Chapter 23: I Was on the Long-Distance Running Team When I Was in School

“I’ll go back and cook myself, so I won’t trouble you to run this errand! Stay at home, I’m leaving!” After speaking, Li Hongying picked up the basket and hurried off, moving so fast it was as if a ghost was chasing her from behind.

“No trouble at all!” Jiang Yue raised her foot and immediately followed, saying: “I’m not afraid of running!”

Li Hongying was only brushing off Jiang Yue. She certainly didn’t plan to actually eat the spoiled meat and rotten vegetable leaves—those were disgusting!

Since she couldn’t trick Jiang Yue today, Li Hongying planned to throw the food away on the way, but now Jiang Yue insisted on following her home. This was not going to work!

“Jiang Yue, don’t you still need to cook? Let’s do it another time. Next time, you can come to my place!” Li Hongying reached for the door, trying to push Jiang Yue inside.

“Don’t wait for next time! Besides, didn’t you say you bought me some vegetables? Since the meat and vegetables are for you, my share must have been left at your house. I’ll just go over and get it!” Jiang Yue grabbed the door and locked it as she spoke. Her home was in a remote area, and not many people came to this side.

Jiang Yue wasn’t worried about her belongings being stolen. People were still mostly honest in this era, and those like Li Hongying, who were petty and sly, were in the minority.

Seeing Jiang Yue so persistent, Li Hongying became anxious, beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead.

This was bad, she absolutely couldn’t let Jiang Yue go to her house. She mustn’t let Jiang Yue see the shoulder meat and fresh vegetables she had bought this morning!

In the next second, Li Hongying turned and ran.

She needed to get home first to hide the meat and vegetables!

Li Hongying thought she was running fast enough. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst from her chest.

She told herself to hurry! A little faster! If she moved faster, her pork wouldn’t be taken by Jiang Yue!

But Li Hongying had a feeling that she could hear two sets of footsteps.

As she turned a corner, the corner of her eye caught a shadow closely following her, almost running right behind her. It scared her so much that she nearly lost her soul, dropping to the ground with a thud.

“Ghost!”

“Ghost? Where’s the ghost?” Jiang Yue immediately looked around. She was a staunch materialist and couldn’t explain certain things, so now she was feeling a bit superstitious. But it was broad daylight—if there were any ghosts, they surely wouldn’t dare show themselves!

“Jiang Yue, how come it’s you? Why did you follow me?” Li Hongying only then realized it was Jiang Yue who had been following her, and her face turned pale with anger.

“Of course, it’s me! Didn’t I say I was going to your place to get the vegetables? I saw you running so fast, so I had to hurry and keep up!” Jiang Yue grinned, showing a harmless smile: “Is there a problem?”

Jiang Yue had been paying close attention to Li Hongying just now. Seeing her tense up and clearly preparing to run, Jiang Yue immediately followed.

Today, no matter what, she was going to visit Li Hongying’s house!

“Are you still going to run?” Seeing Li Hongying panting and sitting on the ground, Jiang Yue casually did two leg stretches: “I was on the long-distance running team when I was in school. Not only can I run five kilometers, but even three kilometers, I wouldn’t even be out of breath!”

Hearing this, Li Hongying’s face turned so green it seemed like it was glowing with envy.

Even Lian Rongrong had noticed that Li Hongying was heading towards Jiang Yue’s house. She had been keeping an eye on her while cooking, distracted and constantly peeking out to see what was happening. Suddenly, she saw the two of them running past.

She looked closely—it was Jiang Yue and Li Hongying!

This was going to be good! Lian Rongrong immediately became so excited that she didn’t even put the spatula down before running after them.

“Hey, you two, are you racing this morning?” Lian Rongrong panted, finally catching up when Jiang Yue and Li Hongying had stopped.

Apart from Lian Rongrong, others had also noticed and gathered around to watch. “What’s going on?” they asked.

