Chapter 24 What? Fatty gave birth to my baby?

There was no one left to respond to Jiang Beiyang.

Xie Zhongming's old-fashioned bicycle, carrying Qiao Xingyue, had long since ridden far away along the dirt road through the rolling green waves of cornfields.

The corn stalks rustled on both sides, and the two figures, along with the turning of the wheels, slowly blended into the breezy countryside. The bumpy dirt road caused Qiao Xingyue to bump into Xie Zhongming's hard back several times before quickly stepping back, causing Xie Zhongming's back to tense up.

He gripped the handlebars of the bicycle tightly, but his voice remained as steady as ever, "Comrade Qiao, you must have been terrified today?"

"It's alright, I'm used to it."

Qiao Xingyue, sitting in the back seat, grabbed the metal frame under the seat and responded calmly. She had encountered such dangerous situations more than once and was no longer flustered.

"You're really brave."

His calm voice revealed Xie Zhongming's praise, his lingering fear, and a pity that he himself was unaware of. Most women would have been completely flustered if they encountered such a situation.

Comrade Qiao, on the other hand, didn't let that scoundrel humiliate her in the slightest. Instead, she beat him up and sent him straight to the police station. This woman really acts like a man. But how many difficulties and dangers, how many times did she have to endure hardship to develop such strength and courage?

Her simple words, "I'm used to it," concealed a great deal of hardship.

Xie Zhongming stepped on the pedals with even more stability, without even realizing it himself. His eyes had long since changed from initial admiration to unconcealed heartache.

...

Outside the Xie family compound, Huang Guilan stood alone, pacing back and forth.

The sun was almost setting, and there was still no news from Xingyue. She was feeling anxious. Someone passed by and greeted her, calling her Aunt Huang.

She asked again, "Aunt Huang, who are you waiting for here? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Huang Guilan could not hear anyone talking to her.

She was so preoccupied with Xingyue's safety that she was completely lost in thought until the person called her name twice more, at which point she gave a perfunctory reply.

Xingyue went out at noon to deliver lunch to her husband, Xie, but never returned. Xie Zhongming came back and revealed some information, saying that Jiang Yongqiang, that scoundrel, had been following Xingyue. Xingyue's bicycle was lying on its side in the cornfield, and there were drag marks in the cornfield, but they just couldn't find Xingyue.

Huang Guilan was feeling very uneasy, but she didn't dare to show it in front of the children, so she could only let her eldest daughter-in-law's two sons, Zhiyuan and Mingyuan, take An'an and Ningning to play in the house.

If anything happens to Xingyue... An'an and Ningning were born without a father, how pitiful they would be if they suddenly lost their mother as well.

Huang Guilan's eyes reddened several times. She hid outside the courtyard alone, wiping away tears countless times.

"Ring ring!"

A bicycle, a 28-inch model, approached from a distance.

Through Huang Guilan's tear-blurred vision, Xie Zhongming rode his old bicycle with Qiao Xingyue on the back, slowly returning home in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Before the bicycle even got close, Huang Guilan ran up to it, "Xingyue, you scared Aunt Lan to death!"

Tears streamed down her face.

Seeing Aunt Lan's worry, Qiao Xingyue jumped off the bicycle before Xie Zhongming could even stop it properly, and Huang Guilan grabbed her hand tightly.

When she felt Huang Guilan tighten her grip on her hand, her own hand trembled. Aunt Lan was genuinely worried about her, felt sorry for her, and cared for her. Her eyes also reddened. "Aunt Lan, I'm fine. I'm sorry to have worried you!"

“Then Jiang Yongqiang…” Huang Guilan’s throat tightened, and she felt a tightness in her chest. She dared not say the words ‘bullying you’.

Seeing this, Qiao Xingyue quickly comforted her, "Aunt Lan, I sent that scoundrel Jiang Yongqiang to the police station. I wasn't bullied by him; on the contrary, I beat him up."

“Mom, it’s true,” Xie Zhongming added. “When Xingyue inserted a silver needle, even my arm went numb and I couldn’t use it.”

