Chapter 24.3

“Hey, Luo Lan, why aren’t you speaking?”

While she was arguing with the system, Sister Liu had already said quite a bit. Seeing that Old Huang seemed to be focusing on Luo Lan behind her, she suddenly turned around and nudged Luo Lan. Luo Lan smiled at her, stepped past her, and moved forward. Standing at the doorway, she moved in, which terrified Old Huang.

“Luo Lan, Luo Lan, don’t come over, don’t come over!” Old Huang was suddenly overwhelmed with fear, speaking as he backed away. He trembled uncontrollably, to the point that he even wet his pants.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to shake your hand as a courtesy. Why are you so nervous?”

“Don’t, don’t! I really won’t hit anyone again. I’ll never do it again.”

Seeing Old Huang so scared by Luo Lan, Sister Liu was bewildered. She had dealt with many domestic violence cases and was usually furious, but this time it seemed inexplicably amusing. It felt so good that she couldn’t help but laugh.

Old Huang was cornered by Luo Lan and, frightened, slid down the wall. He wanted to protect himself by covering his head, but he was also afraid of Luo Lan, so he squatted down and looked up at her.

The Xu brothers, one of whom was blind and the other said to have epilepsy, had come into contact with Luo Lan and suddenly developed that condition. Just a slight touch sent shivers throughout her body—not just tingling. He couldn’t explain that feeling, and just thinking about it terrified him. Only when Luo Lan was around could his wife experience that; hence he had long suspected that the ability was related to Luo Lan.

“Luo Lan, I was wrong. I really know my mistakes.”

Luo Lan looked down at him from above. “I now work at the Women’s Federation. Protecting women and children is our duty. Someone like you is a typical abuser of women, and that falls under my jurisdiction.”

The man raised his head and was stunned for about a minute. Finally, he came to his senses. “I promise, I will never bully women again. If I do, let me fall and die if I go out, or choke to death while eating.”

“When making a vow, it’s more persuasive to say that you’ll suffer a terrible fate from heaven’s wrath.”

“I, I swear, if I ever lay a hand on my wife again, I’ll suffer heaven’s wrath and never have a good death.”

“Remember your words.”

“I remember, I remember.”

Heaven’s wrath? The Xu brothers were indeed struck by lightning when they were with her. This practical expression made him feel a chill run through his body, as if the pain had penetrated to his bones. If he angered her and she gave that ability to his wife, then he… he might really be struck by lightning one day. The thought terrified him, and he trembled, finally understanding what his sister-in-law meant by leaving a line for others.

“Old Fourth’s wife, if he raises his hand to you again, remember to inform the women’s director; she will contact us.”

“Thank you. I know; I will.”

After leaving the Huang family’s house, Sister Liu was still expressing her amazement and confusion. “Hey, Luo Lan, how did you manage to subdue that domestic violence man? His wife said she couldn’t go back to her family; she had no way out. Divorce was not an option, so mediation was the only route, but even that hasn’t been effective. How did you manage to subdue him? From the looks of him today, he shouldn’t dare to hit anyone again.”

“It’s nothing; he has his own guilty conscience.”

Maybe that was some kind of secret weapon of theirs, and Sister Liu didn’t ask any further. Since the person who came for help received satisfactory assistance, the two of them returned to the brigade. They originally planned to gather the women for a meeting at noon, but since everyone was busy with the autumn harvest, she handed the documents to the women’s director.

“Make sure to promote self-protection awareness among the women whenever you have time. Don’t be foolish and allow others to bully you without daring to fight back.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll make sure to implement this work as soon as I can.”

The two of them had a simple meal at the brigade, and by the time they returned to the city, it was already four in the afternoon. At the unit, Sister Liu reported to the leader, while Luo Lan didn’t say much beside her.

The director’s gaze fell on her, but he didn’t say anything in front of Sister Liu. As he was about to leave work, he called Luo Lan to discuss some matters.

Luo Lan pointed at the clock on the wall. “Director, it’s past working hours. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

After she finished speaking, without waiting for him to respond, she smiled lightly and turned around, leaving without hesitation. The sound of her leather shoes tapping on the ground echoed. The Director, who had been rejected by the new employee, didn’t look displeased. Instead, he wore a look of great interest.

“She has personality.”

Luo Lan rode her bike home, arriving at the same time as three others who entered the house one after the other. Her mother-in-law had already prepared dinner, and as soon as they entered, they could wash their hands and eat. The family sat together, and her mother-in-law asked her about her work with concern.

“It’s going well, Mom. You don’t need to worry; I can handle it.”

Zhou Qingshan also chimed in, “She got into the Women’s Federation because she has received several honorary awards before. Lan’er is also educated and straightforward, so she’ll be fine in this role.”

