Chapter 7: Falsely Accused of Arson

As soon as Lu Tingbai saw Mianmian, he immediately checked her for injuries.
“Are you alright? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Blinking her eyes with an innocent look, Li Mianmian replied,
“I’m fine, Mianmian’s perfectly okay.”

Lu Tingbai let out a sigh of relief and gently patted her head.
“As long as you’re fine.”

Just then, Lu Yunchi came running over after hearing there was a fire.
“Dad, you need to save—”

“Save what?” Li Mianmian cut in before he could finish.

When Lu Yunchi saw her, his eyes widened in shock.
“You… you’re okay?”

Li Mianmian blinked at him with a bright, childlike smile.
“Xiao Chi, Mianmian found candy!”

She pulled out a sugar cube wrapped in a handkerchief from her pocket and stuffed it into his hand.

Lu Yunchi froze, staring at the rock sugar in disbelief. Looking up at Mianmian, his eyes filled with confusion and surprise.
Could she really be pretending to be stupid?

Meanwhile, Li Mianmian lowered her head, already plotting how to win the little brat over to her side.

At that moment, someone shouted,
“The fire’s out!”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began discussing.
“How did the fire suddenly start?”
“Maybe someone forgot to turn off the stove?”
“Good thing we caught it in time, otherwise it would’ve been disastrous.”

Then someone said,
“I just saw the new bride from Commander Lu’s house in the kitchen.”

“Commander Zhang, don’t tell me she started the fire?”

“It must have been her! She’s a fool—who knows what kind of stupid thing she’d do!”

The same middle-aged woman who had earlier called Li Mianmian an idiot stepped forward.
“I even picked up a hairpin in the guest room just now.”

She held up a cherry-shaped hairpin high for everyone to see, and the crowd began buzzing.

“Wasn’t that hairpin just on Commander Lu’s wife’s head?”
“Now we’ve got proof—she must have set the fire.”

Chief Zhang walked over, his face clouded.
“Tingbai, this…”

“Bai, it wasn’t Mianmian who set the fire.”

Li Mianmian tugged at Lu Tingbai’s sleeve, shaking her head.

But doubt crept into Lu Tingbai’s eyes.
“Then why were you in the kitchen?”

“I…” She couldn’t exactly say that Lu Yunchi had tricked her into the kitchen and locked her inside.

Worried he’d be exposed, Lu Yunchi quickly spoke up.
“Dad, I heard it was Grandpa Lu who had someone break the kitchen door open. If Aunt Mianmian really started the fire, how could she have been outside?”

“Who knows, maybe she set the fire and then locked the door after coming out,” the woman retorted, glaring at Li Mianmian.

Lu Yunchi chuckled,
“Auntie, you just said you found the hairpin in the guest room. The guest room is next to the kitchen. That only proves Aunt Mianmian went to the guest room, not the kitchen.”

At that moment, an elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket squeezed into the crowd.
“What’s going on here?”

Commander Zhang waved her off.
“Nothing, just a fire in the kitchen.”

“Oh dear, I must have forgotten to turn off the stove!” The old woman smacked her thigh.

Commander Zhang quickly took the basket from her.
“Sis, you forgot again.”

“So it was just the stove left on. Then we wrongly accused her.”
“Exactly, this is bullying!”

Deputy Commander Chen, who had been hiding behind his wife and enjoying the show, couldn’t sit still anymore. He snatched the hairpin and shoved it back into Li Mianmian’s hand.

“Little sister, you’ve really been wronged this time. I’ll starve her for a few days to make it up to you. Don’t take it to heart—another day I’ll bring her over to apologize properly.”

Before anyone could react, he dragged his wife away in embarrassment.

Commander Zhang dismissed the crowd with an apologetic look.
“Truly sorry, everyone. We didn’t mean to alarm you.”

Lu Tingbai shook his head.
“It’s fine. Luckily no real damage was done. We won’t trouble you further today.”

