“Yang Wen, where’s the key to our new house?”
Shaking the ring of keys in her hand, Lin Zhaoyang looked at him.
“All your keys are here. Don’t tell me you just happened to lose only the key to our new house.”
Yang Wen’s eyes flickered.
It seemed he had only just realized the house key was missing.
His entire body stiffened, unable to hide the panic rising inside him.
He didn’t even dare meet Lin Zhaoyang’s eyes.
If that key alone was missing…
Then it could only be because of what happened last night…
Several seconds passed before he hurriedly said,
“I left several keys that I haven’t been using recently at home.”
“The factory’s been really busy lately. Since you said you’d handle everything at the new house, I figured I wouldn’t need that key for now. So I took it off the key ring and left it at home last night.”
Convinced he had come up with a reasonable explanation, Yang Wen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, Lin Daheng dragged over a chair, sat down beside Lin Zhaoyang, and fixed him with a cold stare.
“If it’s at home, that’s easy enough.”
“I’ll go with you right now and get the key.”
Yang Wen’s expression changed instantly.
His feet seemed nailed to the floor.
The sweat on his forehead became even heavier than when he’d first arrived.
“I…”
He opened his mouth to speak.
But after saying that single word, nothing else came out.
“Why aren’t you moving?”
Lin Zhaoyang let out a cold laugh.
“Dad, Mom, let’s go to our new house right now and find Yang Wen’s key.”
Supporting herself on the chair, Lin Zhaoyang slowly stood up.
Seeing how difficult the movement was for her, Wang Fenglan immediately hurried over to help.
Yang Wen became increasingly uneasy.
He couldn’t figure out what was happening.
Nor could he guess what Lin Zhaoyang was planning.
Lin Daheng and Wang Fenglan helped their daughter outside.
Seeing that Yang Wen still hadn’t moved, Zou Zhengting reached over, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and dragged him toward the door.
“Didn’t you hear her tell you to come? Why are you still standing there?”
His tone was hostile.
His actions were even harsher.
He was treating Yang Wen exactly like the criminals he’d arrested back when he was in the military.
Yang Wen struggled twice but couldn’t break free.
Both angry and frustrated, he snapped,
“Can you stop grabbing me like this? I can walk on my own!”
Zou Zhengting heard him.
He simply didn’t let go.
Still gripping him by the back of the neck, he dragged Yang Wen behind the other three and hauled him into the neighboring house.
He only gave face to people he thought deserved it.
As for Yang Wen…
Who did he think he was?
Hearing the sound of the courtyard gate opening, Aunt Chen and the others chatting in the living room immediately stood up and headed outside.
“Lin Zhaoyang must be back.”
Eager for drama, Aunt Chen hurried out first.
The door opened.
Lin Zhaoyang had indeed returned.
But she wasn’t alone.
Lin Daheng and Wang Fenglan were supporting her on either side.
“Lin Daheng? Wang Fenglan?”
Aunt Chen looked surprised.
“Shouldn’t you two be at work?”
Just then she noticed Zou Zhengting, covered in dust, dragging Yang Wen along behind him.
“Oh my, everyone’s here today.”
Using the excuse of washing her hands, Lin Ni had gone to continue searching in the backyard.
When she heard Aunt Chen’s voice, she hurried over as well.
“Lin Zhaoyang! Zou Zhengting! Where have you two been sneaking off to?”
She wasn’t even in the courtyard yet before her voice arrived.
With those words—“sneaking off”—she deliberately tried to steer everyone’s thoughts in the wrong direction.
But the moment she entered the courtyard and saw so many people gathered there, she froze.
“Uncle? Aunt?”
“What are you two doing here?”
Looking at the familiar way Lin Ni addressed everyone, Lin Zhaoyang pushed away the hands supporting her, stepped forward, and slapped Lin Ni across the face.
Smack!
She hated how weak she felt.
The slap hadn’t been hard enough.
So she immediately slapped her two more times.
Smack! Smack!
If strength wasn’t enough…
Then she’d make up for it with quantity.
Lin Ni had never expected Lin Zhaoyang to hit her without saying a single word.
It wasn’t until after the third slap that she finally reacted.
Never one to suffer quietly, Lin Ni immediately raised her hand to strike back.
Both Zou Zhengting and Lin Daheng stepped forward at the same time.
Lin Daheng grabbed Lin Ni’s raised wrist, preventing her from moving.