When Xie Zhongming injured his genitals, Huang Guilan later inquired with Jiang Beiyang about the entire process of Xingyue performing surgery on him. Xingyue could numb her fourth son's hand with a single injection, rendering him powerless; she could certainly do the same to Jiang Yongqiang.

Huang Guilan breathed a sigh of relief, but was still terrified. "Xingyue, although you are brave and know how to acupuncture, you are not allowed to deliver food to your Uncle Xie starting tomorrow. I should have known that the cornfield was not safe. It's all my fault; I almost got you into trouble."

Huang Guilan is still shaken!

...

Inside the room, Deng Yingying sat at a square table picking celery.

Jiang Chunyan was cracking sunflower seeds beside her. "Yingying, what vegetables are you picking? We'll have the nanny come back and cook later. She's the one who does all this work."

Deng Yingying scoffed inwardly: Ha! If Qiao Xingyue could come back to cook, she would have been back long ago. Who knows, she might have been bullied by her brother Yongqiang and is probably hiding by some river crying right now, or she might even have jumped in without thinking.

Even if Qiao Xingyue were to come back with the face she deserves, her relationship with Zhongming is completely over.

Hearing footsteps coming from outside the main room, Deng Yingying continued picking vegetables, and deliberately said, "Mom, Aunt Lan is willing to let us live here, so you should be mindful of your responsibilities and not always expect Sister Xingyue to do everything. Also, Aunt Lan is very clean, so could you please not spit those sunflower seed shells on the ground?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Huang Guilan led Qiao Xingyue into the main room, followed by Xie Zhongming, who had a serious expression on his face.

Seeing the several cuts on Qiao Xingyue's face from corn leaves, her messy hair, and her clothes covered in mud and straw, looking dirty and disheveled, Deng Yingying felt a surge of secret joy. She thought, "Yongqiang must have already slept with her." But she feigned concern and asked anxiously, "Sister Xingyue, what happened? Did you fall off your bike? Sit down quickly, I'll treat your wounds."

As she spoke, Deng Yingying put down the celery she had picked halfway through, stood up, and took Qiao Xingyue's hand, wanting her to sit down.

Qiao Xingyue swiftly brushed Deng Yingying aside and coldly asked, "Comrade Deng, have you seen Jiang Yongqiang today?"

Jiang Yongqiang was able to lie in ambush in the cornfield to wait for her, so someone must have told him where she was.

There are two possibilities.

First, Deng Yingying knew that Jiang Yongqiang was a habitual bully of women, so she deliberately told him her whereabouts, waiting to see what would happen.

Second, Deng Yingying instigated Jiang Yongqiang to assault her.

Qiao Xingyue guessed that it was probably the former.

Deng Yingying said generously, "Yes, I have. Oh, by the way, Brother Yongqiang brought you a bag of brown sugar today and specifically asked me to give it to you."

As she spoke, Deng Yingying turned around and took out the bag of brown sugar tied with hemp rope, handing it to her. "When Brother Yongqiang brought the brown sugar, I told him you went to deliver food to Uncle Xie, and then he put down the brown sugar and left. What's wrong, Sister Xingyue?"

Hmph! You've really kept it well hidden!

From this perspective, it seems that Deng Yingying deliberately revealed her whereabouts to Jiang Yongqiang because she knew that Jiang Yongqiang was a repeat offender. It's possible that Jiang Yongqiang had already abused other women back in his hometown, but he was just lucky that he hadn't been caught.

Deng Yingying's malicious intentions were concealed by her feigned ignorance and uprightness; she was truly underestimated.

Qiao Xingyue said decisively, "I've taken Jiang Yongqiang to the police station!"

"What happened?" Jiang Chunyan asked, looking puzzled. She glanced at her daughter and then at Qiao Xingyue. "Qiao Xingyue, why did you take my nephew to the police station? He just brought you a bag of brown sugar, wanting to date you. Did you have to be so cruel? What did you do to Yongqiang?"

