Chapter 57

It wasn’t the weekend yet, but as school let out, Mu Xuehui showed up at her pickled fish restaurant. Qin Ao deliberately stood a distance away, pretending not to see her, but she crossed the street to greet him.

“Qin Ao, what brings you here? Surely you didn’t come just for my pickled fish, did you? I heard there are fish in your rural reservoir. If they’re hard to sell, you could supply them to my restaurant. I’m about to open a second branch and could help you sell over a hundred pounds of fish a day.”

Mu Xuehui’s overly familiar and presumptuous attitude left Qin Ao speechless.

He considered himself handsome and tall, yet he didn’t seem to attract much interest from girls. It was probably due to his low emotional intelligence or his personality. Besides, he already had a girlfriend and wasn’t looking for attention from other girls.

However, Mu Xuehui’s gaze towards him always made him uncomfortable, as if he were a bird in a cage under her watch. Her tone and the way she looked at him were irritating.

They barely knew each other, so why was she so fixated on him?

Ignoring her wasn’t an option either; she kept asking questions persistently, worsening Qin Ao’s already sour mood.

“Mu, do I really need to explain why I’m here? Can’t you tell that I find you annoying? Besides, I already have a girlfriend. I’d prefer to stay away from you to avoid any misunderstandings.”

Mu Xuehui felt hurt. In her previous life, despite the escalating arguments that eventually made her wish they’d never met, there had been a time when she and Qin Ao were close and in love.

She couldn’t understand what had gone wrong in this life to make Qin Ao dislike her so much. She retorted, “Then why don’t you keep your distance when you and Jiang Ruan live together in the countryside?”

At that moment, Qin Yan happened to come out and overheard Mu Xuehui’s questioning. He stepped in on Qin Ao’s behalf.

“Mu Xuehui, are you falling for Qin Ao? Otherwise, what girl would stick her nose into someone else’s business like this? If you like him, then admire from a distance and don’t get in his way. If you don’t, please stay away. Thank you.”

Qin Ao felt a sense of relief. “Exactly what my brother said. Thank you for your affection, but I really don’t like you.”

Mu Xuehui wanted to tell Qin Ao about their relationship in their previous life, but now wasn’t the time. She didn’t want to squander the advantages of her rebirth. She could wait—if he was meant to be hers, he would be hers eventually.

She didn’t hold back and said, “Qin Ao, you and Ran Xiaorong are not suitable for each other. The obstacles between you two are huge. Trust me, you should break up sooner rather than later.”

Qin Ao was furious. Pointing at her back, he complained to Qin Yan, “Who does she think she is to lecture me like that?”

Qin Yan thought that Mu Xuehui couldn’t let go of the achievements from her previous life. Qin Ao had been a symbol of her success, even her husband. But now that they had both been reborn, why didn’t she consider someone else?

It was indeed a peculiar sense of possessiveness.

Qin Yan took Qin Ao to Liang Yong’s barbecue stand, ordered some skewers and roasted chicken, and said, “Forget about Mu Xuehui for now. There’s a more serious matter I need to discuss with you.”

Qin Yan was usually a loner, so for him to want to talk meant something serious, making Qin Ao feel a brotherly bond.

“Go ahead. I’ve been anxious this whole time. It’s not about our family, is it?”

Qin Yan replied, “It is related to your family, but it indirectly affects Jiang Ruan too. Your cousin, Ke Xiu, is stirring up trouble again.”

Ke Xiu was Qin Ao’s maternal cousin. His uncle was a troublemaker who survived off his sisters’ support, especially Qin Ao’s mother, who, as the eldest sister, helped raise his cousin, even managing her marriage. Now, with a grandnephew, the obligations never seemed to end.

Qin Ao’s mother was exhausted and wanted to find a suitable husband for Ke Xiu, hoping she would follow a similar path and look after her father, younger brother, and nephew.

In their previous life, Qin Yan had been falsely accused by Ke Xiu’s daughter of doing inappropriate things to a child. Although he was eventually cleared, no one believed him, and he carried the stigma until his death.

The same incident was likely to happen again on the same day, and now Qin Yan realized that it had been a planned setup all along.

He said, “Ke Xiu wants to marry into the Xun Li family. She came up with a scheme to have her daughter be alone with Xun Li, then falsely accuse him of inappropriate behavior. Her family would then step in, offering to ‘resolve’ the issue by having her marry Xun Li, claiming that as family, such misunderstandings would never happen. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Even though it was a harsh truth, Qin Yan struggled to say it outright.

Qin Ao’s mouth hung open as his mind raced. He couldn’t believe it. How could a mother do that to her own child?

