A hint of surprise flitted across Shen Xiujin's eyes ... Even now, she still strives to maintain her dignity?
Indeed, after all, she is Jian Tong, a woman who has always been bold and imperious, not losing the slightest bit of her pride even when her confession was rejected by him.
Shen Xiujin moved swiftly, catching her delicate chin.
"Ouch—pain!" The hand holding her chin was like a pair of pincers, the force exerted on Jian Tong's chin seemed to be enough to crush it, causing Jian Tong such pain that tears overflowed.
Yet the other party showed no pity, grasping her chin tighter and tighter: "Who would have thought that beneath this pretty face lay such a malicious heart?"
"I really didn't harm Wei Ming!" Jian Tong bit her lip, pain making her complexion turn pale: "You can't just send me to prison without any evidence."
"No, I can," Shen Xiujin sneered, his words spoken ruthlessly: "So, Miss Jian Tong, please enjoy your prison life hereafter." Releasing her chin, Shen Xiujin turned and walked away with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
He was taking revenge on her. Jian Tong's face turned deathly pale; she was at a loss for words.
The women's prison was not as tranquil as it appeared. On her first night there, she was rudely awakened from her sleep.
"What do you want?" Jian Tong looked around warily at the circle of inmates who surrounded her with ill intent, "Don't mess around, or I'll call the guards."
Hearing her threat, the surrounding inmates didn't show fear but instead exchanged glances and burst into derisive laughter. One of the dominant figures among them, a sort of 'queen bee', pointed at Jian Tong's face: "What's that? Call the guards? Ha ha ha... Did I hear that right? You're going to call the guards?" As she spoke, she quickly and harshly slapped Jian Tong, "Go on then! Weren't you going to call the guards?"
Jian Tong was caught off-balance by the slap, her ears ringing from the impact.
Leaning on the wall with one hand for support, Jian Tong managed to steady herself. Then, unexpectedly, she took her own swift action.
"Slap!"
Her hand connected firmly with her attacker's face. The cell fell into a momentary silence, as no one had anticipated that this seemingly delicate woman would dare to fight back.
The burly woman, driven insane by Jian Tong's slap, snarled with bloodshot eyes, "Damn it—you bitch! Sisters, beat her up! It doesn't matter if she's crippled or wasted, Mr. Shen has given the orders, there's no need for courtesy. Just make sure this stinking bitch gets what she deserves, just don't kill her!"
Jian Tong was shocked, a sharp pain spreading from her heart to every limb... Shen Xiujin! Shen Xiujin!! Mr. Shen had given orders... Shen Xiujin!!!
Jian Tong's hands and feet were trembling, her heart frozen solid!
No wonder, with all this commotion, no guards were coming. No wonder, these formidable and imposing female prisoners surrounding her were so bold and fearless!
She looked up at those female prisoners, got up, and ran towards the prison door. Clutching the iron bars of the gate's window, she cried loudly for help: "Help! Someone's beating me! Help me! Somebody, come quick!" Even though she knew no guards would come, she could only engage in utterly useless pleas for help.
She was gambling, betting that Shen Xiujin hadn't ordered these prisoners to "take good care" of her, despite the slim chance of this being true... She still harbored the illusion—that Shen Xiujin didn't completely turn his back on her, that there was still some mercy left for Jian Tong.
"Ah...!" Her hair was violently yanked, pulling her off balance and causing her to fall to the ground embarrassingly, face down. Jian Tong had never been so humiliated!
In the next second, Jian Tong was dragged up by her hair, hit and kicked, groaning miserably on the ground: "Ugh~"
Jian Tong's hope for "Shen Xiujin's mercy" never materialized.
She stopped screaming, letting them beat her as she listened to the sound of their cheerful laughter ringing in her ears.
Her cries for help stemmed not from a fear of being hit or the pain, but because she still clung to that slight hope and illusion in her heart.
Those who beat her tired themselves out and eventually climbed into their beds to sleep.
Jian Tong lay sprawled on the ground, tears mixing with the dust on her face.
She had never been so humiliated, never been in such a sorry state. All because she had fallen for Shen Xiujin, a man she should not have loved.
Why must she bear Shen Xiujin's wrath and hatred the moment something happened to Xia Weiming?
After Xia Weiming's incident, Jian Tong had explained to everyone around her, "I never harmed Weiming."
Despite her exhaustive efforts to explain, no one was willing to believe her.
Her desperate explanation: It wasn't she who invited Weiming to "Night Color"; Weiming, curious about what a "bar" was like, had asked her to go to "Night Color."
In others' eyes, she, Jian Tong, the grandiose young lady of the Jian family, was flamboyant and willful, while Xia Weiming was seen as innocent, well-behaved, and timid—how could she take the initiative to request a visit to a bar, a place frequented by all sorts of disreputable characters?