Zou Zhengting’s reaction was even more direct.
He kicked Lin Ni squarely in the knee.
The force was so great it even dragged Lin Daheng forward several steps while he was still holding her arm.
Lin Daheng quickly released her and regained his balance.
Lin Ni, however, landed flat on the ground.
The pain finally registered.
Only then did she realize Zou Zhengting had actually kicked her without holding back.
“Zou Zhengting!”
she screamed.
“You hit me!”
“You hit me because of Lin Zhaoyang!”
“When did you two start fooling around again?”
After shouting at Zou Zhengting, she turned toward Lin Zhaoyang.
“Those marks on your face—Zou Zhengting kissed you, didn’t he?”
“Lin Zhaoyang, have you no shame?”
“Zou Zhengting is your cousin-in-law now!”
“You’re about to get married! How could you do something like this with him?”
“What about Yang Wen? Have you no respect for him?”
As she spoke, Lin Ni scrambled to her feet and charged toward Lin Zhaoyang.
“Wearing a scarf in weather like this? Covering everything up? If you dared do it, why are you afraid to let everyone see?”
But with both Zou Zhengting and Lin Daheng present—and Wang Fenglan standing beside their daughter—there was no way they would let Lin Ni get close.
The couple worked together and shoved Lin Ni backward, shielding Lin Zhaoyang behind them.
Aunt Chen’s eyes gleamed.
She loved nothing more than stirring up trouble.
“Zhaoyang,” she asked, “where did you and Zou Zhengting disappear to? Lin Ni’s been looking all over for you two.”
She looked carefully at Lin Zhaoyang’s face.
“And what’s with your lips? Who bit you?”
Then she turned to the bewildered Yang Wen.
“Yang Wen, I know you and Zhaoyang are getting married soon, but you’re not married yet. You youngsters shouldn’t go too far.”
It sounded like concern.
It sounded like well-meaning advice.
But every sentence only muddied the waters further.
Lin Zhaoyang glanced at Lin Ni, whose eyes barely concealed her delight.
Just because they hadn’t caught them together, Lin Ni thought the marks on her face were enough to count as evidence?
She was celebrating already?
Wasn’t that a little too soon?
“Lin Ni, you’re really disgusting.”
Lin Zhaoyang let out a dismissive laugh.
“You open your mouth and immediately start throwing mud at me.”
“What’s so strange about mosquito bites swelling up? And if they’re itchy, what’s strange about scratching them?”
“Mosquitoes bite lips now?”
Lin Ni shot back.
“Who are you trying to fool?”
One of the Lin family relatives spoke up.
“Why would mosquitoes care where they bite? We’ve lived this long. It’s not like we’ve never seen someone’s lips get bitten.”
“That’s right. Mosquito bites make your lips swell.”
“I’ve always said mosquitoes should choose better places. Getting bitten on your eyelids or lips is the worst. The skin there is so thin. You can’t even scratch properly. Your eyes swell shut or your mouth swells up so much you can’t open it. Makes people look downright funny.”
After saying that, the relative glanced at Lin Zhaoyang and added,
“But our Zhaoyang’s been beautiful since she was little. Even with swollen mosquito bites, she’s still pretty.”
“Exactly.”
Wang Fenglan quickly picked up the conversation.
“My Zhaoyang has always had delicate skin. It turns red the moment she scratches it. That’s why I had her wear a scarf—to keep the mosquitoes from biting her again.”
“No one’s living here yet, and there’s a river behind the house. There are always lots of mosquitoes in the summer. We just haven’t gotten around to putting mosquito coils here.”
Lin Zhaoyang looked directly at Lin Ni.
As long as no one had caught them together…
If she said the marks were mosquito bites…
Who could prove otherwise?
“Lin Ni, you’re really interesting.”
“Why are you so desperate to connect me with your husband?”
“What exactly are you trying to accomplish?”
Ignoring the previous topic entirely, Lin Zhaoyang asked,
“When I left earlier, this house was locked.”
“So how did you get inside?”
She turned to Yang Wen.
“Yang Wen, call the police.”
“Tell them someone illegally entered another person’s house. We don’t know whether they climbed over the wall or picked the lock.”
“Lin Ni has a key to your house!”
Aunt Chen immediately shouted.
“She unlocked the door and brought us inside. We aren’t thieves. If the police come, they’ll be arresting Lin Ni—not us old neighbors!”