She grabbed Zixi's medicine bag, preventing her from leaving.

"Comrade Liu, I've been taking care of him these past few days. How could I not know his current situation? Don't believe everything you hear. He's been bedridden for days. How could he have time to beat that accountant's dog?"

Zi Xi gently pulled back the medicine packet, paused, and then said, "Also, Comrade Liu, I'm dating him now, so please don't talk about him like that anymore."

"You're dating that lunatic?! No way!! What are you after?!"

"You're absolutely foolish! You're a city girl, even if your family background isn't good, you're not good enough for a peasant like him!"

"His father is a murderer! The villagers say he dared to stab people with a knife when he was only fourteen!"

"This kind of madman will get shot sooner or later!"

Liu Fang's scream startled the sparrows in the tree, and she stamped her feet in frustration.

Behind a haystack in the distance, Ji Yanchen slowly squatted down, clutching the wildflowers he had just picked.

Liu Fang's words pierced his heart like a knife.

"Comrade Liu, please stop saying such things. He is a good person, and I like him very much."

Zi Xi suddenly stopped and turned around, speaking seriously.

The light shone on her resolute profile, causing Ji Yanchen, who was secretly watching, to skip a beat.

He looked down at the wildflowers covered in mud in his hand and suddenly felt that he was indeed unworthy of such a clean person.

The rumors quickly spread throughout the village.

"Have you heard? The capitalist's daughter is hooking up with a mad dog!"

Accountant Wang's wife was shouting loudly by the well.

"What a pity, even if she's a capitalist's daughter, she's still a beautiful girl. It would be nice if she were a good match for my nephew..."

Scorekeeper Lao Liu smacked his lips.

"Pah! I don't know what Lin Zhiqing is thinking. That madman is just like his father. Lin Zhiqing is bound to get into trouble sooner or later!"

Even the women's director, Aunt Zhang, couldn't help but shake her head.

The gossip from the educated youth settlement spread like a plague throughout the village, with the most vicious source being Chen Qi.

In the evening after the denunciation meeting, Zixi was drawing water from the well when Chen Qi and several male educated youths stopped her.

"Some people are really depraved. They're perfectly fine city girls, yet they insist on having an affair with a peasant."

Chen Qi deliberately raised his voice, attracting the attention of passing villagers.

Zi Xi's bucket slammed against the well rim with a thud, splashing water that soaked Chen Qi's trouser legs.

"Say it again, who's crazy? Who's having an affair?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the surroundings.

"Whoever's father is a murderer is a lunatic!"

"Besides, whoever cheats on their partner knows the truth in their heart!"

"Everyone, please be the judge. Does this kind of madman deserve to be a sent-down youth?"

Chen Qi was so intimidated by this aura that he took a half step back, but he forced a cold smile and turned to the onlookers.

Zi Xi suddenly smiled.

She slowly dried the water off her hands and took out a small booklet with a red cover from her pocket.

"my country's criminal law states that publicly insulting others or fabricating facts to defame others by violence or other means can lead to imprisonment if the circumstances are serious!"

She looked at everyone, enunciating each word clearly.

"You! Who are you trying to scare?!"

Chen Qi's expression changed.

“Yesterday I went to the county public security bureau and heard the police there say that they are cracking down on false accusations and framing.”

"You keep saying Ji Yanchen is crazy, but do you have any proof that he is crazy?"

Zi Xi opened the booklet, pointed to the section marked in red, and looked directly at Chen Qi.

The crowd began to stir.

"That's...that's something everyone knows!"

Chen Qi broke out in a cold sweat.