Chapter 22 : I’m here to take your life

Zhang Qiaohui was being held by Jiang Li’s hand. She looked at Jiang Li with a dazed and envious expression in her eyes. A girl dressed so beautifully must come from a wealthy family.  

Zhang thought bitterly, “My husband is gone, and I still have two children to care for. How am I going to manage in the future?”  

Forcing a smile, Zhang Qiaohui said, “Thank you, young lady. You must be Shaoqiang’s girlfriend, you are really pretty. Come to my house for dinner sometime, okay?”  

Turning to Qi Shaoqiang, she quickly added, “I’m sorry, Shaoqiang, that was my sister-in-law’s suggestion. Don’t take it to heart. Junjun is still waiting for me at the hospital, so I’ll leave now.”  

After the brief commotion, Qi Shaoqiang realized he was nearly late for work. “Lizi, I can’t take you to the station. How about waiting for me after work? We can watch a good movie after dinner, and then I’ll take you home on my bike.”  

Jiang Li gave him a gentle push. “It’s fine. I’ll just take the bus back. I have things to do when I get home.”  

Left with no choice, Qi Shaoqiang stood watching as Jiang Li walked further and further away. Her pink scarf fluttered in the breeze, taking with it half his soul.  

Jiang Li, however, was worried about Jiang Hongmei. As she approached her village, she overheard villagers gossiping about how Jiang Changyi had beaten Jiang Hongmei half to death and was planning to kick her out of the house!  

This all began when Jiang Changyi visited the Bailutang Production Brigade. Believing Qi Shaoqiang’s mother had arranged Jiang Hongmei’s marriage, he confronted her. But Qi’s mother smiled politely and firmly refused.  

“The two children don’t like each other,” she said. “As elders, we can’t force them to marry.”  

Jiang Changyi pleaded, argued, and even prepared to cause trouble to either gain some compensation or force her to agree.  

Just then, several nosy women barged in.  

“Shaoqiang’s mother, have you heard? That former fiancéeof your son , Jiang Hongmei, is now with the fourth son of the Zhuang family!”  

“They even caught him being paraded back home stripped to his underclothes by Dashuping villagers!”  

The news struck Jiang Changyi like a thunderbolt. “What nonsense! Say that again if you dare!”  

The plump woman smirked, hands on her hips. “I said it! This is Bailutang, not Dashuping. You can’t intimidate us here!”  

“You’re saying Jiang Hongmei cheated? What’s the matter? Hit me if you dare!”  

A bystander quickly pulled her away. “Stop! He’s Jiang Hongmei’s father!”  

Dead silence fell over the room. Jiang Changyi, torn between belief and doubt, rushed home to Dashuping.  

The village gossip was relentless, and at home, the sight of Jiang Hongmei hiding with bruises on her neck left little to question.  

“You shameless thing!” he roared, raining blows upon her with a stick. Wang Juhua, Hongmei’s mother, tried to intervene but was shoved aside.  

That day, the Jiang household was thrown into chaos. Wang Juhua was injured, Hongmei was bedridden with bruises, and even the chickens and ducks didn’t dare make a sound.  

Meanwhile, Old Mrs. Zhou gloated. “Good, my son did well to teach those two bitches a lesson.”  

She turned to Jiang Li. “Go cook something for your uncle. He still has work later.”  

Jiang Li opened her door wearing a spotless white shirt, leaving Old Mrs. Zhou momentarily stunned.  

“Where did you get such fine clothes?” she screeched, clawing at the shirt, but Jiang Li swatted her away with a sharp motion.  

Old Mrs. Zhou fell, clutching her back and wailing. “You ungrateful brat, you dared to hurt me!”  

“Grandma, what are you saying? You tripped on the stairs,” Jiang Li whispered with a cold smile. “You always said bad deeds bring bad karma, didn’t you?”  

Thunder rumbled as dark clouds gathered. A gust of wind blew Jiang Li’s hair and skirt. Her pale face and blood-red lips made her look eerily supernatural.  

“You’re a ghost!” Old Mrs. Zhou shrieked before fainting.  

Jiang Changyi rushed over, barking orders for Jiang Li to help.  

“Uncle, my head hurts. I’m going back to my room,” Jiang Li replied nonchalantly, leaving him to handle the mess.  

In her room, Jiang Li munched an egg cakes and oranges.  

Her thoughts wandered. ‘Why is it only me? Most heroines have systems or space cheats when they travel through time. All I have is this useless life, no skills, and no golden finger. I’ll have to figure something out.’  

She glanced at the clucking chickens outside. ‘Maybe it’s time to make use of them.’