Chapter 5: Reclaiming the Spatial Bracelet

The moment this matter was brought up, Qin Kaishen was instantly furious. He had already told his parents everything about how Lu Qing’er had fallen into the water by accident.

Qin’s mother gasped, shocked and somewhat smug. “I thought that Comrade Xiao Bai looked all gentle and well-mannered. Who would’ve thought she’d go so far as to try and kill another woman over a man? My goodness, never would’ve guessed!”

Qin’s father, however, was surprised but remained more rational. “Could that Comrade Xiao Bai really have done something like that?”

“So many people saw it—how could it be false?” Qin Kaishen snapped.

Just thinking about Lu Qing’er wearing thin clothes and being rescued in front of a crowd by Deputy Battalion Commander Gu, who even gave her mouth-to-mouth CPR, made Qin Kaishen furious.

In times like these, people were very conservative. Any slightly inappropriate contact between men and women would be considered a moral scandal—let alone something like that, witnessed by so many. The gossip was spreading like wildfire.

Deputy Battalion Commander Gu was a single man, and Lu Qing’er was a young, attractive woman. The whole thing reeked of “hero saves beauty” in the most intimate way possible. Rumors were flying all over the military compound.

Long story short, in everyone’s eyes, Lu Qing’er’s reputation was now completely ruined. Word had it that Deputy Battalion Commander Gu even intended to take responsibility…

At this thought, Qin Kaishen slammed his fist onto the Eight Immortals table in front of him.

The teacups and bowls on the table jumped with the impact. Both his parents were startled.

As a mother, Qin’s mom of course knew what her son was thinking—even if he didn’t say it out loud.

So she tried to comfort him, “Kaishen, don’t get upset. That Lu Qing’er girl wasn’t proper to begin with…”

“Mom!” Qin Kaishen interrupted angrily.

Qin’s mother immediately shut up, scared by his outburst. But Qin’s father didn’t take it well and said, “What’s with you, yelling at your mother like that? She’s not wrong. I think Comrade Xiao Bai is much better than that Lu girl. Ever since she came to our house, she’s been helping out and being respectful. Regardless of whether she pushed Lu Qing’er or not, did you even ask her side of the story?”

“I asked. Of course I asked!” Qin Kaishen’s anger flared again. “It was her. And she won’t even admit it—completely unrepentant! She used to pretend so well. We were all fooled. You don’t know what she said to me!”

Enraged, Qin Kaishen began ranting, pouring out everything Bai Yalan had said to him the other day.

Qin’s mother’s face twisted in anger. “Oh my, oh my—so that Comrade Xiao Bai isn’t a good person at all! She actually dared to say those things to you? She used to throw herself at us—bringing gifts and helping out. If she hadn’t been trying to curry favor, do you think we would’ve begged her to come over?”

Qin’s father got upset too. “Exactly. If she didn’t like you, why would she be so eager? And now she says she doesn’t like our son? A woman who turns her face like that—Kaishen, we don’t need someone like her in this house.”

Qin’s mother agreed, “Right! That girl’s heart is too deep. So manipulative! Kaishen, once you make something of yourself, you’ll have your pick of women—there’s no shortage, even in our own village.”

At that moment, Bai Yalan walked up to the Qin family’s doorstep, dusty and muddy. Hearing their words, she let out a cold laugh.

Who was really manipulative? In her past life, that entire family had drained her dry—took all they could from her, made her do all the work, and took advantage at every turn. And now they had the nerve to say she was the schemer?

Bai Yalan didn’t bother being polite. She walked right in.

The rural house was north-south facing, with two courtyards and an open middle gate that was never closed.

Facing the stunned Qin family, Bai Yalan strode into the main hall with confidence. “Oh? So this is what you all do during the day? Gossip behind people’s backs? Well, birds of a feather flock together—I guess it’s no surprise you’re all the same kind of people.”

The Qin family jumped up in shock. Qin Kaishen’s expression darkened. “Why are you here?”

Bai Yalan stared him down, her face cold and brows furrowed. Without saying a word, she threw the two live fish she was carrying onto the Eight Immortals table. Before she could explain, Qin’s mother had already shrieked, “Oh no, we don’t want anything from you! Take it back!”

She grabbed the fish and tried to shove them into Bai Yalan’s arms, but Bai Yalan dodged.

Seeing her still carrying things, Qin Kaishen thought he understood. He sneered, “What, you brought fish to apologize? Realized you were wrong, huh? Well, it’s too late. Bai Yalan, I could never like a woman like you. If you were one of my soldiers, I’d—”

“Too bad I’m not one of your soldiers,” Bai Yalan interrupted coldly. She glanced at the fish in Qin Mother’s hands. “I didn’t bring those for you. Aunt Wang from your village asked me to bring them over.”

“Hmph, like we’d believe that,” Qin’s mother scoffed. “Why would Aunt Wang give us anything? Who are you trying to fool?”

Bai Yalan didn’t bother arguing. She got straight to the point. “Believe it or not, I’m here to get something that belongs to me.”

Before father and son could respond, Qin’s mother jumped up. “What? Your stuff? What’s your stuff doing in our house, huh?”

Bai Yalan knew it was useless reasoning with Qin’s mother. Even though she’d lived through this all once before, it still hurt.

These people—who used to call her “daughter” so affectionately—had finally shown their true colors.

It had all been fake. How pathetic that she was fooled for so long in her past life.

She turned to Qin Kaishen and, in front of his father, said, “Uncle Qin, in the past, Captain Qin helped me. The ration tickets, fabric tickets, meat coupons, canned fruit, and candy I brought over—consider it all a thank-you gift.”

Qin Kaishen flushed. As a man, it was embarrassing to hear someone list all the things his family had accepted from her, especially now that she was coming to collect.

When he glanced at his mother, she was avoiding his eyes, murmuring under her breath, “Oh come on, don’t exaggerate. It wasn’t that much…”

Qin’s father frowned. He was more experienced than his wife and didn’t want to offend anyone. So he tried to smooth things over. “Well, Comrade Xiao Bai, since you’re calling all that a thank-you gift, why come back now?”

“I’ve let all that go,” Bai Yalan replied. “But the bracelet—Auntie needs to return it to me. That’s not just any item. It’s a precious heirloom my mother gave me. I only let Auntie wear it because she liked it. But I think it’s time she returned it.”

“What bracelet? Don’t go making things up!” Qin’s mother instantly gave herself away by hiding her hands behind her back. “Kaishen! Your father! I didn’t take anything from her—just because she says so, it’s true?”

Qin Kaishen was mortified. “Mom, give it back!”

Qin’s father also spoke up, knocking the table with his pipe. “Old woman, if it’s hers, give it back.”

But Qin’s mother stayed stubborn. “That bracelet is ours! Why should what she says count?”

Bai Yalan looked at her and couldn’t help but laugh—at Qin’s mother, but also at herself. How stupid she had been in her past life to treat a woman like this as family.

“Auntie Qin, the bracelet you’re wearing isn’t cheap. My mother bought it from Rongbaozhai Antique Market in the city. Each item there has a serial number. If you don’t believe me, feel around—it’s engraved with tiny characters on the inside. It’s not the kind of thing just anyone can claim.”

Qin’s mother’s face turned red with rage. “What bracelet? What number? I said it’s not yours, and that’s that. You come to our house demanding things? No manners!”