The resounding slap stunned Zhang Qingqing, but it "awakened" the clarity in the hearts and minds of those around her.
Zhang Qingqing had come prepared. Clutching her cheek, she stubbornly insisted, "Sister Mu Cheng, you asked me to help you add pinyin to the characters you didn’t know. What did I do wrong? When you couldn’t write, I guided your hand. How could you hit me?"
She clung to Zhang Qingguo’s arm and said, "Dad, I advised Sister Mu Cheng not to do this—it would ruin her reputation and Brother Qi’s—but she said she was drawn to his family’s circumstances."
Qi Heng also mentioned that during their casual chats, he had told Mu Cheng about his family’s plans to buy a new house, a television, and other major items.
Gu Yunche pressed his fingers to his temples, his eyes clouded with an unreadable emotion. A bitter smile failed to reach his eyes as he clenched his fists and silently gazed out the window.
Mu Cheng knew that after hearing Zhang Qingqing and Qi Heng’s words, and recalling her past actions, Gu Yunche was more inclined to believe what he had witnessed and experienced. He was disappointed in her.
A faint flush of frustration tinged Mu Cheng’s porcelain-white face. She glared at Zhang Qingqing but was already strategizing how to clear her name and resolve the situation.
At the time, no third party had been present when Mu Cheng entered Zhang Qingqing’s room. As long as Zhang Qingqing insisted that Mu Cheng had sought her help, Mu Cheng could claim she was illiterate, but she couldn’t deny her awareness of the matter entirely—especially since Zhang Qingqing swore it was Mu Cheng who had begged for assistance.
Without any witnesses, everyone was more likely to believe Zhang Qingqing. That was the most critical flaw.
Since both Zhang Qingqing and her cousin Bai Lin were so adept at "tea art," Mu Cheng decided to show them what a true master looked like!
She pinched her thigh hard, forcing tears to well up. Lifting her gaze, she looked utterly pitiful, like pear blossoms bathed in rain. "Younger Sister Zhang, how could you bully me like this? Just because I refused to let you use my household registration quota to go to the capital, you’re trying to ruin my reputation and drag Qi Heng into this?"
Qi Heng was stunned.
Zhang Qingqing wanted to take Mu Cheng’s household registration quota?
Gu Yunche’s voice turned icy. "Zhang Qingqing, if you can’t explain the origin of this note clearly, I have reason to suspect you framed Mu Cheng because of the quota."
Zhang Qingqing’s face paled. She noticed the coldness in both Gu Yunche and Qi Heng’s eyes—one filled with disgust, the other with resentment after being used.
She had openly expressed her intentions before and even publicly humiliated Mu Cheng, prompting Gu Yunche to change Mu Cheng’s registered name for her relocation. Muttering softly and guiltily, she protested, "I didn’t do it!"
Mu Cheng wiped her tears, her nose reddening. "Younger Sister Zhang, the first time I visited your home, you showed me a television I’d never seen before and told me about using a washing machine for laundry. I was so amazed and grateful. You invited me to see your and Bai Lin’s room, and I realized how vast the gap between us was—I’d never seen such clean bedsheets or such soft blankets…"
Her voice choked with sobs. "You have everything, while I’ve had nothing since birth. Why is it that just as my life is starting to improve, and Eldest Brother Gu is taking me to the capital… you want to snatch even that away from me?"
The more Mu Cheng spoke, the more sorrowful and heartbroken she became.
"I have no family, no home. Just when someone was willing to take me in and treat me well, you had to harm me like this, deliberately making Eldest Brother Gu misunderstand me. Are you trying to tell me that my very existence is superfluous?"
Zhang Qingqing watched as Mu Cheng piled countless false accusations upon her while sobbing pitifully. She stamped her feet in frustration.
"I never meant to harm you! Brother Qi is a good man, you're lucky to find someone like him. Besides, some of these characters were written by you—I could never write such ugly handwriting."
Qi Heng handed the note to Mu Cheng, already convinced by her words.
