Chapter 2

Everyone in the village knew about the Chen family’s “fool daughter” and also knew the Chen family wasn’t easy to deal with, so no one wanted to get involved in their business. Most people even thought it made sense—since she couldn’t get married, the family couldn’t just keep supporting her for nothing. Better to let them make that 500 yuan.

So, although Qiao Xinyi ran and shouted for help the whole way, many watched the commotion, but not one person stepped forward to help her.

If that “Stop right there!” had come even two seconds later, Qiao Xinyi was about to reach for the hammer tucked at her waist and crack a few heads open.

“You’re a soldier?” Qiao Xinyi stood a few steps away, eyeing the man in uniform. If it weren’t for the current situation, she might’ve even complimented him.
Wow, good-looking guy.

“I am,” Fu Qingshan nodded and started walking toward her.

Seeing that this unfamiliar soldier seemed intent on interfering, one of the Chen family members quickly spoke up,
“Comrade PLA soldier, this is a family matter. That’s my cousin, she’s a fool. She’s got a lot of strength, and if we don’t keep her contained, she might hurt someone.”

“You’re the fool! Your whole family’s full of fools!” Qiao Xinyi spat. “There’s not a single decent person in the Chen family! You’re all cold-blooded murderers!”

Fu Qingshan glanced at the so-called “fool” from the Chen family. Sharp and articulate—she didn’t look like a fool at all.

The Chen family members, after hearing Qiao Xinyi curse them out, visibly changed expressions. They were stunned—it was clear they hadn’t expected the “fool” to suddenly start talking, let alone cursing them out so fluently.

“Comrade soldier, I saw you had a bicycle—could you please take me to the county police station to report a crime? Chen Daniu and his wife tried to murder me. I want to file a report!” Qiao Xinyi said loudly.

The onlookers were dumbfounded when they heard that.

“Wait… Chen Daniu’s fool daughter isn’t a fool anymore? She’s talking! And talking real smooth too!” someone exclaimed in astonishment.

Fu Qingshan glanced back and saw that more and more people were gathering. Without hesitation, he brought his bicycle over and called out to Qiao Xinyi,
“Hop on, I’ll take you to the county.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Qiao Xinyi climbed on.

“Hold on tight,” Fu Qingshan turned his head to remind her. He scanned the crowd behind them, and once he heard her affirm, he pedaled hard and took off.

Fu Qingshan had strength—he rode the bicycle like lightning, so fast it almost smoked.
By the time the Chen family gave chase, they couldn’t even see his shadow.

Chen Daniu, whether from panic or exhaustion, was drenched in sweat.
“Where’s that worthless girl?”

“Uncle, the fool girl was taken away by a PLA soldier,” said one of the men crouching on the ground, still holding his head and moaning.

“Uncle, she’s not a fool anymore! She talked—she even cursed people out! She asked the soldier to take her to the police station to report a crime!” another added, sounding worried.
“What do we do now?”

“What do we do? Go after them!” Chen Daniu roared, inwardly cursing these useless younger men to hell.

Was that a fool girl who ran off? That was his family’s 500 yuan!
The bride’s family was still raging at his house, scolding him nonstop. And with so many able-bodied men, not one of them could catch a fool? What a bunch of worthless trash!

The village paths weren’t exactly smooth, and with Fu Qingshan biking so fast, Qiao Xinyi felt like she was being bounced into unconsciousness.

Fortunately, Gazi Village wasn’t far from the county. An hour later, the two of them arrived at the county public security bureau.

“We’re here,” Fu Qingshan said, long legs landing steadily on the ground, sweat soaking through his clothes.

Only then did Qiao Xinyi snap out of it. She jumped off the bicycle and quickly thanked him,
“Comrade, thank you so much. Oh—what’s your name?”

“No need to thank me—just lending a hand when I see someone in trouble. It’s the right thing to do,” Fu Qingshan said politely, then introduced himself. “My name is Fu Qingshan.”

“Is that the ‘Fu’ as in ‘to pay’ or the one from ‘master’?” Qiao Xinyi asked.

“The latter,” Fu Qingshan replied as he parked the bicycle. He was just about to ask if Qiao Xinyi could read when someone suddenly called out behind him.

“Fu Qingshan, you’re back already?” Chen Dachuan walked up, at first thinking he had mistaken someone else. He casually asked, “You finished your errand already?”

The two were high school classmates, and the bicycle Fu Qingshan was riding actually belonged to Chen Dachuan.

“Ran into something,” Fu Qingshan said, turning around to glance behind him, then pointed to the girl beside him. “She wants to report a crime. I brought her here.”

“Oh?” Chen Dachuan responded, “What happened? Let’s talk inside.”

As he spoke, he glanced at the girl standing beside Fu Qingshan—and the moment he got a good look at her, he was startled.

“Isn’t she that fool girl from the old Chen family in Gazi Village? If I remember right, people in the village call her ‘silly girl’?”

After recognizing her, Chen Dachuan quickly pulled Fu Qingshan a few steps aside to whisper.

“Why’d you bring a fool here? And what’s with her outfit today? A red shirt and black pants—fine. But why’s she got a big red paper flower and a white one pinned to her forehead?”

She looked like a bride—but not quite like one.

Thinking she was just a fool, Chen Dachuan didn’t bother pulling Fu Qingshan too far. They only walked a couple of steps, and he didn’t even lower his voice much.

Hearing this, Qiao Xinyi immediately reached up, yanked both the red and white paper flowers from her head, threw them on the ground, and stomped on them with her foot, grinding them down hard with her heel.

Fu Qingshan curled his lips into a slight smile and asked, “Does that look like a fool to you?”

“Actually… not really,” Chen Dachuan replied, puzzled. “Even her eyes look sharper today—there’s something clever in them.”

He looked confused. “This doesn’t add up. I’ve seen silly girl before in Gazi Village. She really was a fool—never spoke, never made eye contact with anyone.”

Qiao Xinyi, having heard everything, spoke up directly.
“I was beaten into that state by Chen Daniu. I’m not stupid anymore.”

She turned to the police officer.
“Comrade officer, I want to report a crime.”

Qiao Xinyi spoke clearly and firmly:
“I want to accuse Chen Daniu and his wife of attempted murder for profit! I want to accuse them of child swapping! And I want to report them for spreading feudal superstitions!”

A few minutes later, Qiao Xinyi was seated inside the public security bureau with Fu Qingshan and Chen Dachuan.

Many of the senior officers there had heard of the strong but mentally challenged girl from Gazi Village—some had even seen her in person. The news that she wasn’t a fool anymore and had come to the police to report her own parents had everyone gathering around in surprise.

Even under so many watchful eyes, Qiao Xinyi remained completely calm.

“I’ll start with the attempted murder for profit,” she said. “The night before last, after I drank some water, I suddenly felt extremely groggy and weak. I thought I was just sick, so I didn’t think much of it. But later that night, Chen Daniu and his wife sneaked into my room and swung a stick—thick as an arm—right at my head.”

Qiao Xinyi let her hair down and pushed aside strands at the top of her head to reveal a wound on her scalp.

After the original host died, Chen’s mother had changed her clothes and cleaned the wound on her head, afraid that the groom’s family would be scared off by the sight and try to lower the bride price.

Chen Dachuan and the others leaned in to take a look, and even the grown men were shocked.

It was a huge wound—an enormous swollen lump—and now that Qiao Xinyi had pulled at it, blood had started to seep out again.