Chapter 127: Someone Fell into the Water, and Shen Yiyi Watched the Spectacle  

By the time Shen Yiyi arrived, the area around the water was already packed with people. Those on the outer edges stood on tiptoes, craning their necks. She tried to find her son, but the noisy crowd blocked her view.  

After much difficulty, she finally spotted Wang Yan’s head at the very front. Just as she was about to squeeze in, a wave of astonished gasps rippled through the crowd—  

“He kissed her? Did he just kiss her?”  

“Educated Youth Lin kissed Educated Youth Chen?”  

“Heavens! Doesn’t Educated Youth Lin already have a fiancée? The Jiang family’s daughter, right? What is he doing? Taking liberties with another female comrade in broad daylight?”  

While the crowd voiced their indignation, Shen Yiyi finally managed to push her way through. What she saw was Lin Jiadong performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Chen Jiayi.  

Shen Yiyi: “…” Well, this was turning into quite the show!  

“Mother?” Xiao Bao, whose eyes were covered by Wang Yan’s hands, seemed to sense his mother’s presence and called out to her in a pitiful voice.  

Shen Yiyi replied: “Be good, let’s not watch for now!”  

Xiao Bao pouted.  

Another wave of exclamations surged through the crowd.  

After performing mouth-to-mouth, Lin Jiadong proceeded with chest compressions on Chen Jiayi, and the placement of his hands…  

Was a little awkward.  

Wang Yan’s eyes sparkled. “People from big cities really are different—so bold!”  

Although Shen Yiyi disliked Lin Jiadong, she still explained: “This is artificial respiration and CPR. He’s saving her.”  

“Even if he’s saving her, he shouldn’t be doing it mouth-to-mouth! This… this… it’s so improper! And look at Chen Jiayi, she’s dressed so thinly! His hands are just… just placed there.” someone in the crowd argued.  

Indeed, though the temperature had warmed up, it was still quite cold. So why was Chen Jiayi only wearing such thin clothing?  

Unfortunately, at this moment, no one was thinking about that contradiction.

Oh, right—others might not know, but Shen Yiyi certainly did.  

Chen Jiayi knew how to swim.  

Thinking of the resentful expression Chen Jiayi had worn earlier on the slope, Shen Yiyi let out a small smile.  

“Ah Dong!” Suddenly, an urgent voice rang out—Jiang Wanrou had arrived.  

Hearing Jiang Wanrou’s voice, Lin Jiadong’s hands stiffened.  

“Cough, cough, cough!” At that moment, Chen Jiayi coughed up water and regained consciousness. As soon as she woke, she burst into tears and threw herself into Lin Jiadong’s arms. “Cough… sob sob, I-I thought I was going to die! Waaah!”  

“Educated Youth Chen.” Lin Jiadong cleared his throat: “let go of me first.”  

Chen Jiayi sniffled and shook her head. “N-no, I can’t… so many people are watching… m-my clothes…”  

She meant that her clothes were too thin—if she let go of Lin Jiadong, she would be exposed.  

Although her clothing wasn’t sheer, it clung tightly to her body after being soaked in water. Given how conservative people were at the time, in the eyes of others, it was no different from being indecently exposed.  

Jiang Wanrou was about to lose her mind.  

What did Chen Jiayi mean by clinging to her man like that?  

As a woman herself, Jiang Wanrou could clearly see that Chen Jiayi liked Lin Jiadong. And even more so, she could tell that Chen Jiayi was pretending!  

She stepped forward and spoke gently. “Educated Youth Chen, this is my fiancé. Shouldn’t you let go of him?”  

“Sob sob…” Chen Jiayi only continued crying.  

“Rou’er, she’s in this state… it’s not appropriate…” Lin Jiadong hesitated, trailing off.  

There it was. Shen Yiyi smirked.  

Lin Jiadong’s greatest love was Jiang Wanrou, the woman who had endured hardships with him. But he also suffered from a common flaw seen in many male protagonists in men’s novels—he loved all women!  