"Xiao Mu, look at this note. Which characters do you recognize?"
If Mu Cheng claimed not to recognize any characters, those unfamiliar with the original story's Mu Guiying might think she was pretending.
She looked at the letter 'e' and pointed, "This character, I know it. I saw it in Er Gou's book next door."
Gu Yunche glanced at the letter.
"You recognize this character? Hmm?"
"Yes, isn't this line from a poem?"
Mu Cheng wiped her tears. "Goose, goose, goose, craning its neck toward the sky singing. White feathers float on emerald water, red paddles push through clear waves. Er Gou taught me this!"
Some of the hostel staff who had come to watch the scene couldn't help but chuckle.
Gu Yunche turned to Zhang Qingguo and Zhang Qingqing.
His voice was deep, "Zhang Qingqing, what do you have to say for yourself?""
Zhang Qingqing also burst into tears, pointing at Mu Cheng.
"She's lying! She asked me to write it for her! I'm a high school student—why would I need to use pinyin for just two lines? She even said she recognizes pinyin!"
Gu Yunche sneered coldly, "Who can prove this wasn't your deliberate scheme? Using pinyin could be your smokescreen."
Seeing everyone pointing fingers at Zhang Qingqing, Zhang Qingguo raised his hand and slapped her.
"You unfilial daughter! How dare you play such jokes on Mu Cheng?"
Though Zhang Qingguo inwardly sided with his daughter, he had to maintain appearances. Otherwise, if this matter escalated, Zhang Qingqing's reputation would be ruined, and she might even be taken away for investigation and reeducation through labor.
Mu Cheng glanced at the father and daughter, thinking—trying to pass this off as a joke? That would be letting you off too easily.
She wiped her tears.
"Eldest Brother Gu, I've caused you trouble again. Back in the village, Liu E ruined my reputation, saying I'm opportunistic, wicked, an ungrateful wretch who can't be tamed."
Mu Cheng lowered her head, tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, appearing anxious and disappointed.
"Now in the provincial capital, framed by Zhang Qingqing, I've become a vulgar country girl using despicable means to marry herself off! I really don't deserve to go to the capital with you anymore! Thank you for being so kind to me during this time, making me feel like I could live a decent life too."
After saying this, she bowed to Gu Yunche, then turned and ran upstairs.
Gu Yunche reached out to grab her but missed.
Qi Heng thought about what was upstairs and shouted, "Oh no! The rooftop is upstairs—could Comrade Xiao Mu be thinking of doing something drastic?"
Everyone: "…"
Gu Yunche distinctly felt a sharp pang of panic deep in his left chest. Without further thought, he sprinted upstairs with his long strides.
Meanwhile, Mu Cheng, running ahead, slowed her pace and muttered quietly to herself.
"Oh my, Gu Yunche, why are you so slow! I just gave eighty percent of my acting skills and two hundred percent effort! If you still didn't realize I was going to commit suicide, I really couldn't keep up this rooftop act any longer!"
Suddenly, Mu Cheng heard footsteps. She quickly sped up her pace, rushing straight to the fifth-floor rooftop.
Tonight, the moon was bright and stars sparse, with summer breezes brushing against her face. On the rooftop clothesline, blue-and-white checkered bed sheets from the guesthouse swayed in the wind.
Mu Cheng froze for a few seconds.
"Heavens, this setting is quite artistic. I could instantly channel my inner Qiong Yao drama heroine! You're the wind, I'm the sand, when you're full, I overflow…"
Remembering an online joke she'd seen before, she couldn't help muttering quietly.
Reaching the rooftop edge, Mu Cheng stopped just in time, standing firmly at a safe distance.
She widened her eyes, trying to let the wind blow into them, and tears naturally came pouring forth intensely.
Gu Yunche pushed aside the bed sheets and chased after her, the sound of flapping fabric and wind following behind him.
"Mu Cheng!"
Looking at Mu Cheng trembling like an autumn butterfly in the night, he pleaded softly, "Stay right there, don't move! I'm coming to get you!"