Chapter 28.2

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, there was a knock at the courtyard door. Li Xiao, who was sleeping on the outside, didn’t wake up. Business had been good lately, and he and Zhou Jian had increased their sales volume, so every day he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Jiang Rou had just finished nursing and had just lain down when she heard the loud banging at the door.

She found it odd, thinking someone might have an urgent matter, so she didn’t wake Li Xiao and got up to open the door herself.

The noise was so loud that it even woke up Aunt Wang next door. When Jiang Rou opened the door to the yard, she heard Aunt Wang speaking to someone.

“Whose child are you? If there’s something wrong, can’t it wait until daytime? It’s the middle of the night, and everyone is asleep.”

A young girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old with a ponytail, stood at the entrance of Jiang Rou’s house. Aunt Wang shone a light on her. Despite hearing Aunt Wang’s words, the girl remained upset and angrily muttered, “How can that man surnamed Li be sleeping? My sister is about to give birth, and he’s sleeping soundly.”

Her voice was so loud that it woke up several neighbors living nearby, and they came out to see what was going on.

At that moment, Jiang Rou opened the door. She was momentarily taken aback by what she heard and instinctively asked, “Who is your sister?”

The girl was equally surprised to see a woman opening the door. She paused her outburst, frowned, and looked around. “Isn’t this where Li Xiao lives?”

Jiang Rou wasn’t too upset and simply nodded. “Yes, my husband is Li Xiao. Who are you?”

Upon hearing this, the girl exploded: “He’s married. How can he be married and still bully my sister?”

Jiang Rou quickly interrupted her, “Wait a minute, you might be misunderstanding something.”

But before Jiang Rou could finish, the girl angrily retorted, “Misunderstanding? My sister’s belly is already so big, how can there be any misunderstanding? He obviously has a wife, so why is he bullying my sister? You bring Li Xiao out here; I want to ask him face-to-face if he even has a conscience!”

The girl continued to rant furiously, and Aunt Wang, who was standing nearby, grew increasingly alarmed as she listened. Seeing the determined look on the girl’s face, she began to fear that Li Xiao might have done something wrong outside.

To Aunt Wang, Jiang Rou was a sweet and responsible young woman, almost like a daughter. She adored An An as if she were her own granddaughter. The thought of this little family being torn apart was unbearable. She couldn’t help but interject, “Could this be a mistake? If your sister is about to give birth now, she should have been pregnant in March. But in March, Li Xiao was out transporting goods with a group of men. They eat and sleep in the truck; when would he have had time to meet any women?”

The girl’s eyes were red with anger. After hearing this, she wiped her eyes bitterly and said, “My sister is seven months pregnant now. She had a difficult labor. She wasn’t pregnant in March.”

She then looked at Jiang Rou and shouted, “I’m not talking to you! Bring that scumbag Li Xiao out here! I want to see him suffer.”

Jiang Rou didn’t respond to her directly but thought to herself, “If it’s seven months, then she must have gotten pregnant in May or June. Li Xiao returned from hauling goods at the end of May. During that time, he had a falling out with someone and was busy wrapping up his work. He didn’t even have time to take a bath, let alone be involved with your sister. There were many people watching him then; not even a fly could get close to him.”

“After he finished his work, he got into two fights and ended up in jail twice. When he got out, he came home every day, and then he went out to work again. He only came back in September, and since September, he has come home every day. The neighbors here can all attest to that.”

After hearing Jiang Rou’s steady and calm voice, Aunt Wang next to her hurriedly stood up and said, “Yes, yes, I can testify. Li Xiao works hard to earn money to support his family. He goes out early and comes back late every day. I don’t believe you when you say he has affairs outside.”

The people who had come out to watch the commotion thought for a moment and realized it was true, so they chimed in, “That’s right, Li Xiao doesn’t seem like the kind of person you’re describing.”

“If Li Xiao was really irresponsible, he wouldn’t be so good to Jiang Rou and their child.”

