Font Size:
Lu Yuetang kept his eyes straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Occasionally, he glanced in the rearview mirror at the sulking woman sitting in the back, wearing a flower in her hair…
A strange feeling flickered through his heart.
“You know the female comrade who gave you that flower?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Hu Ouhua, who had been casually watching the scenery pass by, was startled by the sudden question. Her fingers unconsciously touched the flower, and Lu Yuetang’s words echoed in her mind, making her heart skip a beat.
Feigning indifference, she teased, “Why? If you like this female comrade, where does that leave your precious guest at home?”
She was good at throwing daggers.
One sentence was enough to shut Lu Yuetang up.
Seeing his expression darken, Hu Ouhua, who knew the whole story, felt a slight pang of guilt and softened her tone. “I know her. If you’re interested, I can introduce you to her.”
“No need,” Lu Yuetang replied. “You’re right. I’ve already lost the right to like anyone.”
Hu Ouhua assumed he was referring to Yang Jiaojiao and consoled him, “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself. Besides, maybe everything was just a misunderstanding.”
Misunderstanding?
Lu Yuetang let out a bitter smile.
He wished it was a misunderstanding.
But only he knew—the incident in the bathtub really happened. There was no misunderstanding.
After dropping Hu Ouhua off, Lu Yuetang returned to his office. Shen Fubai handed him Yang Wei’s case file. “The verdict is out. Yang Wei was convicted of hooliganism. His actions were severe, but since he showed sincere remorse, he has been sentenced to hard labor in the south, mining stones.”
Lu Yuetang twirled a pen between his fingers.
The result didn’t surprise him.
Because the case involved military honor and was being closely watched by three high-ranking officials, the sooner it was settled, the better. They couldn’t risk the Lu family softening and pleading for leniency.
“What about the one claiming to be Song Beibei?” he asked.
Shen Fubai sighed in disbelief. “Honestly, if all the documents and identities didn’t match, I wouldn’t believe it myself. Plus, Hu Jingsheng made such a mess in Ningcheng, constantly clashing with Hu Daqian, until she hit her head by accident and became mentally impaired. She’s been kept in a hospital ever since. If not for that, I wouldn’t believe two people could look so alike…”
Song Beibei was actually Song Bao’s cousin.
Years ago, when the Song family was exiled, the two Song brothers were sent to different villages. The grandmother, who had been caring for her granddaughter Song Beibei, followed the younger brother’s family.
When Song Bao’s parents were released, they moved to Ningcheng, but the grandmother, already used to rural life, chose to stay in the village. It wasn’t until Song Beibei was preparing for college entrance exams that she returned to Ningcheng.
She was admitted to a technical college in Beijing and was taken in by her biological parents.
Unfortunately, she ran into that scoundrel, Yang Wei.
“Enough, there’s no need to say more. The Yang family will definitely make a scene, especially Yang Jiaojiao. I want to apply for leave—I don’t want to deal with this nonsense for now,” Lu Yuetang said.
Shen Fubai agreed.
Leaving for a while was probably the best choice.
But before he could go, he was stopped by Qingfen.
“Lu Yuetang, your family is so cruel! My son just looked at that woman’s arm, and you’re calling it hooliganism? Now he’s been sentenced? This is unfair! Unfair!”
Qingfen blocked his path and threw herself to the ground, wailing.
Her cries attracted the guards.
As the soldiers approached, she suddenly started slapping herself and screamed, “Help! I’m being beaten! Someone’s going to kill me! Is anyone going to do something?”
Lu Yuetang frowned.
He told the soldiers to stand down—he would handle it himself.
Once they left, Lu Yuetang sat down on the steps beside her, neither rushing nor getting angry. He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, taking a slow drag.
After wailing for a while, Qingfen noticed the eerie silence around her. Losing momentum, she abruptly sat up and glared at Lu Yuetang with venomous eyes. “Are you going to save my son or not?”
Lu Yuetang exhaled a stream of smoke, his cold gaze piercing through the haze, making her feel an inexplicable pressure.
From the beginning, this son-in-law of hers had been unreadable.
Gu Wanyu had changed.
But Lu Yuetang had always been like this.
“Comrade Qingfen, Yang Wei’s crime may have been labeled as hooliganism, but if he had been charged with insulting the entire military, do you know how severe his sentence would be?” Lu Yuetang’s voice was icy.
“That’s not true!”
Qingfen wanted to deny it.
But Lu Yuetang didn’t give her the chance. “There were so many witnesses. His words are still fresh in their minds. Do you know who got involved?”
He calmly dropped a name.
Qingfen’s face instantly turned ashen.
She hadn’t realized that the three men in white uniforms had such high-ranking identities.
“But… but—” Qingfen still wanted to argue.
Lu Yuetang had lost patience.
He stood up slowly and flicked the ash off his cigarette. “Go ahead and cause a scene. Make it big enough, and even your daughter won’t be safe. You’ll be sent back home in disgrace.”
Qingfen collapsed to the ground, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
Seeing him about to leave, she clung desperately to his leg. “Lu Yuetang, if you don’t save my son, you might never know what really happened that day…”
“Yuetang, why are you even listening to her? Let her get lost!”
Gu Wanyu had anticipated Qingfen would come looking for her son, so she reported that Qingfen’s permit had expired. Soon, the public security officers would come to escort her back home.
“What did you just say?” Lu Yuetang turned back and pressed her for an answer.
But Qingfen suddenly sobered up, torn between agony and hesitation.
Her son or her daughter…
She had to choose one.
In the end, she couldn’t give up on Yang Jiaojiao’s future.
“Nothing.”
Qingfen ran off in a hurry.
After she left, Gu Wanyu revealed the truth to Lu Yuetang—that Qingfen and her son knew he was infertile.
Lu Yuetang patted her shoulder. “The truth can’t be hidden forever. Sooner or later, it’ll spread. We might as well admit it ourselves.”
Gu Wanyu felt a deep bitterness in her heart.
Of course, she understood the logic.
But asking her to personally announce such a truth was too cruel.
“Let me think about it,” she said.
Lu Yuetang shook his head and walked away.
Trouble never came alone.
Just when Hu Ouhua had finally settled down at the Chang family home and was enjoying listening to English tapes with Chang Anning, they turned on the radio.
The broadcast host was narrating a dramatic and mysterious story.
“Dear listeners, welcome to our 8:30 Social News program. Today, we bring you a shocking story about a female comrade with questionable morals and a love for vanity. Let’s call her Comrade H. She came from a small town to Beijing, her mother is in prison, and she even led her younger sister astray…”