Sheng Jinhe lowered her head slightly and curved her lips into a faint smile. The masses truly had sharp eyes—she hadn’t expected such an unexpected bonus. This saved her a lot of explaining.
Moreover, the people speaking up were all from the family compound, which made their words even more credible. After all, no one would fabricate rumors about something like this. People at this time were still simple and honest.
“W-We should pull the two of them up first. The water is very deep. Look, Brother Helian can’t hold on anymore.”
A man couldn’t be useless—except for Lin Helian.
“Right, right. It’s still a matter of life and death. The Sheng family girl really is kind-hearted!”
The person who said this had completely forgotten Sheng Jinhe’s previous arrogance and domineering behavior.
Just as everyone was preparing to rescue the male and female leads, the last small pebble in Sheng Jinhe’s hand silently struck one of Lin Helian’s pressure points.
He immediately fainted.
As long as he missed the best moment to explain himself, no matter how much he tried to patch things up afterward, rumors would already be flying everywhere. Sheng Jinhe’s goal would be achieved.
And because they were both unconscious, when they were finally dragged out of the water, the two of them were tightly embracing each other.
Right now, everyone was busy trying to pry them apart.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from outside the crowd—loud, urgent, and full of energy.
“Xiao He! Xiao He! Are you alright?”
“Grandpa! I’m fine! I almost fell into the moat!”
Sheng Jinhe immediately waved her hand and called out with teary eyes.
The people between them quickly stepped aside, allowing the grandfather and granddaughter to reunite.
“Grandpa Sheng, it was Yao Manman! She tried to drag Jinhe into the water. Who knew she’d bring disaster upon herself—Jinhe was perfectly fine, but she fell in instead. Lin Helian hurried down to save her. We don’t know why, but you know Jinhe can swim too. If someone had to save her, wouldn’t it be better if a girl did it? Reputation matters so much! And look, look—they were hugging when they were pulled out!”
Jiang Yueyue added fuel to the fire.
Her words carried hidden meanings, and the gossip radar of the surrounding crowd instantly switched back on as they began analyzing the situation.
“Yueyue, why were they…?”
“When we arrived, Yao Manman was pulling at Jinhe. Jinhe said it had something to do with the engagement. Th-these two…”
Jiang Yueyue trailed off deliberately. After all, she was still unmarried—how could she possibly understand such things?
“Director Sheng, the young lady might be embarrassed to say it, but I’ll say it! From what we can tell, those two have probably been fooling around for a long time. Maybe they even planned to drown your granddaughter and make it look like an accident so they could finally be together! My words might be rough, but I bet that’s exactly what happened! After all, your family runs the machinery factory. Even if the Lin boy wanted to break off the engagement, his parents definitely wouldn’t agree. Your Jinhe is a golden phoenix.”
After hearing this, Sheng Li’s face darkened so much it looked like water could drip from it.
He had been a soldier and an old revolutionary—someone who had truly seen bloodshed. When his face hardened, the aura he exuded made everyone around him feel an unmistakable sense of danger, and they unconsciously lowered their breathing.
“Xiao He, we’re breaking off this engagement. I’ll go to the Lin family right now. This must be resolved immediately.”
“As for them, from now on they have nothing to do with the Sheng family.”
Sheng Li had always been decisive. His granddaughter had been wronged and had nearly been murdered—if he could swallow that anger, he might as well take his granddaughter’s surname.
“Okay, Grandpa. I’ll listen to you. I’m so sad… I never expected Brother Helian to be this kind of person. It’s my fault for misjudging him.”
Sheng Jinhe spoke in a soft, tea-like tone.
“What fault do you have? My Sheng Li’s granddaughter can never be wrong.”
“Everyone present today roughly understands what happened. I believe you all know what should be said. Yet my granddaughter was still trying to protect them… sigh.”
Old Master Sheng looked deeply grieved.
Sheng Jinhe thought to herself: Grandpa’s acting skills weren’t bad either.
“Director, we understand.”