It seems that Jiang Chunyan was unaware of this.

She snorted, "You should ask your precious daughter, Deng Yingying, what Jiang Yongqiang did."

Upon hearing this, Deng Yingying put on an innocent face, "Sister Xingyue, what are you saying? I don't understand anything. What did Brother Yongqiang do to offend you that you want to send him to the police station?"

Huang Guilan, who had been silent on the side, thought about it carefully and suddenly understood what was going on.

Xingyue had just delivered food to Zhongming's father when Jiang Yongqiang came to the door. Deng Yingying opened the door for Jiang Yongqiang, and the two whispered to each other for a while by the gate in front of the courtyard.

"Yingying, did you give Jiang Yongqiang this bad idea, so that he would make a move on Xingyue and drag her into the cornfield?"

Huang Guilan realized this and suddenly felt that Deng Yingying was too unfamiliar and too terrifying. This girl dared to harm Xingyue like this just so she could marry Lao Si after his divorce.

“Yingying, how come Aunt Lan never knew you were so malicious?”

Deng Yingying was about to cry, her red eyes brimming with tears of grievance. "Aunt Lan, I don't understand what you're saying. I didn't do anything. I just accepted a packet of brown sugar from Brother Yongqiang to Sister Xingyue..."

Tears streamed down her face as she wept.

It fell down with a pattering sound.

If Deng Yingying had cried like this before, Huang Guilan would definitely have softened, but now the more she thought about it, the more something seemed off. "Yingying, are you still pretending?"

"Aunt Lan, I... I wasn't pretending! What did I do to make Aunt Lan so angry?"

Xie Zhongming, who had been silent all along, thought it over and then his serious and cold gaze fell on Deng Yingying. "Did you deliberately tell Jiang Yongqiang that Comrade Qiao would have to pass through that cornfield to deliver food to my father?"

With an innocent look on her face, Deng Yingying burst into tears. "Brother Zhongming, I did tell Brother Yongqiang that Sister Xingyue went to deliver food to Uncle Xie, but I only told him when Brother Yongqiang asked me."

As long as she stubbornly denies having any other intentions, she won't break the law even if the police ask her to give a statement.

Then, feigning concern, she asked, "Sister Xingyue, what happened? Did Brother Yongqiang go to the cornfield to look for you? Did he... bully you?"

Her sobs grew more and more intense, a mixture of feigned remorse and guilt. "Sister Xingyue, I'm sorry, I didn't know Brother Yongqiang would have such intentions towards you. He... he really dragged you into the cornfield?"

Oh!

That's wonderful!

Qiao Xingyue has now been raped by Brother Yongqiang.

Even if Brother Zhongming, Aunt Lan, and Uncle Xie like her, they won't accept her back. How could a respectable regimental commander marry a used woman? The Xie family also cares about their reputation.

"Sister Xingyue, I really didn't know this would happen."

"Sister Xingyue, I'm so sorry!"

"Sister Xingyue, don't be afraid. Jiang Yongqiang is a beast. I will definitely get justice for you later."

They're acting so convincingly!

It's disgusting.

Qiao Xingyue really disliked dealing with such a scheming woman. She couldn't let herself be tricked by her. She calmed herself down and said, "Sister Yingying, look, I'm injured. Can you come to my room and help me treat my wound?"

“Yes, yes!” Deng Yingying nodded repeatedly.

The two went upstairs.

Upon reaching the door, Qiao Xingyue forcefully pushed Deng Yingying, who was still acting, through the door.

She closed the door.

After she locked the latch, she turned around and her sharp gaze swept over Deng Yingying inch by inch.

Seeing this, Deng Yingying felt a chill run down her spine. "Sister Xingyue, are you badly injured?"

Qiao Xingyue approached step by step, "There's no one else here, stop acting."

Deng Yingying took a step back, "Sister Xingyue, what, what are you saying?"

The next instant, Qiao Xingyue had a silver needle in her hand, which she pierced into Deng Yingying's Tian Tu acupoint.

