Chapter 52 She'd better kill me.

Green Willow had no interest in philanthropy.

She lay by the bed, just crying.

She didn't know what had happened, but she had completely lost face, and it would be very difficult for her to ever hold her head high again.

Shanlai was awakened by a series of sobbing sounds. He opened his eyes with difficulty and saw that it was Lüyang crying. He asked, "Sister, why are you crying?"

Green Willow felt incredibly wronged, and when someone asked, she naturally had to speak her mind.

"...I really don't know why that thing was on me. Did I just leave it there and then forget about it?" At this point, she panicked again, gripping Shanlai's hand tightly, and anxiously asked, "Does my sister believe me?" She then burst into tears, "I really didn't steal anything! How could I steal anything? I was at home, and even though the neighbor's jujube tree was growing into my yard, I never touched it..."

“I believe... Sister, I believe you…” She tried to grasp Green Willow’s hand, but she was too weak and had to give up.

Green Willow choked back tears, cautiously asking the person in front of her, "You really believe me?"

"I truly believe it."

She believed that she had implicated Green Willow.

Sure enough, just as Green Willow was recounting her many acts of integrity throughout her life, Orange Maple pushed open the door and walked in.

Upon seeing someone approaching, Green Willow seemed to have been grabbed by the neck, her voice abruptly cut off, and then she began to tremble, gradually shrinking into a ball.

Chengfeng was right there when it happened; she witnessed everything but said nothing. Therefore, Lüyang assumed that Chengfeng also thought she was a thief.

Seeing her pathetic state, Chengfeng was furious. He rushed over and started tearing at her, yelling, "What are you doing? Are you really a thief?!"

Green Willow was stunned for a moment by the scolding, but the next moment she opened her eyes wide and shouted: "I'm not a thief! How could I be a thief!"

Chengfeng sneered, "If you're not a thief, then stand up straight! What kind of coward are you!"

Because she was about to argue with someone, Green Willow's back was straight, exuding an imposing aura. However, upon hearing Orange Maple's words telling her to straighten her spine, her back slumped down without warning. She turned her face away from Orange Maple and said in a hoarse voice, "What's the use of me saying I'm not a thief? Being caught red-handed in front of everyone, isn't that being a thief? I'm finished. I thought things were looking up, but I've ended up on a dead end again... Is my life really that bad?"

That's what she said.

The raging aura of the orange maple tree gradually subsided, and its spine also began to sag.

There was only silence.

Suddenly, Chengfeng turned her face and stared straight at Shanlai.

Shanlai glanced back without changing her expression. She had already forced herself to sit up when Chengfeng entered, leaning against the wall and coldly observing the two friends' back-and-forth.

She guessed that those words weren't just for Green Willow; now that the groundwork had been laid, there was something else she wanted to say to her.

She waited quietly.

Chengfeng couldn't hold back any longer and spoke first, but he didn't say anything, only calling out, "Sister."

Shan Lai said "Ai" and agreed, then called her "Sister," and that was the end of it.

This back-and-forth truly alarmed Chengfeng.

Chengfeng was the eldest child in her family, and from a young age, she was different from her younger siblings. Children from poor families, a string of rats, were indeed like rats—dusty and unkempt, constantly chattering. Chengfeng was different. She was always quiet, quietly watching her siblings' antics, watching her mother's angry outbursts, her father's beatings, and she watched without uttering a word. She wasn't like her parents either.

Chengfeng's parents, a short, dark-skinned couple, had many other short, dark-skinned children. Only Chengfeng was different; she was tall, fair-skinned, with large eyes, a high nose, and thin lips—a true beauty. The neighbors loved to joke, always asking her parents if they had been switched at birth. Her parents never said anything kind, but they also had their own doubts. They thought, this child looks so extraordinary, how could she be their child? But she was born into their family, never out of their sight after birth, there was no possibility of a mix-up. So it could only be a divine intervention, a blessing upon their family, giving them such a child to bring glory to their lineage. The older she grew, the more composed she became. Even if an insect was thrown at her face, she would only frown. The villagers, having seen many such cases, said they were blessed to have such a daughter, that she would surely prosper in the future. They thought so too, waiting patiently, but disaster struck first.

First came the drought, then the locust plague. Several fields yielded nothing. Although the court exempted them from taxes, so many mouths to feed left them with no choice but to sell their children. In years of famine, everything is expensive except people; a girl could be bought for thirty coins. Boys were expensive, and young children, too young to remember, fetched even higher prices. Chengfeng's family had such a child—her youngest brother. Everyone thought they were going to sell him, but their father said, "Let's sell our eldest daughter instead. She's different; she's smart and can find her own way to survive."

With that in mind, even after being sold, Chengfeng felt no resentment, because she felt her father had a discerning eye for talent, and she should repay such appreciation. She was taken away by human traffickers.

The human traffickers had a keen eye. Among so many people, all equally disheveled, she stood out. Just by standing there, she was different from the others. So she was kept, initially intended to be sold for a higher price. Later, they treated her like their own daughter, showing genuine affection. They sent her to the Liu family for her future.

Chengfeng herself felt that she was different. Her proudest quality in life was her "calmness". She believed that she would definitely have some extraordinary encounters.

But today, she learned from a little child what it means to be outmatched by others and to be in a world beyond our understanding.

