“Isn’t Su Qianqian supposed to be Su Qingyue’s older sister? How could she harm her own younger sister like this?”
“I heard they’re not related by blood. They were switched at birth when they were little. Su Qianqian is actually the young miss of the Su family in the capital, while Su Qingyue is the daughter of the Su family from Shuangshui Village.
“The Su family in the capital even raised Su Qingyue as their own daughter, so Su Qianqian calls herself her ‘older sister.’”
“Whoa! No wonder Su Qianqian hates Su Qingyue so much—now it all makes sense!”
Su Qianqian cried hysterically. “That’s not how it is!
“After I returned to the city, I begged my parents to continue taking Su Qingyue in. To accompany her back to the countryside, I specifically applied to go down to the villages, just because I was afraid she wouldn’t adapt.
“The good food she eats and the good clothes she wears now are all paid for with the money and ration coupons my parents gave!
“She was even able to find a job in the county because she occupied my educational resources for the first seventeen years of my life—she learned knowledge and gained advantages that should’ve been mine.
“Today, I was worried something had happened to her, so Zhou Wenfang and I went to report it to the commune. What did I do wrong?!”
Her eyes red, Su Qianqian looked at Su Qingyue. “Qingyue, I truly treated you as my sister. Today I went to the commune because I was worried about you. From beginning to end, I never said you were messing around—I was only afraid you’d been harmed.”
These words once again swayed many people’s sympathy.
“It really was Zhou Wenfang who reported it—and Zhou Wenfang who led people to the cornfield!”
“Su Qianqian hasn’t had it easy either. Who wouldn’t go crazy after having their life stolen for seventeen years?”
“Exactly. She even accompanied her sister back to the countryside—her heart can’t be that bad.”
Su Qingyue hadn’t expected Su Qianqian to be this shameless. She spoke with icy calm.
“I don’t want to be sisters with someone like you.
“When I learned the truth about our identities, I immediately wanted to return to the village. I was delayed only because of the mountain floods—it wasn’t because you begged our parents to keep me.
“When the floods ended, the military compound happened to be organizing a countryside assignment. You were the one who主动 suggested going down to the villages.
“You keep saying you went to the countryside to accompany me—but since I returned to the village, how many times have you come to see me?
“When I couldn’t finish the work and my hands were rubbed raw, did you ever help me or even ask about me? Not once!
“Is this what you call being sisters—just talking with your mouth?!
“And when I left the capital, I wrote to our parents telling them not to send me any more money or ration coupons.
“The debt I owe my adoptive parents—I’ll repay it slowly myself!”
After speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly, Su Qingyue took out the reply letter from the capital and handed it to Team Leader Xiang.
After reading it, Xiang Jianming confirmed to everyone that Su Qingyue was telling the truth.
Yuan Guang stepped forward. “I can testify—Su Qianqian has harmed Su Qingyue before!
“When she was stepped on by someone on the train, she acted domineeringly and demanded compensation.
“I said a few words, and she flew into a rage and claimed her name was Su Qingyue!”
Su Qianqian’s eyes widened. She clenched her teeth and shot back, “Nonsense! You’re just helping her because you like Su Qingyue!”
Yuan Guang was so angry he nearly hit someone. He pointed at Dai Xiaohong.
“She’s the witness! Su Qianqian, are you sick in the head? Last time when I spoke up for Comrade Dai, you smeared me the same way!”
Dai Xiaohong pushed up her glasses and said bravely, “Back then, when everyone pressed her for her name, Su Qianqian deliberately said her name was Su Qingyue.”
Zhang Jun added fuel to the fire. “Officer, I remember now!
“There’s a chubby server at the state-run restaurant who can testify—at noon today, Su Qianqian and Zhou Wenfang invited me to share a table.”
Zhang Jun’s eyes were red. “The two of them had bad intentions. They kept egging me on at the restaurant, hinting again and again that Su Qingyue had long admired me.
“They said that as long as I was bold enough, I could marry Su Qingyue.
“If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have dared to hug Su Qingyue at all.
“Everyone in Qingshan Brigade knows my character—I’m usually not like this. Officer, you can investigate!”
Su Qingyue bit her lip, tears pooling in her eyes as she spoke with a trembling voice.
“Su Qianqian, you still dare say you didn’t harm me?! And you still have the nerve to say you treated me as a sister?!”
