Chapter 119: Go Back
Before getting on the bus, Zhang Fengxia wrapped her headscarf tightly around her face.
She also pulled Su Dashan’s hat down.
She stared resentfully at Su Zhaozhao. For some reason, her gut told her it was Su Zhaozhao.
As she passed Su Zhaozhao, Zhang Fengxia snuck a glance at her from the corner of her eye.
At that moment, Su Zhaozhao hadn’t noticed them. The bus was a little stuffy, and she couldn’t help but lower the silk scarf covering her face a bit.
The moment she did, Zhang Fengxia recognized her.
She had been obsessing over Su Zhaozhao day and night recently. That’s why, even though the girl was bundled up so securely, she recognized her in a single glance.
’I’d recognize that little bitch even if she were burned to ashes!’
’Growing up to look like such a seductive vixen... She’s exactly like that mother of hers who died young!’
’She stole the family’s money and ran off, forcing me to return the hundred-yuan betrothal gift I’d already pocketed.’
’Still, it doesn’t matter. Finding her is all that matters.’
’Now that I’ve found her, I’ll make her life a living hell.’
Zhang Fengxia couldn’t stop herself from glaring at Su Zhaozhao’s back, her eyes filled with malice.
Su Zhaozhao felt a chilling gaze fixed on her back.
She had always been more sensitive to emotions than others.
She had been on the verge of dozing off, but now she was wide awake.
She immediately whipped her head around to look.
A few other passengers sat behind her. They all looked elderly and were dressed plainly. She didn’t see anything unusual.
’I hope I’m just overthinking things.’
When Su Zhaozhao turned back around, Zhang Fengxia breathed a sigh of relief.
’When did that damned girl get so perceptive? Good thing I was quick enough to hide my face.’
But now, she didn’t dare stare at Su Zhaozhao anymore, afraid of arousing her suspicion again.
She kept her face covered, only sneaking a glance each time the bus pulled up to a stop.
Soon enough, Su Zhaozhao got off at a stop.
Zhang Fengxia and Su Dashan scrambled to follow.
But then Su Zhaozhao turned and looked back at the bus. Zhang Fengxia quickly grabbed Su Dashan’s hand. "Wait, wait! Don’t move."
’We can’t let that damned girl see us.’
Su Dashan was confused. "What’s wrong? Aren’t we here to bring her home? Are you just going to let her go?"
"That damned girl is too clever. Didn’t you see? I only glanced at her once and she was already suspicious. If she realized it was us, she’d definitely bolt." Zhang Fengxia waited until the bus had gone a little ways, and Su Zhaozhao’s figure was receding in the distance, before she shouted at the driver to stop the bus so they could get off.
They ignored the driver’s cursing.
Zhang Fengxia even shot back, "You country bumpkins have no manners! We were just a little slow getting off, what’s the big rush? Hurry, hurry, hurry! Rushing off to your next life, are you?"
After getting off the bus, they watched Su Zhaozhao’s retreating figure for a moment before Zhang Fengxia grabbed Su Dashan and pulled him along to find her.
Su Zhaozhao was planning to go to the textile factory first, but she had felt a sense of unease ever since getting on the bus.
But she couldn’t pinpoint the source of her anxiety.
She had even looked back as she got off the bus, but she hadn’t seen anyone get off after her.
That had reassured her a little. She hoped she was just being paranoid.
Maybe she was just spooked because Xu Jiaming had managed to find her apartment. It had made her paranoid, seeing threats around every corner.
Su Zhaozhao headed toward the textile factory. The route required cutting through an alley as a shortcut.
First, she found a deserted corner to take the white radishes out of her space.
’I can’t let anyone see this.’
Su Zhaozhao headed toward the same corner she had used before to retrieve things.
Inside her space, she had already packed a burlap sack full of white radishes, ready to be taken out.
Then she could just drag it to the factory.
However, just as she started into the alley, the feeling of being watched returned.
It was bone-chilling.
Su Zhaozhao glanced around. No one was there.
She frowned. ’Am I just on edge because of Xu Jiaming?’
’I should stop scaring myself.’
She quickened her pace, deciding to get this over with. There were very few people in this alley, which was precisely why she had chosen it.
But now, her unease was only magnified by the emptiness.
But Su Zhaozhao had barely taken two steps before a figure suddenly darted out in front of her.
She staggered back two steps.
"Su Zhaozhao! I bet you didn’t see this coming! I’ve come to find you!"
Zhang Fengxia’s smile was a terrifying, vicious snarl.
She was very thin, with a sharp face and upswept eyes. Her hair had been permed but wasn’t styled, making her look like a madwoman.
"How did you find me?" Su Zhaozhao asked, shocked. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
’So that feeling on the bus wasn’t just my imagination.’
"It must be fate! Even the heavens couldn’t stand to see you get away with it, letting me run into you the second I arrived! You little bitch! You stole all our family’s money and broke the marriage agreement! That was a hundred yuan! Do you have any idea what that means? It’s enough to buy your life several times over!"
Zhang Fengxia was still fuming about it. The moment she received the betrothal gift, she had already planned out exactly how she would spend that hundred yuan.
First, she’d buy a feast of fish and meat for her son.
She hadn’t had a proper meat dish herself in a long time, either.
Then, they could go shopping in the provincial capital, buy some new clothes, some makeup...
She’d been desperately wanting a lipstick from the state-run department store. It was imported, and terribly expensive.
But with a hundred yuan, she could have bought dozens of them.
But all her fantasies were shattered the night Su Zhaozhao ran away.
Su Zhaozhao hadn’t just run away—she’d stolen their money and taken all of her mother’s heirlooms, too!
That was gold! She had been planning to sell it so they could buy a new house.
She was sick of their house in the alley. It was a run-down, dilapidated place that felt like it could collapse at any moment.
And in the end, it all came to nothing.
The contrast between her beautiful fantasies and the harsh reality was a blow that made Zhang Fengxia practically die of fury.
’That little bitch ruined my life!’
She and Su Dashan had even gone to the police at the time, but they couldn’t find her.
She hadn’t been sleeping well since then, and the stress had visibly aged her.
Now, she heard Su Zhaozhao was in the Northwest Military Region, about to marry that man?
She actually came all this way to marry that pauper fiancé of hers?
So, Zhang Fengxia had immediately dragged Su Dashan to West State.
Su Zhaozhao saw the venom in Zhang Fengxia’s eyes—a look that said she wanted nothing more than to kill her and get it over with.
Su Zhaozhao revealed a knife in her hand. "My life isn’t that cheap," she said. "Perhaps it’s your life that’s worthless? If you love money that much, why don’t you marry him?"
"You!" Zhang Fengxia was livid, pointing a finger at Su Zhaozhao. "You think I can’t do anything to you just because you’re about to get married? You’re coming back with me, and you’re giving back the money!"
Zhang Fengxia started toward Su Zhaozhao, but Su Zhaozhao brandished the knife in her hand.
A flash of silver glinted off the blade, and Zhang Fengxia froze.