Misunderstand

"Don't forget to hand over your grain tax today."

Zhou Yuanxiang gave him a word of advice and led Zhou Shusheng, who had a long face, out.

Today is the first day of school.

Beside the bicycle, a large black dog wagged its tail and followed closely to the side. Zhou Lexing saw the dark tail sweep against the bicycle wheel several times, and he was afraid that the broom-like tail would get caught in the wheel.

"Okay. I'll go over when I'm done."

Today, Lao Yang and the village chief's two sons will drive a tractor to the grain depot to collect public grain and sign off on it together.

Zhou Lexing didn't need to go along; he just needed to watch from the sidelines, sign a document, and help with moving things up and down.

Once the tractor drove away, the job was done.

He had previously planned to take Gu Jiansheng to the county for a trip, but he didn't intend to hitch a ride on this bus. The feeling of being covered in sweat and rice husks while having to do hard labor was not pleasant.

Moreover, he has other plans for today.

Zhou Yuanxiang nodded and pulled Zhou Shusheng, who was whining and fussing about not wanting to go out, away.

The black dog immediately followed, running with remarkable agility, and its occasional head-up glances made it look quite like a little pony.

"Your brother even bought you this new outfit, how can you not go to school?"

"Yes, I can do it, and new clothes are fine too..."

The two people's conversation gradually faded away. Zhou Lexing smiled and watched them walk away before closing the gate and heading to the drying ground.

.

"Lexing, good lad!" Old Yang patted Zhou Lexing on the shoulder, his hand covered in sweat. "If it weren't for you, those two guys would have dragged this out in who knows how long."

Despite being in charge, Zhou Li and Zhou Zhi stood by the tractor like door gods, unwilling to do any work. They would just write down a few names in that tattered booklet and that was it. They would complain about the heat or the slow speed, but they wouldn't help. When they encountered older people who didn't have any family support, they would make sarcastic remarks.

Old Yang looked down on the two of them. Zhou Lexing, on the other hand, quickly carried the counted grain bags upstairs. He was strong and finished before the ground even got warm.

"It's nothing."

Zhou Lexing wiped his sweat, took the water that Aunt Lihua handed him, and drank several mouthfuls without ceremony.

"Here, your aunt brought some pears, have one."

"Your mom must be at school right now, right? These kids are all so successful, it's a relief for your mom."

"Lexing, have some peanuts! And a boiled egg too!"

The villagers' social interactions are really quite simple; it's all about feeding each other.

Zhou Zhi had already crawled into the tractor to find a spot to escape the sun, while Zhou Li stared at Zhou Lexing with those sinister eyes. Unfortunately, the encirclement was too tight, and Zhou Lexing didn't notice his gaze at all. When he saw the aunties and uncles holding breakfast and about to feed him, he quickly waved his hand: "No need! I have something to do, I'll leave when I'm done!"

He was about to leave when Old Yang pulled him back: "Hey! Go to the village chief's house after dinner tonight, and everyone will get justice for you!"

"Yes! We've all heard about it. The Zhou family was recently haunted by vengeful ghosts. It's all retribution!"

"In my opinion, that female ghost is probably his unfortunate wife. I said there was something strange about what happened back then. Even if she was pregnant, there's no way she could have died from just a fall..."

The topic quickly veered off course, and Zhou Lexing immediately seized the opportunity to slip away. However, he didn't expect to be stopped by another person who was lying in wait after he slipped out of the encirclement around the tractor.

"Zhou Lexing!" He Huaizhi suddenly appeared and chased after him with a clear target in mind.

Zhou Lexing frowned and continued walking out.

"Zhou Lexing! I have something to tell you!" He Huaizhi chased after him desperately.

Damn it!

Does this guy have super long legs or something? How can he walk so fast!

"Wait for me!"

He Huai shouted anxiously, completely ignoring the attention he had drawn to the other end of the tractor.

Zhou Le walked for several miles, and He Huaizhi was still relentlessly following behind.

Zhou Lexing was speechless, and finally stopped to wait for him.

"I, I, phew, I have something to do..." He Huaizhi was panting heavily.

Zhou Lexing almost shook him off several times, but luckily he has always been very lucky, and he always makes the right choice when faced with a fork in the road.

"What's up?"

Zhou Lexing looked at him, his face showing undisguised impatience.

He Huaizhi felt a pang of sadness. Apart from his first life when he was still clueless about the future and had spent time trying to figure out Gu Jiansheng's thoughts, no one had ever tormented him like this before. But he was still angry and unwilling to let go. Besides, his loyal subordinate had gotten involved with his man. Who could stand being cuckolded?

He Huaizhi caught his breath, and seeing that Zhou Lexing seemed impatient and about to leave again, he quickly said, "Gu Jiansheng is suspicious! You need to be careful!"

Zhou Lexing stopped in his tracks and finally looked directly at the slightly disheveled He Huaizhi: "What do you mean?"

He Huaizhi swallowed twice to ease his burning throat. Knowing Zhou Lexing had a fiery temper, he cut to the chase: "Haven't you thought about where Jian Sheng's mother went?! I suspect she was killed by Gu Jian Sheng!"

Zhou Lexing's brow twitched. He hadn't expected to hear such words at all, and he almost laughed out of anger: "Are you asking for a beating? Who gave you the right to spew nonsense here?"

He Huaizhi only saw a shadow flash before his eyes, then his collar tightened and he was half-lifted up. Zhou Lexing's angry eyes met his, making his heart race. He couldn't tell if it was palpitations or fear, and he quickly said...

“I’m not lying! Everyone in the village said Aunt Lan went to the city, but where could a woman go? She must have gone to Uncle Jian Sheng’s house, right?! That’s where I came from! I didn’t see her at all when I came!”

