My Haughty Adorable Wife Has Arrived

She had no idea how much time had passed. There seemed to be light shining on her face, but despite her greatest efforts, her heavy eyelids remained shut.

Noises filled the air - children crying, people yelling, dogs barking.

To her surprise, she even heard the honks of geese. Where on earth was she? Her consciousness slowly started to return.

Su Xiaowan tried hard to open her eyes, only to see a middle-aged, dark and slightly stout woman, her mouth opening and closing as she launched into a tirade. The woman's spit nearly hit her face.

As if by reflex, Su Xiaowan sat up. Her vision cleared, revealing that she was sitting on a mud stove bed. The room was empty except for a cabinet at the end of the bed. The walls were pasted with mud, some sections had even peeled off.

The windows were made of wood, some of which had dried and looked rotten. The window glass was splotched with dirt and some of them patched together with two pieces.

Where was this? As Su Xiaowan sat in confusion, a sudden pain brought her back to reality. She realized that the middle-aged woman was hitting her with a broom.

The woman scolded her vehemently: "You lazy daughter-in-law! It's late in the morning and you're still in bed? The sun is high in the sky! Our house isn't a charity. We paid 500 yuan for you. It's time to get up and start working. Who do you think you are, expecting us to wait on you as if you were a lady?"

She jolted at these words. Could her life get any worse? She had barely recovered from a past heartbreak, suffered a mishap on a flight, and unknowingly been sold. All for a measly sum of 500 yuan - any one piece of clothing on her cost more than that. Su Xiaowan was flabbergasted.

The thought occurred to her about those unfortunate women sold into remote mountain areas as portrayed on TV. Married off to men over a decade their senior, tied with ropes, confined for life in small villages to serve others and bear children.

Some even shared a husband with their sisters-in-law, enduring frequent domestic violence. It was a terrifying thought, and her surroundings only added to her fear.

How could this be happening!? She hadn't managed to take stock of her frail condition when another sharp sting brought her back to reality.

Su Xiaowan instantly realized she had to escape. This was too horrifying. She promptly got off the bed, put on a pair of sneakers strewn on the floor and ran outside, pleading for help.

The moment Su Xiaowan reached the courtyard, she noticed several women gossiping, children frolicking and an old man smoking a cigarette. A boy who looked around fourteen or fifteen, with pride written all over his face, stood next to him.

Sight of the old man sent Su Xiaowan into a panic. Could he be the one who had bought her? How could she possibly escape from all these people?

Before Su Xiaowan could figure it out, the angry middle-aged woman chased after her, hitting her with a broom yet again. The hitting was so severe that she was sure her body was bruising under these relentless blows. It hurt like hell.

As she ran in terror, Su Xiaowan shouted at her: "Who are you? Do you even realize that human trafficking is illegal?"

"And did you know that hitting people is also illegal? I could press charges against you for intentional injury, and you could end up in jail."

Then she yelled at the crowd: "Quick, someone call the police, please! Can anyone help report this to the police? Please, save me! I beg you."

But no one moved. Everyone just watched Su Xiaowan with varying degrees of curiosity. The women seemed to be enjoying the spectacle, whispering their judgments to each other.

Even more neighbors came to watch as the commotion attracted their attention. Su Xiaowan knew her chances of being helped were slim, as TV programs had reported that villagers were prone to condoning and covering up such occurrences. She saw no other choice.

The irate woman huffed when she heard Su Xiaowan's pleas: "Ugh, just because you've read a couple of books, you think you're an intellectual? So what if the police come? Even they can't stop me from disciplining my daughter-in-law. You lazy woman, it's almost noon and you're still in bed. I'll have to teach you a lesson."

She caught up and hit Su Xiaowan multiple times. Each blow sent painful tremors through Su Xiaowan's body.

Su Xiaowan couldn't outrun her, largely due to her frailty and lack of strength. Was it hunger or sheer weakness flying her flag down?

Just standing by and enjoying the show was not going to get her anywhere. No one was stepping in to break up the fight. Even the women who were encouraging the scene and the neighbors who were trying to intervene verbally, were doing nothing to actually help.

Even the old man simply watched. Upon witnessing the following events the disdainful boy stepped back.

Su Xiaowan despaired. Her life had plenty of misery. If she had to spend the rest of her life here, was there any point in living? Why was it that those who mistreated, failed, and humiliated her lived freely, while she alone had to suffer? Why was that?

Yes, she concluded that she no longer wanted to lead such a dreary, insecure life. The reason they were all targeting her was because she was weak, kindhearted, and couldn't bear to see them get hurt, right?

She cared about them so much, yet what had they returned to her? Right, she had to be ruthless, even if it meant becoming a villain.

The woman continued to chase and hit Su Xiaowan. Good people often get bullied. Well, she could simply fight them. Death wasn't the worst that could happen. If she could drag someone down with her, it would all be worth it.

Su Xiaowan spotted a stick as thick as an arm. She picked it up on the fly and swung it with all her might, hitting the woman who hadn't noticed her move. The woman let out a scream and fell.

Su Xiaowan kept battering her with the stick. She exerted every ounce of force, unleashing all her hatred and rage. She seemed to have turned into a madwoman.

The onlookers, realizing something was going wrong, rushed in to break the fight. They separated the two, wrestled away the stick from Su Xiaowan's hands, yet the woman continued to wail on the ground. Upon seeing this, Su Xiaowan felt a sense of satisfaction.

Su Xiaowan thought that she may as well have lived it up before she died. It was already worth it. She stood blankly and watched as they helped the woman up, the crowd offering their help and sympathy in a cacophony.

Out of the corner of her eye, Su Xiaowan noticed a man in an army-green uniform. He was tall with a straight posture and radiated aloofness. Not managing to take a thorough look at him and ignoring her fear, her eyes lit up. It occurred to her: "This man must be a soldier. I'm saved. I'm saved!"

Su Xiaowan ran towards the soldier frantically. She tripped and fell but didn't check if her hands, knees or legs had been scraped. She just got up and continued to run. Compared to losing her life, a few scrapes were nothing.

When she finally reached him, Su Xiaowan was so out of energy that all she could do was to clutch onto his leg.