“What rotten luck for eight lifetimes straight. Busy all day long and still getting complained about…” Old Madam Feng grumbled while making breakfast early in the morning.
“Why is there so much smoke? Heavens, it’s on fire!”
“Hurry! Somebody come quick! The Lin family house is on fire! Put it out!”
At dawn, a shrill cry for help woke the neighbors from their sleep.
Anyone who was home and physically capable rushed over to help extinguish the fire.
People swarmed toward the burning area—some carrying basins, others buckets—and immediately began throwing water.
Fortunately, the few rooms in the backyard did not contain many items, and there was little wind today. After the wooden furniture and firewood burned away, the flames gradually weakened. Everyone worked together to extinguish the final sparks.
With such a large fire in the backyard and no movement at all from inside the house, the neighbors began whispering anxiously.
“Su Ya! Su Ya!”
“Yun girl!”
“Tongtong! Tongtong!”
“Ahhh!”
Old Madam Feng and several aunties were pounding on doors and shouting for people when they suddenly heard Lin Zhitang’s scream from inside.
The people who had already planned to head home after putting out the fire were stopped by Old Madam Feng. If something had happened, more people would help.
Lin Zhitang opened the door looking panicked and disoriented.
“Grandma Feng, Aunties… my house was robbed! Everything’s gone! There was a thief!”
“How could this happen? First the backyard caught fire, now the house was robbed too? Someone hurry and report this to the police!”
“What? The backyard caught fire?” Lin Zhitang asked in shock.
“It’s alright, it’s alright. The fire’s already under control. It’s completely out now,” Feng the Elder replied.
Hearing that the fire had been extinguished, Lin Zhitang secretly relaxed.
Yes.
She had deliberately set the fire herself after carefully choosing the location, then quickly returned upstairs.
The backyard buildings stood far from the neighboring homes. They had originally been used for storage and were mostly stone structures. Even if they burned, once the wooden furniture inside was reduced to ashes, the fire would not spread elsewhere.
Still, Lin Zhitang had worried about accidents.
Fortunately, there had been no wind today, and the flames had been extinguished smoothly.
Although she had already removed everything from the hidden chamber, the chamber itself still existed. Someone might discover it in the future.
After thinking it through, she decided it would be better to burn the area entirely and bury the entrance forever.
Besides—
without creating a major disturbance, how else would so many people gather here?
Didn’t Su Ya want an audience?
Naturally, Lin Zhitang intended to satisfy her.
The neighbors flooded inside and discovered the living room in complete disarray. All visible valuables had disappeared.
“This… this was cleaned out way too thoroughly.”
“Even the kitchen’s been turned upside down.”
“This was definitely planned in advance.”
“Tong girl, where are your mother and sister?”
“I—I don’t know…” Lin Zhitang looked utterly confused, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes in a heartbreaking way. “I only heard someone calling me, then I woke up, and after that I saw the house like this…”
“With such a huge commotion, they still didn’t wake up? Could it be…”
“No! Auntie, don’t say things like that!” Lin Zhitang angrily interrupted.
The auntie quickly slapped her own mouth.
“I was just talking nonsense, just nonsense.”
“Let’s go upstairs and check.”
The group headed upstairs and first entered Su Ya’s room.
After opening the door, they discovered it was empty.
“My… my mother isn’t here?” Lin Zhitang’s eyes instantly reddened with tears as she turned toward Old Madam Feng, her body trembling nonstop.
To everyone else, she simply looked terrified and helpless.
Of course, Lin Zhitang already knew Su Ya wasn’t there.
But acting required a complete performance.
Otherwise, how could the next scene become even more exciting?
“She’ll be fine. There are still other rooms left. Maybe she went into the wrong room. Everyone, help look around!”
“Yes—and my sister! Let’s go check if she’s in her room!”
Lin Zhitang anxiously ran toward Su Yun’s room.
The moment the door opened, a thick smell of intimacy rushed out.
The older women exchanged knowing glances and hurried inside.
On the bed, two people were wrapped together in each other’s arms. Men’s and women’s clothing littered the floor in a tangled mess.
One look was enough to understand what had happened.
“Sister…”
Lin Zhitang’s mouth opened slightly as though she had been frightened speechless.
Su Yun woke up and saw Lin Zhitang along with a crowd gathered in her room.
Just as she was about to ask why they were there, she realized she was completely naked. The soreness spreading through her body as she sat up told her exactly what had happened.