She claimed that her car broke down on the way, which was why she arrived late to "Night Color."
But no one believed her; they all said she was just making excuses, that she had intentionally allowed Xia Weiming to be alone in "Night Color" to make it convenient for a group of thugs, whom she had paid off, to shame Xia Weiming and ruin her reputation.
However, she herself had no reason to do such a thing. Xia Weiming often told her, "Sister Jian Tong, I don't feel that way about Brother Jin."
If Xia Weiming were Shen Xiujin's girlfriend, she, Jian Tong, would stay away from Shen Xiujin! But wasn't it true that Weiming did not like Shen Xiujin?
In everyone's eyes, Jian Tong is seen as the vicious antagonist, having committed every conceivable misdeed.
She probably realized that a serious incident had occurred when the hooligans vanished without a trace. Who knows into which remote corner they had disappeared? In such a vast country as China, there are certainly killers who have managed to hide away in some uninhabited mountains or forests for decades. Jian Tong, more than anyone else, wanted those thugs to be apprehended swiftly.
She let her tears fall. From the time of the incident to the moment she was imprisoned, Jian Tong firmly believed in her innocence; she had not committed a crime.
But now, she understood that as long as Shen Xiujin deemed her guilty, she deserved to be punished, and any penalty would be too lenient for her supposed crimes.
And all of today's events — they were all orchestrated by Mr. Shen.
Jian Tong didn't know that within her future prison life, there would be countless instances of "Mr. Shen's intentions" waiting for her.
Without the backing of the Jian family, without any records, without academic credentials, having served time in prison... Shen Xiujin had eradicated all evidence that Jian Tong had ever lived! Now, Jian Tong was nothing more than a prisoner, a mere set of numbers: 926.
Jian Tong came to an understanding about everything, hugging her knees and curling up even tighter. ... Shen Xiujin had completely erased every trace of her existence!
Early Morning
"Hey, wake up. Go clean the toilet..." A female prisoner rudely pushed Jian Tong, only to start screaming in fright: "Ah! There's a dead person!"
Another prisoner with more nerve rushed over, placing a finger under Jian Tong's nose, and after a long pause, finally noticed a faint breath: "Quiet! She's still alive! Call the guard quick!"
Jian Tong was lucky; she was resuscitated. But this might not have been a blessing, for endless humiliation and unseeing torture can drive a person mad, can... completely change a person.
Three years laterThe gates of the S City Women's Prison opened, and before long, a woman emerged, moving languidly.She was shockingly thin, her body draped in the same white dress she was wearing when she entered the women's prison three years ago. Now, it hung on her like a large sack.She walked very slowly, step by step, heading towards a platform a hundred meters away. In her hand, she carried a black plastic bag containing thirty-one yuan and fifty cents, along with an identity card.In the sweltering summer heat, walking on the gravel road, the ground visibly undulated with a layer of white heat haze. Today the temperature was at least thirty-three or thirty-four degrees, yet the woman walked under the scorching sun without a single drop of sweat on her body.Her pale skin bore bruises of blue and purple, and even on her face, near the hairline at the edge of her forehead, a scar about three centimeters long sprawled prominently, very conspicuous.The bus arrived, and the woma
Jian Tong has been working at Donghuang for three months. As night falls, the overly bustling city becomes a blaze of neon lights, inciting restless hearts with its allure. Jian Tong has just finished cleaning up the vomit of a lady who had drunk too much. Although her movements were slow, she handled the task with deft efficiency. She then lit some incense and placed it in the corner. Her mop swept through the independent sanitary compartments, taking her to the very last one, which not only housed the cleaning supplies but also served as her makeshift resting place during breaks. Everything appeared to be in perfect order, methodically managed. The waiter who had dragged her into this had long since vanished, but Jian Tong didn't mind. After ensuring the mop and bucket were neatly put away, she sat down in the compartment and began to daydream. Jian Tong, everything was Mr. Shen's intention. Jian Tong, you are nothing now. You've lost the noble family you were once proud of,
Jian Tong's heart was still pounding with residual fear. Before she had time to feel relieved, she suddenly realized that she was being intimately embraced around the waist by a stranger man. "Ah ah ah..." Jian Tong panicked. She had grown up so big, and aside from her brother, no man had ever held her so closely... including... him. Xiao Heng's face darkened, and he quickly stretched out his other hand to cover Jian Tong's mouth: "Shut up! What are you yelling for! You're such an odd woman! Normal people would instinctively scream when they're about to fall, but not you. You didn't make a sound when falling, but now you scream for no good reason!" "You you you... let go first." Xiao Heng noticed her stumbling and suspicious manner and a lightbulb went off in his head: "Hey, you weren't screaming just because I hugged your waist, were you?" Seeing the woman in his arms turn a peculiar shade in an instant, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably: "...It seems that really i
