What does it mean to avoid being publicly shamed?
What does it mean to avoid being labeled a “despicable person” ?
Yu Yin knew all too well what it meant to be publicly shamed.
After Yu Xiaoqiu pushed her off the hillside and someone witnessed it, the village officials had been waiting for Yu Yin to wake up so they could pass judgment on Yu Xiaoqiu.
If the charges were confirmed, she would definitely be punished.
But as for being a “despicable person”…
“What do you know?” Yu Yin asked.
Zhao Ping’an snorted, quickly finished his malted milk, and licked the rim of the jug.
He didn’t answer Yu Yin right away; instead, he pulled out a match and lit some straw.
Once the straw was lit, he added twigs and smaller pieces of wood.
After doing all this, Zhao Ping’an tossed the few sweet potatoes he’d carelessly left on the ground into the fire.
He stole a glance at Yu Yin. “I warned you not to cry.”
Yu Yin: “…..”
Why would she be crying?
Yu Yin was at a loss for words: “I’m not crying.”
Zhao Ping’an looked at her several times, unsure whether to believe her or not.
As he replied, he picked up a small twig and poked at the pile of branches, arranging them to cover the sweet potatoes.
“I saw that liar and that good-for-nothing Chen Maocai hugging each other.”
As he finished speaking, Zhao Ping’an fixed his gaze intently on Yu Yin.
His hands were clenched tightly, and his back was held perfectly straight.
Zhao Ping’an thought to himself that he’d just snagged a piece of candy from the secretary’s son, Gou Dan. If she really started crying…
He’d have no choice but to give her the candy.
However, Yu Yin didn’t even cry—she didn’t even show the slightest hint of sadness.
Instead, she raised an eyebrow nonchalantly, her expression one of pleasant surprise.
Zhao Ping’an: “……”
“Are you… paralyzed by shock?”
“You’re the paralyzed one!”
Yu Yin’s mouth twitched—this boy was probably just like the people she’d known back at the orphanage.
She couldn’t help but reach out and press her hand down on Zhao Ping’an’s head.
She ruffled his hair until it looked like a bird’s nest.
“Hey, you—” What are you doing!
Zhao Ping’an tried to fight back, but just as he raised his hand, he thought of something and silently lowered it again.
In the end, he just huffed and pouted.
Yu Yin laughed even harder.
Her heart, which had been unsettled and confused by her sudden journey into the book, seemed to settle in that instant.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
After all, life goes on no matter where she is; she just had to do her best to survive.
After fooling around for a while and eating some sweet potatoes, it was time for them to head back.
Yu Yin stood up, but after taking just a couple of steps, she suddenly turned back to look at Zhao Ping’an.
Zhao Ping’an had intended to sneak away with her to see if the liar really would give her something good to help her recover.
But just as he stood up, Yu Yin stopped.
Thinking she’d caught on to his plan, he felt guilty and dared not meet her gaze, stiffening his neck. “I’m going back too!”
Yu Yin was speechless. She tapped his forehead lightly. “I never said you couldn’t go back.”
“You said earlier that you saw Yu Xiaoqiu and Chen Maocai hugging. Where did you see them? Do they go there often?”
“Why are you asking all this?” Zhao Ping’an asked warily.
He added, “If you want to beat them up, I’ll go.”
“What are you talking about?” Zhao Ping’an now wore a menacing look, as if all it would take was a nod from Yu Yin for him to actually go and beat them up.
Yu Yin felt a headache coming on and tapped his forehead again.
That single tap instantly dispelled Zhao Ping’an’s menacing expression.
He clutched his forehead and quickly took two steps back.
Like a little lion with its fur standing on end, he protested, “What are you doing?!”
“What else can I do? You’re not allowed to hit people,” Yu Yin tried to reason with him. “Hitting people won’t solve the root problem. We need to outsmart them.”
Out-smart them?
Outsmart them?!
What on earth is that?
Zhao Ping’an was finally certain: after falling off the hillside, Yu Yin had really hit her head—she’d become a completely different person.
But…
The afterglow of the sun fell on her fair little face, and the sorrow, timidity, and self-deceptive resignation that had once been there were gone.
Zhao Ping’an found the current Yu Yin much more pleasing to the eye than before.
“What do you mean, ‘withdraw’?” he asked.
“I said ‘outwit’.”
“Never mind that for now. Just tell me—where is that place they frequent?”
“If possible, could you get someone to keep an eye on it?”
……
The sun was about to set.
To show Yu Yin her determination, Yu Xiaoqiu had been washing dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor, and doing the whole family’s laundry since two in the afternoon.
