After Awakening, She Tore Apart Her Enemies and Joined the Army on an Island - Chapter 22

“Xiao Meng, people with red armbands outside say they want to take you away.”

Granny’s voice was urgent and flustered as she whispered, “Quick, run through the back door. I’ll stall them first.”

Su Meng paused in the middle of putting on her shoes, her delicate eyebrows knitting together.

In just an instant, she had pieced together what was happening.

It must be that jumping flea Zhong Wanrou stirring up trouble again.

Hmph! She had been merciful enough not to crush her underfoot, yet here she was hopping around causing problems.

She probably wanted to use Hu Wangqing’s influence to have Su Meng sent down with the rustication team.

What a beautiful thought!

Su Meng opened the door and glanced toward Su Ada’s room. “Granny, please buy me five minutes. Make sure they don’t break in.”

Su Ada was injured and couldn’t withstand their harassment.

Granny: “Alright!”

Su Meng smiled and patted Granny’s arm before slipping out the back door.

Hu Wangqing’s home was located in the bustling International Settlement, just two streets away from Willow Lane.

When Su Meng reached the street, she spotted Zhong Wanrou and Hu Wangqing hiding under a large tree beside Willow Lane, pointing triumphantly toward her grandfather’s house.

She averted her gaze and quickly moved through the streets.

She was dressed in the fashionable youth style of the time: green military uniform, army satchel, liberation shoes, with a loosely tied canvas belt around her waist that both cinched the oversized garment and allowed for easy movement.

“Auntie, could you tell me which courtyard is Hu Wangqing’s home? I’m her intended.”

Su Meng raised her thick, dark eyebrows and ingratiatingly slipped a piece of candy into the hand of the auntie sitting at the lane entrance.

The auntie looked her over and chuckled, pointing to a house with a faded lantern hanging above the gate. “That’s the one.”

“Young man, if you’re her intended, how come you don’t know where she lives?”

Su Meng kept a straight face, feigning embarrassment. “I’m her childhood fiancé from the countryside.”

“I’m not good enough for her, so I came voluntarily to break off the engagement. Thank you, auntie!”

The auntie sighed softly. “How times have changed! Her family may have become officials, but they shouldn’t abandon principles like this.”

Su Meng smiled faintly as she entered the lane. Glancing back at the aunties chatting about the gossip, she took advantage of their inattention to make a running start and slip into the courtyard.

Weren’t the red armbands surrounding her grandfather’s house?

Well, she would come to Hu Wangqing’s home to start a fire.

Hu Wangqing’s father was the most active member of the Revolutionary Committee, always touting his integrity, fairness, and selflessness.

But when Su Meng saw the letters and account books in his study, she snorted derisively: “What a fine public servant serving the people!”

When Revolutionary Committee members conducted house raids, they were also responsible for confiscating the property of their targets.

Hu Wangqing’s father, Hu Fusheng, often walked by the river, how could his shoes not get wet?

How could a petty bourgeois who had recently escaped poverty resist the temptations of sugar-coated bullets and monetary bribes?

His private treasury was right there in the study: two safes filled with gold bars and cash, and a large cabinet containing priceless antiques, calligraphy, paintings, jewelry, and accessories.

Rolls of Dacron fabric, silk, and cotton cloth, rare commodities even with money were piled in a corner, the bottom layers covered in dust.

Su Meng collected everything into her space.

Then she set fire to his study, woodshed, and kitchen.

Thick smoke billowed as flames roared, fanned by the autumn wind.

Standing in the gentle autumn breeze, Su Meng watched the crowd running with buckets of water and heard their exclamations of surprise. Estimating that the fire wouldn’t spread, she headed home reassured.

“Ah! There’s a fire over there!”

When Su Meng returned, she happened to hear Zhong Wanrou exclaiming while pointing toward the direction where thick smoke was rising.

Instantly, the smile vanished from Hu Wangqing’s face. “That’s the direction of my house.”

“Dad, Dad, our house is on fire!”

