"Quick, save the child, a kid has fallen into the pond!"
"Save..."
Song Yitang choked on water, unable to make a sound,
as her body kept sinking, she panicked and flailed her limbs desperately.
"Tangtang, don't be afraid, I'm coming to save you right now!"
Looking toward the source of the voice, she saw a boy running over and diving headfirst into the pond not far away.
Squinting through the water, Song Yitang barely made out the figure—it looked like a young Zhang Rui. Could it be that she was reborn?
In her previous life, she slipped and fell into the water and was rescued by her childhood friend Zhang Rui. To avoid gossip and protect her reputation, her family arranged a marriage without considering her wishes.
Forced to drop out of high school in her senior year to marry, she developed a phobia of water and even learned to swim, but by the time she resigned herself to her fate, it was already too late.
Especially when her life was in danger during childbirth, she begged Zhang Rui to sign the consent form for a cesarean section. His mother wouldn't let him, flat-out refusing.
Later, she died of amniotic fluid embolism, taking two lives with her.
All her past life's torments flashed before her eyes—the domestic abuse that almost left her crippled, her blood-sucking family, they even harvested her organs after her death!
Thinking of this, Song Yitang's eyes filled with tears, and she stretched out her arms, swimming towards the shore.
Since Heaven had given her a second chance, she would not make the same mistakes again. This time, she would live for herself!
"Eh? Song Lao Er, you know how to swim?"
Widow Liu, who had run back for help, was surprised as she saw Song Yitang sitting paralyzed by the shore.
"Help—I've cramped my leg—save me!"
Zhang Rui's energy was rapidly depleting. Though spring had begun, the water was still bitterly cold, and he soon started floundering helplessly.
One of the men Widow Liu had called for help was a strong figure who, without a second thought, plunged into the water.
At this moment, Song Yitang watched expressionlessly, her gaze icy. Seeing Zhang Rui out of danger, she turned and walked away without a word.
Widow Liu caught a glimpse of Song Yitang out of the corner of her eye and was shaken by the look she had just seen.
The previously honest and easy-going Song Yitang now had a gaze like someone else entirely.
Song Yitang had just arrived home and changed out of her wet clothes when the Zhang Family's people charged over, furious.
"Everybody, come and judge this! My child almost died saving someone, and this girl ran away as soon as she got to shore!" Zhang Rui's mother, Li Ping, wailed at the doorstep, holding onto Zhang Rui.
At the Song's house, there were only Song Jianguo and Song Yitang, their mother Liang Shaofen had taken the younger brother, Song Chenghao, to the commune to buy things.
Song Jianguo, who had just finished work and was resting, hurriedly got up upon hearing the commotion and pulled Li Ping and her son inside.
"Sister-in-law Li, what happened?"
Li Ping huffed and pulled her son Zhang Rui in front of her.
Zhang Rui was soaked through, his face pale, and his body shivering nonstop, whether from fear or cold.
"My Ruizi kindly saved your Tangtang, but that ungrateful brat ran off as soon as she got ashore."
"Who knows what lasting ailments my son might develop from this, Tangtang must marry into our family to take care of Ruizi!"
Piecing together Sister-in-law Li's statements with the sight of a drenched Song Yitang, he knew Li Ping was notoriously cunning, and Song Jianguo, unsure of what to do, instinctively reached to scratch the back of his head.
Seeing Song Jianguo's hesitation, Li Ping shouted loudly.
"Bodhisattva bless, my son's life is grand; if no one had seen him, I'm afraid he'd already be..."
"Dead, right? Isn't he still standing right here?" Song Yitang looked coldly at Li Ping, "One might think you've come here for a funeral."
"I didn't beg your son to save me, it was him, puffing up his face to play the big shot, wanting to play the hero, and ended up playing the bear!"
Song Yitang's words were like piercing arrows.
"You little wench, you even dare to curse us!" Li Ping advanced as if she was about to strike.
"Auntie Li, don't be rash, let's do as you say."
With all the commotion escalating, he was afraid the neighbors would hear and come out to watch their family's spectacle.
"Auntie Li, calm down, let's talk inside."
"Talk my foot! I'd rather marry a dog than marry him!"