“It’s not like that! I only told you to be bolder and talk to her—I never told you to lay hands on her! You committed hooliganism because of your own bad character, and you still dare blame me?!”
Liu Qiang made a gesture, and an officer took out handcuffs.
“Su Qianqian and Zhou Wenfang are suspected of instigating others to commit crimes. Take them away for interrogation!”
Su Qianqian’s face turned ashen. “No—no, that’s not it. Zhou Wenfang was the one who insisted Su Qingyue was messing around. I only followed her words and went to the commune.”
“You two were in it together—rotten to the core!”
Someone in the crowd suddenly asked, “Then what reason did Zhou Wenfang have to harm Su Qingyue?”
Su Qianqian blurted out, “Because she secretly loved Su Qingyue’s fiancé, Shen Xunbao!”
Another thunderclap struck the crowd. For a moment, everyone wore different expressions.
Some gaped, some stared wide-eyed, others fixed their gaze on Zhou Wenfang and Su Qingyue, afraid to miss a single detail.
Pei Huaiye’s face stiffened. He stepped back two paces, then quickly steadied himself.
Like everyone else, he looked at Su Qingyue in disbelief.
Su Qianqian said sharply, “The Su family in the capital and the Shen family arranged a childhood engagement. Zhou Wenfang liked Educated Youth Shen, so she was jealous of Su Qingyue and wanted to ruin her reputation!”
Zhou Wenfang’s lips trembled as she screamed shrilly, “Su Qianqian, you’re spouting nonsense! This was clearly your idea!
“You saw Zhang Jun flirt with Su Qingyue and get rejected, then saw Su Qingyue get a job at the supply and marketing cooperative. You were burning with jealousy that she was living better than you—that’s why you discussed with me having Zhang Jun harm her.
“On what grounds do you get to wash your hands of this?!
“Yes, I was jealous of Su Qingyue—she’s so pretty, which woman wouldn’t envy her?
“I said I had a crush on Shen Xunbao when I was young and ignorant. I told you that as a friend.
“And now you stab me in the back in public?!
“Officer, Team Leader Xiang—you can ask Shen Xunbao and everyone at the educated youth compound. Have I ever done a single inappropriate thing toward him?!”
As Zhou Wenfang recalled everything, she finally realized that Su Qianqian had been using her all along to suppress Su Qingyue.
She looked at the handcuffs, thought of her family in the capital, and tears of regret streamed down her face. If she really ended up in reform through labor, her parents would probably turn gray overnight.
“Officer, Team Leader Xiang, I’m willing to accept criticism and education, and I’m willing to cooperate with the investigation. I’ll take responsibility for what I did wrong!
“Comrade Su Qingyue, I solemnly apologize to you. I listened to vile words and deliberately framed you. I’m sorry!”
Zhou Wenfang cried as she apologized, leaving the crowd sighing in emotion.
Liu Qiang rubbed his temples. “Take them all back to the station for interrogation!”
Su Qianqian immediately panicked.
She couldn’t confess—she absolutely couldn’t let her parents in the capital know what she’d done. She was afraid she’d never return to the city, afraid her biological family would despise her.
“Who dares take me away?! My father is a staff officer in the south of the capital—go ask around! You think you can arrest me?!”
Pei Huaiye’s gaze was sharp. “Whose daughter you are doesn’t matter. If you break the law, you must accept punishment!”
Su Qianqian’s shrill scream tore through the night sky.
“Su Qingyue! How dare you?! I’ll send a telegram to my parents and tell them you ruined me!”
This time, Su Qingyue would not let it go. Her voice was ice-cold.
“Su Qianqian, you and Zhou Wenfang brought this upon yourselves. Right and wrong will be judged fairly by the police!”
The jeep roared away, the curses of Zhou Wenfang and Su Qianqian scattered by the wind.
Li Zilan held Su Qingyue’s hand and asked gently, “Qingyue, you must’ve been badly frightened today, right?”
“Sister-in-law, I’m fine now. Today, we really have Comrade Pei to thank for arriving in time.”
Su Qingwu and Li Zilan hurriedly thanked Pei Huaiye. They had always thought this man was fierce and cold, but after he saved Su Qingyue, he suddenly looked much more agreeable.
Pei Huaiye nodded indifferently. He turned to Su Qingyue and asked, word by word,
“You have a fiancé?”