“Clack!”
A small stone landed on top of the desk by the window, rolled once, and came to rest by Yu Yin’s hand.
Yu Yin was flipping through the elementary school textbooks left behind by the female supporting character when she froze for a moment.
Yu Yin discovered that the supporting female character had excellent grades. With grades like that, if she’d been allowed to continue her studies, she would certainly have advanced to middle school, and perhaps even high school.
But in the end, she was forced to drop out.
Yu Yin exhaled a breath of frustration and looked out the window in the direction the small stone had come from.
Zhao Ping’an, whom she hadn’t seen in several days, was standing on the open space outside the window. Just like the first time they met, he was covered in dirt and waving at Yu Yin.
“Hurry up and come out,” he said urgently.
Yu Yin blinked and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Remembering something, she stood up. “Wait a minute, I’ll get you some dried sweet potatoes.”
“I’m not eating. Hurry up—they’ve… gone to the bamboo grove.”
They’ve… gone to the bamboo grove?
Yu Yin turned around, surprised and delighted. “You mean Yu Xiaoqiu and…?”
“Mm.” Zhao Ping’an kept his eyes fixed on Yu Yin. Seeing that she wasn’t upset, he let out a sigh of relief. “Hurry up. This time, I’m definitely going to beat them up good!”
“Don’t stop me.”
“Why would I stop you?” Yu Yin said, amused yet exasperated.
For the past ten-odd days, aside from recuperating, she’d been waiting for this pair of scoundrels—the reborn female lead and her lover—to have their secret tryst.
She knew that by now, rumors must be spreading throughout the village just as they had in the original story: that she’d used her injuries to force Yu Xiaoqiu into a marriage swap, forcing her to marry into the provincial capital.
She’d gone from being a victim to a perpetrator.
In her current state, there was no way she was going to let them off easy.
However—
Yu Yin said, “But let’s not rush to beat them up. Remember what I told you last time about outsmarting them?”
“Before we go over there, let’s stop by one place first.”
Zhao Ping’an was wary and suspicious. “Where are we going? You aren’t just making up another excuse, are you?”
“What are you talking about? I don’t like being cuckolded,” Yu Yin said with an exceptionally sweet smile. “Since we’re going to beat someone up, don’t you think it’ll be more exciting with a crowd?”
A crowd?
Where’s the crowd?!
Before long, Yu Yin led Zhao Ping’an—who refused to show his face—to the village entrance.
The entrance to Cuizhu Village was where the villagers usually held meetings and gathered to chat and relax.
It was just after the spring planting season, so the village wasn’t particularly busy. As a result, a crowd of idle women—and even some men—had gathered at the village entrance.
When Yu Yin arrived, they were in the thick of a heated discussion about the marriage swap between Yu Yin and Yu Xiaoqiu.
Some said Yu Xiaoqiu had done the right thing by admitting her mistake and making amends.
Others claimed Yu Yin was taking advantage of the situation; they wondered if she had even fallen off the hillside on purpose—otherwise, why would she force Yu Xiaoqiu to swap marriages with her?
So as soon as Yu Yin appeared, the crowd swarmed around her—
“Xiao Yin, I heard you’re going to swap marriages with Xiao Qiu and move to the provincial capital—is that true?”
“That’s right, Yin Yin. I’ve seen your sister looking so downcast these past few days—you aren’t really forcing her to swap marriages, are you?”
“Yin Yin, even though your sister pushed you off the hillside, taking her marriage to the provincial capital is going too far….”
Yu Yin had long anticipated this reaction. She signaled to Zhao Ping’an with her eyes to stop, and when she looked up again, she seemed startled, her voice trembling. “I… didn’t.”
“I didn’t swap marriages. I have my own match…” By the end of her sentence, Yu Yin had actually broken down in tears.
The women who had been so aggressive at first exchanged glances at the sight of Yu Yin like this, feeling quite guilty.
Of course, someone pointed out the crux of the matter clearly: “Yin Yin’s marriage isn’t bad either—she’s marrying the village secretary’s youngest son. There’s no need to swap with Xiao Qiu, is there?”
“Exactly. Maybe there’s been some kind of mix-up.”
Yu Yin’s lips curled slightly.
She wiped away her tears and put on a brave face: “I—I don’t know where you ladies heard that I was going to swap marriages with my older sister. I didn’t—I wouldn’t do something so shameless as swapping marriages.”
“It must—it must be that you heard wrong.”
“How could we have heard wrong? These words were all spoken by your eldest aunt.”
“Even if we did hear it wrong, then why has Yu Xiaoqiu been so gloomy lately, and why does she cry whenever the topic of the marriage swap comes up?”
Someone spoke up in protest.
