They say Tian Sangsang is a shameless woman, but at least she fights openly and squarely. Unlike Tian Tian, who's so deceitful—acting one way in public and another behind people's backs, always pushing the blame onto others. Last time she was taken advantage of by the third household, so this time she isn't foolishly rushing forward to get involved. Aunt Tian stood with her arms akimbo, watching the drama unfold, secretly thinking.
"Stay back!" Tian Sangsang seized the opportunity to grab Tian Tian by the neck with one hand. Facing Chen Guilan and the others, she asked coldly, "Where is my son?"
Hmph, pretending to be weak and innocent—her son is missing, and she has no patience for acting with these people! Just thinking about how her son might be suffering somewhere made her feel like she could kill someone. From what Tian Tian said earlier, it turns out they took her son in an attempt to force her to marry Brother Biao.
"Sangsang, what are you doing? If you have something to say, say it properly. Quickly let Tian Tian go!" someone in the crowd pleaded.
People are all common folk, driven by what they see. Today, no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like Tian Sangsang was being unreasonable. Tian Tian's delicate appearance, her fair neck being gripped by the menacing-looking Tian Sangsang—such a dramatic contrast. Naturally, their sympathies had long leaned towards Tian Tian's side.
Tian Sangsang applied a little more force with her hand, and Tian Tian struggled in pain. At this moment, she didn't care about keeping up appearances anymore, waving her hands frantically in the air: "Help... help me..."
"I suggest you all stay back, or my hands might get reckless."
Chen Guilan and Grandma Tian, who had planned to rescue Tian Tian with a broom, hesitated and exchanged glances, lowering their heads to ponder their options.
"Sangsang, Sangsang—hey, Sangsang!" Aunt Zhong and Tian Guogui finally squeezed through the crowd after hearing the commotion. "Sangsang, first let her go. If you end up killing someone, what will happen to Yanyan? The most important thing right now is finding Yanyan."
The couple was overcome with guilt. After all, they were neighbors, and their house had no one around today, which was when Yanyan disappeared. The more they thought about it, the more they felt the fault was theirs—it was their mistake.
"What's everyone crowding around for? Make way!" A man's loud, penetrating voice rang out, and the onlooking crowd instinctively parted to let him through.
"The village chief—it's the village chief! The chief is here!"
"Tian Tian!" Following closely behind the village chief, Chen Ming took in the scene and immediately charged forward, shoving Tian Sangsang aside and half-supporting Tian Tian.
Tian Tian was crying, weakly coughing.
"Tian Sangsang, are you out of your mind?! Why are you choking people?! If you strangle her to death, I'll beat you to death!" Seeing the girl he loved so much choked until her face was bright red, Chen Ming wished he could take her place instead. In front of the crowd, he shouted at Tian Sangsang, then gently patted Tian Tian's back to help her catch her breath.
"Chen Ming, th-thank you..." Tian Tian bit her pale lips, her demeanor utterly pitiful.
"I'd gladly strangle her to death!" Tian Sangsang's heart felt like it was on fire as she narrowed her eyes at the pair in front of her.
"What did you just say? You..." Chen Ming's eyes widened, but Chen Ying forcefully grabbed his hand and pushed him to the back. "Brother, calm down. I'll take care of Tian Tian here."
She managed to pull Tian Tian's hand out from Chen Ming's grasp. What was wrong with her brother? He just completely lost control whenever he saw Tian Tian. And now, with all these people watching... hadn't he noticed Dad was practically glaring daggers?
The village chief glanced briefly at Chen Ming before slowly walking forward, asking, "Can someone tell me what happened here?"
The village chief looked somewhat similar to Chen Ming—about forty to fifty years of age—but thinner, cleaner, and with a kind expression.
"Village chief, you have to stand up for our family today," Chen Guilan stepped forward, angrily saying, "Tian Sangsang's son went missing, and she insists our Tian Tian hid him away. Look at what she's done to Tian Tian—pushed, hit, choked—and my heart aches so much."
Everyone had previously been just watching Tian Sangsang's hands, but now hearing this, they began seriously looking at Tian Tian. Once the village beauty, her clothes were dirty, her face was swollen like a pig's head, and her neck bore green and purple finger marks. There wasn't a trace left of the ethereal goddess she used to appear to be. seaʀᴄh thё NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Chen Ming furrowed his brow, his heart aching.
The village chief, who had heard some rumors about Tian Sangsang in recent days, showed no anger but instead a hint of scrutiny. "Tian Sangsang, what do you have to say?"
"My son was taken by Tian Tian—it has to be her," Tian Sangsang stated resolutely.
"I didn't do it, please believe me, everyone." Tian Tian immediately shook her head weakly, tears streaming as she looked towards Tian Sangsang in tearful accusation. "Cousin, I don't know why you're slandering me like this. But your son is missing, and you have to bear some responsibility. You've been going to the town for the past few days, leaving the child home alone. Such a small child—how could you feel at ease? If you'd entrusted the child to us, none of this would have happened. But now that the child is indeed missing, you can't pin it on me..."
Tian Tian was filled with hatred inside. She never expected Tian Sangsang to choke her like that, with such a terrifying look in her eyes.
Of course, having never had children, Tian Tian couldn't understand such emotions.
At this moment, the students had finished school. Standing off to the side, Zhou Zheng frowned and said, "Village chief, everything should be based on evidence. Just because Tian Sangsang says something doesn't make it true—I can't bear seeing this anymore."
"Aunt Xiuying said she saw Tian Tian heading towards my house this morning." Tian Sangsang sneered coldly. "Well then, Tian Tian, can you tell me what you were doing at my house? After leaving my house, where did you go?"
"I was heading to school this morning and stopped by to check on Yanyan on the way. After that, I went straight to school. You claim I took the child—where could I have taken him? You've already searched my home and didn't find anything," Tian Tian kept crying.
Chen Ming looked around the crowd and asked, "Did anyone see Tian Tian in the fields holding a child?" After all, the road to school passed by the fields.
"No one." The crowd collectively shook their heads. Indeed, they hadn't seen anything—they had all been busy working and hadn't paid attention to Tian Tian.
"Tian Sangsang, I understand your feelings about losing your child, but being so impulsive is wrong." The village chief spoke up. "Since this happened in our village, let's all help look for the child. If we find him, it's a blessing. If not, we'll call the police tomorrow." The village chief had met Meng Shuyan before, and the thought of that adorable child now missing pained him too. However, he didn't believe Tian Tian was responsible—she had always seemed well-behaved.
"I can't let this slide!" Chen Guilan remained unsatisfied. "Tian Sangsang has hurt our Tian Tian like this—she must pay for it!"
Tian Sangsang replied coldly, "There are no witnesses against Tian Tian, so it proves nothing. Let's talk after I find my son. If it turns out I'm wrong, I'll compensate. But I don't think I'm wrong."
Everyone spontaneously began helping Tian Sangsang search for the child. Yet Tian Sangsang felt a growing sense of confusion—she had practically searched the whole village earlier and hadn't found Meng Shuyan anywhere.