Chapter 19

The steward also came over—wasting food was a serious matter.

After questioning everyone carefully, they found that only Gu Yu and a male educated youth had returned at noon.

The male educated youth immediately lifted his foot and said, “It wasn’t me. My shoe is bigger than this footprint.”

Everyone looked and saw that he was right.

Then, all eyes turned to Gu Yu. Though she was a girl, she had feet that were around size 39 or 40.

“Gu Yu, come here,” Lu Lanlan called.

Gu Yu walked over and explained, “It wasn’t me, Lu Lanlan. Why would I step on your vegetables?”

To prove her innocence, Gu Yu stepped next to the footprint, only to realize that the shoe print was almost the same size as hers.

She was stunned.

The people around were also shocked. Seeing how confident Gu Yu was, they had assumed she wasn’t the culprit. But now, the footprints matched.

“Gu Yu!” Lu Lanlan was furious. She had just helped Gu Yu, and now this was how she was repaid?

“It really wasn’t me,” Gu Yu felt utterly helpless—no matter how much she explained, all the evidence pointed at her. No one believed her.

“Comrade Lu, how do you want to handle this?” the steward asked Lu Lanlan.

Looking at Gu Yu, who was still trying to explain, Lu Lanlan felt irritated and said, “Make her replant it.”

After saying that, she left for the kitchen to cook.

Before dinner, Fu Chunian asked, “Do you really think it was Gu Yu?”

Lu Lanlan responded unhappily, “Who else could it be?”

She didn’t want to believe it was Gu Yu either—admitting it would mean she had misjudged her.

But only Gu Yu and the male educated youth had returned at noon, and her footprint was the same size as the one in the soil.

“You just helped her; she has no reason to do this. And before, when she disliked you, she was always upfront about it—she never played petty tricks behind your back. This kind of sneaky behavior doesn’t seem like something she would do,” Fu Chunian said.

Lu Lanlan looked up at him. “You seem to know her very well?”

“Not really.”

“I think you do,” she said unhappily.

Fu Chunian noticed something in her tone and smiled. “I don’t know her at all. I was just talking nonsense.”

Lu Lanlan glanced at him, frowned, and said, “You’re so strange.”

Fu Chunian was about to explain when she interrupted, “Forget it, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

He didn’t say anything more.

—-

That afternoon, while working in the field, Lu Lanlan suddenly felt a sharp bite on her arm. When she looked down, she saw an unfamiliar insect.

“Auntie, what kind of bug is this?” She didn’t dare to touch it. Her uncle had once told her that a worker in his factory had died after being bitten by an unknown bug. He had warned her that if she ever saw an unfamiliar insect, she should go straight to the doctor instead of handling it herself.

“It’s a grass tick,” Aunt Xu San’s face turned grim. “Go to the clinic immediately.”

She dropped her tools and dragged Lu Lanlan toward the clinic.

“Auntie, I know the way. I can go by myself,” Lu Lanlan didn’t want to delay her work since she had a family to support.

“It’s fine. I’ll take you—it’ll be faster.” Aunt Xu San glanced at her but didn’t dare to tell her that someone had died before because they got to the clinic too late.

Holding Lu Lanlan’s arm tightly, Aunt Xu San ran all the way there.

At the clinic, the doctor’s face turned serious upon seeing the grass tick.

He took alcohol and repeatedly applied it to the tick, waiting for it to loosen its grip before carefully removing it with tweezers.

After successfully extracting the insect, the doctor examined it closely. Seeing that it was intact, he finally relaxed.

“Don’t go back to the field. Rest at home. If you start feeling unwell or develop a fever, go straight to the county hospital,” the doctor instructed.

Lu Lanlan nodded and asked, “Is it serious?”

“The tick was removed completely, so you should be fine. But just in case, monitor yourself carefully. The moment you feel off, head to the hospital immediately,” the doctor warned.

“Okay.”

Leaving the clinic, Lu Lanlan felt uneasy and a little scared. What if something happened to her? What if she never saw her uncle, aunt, and siblings again?

Seeing her worry, Aunt Xu San reassured her, “I’ll tell Xiangdong to stay ready. If you feel unwell, go straight to my house, and he’ll drive you to the county hospital on the tractor.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Lu Lanlan said.

“No need for thanks. Let me walk you home.”

Lu Lanlan didn’t want to trouble her and said, “It’s okay, Auntie. I can go back on my own. You should return to work.”

Aunt Xu San insisted, and seeing that arguing would only make her more persistent, Lu Lanlan let her escort her back.

Only after dropping her off at the educated youth dormitory did Aunt Xu San leave.

—-

The moment Lu Lanlan entered the dormitory, she saw someone crouched near her vegetable plot.

When she got closer, she saw that the person was pulling out her vegetables.

She immediately shouted, “Gu Yu!”

Gu Yu jumped in shock and turned around quickly. “Don’t misunderstand, I—”

“What do you mean, ‘don’t misunderstand’?” Lu Lanlan was furious.

“You trampled my vegetables this morning, so I only asked you to replant them. Instead of making up for it, you’re now pulling out my crops?” She felt both angry and disappointed.

Hearing her mention the morning incident, Gu Yu stood up and said, “Lu Lanlan, I really didn’t step on your vegetables. You have to believe me!”

Gu Yu waved a wooden stick in her hand as she spoke.

Lu Lanlan thought she was about to hit her, so she instinctively took a step back in defense. “Gu Yu, I let it slide when you insulted me before. I even helped you when you asked. And yet, you have no conscience at all!”

“It wasn’t me! Why won’t you believe me? I, Gu Yu, always take responsibility for what I do!” Gu Yu was getting frustrated. Her arms flailed as she spoke.

Seeing the raised stick, Lu Lanlan quickly grabbed it and yanked it away, throwing it aside.

Because of the sudden force, Gu Yu lost her balance and fell onto Lu Lanlan, who instinctively caught her by the shoulders and flipped her onto the ground.

Then, Lu Lanlan straddled her, pinning her down.

“Gu Yu, you actually tried to hit me?” Lu Lanlan was beyond disappointed.

“I didn’t!” Gu Yu was furious and anxious—no matter what she said, she couldn’t clear her name.

The hard soil beneath her back was painful, and she struggled twice, only to realize that Lu Lanlan’s strength was shockingly strong. She couldn’t move at all, and her wrists felt like they were being crushed.

“Lu Lanlan, my wrist hurts! Stop squeezing so hard!” Gu Yu shouted.

“You deserve to feel pain! Let’s see if you’ll bully people again in the future!” Lu Lanlan said, tightening her grip even more.