Yu Yin’s face turned pale. “I don’t believe it. I—I… I’m going to ask my sister!”
With that, Yu Yin ran toward the bamboo grove right in front of everyone.
“Did Yin Yin run off to the Bamboo Grove? Is Yu Xiaoqiu there right now?”
“I don’t think anyone’s supposed to be working in the Bamboo Grove today, is there?”
“Could she be going to dig for bamboo shoots?”
“The bamboo shoots are long gone…”
In Cuizhu Village, there was a hillside covered in bamboo, known as the Bamboo Grove.
It usually didn’t require much tending; villagers only went there to fill their stomachs by digging for bamboo shoots.
But now that the bamboo shoots had long since been harvested, there was nothing edible there besides the bamboo shoots themselves.
Yu Yin was heading over there to find Yu Xiaoqiu…
It just felt strange.
“I suddenly remembered we’re out of bamboo leaves for kindling at home. I’m going to the Bamboo Grove to gather some.” An elderly woman suddenly got up and followed closely behind her.
One led to another.
“I’m out of them at home too. I’ll go with you—it’s nice to have company.”
“Then I’ll go too—”
“Me too—”
Zhao Ping’an, hiding in the shadows, was dumbfounded. Just a moment ago, these people had been criticizing Yu Yin—how come the next second, everything was fine, and they were even following her?
Could it be… that this was the “outwitting” strategy Yu Yin had mentioned?
Just cry a little and you win?
Zhao Ping’an imagined himself arguing with the villagers, then breaking down in tears… and suddenly shuddered.
Better not.
He figured his fists would do the trick better.
As soon as Yu Yin walked away, the number of villagers loitering and gossiping at the village entrance immediately dropped by half.
Yu Yin deliberately slowed her pace. Just as the people following her were about to catch up, she gave Zhao Ping’an—hiding in the shadows—a subtle nod, signaling him to head to the bamboo grove first and keep watch.
With so many people coming this way, she couldn’t let that pair of lovebirds catch on—or all her efforts would be for nothing.
This time, she was determined to make those scoundrels from the original novel reap what they’d sown.
Zhao Ping’an ran quickly and, without alerting the villagers, reached the bamboo grove before anyone else.
…..
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Chen Maocai, who hadn’t been intimate with anyone for over half a month, pounced on Yu Xiaoqiu the moment he saw her, like a starving wolf upon seeing meat. He grabbed her and threw her into the dilapidated shack deep in the bamboo grove where they used to meet in secret.
He was so impatient that after failing twice to undo the buttons on Yu Xiaoqiu’s blouse, he simply ripped it open.
Seeing that he was about to tear the blouse completely to shreds, Yu Xiaoqiu quickly grabbed Chen Maocai’s hand and gave him a coy, scolding look. “What’s the rush? If the blouse gets ruined, how am I supposed to wear it back home?”
“Then we won’t go back.” Chen Maocai leaned down and kissed Yu Xiaoqiu on the lips. “Later, we’ll head straight to town. I’ll buy you whatever you want.”
“Come on, Xiaoqiu, just give in to me. It’s been almost a month since I’ve had you.”
“I’ve missed you so much.”
With that, he tried to tear at Yu Xiaoqiu’s clothes again.
Normally, if her clothes got torn, so be it.
She could just sneak back home to change into another set.
But recently, she’d spread the news about the arranged marriage swap and pinned all the “blame” on Yu Yin. Now she was the village’s “poor little thing,” with many eyes on her.
If someone noticed her changing clothes for no apparent reason, it could cause unnecessary trouble… Yu Xiaoqiu was afraid something might go wrong.
Yu Xiaoqiu dodged Chen Maocai’s move and, just as he was about to get angry, flashed him an especially alluring smile.
“Did I say I wouldn’t let you do it? Why are you in such a hurry? Besides, once the marriage exchange goes through and I marry you, you can do whatever you want, can’t you?”
“That’s not the same thing at all!” Chen Maocai reached out again.
Yu Xiaoqiu was actually a little scared of him, but when she thought about it, she still felt quite smug. This proved that Chen Maocai was already hooked on her; barring any unexpected twists, she’d be able to marry him smoothly and in style.
Then, after the Reform and Opening-Up, she’d be able to take the place of that little slut Yu Yin and become the wife of the province’s richest man.
By then, she’d have everything she wanted and would be absolutely above everyone else.
Just as Yu Xiaoqiu was daydreaming about a future that didn’t yet exist, the impatient Chen Maocai ripped off her last piece of undergarment, exposing her snow-white breasts.
To be honest, what Chen Maocai liked most about Yu Xiaoqiu wasn’t her face.
