Chapter 75 That sound was like a lighter being detonated...

"It's nothing, it's nothing. We're just some old friends from the same village joking and bickering."

Looking at the neighbors who had gathered around, Grandma Chen spoke again.

"So that's how it is. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought that was Panpan's boyfriend!"

"Yeah, I was wondering when Panpan found a boyfriend. Turns out they're from the same village!"

"It's good that nothing happened. Otherwise, we ordinary people would definitely not be able to offend people who drive cars like this."

At this moment, people gathered in front of Chen's pancake shop. Some came to buy things, some came to join in the fun, some came simply to look at the cars, and there were also many businesses nearby.

This time is basically everyone's business peak period.

After emerging and seeing that the trouble seemed resolved, those busy with their business exchanged a few words and hurried back. Meanwhile, those further away, less busy at that hour, like the bicycle shop, pharmacy, and furniture store, stood still, watching. Once there was no more activity to watch, they whispered to those around them, pointing excitedly in this direction, and left.

Just by seeing people pointing and talking at them from a distance, Chen Pan realized that things had become just as Li Chengcai had imagined.

Regardless of whether people nearby were speculating that something was wrong between her and Li Chengcai, or that her family had offended Li Chengcai, there would probably be a lot of rumors circulating afterwards.

This is the way it is in this era. Everyone is extremely sensitive to all kinds of gossip.

Regardless of whether it was before or after, the most effective way for some bad people to take revenge on women is always to ruin her reputation and destroy her innocence.

Anyway, at this moment, Li Chengcai's purpose seems to be to ruin Chen Pan's reputation.

In fact, if this happened in the era when Chen Pan died in his previous life, no one would believe that they were in a premature relationship, and the possibility of quarrels would be more likely. After all, fourteen or fifteen years old is different from sixteen or seventeen years old. At fourteen or fifteen years old, everyone still feels that they are too young to be in a relationship.

Unfortunately, in this era, most girls around here get married at the age of 16 or 17. Plus, compared to other girls, Chen Pan always exudes a sense of maturity. So now that Li Chengcai has done this, everyone's instinctive reaction is that Chen Pan is having an affair with a rich man.

"It's okay, Panpan, go in and continue eating. Don't worry about anything else. Sister-in-law, you continue making the pancakes. Yanni, you go in and ask the customers what they want."

Grandma Chen, who had been slow to react just now, had fully recovered by this time. After casually explaining to everyone outside, she urged Chen Pan to go in and have lunch quickly. When everyone started to move, she said thank you to Qin Yang, who had never left her side.

"It's okay, Grandma Chen. You rented—bought my house, so I'm supposed to protect you. So you guys just go ahead and get busy. If you need anything, just call me. Don't hesitate."

Qin Yang's mentality was still that of a landlord. His family had always been very kind to their tenants. For them, the last thing they wanted was for them to have any conflicts or accidents. Once, when his tenants upstairs got into a fight, his grandfather would go out in the middle of the night to mediate, fearing an accident. If the tenants downstairs got into any dispute, they would rush over to check on them.

Even though Chen Pan's family had bought his house, Qin Yang's renting mentality hadn't changed. Add to that the fact that Chen Pan had reminded his mother to go to the hospital early for surgery and had helped him come up with money-making ideas, and Qin Yang felt obligated to be there as the original landlord and a neighbor and friend when things got tough.

Knowing that now was not the time to talk, Qin Yang casually comforted Grandma Chen and looked at Chen Pan who had already walked in. In the end, he didn't say much and quickly left to go back to his own store.

"What happened at her house? Did they not fight?"

Qin Yang had just returned to her shop when her mother came out of the small dining room next door. It was hot in the summer, so her family had moved to the first floor to cook. Just now, because the cooking was at a critical moment and her mother had to keep stirring the glutinous rice in the pot, she hadn't left.

"No, it seems he just ran into someone from the same village who he didn't have a good relationship with. The man wanted to cause trouble for Panpan, but Grandma Chen scolded him a few times. He mentioned visiting his grandmother, and then he left immediately."

After saying something casually to his mother, Qin Yang quickly followed her inside to serve the meal.

