Chapter 22

Yu Xiaoyu was thinking this in her mind and asked aloud, “Yinyin, what nonsense are you talking about?”

A young lady, being gossiped about for having a relationship with Lu Chen, and she was still smiling?

She must be utterly confused, definitely!

But Meng Yinyin still didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she winked at Yu Xiaoyu and continued shouting toward someone outside the door in a playful tone.

“If it weren’t for a kind person spreading this news, Lu Chen and I wouldn’t even know how to tell everyone that we’re together. So, thank you to this kind person.”

“I just don’t know how this kind person found out about me givingclothes to Lu Chen. Did they secretly follow me? That’s not very nice, right? If they wanted to know, they could’ve just asked me directly. Spying like that is so cheap.”

At the end, Meng Yinyin purposely sounded a bit regretful.

But at this moment, everyone outside the door was no longer focused on her tone. Their attention was fully caught by the weighty information hidden in her words.

From what Meng Yinyin had said, there were a few key points that everyone could easily pick up on.

First, she and Lu Chen were really together.

Second, they hadn’t told anyone about it yet, but someone had intentionally spread the news of their relationship, making it known to everyone.

Third, the fact that Meng Yinyin made clothes for Lu Chen—did that person secretly follow her to find out?

Oh my god, so there was someone behind the scenes stirring things up. No, more precisely, someone was deliberately trying to ruin Lu Chen and Meng Yinyin’s reputations!

At first, everyone was just casually gossiping, but now, Mo Ming felt a chill down his spine. Someone was secretly causing trouble!

Who could this person be? How could they be so malicious? And would they target others next, trying to ruin their reputations too?

Thinking of this, the entire Educated Youth point was filled with unease.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoyu finally snapped out of her shock after hearing the news that Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen were really together.

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, like how could Meng Yinyin be so foolish to get together with Lu Chen?

Of course, she wasn’t looking down on Lu Che, but she couldn’t understand why Meng Yinyin, an Educated Youth from the city, would get involved with someone like him. Though the policy now forced them to work in the countryside, there might come a time when the policy changes, and they could return to the city.

But now, Meng Yinyin had gotten involved with a local villager. What if they ended up getting married? Wouldn’t her household registration be stuck in the Nanjiao Brigade forever, unable to go back to the city?

Yu Xiaoyu truly saw Meng Yinyin as a friend, so it pained her to see her making such a decision. It felt like she was ruining her future.

Meng Yinyin understood her feelings, but with a slightly guilty yet candid tone, she replied, “But Xiaoyu, do you think I can survive on my own…?”

Yu Xiaoyu: “…”

How could she forget that this was the toughest place for any Educated Youth to work?

After a brief pause, Yu Xiaoyu seemed to suddenly realize something and looked at Meng Yinyin with a hesitant expression.

“So, Yinyin, you and Lu Chen… you didn’t just get together because of his work points, did you?”

Her expression was filled with doubt, clearly not wanting to believe this about her friend.

Meng Yinyin nervously touched her ear and lowered her head, softly responding.

“Don’t worry, I’ll treat him well in the future.”

Yu Xiaoyu: “…”

She gave up. She decided not to worry about this girl anymore!

She wasn’t stupid; in fact, she was as cunning as a fox!

“Fine, then I hope Lu Chen never finds out. If he does, I don’t think he’s someone easy to deal with.”

In the end, Yu Xiaoyu could only sigh heavily and warn Meng Yinyin, looking worried.

Meng Yinyin didn’t take Yu Xiaoyu’s concern to heart at all. Instead, she comforted her with a pat on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’m smart. I’ll never let Lu Chen find out the truth!”

Judging by her time spent with Lu Chen, he seemed even more naïve than she was. He was completely deceived by his uncle’s family and didn’t even notice. How could someone like him possibly figure out her brilliant plan?

Yu Xiaoyu: “…”

She had no idea where Meng Yinyin’s confidence came from.

But never mind. Now that things had gone this far, as long as Meng Yinyin didn’t leave the Educated Youth dormitory, Yu Xiaoyu could keep an eye on her.

After their quiet conversation, they finally stepped out of the dormitory.

When they arrived outside, the group of Educated Youths saw Meng Yinyin. Their expressions were no longer those of simple onlookers, but were now filled with concern.

They had just discussed it and concluded that someone from the Educated Youth point must be behind this.

Why did they think so? It was simple—the person who spread this news had hurt Meng Yinyin the most.

