The elementary school where Liu Yingxue taught ended exams early, granting an unexpected holiday. Without informing her husband, she returned home and caught him in the act of infidelity. Not only did he show no shame, but together with his mistress, he assaulted Liu Yingxue.
Page 1 of 3
Thursday morning, April 1993, 11:30 AM.
Liu Yingxue sealed the exam papers she’d collected from the classroom, placed them in the office, and greeted her colleagues.
She made her way to the bicycle shed, humming a tune as she pushed her bike out.
“Hey, Teacher Liu, where are you off to in such a hurry?” Teacher Wang, a fellow staff member, called out to her. “Are you missing your husband already?”
Teacher Lin, a middle-aged woman, burst out laughing after saying this.
“Isn’t it an early holiday? Go home and surprise your husband!” Sweetness filled Liu Yingxue’s heart.
“Look at you, desperate to get home! Newlyweds are always so eager. If only my son could find a wife like you,” Lin teased again.
Liu Yingxue’s face flushed with embarrassment. She said goodbye to Wang, mounted her bicycle, and sped away from the school.
On the way, Liu Yingxue took a detour to the market, buying a heap of ingredients—her husband’s favorites.
No wonder she longed to see her husband; although their school was only an elementary school, it was a closed campus.
They were allowed home only once a month; the young couple had been married less than four months.
Her husband Jin Junkai was the village chief, and by his own account, he was quite busy and had never visited Liu Yingxue at the school!
As the saying goes, a brief separation is sweeter than a new marriage!
At noon, Liu Yingxue arrived at her own courtyard by bicycle.
The gate was ajar.
It wasn’t locked, so her husband should be home.