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Chapter 17 – The Truth Comes to Light

What a joke! How could she let them check? If they flipped through her things, they’d see the money and ration tickets she had secretly hidden last night—wouldn’t that be the same as confessing on the spot?

“Jingchu, did you lose anything?” Qin Yajuan asked while dawdling to put on her clothes.

“The money and ration tickets I locked in my drawer are gone.” Xu Jingchu’s face had gone pale with anxiety. “Those aren’t mine—they’re the money and ration tickets Aunt Zhang gave me for this week, plus what I’d been saving from previous weeks.”

“Something so important, and you didn’t take better care of it?” Qin Yajuan snapped awake the moment she heard the news and immediately raised her voice to scold. “Go confess to Uncle and Aunt right now, and ask if they’ve lost anything too. I’ll check my own things.”

“Alright, alright.” Xu Jingchu was already frantic and didn’t care about Qin Yajuan’s tone.

When Lin Jianbai and Zhang Qiuyun heard there’d been a theft in the house, they rushed out of bed.

“It’s alright, Jingchu. I checked—the house didn’t lose anything else, only the money and ration tickets in your drawer. It wasn’t that much, just a week’s worth. Here, take this. Don’t panic.”

Zhang Qiuyun didn’t think much of it. Losing something wasn’t the girl’s fault, and there was no need to scold her endlessly and make her feel worse.

“Aunt Zhang, I think something’s not right.” Qin Yajuan had already hidden away the stolen money and tickets, confident no one would find them. Now it was her stage to perform.

“If a thief really broke in, why would they take only Jingchu’s things? That thief must be a fool.”

“Yajuan, what are you implying?” Lin Jianbai and Zhang Qiuyun weren’t stupid—they understood perfectly well. They just didn’t want to believe it. After all, Jingchu had been with them for two months, and she always seemed reliable and steady.

“Uncle Lin, Aunt Zhang,” Xu Jingchu said calmly, “if you suspect me, let me be clear—I did not steal anything. If I really wanted money and tickets from the household, I could’ve cooked the books. Over time, I’d have saved much more. Why would I steal once and cut off my future path?”

Her reasoning made sense. Zhang Qiuyun and Lin Jianbai both nodded.

“Because you wanted to wait until you got the paper factory job, then take the money and tickets to live with your boyfriend!” Qin Yajuan clapped her lips shut and then lashed out viciously.

“Xu Jingchu, it’s not that I want to say this, but you’ve done shameful things I can barely bring myself to talk about. Do you know why I’m always out? Because I can’t stand being around you. I’m afraid others will associate me with you.”

“People in the compound say your conduct is improper, that you hang around with hooligans under the excuse of buying groceries.”

“They can’t tell us apart—they just say you’re one of the village girls the Lin family took in. You drag me down with you to take the blame. Aren’t you ashamed?”

This was the script Qin Yajuan had prepared days ago, rehearsed until she thought it was flawless.

She scolded with relish, but Xu Jingchu only laughed.

“What are you laughing at?” Qin Yajuan felt a pang of guilt.

“I’m laughing at how hard you’ve worked pretending these past two months, and at how you’ve finally shown your true face. It’s not like we were ever close—keeping up a false harmony was tiring for both of us.” Jingchu’s voice was calm, nothing like someone panicked from being slandered.

As for the rumors about Jingchu flirting outside, Lin Jianbai and Zhang Qiuyun had indeed heard them before, even from colleagues.

Many people had hinted to Zhang Qiuyun that the girl had a bad reputation and couldn’t be kept in their home. If she seduced any of the men—husband or sons—it would ruin everything.

For days, Zhang Qiuyun had been uneasy until her youngest son got into a fight. When she asked why, he explained:

“They said Sister Jingchu is bad and hangs out with shady people. But I told them I saw it myself—she was being pestered by others. They didn’t believe me, and I got so angry I fought them.”

He recounted the event in detail, and Zhang Qiuyun realized it was all a misunderstanding. She had even clarified things with her colleagues afterward, and soon the gossip disappeared.

She hadn’t expected Qin Yajuan to bring it up again today.

“Xu Jingchu, you’re the one putting on an act—don’t drag others down with you. If I were you, I’d pack up right now and leave the Lin family, not even go back to Hongzao Village. I wouldn’t dare let my mother lose face because of me.”

Qin Yajuan kept ranting. Her mother was notorious in the village for being fierce, and Qin Yajuan was no different.

“Are you done?” Xu Jingchu’s voice was still steady.

“What, you can do things but can’t bear to be talked about?”

Finally! Revenge was hers, and the job opportunity within reach. Qin Yajuan was thrilled, though she worked hard to hide it.

“Then shut your mouth,” Xu Jingchu said coldly, her tone sharp with warning. “And remember your own words just now. Uncle Lin, Aunt Zhang, please come upstairs with me.” She turned to go upstairs.

“Jingchu-jie, what’s going on?” Lin Tingyu, though still young, stood firmly on her side. He knew she’d never do anything wrong.

It was Yajuan-jie, always idle and absent from home, who now dared to act so righteous!

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Jingchu even had the leisure to joke with him. Lin Tingjun realized then that she was in complete control.

Remembering what she’d said a few days ago, he already understood most of it.

Only Qin Yajuan was still jumping around like a fool. If this really was her doing, then she deserved whatever came.

Inside the wide-open drawer lay nothing but some black powder, like coal ash.

Then Jingchu picked up the clothes draped over Yajuan’s chair. Before Qin Yajuan could react, she shook them out—ash scattered clearly across the front.

“I accidentally brushed against it outside yesterday,” Yajuan hurried to explain.

“You wore this out yesterday? Are you sure?” Jingchu shook her own vest as comparison.

“Then it must’ve happened last night when I leaned over to look at your exercises. Maybe I brushed against the drawer. Anyway, I didn’t take your money or tickets!” Yajuan insisted stubbornly.

“Uncle, Aunt, I swear I didn’t!” Unlike Jingchu, who had remained calm when accused, Yajuan was frantic, even bursting into tears. “Please believe me! How could I steal without a key?”

“And what would I even do with it? A few days ago we both wanted the paper factory job. Remember? Jingchu said her mother needed money—obviously she stole it herself! She’s the one who took it!”

“She wants the paper factory job, and she wanted to kill two birds with one stone!”

“Oh, Yajuan, you’re even more stubborn than a dead duck. There’s evidence right here, and you still won’t admit it? Fine by me. Neither of us will leave this room until Tingjun-ge and Tingyu search everything. Do you dare?”

Jingchu wasn’t afraid. Tingyu had already rolled up his sleeves, eager. “I’m in.”

Tingjun leaned lazily against the doorframe, arms crossed, expression saying he already knew the truth.

“Xu Jingchu, are you setting me up? Did you hide the money in my things so that when they search, it’ll look like I’m the thief?”

Yajuan clung to whatever she could, trying to fight back. If she couldn’t keep the money and tickets, she would at least drag Jingchu down with her.

Jingchu laughed in fury. Rebirth had indeed made Qin Yajuan shrewder than before, but panic made her logic full of holes.

“Yajuan, think carefully about what you just said. You claimed you brushed against the drawer last night while looking at my exercises. But I didn’t do laundry yesterday—you knew that. There’s no ash on my clothes.”

“So if I wanted to frame you, I’d have had to do it before last night, right?”

“But you came back yesterday morning, and at three-thirty in the afternoon I went shopping as usual and everything was still there. After that, the only time the room was left unattended was when you were alone in it. I was busy cooking and cleaning.”

“What else do you have to say for yourself?”

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