Chapter 3

That evening, Qiao Daguo really did return with the letter of introduction issued by the brigade.

The next morning, before dawn, the two of them rode a tractor to town and then transferred to a long-distance bus to the city.

The bus ride took over two hours, nearly three.

During the journey, Qiao Xiazhi pretended to sleep the whole time to avoid awkwardness, hardly speaking to her brother.

Once they got off the bus, Qiao Daguo asked, “Should we call Comrade Zhao?”

“No need. I know where he lives—we’ll just go straight there.”

Seeing how calm his sister was, Qiao Daguo felt very uneasy.

Knowing how much she liked Comrade Zhao, she should’ve been excited to come to the city. But instead, she had slept the entire trip and showed no sign of joy at all.

Now that they were here, she didn’t even call to let him know but instead insisted on showing up at his door.

“Just showing up like this… is that really okay?”

Qiao Xiazhi didn’t respond to his concern. Instead, carrying her shoulder bag, she strode confidently out of the station.

Outside the station, there were plenty of people offering tricycle rides. Qiao Xiazhi picked one at random, showed the driver an address she had written down, and asked, “Uncle, can you take us to this address? How much?”

The man glanced at the paper and replied, “That’s a bit far. Are you alone, miss?”

She looked back and said, “Two people. Me and my brother.”

“Then it’ll be twenty cents for the two of you.”

“Twenty cents? Why don’t you just rob us?” Qiao Daguo blurted out, clearly agitated.

The man wasn’t offended. He explained politely, “Young man, the place you want to go to takes at least half an hour of pedaling. Twenty cents isn’t much. Others might charge you thirty.”

“Ten cents. Take it or leave it,” Qiao Xiazhi said bluntly.

“Fifteen.”

“Ten. Otherwise, I’ll find someone else.”

After a moment of thought, the man relented with a nod. “Alright, ten it is. Hop on.”

Riding the tricycle, Qiao Xiazhi and her brother soon arrived at Comrade Zhao’s place.

He was currently living in a communal housing unit. Though Qiao Xiazhi knew which room was his, her purpose this time was very different from that in the original story. So she stayed outside with her brother instead of going in.

In the original story, when Qiao Daguo brought her to visit Zhao, he happened to be going out for lunch with his childhood sweetheart—meaning he came out alone.

That was exactly what Qiao Xiazhi was waiting for.

“Brother, I’m a little hungry. Can you go buy me two buns?” she asked.

Qiao Daguo hesitated, worried she might run off alone or cause a scene if Zhao appeared.

Seeing his concern, Qiao Xiazhi reassured him, “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. And if he comes out, I won’t charge at him like an idiot. We’re in the city—I know how to handle myself.”

Reluctantly, Qiao Daguo agreed. “Alright, but wait right here. Don’t follow anyone, no matter who calls you. Got it?”

“Got it. I’ll stay put,” she promised.

Only after confirming she wasn’t lying did Qiao Daguo leave—though he kept glancing back as he went.

Not long after he left, Zhao Zhicheng (Comrade Zhao) walked out of the building.

He had dressed nicely for lunch with his childhood sweetheart—looking quite presentable.

“Zhao Zhicheng!” Qiao Xiazhi called out.

Hearing the familiar voice, he turned around in surprise—he hadn’t noticed her when he exited the building, too caught up in his excitement.

Sure enough, it was Qiao Xiazhi. He was visibly shocked.

But before he could say a word, Qiao Xiazhi checked the surroundings, made sure no one was around, and punched him straight in the face.

Zhao, frail and weak, was knocked to the ground instantly.

And that was only half of her strength—she had taken a day to recover her body, and even now, she wasn’t hitting with full force. If she had, she might have killed him—and killing someone meant the death penalty.

His face instantly swelled, and blood spurted from his mouth along with a knocked-out molar.

He tried to get up and retaliate, but before he could charge at her, she landed another punch—this time to the other side of his face, knocking out two more teeth.

Now both sides of his face were swollen like steamed buns—perfectly symmetrical, which Qiao Xiazhi found visually satisfying.

“These two punches are for the way you used me over the past two years,” she said coldly.

Then she raised her foot and kicked him hard in the stomach.

He flew several meters.