"That kid's surname should be Li Chengcai, right? In the entire Qingshui Village—no, in the entire Chenjia Town, there should only be two or three cars like Li Decheng's." Although Qin Guihua hadn't gone out, she still caught a glimpse of the black Santana through the window. She also saw what appeared to be two young men inside.

Seeing her son quickly mixing the seasoning and picking up the dishes, she also picked up the chopsticks and quickly picked up a portion of cold spinach for him.

When they eat stir-fried rice in the summer, the bottom part is hot, but the side dishes on top are almost all cold dishes, which makes it more comfortable to eat.

"That should be that person. Okay, Mom, you've been tired for so long, so sit down and eat your meal. When you're done, go upstairs and rest. I'll clean up the dishes later." It was lunchtime, and the same was true for his shop. So, at this time, Qin Yang usually carried his bowls and chopsticks to the cashier, eating and watching over the shop at the same time.

"Okay, go out and eat now. Oh, and I just served a plate of food to the neighbors next door. When you're done, bring a bowl to Grandma Chen next door. The jiaotuan is softer, so they should like it."

After undergoing a major operation, Qin Guihua's physical strength was seriously depleted, and she felt listless in everything she did. After casually saying something to her son, she quickly sat down to rest.

"Okay, got it. Mom, don't forget to take your medicine later."

After giving the other party a worried instruction, Qin Yang hurried out after hearing the voice of welcome.

The most popular items sold in the convenience store at noon are actually bread, biscuits, instant noodles, and spicy strips.

After being busy for a while and eating half of his lunch, Qin Yang had no appetite to eat anymore.

After taking a look at his own little house which had become completely quiet, Qin Yang immediately stood up, went inside and took the plate of stir-fried rice that his mother had prepared and went to the next room.

What you actually eat when eating stir-fried rice is the seasonings and side dishes. At this moment, his mother has put a lot of seasonings and side dishes on this plate of stir-fried rice.

Qin Yang felt a little happier when he saw the delicious food.

Chen Pan, who was quietly eating lunch alone in his own little house, was delighted when he saw what he brought.

"Is this what you eat for lunch at home?"

"Yes, my mom said your grandma and the others would really like this, so she asked me to bring you a plate. Isn't this too little? If you don't mind, I can get you another bowl. Even now, all the food in my house is considered leftovers."

In their place, stir-fried rice is actually also called old man's rice. It is the soft and sticky rice that the elderly like the most. So at this moment, although Qin Yang did not say it explicitly, the dish he brought was actually prepared for Grandma Chen and Second Grandma Chen who were busy outside.

Anyway, seeing that Chen Pan seemed to like eating this very much, Qin Yang said without hesitation.

"Is it okay? Do you make a lot at home?" Chen Pan didn't care about the words of dislike. Looking down at his still full plate of fried potatoes and cabbage, Chen Pan, who felt that his appetite was not very good, immediately expressed his desire to eat.

"Of course you can. This is difficult to make, so my mom always makes a big pot at a time. I just don't like eating this. If you're willing to help me, that would be a big help to me." After giving Chen Pan a wait gesture, Qin Yang immediately went out from the back door of the Chen family and then entered his own store again.

Chen Pan put down what he was holding and stood at the back door of his house waiting for a while.

In less than two minutes, Qin Yang brought over a large bowl of stir-fried rice. It was topped with chili peppers, minced garlic, and chives sautéed in hot oil, along with plenty of salad spinach, salad shredded potatoes, and salad carrots. It looked incredibly appetizing.

As soon as she took the bowl full of jiaotuan from his hand, Chen Pan squinted her eyes and smiled. She also said very seriously: "Thank you, we will send the bowl over after my grandma and the others finish eating."

"It's okay, just eat your meal. You're going to have the high school entrance exam in a while, right? You must do well then. If anything happens, you can come to me at any time. Don't let your mood be affected by irrelevant things." Seeing that Chen Pan was in a good mood, Qin Yang briefly told her what he wanted to say.

Seeing his serious expression, Chen Pan, who had been feeling a little heavy just now, immediately looked up and laughed quickly.

*

From that afternoon on, Chen Pan's situation at school became a little bad.

Those who were close to her came to her privately to ask what her relationship with Li Chengcai was.