Like her mother, Yu Xiaoqiu had a sallow complexion; although her facial features weren’t bad, she paled in comparison when standing next to someone with fair skin—especially when standing next to Yu Yin.
What Chen Maocai liked most about Yu Xiaoqiu was her breasts—he wondered if she’d somehow siphoned off all of Yu Yin’s nutrients, resulting in her exceptionally large bust.
At least among Chen Maocai’s several women, Yu Xiaoqiu had the largest breasts.
That was why, when Yu Xiaoqiu came knocking on his door again, he didn’t think twice about taking her.
“Mmm~”
“Be gentle—you’re hurting me~”
“Ah~”
“Why does it sound like I’m hearing a noise?”
“Wait—it sounds like the sound of people having an affair.”
Yu Yin paused her attempt to lead the man away without giving anything away, looking at the old lady who had suddenly blocked her path.
She hadn’t expected such an unexpected surprise.
Yu Yin feigned ignorance and asked, “What do you mean, the sound of people having an affair?”
“Besides you, Sister, is there anyone else here?”
At Yu Yin’s words, the women who’d been stopped snapped back to their senses. Their eyes widened, and they looked at one another in utter shock.
“No way!”
“Xiaoqiu—”
“Old Lady Chen, you must have heard wrong. This is a bamboo grove—who would…”
“It’s precisely because it’s a bamboo grove that those shameless women would be having an affair here!” Old Lady Chen scowled. “Let’s go take a look. We absolutely cannot let these loose women ruin our village’s reputation.”
“But… what if it’s Xiaoqiu? She’s still a virgin.”
Old Lady Chen snorted, her face full of disdain. “She’s already been unchaste—how can she still be a virgin?”
Old Lady Chen’s mind began to race. “Maybe this marriage swap was all her doing—she’s so shameless she’s been unchaste, and she’s afraid people will find out she’s no longer a good girl, so she arranged this swap.”
The more she spoke, the more convinced she became of her own reasoning.
Old Lady Chen patted Yu Yin—who seemed lost in thought—on the shoulder with a look of pity. “Yin Yin, don’t go over there just yet. If Yu Xiaoqiu really has been sleeping around, I certainly won’t let her get away with it.”
“Don’t worry. With so many people here to testify for you, I’ll make sure you’re not wronged.”
With that, the old lady paid no further attention to Yu Yin and led the group toward the dilapidated shack where the noise was coming from.
It was such a massive procession that anyone unaware of the situation would have thought they were heading off to war.
Zhao Ping’an was taken aback once again.
Uncharacteristically, Zhao Ping’an didn’t follow along to join the brawl. Instead, he stood behind Yu Yin, watching the group of women head toward the spot where the adulterous couple was meeting.
He asked, “How did you pull that off?”
Yu Yin twitched the corner of her mouth, turned to look at the teenager who only came up to her shoulders, and was at a loss for words. “What do you mean, ‘how did I pull that off’?”
“I mean, how did you get Old Lady Chen and the others to go over there and beat them up?”
Yu Yin wanted to say she hadn’t done it—don’t talk nonsense.
But the next second, she remembered the fate of the boy in the book.
In the late 1970s, the male and female protagonists started making their fortune through black-market deals. At that time, the market hadn’t been liberalized yet, and the government still restricted private trade.
One early morning, the boy went up the mountain looking for food because he was hungry and stumbled upon the male and female leads’ illicit activities.
Impatient by nature and driven by hunger, he walked right up to them demanding a cut of the profits, only to be pushed off a cliff by the male and female leads, who, feeling guilty about their misdeeds, joined forces against him.
The boy wasn’t as lucky as the female supporting character, and the cliff he was pushed off was steeper than hers.
Once he fell, the boy never got back up.
The boy was sometimes too blunt—perhaps because no one had taught him otherwise—and when faced with a problem, he only thought to tackle it head-on.
Yu Yin took a quiet breath and smiled like a weasel that had lived a hundred years. “Want to learn?”
Zhao Ping’an’s animal instincts told him there was danger, but he was simply too curious.
From Yu Yin to the village entrance and then here—she clearly hadn’t done anything, yet it felt as though she’d done everything.
Zhao Ping’an forced himself not to look at Yu Yin, but said, “If you want to say it, just say it.”
Yu Yin burst out laughing and didn’t press him. “This technique is called achieving your own goals through the power of others. The method is manipulation.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means the women in the village are the biggest gossips. Right now, their main concern is the marriage exchange. They’d definitely want to see us sisters fighting, so I used their gossip and curiosity to lure them here.”
“You know the rest.”
The young Zhao Ping’an: “……???”
Wait a minute.
What does he know?!
Author’s Note:
None