“That kick is to mark the end of whatever we had. From now on, we’re done. Let’s just pretend I was blind for two years, falling for a bastard like you. Everything I did in those two years—I’ll count it as feeding a stray dog.”

“But don’t think you got everything for free. You ate our food and used our stuff. I roughly calculated on the way here—my family spent about 120 yuan on you over the past two years. I’ll round it up. Give me 200 yuan, and we’ll call it even. After that, you stay out of my life.”

Zhao Zhicheng stared at her, stunned. “Are you out of your mind? Two hundred? Why not go rob a bank?”

“Everything I ate and used was willingly given by you. At most it’s worth thirty yuan. Two hundred—are you insane?”

Even though he was in pain, his organs feeling like they were torn apart, he still couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Qiao Xiazhi’s voice turned icy: “Fine. If you don’t pay, I’ll go tell your sweetheart everything—and then we’ll take a little trip to the police station together. Sounds good?”

The moment she mentioned the police, Zhao’s face changed. “Sure! Let’s go! And we’ll report you for assault too. We’ll see who ends up worse!”

“Great,” Qiao Xiazhi said calmly. “Then be a dear and call the police.”

Thinking she was bluffing, Zhao went off and actually had someone report it.

After all, he was the one who got beaten up—he had nothing to be afraid of.

When the police arrived, tears instantly streamed down Qiao Xiazhi’s face.

“Who called this in?” asked the officer, a decent-looking young man in his twenties.

“I did,” Zhao said quickly. “She hit me. Look—she’s the one who beat me up.”

Officer Su Fang looked at Zhao’s swollen face and then at Qiao Xiazhi—who was now crying like a broken doll.

Initially planning to scold the girl, Su Fang softened when he saw her pitiful state. He decided to reserve judgment until he got the full story.

“What happened? Start talking,” Su Fang said.

Qiao Xiazhi didn’t speak—she just kept crying.

Su Fang waited a moment, then turned to Qiao Daguo, who had just returned with the buns. “What’s your relationship with her?”

Though nervous and out of his depth, Qiao Daguo answered honestly, “I… I’m her older brother.”

“What happened just now? Why did your sister beat this guy up?”

“I… I went to buy buns. I just got back… I don’t know what happened,” he stammered.

He had only arrived a few minutes earlier—just before the police did—so he hadn’t even had time to ask.

Seeing no one giving a straight answer, Su Fang turned to Zhao. “Why did she hit you? There must be a reason.”

“I have no idea,” Zhao replied innocently. “I stepped out the door and she just attacked me.”

Frustrated that no one would explain, Su Fang sighed. “Fine. Since no one wants to talk, all of you come with us to the station. Once this is sorted, you can leave.”

At the police station, the three were separated and questioned individually.

Two officers sat with the still-sobbing Qiao Xiazhi. Su Fang asked gently, “Can you tell us now why you hit him?”

Looking up, not bothering to wipe her tears, she spoke with deep grievance, “Because I found out he was planning to trick me and sell me to human traffickers. That’s why I hit him first.”

Su Fang’s expression changed. “How do you know that? What’s your relationship with him?”

Something as serious as human trafficking had to be taken seriously. His demeanor turned stern.

“We’re from Hongqi Brigade in Qingsong Town. Here’s our letter of introduction.

I met that scumbag Zhao two years ago when he was sent to our village as a rural support youth.”

……

After giving a brief summary of their history, Qiao Xiazhi pulled a note from her shoulder bag and handed it to the officer.

“I found this last year while helping him pack when he was preparing to return to the city. It was tucked in a notebook. I copied it down before he could notice.”

The officer read the note and immediately grew more serious.

He stood up, ready to investigate, but Qiao Xiazhi quickly added, “Can you please keep this confidential? I’m afraid he or his family will come after me. They know where I live—and who my family members are. My brother doesn’t know any of this either. He just came with me to see Zhao.”

Su Fang reassured her, “Don’t worry. If what you’re saying is true, he won’t walk out of here. We will not reveal your identity. In fact, we’ll do everything we can to protect you and your family.”

Only then did Qiao Xiazhi nod in relief.

The police went to verify the information while Qiao Xiazhi quietly waited in the interrogation room.