Chapter 43 – The Female Supporting Character Whose Life Was Taken Away by a Transmigrated Woman

Wen Xin hadn’t reacted yet when Qin Yishu, who had just gotten off the car, rushed forward and slapped Wen Chengzhi twice, one on each cheek. She put all her strength into it, causing his face to echo with loud slaps.

Wen Chengzhi finally got a good look at Qin Yishu’s face, and his pupils constricted in shock. “Zhou Yi? Are you Zhou Yi?” Before he could finish speaking, Wen Chengzhi immediately dismissed his own thought. “No, you’re not Zhou Yi.”

Zhou Yi had died long ago, and he had personally buried her.

Qin Yishu slapped him twice more, but even then, she didn’t feel satisfied. This was the man who had tortured her niece for so many years.

Meanwhile, Old Qin walked over and said: “Oh, I’m curious to know, how did you make it so that we can’t leave this village?”

Old Zhang followed closely behind and said: “Old Qin, this is really something new. It’s been years since anyone dared speak to us like this. The last time I heard someone talk like this was when we were fighting bandits. Could it be that this Danxi village is still a den of bandits?”

The village chief of Danxi, who had been playing cards under the big banyan tree, heard these people making such an accusation against the village, and his scalp tingled. He hurried over to explain: “No, no, our village has had eight generations of pure farmers, we have no connection to bandits. Wen Chengzhi, are you still drunk, talking nonsense?”

Once Wen Chengzhi had money, he would occasionally buy good cigarettes and alcohol to please the village chief. The village wasn’t large, and both the village chief and the village secretary were locals. Wen Chengzhi hung out with them often, learning their ways of using power to intimidate others.

He flattered them well, and both the village secretary and the village chief gave him face. The reason the villagers helped him search for Wen Xin when she ran away last time was partly due to this.

Old Qin glanced at the village chief, and without giving a direct response, he simply observed.

The village chief had seen a lot in life and was far more perceptive than Wen Chengzhi. Seeing the group of people in front of him, he realized they were no simple folk. So, he stepped aside, bowing and ingratiating himself.

Wen Chengzhi saw the village chief acting this way, and when he looked at Qin Yishu, who resembled Zhou Yi, he finally realized that Zhou Yi’s family had arrived. His face turned pale, his complexion a mix of green and white.

Old Zhang signaled Xiao Huang to release Wen Chengzhi, who then grinned, stretching his limbs.

Old Qin glanced at him and found him irritating. He turned his gaze to the village chief and narrowed his eyes. “You’re the village chief of Danxi?”

The village chief sighed: “Yes, I’m the village chief of Danxi. My name is Zhao Guozhong.”

Old Qin nodded. “Hmm, I’m Zhou Yi’s father. I’ve come to see Zhou Yi. Lead the way.”

For a moment, the village chief was stunned. Zhou Yi had a father? Wasn’t she an orphan? He glanced at Wen Chengzhi, whose face changed at once.

The village chief glared at Wen Chengzhi and then led Old Qin and the others.

Wen Chengzhi didn’t follow them. After Wen Xin and the others had left, some of the idle men from the village, just like Wen Chengzhi, walked up to him, patting him on the shoulder. “Chengzhi, is that Zhou Yi’s father? Wow, they even have a car. Looks like they’re pretty wealthy, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah! Chengzhi, you’re not being fair. How come you didn’t tell us about having such a rich father-in-law?”

“If you make it big, don’t forget your brothers!”

Wen Chengzhi, with a dark face, shrugged off their hands and hurriedly ran back home. The men left behind looked displeased.

“What’s up with Wen Chengzhi?”

“What else could it be? He’s the one who abused his niece, now he’s scared.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. You could say his heart’s full of pig fat! He’s so rude to his own daughter. Just now, the things he said to Wen Xin, tsk, even stepparents don’t speak like that. And he’s her real father!”

“Real father? That’s not certain~” Some villagers who knew a bit of the inside story said mysteriously. Their comments drew inquiries from others.

But the man just smiled mysteriously, unwilling to say anything more. After all, his speculations were just that—speculations. If it were in the past, he might have said something, but Zhou Yi was dead, and Wen Xin was just a girl. Even if he shared those speculations, it wouldn’t matter.

Now that Zhou Yi’s family had arrived, and seeing how the village chief was acting, it seemed like they were of some significance. It would be crazy to stir trouble at this point.

Zhou Yi was buried in the back mountain of Danxi village. The grave wasn’t built with much care, just a small mound of dirt with no stone tablet. The grave marker was a wooden board that the Original Owner had written on.

Before leaving, whenever the Original Owner was in a bad mood, she would visit Zhou Yi’s grave, clear the weeds, pile up the dirt. But once the Original Owner left, no one took care of it.

The grass on the grave grew tall. Old Qin rolled up his sleeves and went to pull the weeds. Qin Yishu stepped forward to help, and Wen Xin joined as well. Xiao Zhang took out paper and a basin from the back seat of the car and found a spot to burn them.

The rest of the group wisely stayed back, not disturbing them.

After the paper was burned, they all headed toward the Wen family house.

