RIRW – Chapter 186

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Guo Caiping had lost count of how many injections she’d been given. She didn’t know how many times she had changed planes. She had no idea how much time had passed. All she knew was that the longer it went on, the more hopeless her situation became—and she had no ability to resist at all.

Her cleverness and scheming were of no use. The people holding her didn’t even give her a chance to speak, leaving her feeling powerless.

When she woke up, the first thing she noticed was the stifling heat and the foul stench in the air.

She sat up and found herself inside a damp thatched hut, surrounded by people with very dark skin.

There were both men and women, most of them bare-chested and filthy.

Seeing her awake, the people around her began talking. She couldn’t understand a single word.

The filthy environment, the noise, the strange-looking people… it all felt like a nightmare—one even more terrifying than the hell she had imagined.

At least in hell, she’d still be able to understand the language. But here, she didn’t know anything—what had happened, where she was, what was going on.

She stood up, legs weak, and ran out of the hut. Only then did she realize the area outside was full of similar huts, the whole place looking utterly dilapidated. Even the worst slum in the provincial capital was better than this.

She tried to keep running, but a dark-skinned man in a blue uniform approached, glared at her viciously, and fired a shot at the ground near her feet. With a loud bang, Guo Caiping fell backward in terror.

The man shouted a string of words she didn’t understand. Seeing she wasn’t responding, he simply grabbed her and dragged her away. Ignoring her screams, he hauled her to another hut, which was in even worse condition than the previous one.

Then he tossed something dark in front of her. When she touched it, she realized it was a piece of black bread.

It was rock-hard and had a strange smell.

She suddenly remembered what Mrs. Sam had once said: “When you go abroad, you’ll eat bread every day. It’s the most basic food over there.”

The others nearby noticed the piece of black bread by her hand and swarmed toward her like wolves.

Seeing the savage look in their eyes, Guo Caiping felt like she was surrounded by demons. “I want to go home! Help, help! Chen Zhisen, I was wrong! Let me go, Chen Zhisen—!”

In a simple office building some distance away, the middle-aged man who had brought Guo Caiping over gave instructions: “Keep her alive. Mr. Chen said she must live at least twenty more years. Let her do the filthiest, hardest work, live with the worst people, and always stay hungry. Make her life a living hell.”

A Black man in uniform made an “OK” gesture.

Here, everyone lived in suffering. It was hard to be happy—but too easy to be miserable.

Once Guo Caiping went abroad, news about her stopped coming. But Zuo Dan could easily imagine the kind of place she was in. She had seen similar horrors online before.

And for Chen Zhisen to be able to send her there—it must be even worse than those places.

The key thing was that everyone thought she had gone abroad to live in luxury.

Zuo Dan realized her father was a fan of poetic justice.

He himself had suffered for years, misunderstood as enjoying a good life abroad. And now, Guo Caiping was facing the same fate.

Naturally, she didn’t speak about it to anyone. Only when whispering in bed with Shen Yiming at night did she bring it up.

Shen Yiming stroked his chin. “Comrade Zuo Dan, I’ve decided to treat you even better from now on.”

“Oh? Your conscience finally acting up?” Zuo Dan raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“I’m afraid,” Shen Yiming said seriously, “that one day your father might think I’m not good enough to you and send me somewhere like that.”

Zuo Dan pushed him down. “Get lost! If you ever treat me badly, I won’t need my dad to step in. I can handle you myself.”

Shen Yiming laughed, pulling her into his arms. “And how exactly would you handle me?”

“Of course, I’d tie you up and do whatever I want!” Zuo Dan said, yanking the blanket over them both.

Their second child hadn’t been conceived yet. Comrades must work hard.

After a satisfying round, Zuo Dan lazily traced circles on his chest. “Shen Yiming, do you think my uncle will finally come to his senses after all this? Oh, and what about Li Xue? Now that all the educated youths are clamoring to return to the city, I bet she won’t last much longer. But I’m not worried at all.”

Zuo Dan gave a mischievous smile. “If she finds out her mother is living it up abroad, she’ll probably become obsessed with going too. She might not even care about my uncle anymore.”

Shen Yiming gently rubbed her back. “Comrade Zuo Dan, it suddenly hit me—we might have a daughter for our second child.”

“So what? Is that a problem? Are you one of those who prefer sons?” Zuo Dan glared at him.

Shen Yiming sighed. “I’m just worried that if our daughter takes after you… I’ll be growing white hairs faster than ever.”

Zuo Dan was instantly annoyed. She pressed him down again. “I didn’t complain when Shen Youyou turned out just like you! And now you dare complain if our daughter’s like me? I won’t forgive you!” She pulled the blanket over them again.

