Splash!
A dark figure plunged into the water.
A huge splash soaked a large section of the riverbank.
Shen Jiandang stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring in shock as the dark figure cut through the water like a fish. In just a few strokes, the person reached the drowning victim in the middle of the river.
That speed…
Shen Jiandang stopped walking.
He wasn’t staying to watch the show. He wanted to see if the person in the water would need help from someone on shore.
After all, he was a good man.
The good-hearted Shen Jiandang clasped his hands behind his back, stood at ease while tapping one foot against the ground, stretched out his neck, and watched.
A faint smile curled on his lips.
Watching…
But the longer he watched, the more something felt wrong.
The person had rushed into the water too quickly, and it was already getting dark, so he hadn’t recognized them at first. Now that they had stopped, he narrowed his eyes and took a closer look.
Why did that figure look so familiar?
The more he looked, the wider his eyes became.
“Shen Hehua!”
Damn it!
That’s my little sister!
Finally realizing who it was, Shen Jiandang threw away the foxtail grass he was holding and prepared to jump into the river.
Why had Shen Hehua jumped into the water?
Because she refused to let that woman pin everything on her third brother.
When Shen Hehua died in her previous life, she had only been nineteen. She had never been particularly clever. On top of that, she had grown up in this era, deeply influenced by its strong sense of collective responsibility. She couldn’t be as ruthless and decisive as the heroines in the novels the system had shown her.
In Shen Hehua’s eyes, that woman absolutely could not be allowed to drown.
She was an educated youth. If she died, Xiangyang Production Team would certainly be held responsible, and its reputation would suffer.
In an era where reputation was almost as important as life itself, and where collective honor meant everything, she couldn’t bring disgrace upon the production team.
She was determined to save the woman.
But she absolutely would not let her third brother get involved.
The educated youth hiding in the grass nearby was watching everything.
If she and her third brother simply ignored the drowning woman, not only would her family be condemned, but the entire production team would be looked down upon by neighboring teams. It might even affect the marriage prospects of the team’s young people for some time.
But if her third brother touched the woman, she would use that as an excuse to cling to him forever. The educated youth hiding in the grass would become the witness.
Shen Hehua would save her herself.
As long as her third brother’s clothes stayed dry, no one could accuse him of anything.
But if she simply rescued the woman as if nothing had happened, pretending to forget all the hatred from both her previous life and this one…
She couldn’t do that.
Floating on the water, Shen Hehua caught sight of Shen Jiandang preparing to jump in. She shouted so urgently that her voice cracked.
“Stay right there! Don’t move!”
She accidentally swallowed a mouthful of water.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
“Don’t come down! Stay on the shore! Cough! Cough! Haven’t you heard that men and women shouldn’t have improper physical contact? Cough! Cough!“
Shen Jiandang immediately froze.
“Little sister! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Maybe it was because they were siblings.
Even from so far away…
Even though Shen Jiandang couldn’t clearly see Shen Hehua’s expression in the fading light…
He somehow understood exactly why she had jumped into the river.
His little sister?
The one who was unbelievably lazy and terribly afraid of dying?
Saving someone by jumping into the river?
Forget the sun rising in the west—even if Pangu split heaven and earth all over again, it still wouldn’t happen.
She had done it…
For him.
He was touched.
Only then did he calm down enough to think.
The current wasn’t strong.
His sister could swim.
She wasn’t some expert swimmer, but she’d grown up in the river and was more than capable of rescuing an unconscious person.
His voice trembled.
“Little sister, I’m here. Take it easy! If you can’t…”
If you can’t, your brother will come save you.
Before he could finish his emotional speech, Shen Jiandang saw Shen Hehua swim up behind the drowning woman.
Then—
She suddenly raised her elbow.
Bang!
She smashed it hard into the back of the woman’s head.
It was…
Very unexpected.
Shen Jiandang: “…”
Shen Hehua grinned excitedly.
She knew perfectly well that the female educated youth wasn’t actually unconscious.
The moment Shen Hehua got close enough to grab her, the woman might deliberately pull her under in order to force Third Brother into the water.
Shen Hehua wasn’t about to gamble on her swimming skills.
After all, everyone knew that drowning people instinctively grabbed onto whoever tried to save them. No one could prove it was intentional.
If Shen Hehua got into trouble, her third brother would definitely jump in.
