"Wu Xiulan, give up on that idea! I will not marry Old Man Liu!" Meng Yingxin shouted, glaring hatefully at Wu Xiulan.
Wu Xiulan didn't care at all. Her visit to persuade Meng Yingxin was entirely at Meng Chengfu's behest, and it was also to get a new bracelet. However, she never promised to persuade Meng Yingxin in any particular way, so it was just a formality and that was about it.
Wu Xiulan remained unmoved. After putting the bracelet on the person, she took the remaining half bowl of porridge and left the woodshed.
As soon as she came out of the woodshed, Wu Xiulan poured the half-bowl of porridge into the guard dog's bowl.
Why would they drink plain porridge? They only received 888 yuan as a bride price. Why would they eat plain porridge? This dog food is just something to fool Meng Yingxin.
The following day, as Meng Chengfu prepared to send her away, Meng Yingxin struggled with her last breath.
"Let me go! I said I won't marry you, this is illegal, you can't do this!" Meng Yingxin tried to make a bigger scene.
The Meng family was afraid of losing face and also felt that Meng Yingxin's actions were too troublesome, so they simply knocked her unconscious.
And so, Meng Chengfu personally carried the unconscious Meng Yingxin to Old Man Liu's house.
At that time, Qiao Shouyan and his comrades had just finished a mission and were preparing to return to their unit.
"This place has good roasted chestnuts, Commander Qiao, wait for me, I'm going to buy a bag for my wife so she won't complain about me being away on this mission for several days..." a teammate said.
"Are the chestnuts from his farm really that good?" Qiao Shouyan asked.
"Yeah, my wife loves them. Whenever I upset her, I buy chestnuts from this store, and they always make her happy again!" my teammate said proudly.
"Then I'll take two bags back with me."
"Commander Qiao, when did you start secretly dating?"
"Stop being so nonsensical, I'm taking care of my two younger sisters!" Qiao Shouyan said righteously. He had no time for dating.
Besides, he's always in the military or on missions, so he doesn't even have the chance to meet girls, let alone date.
"Alright!" The teammate shook his head, realizing he was overthinking things, after all, Qiao Shouyan was a well-known good older brother.
While they were roasting chestnuts, Meng Chengfu was seen carrying Meng Yingxin on his back, acting suspiciously, which immediately aroused his suspicion.
"Captain, does that guy look like a kidnapper?" a teammate asked.
Because of Su Yueya's childhood abduction, Qiao Shouyan was particularly sensitive to child abductions. He noticed that the woman on the man's back had her eyes closed, which was very strange...
"That girl was still wearing a bracelet on her wrist. If she were a kidnapper, shouldn't the bracelet have been snatched away long ago?" Qiao Shouyan wondered.
This certainly doesn't seem like the behavior of kidnappers, and judging from their ages, the man and the woman are not much different in age, so perhaps they are overthinking it.
However, just as Meng Chengfu was carrying Meng Yingxin past, the sharp-eyed Qiao Shouyan noticed that there were obvious red marks on the woman's wrist!
Those are marks from being tied up!
Looking more closely at the woman's ankles—Meng Yingxin's pants were thin, and because she was being carried on Meng Chengfu's back, her legs swayed, and her ankles would occasionally be exposed, showing the same red marks!
"Something's not right!" Qiao Shouyan said, and without hesitation, he led his comrades to stop Meng Chengfu.
"Who is this person you're carrying on your back?" Qiao Shouyan asked.
His teammates blocked Meng Chengfu's escape route.
The two men were still wearing military uniforms, and their identities were immediately apparent.
Meng Chengfu didn't want to cause any trouble, so he just wanted to get the person to Old Man Liu's place as soon as possible, which would be enough to complete his mission.
“Sirs, you’ve got the wrong person. This is my sister. She’s getting married today, and I’m escorting her to her husband’s home,” Meng Chengfu explained.
"Getting married? Why isn't she wearing a wedding dress? Why isn't there a procession? Why are you carrying her all by yourself?" Qiao Shouyan asked, his brows furrowed, increasingly suspicious of the man before him.
“Sigh, our family is poor and can’t afford such a big fuss, so naturally I, as the eldest brother, will send her over—”
Meng Chengfu's slightly ingratiating demeanor did not dispel Qiao Shouyan and his teammates' suspicions; on the contrary, it made them question him even more thoroughly.
The longer the delay, the more likely an accident will occur.
Meng Chengfu regretted it in his heart. He should have just drugged Meng Yingxin directly. What if she suddenly woke up...
"Gentlemen, I mustn't miss the auspicious time. I need to hurry and send my sister away—" With that, Meng Chengfu tried to walk around the people.
"Wait!" Qiao Shouyan gave his teammate a wink.
"Girl!" He intended to wake her up.
"Sir, what are you doing? In broad daylight, do you intend to abduct a woman?" Meng Chengfu turned the tables, trying to cause trouble for the two of them, trip them up, and then find a chance to slip away.
"Girl!" Qiao Shouyan raised his voice and nudged Meng Yingxin's shoulder.
"Don't even think about leaving!" His teammates blocked Meng Chengfu's path, making it clear that they wouldn't let him leave easily.
After all that commotion, Meng Yingxin actually woke up.
"Help me—"
And so, by a twist of fate, Qiao Shouyan saved Meng Yingxin and fell in love with this beautiful but unfortunate woman at first sight.
In the chaos, Meng Chengfu abandoned Meng Yingxin and ran away in order to save himself.
Qiao Shouyan and his teammates still planned to give chase, but Meng Yingxin only wanted to get away from the Meng family as soon as possible and had no intention of settling scores.
"No need to chase after them, thank you for saving me."
The roasted chestnuts that Qiao Shouyan originally intended to take home to give to his two younger sisters were given to Meng Yingxin by him. The two of them sat on a bench by the roadside, and he listened to Meng Yingxin's story.
"This is absolutely outrageous!" Qiao Shouyan was furious, never expecting that there could be such a heartless and insane person.
"Waaah..." Meng Yingxin wiped away her tears, crying uncontrollably.
Qiao Shouyan looked at Meng Yingxin's thin shoulders. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how to start. Besides, he didn't have the right to comfort others.
"So, what are you planning to do next? Go back to working at the small restaurant?" Qiao Shouyan asked.
"No!" Meng Yingxin quickly shook her head.
The small restaurant has been exposed, and she absolutely dares not go back to that area again, lest she be caught by the Meng family again.
If Qiao Shouyan was able to save her once, could it be that every time it's such a coincidence?
As for Qiao Shouyan's suggestion to call the police to arrest people... Meng Yingxin had tried it before, but given the precedent of Meng Yaxin taking her spot, she had given up hope of calling the police.
Moreover, the Meng family has not yet succeeded in selling her. Even if they report it to the police, they will be released, and who knows what kind of terrible retaliation they might face.
Just thinking about it made Meng Yingxin tremble with fear.
Seeing the frail girl trembling with fear, Qiao Shouyan felt a pang of heartache for the first time...
“If you trust me, I can help you rent a place first, and then help you find a job. You don’t need to worry about the money,” Qiao Shouyan said.
Meng Yingxin: "..."
She glanced at Qiao Shouyan, then quickly lowered her head, not daring to agree immediately.
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