Wang Daquan had been over forty when he finally got his chubby daughter, Wang Dahua, so he naturally doted on her. He shot a fierce glare at Lin Dazhi, who was cowering and trembling in the corner.
Poor Lin Dazhi.
He had heard before that some female educated youths were dishonest, but he never thought he’d actually encounter it. He had no idea how to handle this.
“Uncle Daquan, this… we had no idea about this.”
Wang Daquan let out a cold snort.
“You had no idea? One of your female educated youths seduced my son-in-law, and you had no idea?”
Lin Dazhi felt as if he had eaten three piles of dog shit — utterly disgusted.
“How was I supposed to know something like that, Uncle?”
Wang Daquan wasn’t easily fooled. He usually seemed quite kind, but if you really provoked him, it was troublesome — after all, he had many sons.
Just as Lin Dazhi was at a loss for what to do, the door to Bai Xueying’s clinic suddenly opened. Sun Yuming came out, a timid, ingratiating smile on his face — which vanished the instant he saw Wang Daquan.
“Village Chief, let me explain. It’s all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding…”
Before Sun Yuming could finish, the village chief’s three sons tackled him to the ground and beat him mercilessly.
After watching the drama unfold, Shen Qiuqiu sidled up to Ding Rui and asked with feigned confusion, “What’s going on here?”
Ding Rui lowered her voice and told Shen Qiuqiu the explosive gossip from the night before.
“Last night, those two were sneaking around in the warehouse, and Wang Dahua caught them.”
Shen Qiuqiu was stunned. There had been someone else there last night? Ding Rui continued, “Before this, we all knew Wang Lixia had a boyfriend, but no one expected it to be someone else’s fiancé. How shameful.”
Ding Rui was so engrossed in watching the spectacle that she didn’t notice Shen Qiuqiu’s strange expression. Shen Qiuqiu pressed further, “Then who tipped them off?”
Ding Rui shook her head.
Shen Qiuqiu was about to slip away when Wang Lixia suddenly lunged out and grabbed her by the leg.
Wang Lixia shrieked viciously, “Was it you?! Did you tip them off? Shen Qiuqiu, I’ll kill you!”
Shen Qiuqiu was frail and no match for Wang Lixia’s strength. Wang Lixia tackled her to the ground and grabbed her by the throat. Feeling guilty about taking the bracelet, Shen Qiuqiu was caught off guard and couldn’t break free.
Wang Lixia roared, “I’ll kill you!”
Shen Qiuqiu struggled desperately. Just as she felt herself slipping back to the modern world to go to work, Gu Zhouye yanked her out of harm’s way and slapped Wang Lixia to the ground.
“Stop it!”
Shen Qiuqiu lay in Gu Zhouye’s arms, filled with a sense of safety.
“Qiuqiu was with me the whole time last night. She’s not the one who tipped them off.”
Sun Yuming still tried to protect Wang Lixia. Wang Dahua, now beside herself with rage, screamed at Wang Lixia.
“It wasn’t her at all! Your best friend told me!”
At that moment, Bai Xueying, standing off to the side, turned deathly pale. Wang Lixia looked at Bai Xueying in disbelief.
“It was you?! I’ve been so loyal to you, Bai Xueying! How could you do this to me?”
Wang Lixia lunged wildly toward Bai Xueying. Several people quickly restrained her, as Bai Xueying was pregnant. Xiao Yi hurried to protect his wife and looked at Wang Lixia with utter disdain.
“Wang Lixia, you’re the one who destroyed someone else’s marriage. Even if Xueying did tip them off, the fault is yours!”
Wang Lixia let out a loud, bitter laugh.
“What a joke. I destroyed a relationship? And what about Bai Xueying? She’s no saint. Isn’t stealing someone else’s fiancé something she’s even better at?”
Wang Lixia picked up her clothes from the ground and put them on. The forestry station’s security team had arrived. No matter how angry the people of Qingshantun were, they could only beat the pair a couple of times at most; they couldn’t resort to vigilante justice.
Since the scandal had blown up so massively, Wang Lixia and Sun Yuming were taken away.
As she left, Wang Lixia glared venomously at Shen Qiuqiu. Shen Qiuqiu shook her head. With the excitement over, everyone naturally dispersed. Only Bai Xueying stood still in place, staring coldly at Shen Qiuqiu.
Shen Qiuqiu ignored her. She and Gu Zhouye went home and closed the door behind them.
Shen Qiuqiu asked, puzzled, “Why did Bai Xueying do that? It clearly doesn’t benefit her at all.”
Gu Zhouye looked at Shen Qiuqiu and said quietly, “She probably wanted to use Wang Lixia to take care of you. She just didn’t expect Wang Dahua to be so stupid as to reveal who tipped them off.”
Shen Qiuqiu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. The original female lead wasn’t a brainless, feel-good protagonist — she had intelligence. How could she not have known Wang Dahua’s personality?
Shen Qiuqiu’s heart pounded. She cleared her throat lightly.
“Enough about that. I’m still not over what happened before. Go get all those love letters Bai Kerou wrote you and throw them far, far away.”
Gu Zhouye sighed helplessly.
“Why not just burn them?”
Shen Qiuqiu frowned.
“No. Bury them somewhere. Leaving ashes here would make me feel uncomfortable.”
Gu Zhouye truly didn’t understand why Shen Qiuqiu wanted to go through all this trouble, but he was now accustomed to listening to his wife.
Shen Qiuqiu got the letters from Bai Kerou from Ding Rui and gave them to Gu Zhouye, telling him to go bury them far away.
Meanwhile, Shen Qiuqiu herself spent a very long time in the outhouse. Ding Rui went to check on her, but Shen Qiuqiu just said she was constipated. Heaven knew — with the food they ate every day, no one would ever be constipated.
When Gu Zhouye returned, he smiled at Shen Qiuqiu, who looked visibly anxious.
“There. Everything’s buried. I’ve told you so many times — there’s nothing between us. I just want to live a good life with you now.”
Gu Zhouye thought his words were very touching, but Shen Qiuqiu showed no sign of being moved.
At that moment, Shen Qiuqiu was gambling. She was betting that Bai Xueying had a backup plan.
Sure enough, the next day, people from the county arrived — three police officers from the county station. The entire village of Qingshantun was terrified. In those days, anyone targeted by the police was in serious trouble.
Shen Qiuqiu and Gu Zhouye walked hand in hand to the village entrance. One of the officers looked at Shen Qiuqiu and said coldly, “Are you Shen Qiuqiu?”
Shen Qiuqiu nodded.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Someone has accused you of stealing significant valuables. Come with us.”
Shen Qiuqiu had expected this. She reached out and patted Gu Zhouye, who was still in a state of shock.
“It’s okay. I’ll be right back.”
Shen Qiuqiu stepped forward to follow the officers. In the crowd, Bai Xueying curled her lips into a cold smile. She touched her belly, a flicker of barely concealed satisfaction in her eyes.
Gu Zhouye grabbed Shen Qiuqiu’s arm. He stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body, and looked seriously at the three officers.
“I am her husband. Whatever this is about, you can talk to me.”
Light snow was falling, landing on the man’s chiseled, sharp-jawed face. In his eyes, there was nothing left but concern for his wife.
Shen Qiuqiu felt her eyes growing wet.