"She’s my wife!" Xu Qigang cut in succinctly, "All the Su family has brought her is pain, better to stay away from her."
"No matter what, we will not give up." Su Huai’an nodded slightly, "Please take good care of her, thank you!"
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Xu Qigang’s eyes; he of course would cherish and take good care of his wife.
After Su Huai’an left, Lu Dabao opened the door outright. As Xu Qigang stepped in, he saw Sheng Ning sitting on the bed, her body curled into a ball as she ceaselessly knitted a sweater.
"Xiao Ning!" He approached step by step, his handsome face briefly contorted with pain.
"Living... Yama?" Sheng Ning’s trembling hands stopped knitting, and she looked up at Xu Qigang. Her dry eyes were red with blood vessels, her voice was so hoarse it was terrible to hear.
Xu Qigang felt as if he had been stabbed deep in his heart, "Xiao Ning!" He embraced her tightly, "It’s okay now, it’s all okay..."
"Living Yama... sob sob..." Sheng Ning buried her face in Xu Qigang’s chest, crying hysterically. Her voice was strained and full of suppressed despair, her crying so desperate it made Lu Dabao stand frozen, tears unwillingly streaming down his face.
Xu Qigang soothed her over and over again, patiently coaxing, "It’s alright, it’s all over now..."
Sheng Ning cried for a long time until, exhausted by her sobs, she drifted off to sleep, her face still etched with pain even in her dreams.
Xu Qigang lifted her into his arms and turned to leave.
Lu Dabao snapped back to reality and quickly blocked him, "Where are you taking her? We have rules against leaving."
"Her condition is bad right now, she can’t continue to stay in the dormitory; it would affect everyone else."
"I will apply for her leave, don’t worry."
"That’s good!" Lu Dabao breathed a sigh of relief and remarked, "I leave her in your hands then, I’m going to check on Chen Huaying!"
"She’s in the hospital," Xu Qigang said as he carried her away. They walked through the compound’s streets, passersby stopping, shocked, to watch.
The events of this afternoon spread like wildfire. Wherever Yang Wenyin went, her face was dark. She had just assembled everyone for a meeting when Shen Feihu summoned her to the President’s office.
Shen Feihu’s face was stern as waters, and as soon as Yang Wenyin entered, she was bombarded with a ferocious scolding.
"Yang Wenyin, I entrusted the Song and Dance Troupe to you, and this is what you present? No organization, no discipline, they are a total disgrace to the General Union," Shen Feihu was fuming, "They treat General Union’s discipline like child’s play, utter recklessness."
"I’m sorry, President!" Yang Wenyin admitted the error with her head down.
"Is sorry useful?" Shen Feihu slammed his hand on the table with such force that the loud noise startled the people passing by outside, causing them to shiver and stealthily move farther away.
"Look at you... you’ve been far too indulgent with them. I think we should fire them all, send them back home to farm."
Yang Wenyin could no longer remain silent and quickly pleaded, "President, this incident is an isolated case, most are still good." When the President said to fire everyone, it might be just a figure of speech for others, but not for their General Union—with precedent in place, he truly could do it.
"Where are they good?" Shen Feihu sneered, "They don’t even know to break up fights, to stop the chaos. What are they doing? They are watching a farce!" Unable to contain himself, he smashed the teacup on the desk, the fragments scattering in front of Yang Wenyin, who didn’t even flinch.