Chapter 21: Lu Jiajia, I Know Your Secret

Qin Xiaoyun didn’t answer.

But Su Nianzhi could clearly see the affirmation on his face.

This man was really smart.

She had thought she was the only one who knew about Lu Shanshan and Er Laizi—but it turned out, Qin Xiaoyun knew too.

When she heard that the police had gone to arrest Er Laizi, her first instinct was to suspect Lu Shanshan.

Turning her head slightly, she looked at him.

“What do you plan to do?”

Qin Xiaoyun looked at the girl, who didn’t have a trace of suspicion in her eyes—only sincere trust.

His heart softened instantly.

His voice was a bit husky. “I’ll take care of it. In a bit, I’ll have Chen Wei bring the sheep over. Your second brother can handle the rest.”

He walked two steps, then turned back. “Lu Shanshan isn’t simple. Be careful.”

Su Nianzhi froze as she watched him walk away.

The one who had once told her to stay safe had long died in a zombie wave.

Lu Shanshan had a system. Even though Qin Xiaoyun was powerful—what if something happened?

Su Nianzhi kept turning that thought over in her mind. She needed to find a way to be alone with Lu Shanshan.

After Er Laizi was taken away, he was never released. The villagers were all gossiping, convinced that he had been the one who committed the murder.

Liu Fen’s family had gathered a whole group of people and ransacked Er Laizi’s home. A single Widow Zhou couldn’t stop them—she could only shout curses.

Qin Xiaoyun hadn’t shown up in the village since that day.

And Chen Wei had disappeared after delivering the sheep that day.

Su Nianzhi was sitting in the courtyard, trying to come up with a way to confirm her suspicions.

Just then, she saw Su Maomao return with his face covered, head down.

“Maomao?”

“Little Aunt…”

Su Nianzhi frowned at how weirdly he was moving, even turning his back to her and sticking out his butt.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing…”

Su Nianzhi’s eyes sharpened. She stood up and walked over.

She crouched down. “Turn around and let Little Aunt take a look.”

Su Maomao reluctantly moved his hand away—his mouth was busted, and his face was covered in bruises.

It was clear he had gotten into a fight.

“What happened? Who did you fight with?”

Su Maomao raised his chin. “It’s nothing. Er Gouzi and the others couldn’t win while playing, so we fought.”

“Really?” Su Nianzhi narrowed her eyes.

His expression screamed: I’m lying!

Su Nianzhi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She reached out to touch his cheek and then straightened her face. “What really happened? If you don’t say, I’ll go ask Er Gouzi’s family myself.”

She turned as if to leave.

Maomao’s face crumpled, on the verge of tears. “Little Aunt, don’t go!”

Seeing his reaction, she asked, “This fight… is it because of me?”

The little guy pouted. “They… they said Er Laizi was caught because he was rolling around in the haystack with Little Aunt, and that’s why he killed Granny Liu.”

“Little Aunt, Er Gouzi and the others are lying! They’ve got filthy mouths. That’s why I fought them.”

Su Nianzhi patted his head gently with a smile. “It’s okay. Come here. Let me treat your wounds.”

That Lu Jiajia really knew how to throw someone under the bus.

After treating Maomao’s injuries, Su Nianzhi made up an excuse and went out.

She expanded her mental power to search a certain range and finally found Lu Jiajia.

Ha! Perfect. She was carrying a bag and happily walking toward the Zhang family home.

“Lu Jiajia!”

Lu Jiajia, who had just come back from the county town delivering books to Zhang Wenliang, was feeling pleased. This meant she was getting closer to one of the most important people in Wenliang-ge’s life, right?

Once he got into college, she would be one of the most important people to him too.

And the rumors she had started recently had spread like wildfire through the village. She felt so smug.

After all, many people knew that Widow Zhou had tried to find someone to propose a marriage with the Su family.

She had only added a little spice to the story.

Suddenly, she heard that familiar voice calling her name.

Lu Jiajia instantly felt nervous. She forced a stiff smile. “Zhizhi, what brings you here?”

Su Nianzhi looked at her and coughed a few times.

Her entire demeanor was weak and pitiful.

Many villagers turned to watch the two, curious about the new drama.

What Lu Jiajia hated the most was this frail, sympathetic look that Su Nianzhi always wore.

In her heart, she cursed her as a fox, a slut—over and over again.

But she still kept a smile on her face.

“Zhizhi, is something wrong?”

Su Nianzhi took a deep breath, her tone accusatory. “Lu Jiajia, why are you spreading rumors about me?”

Lu Jiajia looked shocked and aggrieved, her eyes brimming with tears. “Zhizhi, did you hear gossip from someone? I never did anything like that.”

Su Nianzhi bit her lip, face full of sorrow. “Cough, cough—Lu Jiajia, do you dare to swear on your engagement to Zhang Wenliang? If you’re the one who spread those lies, may he abandon you and may you die miserably!”

Lu Jiajia hated Su Nianzhi to her bones. “Zhizhi, if that will clear your misunderstanding, then I’m willing to swear.”

With a straight face, she raised her hand. “I swear, everything about Zhizhi that’s been going around—I was the one who started it.”

The crowd, who had been preparing to scold Su Nianzhi for being too aggressive, were all stunned as they stared at Lu Jiajia.

Had they heard that right?

“Oh my, it really was her? You can know someone’s face, but not their heart. How can this girl be so vicious?”

“This is basically forcing Su family’s girl to her death!”

In this era, spreading such rumors was no different from murder.

Lu Jiajia was dumbfounded.

What she meant to say was—

“No, no, Zhizhi, I misspoke! I didn’t do it!”

“Tsk tsk tsk… Looks like this Lu girl’s guilty conscience slipped out.”

Su Nianzhi quickly covered the cold glint in her eyes.

“I… I knew it was you…”

As she spoke, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed onto Lu Jiajia.

Lu Jiajia was suddenly knocked over, falling hard to the ground.

Feeling like her bones were about to snap under Su Nianzhi’s weight, she was just about to push her off when—

“Lu Jiajia, I know your secret.”

Lu Jiajia immediately shoved Su Nianzhi away.

“Hey! What’s wrong with this girl?! You pushed the Su girl that hard? Are you trying to kill her?”

A concerned aunt nearby rushed to help Su Nianzhi up.

“Su girl! Su girl!”

Su Nianzhi weakly opened her eyes. “Wuwuwu…” She covered her face and started crying.

Lu Jiajia jumped up from the ground, thinking about the chilling tone Su Nianzhi had just used.

“She’s faking it! She’s tricking you all!”

“What’s wrong with you, girl? We all heard it. You admitted it yourself! Who knew you were such a piece of work.”

“How did the village chief raise such a daughter?”

Just then, Village Chief Lu Shanyong arrived: “!!!”

Furious, he rushed up and kicked her.

He pulled off his belt. “I told you not to cause trouble! I told you to shut that mouth!”

Lu Jiajia staggered backward from the beating.

Suddenly—she tripped over a stone.

“Ahhh!!” A scream tore through the air.