“Loosened?!” Liu Hongxia’s furious shout exploded in the silence, filled with disbelief and rage.
“Who did this wicked, heartless thing? This is outright attempted murder!”
Already harboring resentment toward Jiang Muxue, she now shot an unguarded, sharp glare in the direction of her bunk.
Li Aihua covered her mouth in fright, her voice trembling. “Oh my heavens… how terrifying! Comrade Shen, are you alright?”
Her gaze toward Shen Qingyu was filled with lingering fear and sympathy.
“This… this is outrageous! Sabotaging collective property, deliberately harming an educated youth! The nature of this is utterly vile!”
Su Yixuan adjusted his glasses, his brow furrowed tightly, his tone carrying the shock and condemnation of an intellectual.
His eyes instinctively looked toward the doorway, as if trying to see through the night to the brigade headquarters and its handling of the matter.
Lu Ye also shed his usual playful demeanor, his expression unusually grim. “Damn! That’s truly vicious! Comrade Shen, you have to be careful. This was clearly aimed at you.”
Straightforward by nature, he voiced the suspicion everyone tacitly shared.
Mu Yue tightly gripped Shen Qingyu’s arm, her small face pale, her voice tinged with a sob. “Sister Shen, thank goodness you’re okay…”
For the first time, her gaze toward Jiang Muxue held clear wariness and disgust. Like Sister Hongxia, she was among the first to suspect her.
On the train, Jiang Muxue had tried to frame Sister Shen with veiled words, and even after arriving, she hadn’t given up. This time, she actually…
Mu Yue’s hand holding Shen Qingyu’s trembled slightly, feeling cold.
Shen Qingyu patted the back of her hand reassuringly, shaking her head slightly to indicate she was fine and not to worry.
Gu Huainian leaned the short-handled hoe against the wall. He didn’t join any of the discussions, merely crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe, his figure mostly hidden in the shadows.
Yet his calm gaze swept over every face in the room like cold, sharp stars.
It lingered on Jiang Muxue for a moment. The scrutiny and chill in his eyes made Jiang Muxue, who was already keeping her head down and trying to make herself as small as possible, feel as if needles were pricking her back. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
Ji Yiqing sat on his own bunk, his expression uncharacteristically grave.
Deep down, he rejected ‘special treatment,’ but he loathed this kind of despicable, underhanded scheming even more.
Shen Qingyu’s self-reliance and strength stood in stark contrast to the malice she now faced.
It left him with a tumult of emotions. As he looked at her standing there, his gaze grew complex, tinged with a trace of concern he himself barely noticed.
Jiang Muxue kept her head bowed stubbornly, her long hair falling to hide her deathly pale face and the churning fear and resentment in her eyes.
She could clearly feel the suspicious glances coming from all directions, like countless invisible needles piercing her body.
She clenched the hem of her clothes tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms.
Liu Hongxia’s cursing, Lu Ye’s blunt words, Gu Huainian’s scrutiny…
Each one made her heart pound with fear.
But she could only repeat to herself, Don’t panic, you must not panic. They have no proof. As long as I deny it to the end, no one can prove I did it!
Yet Shen Qingyu’s all-seeing eyes and Gu Huainian’s icy words, “deliberately damaged,” echoed in her mind like a curse she couldn’t shake off.
Zhao Dagang, being a few years older than the other male educated youths, tried to maintain order, but his voice also carried a heaviness.
“Alright! Let’s all say less. The brigade leader and Captain Wang are already investigating. We must trust the organization. Everyone, get some rest quickly; we still have work tomorrow.”
Despite these words, the atmosphere in the warehouse remained stifling, making it hard to breathe. Each person was lost in their own thoughts, finding it difficult to sleep.
He had a favorable impression of Shen Qingyu—a calm, beautiful, and kind-hearted young woman. She usually spoke little but knew a great deal and was willing to share with others without being petty (especially toward Jiang Muxue; even if conflicts arose between them, Shen Qingyu would generously let them go).
Shen Qingyu went to wash up first. By the time she returned to the women’s dormitory, everyone was already lying down on the communal bed.
She climbed onto her own spot on the bed and lay down under Mu Yue’s worried gaze.
Mu Yue pressed close to her, her heart filled with anxiety and fear.
At the same time, she wondered whether the money she had brought this time would be enough to build a house. If not, she would have to write home—no, send a telegram—asking her family to send some money.
She wanted to become Shen Qingyu’s neighbor so the two of them could look out for each other. That way, if anything happened in the future, she could lend a hand.
With this plan in mind, her fear gradually eased a little.
Liu Hongxia had the same idea as Mu Yue, but she estimated that the money she had wouldn’t be enough. She had only brought around two hundred yuan when she arrived.
After building the house, she would be broke. Although she received a monthly subsidy of ten yuan, she would have to wait and save up a bit more.
She was strong and had a loud voice. If anyone tried to bully Shen Qingyu, she would chase them off with a stick. Even if she couldn’t fight them off, she could at least shout for help.
Moreover, if she continued living with Jiang Muxue, she feared she might one day fall victim to her schemes.
It was better to stick with Shen Qingyu; they could support each other.
Shen Qingyu, who had closed her eyes to rest, appeared calm on the surface, but her mind was racing.
Jiang Muxue’s desperate move was within her expectations, but she hadn’t anticipated her being so vicious, resorting to lethal measures right from the start.
However, this also revealed Jiang Muxue’s true nature: to prevent Shen Qingyu from gaining independence and to drag her into the mud, Jiang Muxue would stop at nothing.
Although the “accident” of the previous night had been temporarily resolved, the crisis was far from over.
The brigade’s investigation might still fail to produce concrete evidence against Jiang Muxue.
Given Jiang Muxue’s cunning and her experience as a reborn individual, she had likely already devised a way to escape blame.
Shen Qingyu had to speed up her plans. The new house was no longer just a place to settle down; it had become a crucial fortress to escape Jiang Muxue’s close-range harassment and schemes.
She needed to use the Spatial Dimension more cautiously and also seek more understanding and support from “allies” within the educated youth point.
At the very least, she had to make everyone see Jiang Muxue’s true face beneath her hypocritical mask.
However, Gu Huainian’s attitude was an unexpected boon. He was clearly a clear-headed and highly capable person.
The morning whistle sounded like a rusty saw, grating on the nerves of everyone in the warehouse.
The oppressive atmosphere was even heavier than the night before, as if the shadow of the crumbling wall from the previous evening silently loomed over everyone’s hearts.
The group rose silently to wash up, their movements weary and tinged with an indescribable vigilance.
The female educated youths’ gazes occasionally drifted toward Jiang Muxue in the corner before quickly looking away.
Jiang Muxue had almost shrunk into the innermost part of the communal bed, her movements stiff and sluggish.
She kept her head down, her long hair covering most of her face, desperately trying to avoid everyone’s gaze.
Especially Shen Qingyu’s calm yet seemingly all-penetrating eyes, and the silent, steadfast, sharp gaze of Gu Huainian standing at the doorway, as solid and unyielding as a rock.
Those stares made her feel as if needles were pricking her back, leaving her nowhere to hide.