Turning her head—
Wu Jianguo was lying beside her.
Su Yun’s flushed face instantly turned deathly pale.
“AHHHHH! How could this happen?! Why are you here?! Why are you in my room?!”
She kicked Wu Jianguo directly off the bed.
Forgetting she still wasn’t dressed, she slapped him repeatedly across the face.
Still groggy, Wu Jianguo felt stinging pain and was about to speak when Su Yun suddenly lunged forward and wrapped both hands around his neck.
The crowd panicked and rushed forward to stop her.
Su Yun’s strength was terrifying. It took several people working together to finally pull her away.
Even then, she struggled wildly in midair, kicking furiously while screaming:
“Let go of me! Why are you grabbing me?! He ruined my innocence! Grab him! I’m going to kill him! He ruined me!”
Her eyes were bloodshot, tears pouring down her face like rain.
“I still wanted to marry Brother Lu! How can I marry Brother Lu now?! How could you do this to me?!”
Wu Jianguo, whose face had turned bright red from being choked, finally regained full consciousness.
“Damn, what a crazy woman. That hurt like hell.” He spat angrily. “If you hadn’t called me over, why would I be in your room? It’s not even the first time. Who are you pretending for? Acting like some pure virgin. Weren’t you screaming pretty loudly last night? Didn’t you enjoy it?”
“You’re my woman now. Brother Lu? Hah. A flirt like you—who else would even want you besides me?”
Not only did Wu Jianguo shove all responsibility onto Su Yun, he also vented his anger at being beaten by insulting her mercilessly.
To him, getting a woman for free wasn’t a bad deal at all.
While dressing himself, he openly looked Su Yun’s body up and down, his gaze filled with lingering lust.
The sight disgusted Lin Zhitang deeply.
Though it was a shame he hadn’t ended up with Lin Zhitang instead, Su Yun was still fair-skinned and attractive enough in his eyes.
Not a loss.
“You’re lying! Shut up! Shut up!” Su Yun screamed hysterically, glaring at him with hatred.
Several aunties finally managed to help her get dressed after struggling for a long time.
Seemingly drained of all strength, Su Yun collapsed to the floor.
Then she saw Lin Zhitang standing there completely unharmed.
Hatred instantly filled her eyes.
“Lin Zhitang! It was you! It had to be you, right?! You framed me! Was it because of Brother Lu?! I only liked Brother Lu—I never wanted to steal him from you! Why did you have someone ruin my innocence?! How am I supposed to live now?! How could you do this to me?! I’m your sister!”
Since she could no longer marry Brother Lu, then Lin Zhitang shouldn’t be allowed to either.
It was all Lin Zhitang’s fault.
If she had obediently slept with Wu Jianguo, none of this would’ve happened.
Why had she avoided it?
Why was Lin Zhitang standing there untouched while she was the one ruined?
Why had every good thing since childhood always belonged to Lin Zhitang?
Why was life so unfair?
She refused to accept it.
If she couldn’t live well, then Lin Zhitang shouldn’t either.
Honestly, Lin Zhitang admired Su Yun a little.
Even after being caught red-handed, she still tried to turn the blame around and frame someone else.
She truly hated Lin Zhitang to the bone.
“Sister, what are you saying?” Lin Zhitang cried pitifully. “Ming’an may be my fiancé, but we only met him together yesterday. How would I know you liked him? You never told me. Besides, I don’t even know this man. How could I ask him to come here and frame you?”
“I know something terrible happened to you and you’re speaking recklessly because you’re upset. I won’t blame you.”
“You shameless girl, and now you’re blaming Tongtong?”
“That’s right. I never realized this child’s heart was so crooked.”
“Tsk tsk, fooling around with men and still blaming others.”
“A young girl acting so disgracefully.”
“Shameless.”
“No wonder she isn’t truly part of the Lin family. Looks like she inherited it from her roots.”
“At such a young age too—absolutely no shame.”
The neighbors’ words pierced Su Yun’s heart like needles.
Hatred and resentment twisted across her face.
She hated Lin Zhitang for refusing to cooperate.
She hated Su Ya for failing to arrange things properly.
She wanted to kill Wu Jianguo—
kill everyone present.
“Sister, don’t worry. The police will arrive soon. I’ll definitely help you seek justice and won’t let this man go,” Lin Zhitang comforted her gently.
“Don’t say that, little sister,” Wu Jianguo interrupted smugly. “Your sister and I are truly in love, right, Yun’er?”