Zhou Lexing frowned, seeing He Huaizhi's expression, a mixture of fear and excitement, as if he were genuinely saying these words.

He glanced at He Huaizhi a few times and pushed him away: "It's normal for you two to miss each other. Use your brain. If you say any more stupid things to smear Jian Sheng, I'll beat you up."

What's wrong with this guy?! How did I end up having this feud with him?! Every time I see him, I want to punch him!

He Huaizhi was so angry he almost vomited blood, but he still struggled to say, "I'm not lying! I didn't believe you at first either, but Jian Sheng tried to push me into the well before! This is definitely not the first time he's done this!"

He Huaizhi does not deny that the repetitive nature of life has saved him a lot of trouble, but there are also times when he changes the course of his fate because of boredom. He Huaizhi's intuition is the key to his success in avoiding danger and seizing opportunities no matter how many times he changes his course.

He Huaizhi has been trying to convince himself these past few days, but his intuition tells him he can't accept those arguments.

Gu Jiansheng has a problem, and a big problem at that!

This was the first time He Huaizhi had considered giving up the Gu family's support, but Zhou Lexing was his right-hand man, and he had helped him with many of the dirty work. Losing Zhou Lexing would be no less of a loss than losing the Gu family's support, not to mention that although Zhou Lexing had changed in this life, it was developing in a positive direction.

The fact that Zhou Lexing, despite his still volatile temper and ruthless methods, managed to win the hearts of the villagers of Zhoujia Village speaks volumes.

"Besides, no one in the village has seen Jian Sheng's mother leave the house. You can ask anyone in the village about this!"

Zhou Lexing did not respond upon hearing this.

Seeing that things were looking promising, He Huaizhi immediately perked up: "You must know about this too, right? Don't you find it suspicious?!"

The village was small, and everyone was related by marriage. Any little thing that happened could spread throughout the village overnight. Zhou Lanhua was someone who could stay home all year round, so her going out would definitely attract the attention of the villagers. However, no one noticed that Zhou Lanhua had gone to the city. It was only later that Gu Jiansheng himself said that something was amiss. He Huaizhi didn't believe that no one in the village would have any doubts!

Zhou Lexing looked down at him, his eyes strange: "...What is your purpose?"

Just a few days after he witnessed He Huaizhi and Gu Jiansheng's date under the tree in the mountain pass, Zhou Lexing didn't even have time to think about it more deeply before things changed dramatically.

At first, Zhou Lexing thought He Huaizhi was trying to sow discord between him and Jian Sheng, but after hearing the rest, he realized that the kid was serious.

Did Jian Sheng commit murder?

Or did he kill his own mother?

With that frail frame, he probably wouldn't even know how to kill a bird.

This is too surreal. What's even more surreal is that the person who seriously told him this was He Huaizhi, who was destined to be with Jian Sheng.

Is this part of the original plot?

In a melodramatic soap opera, it's perfectly normal for the two main characters to have misunderstandings and conflicts, but isn't it a bit too much to mistakenly believe the other party committed murder?

He doesn't remember.

Zhou Lexing's words left He Huaizhi speechless, feeling as if his internal organs were being burned by a powerless rage. However, he knew that Zhou Lexing had a volatile temper and wouldn't respond well to force, so he could only speak gently, "You've been with Jian Sheng all this time, and I was afraid you'd be harmed without even knowing it, so I..."

Zhou Lexing suddenly realized what was happening, and He Huaizhi breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to show his joy, he heard Zhou Lexing sigh.

"So it was all to keep me away from Jian Sheng."

He's overthinking it!

Both of them thought of this sentence at the same time, but Zhou Lexing thought it was just a reflection that he was overthinking, while He Huaizhi was so angry that his liver hurt.

"That's not how it is! Putting aside his mother's affairs, I personally witnessed Jian Sheng trying to push me into the well! He's really acting strangely!"

Zhou Lexing raised an eyebrow: "Which well?"

Seeing Zhou Lexing's expression, He Huaizhi hesitated this time: "Well, the well at Jian Sheng's house..."

Zhou Lexing nodded: "Yeah, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll help Jian Sheng throw you into the well." It must be that this kid ran to the Gu family and scared Jian Sheng, which forced Jian Sheng to retaliate, leading to this series of misunderstandings.

That kid's got some nerve.

However, given that Jian Sheng could do something like this, it seems that even though the two of them went on dates, their relationship wasn't very stable...

He Huaizhi clutched his chest, feeling a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat.

No, I absolutely mustn't get angry.

If he lost his temper, Zhou Lexing would definitely punch him twice. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle; he needs to be patient and deal with things gradually...

"Don't go to other people's homes and bother them anymore, or I'll beat you to death and no one will speak up for you."

He Huaizhi wrote: "What do you mean, 'just go and bother people at their homes'! Jian Sheng sent me over! He not only threw something in my eyes, but he also tried to kill me! If you don't watch out for him, you'll definitely be next!"

Zhou Lexing looked at He Huaizhi with some surprise, not so much at his words, but at He Huaizhi's attitude.

Logically speaking, He Huaizhi should have just experienced his first setback and should have been biding his time. Why was he so impetuous, with a temper almost as bad as the original owner of this body?

After countless successes, He Huaizhi had probably met his nemesis. Unfortunately, this nemesis was completely oblivious and only found He Huaizhi noisy.

"Okay, then I'll be next in line."

Let alone Jian Sheng being incapable of harming anyone, with his small arms and legs, Zhou Lexing found it hard to imagine him hitting someone, let alone killing them.

After Zhou Lexing finished speaking, he waved his hand and left.

He Huaizhi stood there, practically seething with rage, but to ask him to give up...

The mere thought of that possibility was unbearable for He Huaizhi.

He stood there for a moment, thought about it, and then chased after them.