Chapter 299 Fighting Alone
Her chest heaved violently, her ears were ringing, and her mind was a complete mess.
Under the moonlight, Li Hongmei's face was pale and taut, her cheekbones protruding high, and her lips trembling.
Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, crystal clear and hanging on the edge of her eyelashes, stubbornly refusing to fall.
She stubbornly raised her head, as if defying the prejudice of the entire world.
"Second sister-in-law, I...I really didn't mean to wrong you...I just..."
Qiao Wanyin opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say to mend this sudden rift.
"I understand now!"
Li Hongmei roughly wiped the wetness from her face, her movements so rough it was as if she were tearing off a layer of skin. "City people are city people; they look down on us country folk deep down. You dress neatly and speak politely, but in your hearts you already consider us inferior peasants!"
"I poured my heart out to you, helping you take care of your child day and night, even neglecting to hold my own daughter, and what did I get in return? I'm now an arsonist?! Just because I come from the countryside, just because I'm uneducated, does that mean I deserve to be suspected by you all?!"
The lights in the room suddenly switched on, casting a dim, yellowish glow through the window frames.
Qiao Xuezhi, wearing pajamas and with his hair disheveled, poked his head out and asked with a frown, "What's all this noise in the middle of the night? Who's making the noise?"
Li Hongmei ignored him completely, not even glancing at him twice.
She turned and rushed into the house, her steps heavy and hurried, filled with long-suppressed anger and grievance.
She rummaged through her drawers and found a faded old coat, threw it on haphazardly, and strode out, heading straight for the door without the slightest hesitation.
"Second sister-in-law! Where are you going so late?"
Qiao Wanyin chased after him to the courtyard gate, her voice already trembling with tears, "It's so dark outside, it's not safe! Calm down, let's talk this out!"
Li Hongmei didn't turn around; her figure appeared exceptionally thin and resolute in the moonlight.
Her voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded, and every word was filled with heartbreak and disappointment: "I know I'm in the way here, I'm an unwanted person, a burden to your family! I'll leave! Is that alright? From now on, you'll have peace and quiet, and I'll be free!"
Qiao Wanyin stood in the courtyard. The night wind made her hands and feet numb with cold, and even breathing became difficult.
She watched the figure walk further and further away, wanting to chase after it, but her legs felt like they were made of lead and she couldn't move them.
Li Hongmei did not return all night.
The courtyard was eerily quiet; even the chirping of insects had disappeared.
The next morning, Fu Li'an and Qiao Xuezhi, along with several neighbors, practically turned the entire military compound upside down.
They went door to door asking, leaving no stone unturned, behind every tree, in every warehouse, and in every alley.
The guesthouse asked, but the gatekeeper said he hadn't seen her; the supply and marketing cooperative asked, but the sales clerk shook his head; they even went to the performing arts troupe several times, searching through her usual rehearsal rooms and dressing rooms.
But Li Hongmei disappeared without a trace, as if she had been swept away by the wind, and seemed to have completely evaporated from this courtyard.
As evening fell, Qiao Xuezhi dragged his exhausted body through the courtyard gate. His face was pale and his eyes were sunken, as if he had stayed up all night.
His voice trembled violently, filled with deep fear and self-reproach: "Little sister... Hongmei... what if...?"
"Are you really that upset? If something happens to her, how am I supposed to explain it to my brother? She's my wife..."
These words were like a needle, piercing Qiao Wanyin's heart, causing her to bend over in pain, almost unable to breathe.
She leaned against the door frame, tears silently streaming down her face, her mind filled with the image of Li Hongmei's tearful yet stubborn eyes.
"Won't!"
She grabbed her second brother's hand, her nails digging almost into his flesh. "My sister-in-law is such a resilient person, how could she do something foolish! She didn't even utter a sound when she broke her leg during her pregnancy, how could she be so suicidal now? She's not that kind of person!"
But as soon as she said it, she felt empty inside—like a windowpane blown through by the wind on a cold winter night, letting in a chilly draft.
The more she said "no," the more uncertain she felt, as if she was trying to convince herself with words, or denying some terrible premonition.
Fu Lian ran back, panting heavily, his chest heaving. His military uniform, soaked with the morning dew from the grass, clung to his body, cold against his burning skin.
His trouser legs were still stained with mud, clearly indicating that he had just rushed over from outside.
"The security department has reported the incident to the police station, and the police have been dispatched. Patrol teams from several districts are also cooperating in the search."
As he spoke, he reached up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He saw that Qiao Wanyin's face was as white as paper, her lips were bluish, and she looked as if all her bones had been removed, swaying precariously.
His heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward, tenderly grasping her hand—it was frighteningly cold, and her fingertips trembled slightly.
"Qingqing, don't panic."
His voice was low, yet carried a steady strength: "My second sister-in-law isn't familiar with the city. She even has to ask for directions to the vegetable market. She can't go far. She must be nearby."
Qiao Wanyin's eyes felt hot, as if hot oil had been poured into her eye sockets, causing a burning pain.
Her throat felt like it was stuffed with a hard cotton ball, making it hard for her to breathe and even swallowing became difficult.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
She recalled her second sister-in-law's eyes when she left last night—no anger, no resentment, only a deathly grayness, utterly despairing, as if she had been silently abandoned by the whole world.
At that time, she even advised her second sister-in-law, "It's too late, don't go out."
But my second sister-in-law just shook her head and said softly, "I want to get some fresh air."
I recall those words, spoken slowly and deliberately, with a sob in my voice: "City people have always looked down on us country folk."
That voice was like a rusty iron nail, deeply embedded in her memory.
Thinking back on these past few days, my second sister-in-law gets up before dawn, wearing slippers and busy in front of the kitchen stove, helping her tidy up the kindergarten's teaching materials, wash the pile of dirty clothes the children have changed out of, cook porridge and boil water. She is quick and efficient, and never complains of being tired.
Even when her little Miaomiao cried at night, she was always the first to get up and comfort her.
She always said, "Wanyin, you're tired from work, it's no big deal for me to do more."
If something really happens to my second sister-in-law...
She dared not think about it.
What flashed through my mind was my second sister-in-law lying under the bridge, stuck at the alley entrance, her cold body when she was found...
She suddenly felt a chill and her stomach churned.
"I'll go ask Liu Piaopiao."
Qiao Wanyin suddenly looked up, her gaze shifting from blank to sharp. Her voice was soft, yet sharp as a knife slicing through the air, resolute and brooking no argument. "My second sister-in-law has been hanging out with her lately, talking to her wherever she goes, and rushing to her dorm without even taking a sip of tea. She must know something."
Fu Li'an frowned, his brows furrowing into a knot, a wary glint in his eyes.
“I’ll go with you.”
His tone was firm and left no room for negotiation: "This is not a simple matter, and I can't let you face it alone."
In the rehearsal room of the performing arts troupe, sunlight streamed in at an angle, giving the wooden floor a slightly yellowish sheen.
Liu Piaopiao was pressing her legs down, her body bent into a bow, fine beads of sweat on her forehead, and her cheeks slightly flushed.
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