Then she heard the pigs in the backyard squealing like mad—it was so noisy—and realized she hadn’t fed them all day. Fuming, she grabbed her sickle and went out to cut some grass for them.
She was exhausted.
Never mind her rebirth—she’d never been this exhausted even before she was reborn.
And it was all because of that bitch Yu Yin, who refused to agree to the arranged marriage.
After feeding the pigs, Yu Xiaoqiu couldn’t move a muscle.
She didn’t even want to move; even lifting her hand now felt painful.
She slumped on the bamboo chair in the yard, like a dead fish.
The kind that stinks, at that.
When Yu Yin returned and saw Yu Xiaoqiu like this, she raised an eyebrow and turned to head for the kitchen.
Just as she was about to place the empty bowl in the sink, Yu Xiaoqiu’s voice came from behind her: “Yu Yin, go cook.”
She spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It was an order.
She’d completely forgotten how frantically she’d begged Yu Yin just moments ago to switch the arranged marriage.
Since Yu Yin wanted to survive here, there was no need to keep indulging her.
Yu Yin slammed the bowl down with a thud. The basin still held dirty water from the dishes that hadn’t been emptied yet, sending a large splash flying.
Yu Xiaoqiu jolted awake and sat up.
“You—what are you doing?!”
Yu Yin forced a smile. “What else could I be doing? Since my cousin doesn’t want to swap marriages, of course I’m going to cook.”
“Oh, right. Don’t wait for me when you eat—I’ve got something to take care of later.”
“Where are you going?” Yu Xiaoqiu had a bad feeling. “Are you going to the village chief to tattle on me?”
Yu Yin: “Of course not—I’m not some tattletale. I’m going to see the village secretary. I want to ask if they can move up the wedding date. After all, I’m still weak. I’ve got injuries on my arms, elbows, and forehead—if I have to endure your ‘call me when you need me, dismiss me when you don’t’ treatment any longer, I might actually die.”
Upon hearing “no,” Yu Xiaoqiu was just about to breathe a sigh of relief, but when she heard Yu Yin wanted to move up the wedding date, she nearly fainted from anger.
How dare she!
If only she hadn’t been reborn too late, allowing that slut to save Chen Maocai’s son and win his affection.
That little slut Yu Yin would never have been able to marry Chen Maocai, a man on his second marriage!
And she certainly wouldn’t have become the wife of the future richest man in the province!!
Yu Xiaoqiu was so furious her stomach ached. As she struggled to contain her rage, she gritted her teeth and snarled, “You don’t need to cook dinner. You… go… rest.”
“Does my cousin mean…” Yu Yin’s smile widened slightly. “You want to swap brides again?”
Yu Xiaoqiu roared, “I’m doing this for your own good—I’m afraid you’ll die in this house.”
“Oh, in that case, I’m moving back to my room. It’s early spring, and it’s still so cold—if I stay in the wood shed any longer, I really will die.” Yu Yin picked up on her words and retorted sarcastically.
Yu Xiaoqiu: “……”
She was so furious she couldn’t even speak.
No way—she had to teach that bitch a lesson.
She would make sure that even after she married into the provincial capital, she’d never have a moment’s peace!
……
At dinnertime, Yu Xiaoqiu kept Yu Yin from coming out under the pretext of letting her rest, and even personally carried the meal into her room for her to eat.
It looked exactly like a weasel paying New Year’s calls.
Yu Yin played dumb and pretended not to notice.
She wasn’t afraid of Yu Xiaoqiu stirring up trouble—she was afraid she wouldn’t.
As long as Yu Xiaoqiu dared to act, dared to hook up with that scumbag Chen Maocai just like in the book, she would make them experience firsthand the despair and agony of the female supporting character who couldn’t defend herself.
And so, ten days passed.
During those ten days, Yu Yin lived a comfortable and pleasant life.
She had no idea how Yu Xiaoqiu had explained things to her parents, but somehow both sets of parents had agreed to the arranged marriage.
To ensure she’d survive the journey to the provincial capital, her family exempted her from household chores and pampered her daily with a variety of nourishing foods.
Every day, in addition to the standard brown sugar water and malted milk, she was served fish and cured pork—a treasured leftover from the Lunar New Year.
If Yu Yin hadn’t accepted the memories of the female supporting character, she would have almost thought she’d stepped into a fake novel.
Her health improved day by day.
Her hands, feet, and arms—once covered in scars—healed, and even the deepest wound on her forehead had scarred over.
Now that she felt better, she was being pampered.
Yu Yin became utterly captivated by this comfortable life.
However, her peaceful, leisurely life was soon disrupted.
As she approached the window overlooking the clearing at the foot of the mountain, a small stone was thrown through it with a “clatter”…