Chapter 71 Regret

Hearing the fierce commotion outside, the security guard rushed out with a vigilant expression.

He gripped a wooden stick tightly in his hand, his face etched with anger.

Upon seeing Liu Datong bullying Sun Xiaorong, the guard's eyes widened in fury, and he shouted sternly, "Bullying a female comrade, have you no shame left? Let me show you how I deal with a scumbag like you today!"

With that, he swung the stick, cutting through the air with a whistling sound, and fiercely struck Liu Datong's body.

The security guard already knew Sun Xiaorong from before, knowing she was a teacher at the school.

In his mind, protecting the school teachers was his unshirkable duty; how could he stand idly by and watch her get bullied, right on the turf he was assigned to guard?

The first blow landed squarely on Liu Datong's waist.

Liu Datong immediately let out a painful screech like a slaughtered pig, subconsciously loosening his grip on Sun Xiaorong's neck.

Without missing a beat, the guard swung again, landing a heavy blow on Liu Datong's leg.

Liu Datong's legs went weak, and with a heavy thud, he dropped to one knee on the ground.

The third strike was aimed at Liu Datong's mouth.

Liu Datong hastily raised his arm to block, and the blow landed heavily on his arm, making him bare his teeth in agony and wail like a ghost.

Crouched on the ground, Liu Datong writhed in pain while viciously uttering threats, "You bitch, you wait for me, I'll never let you go! If my wife really divorces me, I'll make sure your whole family is dead!"

Hearing the threat, the guard furrowed his brow, sensing that something was not quite right, and turned his bewildered gaze toward Sun Xiaorong.

Sun Xiaorong was breathing heavily, her face stained with tears and burning with anger, as she screamed back, "Can you blame me? If it weren't for you, how could things have turned into this wretched mess?"

"You were the one who swore up and down that you would marry me back then, or how else could I have let you touch me? Do you believe me if I go report you for hooliganism right now?"

Liu Datong was choked by Sun Xiaorong's words, leaving him temporarily speechless as his earlier anger subsided just a fraction.

He truly had been consumed by rage, but now that the blows had stopped raining down on him, he gradually regained his composure.

Seeing that he was no longer fighting back, the guard also halted his stick. Feeling that the situation reeked of strangeness, he stopped beating him.

Taking the opportunity, Liu Datong climbed up from the ground, limped over to his bicycle, mounted it, and fled in a wretched state while shouting from afar, "Bitch, you just wait!"

At that moment, he was convinced that Sun Xiaorong had actually taken his past sweet-nothings to heart.

He certainly had promised to marry Sun Xiaorong in the future, but that was nothing more than a lie meant to coax her.

His original plan had been to let Sun Xiaorong marry some honest, simple-minded fellow first, and Lin Yang was the ultimate sucker for the job.

He fantasized about having Lin Yang raise children for her, while he himself could still summon Sun Xiaorong out for his own pleasure from time to time.

But now, he was filled with utter regret, wishing he had never provoked this troublesome woman in the first place.

Having just suffered a series of heavy blows, Sun Xiaorong was hovering on the verge of total collapse.

Her mind was in utter chaos, and her words lacked all coherence.

She felt as though her life had plummeted from the clouds down to the lowest depths, turning pitch black.

The school was going to transfer her household registration back, which meant she would once again become just a rustic country girl.

Her once lofty status as a teacher vanished into thin air in an instant, and the commune would surely broadcast her misdeeds far and wide as a negative example.

At the mere thought of that horrifying scenario, the sky turned dark before her eyes, as if the entire world were crashing down upon her.

She was firmly convinced that all of this was Lin Yang's revenge.

Sun Xiaorong walked back in a daze, her footsteps as heavy as if she were dragging thousand-pound weights.

With every single step she took, it felt as though she were trampling on her own heart.

Before she had walked very far, however, she caught sight of her father, Sun Fugui, hurrying toward her with a look of frantic anxiety.

When Sun Fugui saw the slap marks on her face and her wretched appearance, his heart skipped a beat, and a sense of impending doom welled up within him.

He rushed forward anxiously and asked what on earth had happened.

Sun Xiaorong could no longer hold on; her tears burst forth like a broken dam as she stammered out the sequence of events.

Upon hearing of these shocking twists and turns, Sun Fugui felt the world spin before his eyes, blacked out, and fainted on the spot.

Panicked and terrified, Sun Xiaorong cried out for help at the top of her lungs.

People nearby heard the cries and rushed over to lend a hand.

Working together, they hoisted Sun Fugui onto a flatbed cart and hurried him all the way to the county hospital.

Because Sun Xiaorong had suffered successive psychological blows, coupled with being choked by the neck and punched twice by Liu Datong, her body was already exceptionally weak. By the time they reached the county hospital with Sun Fugui, she had actually suffered a miscarriage!

Although it was the year 1985, the hospital already had a strict system of diagnostic record-keeping.

The miscarriage was clearly and explicitly documented in her diagnosis.

In those days, pre-marital medical examinations still required a trip to the hospital, and this diagnostic record would likely become an indelible stain that would follow her everywhere like a shadow in the future.

When Sun Xiaorong woke up and learned of this devastating, bolt-from-the-blue tragedy, she felt as though her entire world had thoroughly collapsed right then and there.

Staring blankly at the ceiling with empty, lifeless eyes, tears silently slipped from the corners of her eyes and soaked her pillow.

Her heart felt as though it were being brutally carved up by countless knives. Utterly hopeless and devoid of faith, she felt the sky truly fall, plunging her into endless darkness and despair.

Sun Fugui had originally intended to use his daughter to approach Liu Datong and pull strings to save his son.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected things to devolve into such a dire situation.

Burning with anxiety and left with no other choice, he could only let his daughter rest properly at the hospital while he hurried anxiously to the county town.

His plan was to first bring his son, Sun Daqiang, back home, and then lower himself to beg Lin Yang for forgiveness.

If all else failed, he would honestly pay the one-hundred-yuan fine, praying only to appease the matter and restore peace to their lives.

The next morning, the sun slowly rose, scattering golden light across the earth and bringing a touch of warmth and hope to the world.

Yet this warm sunlight could not pierce the dark inner world of Sun Xiaorong.

Lin Yang woke up early, washed up simply, and with a back basket strapped to his shoulders, strode lightly and directly toward the county seat.

Along the way, breathing in the crisp air, his heart was filled with anticipation for the future.

Upon arriving in the county town, Lin Yang familiarly navigated through a few streets and arrived at Eighth Uncle's doorstep.

He raised his hand and gently knocked on the door. The sound of "knock, knock, knock" echoed through the quiet alleyway.

Eighth Uncle was inside tinkering with his beloved birdcage, and upon hearing the familiar knock, a gentle, kind smile immediately surfaced on his face.

The last time he drank with Lin Yang, he had found this young man straightforward and genuine; the two hit it off immediately and conversed most happily.

Responding with a "Coming, coming," he walked quickly to the door and pulled it open.

Seeing Lin Yang, Eighth Uncle smiled and bantered, "Little Yang, you've finally come. What kind of treasure have you dug up from the mountains this time?"

Not paying much mind to the fact that Lin Yang was carrying only a back basket, Eighth Uncle warmly welcomed him into the house and turned to fetch bowls and chopsticks.

"Coming to the county seat this early, you definitely haven't eaten yet, right? Just make do with a bite or two for now, and at noon you can keep this old brother company for a couple more drinks so we can have a proper chat."

"I still have plenty of interesting tales from the mountains waiting to tell you!"