Chapter 312: The person who has always saved me is my wife, 298
"Now that my husband is back, you can’t stand seeing us together, so you resort to your old tricks, spreading rumors everywhere! Lies spill out of your mouth nonstop. Out of nothing, you make something up. Who would dare believe someone like you? Someone with such degraded morals—do you even deserve to be a teacher? Today, I’m going to smash that filthy mouth of yours, let’s see if you still dare to slander people!" Tian Sangsang’s voice trembled with anger as she shouted. She raised her hand again and slapped Shui Lian across the face, hard.
Shui Lian hadn’t expected Tian Sangsang to be so terrifying, to actually hit her in public. She thought no matter how mad Tian Sangsang might get, at most she’d merely exchange sharp words, acting like a powerless pushover!
Shui Lian was struck to the point of tears, crying out miserably.
"You think you’re the victim here? Crying, are you? Do you even realize your words and actions might destroy a family? I should be the one crying! But I’m strong enough not to! So now that you’re weak, you think you’re in the right? And when you act strong again, you’ll go back to bullying people?"
The crowd couldn’t help but notice how disheveled and pitiful Teacher Shui looked after getting slapped. It was clear that Tian Sangsang had been pushed to her limit.
But if this kept up, things would get out of hand.
"Sangsang, Sangsang, stop it already! We know Teacher Shui wronged you. We all believe you!"
Someone tried to pull her away, only to be pushed aside. A person consumed by fury exhibits surprising strength.
"Sangsang, stop this." Just as the crowd grew more anxious, a low and steady voice suddenly emerged from among them.
It was Captain Jiang!
Captain Jiang had arrived.
The crowd instinctively stepped aside to clear a path for him.
But Captain Jiang’s face was grim—he looked furious!
Was he going to speak up for Shui Lian?
Whether Tian Sangsang or Shui Lian was in the right, all depended on whose side Captain Jiang took and what stance he assumed.
"That’s enough." He reached down and pulled the woman squatting on the ground to her feet, his jaw clenched tightly.
Oh no—Tian Sangsang was in trouble! The crowd stared intently, wide-eyed!
Shui Lian’s heart surged with a sliver of hope. She looked at him tearfully, pitifully. Jinghuai—could it be that, in the end, he still couldn’t bear to abandon her?
"Your hand is swollen." Jiang Jinghuai’s tone turned soft as he gently took Tian Sangsang’s hand. Her previously delicate hand was now swollen from the slaps, and the sight made his heart ache.
What? The crowd was dumbfounded.
Shouldn’t he be concerned about the fact that Teacher Shui’s face was swollen?
But the most shocking moment was yet to come.
The crowd watched as Captain Jiang carefully rolled down Tian Sangsang’s sleeve, covering the stretch of her arm that was as pale as lotus roots, as though afraid other men might catch a glimpse of it.
Then, he draped a women’s jacket over her shoulders and murmured in a low, tender voice, "Next time, dress warmer when you go out. It’s getting cold."
There the commanding, powerful man stood, facing the beautiful woman, the two of them gazing quietly into each other’s eyes.
"Oh my, I’ve never seen Captain Jiang this gentle," someone whispered.
"Yeah, their relationship as husband and wife must be really great."
"Who would dare hope for them to divorce now?"
"Me, me, me! Their love is so sickeningly sweet it makes me want to hang myself."
"Same here, now I want to get married!"
"That Teacher Shui, honestly! Why pick something so shameful as being a homewrecker? Usually, she pretends to be so refined, but her thoughts are so depraved."
"Looks like we all misunderstood Tian Sangsang. Clearly, Shui Lian was the one spreading lies."
"People who spread lies are the most despicable!"
Of course, some truly meant what they said, while others were simply afraid of Tian Sangsang’s temper. Humans, after all, tend to lack sympathy for the meek and instead silently look down on them. Only when you stand your ground do others tread carefully around you. With Tian Sangsang blowing up like this today, people would think twice before carelessly slandering her again.
As they listened to the crowd’s scolding and watched the tenderness shared between the couple, Shui Lian’s eyes burned with even greater hatred.
If it weren’t for the fact that she was in so much pain right now, she would have lunged at Tian Sangsang to stab her to death.
Actually, the crowd assumed that Tian Sangsang—seemingly so fortunate—was still blissfully naive.
After all, Jiang Jinghuai was not a showy man on ordinary days, but when he did something grandiose, it could leave others awestruck!
"What’s going on here?" A stern voice cut through the hubbub.
The commotion had grown so loud it even alarmed the higher-ups.
The women on the scene immediately fell silent, their gazes fixed on the ground, while the men all straightened their backs and saluted, "Chief!"
Lu Lixing gestured for them to relax, his brows furrowed as he cast a steely glance at the prostrate Shui Lian.
"Why is this woman lying on the ground? Was she beaten?" He continued, "Who struck her?"
Still draped in the jacket, Tian Sangsang stepped forward, composed and unyielding, "Reporting to the Chief, it was me who hit her."
Lu Lixing regarded her closely, "I remember you—Captain Jiang’s wife, the one who sang ’Hero Song.’"
"That’s me," she answered, her gaze unwavering.
Lu Chi was visibly surprised. Who would have thought that the delicate-looking Tian Sangsang could hit someone so fiercely? Captain Jiang hadn’t married just a pretty face; he’d married a Little Chili.
"Chief!" Shui Lian seized the moment, her swollen face twisted in pitiful desperation as she cried out, "She—Tian Sangsang—relies on her status as a Military Wife and attacked me recklessly without distinguishing right from wrong. You must seek justice for me!"
Lu Lixing folded his hands behind his back and, refusing to take sides prematurely, spoke calmly, "If something has happened, we’ll investigate thoroughly. No one will be falsely accused."
"Let someone explain the situation."
Jiang Jinghuai stood silently, knowing that it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to speak given his position.
You Huixixi stepped forward and recounted the events.
The crowd chimed in agreeably, "Yes, Teacher Shui was way out of line, always gossiping and spreading rumors!"
"How can someone like that be a kindergarten teacher? She’ll corrupt our children!"
The public sentiment clearly sided with Tian Sangsang. Having grasped the main points of the situation, Lu Lixing contemplated briefly, "Investigate this matter thoroughly. Our military district does not tolerate individuals with poor character—whether they are teachers or Military Wives. Ensure that peace is restored as soon as possible."
"Understood."
Lu Lixing refrained from delivering an outright judgment. Perhaps such matters fell outside his jurisdiction, or perhaps Shui Lian could already see her own bleak future!
Suddenly, Shui Lian cried out hoarsely, despair contorting her face, "Jiang Jinghuai, you can’t treat me like this! I saved your life—you can’t repay kindness with cruelty!"
Her sudden outburst and grotesque appearance visibly startled the onlookers.
"I think you’ve misunderstood something."
Shui Lian was instantly gripped by a foreboding sense of dread.
Jiang Jinghuai stood tall, looking down at her with a voice as cold as ice, "You, of all people, should know better than anyone else who truly saved me back then. I assisted you not because you saved my life, but because you took me to the hospital. When you came here, I thought you’d embrace kindness and move forward. But clearly, I’m deeply disappointed."
"The one who saved me was my wife, Tian Sangsang. It was never about you."
Shui Lian’s face turned deathly pale, her last glimmer of hope extinguished. How long had he known? At that moment, it was as though she had been slapped across the face. The humiliation was unbearable, and she wished she could burrow into the ground to escape the shame. So he had known this whole time. He had always known—it was just that he hadn’t bothered to say it.