Chapter 3: Su Tangxue Must Be Caught

Su Tangxue hid behind Qian Fenfang, glaring at Zhao Xinghua’s smug little face, wishing she could slap that look right off.

In this compound, Zhao Xinghua was the most petty and narrow-minded person—always trying to make things difficult for her, constantly slandering her.

If there was ever a chance to humiliate the original Su Tangxue, Zhao Xinghua would be the first to jump in.

She was the first one in the compound to spread the rumor that Su Tangxue was a pervert.

Even on the street that day, Zhao Xinghua was the one who shouted “pervert” first.

That’s what got the attention of the whole street and started all the accusations.

The more Su Tangxue thought about it, the angrier she became. Back in the real world, she had never been treated like this. Unable to hold back, she glared at Zhao Xinghua.

“You’re still glaring at me, you little brat!” Zhao Xinghua snapped. Seeing that Su Tangxue not only didn’t back down but even dared to glare at her, she got so mad she threw the sunflower seeds in her hand.

Su Tangxue stuck out her tongue and made a face. “Bleh! Not only am I glaring at you, I’m rolling my eyes too! What can you do about it?”

That really pushed Zhao Xinghua over the edge. Eyes bulging, she charged forward—determined to give Su Tangxue a lesson.

Damn it, she had never been humiliated like this by a little girl. Zhao Xinghua couldn’t swallow her pride.

Even if someone tried to stop her, it wouldn’t work.

Su Tangxue wasn’t stupid. Sensing danger, she immediately let go of Aunt Qian’s arm and bolted.

And just like that, the chase began again.

But this time Zhao Xinghua was serious. Though she’d been tired after just two laps earlier, she now chased Su Tangxue for five whole laps.

Su Tangxue, not fond of running, was absolutely exhausted.

Seeing Zhao Xinghua closing the gap, Su Tangxue screamed in fear.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up—she saw an older man in a dark blue work uniform pushing a bicycle into the compound. She quickly changed direction and ran straight toward him.

“Dad! Help! Zhao Xinghua’s trying to hit me!”

Lu Yulong had just gotten off work. Seeing his daughter running toward him, he hadn’t even had time to feel happy before her words made his face darken.

Lu Yulong was Su Tangxue’s stepfather. She took her late biological father’s surname, Su Ningxia, who had died when she was just six.

When Zhao Xinghua saw Lu Yulong, she immediately stopped.

She knew he doted on his daughter and that hitting Su Tangxue in front of him was a major taboo.

“Her father, thank goodness you’re back! You don’t even know what Su Tangxue did today. She had the nerve to force a kiss on her brother-in-law in public! The whole street saw it! Just think about how disgraceful that is! A young girl doing something like that—what will people think? I just wanted to scold her a little, and now she’s crying abuse? You tell me—what kind of behavior is that?”

Before Su Tangxue could say a word, Zhao Xinghua had already aired all the accusations.

But Lu Yulong was notoriously protective of his daughter. He frowned and said coldly, “She’s my daughter, and I’ll discipline her myself. No one else needs to get involved. If anyone so much as scratches her, I’ll be coming after them.”

He wasn’t bluffing. Over the years, under Lu Yulong’s indulgent care, the original Su Tangxue had grown spoiled and proud—treating others with arrogance. As a result, many in the compound disliked her. But no one could deny her talents and achievements.

“Her father,” Zhao Xinghua retorted, “maybe before we could overlook a few things. But after what happened today? If you won’t discipline her properly, we’re going to report her to the women’s committee. Perverted behavior like that disgraces all of us female comrades!”

She hadn’t realized Lu Yulong was this biased, but now that she did, Zhao Xinghua wasn’t backing down—bringing up the women’s committee as a threat.

Now even the others in the courtyard didn’t speak up. Even Qian Fenfang stayed silent.

Lu Yulong turned to look at his daughter. His eyes were full of concern, not blame.

He didn’t know that Lu Qinglin had returned on leave. He thought his daughter had fallen for some young man and was trying to force a marriage.