Regardless of whether everyone believed it or not, Chen Pan casually explained that they had nothing to do with each other and didn't care about anything else.

When Chen Pan returned home at night, Grandma Chen, who came up to sleep at night, and Grandpa Chen, who already knew everything, also advised her not to worry about anything for the time being.

"He's been busy with the college entrance exam lately, so he probably won't cause any trouble. Your exam is about ten days earlier than his, so after you finish, you can stay home every day. Then, even if he causes trouble, he won't be able to find you. As for us, he's not that brave!"

"Yes, we are from the same village after all. The main responsibility for that matter is not on us. At most, he comes here to slightly affect our business like he did today. He probably won't be able to do anything else major. If he really makes a big fuss, we will definitely contact his parents. Anyway, Panpan, don't think about anything else for the time being. Your most important thing right now is the exam."

Six months later, Chen Aiguo had repaid all his foreign debts. His factory now has dozens of loyal customers, and he recently negotiated a better price with the owners of the village's flour mill and oil press.

The other finance officer at their factory was actually the village chief's niece. When the girl came to ask about it, Chen Aiguo asked his eldest brother to recruit her, considering the future.

In the past six months, he has attended several meetings and study sessions organized by the town government. On some occasions, he even met Li Decheng, a fellow villager.

At this moment, when Chen Aiguo was comforting his granddaughter, his main idea was to hold back for the time being, but his tone was no longer as fearful.

Feeling their grandfather's toughness, neither Chen Pan nor Grandma Chen were too worried at this moment.

After all, Chen Pan was a real fifteen-year-old girl, and the rumors in school didn't really hurt her.

She's always been a solitary person. She's the type who will definitely keep her friends company if they come over to chat, but rarely seeks them out if they don't want her.

No matter how people outside pointed at her, Chen Pan pretended not to see it.

Time passed day by day, and as the end of June approached, everyone at school was preoccupied with the upcoming high school entrance exams, college entrance exams, and finals. Honestly, whether it was Chen Pan's third year of junior high or Li Chengcai's third year of high school, aside from the initial few days of gossiping, no one cared much about anything else.

It was under such circumstances that Chen Pan faced the high school entrance examination of his life.

On the first day of the high school entrance examination, everything went smoothly.

On the second day of the high school entrance examination, Chen Pan met Li Chengcai at school.

Li Chengcai, dressed in a white shirt and trousers, looked very sunny and didn't do anything to Chen Pan.

On the third day of the high school entrance exam, after finishing the last English exam, Chen Pan followed the original plan and went to the nearby Houshan Reservoir with his classmates.

There are many mountains in Longcheng and water is very precious.

Almost everywhere there is a mountain spring, there will eventually be a reservoir. And every reservoir is a place where people nearby go to have fun in their spare time. Of course, every year, reservoirs in various places are also the place where several fatal accidents are inevitable.

In fact, the largest reservoir in the entire Chenjia Town is the Qingshui Reservoir under Qingshui Village, Chen Pan’s hometown.

The largest reservoir in the entire Liuping Town is the Heishui Reservoir at the innermost part of the town. It is said that all the tap water in the entire Liuping Town comes from the upper reaches of the Heishui Reservoir.

This was Chen Pan’s first time to come to this place. Everyone in the class called her, so Chen Pan came here with everyone.

That day, Chen Pan had a lot of fun with everyone.

Because of the presence of female classmates, the boys in the class did not try to swim in the reservoir as usual.

Everyone gathered together to pick wild flowers, pull wild onions, eat snacks they brought back, drink beverages, take photos and chat, and the afternoon was over quickly.

When it was getting dark in the evening, everyone left the Heishui Reservoir on time.

Because this place is very close to his home, Chen Pan separated from everyone early.

But just when Chen Pan walked to a place only a few dozen meters away from his home, he suddenly heard a very small clicking sound in the dark.

"who?"

The sound was remarkably like the click of a lighter. Chen Pan was startled and instinctively turned around. The next second, a tall red motorcycle suddenly rushed out from the corner, its glaring lights and loud roar stimulating Chen Pan.

When Chen Pan reacted and subconsciously wanted to turn around and run, she was greeted by a heavy blow to the head.