After all, Lu Chen’s reputation wasn’t good to begin with, and as a man, this kind of gossip wouldn’t affect him much.

But Meng Yinyin, a female Educated Youth, was now the subject of everyone’s gossip. What would become of her future if everyone knew about her relationship with Lu Chen?

So this was clearly aimed at Meng Yinyin, and the only people who had any interaction with her were those at the Educated Youth point.

Thinking about this, everyone became even more determined to find out who the culprit was!

One of the Educated Youths stood up angrily.

“Educated Youth Meng, don’t worry! We’ll help you find out who’s behind this and stop them from spreading such rumors!”

“That’s right, that person even harmed their own comrades. They must have a black heart! We’ll drag them out and let the brigade leader deal with them. Everyone will know that ruining someone’s reputation like this is a despicable act!”

The group of people all spoke at once, almost as if they were the victims.

But from another perspective, they might actually be the future victims.

Meng Yinyin didn’t disagree at all. She was just happy that someone was helping her.

So she smiled and said, “Thank you all in advance. When Lu Chen and I get married, I’ll invite you all to our wedding!”

Everyone exchanged glances and could only force out a smile and say, “Alright.”

But in their hearts, they all sighed. How foolish was Meng Yinyin to actually get together with Lu Chen? She’d probably be stuck in the countryside for the rest of her life.

Meanwhile, around the corner of the dormitory, one person had a very dark expression.

That person was none other than the mastermind behind this entire incident—Lin Xiaoxia.

She never expected that Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen would actually end up together. Not only that, but Meng Yinyin had deliberately spread the news, causing all the other Educated Youths to become angry!

She had thought that everyone would just tease and gossip about Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen for a while, and once they saw they weren’t together anymore, the teasing would stop.

Who could have imagined that things would turn out like this!

Especially when she heard that group of Educated Youth saying they must find out who spread the rumors. How would they do it? How would they catch the person?

If they really trace it back to her, wouldn’t she be finished?

Just thinking about it, Lin Xiaoxia’s lips turned white with fear.

But then she thought, almost everyone in the entire brigade has heard this news. Even if those few Educated Youth are determined, they can’t possibly go around asking each person individually.

They probably don’t even know how many people there are in the whole brigade!

Once she thought of this, she felt a little more at ease.

However, what she didn’t expect was that the next morning, during the morning meeting, the brigade leader surprisingly did not lead everyone in shouting the work slogans but instead gathered everyone together to announce something important.

Looking at the brigade leader’s serious expression, Lin Xiaoxia, standing among the Educated Youth, froze, feeling an ominous premonition.

“…I’m sure everyone has heard about yesterday’s events. As for the malicious spreading of rumors, as brigade leader, I am deeply pained. Our Nanjiao Brigade has always been harmonious, and I never expected that there would be someone intentionally smearing others’ reputations!”

“Therefore, in order to maintain the good atmosphere of our Nanjiao Brigade, I have decided to track down the person who first spread the news, as a warning. From now on, anyone who dares to deliberately stir up trouble and spread malicious rumors will be severely punished!”

After hearing the brigade leader’s words, everyone finally realized the truth and the seriousness of the situation, especially since if the person who started the rumors is found, they will be publicly reprimanded in front of everyone. How embarrassing would that be!

For a moment, no one dared to speak, and everyone anxiously glanced around, wondering who the person who deliberately spread the rumors was.

Lin Xiaoxia’s face had turned ashen.

How could this happen…

Why is the brigade leader getting involved in this, and so publicly using the morning meeting to address it!

What she didn’t know was that the brigade leader had no idea how to track down the person behind the rumors at first. It was only the night before that Lu Chen had visited him and suggested this approach.

Upon hearing this, the brigade leader thought it was a great idea.

With everyone gathered, he would ask each person where they heard the rumor and trace it back to the source, layer by layer, until they found the first person who spread the news.

Rumors don’t just appear out of nowhere. They must come from someone.

Although the method was simple and crude, it was effective.

“I’ll start. I heard it from Liu Jinhua!”

As soon as the brigade leader finished speaking, everyone’s gaze turned to the woman named Liu Jinhua.

Liu Jinhua turned pale and hurriedly waved her hands.

“I-I didn’t spread the rumor! I heard it from Zhao Xiulan!”

Now, everyone’s attention shifted to Zhao Xiulan.

Zhao Xiulan was also terrified, and she didn’t hesitate for a second before revealing who had told her.

