Chapter 35: Bankruptcy of Trust

The brigade leader motioned for the educated youths to sit down. “Everyone, take a seat. Let’s talk this over calmly.”

Once everyone was seated, Accountant Jin began, “Educated Youth Tan, it’s true that Jin Bei was in the wrong, but she didn’t instruct the two children to push you into the river.

I’ve asked her, and she said she only told the kids to teach you a lesson. She never expected them to push you into the river.

My two nephews have always been a bit simple-minded. They truly didn’t mean to harm you. I can assure you of that.”

Tan Yanlu remained silent, so Li Gaoyang stepped in. “Accountant Jin, that’s not the point. Even if they didn’t intend to kill Educated Youth Tan, the fact remains that they pushed her into the river.

You can’t just brush this off as a minor issue because no one died.”

“Ah, yes, yes, I know this isn’t a minor issue. It’s entirely our fault. I sincerely apologize to Educated Youth Tan. Tan, I’m truly sorry.”

Accountant Jin not only apologized himself but also had his wife, Jin Bei, and the two boys apologize to Tan Yanlu.

The atmosphere among the educated youths improved significantly. The brigade leader then spoke up, “Educated Youth Tan, as you can see, Accountant Jin and his family have already apologized to you.

I assure you that from now on, no one from the Jin family will retaliate against you.

Why don’t we let this matter rest, for my sake?”

This was exactly what the educated youths had been waiting for!

Tan Yanlu finally spoke up, “Brigade leader, I naturally trust your word. I accept the Jin family’s apology.

I believe that you and Accountant Jin won’t seek revenge against me, but I don’t trust Jin Bei.

Brigade leader, you might not be aware of what happened last time. Jin Bei simply didn’t like me and had a child urinate in my water bottle.

When I caught her, she tried to deny it. It wasn’t until the child provided evidence that Jin Bei had no choice but to apologize to me.

Over such a trivial matter, she sought to retaliate against me. Jin Bei’s credibility is completely bankrupt in my eyes.

I don’t believe she won’t seek revenge against me in the future. What if there’s a next time?”

“If there’s a next time, I, as the brigade leader, will personally arrest her and hand her over to the authorities. How about that?”

The brigade leader’s words were firm, and Jin Bei’s face turned pale with fear.

Accountant Jin said nothing, thinking that he would need to discipline his daughter more strictly in the future. If he let her continue like this, she might one day bring disaster upon the entire family.

Tan Yanlu was finally satisfied, and the matter was resolved.

However, the brigade leader still decided that the Jin family should compensate Tan Yanlu with a hen, five yuan, and a pack of brown sugar to help her recover.

The Jin family agreed without hesitation.

As the educated youths left the brigade office and headed back, they encountered Gao Shaolin wandering along the road.

Jiang Pan Yu looked at the pitch-black night, the air she breathed icy cold.

What kind of mindset did Gao Shaolin have to be wandering outside at this hour? Wasn’t he afraid of being called a lunatic?

Gao Shaolin had come out specifically to wait for Tan Yanlu. Firstly, her beauty had captivated him, and secondly, he wanted her to know that he was also her savior.

Although the title of “savior” was a bit exaggerated—after all, there were so many people who went to rescue Tan Yanlu at the time, and it only took a collective effort to pull her up—it was still significant.

Tan Yanlu might not even remember a few of those people now, but Gao Shaolin didn’t want to miss the opportunity with her. He trusted his intuition that Tan Yanlu could bring him immense benefits.

However, if Tan Yanlu didn’t remember him, those benefits would naturally not be his.

So, he wandered out after dark purely to make his presence known.

Among the Educated Youth, only the older ones recognized Gao Shaolin, and Li Gaoyang greeted him.

Tan Yanlu glanced at Gao Shaolin, and when she noticed the fish scale pattern on his neck, a sense of inexplicable joy welled up in her heart. “You, comrade, I’ve seen you before. Did you study at the hospital in Hongcheng? You were the one who pulled me up by the river today, weren’t you?”

Gao Shaolin pretended to be nonchalant. “I was just passing by. I heard someone calling for help and went over to take a look. It was nothing, really.”

Tan Yanlu smiled at him, her tone softening considerably. “So it was you. Thank you so much.”

“No need to thank me. It was the right thing to do.”

Tan Yanlu and Gao Shaolin locked eyes, and for some reason, Tan Yanlu suddenly felt her heart race, a shyness creeping in, causing her gaze to falter slightly.

Tan Yanlu herself didn’t notice anything unusual, but to outsiders, it carried a different implication.

Jiang Pan Yu watched this scene and couldn’t help but ask the Gossip System, “Is this the power of psychological suggestion? Has Tan Yanlu forgotten about Gao Shaolin and the Gao family? She seems so… intellectually diminished right now!”

The Gossip System, seemingly finding the situation hard to watch, covered its eyes and said, “This is all part of the Weasel Spirit’s scheme. Under the influence of psychological suggestion, it’s understandable that Tan Yanlu’s intelligence seems reduced. She hasn’t forgotten about the Gao family; she’s just deliberately ignoring those memories under the suggestion.

But don’t worry, host. Whether it’s psychological suggestion or some Intelligence Reduction Aura, it won’t affect you. You’re a Gossip Civil Servant, after all. You’re under the protection of the Great World’s Will.”

Jiang Pan Yu nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly sneezed, “Achoo!”

The sound startled Tan Yanlu and Gao Shaolin, who were still locked in their gaze. Tan Yanlu instinctively reached for Jiang Pan Yu’s hand. “Your hand is so cold! Did you give me your clothes earlier and end up freezing yourself? Let’s hurry back and make some ginger soup. You mustn’t let yourself get sick.”

After saying this, Tan Yanlu turned to Gao Shaolin and nodded, her expression calm and composed, with none of the earlier shyness. “Comrade Gao, thank you for helping me by the river this evening. We’ll talk again when we have the chance. We have to go now.”

Without waiting for Gao Shaolin’s response, Tan Yanlu took Jiang Pan Yu’s hand and walked away.

Gao Shaolin was left stunned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

Just a moment ago, he was certain Tan Yanlu had some affection for him. How had she suddenly become so polite and distant?

The change in Tan Yanlu’s demeanor was so abrupt that it left Gao Shaolin both bewildered and unprepared.

The educated youths also followed Tan Yanlu and the others as they left.

Gao Shaolin felt something was very wrong at this moment. He thought things shouldn’t have turned out this way. After all, he had the title of “life-saving benefactor,” so Tan Yanlu shouldn’t have been so indifferent to him!

But reality was as it was. Tan Yanlu had already walked far away, and Gao Shaolin couldn’t possibly drag her back to continue building goodwill now!

All the educated youths had left, except for Lian Xiuran, who lingered at the very end. He looked Gao Shaolin up and down—good, he couldn’t compare to himself. Only then did Lian Xiuran puff out his chest and stride proudly to catch up with the others, returning to the educated youth residence.

At this very moment, the Gossip System in Jiang Pan Yu’s mind was screaming like a groundhog: “Host, host! You’re actually exploiting a bug!”