Chapter 4

The Guilty Party Complains First

She stepped inside and saw a young girl wearing patched-up clothes, her face flushed as she defended herself: “I didn’t try to take advantage of your family. Li Chengye invited me to the state-run restaurant to thank me.”

The older woman didn’t believe a word and scanned the girl from head to toe with open disdain and ridicule in her eyes. “Who gets taken advantage of and then brags about it? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of marrying into our family?”

“I…” Before the girl could finish her sentence, the woman interrupted, “A country girl dreaming of marrying into the city? How shameless!”

Xu Xiaoyao had seen enough unhappy arranged marriages to want to choose her own partner. She believed that even if the marriage didn’t turn out well, at least it would be her choice.

However, she knew her place. City folks were picky and looked down on villagers. She hadn’t dared to have any designs on Li Chengye.

“I didn’t! You’re wronging me!”

The older woman, seeing her deny it, turned fierce, her gaze predatory, as if ready to devour her. “I caught you red-handed, and you’re still denying it? How much did this meal cost? Pay it all back to me!”

Xu Xiaoyao panicked. She only had a dime on her and couldn’t cover the cost of the meal.

She looked pleadingly at Li Chengye, hoping he’d say something. However, Li Chengye pretended not to notice, avoiding her gaze, slouching, and shrinking into the crowd like a turtle hiding in its shell.

Xu Xiaoyao almost laughed in anger. “Li Chengye, aren’t you going to say something?”

Hearing his name, Li Chengye shrank even further under the weight of everyone’s stares. He covered his face with his hands and muttered, “You can’t see me, you can’t see me.”

Oh my, how embarrassing!

Seeing his cowardice, Xu Xiaoyao was furious. If it weren’t for his invitation under the pretense of gratitude, she wouldn’t have come to this state-run restaurant in the first place.

Just as Xu Xiaoyao was at a loss, Xu Laotai walked into the restaurant and asked, “Xiaoyao, what’s going on here?”

Seeing someone familiar, the usually resilient Xu Xiaoyao couldn’t hold back any longer. With reddened eyes, she explained clearly, “Comrade Li lost his money, and I found it for him. He invited me to eat as thanks, but his mother accused me of trying to marry him, called me shameless, and demanded I repay the meal’s cost.”

Hearing this, the onlookers’ gazes toward Li Chengye and his mother immediately changed.

“The young girl was just being kind, and now she’s being slandered? This is turning things upside down!”
“They act so high and mighty as city folk, but they’re giving the rest of us a bad name.”
“Today, I’ve truly seen what an ungrateful wretch looks like!”
“…”

Xu Laotai had watched Xu Xiaoyao grow up. The girl got along well with her granddaughter, and Xu Laotai regarded her as family.

Seeing Xu Xiaoyao being bullied, Xu Laotai wouldn’t stand by idly. She sternly reprimanded the woman, “Insulting others without distinguishing right from wrong—is this the so-called city folks’ manners?

You eat the grain we farmers toil to grow. What right do you have to look down on us?

If you’ve got the guts, why don’t you spit out the food you’ve eaten?”

Li Chengye and his mother turned red with shame, wishing they could dig a hole and hide in it.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiajia, watching from the side, suddenly remembered that Xu Xiaoyao had been close to the original protagonist.

In the original story, after the protagonist’s death, Xu Xiaoyao and another friend, Wang Lihong, avenged her, but they also met tragic ends.

Having seen plenty of superficial friendships and scheming people in her previous life, Xu Jiajia was moved by such genuine loyalty. She decided to maintain this friendship on behalf of the original protagonist.

She stepped forward, held Xu Xiaoyao’s hand, and softly said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you.”

After saying this, her gaze shifted to Li Chengye. “Are you mute or deaf? Your mother is insulting my friend, and you’re just standing there?

Seriously? This is how you repay someone who helped you?

When there’s trouble, you just hide in the background? Are you even a man?”

Hearing Xu Jiajia scolding her son, Li Chengye’s mother leapt up to attack.

Xu Jianguo, who was closest, reflexively kicked her away.

