Chapter 77 : Caught in the act

Shen Subai felt as if his whole body were burning with heat. Though he still had some clarity of mind, he looked at Shu Ruxue beside him and suddenly felt his mouth go dry. He realized that they had been drugged with some kind of aphrodisiac.

It really seemed that being near Shu Ruxue brought nothing but bad luck. He closed his eyes and pinched his thigh hard. The pain jolted him awake. When Shu Ruxue tried to throw herself at him, he was so startled that he dodged her touch. Unexpectedly, in the process, he slipped and fell into the river with a loud ‘plop’.

The cold water cleared his mind. He swam to a more secluded part of the river where the water wasn’t deep, sitting down, his whole head could still remain above the surface. Finally, he felt some relief. But the heat in his body still surged periodically, although he could bear it. So he stayed in the water, focusing all his attention on resisting the effects of the drug, completely ignoring Shu Ruxue, who had collapsed on the riverbank.

Shu Ruxue lay sprawled on the ground, her belly exposed, completely dazed. She tugged at her clothes and writhed on the ground. Xue Zhigang had come to the river with a basin to bathe when he heard a woman’s low moans. Curious, he followed the sound and was shocked by the sight before him.

As he drew closer, he saw that it was Shu Ruxue. Remembering her family background, a cunning light flashed in his eyes. He quickly went over and helped her up. Shu Ruxue began clinging to him and touching him all over. He pretended to resist, while in fact enjoying the embrace of a beautiful woman.

“Shu Ruxue, you… let go… you can’t do this… let me go… why are you so hot… are you sick?” He carried Shu Ruxue to a hidden bush near the riverbank.

A short while later, sounds of moaning and gasping could be heard from the bushes. On the opposite side of the river, Shen Subai heard the rhythmic cries of and was tormented even more by the sounds.

Not far away, a group of men who were swimming in the river also heard the noise.

“Who’s having sex out here in the open? They’re bold.”

“That woman’s voice is something else. It’s making my scalp tingle. I want to see who it is.”

The group quickly swam ashore, put on their clothes, and ran toward the source of the sounds. A few of them also ran to inform the village head.

Meanwhile, Xue Zhiqiang had just gotten home and was being bombarded with his mother’s criticisms and scolding. He never imagined that Shu Ruxue would end up rolling around with his own brother.

Xue Zhigang heard the sound of many footsteps approaching and roughly shook Shu Ruxue awake. By then, most of the drug’s effects had worn off. Shu Ruxue instantly came to her senses. When she realized what kind of situation she was in, she gasped in horror, “What—” only for her mouth to be immediately covered by Xue Zhigang’s large hand.

“Someone’s coming. Put your clothes on fast, or the whole village will see you naked. I can’t afford to lose face! I helped you out of kindness, and you turned around and took advantage of me, where am I supposed to go for justice now?” Xue Zhigang hissed. He wasn’t being noble. He figured that Shu Ruxue would become his wife sooner or later. If others saw her naked, he’d feel humiliated for the rest of his life.

Shu Ruxue instantly realized how bad her situation was. She had no time to wallow in shame the last thing she wanted was to be seen naked. She quickly got off of Xue Zhigang and hurried to get dressed. Though her clothes were a bit disheveled, at least she was covered.

“Hey! Why did it suddenly go quiet? Did that couple run off when they saw us coming?” someone asked.

“They must be hiding. It won’t take us long to run over there. They’ve got to be in the bushes somewhere. Let’s split up and look for them. Don’t let that couple get away!”

Seeing the crowd getting closer, Shu Ruxue panicked and said to Xue Zhigang, “Hurry up and jump into the river and hide, or it’ll be too late!”

Xue Zhigang, though, had no intention of cooperating. He wanted to pull up his pants and deny everything but that would depend on whether he was willing. Out of Shu Ruxue’s sight, he deliberately rustled the nearby water plants with his hands. Then he replied, “Fine, but you’d better not deny this later. You’ve already ruined my innocence.”

The villagers saw the water plants shaking and rushed over.

“Stop! You still want to run?”

Xue Zhigang didn’t even have time to jump into the river before he quickly pulled Shu Ruxue behind him.

“Everyone come quick! I found them. Hey wait, Xue Zhigang? Are you messing around with that young widow?”

“You’re not seriously having an affair, are you? Step aside, let us see who’s fooling around with you.”

“Xue Zhigang, you’re so bold! You dare to have an affair? If we report this, you could both be executed!”

“We’re not having an affair! We’re dating!” he shouted in desperation.

A local troublemaker yanked Xue Zhigang aside. When he saw Shu Ruxue, he burst out laughing.

“Isn’t this Shu Ruxue? Don’t you already have a fiancé? So now you’re two-timing and playing the field like a hooligan?”

“I’m not! This is all a misunderstanding. We’re both innocent!” Shu Ruxue cried out in panic.

“We heard everything clearly. Just look at your messy clothes, the hickeys on your necks, and all this chaos on the ground. Do you think we’re blind?”

“Come out, you two, and explain what exactly you were doing. I need something to report back to the county.” The village captain had just wanted a glass of wine to relax, but instead got dragged into this drama. This was the second scandal like this in the past ten days. He was utterly fed up.

“Captain, we’re dating,” said Xue Zhigang quickly, nudging Shu Ruxue as a signal to go along with the story.

“Yes, Captain, Zhigang and I are dating,” Shu Ruxue echoed, her face full of distress. She felt like her life was over. Her mind was a complete mess. She vaguely remembered that Brother Subai had been with her when they followed Yun Siying. Later, when the heat took over and she was about to pounce on him, he seemed to have fallen into the river…

The captain was speechless. Did they really think he was that naive? But since she was willing to cooperate, he played along. “Since you’re dating, come to my office tomorrow morning to get your relationship registered and receive your marriage certificate.”

Villagers from the entrance of the village began to arrive as well, including Xu Ziying. She had seen Yun Siying return to the Youth Courtyard alone looking disheveled and had learned that Xue Zhiqiang had already gone home. But there was no sign of Shu Ruxue or Shen Subai, and her eyelids began to twitch with anxiety.

She sensed that things were getting out of control, but she still had to keep up appearances, sitting and chatting with the other aunts and women in the village. Everyone envied her, her adopted daughter came from a powerful family, and her biological daughter had married into the prestigious Shu family. It was a double blessing.

What she never expected was that Shu Ruxue had actually been drugged and ended up with Xue Zhigang. And what about Shen Subaiwas he also drugged? Where had he gone? Could someone else have intercepted him along the way?