Qin Yan sneered, “What if it was the child’s idea?”

Qin Ao shook his head in disbelief. “That’s still a child. I can’t believe it.”

“Some people might just be born wicked.”

Qin Yan continued, “I don’t want to believe it either, but we have to be prepared. Xun Li would rather go back to prison than give in. If he really ends up falsely imprisoned because of Ke Xiu and her daughter, when he gets out, he’ll definitely seek revenge on their family, and yours won’t be spared either. Jiang Ruan, who is involved in your fish farming business, would also be affected.”

Qin Ao asked, “What’s your solution? I can’t let this happen.”

Qin Yan replied, “Your mom has always been eager to help her family. Tomorrow, go to Xun Li’s place and let her experience the situation firsthand. That might finally convince her to stop meddling in her family’s affairs once and for all.”

“I’m scared,” Qin Ao confessed. This was a situation with no room for error; one wrong move could ruin everything.

Qin Yan said, “Go find Ran Xiaorong and have her accompany you. If you go with your girlfriend, Ke Xiu and her daughter’s plan will fail and be exposed. However, the fact that you have a girlfriend won’t stay secret anymore.”

After some thought, Qin Ao agreed with Qin Yan’s plan. He went to Ran Xiaorong and told her that it was time to cut ties with his mother’s side of the family, and since she was his girlfriend, he didn’t want to ask another girl to help with the act.

“You can say no, really,” Qin Ao said. “I won’t blame you at all. There’s still time for me to come up with another solution.”

Ran Xiaorong was delighted. She had always wanted to make their relationship public, and now she could help her boyfriend while also going public. There was no reason for her to refuse.

…

The weekend arrived, but by the evening, there was still no call from Qin Yan. Jiang Ruan grew worried and asked Zhou Chengzhong to arrange for some people to help watch over the farm. She returned to the city, called around, but Qin Yan wasn’t at school or home. Finally, she went to Liang Yong, who gave her a brief rundown of what had happened.

“Ran Xiaorong suddenly canceled and couldn’t be found, but don’t worry. Yan and the others were prepared, so no one will be in danger.”

Although they were vigilant today, ensuring no one got involved, who would be falsely accused the next time?

It was said that everyone was at Xun Li’s house, and Jiang Ruan had also gone there. When she arrived, she saw several men inside, looking tense and frustrated, drinking tea while discussing imperfect plans.

Jiang Ruan said, “Your methods aren’t great. I came up with an idea. It’s a bit unscrupulous, but see if it’ll work.”

…

Ke Xiu asked Ke Muxiu to accompany her to Xun Li’s house to pick up her daughter, explaining that she didn’t want Xun Li to misunderstand and think she was taking another chance to harass him.

Ke Muxiu, unhappy, said, “Didn’t his sister transfer schools? Why is Xiaoyin at his house again?”

Ke Xiu shook her head helplessly. “I told her not to go again, but you know how hard it is to control kids.”

As they approached the intersection, they saw Lian Jinyin standing by the roadside. When she saw them, tears started streaming down her face, and she stammered out an explanation. Her general meaning was that she had been touched inappropriately by an adult man in the house, and that man was Xun Li.

Ke Muxiu was furious but realized that calling the police might not be a good idea. For one, the accused might not admit it, and secondly, the family couldn’t bear the shame. Ke Xiu and her daughter wouldn’t be able to face anyone.

She asked Ke Xiu what she intended to do. Surprisingly, Ke Xiu was still willing to marry Xun Li, but she was concerned. “He’s already behaving improperly toward Xiaoyin. Aren’t you afraid?”

Ke Xiu said, aggrieved, “I can have Xiaoyin live at her grandmother’s house.”

Ke Muxiu picked up a brick and went to knock on the door. “Even if you’re willing to marry him, I can’t just let this go!”

When the door opened, Ke Muxiu swung the brick at the man’s forehead. Luckily, Qin Ao dodged quickly, narrowly avoiding a blow to the head.

Qin Ao’s mother, still in shock, asked, “Qin Ao, why are you here?”

Qin Ao, puzzled, replied, “Why can’t I be here?”

At this moment, Qin Yan stepped forward and explained, “Qin Ao and I came together to discuss some matters.”

Qin Yan? Ke Xiu’s heart raced. She never expected Qin Yan’s leg to recover. When he was disabled, she had thought about helping him secure a future, even planning to offer him a courtyard house, which would’ve pleased her family. But because of a young nanny, she never got the chance.

Later, when Qin Yan’s leg healed, it became even less likely. After all, she was nearly ten years older than him.

