Chapter 23

Tang Linong and Liu Yan’e also came out of the house.

Tang Yashan had already dragged the man out from under the stone table and was about to take him to the police.

The man wailed and begged for mercy, “It was Yaning who told me to come find her. I’m her boyfriend.”

Tang Yaning immediately shouted, “Nonsense! You came for Tang Yajun, didn’t you? Otherwise, why would you come at this exact time when she’s here? You must have arranged it with her in advance.”

As she spoke, she gave the man a secret signal. Since he’d already been caught, the only option was to take the chance to throw mud on Tang Yajun.

Tang Linong stopped Tang Yashan, telling him to bring the man back inside instead of leaving him at the gate.

If what this man said was true, then no matter which daughter he came for, it was a family scandal. It couldn’t be spread outside—better to deal with it privately.

Tang Yashan tied the man up with rope and threw him on the ground.

The man pleaded endlessly: “I’m telling the truth. Yaning and I are in love. She was afraid her family wouldn’t agree, so she didn’t tell you. I know she has a butterfly-shaped birthmark on her back.”

Everyone turned to look at Tang Yaning. Her face went pale, and she looked about to collapse—clearly there was truth to the man’s words.

“What a disgrace to this family, to raise such a shameless thing! These days, people talk about free love. If you’d just spoken up, your mother and I wouldn’t have opposed it. Why sneak around for secret trysts? Once word gets out, you’ll be the laughingstock of the neighborhood!”

Tang Yaning hid behind Liu Yan’e, her eyes red. She glared at Tang Yajun with hatred—if it weren’t for her presence, this whole thing wouldn’t have been exposed.

She hadn’t expected her siblings to come home last night, much less stay over, and had completely forgotten her appointment with her boyfriend.

Liu Yan’e realized it was no use covering this up any longer. She told Tang Yaning: “Tomorrow, arrange for both families to meet. Once this is made official, people won’t be able to gossip behind your back.”

She then stepped forward herself and untied the ropes on the man’s wrists. He thanked her profusely, overjoyed, and promised he’d bring his parents to visit the next day.

Back in their room, Tang Yaning’s eyes were swollen from crying. Liu Yan’e tried to comfort her: “If you didn’t like him, you should’ve cut it off earlier. Instead, you went on taking his little favors and even dared to arrange a meeting at home. Now look, you’ve brought trouble on yourself.

For now, let’s just go along with this. Later, if you still don’t want it, we can find some excuse to break it off. Right now, we can’t give anyone else the chance to laugh at us.”

The next morning, after the siblings finished breakfast and stepped outside, they ran into Tang Hewei passing by.

When he saw Tang Yajun, he froze for a moment, then quickly greeted her. She smiled and returned the greeting.

Tang Yashan turned to look at her, smiling thinly: “So that’s the scoundrel who nearly got you caught in bed last time.”

Tang Yajun nodded, acknowledging it.

“Then how can you still greet him so calmly?” Tang Yashan asked.

Tang Hewei came over, smiling warmly: “Big brother, when did you come back? We should have a meal together sometime.”

You can’t reject a friendly gesture. Tang Yashan smiled and agreed.

These past days, whenever Tang Hewei thought of Tang Yajun, he always felt as though there was something important he was forgetting, something he had to do. No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t recall it.

Now that he saw her again, that feeling only grew stronger.

While he frowned in thought, someone behind him called him home. It was his elder brother, Tang Heping.

Just then, Cui Shan’s car arrived. The siblings got in together.

Tang Heping watched the car drive away, a flash of disgust passing through his eyes.

Cui Shan dropped Tang Yashan off at the Agricultural Academy, then drove Tang Yajun back to the courtyard house.

Hearing that Lu Zhongyun hadn’t left her room since yesterday, Tang Yajun went over to check on her.

Lu Zhongyun’s eyes were swollen like walnuts, and she looked embarrassed to be seen.

“I heard you’ve been shut in all day since yesterday. That won’t do—you should at least eat something.”

“Forget it, I really can’t eat,” Lu Zhongyun sighed.

“Yesterday, when my brother and I went home, my father also found out that he’s supposedly dating someone.”

“Dating? With who? That fast? Yesterday he wasn’t even…”

Seeing her flustered, Tang Yajun smiled and recounted what had happened at the dinner table the night before.

“You know my stepmother—she always wants to drive us siblings away. I won’t let her get her way.”

“Then your brother really does need to find someone soon. You can’t hide it forever.” Lu Zhongyun frowned.

She herself was interested in him, but the man was thick as a block of wood, giving her no response at all. She couldn’t help but feel discouraged.

“How about this—I’ll prepare a table of food tonight and invite both of you. My brother can’t hold his liquor, so we’ll drink with him. Once he’s tipsy, we can draw him out and see what he really thinks.”

Lu Zhongyun thought this was a good idea and agreed immediately, getting up to tidy herself.

Back at the courtyard, Tang Yajun was looking very pleased with herself. Lu Chongjin asked, “So it was that easy?”

Tang Yajun smiled mysteriously. “Just wait and see.”

Her brother might not be able to drink much, but his senior was known for his capacity. Whether he or Lu Zhongyun ended up drinking more, someone would end up loosening their tongue. With liquor’s help, truths would be spoken, and progress would come quicker.

Lu Chongjin had business outside. After Tang Yajun saw him off and closed the gate, she went back into the house and slipped into her space to sort through the things she had taken earlier from Lu Zhengang’s secret room.

When it was almost time, she went next door to fetch the food Aunt Liu had prepared, set it all out in Tang Yashan’s room, and even brought a few bottles of liquor.

When Tang Yashan came home from work and saw the spread laid out in his room, he was puzzled.

Then he noticed Lu Zhongyun entering the courtyard, so he first handed her the empty lunch boxes he had cleaned.

Tang Yajun sat them down together and poured drinks.

“Since Chongjin isn’t home tonight, it’s just the three of us. No need to be polite.”

Lu Zhongyun, burdened with unspoken feelings, said nothing. She simply picked up her glass and drank.

Seeing this, Tang Yashan quickly followed suit.

With the two of them drinking cup after cup without her urging, Tang Yajun soon found a reason to excuse herself.

The courtyard was bathed in moonlight. Having had a little wine herself, she felt slightly tipsy and wanted to walk it off in the night breeze.

She wandered out, following the moonlit path. The cool wind was refreshing.

Without realizing it, she walked all the way to the nearby lake. The willow branches on the shore swayed gently, casting faint shadows—it was a scene full of atmosphere.

That night, Tang Yajun couldn’t help but grow sentimental. She remembered how, back at the research institute, she and her colleagues would sometimes go for walks in the park at night after a dinner gathering, to sober up.

She strolled along the water’s edge, planning to go closer to the bank. Suddenly, her body stiffened, and the wine haze cleared instantly.

She suddenly remembered—today was the very day the original owner had drowned. She immediately stepped back, only to bump into someone standing behind her.

Before she could turn to see who it was, she was shoved straight into the lake.

With a muffled splash, the water rose high.