Chapter 4 – The Female Supporting Character in the Confession Book

Wen Xin’s family walked past Luo Manzhen. Once they had moved a bit farther away, Zhang Xiuying turned around to glance at Luo Manzhen and asked Eldest Sister-in-law Wen: “Daughter-in-law, was the person we just met Lin Jianzhang’s ex-wife?”

When the original person, Wen Xin, had gone on a blind date with Lin Jianzhang, she hadn’t kept it a secret from the Wen family. 

After their successful match, the Lin family and the Wen family had even shared a meal at the Lin family’s home. 

When Wen Xin fell into the water and fell ill for several days, Lin Jianzhang’s family didn’t even bother to send a single greeting. Wen Yuejun and others had long been dissatisfied with his family.

It was still the same story: the Lin family was well-off and Lin Jianzhang was a capable man. But when compared to the Wen family, they weren’t really superior.

Wen Xin herself worked in the government, holding a stable job, and she was quite attractive with a good figure. As early as two years ago, there had already been suitors, so she wasn’t worried about getting married.

Since the Lin family wasn’t taking the initiative, the Wen family wouldn’t lower their pride and go after them.

No one chased after a business deal like that. Moreover, now that Wen Xin broke up with Lin Jianzhang, many people were interested in courting her.

“It was her. Mom, I heard someone say recently that Lin Jianzhang’s ex-wife has been going to the Lin family a lot lately. At first, the Lin family didn’t let her in, but later, they allowed her. I heard that the Lin family wants them to remarry.” 

Zhang Xiuying, who mostly stayed home handling household chores, said. However, Eldest Sister-in-law Wen (and Second Sister-in-law Wen) had often mingled with the older women in the village. 

Every era’s women were like little informants, and with Linjia Village and Hongshu Village being so close, everyone knew what was going on in each other’s homes.

Second Sister-in-law Wen chimed in: “My sister-in-law is right. This matter has spread all over the village. Aunt Guixiang knew that our Xin Xin was dating Lin Jianzhang, and she came over to ask me and my sister-in-law what we should do about it.”

Second Sister-in-law Wen referred to Liu Guixiang as Aunt Guixiang—she was Zhang Xiuying’s sister-in-law. 

Zhang Xiuying was the eldest sister-in-law and had a son shortly after marrying into the Wen family. 

Liu Guixiang, on the other hand, married into the Old Wen family when Eldest Brother Wen was just over a year old, and they both became pregnant at the same time, with their children born only a few months apart. 

The difference was that Zhang Xiuying gave birth to Second Brother Wen, while Liu Guixiang had a daughter, named Xiaomei. 

Not long after, both sisters-in-law became pregnant again, with Zhang Xiuying giving birth to the original Wen Xin, and Liu Guixiang giving birth to Wen Zhaodi.

Liu Guixiang later gave birth to another daughter, Pandi, and eventually had her precious son, Baogen.

From a young age, Liu Guixiang and Zhang Xiuying had been competing secretly. 

As Zhang Xiuying’s family became more prosperous, Liu Guixiang grew increasingly upset. 

What angered her even more was the fact that Zhang Xiuying and her husband spoiled Wen Xin, their daughter. 

Not only did they take good care of Wen Xin, but they also sent her to school. 

They paid for her to attend high school and even helped her secure a government job.

Liu Guixiang was furious. In her eyes, Zhang Xiuying’s family was thriving, and she had many children, while her own life was harder with fewer children. 

Both families had the same bloodline; Wen Yuejun, as the eldest brother, should have supported her family. Baogen, now thirteen, was at the age to start middle school. 

However, her family was large, and they didn’t have enough strength or money. When she tried to borrow money from Zhang Xiuying, Zhang Xiuying insisted on a written IOU, which Liu Guixiang found particularly cold-hearted.

Liu Guixiang had been resentful for a long time. She often criticized Zhang Xiuying when chatting with the other women in the village. The two of them had argued countless times over trivial matters.

Wen Xin had found a boyfriend who was a soldier. Although he was a divorced man, he was an officer, which made Liu Guixiang both envious and jealous. Her daughter, Zhaodi, who was about the same age as Wen Xin, had still not found a match.

When she heard that Wen Xin’s soldier boyfriend was considering remarrying his ex-wife, Liu Guixiang was overjoyed and couldn’t stop herself from secretly smiling. 

One day, when she saw Second Sister-in-law Wen at the construction site, she couldn’t wait to gossip and take pleasure in others’ misfortune.

Zhang Xiuying, hearing what Second Sister-in-law Wen had said, furrowed her brows and remarked: “The Lin family is making a mess of things! Husband, when you go to work tomorrow, head over to Linjia Village and ask Lin Jianzhang’s father what’s going on. If those two are really getting back together, we need to move quickly and not let it delay our Xin Xin.”