“Yes, yes, Jinhe really suffered the most in this matter.”
“Exactly, it’s going too far.”
“Don’t worry about anything—just take the child home. She must be terrified.”
…
“Alright, alright. I’ll remember everyone here today. As long as it doesn’t violate any rules, if there’s anything I can help with, I, Sheng Li, will certainly lend a hand.”
Although he was already old, Sheng Li was still tall. After scanning the crowd, he made this promise.
That single sentence instantly won over everyone present. Besides, Sheng Jinhe clearly had the moral high ground. All they had done was speak the truth, yet Director Sheng would remember them for it—today was definitely their lucky day.
“Girl, can you walk by yourself?”
“Grandpa Sheng, Xu Han and I can help her walk.”
Jiang Yueyue quickly volunteered.
“Good, good. Grandpa owes you girls a meal.”
After saying that, Sheng Li glanced at the male and female leads who had just been separated.
“Take them to the hospital.”
“When the time comes, collect a labor fee from the Lin and Yao families.”
The moment they heard there would be a labor fee, the few people surrounding the pair immediately lifted them up and carried them away.
The factory director had already said there would be payment—could those two families really refuse?
On the way home, Sheng Jinhe remained silent, thinking about the matter of the golden finger.
In the original storyline, the original host had given the female lead a bracelet. Rather than giving it willingly, it was more accurate to say the female lead demanded it using Lin Helian as an excuse.
But according to the original plot, the male and female leads only discovered the bracelet’s secret on their wedding night.
So there was still time. She absolutely had to get that bracelet back.
There was nothing special about the bracelet’s appearance. It wasn’t jade or gold—it was made of wood. But Sheng Jinhe felt that wood definitely wasn’t ordinary. Otherwise, why would the female lead want it in advance?
See? The original host had been used by that dog of an author to the fullest extent. Couldn’t they have used someone else?
“Sheng Jinhe, you’d better give me a proper explanation about what happened today.”
“Go home and rest first. I’ll come find you tomorrow.”
After they entered the family compound, Jiang Yueyue’s voice pulled Sheng Jinhe out of her thoughts.
“Sister Yue, I was wrong. Please don’t lecture me. My whole body feels awful.”
Sheng Jinhe felt that acting spoiled would work best at a time like this.
“Alright, alright. Should we go to the infirmary?”
When Jiang Yueyue looked into her eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to say a single word of blame.
“No need. I’ll be fine after some sleep. Sister Yue, I’ll reflect on my mistakes properly. I’ll definitely have a great awakening.”
She was paving the way for her future change in behavior.
“Alright!”
“Don’t go to the Lin family about breaking off the engagement. Leave it to Grandpa Sheng. After today, the Lin family has completely lost face—they won’t refuse.”
Jiang Yueyue knew how boot-licking Sheng Jinhe used to be in front of Lin Helian’s mother. She was afraid that if she went herself, the engagement might not get broken off. After all, she didn’t know that Sheng Jinhe now had a completely different soul.
Obviously, the current Sheng Jinhe also understood Jiang Yueyue’s concern. Of course she would go—but not now. After the engagement was broken, she still had accounts to settle with the Lin family.
“I understand.”
“Thank you and Xu Han today, and the two of you as well. I’ll treat you all to a meal tomorrow.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t let you off that easily. Wait until you’ve fully recovered!”
Jiang Yueyue said, and the other three clearly agreed.
“Ah—actually, there’s one more thing I need your help investigating!”
“Tsk, go on then, Your Highness.”
Ignoring Old Master Sheng, the four of them immediately formed a small circle and began whispering among themselves.
“Sheng Jinhe, I’m really impressed by you!”
“Please, I’m begging you. My future happiness depends on you all.”
“I described him clearly, right? That man is outstanding—anyone who’s seen him would never forget him. I think he must have come here on business, so you can ask around the compound and see whose house had a guest like that today.”
“Of course, if he already has a fiancée or is married, I’ll immediately give up the idea. I promise.”
Not being the other woman was a basic principle of life.