Jiang Ling still didn’t fully understand the situation.

It wasn’t until she saw Meng Yiyi’s resolute expression that she realized it might really be over.

However, she didn’t feel she had done anything wrong.

She hadn’t committed murder or any crimes.

What was there to be afraid of?

She was from a poor family, a suffering woman!

The government should look after her, not be harsh on her.

Originally named Jiang Aidi, she was born in a remote, backward mountain village where men were lazy and abusive, and women suffered under a heavy patriarchy.

She had been despised by her grandmother and mother, who saw her as a means to exchange for money or to marry off her brothers.

Because she was beautiful, her family allowed her to go to school, hoping she could marry a city person and help her brothers.

However, when she was taking the vocational high school entrance exam, she fell ill and was bullied by her jealous brothers, which led to poor performance and not passing the exam.

Failing meant she would have to marry an old man to provide money for her brothers to marry, or be married off to a fool, or worse, be taken to the city to sell herself for money.

But fate had its eyes open.

Meng Yiyi and Bian Haitao found her, brought her out of the countryside, and gave her a completely new life.

It was a beautiful and brilliant life she absolutely could not afford to lose!

“Yiyi, don’t ignore me.” Jiang Ling desperately grabbed her arm, unable to care about her stinging eyes.

Meng Yiyi’s eyes were cold as she stared at her, “You’ll have to beg Jiang Lin. As long as she and Cheng Rushan don’t give up, none of us will have a way out.”

Meng Yiyi shook off her hand and left.

Jiang Ling stood in the private room, where the air was still filled with the rich aroma of Maotai liquor and the sweet smell of roasted duck.

The sweet scent was fading, just like her once-brilliant life seemed to be slipping away.

She suddenly felt a wave of panic, similar to how she felt when she didn’t get into technical school years ago.

She remembered her brother’s malicious glee, her grandmother’s bad laugh when looking at pigs, and her mother…

No, she couldn’t go back to the past; she couldn’t endure it all over again.

It’s all Jiang Lin’s fault!

If it weren’t for her, Meng Yiyi wouldn’t be so unlucky or in this situation.

She stole her life, took away Cheng Rushan’s love, and now she’s taken her last chance too.

It’s unacceptable!

…

Although there was an incident with Hu Kun, it didn’t affect Jiang Lin and the others’ dinner.

They enjoyed a pleasant meal, talking happily while discussing ancient architecture from various countries, modern times, and even ancient periods.

Their topics were broad and professional. A few British people were surprised and impressed by how Jiang Lin could keep up with the conversation.

They wondered how many books she had read and how much academic research she had done.

While domestic buildings could be visited, foreign ones weren’t as accessible, and there weren’t many translated books.

They thought it was impressive that Jiang Lin knew so much.

They even expressed interest in co-authoring a book with Jiang Lin, offering to have her help translate their work into Chinese and to translate hers into English.

They had a great conversation and became friends.

Jiang Lin decided to return to the provincial city after spending twenty days in the capital.

She had originally planned to book a train ticket, but Su Xingyun and another colleague, Xiao Chen, who were at a nearby conference, came to the capital to meet her. They decided to drive back together.

They stayed in the capital for another two days and then drove back to the provincial city early that morning.

Driving south from the capital, the journey initially followed national roads.

As they moved further away from the capital but hadn’t yet reached the provincial city, they entered a backward area.

The roads were unpaved, with only dirt and gravel, and after rain, they were covered in deep ruts made by heavy trucks, making them extremely difficult to navigate.

At this point, the fields on both sides were full of crops that had grown but were not yet ripe—sorghum, corn, and patches of green stalks stretching up, rustling in the wind as if something was hidden inside.

When they reached a certain area, the road surface had become waterlogged, likely due to a burst irrigation pipe.

The vehicle’s wheels began to slip and slowly sank into the mud.

“Xiao Chen, stop for a moment. Let’s get out and push,” Jiang Lin, sitting in the back, instructed.

Xiao Chen was driving, and Su Xingyun was in the passenger seat.

Xiao Chen replied, “Director Jiang, you shouldn’t push the car. You drive, and I’ll push.”

He got out of the car, allowing Jiang Lin to take the wheel without stepping into the mud.

The road, though it looked even, was soaked through, which was why the wheels were stuck.

Jiang Lin climbed into the driver’s seat, while Su Xingyun and Xiao Chen pushed the car.

At noon, there was no one on the road. The locals were all able to eat their fill, and the corn and sorghum were no longer valuable or prone to theft, so there was no need to guard the fields.

Unable to find any local help, they had to handle it themselves.

Xiao Chen and Su Xingyun took off their shoes and rolled up their pants, exposing their bare feet to the mud while pushing the car.

Jiang Lin kept adjusting the steering wheel and pressing the gas pedal, trying to find the right angle to get the vehicle out of the rut.

After several failed attempts, Jiang Lin suggested, “We’ll have to use corn stalks to pave the way. If we put them under the wheels, it should work.”

Corn was about a dime per pound, so they planned to leave a few coins as payment.

Xiao Chen and Su Xingyun went to gather corn stalks, and Jiang Lin waited in the car.

They first laid down two bundles of stalks on the road in front of the car, then continued to place them under the wheels.

Suddenly, an angry shout came from the cornfield, “Thieves! Corn thieves!”

Jiang Lin quickly turned her head when she heard Su Xingyun and Xiao Chen explain that the car wheels had gotten stuck in the mud and they needed to use corn stalks to pad them.

The people were hidden in the green netting, and Jiang Lin couldn’t see them clearly.

At that moment, a man emerged from the cornfield and glanced at her.

Jiang Lin was on the road, with drainage ditches three meters wide on either side.

The bottom of the ditches had shallow water and mud, and beyond them were fields.

The man jumped directly into the ditch and waded through the muddy water towards Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin became alert immediately and shouted, “Come back quickly!”

Su Xingyun and Xiao Chen also sensed something was wrong.

These men didn’t look like ordinary farmers; their eyes were fierce and calculating, as if they were assessing whether the people were worth robbing.

Before they could retreat, four men blocked their way.

“Brothers, don’t let them escape. They’re thieves stealing corn. Take them to the police station!”

Su Xingyun was more convinced now that these people weren’t just causing trouble over a few ears of corn; they were robbers.

In broad daylight, they were facing robbers!

Su Xingyun’s mind was racing.

He shouted, “We are government officials. Don’t do anything stupid! Leave now before anyone recognizes you!”

The group burst into laughter, and one man playfully wrapped a torn cloth around his face, saying, “Like this?”

He signaled, and the four men began to attack Su Xingyun and Xiao Chen.

Su Xingyun was frantic.

He never expected to encounter robbers in broad daylight.

These men were audacious and clearly prepared, not just ordinary village thugs.

“Jiang Lin!” he shouted to warn her but was struck by a blow.

With his eyes red with anger, Su Xingyun roared, “Xiao Chen, hold them off.”

They couldn’t let these men surround the car, or Jiang Lin would be in danger.

Even though he wasn’t sure he could handle four armed men with just two people, he had to fight.

Even if it meant risking their lives, they were determined to drag them along!

The other side was armed with sticks and had the numbers on their side.

Su Xingyun and Xiao Chen were no match for them and were quickly beaten with several blows.

Despite the pain, they refused to let go, engaging in close-quarters combat, and even biting wherever they could grab.

The man being bitten yelled out in pain, intensifying his attacks with the stick.