Chapter 24

The Zhu and Huo families were all stunned.

Huo Jianzhang and the others looked at Lan Yun’er in disbelief. “Lan Yun’er, did you really push Wang Zhiqiang?” After a pause, Qi Huifang, who had just been humiliated, couldn’t help but smile triumphantly. “Did you all hear that? Lan Yun’er just admitted it herself. She admitted to pushing Zhiqiang down the mountain!”

“Lan Yun’er, did you really push him?” Yao Guizhi tugged at Lan Yun’er’s sleeve; her voice steady as she spoke. “If you didn’t push him, don’t admit to it!”

Wang Zhiqiang had injured his leg badly, and the compensation wouldn’t be a small amount of money. The Huo family definitely didn’t want to bear this cost.

“Yao Guizhi, what are you talking about? She just admitted it herself, right? We all heard it clearly, so don’t think you can deny it today!” Qi Huifang shouted sharply; her tone arrogant. After a pause, she looked at Lan Yun’er and said, “Lan Yun’er, since we’re all from the same village, I won’t ask for too much. You can just compensate us 300 yuan.”

300 yuan! Yao Guizhi and Huo Jianzha gasped. 300 yuan was not a small amount. The Huo family didn’t even have 300 yuan in total right now. For Qi Huifang to demand 300 yuan was outrageous!

Cao Yunxia, standing beside them, frowned and quickly added, “Let me be clear first, Junda and I have no money. If we have to pay these 300 yuan, it will be up to Lan Yun’er herself. We can’t help her!” Cao Yunxia secretly relished the situation. “Heh, this little vixen, Lan Yun’er, really has a cruel heart. She pushed Wang Zhiqiang down the mountain, and now they’re asking her to bleed money!”

Cao Yunxia’s words made the Huo family’s faces darken. Yao Guizhi turned to glare at her. “Shut up!”

Cao Yunxia smirked but didn’t argue. After all, she had no intention of helping Lan Yun’er.

At this moment, Lan Yun’er ignored Cao Yunxia’s antics. She walked over to Zhong Cuitao, whispered a few words to her, and Zhong Cuitao’s eyes widened in surprise. “Xiaoyun, is that really possible?”

Lan Yun’er nodded. “Yes, it’s fine.”

Zhong Cuitao hesitated, then bit her lip and looked at Lan Yun’er. “Alright, I’ll do as you said.” She turned and entered her house.

Her room, shared with Huo Junda, had a back door. Lan Yun’er had asked her to leave through the back and go find someone in the village, Zhou Mingyue.

Zhou Mingyue glanced at Lan Yun’er and then at Zhong Cuitao’s retreating figure. She frowned slightly and then walked over to her cousin, Zhou Biwu. She whispered to him for a moment, and he nodded, turning to leave the yard.

Lan Yun’er, with her sharp eyes, noticed Zhou Biwu walking out and raised an eyebrow, letting out a cold laugh.

She lightly waved her fingers, casting a spell. Suddenly, Qi Huifang yelled again, “300 yuan for medical expenses. Lan Yun’er, you also need to prepare some nutrition for Zhiqiang. I don’t want anything too fancy, just bring seven chickens a week.”

Seven chickens! Yao Guizhi and Huo Jianzhang gasped. Seven chickens were an absurd demand! It wasn’t a small sum, and the entire Huo family didn’t even have 300 yuan to spare! Qi Huifang was being unreasonable!

Cao Yunxia frowned as she watched. “I need to make something clear. Junda and I have no money left. If you want to pay these 300 yuan, it’s up to Lan Yun’er. We can’t help her!”

Zhong Cuitao hesitated for a moment, feeling uneasy, but Lan Yun’er gave her a firm nod.

“Okay, I’ll pay it myself, and I’m willing to take full responsibility for it.”

She glanced at her mother and secretly thought that her mother was so greedy. If it weren’t for her greedily using her cousin’s status as a university student to make excessive demands on the Huo family, they wouldn’t have been ridiculed now. Her gaze darkened for a moment. She slightly parted her red lips and looked at Yao Guizhi and Lan Yun’er, saying, “It was my mom’s mistake earlier. She shouldn’t have used my cousin’s university student identity to make unreasonable demands on Xiaoyun. But Xiaoyun…” She turned her tone more seriously, “My cousin was pushed down the mountain by you, which is an undeniable fact. So, no matter what, you must compensate my cousin.”

Lan Yun’er raised her eyebrows and calmly looked at Zhou Mingyue. She slowly asked, “What do you mean by ‘undeniable fact’? Who said this is a fact?”

“Lan Yun’er, what do you mean by that? Are you denying it? You admitted it just now, and now you can’t deny it!” Zhou Mingyue’s face darkened, and her tone became sharp.

Lan Yun’er smiled and said, “When did I admit it? Did I ask you what you wanted me to compensate for? I only asked that to see what demands you’d make, just to see how shameless you all are.”

“You!” Zhou Mingyue was furious. Lan Yun’er had become so sharp-tongued. She clenched her fist and tried to suppress her anger. After a slight snort, she said, “Lan Yun,er, I know you don’t want to pay, which is why you’re denying it, but you…”

“You keep saying that I pushed your cousin down the mountain. Do you have any evidence? If you don’t, then you’re just slandering me!” Huo Jinchen suddenly spoke, his voice deep.

Zhou Mingyue froze for a moment, not expecting Huo Jinchen to suddenly question her. She turned to look at him, pondered for a second, and quickly said, “Of course there is evidence. Someone saw Lan Yun’er push my cousin down the mountain!”

“Someone saw it?” Everyone’s eyes turned to Zhou Mingyue, and some villagers curiously asked, “Who saw it? Who saw it?”

A girl with dark skin, short stature, and not very good looks stepped forward. She raised her neck and loudly said, “I saw it. I saw Lan Yun’er push Wang Zhiqiang down the mountain!”

“Huang Qianqian, did you really see it?” A villager stared at the girl and asked.

The girl’s name was Huang Qianqian. She had once liked Huo Jinchen and wanted to marry him, but her family, like Zhou’s, looked down on the Huo family, thinking they were too poor. In the end, she watched as Lan Yun’er married Huo Jinchen, and she resented her.

Today, when she went up the mountain, she happened to find Wang Zhiqiang who had fallen and helped him. Wang Zhiqiang, after being saved, said that he liked her and wanted to develop their relationship and take her to the city. Going to the city was a dream for every girl in the village, so when Wang Zhiqiang said this, Huang Qianqian immediately agreed.

Later, Wang Zhiqiang asked her to be a false witness and slander Lan Yun’er. She agreed without hesitation because, after all, Wang Zhiqiang would be her man in the future, and a man’s words should be obeyed. Besides, she hated Lan Yun’er and wished she were dead. So, when there was an opportunity to trouble Lan Yun’er, she certainly wouldn’t miss it.

Huang Qianqian turned to look at the villager and nodded, “I really saw it. Lan Yun’er was so fierce at that time. She said she hated Zhou Mingyue and Zhou Mingli because they both coveted Huo Jinchen, so she vented her anger on Wang Zhiqiang. Wang Zhiqiang was just a pitiful person, caught in the middle because he was the cousin of Zhou Mingyue and Zhou Mingli.”

The villagers looked at Huang Qianqian and began to ponder. Was what she said true? If it were true, then Lan Yun’er really shouldn’t have done it.

Lan Yun’er smiled faintly, her gaze fixed on Huang Qianqian as she spoke slowly, “To be able to lie so confidently without even blushing or gasping for breath, I really admire you.”