Wen Chengzhi ran back home and immediately crawled under the bed, prying open a brick from the corner of the wall. When he saw that the small box hidden in the hole was gone, he nearly went mad.

Huang Xiangqin was cooking in the kitchen. Wen Chengzhi rushed to the kitchen, grabbed her by the arm, and demanded: “Huang Xiangqin, did you touch the box hidden in the hole under the bed?”

Huang Xiangqin was startled when Wen Chengzhi suddenly grabbed her. After hearing his question, her heart skipped a beat. “What’s wrong with you early in the morning? Let go of me.”

Huang Xiangqin pried Wen Chengzhi’s hand off, but he grabbed her again. “Answer me, now!”

Huang Xiangqin struggled free. “Are you crazy? We’ve been married for over ten years, when have you ever seen me touch anything under the bed? The last time, there was a mouse under there, and when I suggested moving the bed to clean it, you threw a tantrum. So when would I go near the bed? And since when is there a hole under the bed? Oh, I see! Wen Chengzhi, are you hiding money from me? Huh? Planning to use that money for Widow He, are you?”

Mimicking the quarrels of the village women, Huang Xiangqin slid to the floor, banging her fists on her thighs, and loudly cried: “Oh, I’m so unlucky! I’ve been married for over ten years, I’ve had two children, and you, this old scoundrel, are already messing around with Widow He and her little niece! Now you’re planning to spend money on that niece! Oh, my life is miserable!”

Over the years, Wen Chengzhi still trusted Huang Xiangqin a lot. Her performance—the way she argued and played the victim—successfully made him let go of his suspicions about her.

Muttering “this is bad.” Wen Chengzhi went to the door and squatted, scratching his head.

After a while, he turned around to look at Huang Xiangqin. “Xiangqin, did you ever see me take out a small black, square box?” He gestured the size of the box with his hands.

Huang Xiangqin was fully immersed in her act and naturally ignored him. Wen Chengzhi, now impatient, shouted: “Stop wailing! I’m not dead! I’m asking you—did you ever see me take out a small black box?”

Huang Xiangqin knew she couldn’t keep acting for much longer, so she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, pretending to have tears. “Oh, I did see it once. I remember that our second child was still under four at the time. One day, you came home drunk, and soon after, you took a small box outside. I asked you what was in it, and you yelled at me.”

Since they had money, Wen Chengzhi had developed a habit of drinking, and especially after marrying Huang Xiangqin, who couldn’t control him, he drank even more. As Huang Xiangqin had said, he would often take things from the house when he was drunk.

“Why didn’t you stop me?” Wen Chengzhi yelled, stomping outside.

“I wanted to stop you, but Wen Chengzhi, don’t you know what kind of man you are? Every time I tried to stop you from taking things outside when you were drunk, what did you do? You beat me up, didn’t you? Huh? Am I so pathetic that I would try to stop you, only to get beaten?” Huang Xiangqin snapped. “Alright, stop it now. It’s the fifteenth day of the first month. I still need to cook dinner. I don’t have time to listen to your drunken nonsense.”

Wen Chengzhi continued to squat outside, scratching his head as he tried to remember where he had placed the box all those years ago. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t recall.

Before he could figure it out, the village chief arrived, leading Old Qin and the others.

Old Qin and his daughter surveyed the Wen family’s home. The house was made of blue bricks and tiles, with a wing that had everything one could need. In the yard, a small patch was set aside for growing vegetables. Though the house was a bit old, it still looked spacious and impressive.

The village chief spoke up: “This house was built when Zhou Yi married in. It’s the first of its kind in the village.”

Old Qin and his group simultaneously let out a cold laugh.

The village chief acted as if he hadn’t noticed, stepping forward and pushing open the yard gate. Wen Chengzhi, who had been squatting at the door, immediately stood up. He looked at Old Qin and his group, trying to force a smile, but accidentally tugged at the corner of his mouth, which had been injured by Qin Yishu’s slap. The pain made him suck in a sharp breath.

He forced a smile, trying to appear as kind as possible, and waved at Wen Xin. “Xiaoxin, come here to Daddy.”

“You ran off without a word, and I was so worried about you. I had the people in the village search for you all day. When I heard you were in Provincial Capital, I went there for several days to find you. You didn’t even come back for the New Year. When I suddenly saw you, of course, I was angry!”

Wen Chengzhi spoke with an unprecedented kind tone, yet every word and every implication placed the blame for his actions against Wen Xin squarely on her shoulders. 

Anyone who didn’t know the situation might think that Wen Xin was the one being disobedient and troublesome.

Qin Yishu sneered. “Don’t spew nonsense. We’ve already investigated what kind of person you were before we came. Now tell me, how exactly did my Little Sister die?”

Qin Yishu didn’t believe that her Little Sister, Yixin, would have died from emotional distress. Yixin, eight years younger than her, was the girl she had raised herself. Qin Yishu knew her better than anyone. Yixin was the strongest person she knew. Losing Xiao Liangcai might have caused her some despair, might have saddened her for a while, and might have left her with regret for the rest of her life, but she would never have been weak enough to let despair consume her.

Without Xiao Liangcai, she still had Wen Xin!

Wen Chengzhi’s face instantly turned pale, and it felt as though he was back in that night…