Everyone chimed in, one sentence after another.

Lin Ziyan's head was buzzing. Coupled with the exhaustion of the day and the intense mental tension she had just experienced, she felt a white blur before her eyes.

Meanwhile, Li Lijuan, who had run back home, was hiding in her room, trembling all over.

As she imagined that scene, she clenched her fists and bit down hard on the garlic.

After Li Lijuan saw who had fallen into the water, she ran home as fast as she could.

She was feeling conflicted, a mix of excitement and fear.

The Lin family was finally in trouble. They were afraid that someone would know she was there, and even more afraid that the two "boys" would find out about her.

Thinking of this, Li Lijuan immediately shrank back.

Lin Ziyan's younger sister fell into the pond. The pond was so deep that she got stuck in the mud and couldn't be pulled out at all.

Li Lijuan's expression was distorted; she wanted to laugh but couldn't, her heart was filled with unease, and she began to doubt herself again.

She simply stood by and watched someone die without offering any help; she didn't take any initiative. So why was she so flustered?

Li Lijuan trembled uncontrollably, feeling as if she were in an icebox, and soon she broke out in a cold sweat.

"No, don't come after me..." she murmured to herself.

After an unknown amount of time, a sound came from the main room.

"Hasn't Juan come back yet?" the old woman asked in a cold voice.

Li Lijuan couldn't hear what her mother said after that.

"Xiaoxiao from the Lin family fell into the pond..."

When Li Lijuan heard this, her mind went completely blank.

She felt as if all the sounds around her had disappeared, as if she were in a separate space.

The tinnitus lasted for a while, then suddenly disappeared.

"You must keep a close eye on Xiaolin from now on, and make sure he doesn't go near that pond. There might really be a water ghost there..." The old woman's voice faded into the distance.

Li Lijuan wanted to rush out and ask what was going on, but she was afraid of being discovered that she had been there at the time.

After hesitating for a moment, she tried to get up but felt dizzy and lightheaded, unable to get up at all.

It's sometimes cold and sometimes hot...

At this moment,

Many people came to the main room of the Lin family's house.

Xiaoxiao sat at the table drinking ginger soup, her face still deathly pale.

Aunt Chen wiped her tears with her sleeve, thinking to herself, "Children without their mothers don't even dare to cry out loud."

"Second sister..." Jiaojiao called out many times, but received no response. Her eyes filled with tears, which streamed down her face.

Xiaoxiao reached out to wipe away her tears, but still didn't say anything.

"Second sister... sob..."

"I'll never listen to my fat cousin again..."

"Waaah... He said if I hide, my sister can take me to play..." Jiao Jiao choked out, tears streaming down her face again.

Lin Ziyan drank a bowl of soup before she recovered.

When she heard her sister say that, her heart skipped a beat, and the image of the two boys running away as if fleeing came back to her mind.

"Jiaojiao, where is Da Pang's cousin?" Aunt Huang shook her head and took out her handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

Jiaojiao blinked. "Yes, his cousin came yesterday and gave us lots of cookies and candy."

Xiaoxiao looked at her younger sister, her eyes full of questions.

Aunt Chen burst into laughter through her tears, "Jiaojiao, Da Pang's family really doesn't have a cousin. You can't lie to people, little one."

“I didn’t lie. My sister said that if you lie, your nose will grow long, like… a witch…” Jiaojiao said angrily.

Grandma picked up Jiaojiao, her face expressionless, and said in a calm tone...

"Did you eat all the candy your chubby cousin gave you?"

Jiaojiao shook her head, immediately got off her lap, and ran out quickly. A moment later, she ran back in, panting, and said…

"Second sister, here you go, it's strawberry flavored, you can have it all."

Lin Ziyan's pupils contracted slightly when she saw the candy outstretched in the girl's small hand.

Aunt Chen and Aunt Huang exchanged a glance, both looking puzzled.

A cold glint flashed in Ah Tai's cloudy eyes, and he clenched his fist tightly under the table.

Xiaoxiao held Jiaojiao's hand, feeling a warm current flowing through her heart, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Did Da Pang's cousin give you all of these? Do you remember what he looks like?" Lin Ziyan asked softly.

Jiaojiao nodded vigorously, "I have two older cousins, and they... don't play in the sand..."

Xiaoxiao spoke only after Aunt Chen and Aunt Huang left.

"Sister, a boy said Jiaojiao ran to the pond, that's why I went there."

But as soon as I arrived, I was pushed and fell into the pond. Xiaoxiao's voice grew softer and softer, and her hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.

"I held my breath for a while, but my foot got stuck and I couldn't pull it out..."

Lin Ziyan patted the back of her hand, "Yes, I know Xiaoxiao wouldn't go near the pond for no reason, don't blame yourself."

Grandma ate her meal without saying much.

There were a few candies on the table with small print on them, but a closer look revealed that they were not written in Chinese.

Xiaoxiao glanced at the candy on the table and said to Jiaojiao, "You can't take other people's candy in the future. You're beholden to them."

Jiaojiao nodded and leaned against her, not daring to speak.

The news of the Lin family's affair spread throughout the village. The next day, the village chief, along with other village officials, surrounded the two ponds in the village with nets, leaving only one opening that adults could access.

Lin Ziyan went to the fat neighbor next door, and just as she had guessed, the fat man accepted the candy from her before agreeing to lie.

Those candies only had pictures on them, with the words printed in very small print, and they weren't sold at all in Haixian County.

She suspected that the two boys might not be adults, but rather people with dwarfism.

What Lin Ziyan found strange was why the other party would come to the Lin family.

Do they have a grudge against the Lin family?

Lin Ziyan shook her head, dismissing the thoughts in her mind, and walked into the He family's courtyard.

Today she made an appointment with Lu Yunshen to go to the factory to check out the parts.

"Ayan, I heard Xiaoxiao fell into the pond last night. Is she alright?" Grandma Lan asked worriedly.

She was planning to go to the Lin family's house.

Lin Ziyan: "It's okay, I slept very well last night and didn't have any nightmares."

"That's good, that's good, may Mazu bless you..." Grandma Lan murmured, saying a lot of auspicious words.

She went out, fanning herself with a palm leaf fan, saying, "I'm going to chat with your grandmother."

Lin Ziyan watched her leave, lost in thought, feeling that her grandmother's reaction last night was a bit strange.

So calm...

"Why didn't you come in when you got here?" Lu Yunshen leaned against the door, his eyes deepening.

Lin Ziyan had her hair braided, with a ribbon wrapped around it and extending to the ends.

A simple white T-shirt tucked into light blue jeans accentuated her slender waist, which seemed almost too small to be touched.

Youth is characterized by confidence and vitality.

"How did Xiaoxiao fall into the pond? Is there something wrong...?" Lu Yunshen suddenly stopped. Judging from her expression, there really was something else going on.

He immediately thought of the person Wei Sheng had confessed about last time, who was going to steal something from the Lin family.

"Let's go inside and talk," Lin Ziyan said, frowning.

Not only was Atai's reaction strange, but Grandma Lan's was also acting a bit odd.

The light in her eyes suddenly dimmed, and she subconsciously touched the Buddhist prayer beads in her hand.

Last night, when I was giving Xiaoxiao CPR, this string of prayer beads kept getting hot.

The temperature of the prayer beads only dropped after Xiaoxiao regained consciousness.

Lu Yun Shen pulled her into the house, locked the door, drew the curtains, and turned on the light.

He took a brown paper bag from the safe, pulled out the documents inside, and handed them to her.

Lin Ziyan opened the file...