“I heard it from Li Dazhu. You can ask him!”

Then it was Li Dazhu’s turn, and his source…

Everyone was so anxious and frightened, afraid they might get implicated, that the process of tracing the source was much faster than expected.

Finally, a soft female voice spoke up, and everyone instinctively looked toward the Educated Youth team.

When they saw who it was, Lin Xiaoxia’s expression changed drastically. She almost couldn’t stop herself from running away.

“I… I heard it from Educated Youth Lin. She said someone saw Meng… Educated Youth Meng giving Lu Chen clothes and asked if we knew about it… I’m really not making things up. If she hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known about it.”

The girl’s face turned red, and she anxiously looked at Lin Xiaoxia, hoping everyone would believe her.

“Educated Youth Lin, it was when we were heading to work together yesterday at noon. You told me about it. You remember, right? You definitely remember!”

Lin Xiaoxia’s mind went into chaos. In that moment, her head was buzzing. All eyes were on her.

She had no idea how to respond.

At the same time, a few of the Educated Youth standing nearby had also subtly changed their expressions.

In fact, they had already suspected Lin Xiaoxia since yesterday. After all, everyone at the Educated Youth point knew that she had always been targeting Meng Yinyin. Only she would have the motive to spread such a rumor.

But since they had no evidence, no one dared to voice their suspicions, afraid of wrongfully accusing someone and tarnishing their own reputation.

But now, they were all convinced that Lin Xiaoxia had deliberately spread the rumor.

The brigade leader walked up to Lin Xiaoxia, his face dark as he stared at her.

“Educated Youth Lin, so where did you hear this news from? Or should I assume the news came from your own mouth?”

“N-no, it wasn’t me. It really wasn’t me…” Lin Xiaoxia was completely panicked, unable to think straight or figure out how to clear her name. She could only repeatedly say, “It wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me!”

“Well, then tell us. If it wasn’t you, who was it?”

A few of the older women couldn’t hold back any longer.

“I knew it! Our Nanjiao Brigade has always had a good reputation. How could anyone do such a shameless thing? Tsk, it’s obvious some outsiders are deliberately trying to disturb our unity!”

“Exactly, exactly! I never would’ve guessed that Educated Youth Lin, who seems so kind on the outside, could have such a dark heart behind the scenes. She’s also a woman. How could she not understand how important a reputation is for women?”

“Brigade leader, you must punish her severely! Don’t show her any mercy!”

Lin Xiaoxia’s reaction had already exposed her guilt, but the brigade leader still coldly asked her again.

“Educated Youth Lin, since you can’t tell us who told you, I have no choice but to treat you as the one who spread the rumors. As I mentioned earlier, you need to apologize to the concerned parties, Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen, and ask for their forgiveness. Then tomorrow at the morning meeting, you will read an apology letter in front of everyone. After that, the matter will be considered over. But if this happens again in the future, the punishment will be far worse than this!”

Before Lin Xiaoxia could even begin to argue, Meng Yinyin suddenly covered her mouth and looked at Lin Xiaoxia with teary eyes, as if she were about to cry.

“Educated Youth Lin, how could you do something like this? Although I know we had some conflicts before, I thought we were both big-hearted people. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, I thought everything would be fine. I never expected you to spread rumors about me behind my back. What did I do to wrong you? You’re being too much!”

When Meng Yinyin mentioned their past conflict, the eyes of the surrounding villagers immediately lit up. It was as if they were all silently thinking, So that’s it! No wonder Lin Xiaoxia has been retaliating, there must be something between them!

Lin Xiaoxia: “…”

Lin Xiaoxia was furious!

Once Meng Yinyin said those words, even if she wanted to shift the blame onto Meng Yinyin, saying that it was she who told her about the relationship, that was no longer an option.

After all, everyone knew there had been conflict between them. How could Meng Yinyin possibly tell her about such a thing willingly?

Lin Xiaoxia was trapped with no way out. All she could do was stare at Meng Yinyin with a mix of despair and anger.

But before she could even glare at her properly, a cold and sharp gaze from behind made her shiver in fear.

She turned around to find Lu Chen standing behind Meng Yinyin, his face emotionless as he looked at her.

With the rumors surrounding him, Lu Chen now seemed like a demon who had crawled up from hell. Just being stared at by him gave her the unsettling feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

Lin Xiaoxia’s face turned pale, and she immediately stopped glaring at Meng Yinyin. She didn’t dare say another word.

