Zhao Widow was one of the most notorious gossips in the entire Lei Family Village.
She was in her thirties. Her husband had died, yet she never remarried. Instead, she wore heavy makeup and wandered the village all day long.
If any couple argued, or any wife was suspected of cheating, she would always be the first to know—and then spread the story with added exaggeration until the whole village heard it.
This woman had always had her eye on Lei Deshui.
She felt that although his reputation was bad, he had money and a strong body.
She had gone to the melon field more than once, bringing insoles and pickled vegetables, only to be thrown out along with her gifts.
Lei Deshui despised her flirtatious, “cheap” manner.
At that moment, Zhao Widow was crouched on top of the wall, her slanted eyes darting around.
Last night, when she got up in the middle of the night to use the toilet, she vaguely saw a shadow heading toward the melon field in the back mountains.
The figure looked somewhat like Su Wan, the “wronged little wife” from the Wang family.
Zhao Widow immediately felt a surge of jealousy.
She didn’t believe that Lei Deshui, that proud “living devil,” would ever be interested in a barren woman like Su Wan.
It must be that shameless woman seducing him!
So she got up early and waited here to catch her red-handed.
Su Wan stood at the entrance of the alley, her palms sweating.
If Zhao Widow saw her coming from the back mountain, everything would be exposed.
What should she do?
Running was too late—Zhao Widow had already heard footsteps and turned her head.
Su Wan’s mind spun rapidly.
She saw a public latrine beside the alley.
Biting her teeth, Su Wan decided not to hide.
Instead, she walked out confidently.
While walking, she adjusted her waistband, pretending she had just come out of the toilet.
“Oh, Sister Zhao?” Su Wan took the initiative, her face showing mild surprise and sleepiness.
“So early in the morning, why are you climbing onto my wall?”
Zhao Widow, who had been waiting to catch her in the act, was stunned when she saw Su Wan coming from the latrine side.
She paused, her suspicious eyes scanning Su Wan.
“Su Wan?” she said.
She jumped down from the wall, smiling falsely as she approached.
“I thought you weren’t home.”
Her sharp eyes locked onto Su Wan’s face.
“Tsk tsk… look at your complexion—so rosy. Doesn’t look like someone who didn’t sleep all night.”
Zhao Widow said meaningfully, sniffing the air.
Even though Su Wan had tried to wash off the smell on the way back, Zhao Widow still caught a faint trace of something unusual—something intimate.
Su Wan’s heart tightened.
But she remembered what Lei Deshui had said: if the sky fell, he would hold it up.
For some reason, she suddenly felt grounded.
She was no longer the soft, helpless woman she used to be.
“Sister Zhao, what kind of talk is that? Do I need to report to you just because I used my own latrine?” Su Wan sneered, standing straight.
“Instead, Sister Zhao, you’re not sleeping in your own house early in the morning but climbing onto my wall…”
She deliberately paused and glanced toward the Wang family courtyard.
“Don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to my Dajun?”
“Even though he’s useless, he’s still a man. If you’re lonely, there’s no need to be so obvious. It doesn’t look good if people see it.”
Her words were sharp and poisonous.
They hit Zhao Widow’s sore spot directly.
Zhao Widow, though flirtatious, feared most being accused of seducing married men—especially a useless man like Wang Dajun. That would ruin her reputation.
“You! You little shameless thing!” Zhao Widow’s face twisted in anger as she pointed at Su Wan.
“Who would like your soft little coward of a man! I… I was just checking your back door to make sure no thief got in!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
The air inside the straw shed felt thick and still, as if even the wind had slowed down.
Su Wan stood pressed against the door, all her strength drained from her body as she slid down along the wooden panel and sat on the ground.
Her heart was still pounding violently, echoing in her ears like thunder.
Too close.
If she had shown even the slightest panic just now, Zhao Widow would have definitely seen through her.
Su Wan reached into her pocket and touched the bundle of money. That was what gave her courage—what Lei Deshui had given her.
She knew this was only the beginning.
Zhao Widow was trouble. That encounter had already formed a grudge.
From now on, she had to be even more careful.
On the other side.
Inside the melon shed, Lei Deshui was lying on the bed, casually playing with a red hair tie.
It was very ordinary, but in his rough fingers it looked like a treasure.
He thought about how Su Wan looked when she left earlier—hesitant, reluctant—and a faint grin appeared on his face.
That woman… she was addictive.
Suddenly, he sneezed.
Lei Deshui rubbed his nose and frowned.
Then he thought of what Su Wan had mentioned earlier—Zhao Widow.
That woman was a problem.
Always hanging around his melon field like an annoying fly.
If she ruined his business…
A flash of cold ruthlessness crossed his eyes.
It looked like he’d need to find a way to keep that gossiping woman busy so she wouldn’t have time to meddle.
Zhao Widow herself had no idea she had already been remembered by the “living devil” of the village.
She swallowed her anger and didn’t go home. Instead, she headed straight to the big banyan tree at the village entrance.
That was where the village women gathered, and also where all gossip spread.
Even though it was early, a few women were already sitting there doing needlework.
Zhao Widow rolled her eyes and squeezed in.
“Morning, sisters,” she greeted casually.
“Oh, Zhao, you’re up early too.”
She sat down on a stone, lowering her voice mysteriously.
“Let me tell you something strange.”
“Just now, I saw that young wife from the Wang family coming back from outside early in the morning—her face all flushed. Who knows where she went fooling around last night…”
The women immediately leaned in, eyes lighting up with interest.
“Really? She looked pretty honest though.”
“You can’t judge by appearance. I think she’s definitely got someone outside…”
Rumors, like poisonous insects with wings, began to spread in the morning wind—
quietly creeping through every corner of the village.