Fire, indeed, has spread to her side! She really shouldn't have meddled and tried to help Qin Mumu! Jian Tong regretted it so much she wanted to die. "Hey, I'm talking to you, cleaning lady." Jian Tong had no choice but to nod her head stiffly. The voice, filled with irreverence, chuckled gleefully and said to Qin Mumu, "Did you hear that? Even a cleaner knows how to read the room and show some respect." He then grabbed the bottle of wine and slammed it down on the table forcefully: "Drink it up. Otherwise, I'll call Su Meng over." Su Meng was the one who had interviewed Jian Tong, the sister they referred to as "Dream". Hearing the mention of Sister Dream, Qin Mumu became somewhat scared. Her family was poor, and she worked as a server at Dong Huang because of the high pay. If Sister Dream was called over, she would lose her job. "Don't call Sister Dream!" Qin Mumu grabbed the bottle of wine on the crystal table, "I'll drink!" As she
"Sister Jian Tong, now that you're out of prison, what do you want to do? I want to go to Erhai. The beauty of Erhai is so clear and clean. The waterbirds there are adorable, and the fish and shrimp in the lake are so fresh. The sky is bluer, the water clearer, and even the sunshine feels warmer than in this city. I'm going to work hard to make money, a lot of money, and go there to open a small guesthouse. I'm not looking to make a fortune; I just want to face Erhai Lake every day, with its rising and falling tides. I don't aim to earn a lot, just enough to live a comfortable life with a little extra, and occasionally watch backpackers come and go. Sister Jian Tong, I feel like I'm about to die. What should I do? I haven't had the chance to see the beauty of Erhai Lake yet." That was a voice of sorrow that Sister Jian Tong would never forget in her lifetime. She held the girl, constantly trying to warm her gradually cooling body with her own warmth.
Chi Chen was about to speak when Bai Yuxing, untraceably, interrupted him. A spark flashed in his slender eyes, "She, oh, she angered Shen Dashao. Look, do you see it? That bottle on the table,” he casually pointed to the whisky on the coffee table, “Shen Dashao said she has to either finish the bottle or perform a kiss in public, just for a bit of extra entertainment." "Oooh~" Xiao Heng drew out the sound, leisurely walking over to Jian Tong while lazily glancing at Shen Xiujin on the sofa, and nonchalantly stroked his chin: "Shen Dashao really knows how to have fun. Since he wants to see a spicy kiss scene, why not let me play the leading man. I’m not boasting, but if I, Xiao Heng, claim to be second best at kissing, no one would dare claim to be the first.” As he spoke, faster than lightning, he reached out his long arm and pulled the befuddled Jian Tong into his embrace. Jian Tong, caught off guard, tumbled into Xiao Heng's arms. The next second,
Jian Tong shuddered, her complexion turning deathly pale in an instant. But then she remembered something, and with her pale lips, she retorted, "The Jian family does not have a Jian Tong. I am nothing but a prisoner." Looking at the handsome face so close to hers, the one she once yearned for, she now wanted to avoid it as though it were something vile. "Mr. Shen, I am just a prisoner, and I hope you, as a nobleman, can forget the transgressions of someone so insignificant. Please, let me go," she pleaded, suppressing her fear of him, making herself as pitiful as possible, with the single hope of living in peace. What was dignity to her? After emerging from that dark hell and finally seeing the sunlight, she could not bear to give up the warmth she had found so hard to come by. Shen Xiujin's eyes narrowed dangerously, a fury simmering within them… How could this woman, so base and groveling before him, be the same Jian Tong who used to cling to him tenacious
Across from the residential area was an ATM. She inserted her bank card into the machine, and as the screen displayed the balance, Jian Tong clenched her teeth, fiercely withdrawing two thousand yuan. Holding the money, she hailed a taxi. "To..." She only realized after getting in the car that in her rush to escape, she hadn't thought of a destination. "Where to?" The taxi driver urged impatiently. Where to go... Jian Tong was stunned, suddenly realizing that despite the vastness of the world, she had nowhere to go. "Are we going or not? If not, get out. I need to pick up more fares," the driver frowned, giving Jian Tong a disdainful glance... Bad luck, not checking the almanac before leaving, and the first fare of the day was jinxed. "...Sorry, I haven't decided where to go yet," Jian Tong said slowly, without any resistance to the irritable and harsh-speaking taxi driver, even apologizing somewhat meekly, making her appear extremely weak.