Font Size:
“Wu Weiwei, you liar!”
Hu Ouhua had been cautious for the first five steps but never expected that they had already conspired together.
“Heh, I never lied to you,” Wu Weiwei said fearlessly.
Yang Wei had personally told her that his sister had caught the attention of a big shot in Beijing, Lu Yuetang, and had been sent there for work arrangements. Just a few days ago, they had even received a telegram from Yang Jiaojiao.
Losing a friendship was nothing.
Once she got close to a powerful figure, her future would be bright. From then on, she wouldn’t have to seek friends—people would flock to her instead.
“Big sister, you’re really lucky. Brother-in-law fancies you, all thanks to your good looks. Otherwise, do you think he would want someone like you?” Hu Jingsheng giggled.
Yang Wei wrapped his arm around Hu Jingsheng and pinched her waist hard.
“You little vixen, you understand me well. She’s already ruined, so she won’t mind my good brothers having some fun with her too.” His face was full of cruel malice.
Yesterday, Yang Jiaojiao’s telegram and letter had arrived.
The letter read:
“Brother, no matter what means you use, you must get rid of Hu Ouhua. If that vixen makes it to Beijing for university, my status will be at risk. The Lu family still hasn’t acknowledged me as their daughter-in-law…”
Yang Wei couldn’t understand the logic of big shots.
Clearly, they provided money, ration coupons, and a job—wasn’t that because they wanted to marry Jiaojiao? Why did she still have to pass so many tests?
Hu Ouhua was furious.
She threatened him, “Yang Wei, what you’re doing is a crime of hooliganism. You’ll be executed. You’d better not mess around.”
A crackdown was imminent.
She didn’t believe Yang Wei hadn’t heard anything about it.
In her past life, domestic violence within marriage wasn’t considered a crime. But in this life, they were nothing.
“Oh no, I’m so scared,” Yang Wei mocked.
A man stepped forward, grinning lewdly. He reached out to embrace Hu Ouhua, unconcerned that she had been used before. She was too beautiful—even leftovers were delicious.
“I’m warning you, don’t come near me. Otherwise—otherwise I—” Hu Ouhua’s face turned pale as she reached into her canvas bag and gripped a military knife tightly.
“Good girl, however you treat me, I’ll enjoy it. The wilder, the better.”
The man lunged at her.
Slash.
The sound of a knife piercing flesh rang out.
The tall man winced in pain and looked down to see a sharp knife embedded in his chest, blood gushing out. Instantly, rage and humiliation overtook him. “You bitch, how dare you—”
Slash. Slash.
Hu Ouhua recalled what Lu Yuetang had casually said when he gave her the military knife:
“The best thing about this knife is that once you twist the handle after stabbing, the wound won’t heal, and the pain is unbearable.”
Experience proves the truth.
Hu Ouhua closed her eyes and twisted the handle frantically.
The once-mighty man let out a piercing scream. He trembled uncontrollably, his limbs failing him. Forget attacking Hu Ouhua—he didn’t even have the strength to run.
The other thugs had never seen such brutality before. They screamed in terror and fled.
Wu Weiwei, standing nearby, was even more horrified. The blood splattered onto her face, hot and sticky. Her vision darkened, and her legs went weak.
She screamed and ran out of the alley as if she had gone mad.
“Hu Ouhua, let him go! If you keep stabbing, he’ll die!” Yang Wei finally realized something was wrong and tried to intervene.
“Don’t come near me!”
Hu Ouhua’s face was deathly pale. She yanked the knife out and gripped the handle tightly, pointing the blade at Yang Wei with the fierce determination of someone willing to die together.
Thud.
The tall man collapsed like a shattered rock, blood splattering into the air. A single drop landed in Hu Jingsheng’s eye.
“Ahh! Murder!” Hu Jingsheng screamed like a lunatic.
“What? You’re saying the female criminal you caught was carrying Brother Lu’s military knife?”
Shen Fubai heard the confirmation over the phone.
His eyes twitched wildly, and he instinctively asked, “Is the injured woman named… Hu Ouhua?”
After hanging up, he felt lightheaded and dazed.
Lu Yuetang’s military knife.
How was that possible?
Could Hu Ouhua have stolen it?
After all, Lu Yuetang’s stinginess was legendary in the military compound.
That custom-made military knife, which Lu had brought from Beijing to Ning City, was his most treasured possession. Even as his closest brother-in-arms, Shen Fubai had begged countless times, but Lu never let him have it.
If he had given it away, Shen Fubai wouldn’t believe it even if he were beaten to death.
He decided to make a trip himself.
Hu Ouhua sat alone in her cell, shackles on her feet. She had already been interrogated three times, the last time with them pressuring her about whether she had stolen the military knife.
She found it ridiculous.
Since being imprisoned, if the knife hadn’t been recognized, she would have already been labeled a “murderer with a weapon.”
Even the director came in personally, sitting across from her and speaking solemnly, “Hu Ouhua, you’d better confess honestly. Why were you carrying a deadly weapon? Did you steal it?”
At that moment, Hu Ouhua felt completely helpless.
Her throat was dry, her lips chapped, and she had rewritten her statement countless times—yet no one believed she had carried the knife purely for self-defense.
The reason sounded too far-fetched.
It wasn’t until she was locked alone in a dark cell, with no one to call for help, that she suddenly realized a glaring flaw in the whole situation.
Yang Wei’s violent tendencies had always been kept secret. Even his family members weren’t all aware of them.
She had only discovered it after being married to him for some time.
In her past life, she had been beaten to death by him. That deep-seated fear had never left her, which was why she had an overwhelming urge to arm herself.
It made sense to her.
But to outsiders, it was completely unreasonable.
What should she do?
Hu Ouhua covered her face. Countless images flashed through her mind as she considered various possibilities, but she had never expected that one day, she would be the one thrown into prison.
Family?
Was it Wang Chunlan and her people? Probably coming to laugh at her misfortune.
She was about to refuse when the officer added, “It’s Hu Daqian.”
A short while later, she dragged her heavy shackles forward, escorted by two guards, step by step toward the visiting room.
The humiliation and grief of that moment—Hu Ouhua would never forget it.
As soon as she entered, Hu Daqian rushed forward to hug her but was stopped by a guard’s baton.
“Sit down. No physical contact.”
Hu Daqian sat anxiously, his face full of worry as he stared at his daughter. “Hua, what happened? How did it get this serious? Did you kill someone?”
He had run everywhere, begged everyone, spent his last penny, and even borrowed money from his workplace—just to try to make things easier for his daughter.
“Dad…”
In her past life, Hu Ouhua had never felt fatherly love. She had always thought Hu Daqian didn’t care about his daughters.
But in this life, for the first time, she felt his deep affection.
Overcome with emotion, she broke down in tears.
“Hua, don’t cry. Don’t cry! Everything will be fine. In my heart, you’ve always been a good girl. It’s my fault—I failed to protect you, and that’s why you’re suffering…”
Hu Daqian wept bitterly.