This acupoint is located on the vocal cords.

After the injection, Deng Yingying felt a numbness in her throat. She tried to speak, but her voice was too hoarse to come out. Terrified, she took several steps back and finally fell to the ground. Her panicked and frightened eyes seemed to say: You, you, what are you going to do?

But even after straining her throat, Deng Yingying couldn't utter a single word.

“You knew perfectly well that Jiang Yongqiang was a habitual rapist of female comrades, yet you deliberately told him that I had to pass through the cornfield to deliver lunch to Uncle Xie.”

"What, you want to see me being raped by him?"

“I can tell you with absolute certainty that Jiang Yongqiang didn’t touch me with a single finger. On the contrary, I beat him up. When I beat him up, he was just as cowardly and scared as you are now.”

The silver needles in his hand were inserted into Deng Yingying's different acupoints one after another, especially her Shaoshang, Shangyang and Taichong acupoints...

These acupoints have low tolerance, and the pain during acupuncture is amplified infinitely. In just a moment, Deng Yingying was sweating profusely from the pain, and she was not only powerless to fight back, but also unable to make a sound.

Seeing Deng Yingying in pain, sweat pouring down her face and tears streaming down her face, Qiao Xingyue finally felt relieved and gave her another injection before she regained her voice.

"Qiao Xingyue, aren't you afraid I'll tell Aunt Lan and Brother Zhongming that you bullied me?"

"How did I bully you, hit you, or beat you up? Do you have any injuries? Do you have any proof?"

Seeing that she indeed had no injuries, Deng Yingying turned green with anger, "You..."

Qiao Xingyue took out a small round mirror from the Hongmei brand, wrapped in a plastic case. While applying iodine to the wound on her face, she said decisively, "If you have evidence, go and sue me at the police station."

Deng Yingying really had no evidence to sue her. The acupuncture she had just received was so intense and fast that it didn't even leave a needle mark. She could only swallow her anger.

So much so that when Qiao Xingyue came downstairs and deliberately praised Deng Yingying for her meticulous treatment of the wound, Deng Yingying was so frustrated that she couldn't utter a single word in front of Xie Zhongming and Huang Guilan. The spot where Qiao Xingyue had pricked her still ached like it was being bitten by ants. Deng Yingying didn't know what kind of amazing acupuncture technique Qiao Xingyue had used, and just thinking about it made her afraid to provoke Qiao Xingyue again.

At this moment, Jiang Beiyang called out from outside the courtyard of the Xie family's two-story building, "Zhongming, come out for a moment."

Jiang Beiyang mentioned at noon that there was news about Fatty in Kuncheng. He walked out of the courtyard alone and asked, "What news did you find out about Fatty?"

"Before I tell you about Fatty, Zhongming, answer one question for me first."

"What's the problem? Ask away, don't keep me in suspense."

Jiang Beiyang said with a serious expression, "Zhongming, you need to answer me seriously. Do you have feelings for Comrade Qiao now?"

Jiang Beiyang knew exactly which of his toes was moving, having grown up with this man since childhood.

This question made Xie Zhongming ponder for a few seconds. He was a married man. "...Comrade Qiao is like family to the Xie family. What are you thinking?"

Sigh! Jiang Beiyang shook his head. His friend was just too upright; even when he liked Comrade Qiao, he didn't dare to face his own feelings. If it weren't for being tricked by Fatty's family five years ago, Zhongming's love life wouldn't have been so bumpy.

“Zhongming, I’ve thought about Pangya’s situation and I still need to tell you. You can decide for yourself how to weigh the pros and cons. Four and a half years ago, someone saw Pangya go to the obstetrics department of a hospital in Kuncheng. She was heavily pregnant at the time, about five or six months along. If you calculate the time, the child should be yours.”

Jiang Beiyang added, "If Fatty is still alive, she should have already given birth to your child."

Standing in the setting sun, Xie Zhongming's mind suddenly went blank, and he couldn't react for a long time. "...What, Fatty had my baby?"