Song Yitang looked indifferently at this selfish man, feeling a deep sense of desolation within.
To truly solve the problem, she had to escape this devouring household.
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"Daring to talk back to your father?" Song Jianguo habitually raised his hand, ready to smack Song Yitang.
Song Yitang leaned back to dodge the smack, her tone neither humble nor arrogant.
"What nonsense is this, just to save the tiny bit of face you have, you can disregard my happiness for a lifetime?"
Song Jianguo, a man of narrow-mindedness and pride, felt deeply humiliated by Song Yitang rebuking him in front of others.
Feeling utterly disgraced
"If you won't marry, then get out of this house and never come back!"
Song Jianguo, red-faced and with bulging eyes, tried to blackmail Song Yitang with this threat.
He didn't believe that a girl barely seventeen could survive once leaving home.
"Fine, then let's divide the family property!"
Just like in her previous life, Song Yitang had anticipated this, so she deliberately provoked Song Jianguo.
"Don't even think about dividing anything, just get out, and don't expect to take a penny of my things!"
Li Ping was shocked inside, wondering when Song Yitang had changed so much.
Song Jianguo, furious, found a thick wooden stick and ruthlessly beat Song Yitang with it.
"Either you beat me to death or we divide up the family!" Song Yitang remained resolute.
After several hits, Song Yitang grabbed the stick to prevent it from leaving more marks on her body.
She truly wouldn't get much from the division, but as long as she stayed in this house for another day, Li Ping would scheme to make her marry into her family.
The standoff continued until Captain Zhang Weiguo interrupted them from outside the mud wall.
"What on earth is going on here?"
Captain Zhang had just received a new leader transferred from above, who had said he wanted to get acquainted with the situation before even settling his luggage.
Not unpacking was to facilitate Zhao Shouzhong's ability to flee at any moment after assessing the situation.
Song Jianguo loosened his grip on the stick and hurried over to exchange pleasantries, hoping to quickly get them to leave.
"Captain Zhang, please bear witness for us, my father and I are preparing to divide the family property!"
Song Yitang didn't wait for Song Jianguo to approach the mud wall and took the initiative instead.
"Divide the family, what's happened that you want to make such a fuss?"
A trivial, long-dead issue would definitely not result in a division of the family property, so Song Yitang spilled all of Song Jianguo's scandalous behavior.
"Auntie Li came to propose marriage without offering a betrothal gift, emotionally blackmailing my face-saving father, and both of them forced me to drop out of school to get married."
"If I refuse, another beating awaits me at night, just like my mother, no part of my body is unscathed."
"Captain, you know that my academic performance is the best in the entire village."
Song Jianguo, whenever slighted outside, would definitely come home and take it out on his wife and daughter, never his precious son.
"When did I ever force you to drop out?"
Li Ping, unable to bear it, was usually the one slinging mud at others, and now it was her turn to be slandered.
Beating wives and daughters was, after all, an all too common occurrence in the countryside, but standing beside Captain Zhang was a leader just transferred from the city.
This leader was dressed elegantly, sporting a pair of black-framed rectangle glasses.
He exuded an aura of stern authority, especially standing next to Captain Zhang.
"This..."
Captain Zhang hesitated, frantically signaling Song Jianguo with his eyes to stop Song Yitang.
Wasn't this a slap in his face? The leader had just arrived and was already witnessing such a disgraceful scenario.
"Alright, I'll bear witness for you." Zhao Shouzhong had not intended to meddle, but upon hearing the girl's mention of dropping out of school,
he identified himself as an intellectual who always valued talent, and wouldn't be in this trouble-ridden Golden Brigade if he hadn't been harmed by a schemer.
The stubbornness in the girl somewhat reminded him of his younger self.
And now, the worst scenario for Song Jianguo, who dreaded airing his family's dirty laundry, unfolded as Captain Zhang and the newly arrived Secretary stood in his house witnessing the commotion.
People who heard the commotion stopped by Song's house door, all of them craning their necks and pricking up their ears for the gossip.
"This is the new leader transferred to our village, Secretary Zhao." Captain Zhang, managing a forced smile, introduced.
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