“Daughter, tell me—what on earth happened?”

Knowing she was safe with her father around, Su Tangxue stepped out from behind him, head lowered.

She didn’t know how to explain it either. After fully absorbing the original owner’s memories, she realized that the original Su Tangxue had genuinely fallen for Lu Qinglin because of his military status and had wanted to marry him. She now had no argument.

Zhao Xinghua had often bragged to the original Su Tangxue about how her daughter had married a soldier and how great it was, which had stirred envy. Seeing Lu Qinglin’s cold and handsome face only made her like him more.

But since it was Ning Honglian who had been writing to Lu Qinglin before, the original Su Tangxue feared he might already like Ning and wouldn’t want to marry her—so she tried to force things with that infamous public kiss.

“I knew it!” Zhao Xinghua said smugly, pointing at Su Tangxue. “She really did harass her brother-in-law in public and doesn’t even have the guts to admit it.”

Lu Yulong frowned. “Is that true? Daughter, even if you like him, bring him home—I’ll back you up.”

“Dad… it’s Lu Qinglin. He’s back.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper by the end.

“What? He’s back? Where is he now?”

Su Tangxue shook her head.

Seeing this, Lu Yulong gave up the idea of inviting him over for dinner. It had been years—he didn’t know how Lu Qinglin was doing or whether he still resented Xiaoxue.

According to the original memory, Lu Qinglin had left with just a bag.

“So the one you kissed was Lu Qinglin?”

Su Tangxue nodded… then quickly shook her head.

She didn’t know anymore!

“Her father, if you don’t teach her properly now, she’ll just keep doing disgraceful things like this.”

“If you keep covering for her, I’ll report it to the women’s committee. Let the Women’s Federation handle her.”

“Someone with such poor morals should be locked up for a few days—stop her from leading other girls astray.”

“If she can’t have him, she resorts to harassment—what kind of logic is that?”

Zhao Xinghua was getting more and more fired up. The other women watching didn’t speak—just quietly watched the show.

Who knew if this would all get turned around later? Better to stay out of it.

Lu Yulong snapped, “Shut up. I’ll handle my daughter. Mind your own business.”

“Her father, you’re so biased you might as well be in the Pacific Ocean. What, is Honglian not your daughter too? Su Tangxue already has someone lined up to meet tomorrow, and she’s still not satisfied? She’s not going to give up until she steals her sister’s fiancé?”

Everyone in the compound knew Ning Honglian had a soldier fiancé, but they didn’t know it was originally Su Tangxue who didn’t want him and passed him to Honglian.

Father Lu had forbidden anyone from spreading gossip about Su Tangxue. But once, during casual chatter, Li Chuchun had accidentally let slip that Honglian’s fiancé was a soldier—and after that, everyone figured it out.

Today, when Lu Qinglin arrived home in uniform, a few neighbors saw him walking toward the Su house—and the rumors started flying.

Zhao Xinghua looked smug. “Su Tangxue, let me tell you—stealing Honglian’s things was one thing. But now you’re after her fiancé too? Why don’t you go find a man of your own? Oh right… soldiers are hard to come by, not everyone’s lucky enough to snag one. If you really can’t find someone, I can ask my daughter Xiaoju to set you up.”

Su Tangxue really wanted to roll her eyes. Not only was Zhao Xinghua putting her down, she was lifting herself up.

Ridiculous.

At the same time, Su Tangxue was fuming at how arrogant Zhao Xinghua was acting. She thought maybe she could just make something up and muddle through.

Lu Qinglin had already gone home—no one else should know anything.

Just as she was trying to think of a convincing excuse, a sudden knock came at the courtyard’s iron gate.

A man in a green military uniform stood tall at the entrance—at least 190 cm (6’3”), with thick brows, thin lips, a high nose bridge, and sharp features. His face carried an aloofness that warned strangers to stay away.

Su Tangxue’s face froze in shock. The excuse she had been trying to form got stuck in her throat.

The man said coldly,
“I’m here to see Lu Yulong.”