The woman stumbled and fell flat on her face.

Instead of getting up, she sprawled on the ground, flailing and yelling, “Help! Someone save me! A man is bullying a weak woman!”

Grandma Xu, worried that Xu Jianguo might become a target, rushed forward and sat on Li’s mother, slapping her several times. “Bullying my granddaughter and then playing the victim? Who do you think you are? You think you can hit my granddaughter? I’ll teach you, you wretched woman!”

Li’s mother was stunned by the sudden beating. When she regained her senses, she began wrestling with Grandma Xu.

Despite her age, Grandma Xu, who had worked hard labor for years, was stronger than Li’s mother and quickly gained the upper hand.

Li Chengye tried to intervene, but Xu Jiajia slammed him to the ground with a swift over-the-shoulder throw. “Stay put! If you dare help, I’ll beat you to a pulp!”

Li Chengye groaned in pain and looked aggrieved. “My mother is being beaten like this, and I can’t even help her? Is there no justice left?”

Seeing a grown man acting so pitiful, Xu Jiajia couldn’t bear to look at him. She raised her fist and warned, “Say one more word, and I’ll really teach you a lesson!”

Li Chengye, terrified, shrank back and took a few steps away. “Mother, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but they’re too fierce. I can’t fight them.”

Li’s mother nearly spat blood in frustration. A grown man, unable to fight a woman, and still shouting about it? Was he trying to make a laughingstock of their family?

After the scuffle, Xu Jiajia realized something: the original character wouldn’t have known how to perform an over-the-shoulder throw. A chill ran down her spine as she instinctively glanced at Xu Jianguo, but he didn’t seem surprised. Instead, he looked pleased.

Xu Jiajia was puzzled.
[Guagua, what’s going on?]

Guagua, understanding her question, explained matter-of-factly.
[Host, you and the original character are one and the same. Just be yourself.]

Xu Jiajia: “…”
[What does that mean?]

[Don’t ask. It’s complicated.]

Xu Jiajia wanted to punch something.
[Didn’t you say you were all-knowing?]

Guagua fell silent.

Xu Jiajia: “…”
Totally unreliable.

Xu Jianguo, hearing her thoughts, remembered the old monk who had once saved Jiajia’s life. Back then, the monk had said part of her soul had wandered to another world and would eventually return.

It had taken 18 years, but it seemed the lost piece of her soul was finally back.

Grandma Xu had also noticed the changes in Xu Jiajia but remembered the monk’s words: if Jiajia ever seemed different, it would mean the missing part of her soul had returned.

Thinking of her granddaughter finally being whole, Grandma Xu fought even harder, leaving Li’s mother wailing in pain.

…

The onlookers, worried someone might get seriously hurt, stepped in to separate the two women.

Grandma Xu emerged relatively unscathed except for her messy hair, but Li’s mother was a sorry sight.

Her hair was disheveled like a bird’s nest.
Two buttons were torn off her shirt.
Her face was covered in scratches.

Humiliated, Li’s mother broke into tears. “You all ganged up on me! I’m reporting this! I’ll have the police lock you up. None of you will get away!”

During this era, ordinary people feared and respected the police. Xu Jianguo began to regret kicking Li’s mother. He shuffled over to Grandma Xu and whispered, “Mom, what do we do?”

Grandma Xu, who had once fought against invaders, was fearless. “What are you afraid of? If this goes to the police, they won’t escape punishment either!”

…

The police soon arrived and took everyone involved in the disturbance to the station.

At the station, they were interrogated separately.

After a round of questioning, the officers pieced together the full story.

The tall officer massaged his temples and looked at Li’s mother with frustration. “A young girl does a good deed, and you insult her? How will anyone dare to do good deeds in the future?”

Li’s mother, now much less defiant, stammered, “No one told me! H-how was I supposed to know?”

The tall officer stood up. “You didn’t bother to find out the truth and insulted someone for no reason. And you think you’re in the right?”

Li’s mother stubbornly straightened her neck. “Well, they ganged up on me! Aren’t you going to do something about that?”