Jiang Lai truly felt wronged.
The novel had never mentioned this.
She had no idea the original Jiang Lai had suffered such humiliation.
Seeing her aggrieved expression, the veteran officer belatedly realized his question had been too blunt. After all, she was still a shy young girl. How could she possibly be comfortable talking about something so humiliating?
His tone softened.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Turning to Officer Chen beside him, he instructed,
“You and Wang Ming go to the educated youth quarters and examine the scene carefully.”
The officers bustled in and out, occupied with various tasks.
Meanwhile, the neighboring villagers watched eagerly, filling in the blanks with their own imaginations as their discussions grew increasingly animated.
Without looking up, the veteran officer continued writing in his notebook.
“Bring Qin Chengyuan in.”
Then he glanced at Jiang Lai, his voice gentler.
“You can wait outside.”
Jiang Lai obediently stepped out and sat on the stone steps outside the office, where she had a clear view of what was happening inside.
The veteran officer’s stern voice echoed from the room.
“You’d better tell the truth.”
“What exactly is your relationship with Jiang Lai?”
“Did anything happen between you that night?”
“Only the three of you know exactly what happened…”
“…but some evidence can’t be erased.”
Qin Chengyuan lifted his eyes slightly and happened to notice the torn pale-yellow jacket lying on the table.
His heart skipped a beat.
Still, he wanted to gamble one last time.
Lowering his head, he remained silent.
The veteran officer repeated the question.
Qin Chengyuan still refused to answer.
The officer had no patience for such stubbornness.
He pulled open Qin Chengyuan’s shirt and tugged his waistband downward just enough to reveal his lower abdomen.
There, plainly visible, was a reddish-purple footprint covering half his stomach.
The police station didn’t have a camera.
Instead, the assisting officer carefully sketched the location and shape of the bruise in his notebook, then had Qin Chengyuan sign and press his fingerprint beneath it to verify its authenticity.
“You’d better explain yourself.”
“This case involves attempted rape.”
“You should think carefully.”
“This isn’t just about reform through labor.”
“You could be going to prison.”
Qin Chengyuan remained silent.
The veteran officer continued trying to persuade him.
Not long afterward, Officers Chen and Wang returned carrying a stack of envelopes—at least a dozen of them.
As they walked past Jiang Lai, one envelope slipped onto the ground beside her.
She bent over and casually picked it up.
One of the villagers watching from outside asked excitedly,
“What’s that?”
“Is it a love letter you wrote to Educated Youth Qin?”
Jiang Lai immediately opened it.
The envelope wasn’t sealed.
Only a date was written on it.
September 27, 1973.
She unfolded the letter.
It was filled from top to bottom with syrupy declarations of affection that were sweet enough to make her teeth ache.
It was signed only with the character Song.
She nodded solemnly.
“That’s right.”
“It’s a love letter dated September 27, 1973.”
Then she began reading aloud.
“Educated Youth Qin, thanks to your help, I’ve finally found a little breathing room amid this heavy, unfamiliar farm work. You’re simply my savior, the only ray of sunshine in this strange and difficult countryside…”
Before she could finish—
Song Tian rushed forward, snatched the letter from her hands, her face flushed with shame and anger.
She tore it into pieces without hesitation.
Jiang Lai blinked innocently.
“Why’d you stop me?”
“Wanqiao, you already regarded Educated Youth Qin as your savior back in 1973.”
Song Tian glared at her furiously.
“I’m only eighteen this year!”
“It’s 1981!”
“Do you even know how old I was six years ago?”
Jiang Lai tilted her head.
“Then… who wrote the letter to Educated Youth Qin?”
Someone in the crowd immediately answered,
“Who else could it be?”
“Look at Educated Youth Song’s embarrassed face.”
“It has to be hers.”
Another person frowned.
“But how could it be?”
“Wasn’t she the one who reported Jiang Lai and Educated Youth Qin for having an illicit affair?”
Suddenly someone shouted from the crowd,
“Maybe it’s two women fighting over one man!”
The remark was like pouring water into boiling oil.
The entire crowd exploded into discussion.
At the same time, it handed Song Tian the perfect excuse.
Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
She cried pitifully,
“Why are you humiliating me like this?”
Jiang Lai merely shrugged innocently.
“The letter fell right next to me.”
“I simply read exactly what was written.”
Then she smiled faintly.
“But be careful what you say next.”
“You’re not about to claim that I stole your man and ruined your relationship…”
“…just so you can smear my name, are you?”
“You’ve already given the police two statements.”
“If you’re planning to change your testimony now…”
“…you’d better make sure your witnesses and your evidence all match.”
For the first time, Jiang Lai carefully studied Song Tian.
In the original novel, Song Tian mostly existed as the villain who contrasted with the heroine.
The heroine enjoyed a loving family, an easy job, and steady wealth.
Song Tian, on the other hand, came from a family that favored sons over daughters.
She was pretty, determined, ruthless when survival demanded it, and selfish—the typical traits exaggerated for a villain.
Her ending existed solely to highlight the heroine’s success.
She struggled through life without a single person who truly loved her.
The Jiang family had been treated similarly.
Although they were merely neighbors of the heroine’s family, they too had been given selfish character traits before suffering one tragic ending after another—all to make the heroine shine brighter.
Ma Laihua lost her job after offending factory management by winning the year’s Outstanding Worker award.
Jiang Jianshe refused to take sides with the factory’s new leadership, was sidelined, eventually dismissed, and became a middle-aged unemployed drunk.
The eldest brother worked endless overtime to earn money for his son’s medical bills, only to lose an arm in a machinery accident.
The second brother dreamed of getting rich but lacked ability. He was tricked by bad friends into taking the blame for a crime and ended up in prison.
Because of the family’s decline, the third brother’s longtime sweetheart married someone else.
The once-envied family of four employed factory workers gradually became the laughingstock of the entire neighborhood.
Their tragedy…
Existed only to make the heroine’s happiness look even greater.
No one knew exactly what had happened inside the brigade office.
Soon afterward, Qin Chengyuan was escorted out.
The brigade leader and the women’s director were brought back in instead.
By then, night had completely fallen.
Interrogation continued inside, voices drifting out from time to time.
About ten minutes later, Officer Chen stepped outside and called,
“Jiang Lai.”
“Song Tian.”
“Come inside.”
The atmosphere inside the office was heavy.
The brigade leader, the women’s director, and the other two officials squatted silently against the western wall, their heads lowered.
Qin Chengyuan still stood where he was.
Seeing Jiang Lai enter, the veteran officer glanced at her before lowering his eyes to his notebook again.
His expression was solemn.
“Qin Chengyuan has confessed.”
“He admitted that he attempted to rape you.”
“He also admitted…”
“…that the plan to ruin your reputation and steal your job assignment was his idea.”
Jiang Lai hadn’t expected Qin Chengyuan to shoulder the entire blame himself.
She looked at him in surprise.
“What exactly…”
“…does he hope to gain from this?”