Listening to the voices around her, the girl showed a hint of hesitation on her face but still shook her head and insisted, “I don’t believe you. My sister said it herself. It can’t be wrong. Li Xiao bullied her at school.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rou suddenly thought of something and immediately asked, “What’s your sister’s name?”

The girl responded without hesitation, “Liang Jing.”

Not wanting to engage further with Jiang Rou, she demanded, “Where’s Li Xiao? Let him come out. How can you stand by such a disgusting man and still protect him so much? Let him come out and explain himself. Are you scared?”

Jiang Rou frowned again. If she remembered correctly, Liang Jing was the one who accused Li Xiao of bullying a female classmate at school, which eventually forced him to drop out and ruined his reputation.

If it had been anyone else, Jiang Rou might have considered it. But if it was Liang Jing, it was absolutely impossible. With Li Xiao’s vengeful nature, he was already remarkably restrained by not retaliating against Liang Jing. The idea that there could be any further involvement between them was utterly unthinkable.

Jiang Rou didn’t get angry at the girl’s provocation. She knew that when people were emotional, it was hard for them to listen to reason. So, she softened her tone and said, “I’m not afraid of anything. It’s just that Li Xiao has been very tired lately. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow last night, and I want him to get some good rest.”

“I know about your sister. I don’t know about anything else, but when that incident happened, I was also studying at the same school. From start to finish, it was your sister accusing Li Xiao of bullying her. There were no witnesses or evidence, and Li Xiao didn’t even get a chance to explain before he was forced to drop out.”

Before Jiang Rou could finish speaking, the girl looked up and glared at her, raising her voice to question, “What do you mean? Are you saying my sister is lying?”

Jiang Rou had been silent for a moment. When she looked through the information from her previous life, she felt something was off. The documents were filled with evaluations and grievances from classmates and neighbors about Li Xiao, but none of them had witnessed or heard firsthand about him bullying female classmates. The only person who had direct knowledge was the girl who had been bullied.

She had then asked her teacher about the documents, wondering what they could reveal about Li Xiao.

She remembered her teacher once reviewing a situation like this and flipping through some documents for a long time before saying something to her, which roughly meant that if a person had a bad reputation, others would believe any negative claims about them without hesitation, even if they hadn’t witnessed anything themselves.

Her teacher also shared a case he had encountered before, where a thief died while saving a boy from drowning. The boy’s parents, afraid of being sued by the thief’s family, instructed their son to claim that the thief was a human trafficker who had jumped into the river and that the boy had cleverly escaped. Because the thief had a history of multiple imprisonments, even his family believed the story. If the little boy hadn’t secretly told the police the truth, the case might have been closed with that false story.

So, after Jiang Rou had traveled through time, she tried to maintain good relationships with the neighbors and boost Li Xiao’s favor, understanding that sometimes rumors could lead to someone being condemned.

“Everything can’t be based on one person’s one-sided statement. Take your situation, for example. Just because your sister said that the child in her womb is Li Xiao’s child, does that automatically make it true? We need to investigate first. As I mentioned earlier, Li Xiao’s whereabouts over the past few months are well documented and easy to verify. If he had any relationship with your sister, it would come to light during an investigation. I don’t know why your sister told you this, but you seem like a student and should be able to distinguish right from wrong. We live here and aren’t going anywhere. I think it’s best if you go take care of your sister first…”

After hearing this, the girl’s expression softened for a moment, but she didn’t leave right away. Instead, she stood there in silence, looking a bit hesitant.

Aunt Wang, standing at the door, was about to persuade her a bit more when she caught a glimpse of someone standing behind Jiang Rou.

The man, who had been listening for an unknown length of time, looked at Jiang Rou, who was blocking the gate. The yard was a bit dark, and Aunt Wang couldn’t see Li Xiao’s expression clearly, but she sensed seriousness and focus in him.