Back when they were sent down to the countryside, this trait wasn’t too obvious. But once he returned to the city after passing the college entrance exams—when the real story began—he was practically surrounded by all sorts of beautiful women.  

While reading the novel, Shen Yiyi had even suspected that if polygamy hadn’t been outlawed by the country, Lin Jiadong would have built himself a full-fledged harem.  

Of course, Lin Jiadong was tolerant of every woman who adored him—except for her, the vicious female supporting character.

As for why Lin Jiadong treated her differently, Shen Yiyi figured it was probably because the author thought the typical trope of “a man abandoned by his fiancée after a family tragedy, suffering a period of hardship in the countryside, then rising up to slap his ex in the face” was too overused. So, they decided to add a twist.  

“But I am your fiancée!” Jiang Wanrou stubbornly stared at him.  

Lin Jiadong found himself caught in a dilemma.  

Jiang Wanrou was furious. To stop Chen Jiayi from clinging to Lin Jiadong any longer, she finally removed her coat and draped it over Chen Jiayi’s shoulders, speaking softly: “Educated Youth Chen, can you let go now?”  

Chen Jiayi, drenched from head to toe, quickly pulled Jiang Wanrou’s coat tightly around her. However, she still refused to release Lin Jiadong. Sniffling, she choked out: “M-my reputation is ruined… sob sob sob…”  

Jiang Wanrou almost lost her temper right then and there.  

Seeing Jiang Wanrou’s expression darken by the second, Lin Jiadong felt even more conflicted. “Educated Youth Chen, nothing happened between us. How could your reputation be ruined…”  

“You already did ‘that’—and you’re saying her purity isn’t lost?” Wang Yan scoffed.  

What did she mean by that? She made it sound like they had actually done something indecent.  

Lin Jiadong fumed. “I was saving her!”  

“And touching her was a fact too!” Wang Yan shot back without backing down.  

Shen Yiyi casually scooped Xiao Bao back from Wang Yan’s arms. Go on, argue! Keep yelling! Fight it out!  

As she moved, Jiang Wanrou finally noticed her. Shooting her a cold glance, she made her disdain clear.  

Shen Yiyi: “…” Heh.  

“I was performing a rescue! It was an emergency!” Lin Jiadong grew agitated. “Was I supposed to just watch her die?”

“Sounds nice, but who knows if you were just taking advantage of the situation?” Wang Yan’s sharp tongue showed no mercy, and her gaze flickered subtly toward Jiang Wanrou. “After all, this isn’t the first time.”  

She was referring to the time when Lin Jiadong and Jiang Wanrou had been caught kissing. Some people didn’t believe they were actually a couple, thinking they had only claimed to be engaged as an excuse after being discovered.  

“You—!” Lin Jiadong choked with anger.  

Jiang Wanrou was equally furious.  

Even though she no longer had the protagonist’s aura in this life, she still had her wits. Noticing how thin Chen Jiayi’s clothing was, she asked suspiciously: “Educated Youth Chen, can you tell me what you were doing by the river?”  

Chen Jiayi sniffled. “Sob sob… I-I was just passing by and accidentally slipped…”  

“If it was an accident, then why are your clothes so thin? The water didn’t wash them away, did it?” Jiang Wanrou feigned confusion.  

“I-It was washed away by the water.” Chen Jiayi’s water-soaked brain was surprisingly quick-witted.  

She hadn’t planned to jump into the river beforehand. It was just that seeing Lin Jiadong and Jiang Wanrou busy building a house and preparing to choose a wedding date had made her anxious.  

She had originally wanted to run up and confess her feelings to Lin Jiadong, but she knew the chances of success were slim. When she saw him catching fish, a plan formed in her mind, and in a moment of desperation, she had thrown herself into the river.  

Before jumping, she had deliberately removed her outer clothing, leaving only a thin layer underneath. This way, it would be easier to make it seem as though her reputation had been ruined—forcing him to marry her.  

With a pitiful expression, she explained: “I was wearing a padded jacket. It got too heavy when it soaked up water, so after I fell in, I struggled out of it… and then the current carried it away.”  

“You—!” Jiang Wanrou was momentarily speechless.