“Xiao Yi can’t get it done. But Gu Zhouye? He’s got it.”
If these words had been said to any other novel’s female lead, they probably would have just thought Shen Qiuqiu was a slut. But Bai Xueying was different — she was the heroine of a spicy story.
Bai Xueying’s eyes widened.
“You say that as if you have a lot of experience…”
Shen Qiuqiu turned the tables and gripped Bai Xueying’s hand instead, then patted her soft belly.
“At least not as much experience as you — your belly’s getting a little big, isn’t it?”
Bai Xueying’s body trembled slightly. Satisfied, Shen Qiuqiu dusted off her hands and walked away.
Yes, the female lead was pregnant — with twins.
It was precisely because she was carrying children that Bai Xueying was so desperate to frame Shen Qiuqiu and Gu Zhouye. She wanted to secure a good environment for her babies.
Shen Qiuqiu arrived at the meeting place and spotted Gu Zhouye standing alone in a corner. He was still wearing those shoes caked with ice shavings. He looked, at once, one part lonely, two parts dejected, and seven parts handsome.
Shen Qiuqiu walked over to Gu Zhouye on her own. From the crowd, Ding Rui frantically signaled to Shen Qiuqiu with her eyes.
But Shen Qiuqiu stubbornly stood by Gu Zhouye’s side — though Gu Zhouye absolutely refused to meet her gaze.
Security Captain Wang Dayong and Production Brigade Captain Lin Dazhi arrived. Lin Dazhi worked for the forestry station, while the security team oversaw several production brigades in the area.
The two didn’t exactly get along. But the forestry station’s leader — the one who actually managed all the educated youths, Director Zhou — was absent today due to other business.
Lin Dazhi’s face showed a trace of displeasure. He glanced at Wang Dayong. He hated dealing with this kind of thing. The forestry station was full of educated youths from all over and a small number of military personnel. It was perfectly normal for romantic issues to arise. Director Zhou’s instruction was clear: better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage.
The first thing Lin Dazhi noticed when he walked in was the two young lovebirds standing together. It was obvious — they wanted to freely love each other. But Wang Dayong insisted that the man had forced the woman.
With no other option, Lin Dazhi cleared his throat.
“Here’s the thing about this matter…”
Just then, Bai Xueying and Xiao Yi entered through the back door. Xiao Yi held Bai Xueying’s hand, his face full of smug satisfaction.
He had slipped Lin Dazhi a bicycle coupon — a pretty hefty bribe.
Lin Dazhi spoke with a thick northeastern accent, but the content of his speech was quite sensitive. So he’d say one sentence, pause for a while, then make some incomprehensible sound effects. It was utterly ridiculous.
Quite a few people in the audience were laughing. Shen Qiuqiu couldn’t help herself either.
Gu Zhouye looked at Shen Qiuqiu, who was struggling not to laugh. How could this woman be so carefree?
Feeling humiliated, Lin Dazhi raised his voice. “Comrade Shen Qiuqiu, what is your account of what happened last night?”
Xiao Yi noticed that Bai Xueying’s expression was very bad. He asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Don’t worry. Even if Shen Qiuqiu won’t help us, Gu Zhouye will still end up with a ruined reputation at the very least.”
Bai Xueying looked at Xiao Yi. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t know what to say.
Shen Qiuqiu took a deep breath and stepped forward in front of everyone.
“Everyone knows I was Xiao Yi’s fiancée. And now I’ve suddenly gotten involved with Gu Zhouye. You must all be very curious about what exactly happened.”
The educated youths, who had been buzzing with chatter, suddenly held their breath. Shen Qiuqiu let out a long sigh.
“Here’s what happened.”
Bai Xueying clenched her fists. Her heart pounded wildly. Finally, she couldn’t help but speak.
“Stop!”
Everyone immediately looked toward the person who had spoken — Bai Xueying, the village doctor of Qingshantun. She wasn’t an educated youth, so her presence here was a bit out of place.
“Don’t be afraid, Comrade Bai Xueying. I will seek justice for you.”
As Shen Qiuqiu said this, a smile played on her lips. This white lotus female lead had said the exact same thing to her before.
“One day, I walked in on you and my fiancé Xiao Yi doing that. I confronted you, and you told me you were already pregnant with his child. So I decided to step aside and let you be together.”
Bai Xueying’s eyes flew wide open.
“You’re lying!”
Everyone immediately turned their gaze to Bai Xueying. Xiao Yi was also in disbelief, his eyes widening.
“Since when are you pregnant?!”
Shen Qiuqiu continued, “I already stepped aside for you. I’ve found my own new love. But you still refuse to let me go. You even tried to harm me and Gu Zhouye. I don’t understand — why would you do something like that?!”
Shen Qiuqiu quickly tugged Gu Zhouye’s hand. Gu Zhouye picked up the cue immediately.
“Because she wanted to take my spot to return to the city and give it to Xiao Yi. A month ago, Xiao Yi and I both took an exam. I beat him and won that spot.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd burst into heated discussion.
“No wonder Bai Xueying was always hanging around Xiao Yi. Turns out she’s already pregnant with his child.”
“There are only two university students in our production brigade. Xiao Yi couldn’t win the exam fair and square, so he stooped to these dirty tricks. Absolutely disgusting.”
Xiao Yi couldn’t hold back any longer. He raised his voice in protest. “You’re lying! I don’t know anything about this! Xueying and I — we’re — we’re innocent!”
Shen Qiuqiu found this speech utterly ridiculous. But when she thought about it, this book was male-oriented spicy fiction, so it was par for the course that the male lead had questionable morals.
Bai Xueying looked at Xiao Yi in disbelief.
“Xiao Yi, how can you say that? I’ve only ever been with you — ”
Shen Qiuqiu seized the opening immediately.
“Only ever with you!”
Suddenly, the entire assembly erupted into chaos. Bai Xueying’s heart was a mess of panic. She truly had no idea how Shen Qiuqiu had found out she was pregnant. She was the only person in all of Qingshantun who knew.
Lin Dazhi’s head was throbbing. Looking at the chaotic scene before him, he had no choice but to order everyone to shut up and have the four of them confined separately.
“Confined” was a generous term — it just meant locking the doors. And since Qingshantun was already short on housing, Gu Zhouye and Shen Qiuqiu were locked in one room together, while Bai Xueying and Xiao Yi were locked in another.
Shen Qiuqiu cheerfully stoked the kang until it was warm, then climbed under the covers. Gu Zhouye frowned at her.
“Shen Qiu, how did you know she was pregnant?”
“I guessed. Didn’t expect to get it right. Why weren’t you more cooperative today? You could have just used the same energy you use to argue with me.”
Gu Zhouye took a deep breath.
“Do you know how my family was taken down back in the day?”
The book hadn’t mentioned this, so Shen Qiuqiu had no idea.
“I was engaged to a woman back then. She swore she wouldn’t betray me. But she lied. In front of everyone at school, she falsely accused me of being a rapist. Fortunately, my teacher thought highly of me and managed to protect me.”
Shen Qiuqiu’s eyes widened.
“You’re afraid I’ll betray you?”
Gu Zhouye didn’t answer. He just clenched his fists. There was a hint of hope in his eyes, but his mouth was pressed into a tight line.
Shen Qiuqiu shook her head and said something profound.
“Your ex-fiancée definitely never slept with you.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘huh’? If she had slept with you, she never would have betrayed you.”