Noticing her gaze, he turned his head slightly, paused, and then walked towards them.

When he reached the door, he stepped in front of Jiang Rou, his tall figure shielding her. He calmly spoke to the girl outside the door: I’ve already heard what you said. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say—I will only say it once.”

“The child in your sister’s womb is not mine. We have never had any relationship from beginning to end. The incident at school was a setup orchestrated by her and He Wenhua to frame me. Their goal was to force me to drop out of school so Lin Meiru could support He Wenhua in continuing his studies alone. As for what He Wenhua promised your sister, I have no idea.”

“Instead of coming to me, you should ask He Wenhua. Your sister did that kind of shameless thing with him in the school grove.”

Finally, he said, “Do not come to disturb our lives again. This is the first and last time. Otherwise, you won’t want to know the consequences.”

When he said the last sentence, his voice became noticeably colder, and his gaze turned darker as he looked at her.

He had originally not wanted to deal with such trivial matters.

He didn’t care whether others misunderstood him or not. After all, people could say whatever they wanted, and he couldn’t stop them. 

However, just a moment ago, he had been worried that Jiang Rou might believe others and be disappointed in him.

He was willing to stand up and explain, not for his own sake but because he didn’t want others to think Jiang Rou’s man was someone of poor character.

When Li Xiao appeared, the girl standing at the door was stunned. She probably didn’t expect the man her sister had been talking about to be so handsome. She had some doubts in her mind, but after seeing him, she felt a bit unsteady.

Now, after hearing this, her face showed embarrassment and confusion. She couldn’t help but look up at him and ask, “Who is He, Wenhua?”

Before Jiang Rou could respond, Aunt Wang hurriedly added, “He’s the son of He Quzi, who lives in the east of the city. He makes bamboo baskets. Just ask around, and you’ll know; that guy is quite bad.”

The girl nodded, glanced at Li Xiao and Jiang Rou, her gaze lingering on Li Xiao for a few more seconds, and then, without saying anything, she turned and ran away.

Li Xiao, disgusted by this kind of look, frowned, turned around, and went to look for Jiang Rou without even looking at him.

Seeing that the girl had left, Jiang Rou stepped out and smiled at the bystanders. “Thank you all for speaking up earlier. It’s getting late; you should all head home and get some rest to avoid catching a cold.”

The bystanders politely responded, “You two should also go to bed early. Who knows what kind of people these are? Don’t bother with them.”

“Indeed, they don’t even make sense.”

Although they said this, they were all very excited. The words Li Xiao said just now became more and more interesting.

Jiang Rou and Li Xiao closed the door behind them. As they made their way back to the room, Jiang Rou felt a bit cheerful and couldn’t help but praise him, “That’s how it should be. If you didn’t do it, you should say so. Your mouth is meant for talking. How can others know the truth if you don’t speak up? ”

Li Xiao, however, had a bad temper. He always kept things bottled up inside, never expressing when he was wronged, so no one would know.

In contrast, He Wenhua was eloquent, which made Lin Meiru treat him like her own son.

Li Xiao chuckled when he heard her words. Only she would think of praising him at a time like this.

He smiled slightly, feeling a bit better.

For some reason, he reached out and took her hand.

The warmth of his large hand surprised Jiang Rou for a moment.

She looked up at Li Xiao, and he tilted his head to meet her gaze with a faint smile in his eyes.

Jiang Rou quickly looked away, feeling a bit awkward, but she didn’t pull her hand back. Instead, she stiffly changed the subject: “What happened back then?”

Li Xiao held her hand gently and only let go when they entered the house. Her hand hung at her side as she unconsciously rubbed her fingertips as if the softness of his touch still lingered.

After hearing her question, he didn’t hide anything and began to explain.

In fact, he didn’t know much. One day, during lunchtime, all his classmates had gone to the cafeteria to eat, leaving him alone in the classroom, sleeping.

