

At that time, they only felt that Qian Sheng was too slick and had some pretensions, but since their family was of lower status, and with several capable brothers, even if the Qian family pretended, they would have to spoil and cherish their sister after marriage.

Later, they took turns visiting a few times, seeing her always looking happy, so they gradually relaxed their worries.

Recently, they had even started pulling strings to get Qian Sheng transferred to a better unit.

Little did they expect that just a month or two before the two-year promise was up, they received the call that their sister had been beaten.

When the three brothers hurried over, they found Xiao Yun looking utterly defeated.

For a moment, Ge Bing even blamed himself for not wanting his sister to face hardships, raising her like a sheltered flower untouched by the world. Now, facing a sudden blow, she had crumbled completely.

Feeling the fabric on his shoulder quickly becoming soaked with her tears, Ge Bing took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to kill, and instructed his equally grim-faced second and third brothers, “Go help Xiao Yun tidy up a bit. I’ll take her outside to wait for you.”

Tian Yu immediately walked over and pulled her sister along, frowning, “Let’s wait at my house; it’s cold outside, and the child is still small.”

Ge Bing recognized Tian Yu; they had met last year, and his sister had mentioned several times how well they got along. He expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you, Comrade Tian.”

Ge Yun also regained a bit of her composure. With swollen eyes, she weakly replied, “Saozi thank you.”

Seeing her transformed from a cheerful and gentle girl into this state, Tian Yu felt a mix of emotions. With red-rimmed eyes, she waved her hand, saying, “What’s there to thank? I treat you like a sister.”

This time, Ge Bing and his sister didn’t exchange any more polite words; they silently followed the Tian sisters as they walked out.

However, after taking a few steps, Ge Bing turned back, his cold gaze sweeping over Qian Sheng and Qian Jingjing. “The matter of you hitting and scolding my sister isn’t over! Qian Sheng, just wait!”

Ge Jun reached out to stop Qian Sheng from following them and coolly said, “I forgot to tell you, my dad made a two-year agreement with my sister. Do you want to know what it is?”

At those words, Qian Sheng’s already anxious heart jolted. He instinctively refused to listen to what came next.

But Ge Jun didn’t give him that chance. With a mocking expression, he continued, “My dad said that as long as you can take care of my sister for two years without changing your face, then he would go all out to help you secure a good position. There’s just over a month left… such a pity, wouldn’t you say?”

After saying this, Ge Jun’s gaze subtly brushed over the pale-faced Qian Jingjing.

The words struck Qian Sheng like a bolt from the blue, nearly making him spit blood.

He had dreamed of rising up, but now he was filled with frustration, regret, and anger—countless emotions surged through him like a tidal wave.

Just over a month, only a month left; why couldn’t he hold on for just one more month?

Although he had been disdainful of Ge Yun, he had still harbored hopes and fears in his heart, and had behaved well until now. Why did it all come down to just a month?!

Right, it seemed that everything had changed since his sister came here.

Thinking about the path to success that had been cut off, there was a look of desperation in Qian Sheng’s eyes. He suddenly turned around, glaring fiercely at Qian Jingjing.