Song Yunqiao’s expression darkened instantly, her voice turning cold. “Did you take the wrong medicine or something?”
Being scolded out of nowhere—no one would take that well.
“And you still won’t admit it!” An Yanyan shot back, refusing to back down.
“Admit what? You came at me barking like a mad dog—did you even explain what happened?”
Song Yunqiao felt like something was seriously wrong with her.
“You—!”
Hearing herself compared to a mad dog only made An Yanyan angrier. She glared fiercely at Song Yunqiao.
Song Yunqiao wasn’t afraid of her at all. In the end, An Yanyan burst into tears—loud, exaggerated sobs that made it sound like Song Yunqiao had done something terrible to her.
Song Yunqiao found it extremely irritating. What is wrong with this person? Doesn’t she have a mouth to explain things properly?
Just as she was getting fed up with the crying, Jiang Xueming rushed in.
Seeing An Yanyan crouched on the ground, crying so pitifully, he immediately assumed Song Yunqiao had bullied her.
“What did you do to Yanyan?!”
Seriously?
Song Yunqiao was beyond annoyed. Do these people have something wrong with their brains?
The others who followed had already heard the crying from afar and quickened their pace.
Soon, a whole crowd poured into the courtyard, filling the small space.
Before anyone else could speak, Song Yunqiao spoke first, “Can someone tell me what exactly is going on?”
He Suxia pushed through the crowd and quickly explained what had just happened.
Meanwhile, when Wu Hongliang saw Jiang Xueming standing so close to An Yanyan, he rushed forward to pull him away.
The two of them started fighting again.
Wu Dexiang’s face turned extremely grim. He pulled out the whip from his waist and strode toward them, lashing out fiercely.
The whip hurt far more than their punches. To avoid it, the two quickly separated.
Everyone held their breath—when the team leader got truly angry, no one wanted to get caught in the crossfire.
Even An Yanyan stopped crying when she heard the whip crack.
“Didn’t I warn you both? Did you take my words as nothing?!”
The two didn’t dare move again. After just a few lashes, their clothes were already torn—one could imagine the state of their skin underneath.
“Stop hitting them!”
An Yanyan rushed forward and stood in front of the team leader.
Wu Dexiang tightened his grip on the whip. If she weren’t a delicate young woman, he might have struck anyway.
Seeing him lower his hand, An Yanyan let out a breath of relief and gathered her courage. “All of this today happened because of Song Yunqiao!”
Song Yunqiao: “…”
Everyone in the courtyard turned to look at her. They had thought they were just watching drama between An Yanyan, Jiang Xueming, and Wu Hongliang—but now Song Yunqiao was involved too.
Song Yunqiao finally experienced what it meant to be blamed out of nowhere.
Her tone turned sharp. “What does your nonsense have to do with me? If you’re messing around with men, don’t drag me into it!”
Song Yunqiao had always kept a low profile, unlike An Yanyan, who often drew attention. The villagers were more familiar with An Yanyan, so hearing this accusation instantly stirred excitement.
“What are you talking about?!” Jiang Xueming defended An Yanyan.
Song Yunqiao shot him a cold glare. “When women are talking, stay out of it!”
Her imposing presence shut him down instantly.
An Yanyan flushed red with anger. “How can you slander me like that?!”
“So you can spew nonsense, but I can’t speak?” Song Yunqiao retorted.
“You’re supposed to be an educated city girl—why do you talk like a crude village woman, full of foul language?”
That remark immediately offended the village women present.
“Who are you calling foul-mouthed? Just because you’re from the city makes you superior?”
Song Yunqiao replied bluntly, “If you’re so refined and superior, then why did you come to the countryside at all?”
Her words struck a chord with the village women—they felt satisfied, and their impression of Song Yunqiao improved instantly.
“If you hadn’t spread rumors about me, would today’s situation have happened?!” An Yanyan argued, feeling wronged.
“When did I ever spread rumors about you?” Song Yunqiao scoffed. “Do you think I have the time for that? Don’t flatter yourself.”
“This morning it was only you and me here. If you didn’t say anything, who else would know Aunt Yang came today?”
An Yanyan had come in furious because she believed Song Yunqiao had spread the news after stepping out earlier.
“So just based on that guess, you came at me like a mad dog?” Song Yunqiao said coldly. “An Yanyan, don’t think too highly of yourself. Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean the whole world revolves around you!”
“If not you, then who?!” An Yanyan insisted, convinced Song Yunqiao was jealous.
“How would I know? But it wasn’t me. Besides, Aunt Yang came in broad daylight, openly. What’s there to hide?”
As soon as she said that, someone in the crowd chimed in.
“Judging by Comrade Song, she probably doesn’t know. Aunt Yang came today to propose marriage to An Yanyan—but it looks like she rejected it…”
The speaker was quickly nudged to stop—after all, the team leader was right there.
Wu Dexiang’s expression darkened further, since the whole incident was tied to his own family.
In the end, Jiang Xueming and Wu Hongliang were punished with hauling night soil. Wu Hongliang’s punishment was even harsher—an extra week. An Yanyan was also punished, but instead of hauling waste, she was assigned to clean the pigsty for a month—a heavy punishment for a woman.
When Aunt Yang rushed home after hearing the news, she found Wu Hongliang kneeling inside.
No matter what she said, Wu Dexiang refused to let him get up. He felt utterly humiliated—never in his life had he lost so much face.
As for Song Yunqiao and An Yanyan, their conflict was now irreparable. They treated each other like strangers.
Deep down, Song Yunqiao couldn’t be happier. After all, wasn’t there a famous rule for transmigration stories? Cherish your life—stay away from the male and female leads.
As for the male lead, Gu Guanghua, he hadn’t stepped forward at all during the conflict. Only when no one was around did he quietly accompany An Yanyan and comfort her.
Because of the incident, Song Yunqiao couldn’t take any more sick leave—everyone had seen how lively she was. So the next day, she bundled herself up and went back to work.
After harvesting wheat, they now had to plant corn. These days, everyone was busy planting, and afterward there would still be weeding and hoeing.
Just thinking about it made her tired.
Other people transmigrate and live luxurious lives… and here I am, working in the fields every single day. Is there anyone more miserable than me?
Even as she complained internally, her hands didn’t stop working.
At this moment, she was nothing more than a humble laborer… no, a field worker.