In the end, the matter was settled with Lin Xiaoxia accepting the brigade leader’s arrangement.

The others seemed eager to gossip more about the relationship between Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen, but the brigade leader quickly shooed them off to work.

After all, they had wasted enough time dealing with Lin Xiaoxia’s issue. They should get back to work, or they would never hear the end of it.

The brigade leader was furious, and after everyone else left, he looked at Lu Chen and Meng Yinyin, still standing there, with frustration.

“You two aren’t going to work?” he asked, exasperated.

Lu Chen instinctively glanced at Meng Yinyin.

Meng Yinyin, however, responded matter-of-factly, “Brigade Leader, we agreed yesterday that I wouldn’t need to work. Lu Chen’s work points are enough for both of us.”

The brigade leader: “…”

This made him so angry that his beard stood up!

Finally, he couldn’t help but glared at Lu Chen fiercely to see what good idea he came up with!

Lu Chen showed no reaction, calmly enduring the brigade leader’s outburst.

“Lu Chen, if you don’t get 15 work points today, you are not allowed to leave work. Do you hear me?”

Lu Chen responded calmly, “Hmm, I hear you,” as he agreed with an easygoing attitude.

He could easily do 20 work points in a day as long as no one complained.

Seeing Lu Chen’s unbothered attitude, the brigade leader was completely at a loss for words. With a final frustrated look, he turned and stormed off.

If he looked at these two any longer, he felt like he might explode.

Once the brigade leader left, Lu Chen planned to go to work.

He wasn’t planning to let Meng Yinyin follow him. He had a feeling she’d rather head back to the dormitory and sleep.

But before leaving, he took out the little snacks he had brought her.

After finishing work yesterday, he remembered that the loquats in his backyard were ripe, so he rushed home to pick a few for Meng Yinyin.

Since he was in a hurry, he didn’t manage to pick the largest, ripest ones from the top of the tree. Instead, he grabbed some from the lower branches, worried they might not taste as good.

However, when she took a bite, she immediately said she liked them.

So, after returning from the brigade leader’s house last night, Lu Chen had grabbed a ladder and picked the ripest loquats from the top of the tree.

There weren’t many, but it would be enough for Meng Yinyin to enjoy for a few days.

He pulled out a familiar handkerchief from his pocket.

The moment Meng Yinyin saw this, she instinctively swallowed.

From past experience, she knew this handkerchief always contained something for her to eat!

The handkerchief slowly unfolded, and when she saw the bright red, ripe loquats wrapped inside, she couldn’t help herself and cheered out loud.

“Wow, loquats!”

Even though she had eaten some yesterday, seeing these ones today, she could tell they were even bigger and sweeter!

“Mm, I remember you said you liked them,” Lu Chen said, his voice warm.

Seeing her so happy, Lu Chen felt a sweetness in his heart, as if he had eaten the loquats himself. He silently promised that he would bring more good things for Meng Yinyin in the future.

“Well, I’m going to work now,” he said, turning to leave.

“Mm, go ahead, go ahead! Good luck at work!”

Meng Yinyin didn’t even lift her head, completely focused on her snack. She didn’t notice the soft, tender look in Lu Chen’s eyes.

Lu Chen silently nodded and was about to turn and leave, when suddenly, Meng Yinyin snapped out of her trance and asked a question that nearly made him stumble in surprise.

“When can I move into your house?” she asked.

Lu Chen froze, almost unable to believe what he had just heard.

After a few seconds, he finally managed to suppress the shock and the nervous, awkward feeling rising inside him. He turned around, trying to maintain a calm expression as he spoke in a strained voice.

“Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

Meng Yinyin tilted her head, a frown forming as she looked at him, clearly puzzled.

“We’re together now. Haven’t you thought about living together?” she asked, her expression one of confusion, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.

“Or did you think that after agreeing to date me yesterday, we’d just keep things like this?”

That won’t do!

She was eager to leave the cramped and confined space of the Educated Youth dormitory and had no desire to keep living with Lin Xiaoxia.

Moreover, she was well aware that Lu Chen’s house had plenty of empty rooms. Moving in wouldn’t interfere with his life at all.

Plus, she could even pay him rent when the time came.

Lu Chen had no idea what Meng Yinyin was thinking. His mind was completely consumed by one thought:

He was going to live with Meng Yinyin.

She would move into his home, and they would eat and live together.

Wasn’t that too fast?

Lu Chen, who was always used to hiding his emotions, blushed for the first time.