Wen Yuejun, who was holding his cigarette holder, nodded expressionlessly.

——

At the same time, Lin Jianzhang’s parents were also talking about Wen family.

Their son had found a match like Wen Xin, and not only was Lin Jianzhang satisfied, but Lin Shuisheng and Liao Jinzhi, Lin Jianzhang’s parents, were also happy. 

When Wen Xin had fallen into the water, Liao Jinzhi had wanted to visit her, but Grandma Lin had stopped her.

As much as Lin Shuisheng and Liao Jinzhi were pleased with Wen Xin, Grandma Lin was equally displeased with her. 

Grandma Lin had been the one who had arranged Luo Manzhen’s marriage, and when that ended in divorce, Grandma Lin had felt terribly embarrassed.

However, this didn’t stop Grandma Lin from disliking Wen Xin.

Grandma Lin thought Wen Xin was too beautiful, and her appearance immediately struck her as improper. She was also too tall, and standing next to Lin Jianzhang, he was half a head shorter than her. 

When a woman was taller than her husband, it could dominate the relationship, and Grandma Lin worried that Lin Jianzhang’s future would lack the proper balance.

After Luo Manzhen’s matter, however, Grandma Lin had decided not to interfere with Lin Jianzhang’s marriage anymore.

When Luo Manzhen left, Grandma Lin felt that the anger she had been holding in was finally dissipating. 

Furthermore, Luo Manzhen had a knack for flattering older people, and within just three days of returning, she had managed to win over Grandma Lin, who had initially been suspicious of her.

Lin Shuisheng was a filial son, and Liao Jinzhi was soft-spoken and easy to sway. Since marrying Lin Shuisheng, she had always listened to both her husband and her mother-in-law. 

When her mother-in-law said Wen Xin didn’t need to be visited, even though Liao Jinzhi knew it was wrong, she didn’t want to make trouble and didn’t push the issue. 

Similarly, when Luo Manzhen stayed at their house all day, Liao Jinzhi had mentioned it a few times but eventually stopped bothering with it. 

After all, Luo Manzhen wasn’t there to see her, and besides, there were plenty of chores to be done at home, so having Luo Manzhen there actually lightened her load.

Liao Jinzhi didn’t like Luo Manzhen. Lin Jianzhang was her most accomplished child, her pride, and Luo Manzhen had abandoned him like a worn-out shoe. 

Just thinking about it made Liao Jinzhi’s chest hurt with anger.

Lin Shuisheng’s eldest son, Lin Jianlang, and his wife felt that the situation shouldn’t be handled this way, but as soon as they started to speak up at home, Grandma Lin shut them down immediately.

The Lin family was a one-man rule under Grandma Lin.

Today, when Grandma Lin went out for a walk, she learned that the Wen family had gone to Lin Changzheng’s house to become sworn kin. 

This made Grandma Lin quite happy, and she stopped her walk, returning home to wait for the Wen family to come visit her. 

But as she waited, the Wen family never showed up. 

Instead, she was visited by Luo Manzhen.

When Grandma Lin found out that the Wen family had already left, she was so angry she started to tremble. 

Luo Manzhen smiled slyly, growing even gentler as she tried to cheer Grandma Lin up, while subtly poisoning her mind against Wen Xin. 

The more Grandma Lin heard, the more determined she became to prevent Wen Xin from marrying into their family.

—-

Wen Xin didn’t care at all about the Lin family’s opinion. 

From the memories of the original person, she already had a rough idea of what kind of family the Lin family was. 

Besides, she wasn’t planning to stay with Lin Jianzhang anyway, so she didn’t care what the Lin family thought of her.

The world was so big, and this was her first time living as a person. She was determined to see the world for herself. 

How could she lock herself into a man’s backyard?

Revenge on Luo Manzhen and Lin Jianzhang wasn’t urgent. 

Luo Manzhen was the type of woman who seemed mentally unstable. Maybe in her eyes, Wei Xin was just the third party who had ruined her life with Lin Jianzhang, and she had to be eliminated completely.

As long as Wen Xin was alive, Luo Manzhen would never be at peace. 

The last time Wen Xin had foiled her plot, Luo Manzhen hadn’t succeeded, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try again. 

Wen Xin had never been afraid of such petty schemes.

Last time, when Luo Manzhen had tried to harm the original person, there had been no defenses, no evidence, and no one to expose or report it. 

Their relationship was subtle, and if Wen Xin went to expose Luo Manzhen, no one would believe her. Not to mention, her reputation would be ruined in the process.

As for Lin Laizi, he was the source of the original person’s nightmares. It would be too easy on him to put him out of his misery. 