For some reason, an impulse overtook her, and she suddenly asked Lian Jinyin, “Xiaoyin, did you get it wrong just now? Wasn’t it Qin Yan who touched you?”

Qin Ao felt a chill in his heart. So this was how his mother’s family acted when they became malicious, it was inhuman.

Qin Ao pretended to be puzzled and asked, “Mom, what are you talking about?”

Ke Muxiu was no longer blindly loyal to her family, especially with her son present. It was clear that Ke Xiu was trying to shift the blame onto Qin Yan.

Her son and husband still maintained ties with the second uncle’s family. If she helped her family commit perjury, her son and husband might disown her.

Moreover, if the accusation was that Qin Yan had acted inappropriately toward a young girl, how would it affect her son’s reputation, given that he was there with Qin Yan?

Ke Muxiu quickly made up her mind and scolded, “Xiu Xiu, stop fooling around. The child probably said something random because of a previous incident. Let’s go home.”

Lian Jinyin, quick to adapt, changed her story. “I’m not lying. It was Xun Li, and also Qin Yan and Qin Ao. Auntie, you can’t just dismiss my words because your son is involved.”

Knowing her son’s character, Ke Muxiu was certain that Qin Ao would never do such a vile thing.

She pointed at her relatives, who now seemed like strangers. “When did you all become so despicable?”

At this point, Qin Ao realized that some people were inherently evil, regardless of their age.

…

Just then, Jiang Ruan and Xun Li emerged from the backyard. After asking about the situation, Jiang Ruan exclaimed, “No way, Ke Xiu. Do you know how many people were at Xun Li’s house today? Even if they had bad intentions, they wouldn’t call so many people over.”

“There are others?”

Ke Xiu couldn’t believe it. Earlier, she had confirmed that Xun Li’s mother and sister were attending a wedding, leaving him alone at home. Qin Ao and Qin Yan’s appearance was already unexpected—how could there be more people?

Jiang Ruan called out, and Liang Yong, Chang Fuxiang, and Grandma Huang came out. These were people she had carefully selected for their reliability.

Jiang Ruan said, “Your accusations are very serious. They could condemn someone without any chance of redemption. We should call the police and make an official record, otherwise, who could clear things up later?”

The local police arrived soon after to investigate. Jiang Ruan explained the situation in just a few sentences.

“I run a farming business in the countryside. Today, everyone here came to discuss business. We were in the yard testing products when someone knocked on the door. Xun Li went to open it, and we all heard the conversation. It lasted less than three minutes before the young girl left. Later, she came back, and suddenly, the story was that she was harassed by the men inside. Officer, we’d like to press charges against Ke Xiu for malicious slander.”

Qin Ao added, “Officer, I’m somewhat related to the girl. How could I do such a horrible thing?”

Qin Yan said, “My partner is here too. Do you think it’s possible?”

Xun Li sneered, “I’m not a saint, but I wouldn’t do something so vile.”

Chang Fuxiang saw this as his only chance to join their business venture. He just needed to state the facts without lying.

He said, “We really came to discuss business today. We’re all interested in the chickens, ducks, and fish that Jiang runs on her farm. There are even some semi-prepared dishes in the kitchen that I was working on. The officer can check.”

Grandma Huang shook her head and sighed, “I remember back in the ’50s, there was a man in our neighborhood who was executed under the same accusation. The family who falsely accused him didn’t end up well, and they confessed the truth on their deathbeds. I never thought I’d witness something like that again. Fortunately, there are many witnesses today.”

Ke Xiu, pale-faced, argued, “Officer, look at how consistent their testimonies are. This is clearly a setup against me.”

Qin Yan would never forget how, in his past life, he was condemned and humiliated by a group of people who accused him of being a monster. At that time, he had even considered ending his life but felt he shouldn’t let those evil people get away with it. If he wasn’t afraid to die, he’d fight to the bitter end.

However, in this life, there was no need for such desperation. After today, it would be difficult for Ke Xiu and her daughter to use this tactic to force any man’s compliance.

He said coolly, “We didn’t invite you here. How could we have set a trap for you? Your lies are getting too tangled to keep up with.”

The police interviewed the neighbors, and as it turned out, Xun Li had already arranged for reliable witnesses, who, along with unaware neighbors, ‘coincidentally’ saw Ke Xiu and her daughter lurking around earlier.

The police ended the farce, handcuffing Ke Xiu and taking her away.

Although the plan was successful and the threat seemingly eliminated for good, the men still felt uneasy. If they hadn’t prepared in advance, this accusation could have ruined someone’s life.

Qin Yan suddenly noticed Jiang Ruan was gone and anxiously asked, “Did Ruan Ruan leave? Did she say goodbye to anyone?”