Chief Zhang sighed.
“Well, now that you’re married, your parents can finally rest assured.”

A flicker of darkness flashed in Lu Tingbai’s eyes.
“Mm.”

Li Mianmian, hiding behind him, sneaked a glance at Lu Yunchi. The little boy who had just spoken up for her was now silent, head lowered, clutching the candy tightly in his hand.

She chuckled inwardly. This little brat was probably touched by her gesture.

Then, putting on an innocent act, she tugged lightly at Lu Tingbai’s sleeve.
“Tingbai, when are we going home?”

He looked down at Mianmian, then at Yunchi, and nodded.
“We’ll go now.”

Turning to Chief Zhang, he said,
“Uncle Zhang, let’s leave it here. We’ll head back first.”

Chief Zhang nodded repeatedly.
“Alright, go get some rest.”

On the way home, Li Mianmian pointed at the flowers and plants along the roadside, asking questions one after another, sometimes swinging Lu Tingbai’s hand playfully.

Though his face remained stern, a trace of tenderness flickered in his eyes. He patiently answered each question and occasionally reached over to gently ruffle her hair.

Back at the small home in the family compound, Lu Tingbai pushed the door open softly.

Li Mianmian hopped inside cheerfully.
“Wow! Mianmian’s new home!”

Her eyes widened as she looked around in excitement.

The corner of Lu Tingbai’s mouth lifted slightly, a pampering glint flashing in his eyes. He reached out to rub her head softly.
“Do you like it here?”

Li Mianmian nodded vigorously, eyes sparkling.
“Mm-hm!”

Lu Yunchi followed them inside. Seeing her so lively and innocent, his brows furrowed slightly. Quietly observing her, he muttered inwardly:

Could this fool really just be pretending? But… she doesn’t seem like it.

Li Mianmian pretended not to notice Lu Yunchi’s gaze as she bounced happily around the room, touching this and poking that, her mouth constantly letting out little exclamations.

“Wow! This vase is so pretty!”
“Eh? What’s this?”
“Tingbai, how do you use this thing?”

Lu Tingbai patiently followed behind her, answering each question one by one. Though his expression remained calm and cold, his eyes carried a trace of warmth.

Standing off to the side, Lu Yunchi watched the scene, feeling more and more unsettled. He glanced down at the piece of candy in his hand, then back up at Li Mianmian, his eyes full of complicated emotions.

Still pretending not to notice his strangeness, Li Mianmian continued wandering around the house. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a painting hanging on the wall.

“Tingbai! This painting is so pretty!” she exclaimed, bouncing with excitement.

Lu Tingbai walked over. “Do you like paintings?”

Her big eyes sparkled as she nodded. “Mm! Mianmian loves painting the most!”

The corners of Lu Tingbai’s lips lifted slightly. “Then tomorrow I’ll buy you some painting supplies to play with.”

Li Mianmian clapped her hands happily. “That’s wonderful! Thank you, Tingbai!”

Watching her act even more childish than himself, Lu Yunchi rolled his eyes.

Still smiling innocently, she skipped over to stand in front of him.
“Yunchi! Do you want to paint too?” she asked, tilting her head like a curious child.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Lu Yunchi snorted coldly.
“I wouldn’t do something that boring.”

“But painting is so much fun!”

He curled his lips.
“What’s fun about it? I don’t like it.”

She beamed at him with a simple, innocent smile.
“Then what does Yunchi like?”

He froze for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected her to ask. Lowering his head, he muttered softly,
“I… I like reading.”

“Wow! Yunchi is amazing! Mianmian wants to read too, but Mianmian doesn’t know any words…”

Lu Tingbai glanced at her, then at Yunchi, and sighed lightly.
“Yunchi, if you’re willing, you can teach Mianmian how to read.”

“…Got it.”

“Really? That’s great! Thank you, Yunchi!”

She spread her arms wide, clearly intending to give him a hug.

Startled, Lu Yunchi quickly backed away a step.
“You… what are you doing?”