News of Guo Caiping going abroad quickly reached the Li family. The Guo family, upon learning that she had divorced and gone abroad for a better life, rushed to the Li family to claim her belongings.

After all, she had left in a hurry and hadn’t taken much with her—old clothes, used items—those were all still worth money.

Li Wenchang was still in the detention center, so Guo’s elder sister-in-law went there directly to demand the house keys from him to retrieve the items.

At that time, Li Wenchang was disheveled, unshaven, and in poor spirits—looking like a homeless man. Even Guo’s sister-in-law was shocked. Just a year ago, her younger sister had married such a catch—how many young women had envied her then? Even she, as an elder sister-in-law, had been envious. Who would’ve guessed Li Wenchang would end up like this?

“Li Wenchang, you’ve got to give us my sister’s things,” she said confidently. “You two are divorced now—there’s no reason for you to keep them. And don’t even think about leaving them for your sister. All of it belongs to our Caiping.”

Li Wenchang replied hoarsely, “Doesn’t Guo Caiping have the key? Ask her for it.”

Li Wenchang spoke weakly. When he mentioned Guo Caiping, his heart was filled with both pain and resentment.

Sister-in-law Guo curled her lips, “I’d love to find her, but only if I could. Didn’t she go abroad? If I don’t come to you, who else can I go to?”

Li Wenchang immediately looked up. “She went abroad?”

“Exactly. She left just a few days after divorcing you. Who knows how she found a way, but she managed to leave so quickly. You have to admit, she really is capable. Life abroad is great now—those who go all become overseas Chinese. I heard they live well there and earn high wages. Hundreds of yuan a month!”

The more Sister-in-law Guo spoke, the more envious and jealous she became. Li Wenchang’s eyes turned red as he listened, full of resentment—he no longer even felt heartache.

So it was to go abroad. It turned out Guo Caiping had long planned to leave the country. Her whole scheme was just to divorce him.

“Wuwuwu… Guo Caiping, you vicious woman! If you wanted a divorce, you could’ve just said so. Why did you have to ruin me? Why are you so cruel—”

Li Wenchang cried with his face buried in his hands.

Guo Caiping didn’t just send him to prison—she ruined his whole life. How could a man with a criminal record find a job in the future?

Wherever he went, he’d be looked down on.

Because of his emotional outburst, Sister-in-law Guo didn’t manage to get the keys. Instead, she left the detention center in frustration.

As she walked out, she spat in Li Wenchang’s direction. “Pathetic. No wonder our Caiping wanted to go abroad. She’s living the good life out there now.”

That night, Li Wenchang lay on the hard bed, staring at the ceiling. The more he thought about it, the more suffocated and hopeless he felt. Suddenly, he got up and slammed his head against the wall…

When Li Hui and the rest of the family found out that Li Wenchang had attempted suicide in the detention center, they were shocked. When they saw him in the hospital, his head wrapped in bandages, Grandfather Li gave a heavy snort and turned to leave without a word.

Grandmother Li stood by the bed, sighing. “Wenchang, when will you finally grow up?”

She left too. Li Hui looked at him silently. “Dad and Mom are getting old. When will you start thinking about them?”

Li Wenchang lay there with his eyes closed, tears silently streaming down.

After learning from the police that Guo Caiping had gone abroad, Grandfather and Grandmother Li also felt extremely bitter inside. Guo Caiping had done so many awful things, yet others bore the consequences. How unfair was the world?

But then again, it was their own son who had been blind and foolish.

After much contemplation, Grandfather Li quietly made a phone call to Chen Zhisen.

“Zhisen, I know I’m troubling you. But there’s a knot in my heart I can’t swallow. Wenchang was ruined by her. Yes, he made mistakes and paid the price. But Guo Caiping is getting off scot-free—that’s too unjust. Could you ask your friends in the U.S. to help look into it, maybe find Guo Caiping?”

Chen Zhisen was silent for a moment, then said, “Mr. Li, is Huihui with you?”

Grandfather Li was taken aback by the sudden mention of his daughter. “No, she’s in the hospital watching over her no-good brother.”

Chen Zhisen said, “There’s something I hope you won’t tell Huihui.”

Grandfather Li’s heart skipped a beat. “Go ahead. I won’t tell her.”

Chen Zhisen sighed. “That letter from back then—it wasn’t lost. Guo Caiping destroyed it.”

Grandfather Li felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He nearly dropped the phone.

“Are you serious? Do you have proof?”

“There are delivery records from that time. I only just found them. I didn’t expect Guo Caiping to have already gone abroad. I’m angry too, Mr. Li. But don’t worry—I’ll try to find her. Though the world is vast and the chances are slim. I didn’t tell you this to upset you. I just hope you’ll take better care of Huihui. Wenchang owes her too much.”

