Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 139: The Pretty Educated Youth in the 1970s (7)
Xia Shuang could tell that something was wrong with the girl, so she patiently explained, “I’m an educated youth from the neighboring village. Our village chief’s family has arranged a marriage with the Wang family’s daughter, and I wanted to ask…”
The moment the Fifth Girl heard this, she shoved Xia Shuang away and screamed hysterically, “Get lost! All of you, get lost! Whoever wants to marry him can go in my place! I’m not marrying him…”
With that, she stumbled away at a run.
Realizing that this was the Wang family’s daughter, Xia Shuang hurried after her with Jiang Jin.
The girl ran fast. The two of them chased her almost all the way to the foot of the mountain before finally managing to stop her.
“What are you doing? Let go of me! I’d rather die than marry a fool!”
“Miss, please calm down first. I haven’t finished speaking. We came here to tell you that the village chief’s family are bad people. We’re not here to hurt you. I was nearly tricked into marrying a fool by the village chief’s family myself.”
Only after hearing this did Fifth Girl gradually calm down. Frowning, she studied Xia Shuang suspiciously.
“You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Xia Shuang looked at her earnestly. “Strictly speaking, this is a matter between your two families, and I have no right to interfere. But I’m a victim too. I was nearly tricked by the village chief into losing my innocence and being forced to marry his foolish son.”
“This happened to me not long ago, and it’s only been a few days since then. Yet I heard the village chief say that you were marrying into his family of your own free will. I couldn’t put my mind at ease, so I decided to come and see what was really going on. If you’re willing to marry him, then there’s no problem. But if you’re being forced into it, I don’t want another young woman to end up as helpless as I was back then.”
Fifth Girl stared at Xia Shuang in a daze. Her first thought was, How could she possibly be this kind?
After all, ever since her mother died, everyone she had come into contact with had bullied her.
But when she looked into Xia Shuang’s concerned eyes, she saw none of the disgust or contempt that others always showed her. For the first time, she found herself actually believing someone might genuinely care.
Fifth Girl’s eyes grew misty. Suddenly, she dropped onto the ground and blurted out, “I’m not marrying him willingly! I’m not even the Wang family’s biological daughter. I’m only sixteen this year, and they want to trade me away for a bride price. I’d rather die than marry him!”
Before running into Xia Shuang and Jiang Jin, Fifth Girl had planned to visit her mother’s grave on the mountain and find a dignified way to end her life while she was there. Living had become too exhausting and painful.
When Jiang Jin and Xia Shuang heard this, they exchanged a glance. Both were intelligent enough to realize that the girl had probably been thinking about ending her life when she went toward the mountain alone in the middle of the night.
Xia Shuang was relieved they had made the trip. It would have been such a waste for a pretty young girl like this to lose her life.
Without worrying about appearances, she sat down beside Fifth Girl and slowly told her about her own experiences. Deep down, Fifth Girl was still a kind-hearted girl. After hearing how terrible the village chief’s family was, she cried as she joined Xia Shuang in cursing them.
Once Xia Shuang finished, Fifth Girl was swept up in the emotions too and began recounting her own past through her tears.
Xia Shuang put an arm around her shoulders and gently patted her to comfort her. Only then did she learn that the girl was called Fifth Girl, without even a proper surname or given name.
“Fifth Girl, if you’re not even afraid of dying, then use that same courage to fight back against the people who hurt you. Don’t let them get away with it so easily.”
“Throwing your life away for nothing is a mistake. Right now, we’re both victims. We can join forces and find a way to bring these heartless people down, make them face the punishment they deserve, and send them to prison. That way, we won’t have to spend the rest of our lives living in fear.”
Fifth Girl clenched her fists as she listened, her eyes turning red.
That was right. Wasn’t her mother the best example?
Her mother had been killed, yet that family hadn’t shown the slightest remorse. Instead, they had taken the money and lived in comfort, eating well and enjoying themselves.
If Fifth Girl died, she might finally be free of her suffering. But those wicked people would go unpunished. Just thinking about it made her feel that it was so unfair!
“Sister Xia Shuang, I’ll do whatever you say. I’m willing to cooperate.”
……
Before long, the day of the village chief’s son’s wedding arrived.
With a happy occasion to celebrate, the village chief’s family was in high spirits. They set off firecrackers early that morning and went around inviting everyone to come enjoy the wedding feast.
