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She just needed to focus on getting Gu Nan to fall for her. Everything else suddenly didn’t seem so important.
“Remember, once the village chief and the village secretary arrive, you must insist that you and Zhao Sulan are in a relationship. We’re getting the marriage certificate in the next few days.”
“Only by doing this can the two of you avoid punishment. Otherwise, if you’re convicted of hooliganism, it could ruin your entire life,” Huang Yingying said as she took the empty bowl of porridge from Lu Xingguang and reminded him once again.
Lu Xingguang waved his hand, motioning for Huang Yingying to leave. He indicated that he already knew what to do.
Huang Yingying nodded and stepped out of the room.
Lu Xingguang lay back down on the earthen kang bed.
Waves of pain coursed through his entire body—he had never suffered like this before.
From childhood to now, he’d always lived in privileged conditions, surrounded by people who envied him.
And yet, just because he slept with a woman, he had been beaten this badly.
Naturally, Lu Xingguang had no intention of letting Huang Yingying off the hook. Wasn’t it all her fault that he ended up like this?
Sooner or later, he would make her pay.
Huang Yingying’s figure—he hadn’t paid much attention before—but now that he looked at her, she was indeed more attractive than Zhao Sulan.
As for Su Niannian, he wouldn’t let her go either. He would get her, sooner or later.
But there was no rush. First, he needed to clear himself of the hooliganism charge.
On the other side, Zhao Sulan lay in her own spot.
She still hadn’t woken up.
When Huang Yingying returned to the room, she saw that Song Zhaodi and Su Niannian were already awake.
Putting on a fake smile, she took the initiative to greet Song Zhaodi and Su Niannian.
“I made some rice porridge this morning. There’s still some left in the kitchen—you can go have a bit if you’d like.”
Song Zhaodi was momentarily stunned. She turned to glance at Su Niannian, raising an eyebrow as if to ask, What’s with her? Why the sudden change in attitude?
The corners of Su Niannian’s lips lifted slightly as she gave a subtle shake of her head, indicating she had no idea—no clue what wind had blown through Huang Yingying.
“Rice is precious. You should drink more yourself,” Song Zhaodi replied.
After all, she and Su Niannian had both been knocked out by that drugged smoke yesterday. If there was anything suspicious about that porridge, what were they supposed to do? Better to be cautious—at least that’s what Song Zhaodi thought. Going forward, anything made or eaten needed to be handled with care.
You never knew when you might end up like Zhao Sulan.
She figured she was still fine—big-boned and rough around the edges—probably not someone others would be eyeing. But Su Niannian was different. With her slender limbs and delicate looks, she definitely stood out. Song Zhaodi decided she needed to keep a close eye on Su Niannian, to make sure nothing happened to her.
With that in mind, Song Zhaodi nodded at Huang Yingying, then took Su Niannian by the hand, grabbed their toiletries, and left the room.
Huang Yingying sat down in a chair, her hand clenched into a tight fist. Her fingernails dug so deep into her palm they nearly pierced the skin. Only when she felt the sharp pain did she slowly loosen her grip.
Since everything had already been exposed yesterday, she might as well take the initiative and deliver herself to Gu Nan’s bed. After all, men were bound to make mistakes eventually, weren’t they?
That thought had come to her as a sort of revelation from what had happened between Lu Xingguang and Zhao Sulan.
Just this morning, from the way Lu Xingguang looked at her, Huang Yingying had a feeling—he probably wanted to sleep with her.
Rather than letting Lu Xingguang take advantage of her, it would be better to sleep with Gu Nan first. Given Gu Nan’s temperament, if something really did happen between them, he would definitely take responsibility.
By then, she could rightfully marry Gu Nan and become his woman. From that point on, she wouldn’t have to worry about a thing.
She would just wait for Gu Nan to work hard outside, earning money for her to spend.
At that thought, a calculating gleam once again flickered in Huang Yingying’s eyes.
In her mind, it might be hard for a man to pursue a woman, but if a woman wanted to win over a man, using a few tricks here and there made it all too easy.
On the other side, after Su Niannian and Song Zhaodi finished washing up, they headed to the kitchen to prepare something to eat.
Originally, Song Zhaodi hadn’t planned to go to work today, but now that her body had fully recovered—and she even felt more energized than usual—there was no longer any reason to skip it.
“Let’s just make some dough drop soup this morning. You should rest for the day and skip work,” Su Niannian said to Song Zhaodi as she picked up a basin to start preparing the soup.
“No need! I feel full of energy right now. I might as well go to work and earn some work points!” Song Zhaodi replied.
Song Zhaodi was used to working hard. She felt that now that she was here, she should earn work points seriously. Especially since she knew she had benefited a lot from Su Niannian, she wanted to earn more points so she could buy some things for Su Niannian as well.
“Hey,” Su Niannian sighed, seeing that she couldn’t persuade Song Zhaodi. She didn’t say anything more.
After that, they both ate the dough drop soup they had prepared.
It was time to head to the fields, and the other young people were all preparing to go to the threshing grounds. However, they saw Jiang Aiguo arrive, accompanied by a few villagers.
Liu Yang went up to greet them.
“Village Secretary.”
“Mm, last night Zhou Daniu said that there was nothing between Lu Xingguang and Zhao Sulan, and now that they are awake, are they all up?” Jiang Aiguo asked Liu Yang, who answered truthfully.
“Lu Xingguang is awake now, but Zhao Sulan hasn’t woken up yet,” Liu Yang replied.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Aiguo couldn’t help but furrow his brows.
Both of them needed to be awake for this matter to be resolved.
Otherwise, if their stories were different, it would be difficult to clarify things.
“Alright, you all go ahead and head to the fields,” Jiang Aiguo said. He couldn’t let the two young villagers hold everyone up from their labor, so he had two villagers stay behind while the others went to work.
“Niannian, are you going to work in the fields today?” Song Zhaodi asked Su Niannian.
Su Niannian didn’t really want to go to the fields. She preferred staying behind to catch the latest gossip.
“Su Niannian, you should stay behind,” Song Zhaodi added. “In case the situation with those two changes, your medical skills might come in handy. I’m going to…”
“Today, I’ll have someone record your full points,” Jiang Aiguo said.
Su Niannian felt that staying behind to catch the latest gossip while getting full points was the best of both worlds.
“Mm, okay,” Su Niannian agreed cheerfully.
Afterward, once Song Zhaodi finished her dumpling soup, Su Niannian took the initiative to wash the dishes, urging Song Zhaodi to hurry up and go to the grain field.
“Mm, I’ll head out now. You take care,” Song Zhaodi said, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that last night’s events were a bit strange. She even had a vague suspicion that the one who might have been targeted by the gas was Su Nian Nian.
But this was only a guess; without any concrete evidence, Song Zhaodi didn’t dwell on it too much.
“Alright,” Su Niannian smiled, and Song Zhaodi nodded at Jiang Aiguo before heading toward the grain field.
“Su Niannian went to wash the dishes, and Jiang Aiguo took two villagers to Lu Xingguang’s room. Lu Xingguang was lying on the clay bed, staring at the ceiling, motionless. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move, but every time he did, his whole body ached.
‘Lu Xingguang.’ Jiang Aiguo walked into the room, pulling a chair over and sitting down.
‘Secretary Jiang?’ Lu Xingguang thought it would be the village head coming to ask questions, but instead, it was the village secretary.”