The despair the original person had experienced had to be something he experienced as well. 

So, Wen Xin decided to give him a nightmare.

Wen Xin clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, chanting an incantation. 

After finishing, she was drenched in sweat, her face as pale as paper.

This curse, which could make someone experience nightmares, was something she had learned from a Taoist priest.

The little Taoist was quite mischievous, and these small curses were more like pranks. They didn’t do much harm to the body, but they would bring out the deepest malice in a person’s heart, making them experience that malice themselves.

Thinking of the little Taoist, Wen Xin paused for a moment.

When she had met the little Taoist, she was still a koi fish with only two hundred years of spiritual awareness, living in a pond in a royal residence. 

The Taoist’s favorite thing was to feed her, and whenever something happened, he would mutter things to her.

Wen Xin had liked him very much, but throughout her life, she had never known what he looked like.

Her head throbbed painfully, so Wen Xin closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

——-

That day, Lin Laizi went to his good friend’s house to mooch off a meal. His good friend had a habit of petty crimes. Recently, his friend had been craving alcohol but didn’t have the money to buy it. 

So, he climbed the wall of the health center and stole some alcohol. He watered it down, and though the alcohol’s flavor was weaker, it still had some taste.

Once his friend got the alcohol, Lin Laizi naturally had to bring some food to accompany it. At over thirty years old, Lin Laizi was lazy and preferred not to do work in the fields. 

He relied on his mother for support. His mother’s health had been worsening over the years, and now the points she earned from working in the fields had decreased significantly.

Even though the family couldn’t afford much food, that didn’t stop Lin Laizi from finding a way to get some snacks to go with the alcohol. He caught a wild cat outside, killed it, skinned it, and stewed it. Though the taste wasn’t great, it was still meat, and when eaten with alcohol, it actually tasted quite decent.

Lin Laizi, who hadn’t drunk alcohol for a long time, had a low tolerance, and the watered-down alcohol didn’t stop him from getting drunk. He staggered home but hadn’t even made it inside before he collapsed on the roadside.

That night, Lin Laizi had a long, tormenting dream. In the dream, he was repeatedly assaulted, not just once but many times over.

If the roles had been reversed, with him as the aggressor and a woman as the victim, Lin Laizi would have likely thought it was a gratifying dream.

But the problem was, he was a man, and the other was also a man. When a man has such a dream, it’s not just bizarre—it’s almost insane.

When Lin Laizi woke up, he was completely disoriented. He rushed home in a hurry, crossing paths with a few men who were out early to fetch water. Unlike before, when he would smile and joke around, Lin Laizi quickly covered his backside and ran off.

At this point, Lin Laizi was still reeling from the nightmare, and he felt as though every man he encountered now had ill intentions toward him.

But this was just the beginning. From that day on, Lin Laizi had increasingly disturbing dreams every night. Over time, he became afraid to sleep, forcing himself to stay awake, which caused his mental state to quickly deteriorate.

Eventually, he even refused to leave the house.

This became a source of frustration for Luo Manzhen. 

Lin Laizi was an important part of her plan to deal with Wen Xin. She would have liked to find someone else, but within a ten-mile radius, who else had the same kind of nerve that Lin Laizi had?

It’s important to know that in his past life, Lin Laizi was a notorious pervert who had an insatiable lust for women. 

He targeted females ranging from eighty years old to twelve or thirteen, using extremely brutal methods. 

Eventually, he was caught, and the case became one of the most significant criminal cases in Ji Province, codenamed “Perverted Assault.”

Lin Laizi stopped going out, and Luo Manzhen couldn’t visit him at home either. 

What if someone found out? 

With no other choice, Luo Manzhen had to come up with a new plan.

—-

After Wen Yuejun spoke with Lin Shuisheng, Lin Jianzhang sent a letter to Wen Xin. 

Upon receiving it, Wen Xin furrowed her brow deeply.

Lin Jianzhang would be coming to Pufeng County to participate in a counteroffensive training at the local military base and would stay for a month. 

He wanted to meet with her.

Wen Xin recalled that in the previous life, before Luo Manzhen had been reborn, Lin Jianzhang had also come to Pufeng County’s military district for a month. 

Because it was close to home, and Lin Jianzhang was quite proactive with the original person, their relationship had advanced rapidly that they had gotten married in June.

Wen Xin found herself torn between letting Lin Jianzhang continue entangling with Luo Manzhen and waiting for a resolution before breaking up with him, or cutting ties with him decisively before it went any further.

Before she could come to a decision, the day after receiving the letter, while at work, Wen Xin was informed that someone was looking for her. 

She left her office and saw a man standing tall in the courtyard, about 1.75 meters, dressed in military green uniform.