Hearing the police were coming, he wasn’t nervous at all.
“Don’t worry. I’ll marry you.”
“AHHHHH! GET OUT! ALL OF YOU GET OUT!”
Su Yun seemed completely insane now, grabbing nearby objects and smashing them wildly.
Everyone hurried out of the room while dodging flying objects.
Hearing Su Yun’s screams and the sounds of things shattering inside, the neighbors exchanged uneasy looks.
Lin Zhitang appeared deeply worried on the surface.
But inside, she felt indescribably satisfied.
Su Yun, now you understand, don’t you? A knife only truly hurts when it cuts into your own flesh.
Back then, after Su Yun led people to “catch” her in bed during her previous life, Su Yun had stood before her pretending sympathy and concern.
The hypocrisy had been revolting.
Now that the situation had reversed—
Su Yun no longer seemed quite so generous.
Finally, the eldest among them, Old Madam Feng, spoke.
“Everyone go downstairs first. Let her calm down. We’ll wait for the police.”
Just as everyone headed downstairs, another wave of commotion suddenly erupted outside.
The crowd looked at one another.
What now?
“Did they find my mother?” Lin Zhitang asked anxiously. “Let’s go look!”
Only then did everyone remember—
Su Ya still hadn’t been found.
The group hurried downstairs toward the source of the noise and discovered people gathered outside the storage room.
“Auntie, did you find my mother? Is she alright? Is she hurt?” Lin Zhitang asked urgently.
The men wore awkward expressions.
The women looked disgusted.
The atmosphere fell deathly silent.
Receiving no answer, Lin Zhitang rushed forward and pushed open the door.
Inside stood Su Ya and Song Zhiqiang with disheveled clothing.
Lin Zhitang stared at them in disbelief.
“Mom… you… this…”
She seemed too shocked to even speak.
Then, as though suddenly waking from a dream, she quickly shut the door again while muttering:
“You didn’t see anything… nobody saw anything…”
Only then did Su Ya and Song Zhiqiang snap back to their senses and hurriedly throw on their clothes.
Following Lin Zhitang’s lead, everyone returned to the living room.
Not a single person left.
Some stood while others sat, waiting silently.
By this point, the police had already arrived and were questioning neighbors while searching the Lin Residence for clues.
After all, anyone with eyes could tell that aside from heavy worthless items, everything else had been stolen.
Someone had even called the Revolutionary Committee.
If Su Ya and Song Zhiqiang—or Su Yun and Wu Jianguo—failed to explain themselves properly later, they might end up being dragged away for “tea” with the committee.
Lin Zhitang sat on the sofa quietly crying.
Her eyelids were swollen, her nose red, looking heartbreakingly pitiful.
Several older women gathered around to comfort her.
Meanwhile, inside the storage room—
Su Ya and Song Zhiqiang heard the noise outside and realized both the police and Revolutionary Committee had arrived.
“It’s over… everything’s over…” Su Ya’s face turned pale. “Brother Qiang, what do we do now? If the Revolutionary Committee takes us away, we’ll be paraded through the streets and exiled!”
Thinking of the looks everyone gave her earlier, Su Ya felt as though a bone were lodged in her throat.
She had spent over ten years carefully maintaining her reputation.
Now it was destroyed in a single night.
But reputation wasn’t the part she cared about most.
After scheming within the Lin family for so many years and finally waiting for Lin Chennian to die, how could she willingly give everything up now?
“Damn it!” Song Zhiqiang cursed. “Didn’t you say everything was arranged? What do we do now? The people from the Revolutionary Committee today aren’t anyone I know. If the director finds out, I’ll lose my job!”
“And why are the police here too?!”
His face was dazed, completely unable to understand how events had turned out this way.
Su Ya was equally confused.
Everything had clearly been planned perfectly.
Why hadn’t anything gone according to her expectations?
“I don’t know either! I’ve been with you the whole time—I hadn’t even started acting yet!”
“Wait… Lin Zhitang is fine, but what about Yun’er? Could Lin Zhitang know something and be taking revenge on purpose?”
“Impossible. She doesn’t have the brains for that. That girl’s always been easy to fool. A few sweet words are enough to manipulate her.”
At this point, Su Ya still had no idea Su Yun had already been ruined—
nor that the Lin Residence had been completely emptied.
Biting her lower lip tightly, Su Ya forced herself to think through the current crisis and how to survive it…
before finding another way to seize the Lin family fortune for herself.