Even if the woman later swam ashore by herself, with the educated youth hiding in the grass acting as a witness, everyone would believe her over Shen Hehua.
After all, Shen Hehua was Shen Jiandang’s sister.
She would still manage to latch onto her third brother.
Hah!
Dream on.
A mocking smile appeared on Shen Hehua’s lips.
I’m smarter than that. You think you can trick me?
She should hit her a few more times.
Just enough to vent a little of the hatred she’d carried through both lifetimes.
The female educated youth’s body instantly went limp after being struck on the neck.
She began sinking beneath the water.
Shen Hehua grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back up.
Then she raised her elbow again.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three more solid elbow strikes.
This time, the woman was completely unconscious.
Shen Jiandang: “…”
But Shen Hehua still wasn’t finished.
She raised her chubby little hand and slapped the woman’s hateful face three times.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
She wore a crazed smile while saying in the sweetest voice,
“Comrade! Comrade! Wake up! Wake up! Are you alright, Comrade?”
Smack! Smack! Smack!
“Comrade! Don’t fall asleep! Hang in there!”
Smack! Smack!
“Comrade! Believe me! I’ll definitely get you safely to shore!”
“Comrade…”
Smack…
Shen Jiandang: “…”
Little sister…
That was a bit too obvious…
He was now absolutely certain that this female comrade had some deep grudge against his sister.
Seeing Shen Hehua preparing to hit her again, Shen Jiandang hurriedly shouted,
“Little sister! The water’s cold! Hurry and come ashore!”
Please stop hitting her.
If she kept going, there’d be no way to explain it.
If the woman woke up, she’d probably get another four elbow strikes.
Fighting in the water already took enough strength.
From a distance, Shen Hehua glared at her foolish third brother.
Who do you think I’m doing this for?
Then she looked at the woman’s bright red face.
She quickly rinsed it several times in the cold river water.
She had been too impulsive.
She shouldn’t have slapped her face.
But…
It had felt so satisfying.
Feeling delighted, she swam toward the shore while secretly taking every opportunity to viciously pinch the woman’s inner thighs and other hidden places that no one would normally see.
When they reached the shallow water, Shen Jiandang stepped forward to help.
“Don’t come into the water.”
Shen Hehua’s eyes flicked toward a patch of tall grass nearby.
“Bring that person out.”
The siblings had grown up together, getting into trouble since childhood. A single glance was enough for them to understand each other.
Besides, Shen Hehua had already hinted at it.
Shen Jiandang had always been quick-witted.
After thinking for only a moment, he immediately understood what today’s incident was really about.
“Damn it!”
Someone had actually tried to set him up.
He rushed toward the grass.
Now that he was close, the person hiding there could no longer remain concealed.
Shen Jiandang had no mercy.
Having learned a thing or two from his second brother in the military, and with the other man being weak as a chicken, he subdued him in just a couple of moves.
“Ahhh! Comrade! Comrade! I’m Li Hao! An educated youth from Xiangyang Production Team! I’m not a bad person! Easy! Easy! It hurts! It hurts!”
While Shen Hehua was rescuing the woman, the Shen family had already caught up.
Many curious villagers from the production team had followed behind to see what was happening.
The team leader, seeing such a large crowd running together, thought something terrible had happened and hurried after them.
He asked several people what was going on.
Each of them looked equally confused.
“I don’t know.”
“I saw everyone running, so I ran too.”
“I just came to see the excitement.”
The team leader: “…”
Every single day…
Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he saw someone dragging another person onto the riverbank while, on the other side, two people were struggling near the grass.
Without knowing where the energy came from, he pumped his legs furiously, shoved everyone aside, and sprinted to the front.
Even the Shen family was left behind.
Shen Hehua had known she was coming to rescue someone, so she had purposely worn a thick, loose-fitting blue jacket.
Even though she was completely soaked now, nothing inappropriate was visible.
She dropped the unconscious woman, walked over, and looked at Li Hao, who was pinned beneath her third brother.
“Educated Youth Li Hao, I saw you hiding here from a long way off. You watched Educated Youth Wu Laidi drown without trying to save her. Instead, you kept staring nervously at my third brother, who was about to rescue her. I have every reason to suspect that you were the one who pushed Educated Youth Wu Laidi into the river.”