Chapter 10: The Setup
After leaving the tiny, run-down bus station, Su Yongshi led Su He through a maze of turns to the residential compound of the textile factory.
Su Yongshi and his wife didn’t live here; they rented a single-story house nearby.
These buildings were old tube-style apartments—ten units per floor, with each unit barely a dozen square meters. Toilets and bathrooms were communal.
Su He thought these apartments were even worse than single-story houses!
Su Yongshi, however, clearly didn’t think so. His eyes were full of envy.
The Zhao family lived on the third floor. Apparently, they’d managed to pull some strings to claim the space of three units and merge them into one.
Su Yongshi knocked. A woman in her forties opened the door.
She wore glasses, had her hair pinned behind her ears—this was Wei Qin, Zhao Bin’s mother and an accountant at the textile factory.
Wei Qin gave Su He a once-over, her face full of disdain. Then she said impatiently, “What took you so long? I was planning to go to work. Now look—guess I’ll have to take a half-day leave.”
Su Yongshi chuckled apologetically. “The bus was a bit slow… We rushed here as fast as we could…”
Just then, a young man stepped out from inside the house. His eyes raked over Su He like hooks.
“Mom, how can you let our guests stand outside? Hurry and let them in.”
Only then did Wei Qin let Su Yongshi and Su He inside.
The moment he stepped in, Su Yongshi felt dazzled—there was a radio, a sewing machine, a sofa, and even fresh fruit on the coffee table…
Wei Qin sneered and then gave Su He a critical look. “Honestly, our Zhao Bin shouldn’t be settling for a rural girl like you. But he likes pretty faces, so I guess you got lucky.”
Su He thought, Your son’s just the deputy factory director’s kid. From the way you talk, anyone would think you’re royalty.
Zhao Bin cleared his throat. “Mom, weren’t you in a rush for work? Go ahead, I’ll take care of our guest.”
He hadn’t expected much from this blind date—how good-looking could a village girl be? But now that he saw her, Su He was stunning! Way better than that clueless chick from before!
Wei Qin frowned. She knew exactly what kind of person her son was. But then she thought, If the deed is done, I can use that to keep this girl in line and stop her from getting uppity.
With that in mind, she turned to Su Yongshi and said, “Your workshop’s short on staff right now. No point standing around—come with me to the factory.”
Su Yongshi immediately nodded and bowed. “Yes, yes, I’ll…”
“Second Uncle!”
Su He’s sharp voice reminded him of the promise he’d made earlier. He froze, looking a little torn.
Wei Qin’s face darkened. “Old Zhao was just saying this morning how well you and your wife have been doing, and now look at you—this attitude? Not even close to proper!”
That jolted Su Yongshi. He turned to Su He and said, “Second Uncle has to go now. I’ll come get you at lunchtime, alright?”
Su He stared at him with clear eyes. “Second Uncle, you gave me your word.”
Su Yongshi looked away, flustered, and followed Wei Qin out.
Su He sneered coldly to herself. I gave you a chance—you chose to throw it away.
With Wei Qin and Su Yongshi gone, Zhao Bin eagerly offered her an apple. “Try this—crisp and sweet!”
Su He shook her head, refusing to take it.
Zhao Bin then began showing off everything in the room, bragging endlessly about how well-off his family was.
Seeing that Su He still wasn’t speaking, his eyes flickered. “You must be thirsty, right? I’ve got soda in my room—let me grab one for you!”
Without waiting for her response, he went into his bedroom.
Once inside, he closed the door and pulled a paper packet from under the bed, mixing its contents into the soda.
Thinking of what was about to happen, a sleazy grin spread across his face.
Just then—the door creaked open.
Su He stood at the threshold. “What are you doing?”
Zhao Bin jumped, almost dropping the bottle. “N-nothing! I was just opening the bottle for you.”
Su He sneered. “Really? Because it looked a lot like you were putting something in it. Word is, a couple years ago you used this same trick to ruin a girl. What now? Trying it on me too?”
Zhao Bin’s face twisted—but he quickly regained his composure.
This is my turf, he thought. Even if I don’t use the drugged soda, I can still make her submit!
He sneered. “So you know more than I thought. Fine—let’s be upfront. As long as you sleep with me, I’ll make sure you live the good life. But if you refuse? Once I’ve had my way, I’ll dump you—and you’ll never be able to lift your head again!”
Su He curled her lips into a smile—and pulled out a stun baton.
Zhao Bin froze. The baton had appeared out of nowhere.
Before he could react, the stun baton crackled—and hit its mark.
Zhao Bin convulsed and collapsed unconscious.
Su He could’ve dodged his schemes in many ways, but she chose to face him head-on.
Because this time, she wanted to eliminate this poisonous tumor—so he couldn’t hurt anyone else.
As for the stun baton—she already had a plan to cover her tracks.
Su He, wearing gloves she’d bought from the Exchange Market System, began searching the room. Besides Zhao Bin’s stash of dirty books and suspicious medicine, she found a hidden compartment in the bedroom of Deputy Director Zhao and Wei Qin.
Inside was a stash of ration coupons, various certificates, and over 7,000 yuan—an astronomical amount!
Combined, the couple’s monthly salary was barely over 150 yuan. Plus, they had to support their degenerate son. How could they possibly have this much saved?
Clearly, there was something shady going on.
Since the whole family’s rotten, Su He thought, they can all rot together—in jail.
After a moment of consideration, she returned everything to the secret compartment—including the incriminating items she took from Zhao Bin’s room.
Then she picked up the matchbox from the coffee table—and lit the curtains in Zhao Bin’s room on fire…
