Yang Wanqiu wasn't very popular, and this was the first time everyone had spoken up for her. Although some people's words were meant to sow discord, what did it matter as long as it was in her best interest?

Moreover, she did indeed comfort Wang Wenfang in Zhong Lingling's room yesterday, and many people saw it.

After coming out, Yang Wanqiu didn't wander around aimlessly. Instead, she stood in the outer room with the others for a while before leaving with Gu Xinyi. She really didn't have the time to steal Zhong Lingling's money.

So after everyone vouched for her, Yang Wanqiu suddenly changed her previous tough attitude and instead cried with a wronged expression, "Lingling, I really don't know where I offended you, why are you accusing me like this?"

We were all sent-down youth together, so it's one thing if we didn't look out for each other, but how could you accuse me like this? Do you know how I'm supposed to live if rumors of my dishonesty really spread in this unfamiliar place?

"Yes, what Zhong Zhiqing did this time was really too much. We were all sent to the countryside together, how could he accuse someone like that?"

"That's for sure. You know, we educated youth are already disliked by the villagers. If rumors really spread that someone is stealing, it's not just about one or two people; it will affect our entire educated youth settlement."

“That’s exactly the point. Have you all forgotten? Last year, Qian Xiaohong stole some eggs, and Wang Erzhu’s mother made a huge fuss all over the village, saying that all of us educated youth were the same. For a long time afterward, whenever something went missing in the village, people would suspect us.”

“Yes, yes, I had completely forgotten about this. We have to prove this to Wanqiu. We can’t let rumors of theft spread in our educated youth compound again.”

"Hey, these are all minor matters. You're new here, so you don't know. A few years ago, there was an educated youth in the former brigade who was wrongly accused of stealing. In the end, he couldn't stand the gossip in the village and jumped into the river and died."

I heard that the brigade leader was later disciplined for this incident.

"I've heard about this too. I heard that the police officers investigated the theft afterward. It turned out that the two girls had a conflict, and one of them was resentful, so she falsely accused the other girl of stealing. Unexpectedly, the matter escalated and drove someone to their death."

I heard that the girl who was wrongly accused was almost sent to a labor camp, and her family had to spend a lot of money to settle the matter.

"That doesn't make sense either. I haven't heard of any conflict between Zhong and Yang. Even if Zhong wronged Yang, there must be some reason for it, right?"

A buzz of discussion arose around them, and as Yang Wanqiu listened to these discussions, a wicked idea suddenly popped into her head.

Suddenly, she looked up and gazed at the outer edge of the crowd, her eyes filled with resentment as she looked at Chen Shuning, who had just arrived and was standing outside the crowd.

With eyes full of disappointment and helplessness, she said, "It's you, isn't it? Shuning, I really didn't expect you to turn out like this. I've explained Weiguo's situation to you so many times, why won't you believe me? Why are you doing this to me?"

After saying these words, Yang Wanqiu, looking extremely disappointed and helpless, squatted down on the ground and began to sob.

Yang Wanqiu truly understands the art of speaking. She always leaves half of what she says unsaid, leaving the rest to the onlookers' imagination. She has mastered this trick perfectly.

She was just trying to lead the onlookers to think in that direction; she didn't say a word about what actually happened. If it was really Chen Shuning who instructed Zhong Lingling to do this, then naturally the onlookers would speak up for her.

If it wasn't Chen Shuning who instigated it, then the matter of wrongly accusing Chen Shuning is the business of the onlookers. After all, she didn't say anything, and even if Chen Shuning investigates in the future, he won't be able to find her.

But no matter what, if this matter gets out, both Zhong Lingling and Chen Shuning will lose their reputations.

In her previous life, she spent more than ten years in the countryside, and she knew better than anyone how important reputation was to a woman.

As Yang Wanqiu had predicted, the onlookers did not disappoint her. As soon as she finished speaking, the onlookers started discussing the matter again.

"By the way, although Lingling and Wanqiu don't have any conflicts, Lingling and Shuning have a very good relationship. When they first arrived, they lived together for many days. Later, they even built a house together and became neighbors. Their relationship has always been very good. Do you think Lingling is deliberately framing Wanqiu to help Shuning get revenge?"

"Yes, yes, I've heard they're getting along well. And you guys don't know, but a few days ago, when Shu Ning's boyfriend came over to help her with some work, Yang Wanqiu was openly flirting with him quite a bit. If you were in her shoes, you'd probably want to get revenge too."

"That's right, that's right. I heard that Yang Wanqiu used to like stealing Shu Ning's boyfriend. I heard that they used to be good friends who grew up together, but they broke up because Yang Wanqiu stole Shu Ning's boyfriend."

"Oh right, it's that Brother Weiguo that Yang Wanqiu just mentioned."

"If that's the case, then Zhong Lingling is really a loyal friend. Accusing someone of stealing money is no small matter; if things go wrong, you could end up getting yourself into trouble."

"Hey, you don't know this, do you? Zhong Lingling and Chen Shuning are very close. Last night, Zhong Lingling was almost dying from illness, and Chen Shuning gave her a bottle of baijiu, saying it was for wiping Zhong Lingling's hands and feet, and that it was some kind of physical cooling. I saw it clearly; the bottle was so finely made, it was obviously good wine. It's such a waste to use it to wipe her hands and feet."

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