It was nearly noon when the bride was finally brought home.
The village chief had borrowed a bicycle and sent his nephew to fetch the bride together with his son.
Brides in this era didn’t wear veils over their faces. Fifth Girl wore a clean set of clothes, her hair tied into two braids, with a red flower pinned to the front of her top.
When the villagers got a good look at her, they praised her one after another, saying what a pretty girl she was.
Fifth Girl showed no expression. Her gaze was vacant, and when she got off the bicycle and was helped along, even her steps seemed stiff.
The villagers standing nearby noticed something was off and began whispering among themselves.
“Why doesn’t this girl have any expression on her face? Is something wrong with her?”
“I think so too. She looks completely dazed…”
The more the villagers observed her, the more suspicious they became.
After the bride entered the courtyard and toasted the family, she was taken to the bridal chamber.
Everyone else was ushered outside to enjoy the wedding feast. Suddenly, a loud scream rang out from inside.
The crowd jumped in fright and turned to look.
They saw the bride rushing out, her face streaked with tears. She stared blankly at everyone, looking utterly bewildered.
“Who are you people? Why am I here?!”
Fifth Girl, whom the villagers had suspected of having something wrong with her, now seemed full of life and energy. She was like a completely different person from the girl they had seen earlier.
Seeing her act this way, the village chief’s face darkened. “What are you making such a fuss about? Get back inside!”
“It’s you! Aren’t you the village chief? You made a deal with my maternal uncle and aunt to buy me and make me your foolish son’s wife!”
“But I never agreed to this! You’re trafficking people! You even deliberately drugged me, knocked me unconscious, and brought me here. I’m going to report you!”
Her words left the villagers stunned.
The village chief’s face turned dark with anger. He slammed his chopsticks and bowl down and cursed, “What nonsense are you spouting? Your parents agreed to this themselves! You’re just an illiterate country girl. Why would I go to all that trouble to trick you into coming here?”
“Don’t think I don’t know! I overheard your nephew talking to your relatives on the way here. You originally wanted to find an educated youth for your foolish son. You even plotted to frame someone so that her reputation would be ruined and she’d have no choice but to marry your son!”
“But that woman didn’t fall for your scheme. You were afraid your son wouldn’t live long because of his fate, so you believed the nonsense those demons and spirits were spouting. In the end, you had no choice but to buy an illiterate country girl like me and bring me here to extend your son’s life. You’re nothing but a remnant of feudal superstition!”
“You’re trying to kill people for your own benefit! And you actually believe in all that supernatural nonsense! Someone like you deserves to be executed! I’m calling the police and having them arrest you!”
Fifth Girl had a loud voice, and she practically screamed every word.
The villagers who had been eating were startled and hurriedly got to their feet.
Remembering how dazed and vacant the bride had looked earlier, almost as if something had been controlling her, everyone felt a chill creep down their backs.
Without even realizing it, they had already come to believe most of what she was saying.
Besides, Liu Erbao was always showing off and had never been good at keeping his mouth shut. It was entirely possible he really had said those things.
One by one, the villagers’ gazes toward the village chief changed.
The village chief was so furious he nearly exploded. “Where are the Wang family members? Get out here, all of you! Is this how you raised your daughter? Spouting nonsense and smearing my name!”
Unfortunately for the village chief, not a single member of the Wang family was present. Before leaving home, Fifth Girl had threatened them, saying that if they dared follow her, she would refuse to marry and ruin the entire arrangement.
Afraid that the girl might go berserk and spoil everything, the Wang family had stayed behind. At worst, they would miss out on a few mouthfuls of meat. They had already received the bride price, after all.
Fifth Girl put on a pitiful expression and burst into tears. “Village Chief, stop putting on an act! You and the Wang family bought me for fifty yuan, and you even stopped them from coming here because you were afraid they’d ruin your plans. I’d rather smash my head against the wall and die right here than let you get your way!”
With that, Fifth Girl dropped to her knees in front of the villagers and kowtowed.
“I’m begging you all to help me! I’m only sixteen! I really have no other way out. If nobody helps me, I can only smash my head and die right here!”
Xia Shuang, who was standing among the crowd, immediately called out, “I’ve already sent someone to report this! Little sister, please don’t do anything rash. We’re both unfortunate souls, and we absolutely cannot let the people responsible get away with this!”
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