Grandfather Li’s eyes turned red as he clutched the phone tightly. “I understand. I won’t tell Huihui. I… I won’t bother with Wenchang anymore either. He’s ruined both himself and others!”

After hanging up, Grandfather Li felt he had completely lost any desire to care about his son.

He even resented having embraced so-called democracy back then, letting his children choose their own partners—what a disaster it had brought.

Back at the hospital, Grandfather Li gathered Grandmother Li and Li Hui and brought them home.

Grandmother Li asked, “We’re really not going to care about him anymore?”

Grandfather Li answered calmly, “What’s there to care about? He chose this path himself.” Then he looked at Li Hui, took her hand, and said, “Xiao Hui, from now on, you’re our only child. Your mother and I are counting on you.”

Li Hui was deeply moved. “Dad, don’t say that. I’m your daughter—I’ll naturally take care of you and Mom.”

Grandfather Li sighed. He didn’t know how to explain. Of course, he wouldn’t tell his daughter about this. She had already suffered for so many years. If she believed it was fate, she could make peace with it. But if she knew it was all man-made, how furious would she feel? Her life had been altered by others—that was unbearable.

The three of them left the hospital, determined to no longer care about Li Wenchang. Since her parents were back home, Li Hui quickly returned to work.

Still, Grandmother Li couldn’t help but feel uneasy. “Are we really never going to care about him again? Now that Guo Caiping is gone, maybe Wenchang will come to his senses someday.”

“And if he does?” Grandfather Li’s face was ashen. “Even if he wakes up, he can’t undo the damage he caused. You don’t know—I called Zhisen today. Turns out it was Guo Caiping who took Huihui’s letter. From now on, let’s treat Xiao Hui well. I’m terrified that Wenchang will do something foolish again and drag her down with him. I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to my daughter.”

Grandmother Li was moved to tears. That former daughter-in-law had hurt her daughter so badly… It was unforgivable!

Now that the truth had come to light, the elderly couple were completely done with Li Wenchang.

They only wanted to spend the rest of their lives peacefully with Li Hui. At their age, they didn’t have much time left to make it up to her.

After learning about the situation in the provincial capital from Chen Zhisen, Zuo Dan quickly called home to check in.

“Mom, don’t worry about anything right now. Uncle Chen has already promised Grandpa he’ll do his best to catch Guo Caiping and bring her back. Just focus on spending time with Grandpa. And don’t worry about my uncle anymore. Since Grandpa and Grandma are so upset with him, don’t get involved—it’ll only make them angrier.”

Li Hui felt much better hearing her daughter’s voice. “How is your Uncle Chen doing?”

“He’s great! Always taking Shen Youyou out and about—he’s even more energetic than me. So don’t worry.”

Li Hui felt reassured. “Everything’s fine at home. Oh, your dad is coming to the provincial capital for training. Once he’s here, the house will be livelier, and your grandparents’ mood will improve.”

Zuo Dan was thrilled. “Is Dad getting a promotion? Mom, I might become a second-generation official!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. If your dad hears that, he’ll get all smug.” Li Hui laughed.

Zuo Dan replied, “Perfect! When Dad gets here, tell him to call me—I’ll say it to his face and let him be proud.”

Li Hui chuckled helplessly. Her daughter was a mother herself, yet still like a child.

But that also meant she was living well. That was enough. Her daughter didn’t need to suffer anymore.

After the call, Zuo Dan was in high spirits. She started making plans to go out with Shen Yiming during the National Day holiday. Now that she wasn’t tied down with childcare, she could enjoy herself again.

At dinner, she announced it to the family. “Anyone who wants to join, sign up. I’ll bring along whoever I can.”

Grandma waved her hand. “Not going. I’m practicing dance routines with some old friends lately.”

Chen Pingping’s eyes darted. “I’ve been busy with physics experiments.”

Chen Zhisen, holding Shen Youyou, added, “I’ve already made plans with some friends to hang out. Everyone’s eager to see Youyou.”

Hearing that, Zuo Dan was thrilled but kept a regretful expression. “In that case, it’ll just be me and Shen Yiming.”

After dinner, she returned to her room and began packing for the trip.

Sitting on the bed, she directed Shen Yiming, “Take that dress. And the pants too. Also, the blue cheongsam—it’s warm enough to wear it now. Bring the red one too—we can wear it at night…”

Once Shen Yiming finished packing, she happily wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Shen Yiming passionately took the lead in response.

But just as they were kissing, Zuo Dan suddenly felt a lack of oxygen in her head, her vision went black, and her body went limp.

Alarmed, Shen Yiming quickly let go and looked at her dazed expression. “What’s wrong?”

Zuo Dan’s voice was soft and weak. “I feel really dizzy…”