“Xiaoyue, didn’t you say you were hungry? I made tangyuan. Go downstairs and have some.” Mama Wang looked at her and said.  

Xu Xiaoyue dried her hair until it no longer dripped, then nodded in response. “Alright, I’ll change my clothes and come down in a bit.”  

As she went downstairs, Mama Wang couldn’t stop muttering to herself—*Even if she helped trim loose threads, that doesn’t mean she had to climb into someone’s bed.*  

“Mama Wang, what’s wrong? You seem distracted after going upstairs,” Liu Ye teased.  

Mama Wang pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, then decided to recount what she had just witnessed.  

After finishing, she hesitated again before adding, “Director Liu, maybe this old woman is just overthinking. Don’t take it to heart.”  

Liu Ye knew Mama Wang’s character well. She had been working as a nanny for the Yan family for quite some time—if she said she saw something, she wasn’t one to exaggerate.  

Zheng Jiaojiao had initially thought that since Xu Xiaoyue hadn’t run into Wang Hao yesterday, the matter was over.  

But she never expected the real trouble was just beginning.  

Early in the morning, the whole compound was in an uproar.  

The commotion started when Hu Hongyan, a resident of the compound, seemed to have lost her mind and began wailing right outside the Yan family’s door.  

She kept ranting about how the Yan family, just because they had some influence, were bullying her and her orphaned son—claiming they had beaten Wang Hao so badly he couldn’t even show his face in public.  

The courtyard wasn’t large, and nearly every household had their doors slightly ajar, windows open, ears perked to listen in.  

“Hu Hongyan, you’d better have proof before making accusations! If your son Wang Hao got beaten up, why are you pinning it on my Yan family?”  

Liu Ye struggled to control her temper. If only Yan Ye weren’t away with the military, rarely home—now they were being bullied right at their doorstep.  

At the mention of proof, Hu Hongyan stood up, slapped her thigh, and shouted:  

“Old Liu, stop pretending! I saw it with my own eyes—that girl of yours, what’s her name, Zheng Jiaojiao? She came looking for my son Wang Hao yesterday!”  

Her words were delivered with absolute conviction.  

Liu Ye glanced at Mama Wang. “Go, call Jiaojiao down.”  

“You’re saying… Wang Hao’s mother is here?”  

Zheng Jiaojiao shot a quick look at Xu Xiaoyue, her hands trembling slightly in panic.  

According to her plan, even if Wang Hao had been convicted of being a hooligan, Xu Xiaoyue would have had no choice but to keep silent.  

Who could’ve guessed that not only had Wang Hao *not* run into Xu Xiaoyue, but he’d also ended up beaten?  

“Sister Xiaoyue, should we both go down and take a look?” Zheng Jiaojiao asked, though she was already standing up, ready to drag Xu Xiaoyue along.  

Xu Xiaoyue instinctively wanted to refuse, but then reconsidered.  

*No, I should go. What if Zheng Jiaojiao starts spouting nonsense and shifts the blame onto me?*  

Once downstairs, they saw Liu Ye standing to the side, her face dark with anger.  

Across from her, Hu Hongyan was sprawled on the ground, throwing a tantrum—howling, demanding compensation for medical expenses and lost wages. She was just short of rolling around in the dirt.  

Xu Xiaoyue marveled inwardly—*City folks throwing fits aren’t so different from the shrewdest grannies back in the countryside.*  

“Auntie, get up! You can’t lie on the ground—it’s too cold!”  

Zheng Jiaojiao stepped forward, intending to help the woman up. She had noticed the neighbors watching, and this was her chance to show the Yan family just how kind-hearted she was.  

She had thought it would be easy, but who knew Hu Hongyan didn’t even need her help? The moment she saw people approaching, she sprang up from the ground like a carp leaping out of water.  

“You little bitch, was it you who beat my son like that?” Hu Hongyan’s shrill voice pierced the air.  

Her words weren’t just heard clearly throughout the entire compound—even passersby outside probably couldn’t miss them.  

Zheng Jiaojiao hadn’t expected this madwoman to be so difficult to deal with.  

She forced herself to stay calm, took a deep breath, and said, “Auntie Hu, I think you’ve misunderstood. When I saw your son Wang Hao yesterday, we only exchanged a few words.”  

“Bullshit! A few words and you stole my son’s soul? Are you some fox spirit reborn?”  

As she spoke, Hu Hongyan spat on the ground.  

Zheng Jiaojiao’s breath hitched—she was so furious she could barely contain herself. *This damn hag! I’d love to tear her mouth apart!*  

Liu Ye frowned. “Hu Hongyan, watch your language.”  

But Hu Hongyan kept screeching relentlessly. Zheng Jiaojiao’s eyes flickered with calculation.  

“Auntie Hu, your suspicion of me makes no sense. Wang Hao and I have no grudges—why would I go out of my way to cause trouble for him?”  

Liu Ye chimed in, “Jiaojiao only met your Wang Hao for the first time yesterday. She’s not insane—why would she beat him?”  

Hu Hongyan’s gaze landed on Xu Xiaoyue, who stood by the doorway, and suddenly, she had an epiphany.  

“Then it must be Xu Xiaoyue! If not Zheng Jiaojiao, then her! Otherwise, why would my Haozi have been beaten?”  

With that, she lunged to grab Xu Xiaoyue.  

Xu Xiaoyue sidestepped, then glanced at Zheng Jiaojiao and sneered. “Auntie Hu, if you really want to know who beat Wang Hao, why don’t you call him out here and ask him yourself?”  

“You’ve been making a scene all morning without any real evidence. Anyone would think you’re just here to pick a fight.”  

Some of the onlookers, eager for drama, shouted, “Yeah, ask your Haozi who did it!”  

If Hu Hongyan could get even a scrap of information out of Wang Hao, she would’ve stormed into the culprit’s house long ago.  

But she had nothing—just wild guesses—and was trying to force the Yan family to take responsibility, demanding compensation for lost wages and “emotional distress.”  

Over the years, she’d relied on this kind of hysterical behavior to intimidate people who valued their reputations into backing down.  

But she hadn’t expected Xu Xiaoyue to be so sharp-tongued. With just a few words, she turned the tables.  

Cornered, Hu Hongyan dragged Wang Hao out.  

“Tell me right now—was it Yan Shuli who beat you up for these two little sluts?”  

After a night, Wang Hao’s already greasy, lecherous face had swollen into something resembling a pig’s head. His eyelids drooped, and the sunlight made him squint, only enhancing the resemblance.  

Wang Hao didn’t dare say a word. Not only were his actions yesterday enough to land him in jail, but he’d also just realized—the man who beat him?  

It was **Yan Ye**.  

The moment it clicked, terror seized him. If Yan Ye showed up with the police today, he’d be getting a pair of shiny silver handcuffs.  

No matter how much Hu Hongyan pressed him, he refused to speak.  

As Hu Hongyan ranted with thinly veiled accusations, Xu Xiaoyue saw right through it.  

“Auntie Hu, if you really think I did it, let’s not waste time. We’ll go straight to the police station—let them investigate properly.”  

“Yes, I’m from the countryside, and I know you look down on us. But that doesn’t mean you can pin every crime on me!”  

With that, Xu Xiaoyue turned and strode toward the gate.  

Wang Hao’s heart pounded wildly. Only one thought filled his mind: *No! She can’t go to the police!*  

Without thinking, he dropped to his knees.