She lost; in terms of composure, she lost to a ten-year-old child. The child's eyes were clear and unfathomable, as if he understood everything and could not be disturbed by any thoughts.

She was quite disheartened, but she didn't lose her rationality, so she completely overturned her original plans.

She values ​​herself so much, so of course she wouldn't look down on someone more capable than her.

Upon hearing Bitao say she wanted to search him, Chengfeng immediately sensed something was wrong. He tried to stop her, but it was too late. The naive Lüyang had already put on a show of being at their mercy.

Chengfeng is rather aloof. Because she considers herself extraordinary, she focuses on people's flaws when judging them. As a result, she believes there are far too many fools in the world, and they are not worth bothering with.

Of the four, besides her, Ziyu was self-righteous, Bitao appeared honest but was actually ruthless, and as for Lüyang, a genuinely good person, she was blatantly stupid, and what made her the most despicable was...

She always thought of Lü Yang as a fool, a complete idiot, and that she deserved to die no matter what. But when Lü Yang was about to suffer because of her stupidity, she couldn't help but worry for her, yet she still said nothing and didn't offend anyone else for Lü Yang's sake.

Ziyu approached her and said those things. She felt contemptuous, but she didn't say anything harsh. She just smiled and agreed.

That fool, Green Willow, was dragged down by others. When gods fight, she, a mere brat, didn't stay far away but insisted on joining in the fun; she deserved to suffer. But the others were even more despicable, and even Shan Lai wasn't innocent in her eyes.

She hates people who cause trouble for others; they are trouble themselves.

She had spent a few days with Shanlai and thought she knew him about 70-80%. He was a good person, much like Lüyang, easy-going, kind, gentle, and compliant. This kind of person is best at pushing themselves.

Intelligent people are naturally inclined to seek advantage and avoid harm. She didn't want Ziyu to continue making trouble; who knew if the fire would eventually spread to her? She didn't care about other people's grievances; she only wanted her own peace.

She thought that if she put on that performance for Shan, Shan would feel immense guilt and swallow his anger. That would be the end of it.

But the reality was different from what she thought.

Shanlai showed no weakness in front of her. She just looked at her calmly, as if she were watching a clown. Only then did she realize that she had underestimated this person before.

She had to figure out her place in front of this person.

“Sister.” She coughed softly. “We all know you’ve been wronged… Sister, you must understand, we are powerless and have no choice… I’m just a messenger, there’s nothing else I can do… You should have realized that it was all Ziyu’s doing. She didn’t want to send someone to fetch a doctor for you; she wanted you to suffer… until you couldn’t take it anymore and bowed down to her, then she could act like a tyrant again, since you weren’t here…”

It's another cloud screen, as expected.

But Shanlai never thought of fighting for anything. It was always them, they were the ones who were stubborn and insisted on making her their enemy.

Yunping endured it, and Ziyu also wanted to continue to endure it.

But things have developed to this point, how can this be tolerated?

"Sister, I know you've come to deliver a message, so please go back and tell her carefully that she'd better kill me."

That was all she had to say.

My determination is very firm.

Chengfeng simply couldn't sit still.

She began to admire the person in front of her, a child, who this time genuinely cared for her.

"Why bother... Sister, you're still sick. We're all outsiders with limited abilities. We can just accept this loss now; there's always tomorrow..."

"I appreciate your kindness, sister, but please be sure to convey my words: I must learn from her methods."

Seeing that persuasion was futile, Chengfeng stood up and said, "I will pass on the message, without changing a single word."

Shanlai nodded slightly. "Thank you, sister."

Chengfeng went to deliver the message, and Lvyang sat in her previous seat, looking somewhat lost.

Green Willow is not stupid; she just doesn't want to think of people as so bad. Right now, she really doesn't know what to say.

Shan called out to her, "Where's the soup my sister brought me?"

Strangely enough, he was so sick he could barely get out of bed, but now he's full of energy, almost as if he wasn't sick at all. It's clear that hatred does have an effect.

What did she say?

Chengfeng continued his narration with a blank expression, and Ziyu's face instantly turned red, half from embarrassment and half from annoyance.

That's too much.

Bitao searched Lüyang and found things on him, beating him into a thief. Ziyu thought it was too much. When Bitao told her to go find Huo Da and ask him to shield her from the doctor, she thought the same thing.

She wasn't really a vicious person; she was just unwilling to give everything up. But even if she wanted to fight for it, she shouldn't have gone to this extent.

That's really going too far.

She resented Bitao for doing such a thing; how could Lüyang face anyone afterward? But when she questioned her, Bitao said, "I did it all for my sister," leaving her speechless.

Indeed, it all started because of her; she was the one who set things off. It's unreasonable to blame others.

But things had come to this point, and she panicked, wanting to back down, so she asked Chengfeng to go and deliver a message.

But this is the result!

I've already offered you a way out, why don't you just accept it? Why are you spouting such threats? Do you really have to go against me? Do you look down on me that much?

I was so ashamed and angry that I was grinding my teeth.

“Sister, what she said was incredibly disrespectful. Can you swallow this insult? If you do, everything will be over. Sister, do you think we're afraid of her now? A paper tiger trying to scare us? Sister, she's so ambitious, how can we let her down? Sister, I have a plan. We won't kill her, we'll just see how high her ambition really is…”