Hu Wangqing dashed frantically toward the red armbands gathered outside Xie Jingming’s courtyard gate, his hair flying wildly and one shoe lost in his haste. “Dad, it’s bad… our house is on fire!”

“Nonsense! Get out of here! Can’t you see we’re working?” the middle-aged man in charge snapped coldly.

Hu Wangqing yelled, “Our house is on fire… look!”

Someone turned and glanced at the thick smoke in the distance.

“Brother Hu, that really is the direction of your house. Should we go check it out?”

Hu Fusheng, ever the professional, didn’t even turn his head. “Stop spreading rumors and focus on the task.”

Hu Wangqing slapped the ground in desperation. “It really is our house! No one’s home, it’ll burn to the ground!”

Some word must have struck a nerve in Hu Fusheng. He withdrew his hand from knocking on the door and turned around in shock.

One look was all it took for him to lose his composure. “It really is my house! Quick! Go put out the fire! Hurry!”

In the blink of an eye, the red armbands had vanished.

Su Meng hadn’t expected the leader of the troublemaking red armbands to be Hu Wangqing’s father.

Her original plan had been to use the fire as a distraction to buy time before reporting his family.

After all, in these times, anyone with a little power wasn’t exactly clean.

Even though the red armbands had left, Su Meng didn’t let her guard down.

She immediately headed to the Neighborhood Committee and quietly placed Hu Fusheng’s letters and account books on Jiang Weimin’s desk.

Based on her limited life experience, she judged Jiang Weimin as someone who loved wealth but acquired it through proper means; he loved power but didn’t abuse it within his duties.

He could be considered a decent official.

By reporting Hu Fusheng, she could both punish the Hu family and contribute to Jiang Weimin’s performance record.

A win-win situation!

As for Zhong Wanrou, who had lost her backing, she could be dealt with anytime.

Su Meng happily headed home, so pleased that with a running start, she leaped onto the wall.

“Sister Su, why are you on the wall? What scenery are you looking at?”

Su Meng: “…”

Careless!

She had been worried that Granny would fret and wanted to get home early.

She hadn’t expected to be spotted while taking a shortcut.

Her image as a refined lady!

Completely ruined!

“I… uh, I was looking at the smoke over there, swaying, hazy, so beautiful!”

Nie Pingting rolled her eyes. “Keep making things up. Sister Su, are you too scared to jump down? Do you need a ladder?”

Su Meng: “…Thank you so much.”

Such thrilling, risky moves could be accomplished in one go with enough momentum.

But once the initial drive faded, that sky-piercing courage ebbed away like a receding tide. Add in the psychological burden and several pairs of eyes watching, and she froze, unable to bring herself to jump.

Her legs went weak.

She chickened out!

Later, Su Ada commented expressionlessly, “Too weak! Looks like you’ve been slacking off all these years!”

Su Meng chuckled awkwardly, “I’m a refined lady, after all!”

Back in the day, when her father insisted she practice martial arts, Su Ada had even pleaded on her behalf, “Little Meng is just a young girl, she doesn’t need to train. She just needs to be a happy, proper young lady.”

Clearly, Su Ada remembered those times too.

He sighed softly, “Now that you’re older and need to stand on your own, you’ll resume daily training from now on.”

Su Meng groaned in despair, yielding under Su Ada’s unyielding gaze. “Alright then!”

Nie Pingting’s gaze shifted between the two of them. “Sister Su, who is he?”

“My uncle, just arrived from our hometown.”

Nie Pingting didn’t probe further, every family has their share of relatives.

“Let’s hurry and eat breakfast. My father might come pick you up soon.”

Su Meng took a bite of rice and asked, “Are you coming along?”

If it weren’t for her concern about the translation work, she definitely wouldn’t give Zhong Wanrou any chance to cause trouble.

“Of course! But I probably won’t be allowed into your conference room.” Nie Pingting sounded a bit regretful. “I’d love to see what it’s like. Oh! There’s a car horn, must be them.”