Suddenly, a girl rushed in, her clothes disheveled and her hair in disarray. At the time, he had been lying on the desk and heard some noise, so he looked up and saw her running out. He didn’t think much of it and continued sleeping.

But by afternoon, rumors had spread throughout the school, claiming that he had acted like a hooligan towards a female classmate. The girl even cried and threatened to jump into the river to commit suicide. The situation spiraled out of control, and by the last class of the day, he had been called to the principal’s office. Lin Meiru was there too.

Who was Lin Meiru? She was the kind of person who loved airing their dirty laundry for the world to see. She told everyone how Li Xiao’s father used to beat her when he was alive and that Li Xiao was just like his father—a troublemaker since he was a child…

He had stood in the office, quietly watching Lin Meiru weep and observing the strange looks from the teachers around him. Without saying much, he simply said, “I’m done with school.”

Then he turned and walked away.

He didn’t argue or explain.

Because deep down, he knew no one would believe him anyway.

By the time he finished telling the story, the two of them were already lying back in bed.

Li Xiao glanced at An An, who was sleeping in the middle, and reached out to tuck in the blanket on both sides.

Jiang Rou remained silent for a long time, her thoughts drifting to how wronged Li Xiao must have felt back then.

Li Xiao, however, didn’t feel much about it. He had been through so much since childhood that he had become accustomed to such trivial matters. Talking about it now didn’t stir any emotions in him.

Instead, what lingered in his mind was Jiang Rou. He couldn’t help but ask, “You really believed in me that much?”

Just a moment ago, outside their house, she hadn’t even questioned him; she had defended him without hesitation.

He had never known that someone could trust another person so completely.

Jiang Rou was still lost in her thoughts. When she heard his question, she replied instinctively, “Of course.”

Her tone was so natural as if she were saying, ‘Is that even a question? ’

Li Xiao felt a slight pang in his heart, and a smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of his mouth. Just as he was about to ask more, he heard her add, “I sleep next to you every day, and I’ve never seen you act like a rogue. How could you be messing around outside? If it weren’t for An, I might even doubt whether you were capable! ”

Jiang Rou felt the room had grown a bit too quiet and awkward, so she threw in a joke. She couldn’t help but laugh after she said it. But as soon as she laughed, she remembered the little one sleeping beside her. Worried about waking her up, she quickly covered her mouth, but her body trembled from trying to suppress her laughter, causing the bed to shake slightly.

However, Li Xiao didn’t find it funny. His smile stiffened, and he turned his head to look at her.

Why did that sound like she was mocking him?

When Jiang Rou didn’t hear a response for a while, she turned her head to glance at him and noticed his strange expression. She couldn’t help but pause, blurting out in surprise, “Are you really not capable?”

Realizing that her question was a bit too direct, she quickly forced an awkward smile: “I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought maybe there’s something you’re not telling me. Anyway, I don’t care.”

The more she spoke, the stranger it sounded, and Jiang Rou promptly shut her mouth.

Li Xiao’s face turned cold as he looked at her. “What do you think?”

Jiang Rou bit her lip and, uncertainly, said, “I think…you probably can.”

But her tone carried a hint of doubt.

“…”

What did she mean by “probably can”?

Li Xiao felt his chest tighten. Did she think he didn’t want to? It was just that An An was still young; he had to go to the South after the New Year, and she had to prepare for her college entrance exams. What if she got pregnant again?

He endured it and finally took a deep breath, turned over with a dark face, turned off the light, and went to sleep.

Not saying another word.

On the other hand, Jiang Rou found herself unable to sleep, her mind spinning with wild thoughts.

She started to worry that she might have hit a sore spot for him, wondering if he had been injured in a fight before.

She remembered a case at the station where someone had reported that they were injured “down there” in a fight.

Oh no, the more she thought about it, the more her mind spiraled in weird directions.

In the end, Jiang Rou pulled the blanket over her head, covering it tightly.

She wanted to cry. God, please spare her brain. -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-