“That’s good.”

Hearing such praise from her husband made Luo Lan’s heart blossom with joy. She hadn’t realized he thought so highly of her. His low voice calling her by her nickname warmed her heart.

After dinner, her mother-in-law insisted that she didn’t need to wash the dishes. “I’m just sitting at home; you working people don’t need to worry about these things. Go wash up and then go to bed.”

Well, her mother-in-law’s affection was appreciated. She treated her like a daughter, so Luo Lan decided to treat her like a mother. She would make sure to be filial in the future.

That night, they had porridge for dinner, so Luo Lan got up during the night. When she woke up, it was two eighteen. She got up very quietly, not wanting to wake her husband beside her.

Suddenly, a creaking sound came from outside, seemingly from the kitchen. She instinctively perked up her ears and then heard another sound. It was very faint, but the night was too quiet, so she could still catch it.

She put on her outer clothing and stealthily left the room. Outside, the night was thick with darkness, and she was only a few meters away from the kitchen. She couldn’t see anything clearly at such a close distance, but she heard the sound again. Lightly, someone was moving something.

Was it a thief? She quietly grabbed a stick and crept closer. When she reached the kitchen door, peeking through the open doorway, she keenly sensed that someone was indeed there.

The shadow was very alert and, upon noticing her presence, jumped out of the window. Luo Lan grabbed the stick and chased after it, and at this moment, Zhou Qingshan had also gotten up, immediately rushing after the shadow without saying a word.

“Don’t run!”

The gate to the courtyard was closed at night. Luo Lan thought the intruder must have jumped over the wall to get in, but that shadow had already passed through the open gate and was escaping.

Not having time to think about why the gate was open, the couple chased the shadow and ran wildly. They both ran quickly, but this area was full of mixed courtyards. The environment was complicated, with many narrow alleys that could only fit one person, winding in all directions.

After the shadow ran out, it entered a small alley and disappeared in an instant. The couple searched nearby but found nothing, then they returned.

“Did you see who it was?” Zhou Qingshan asked.

“No. It was too dark; I only saw a shadow.”

“Did he enter our kitchen?” As he spoke, he turned back and quickened his pace. “Let’s go home and check.”

The city had some lights, and when they pulled the light cord in the kitchen, the bulb lit up immediately. The couple carefully inspected the surroundings to see if anything was amiss, but after searching for a while, they found nothing.

Luo Lan said, “There’s not even leftover food; what on earth did he come to the kitchen for? If he wanted to steal something, he should have gone into the living room or our bedroom.”

“There’s only half a barrel of water left in the water tank.”

“What can water do? Who would dare to poison it?”

Zhou Qingshan didn’t respond, but Luo Lan was drenched in cold sweat from her own fear. “Who is so bold? This is the water we use for cooking. This is a matter of family safety.”

“Don’t shout. Let me find someone to test it first.”

After this incident, the couple lost their desire to sleep. They emptied the water from the tank, then fetched two buckets of water to thoroughly clean it.

While they were busy, her mother-in-law had already gotten up early, even before dawn. “What are you doing? Why are you up so early?”

Luo Lan smiled and replied, “It’s nothing. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up. Mom, you should go back to sleep. I’ll make breakfast.”

“No, I won’t sleep anymore. Since I’m up early, let’s make steamed buns.”

“Sure, let’s make them together.”

Not wanting to worry her mother-in-law, Luo Lan kept the incident to herself. However, she felt uneasy at home and quietly exchanged a glance with her husband, who shook his head at her. After her mother-in-law went to fetch the dough, Zhou Qingshan finally spoke.

“There shouldn’t be any issues during the day. The way the other party operates suggests they prefer to strike in the shadows and wouldn’t dare to come to our house in broad daylight.”

“Sun Tong?”

“Not sure. I’m having trouble finding people on my end. All the physical evidence has been destroyed, and we need enough witnesses for this matter.”

Luo Lan didn’t say anything more. After her mother-in-law came back in, she excused herself to the bathroom, claiming she had a stomach ache. As the first light of dawn began to show, she hurried to the entrance of the high school.

The two people who had previously said they wouldn’t come forward to testify had changed their minds due to the current situation. Back then, the environment was different; now, everything had changed dramatically. The principal had been taken down; what could these students possibly be afraid of?

At that moment, she regretted not following one of them back then. Now she didn’t know their addresses and could only wait for them to show up. The school was unstable with classes, so she wasn’t sure if those students would even come to school.

The only option before her was this one road, and she had no other choice. Holding a notebook, she stood not far from the school gate, attracting the attention of many students.