Jiang Yue was glad there were more people gathering.

“Well, you see, Li Hongying came to my house just now to make me some food—” Jiang Yue noticed the military wives around her either exchanging knowing looks or showing contempt. She wasn’t upset though. Instead, she continued: “I casually asked her what vegetables she brought, and guess what I found in her basket?”

“What did you find?” Lian Rongrong eagerly asked, playing along.

“A piece of rotten meat! And a big bunch of leaves, so decayed you can’t even tell what they are!” Jiang Yue said clearly, speaking in standard Mandarin, and more and more people stepped out of their homes to watch the commotion.

Not everyone in the Family Residential Compound knew about Li Hongying’s dirty deeds, so some people began asking what was going on.

“You’re talking nonsense! Jiang Yue, you’re slandering me!” Li Hongying scrambled to her feet, her face full of anger as she pointed at Jiang Yue.

“Well, whether Jiang Yue is slandering you or not, why not just take out what’s in your basket and let everyone see?” Lian Rongrong suggested.

One of the military wives nearby spoke up: “Yeah! Let’s see if your basket really has rotten meat! If it doesn’t, then you’ve cleared your name!”

“What’s in my basket is none of your business!” Li Hongying refused to let anyone see her basket. She hugged it tightly to her chest, guarding it with all her might.

“Of course it’s our business!” Lian Rongrong took the lead, followed by seven or eight military wives who rushed forward and snatched the basket from Li Hongying. They quickly pulled off the cloth covering the basket, and the moment they saw what was inside, someone gagged.

“Ugh, it smells so bad!”

“Jiang Yue wasn’t lying, it really is rotten meat!”

“I remember that Regiment Commander Gu hired Li Hongying to cook, and Li Hongying is so despicable, giving people rotten meat to eat?”

Jiang Yue stood aside, smiling cheerfully. “Ladies, you’ve misunderstood Li Hongying!”

“Misunderstood?” The military wives froze when they heard this. “How could we misunderstand? The rotten meat is right there in her basket!”

Lian Rongrong, seeing Jiang Yue smiling so carefreely, thought to herself that Jiang Yue really was foolish. Even though Li Hongying had been caught, she was still helping her!

Jiang Yue waited for a few seconds, then, seeing that everyone was looking at her, slowly said: “Actually, this rotten meat and rotten vegetables weren’t meant for me!”

“If they weren’t for you, why did she take them to your house?” one of the military wives asked, confused.

“Well, Li Hongying said that the rotten meat and vegetables were actually bought for her own family!” Jiang Yue glanced at Li Hongying. “Right?”

Li Hongying, who had already been enraged by the surrounding crowd, was even more furious when she heard Jiang Yue’s words. Her mouth twitched, but she couldn’t argue.

If she denied it, she couldn’t explain why she had brought the rotten meat to Jiang Yue’s house.

Li Hongying was stuck in an awkward position, neither agreeing nor denying. She could only remain silent, her face turning pale with rage.

“So, why did you chase Li Hongying?” Lian Rongrong, now catching on, looked at Jiang Yue with an expectant gaze.

“This is the thing!” Jiang Yue cleared her throat, glanced around at everyone, and said seriously: “I figured, since the rotten meat and vegetables Li Hongying brought to my house weren’t for me, my portion must be at her house. She must have grabbed the wrong basket before leaving! So, I was just going to follow her to get my share back! I couldn’t let Li Hongying take the blame for serving rotten meat to the host!”

“Sisters, don’t you think my reasoning is sound?”

“Yes, yes!” The military wives, listening to Jiang Yue’s explanation and seeing Li Hongying’s dark expression, couldn’t help but hold back laughter.

Lian Rongrong, unable to hold herself back, let out a burst of laughter. Seeing Li Hongying in such a miserable state, she felt incredibly satisfied.

“So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go to Li Hongying’s house and get Jiang Yue’s vegetables back!”