Chapter Twenty-Two: This Idea is Good
"she……"
The smile on Xu Haiyu's face slowly disappeared.
"Actually, it's partly my fault..."
Xu Haiyu recounted yesterday's events selectively.
However, she didn't say that she deliberately hid the watch to frame Xinli. Instead, she said that she had forgotten where she put the watch. Since Xinli was an outsider, she naturally suspected her. Unexpectedly, Xinli seemed to have been prepared and instead made a big deal out of her slip of the tongue.
"Now both Sister-in-law Lu and Brother Mingzhou think I'm a vicious girl."
“They watched me grow up, how could I possibly do such a thing? But they wouldn’t listen to my explanation at all…”
"I'm so sad. I felt more and more wronged last night, but I had no one to talk to, so I came to you first thing this morning."
"I don't know if Xinli has told anyone about what happened last night. I only know that I'm too ashamed to face anyone right now, so I came here to hide."
"Zhang Chen, you're not going to kick me out, are you?"
Zhang Chen felt heartbroken seeing Xu Haiyu's aggrieved expression and quickly shook his head, saying, "How could that be? If you want to stay here, then stay here. Don't worry, I'll find a way to deal with anyone who comes looking for you."
Xu Haiyu nodded and looked at Zhang Chen gratefully: "Thank you so much."
"Luckily, you're still here on the island, otherwise I really don't know what I would do."
Zhang Chen felt needed, and straightened his back even more.
"I will always protect you. You can tell me anything."
A hint of smugness flashed in Xu Haiyu's eyes: "Thank you."
She lowered her head shyly, avoiding eye contact with Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen's heart pounded wildly upon seeing Xu Haiyu; his affection for her was practically overflowing.
"Dr. Zhang."
"Dr. Zhang, are you there?"
Suddenly, shouts came from outside the door. Zhang Chen guessed that they were looking for Xu Haiyu, so he quickly told Xu Haiyu to go inside and hide.
Xu Haiyu didn't want to be found so soon either. After all, if she didn't make those people anxious, they would just say she was making trouble for no reason.
Thinking about how Sister-in-law Lu treated her last night, she made up her mind to make Sister-in-law Lu anxious and upset for a while.
Only in this way can last night's events be left unmentioned.
"Don't tell anyone I'm here."
After giving her a few words of advice, Xu Haiyu went into Zhang Chen's room.
The islanders outside also hurried in.
"Luckily, Dr. Zhang, you're home."
"My husband sprained his leg, please help me."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen breathed a sigh of relief, went over and did some simple treatment, and the other person quickly said that it didn't hurt anymore.
"Dr. Zhang's medical skills are truly remarkable."
"Luckily, you're here on our island, otherwise none of us would know who to turn to if we had a headache or fever."
"Don't be so polite. By the way, where are you headed in such a hurry?"
The islander couple immediately looked distressed: "It's all because of that girl Xu Haiyu. She suddenly disappeared, and everyone is terrified and searching everywhere for her."
"Oh? How could it just disappear like that?"
The islander couple were both taken aback.
"Yes, I was in a rush this morning. I only knew that the person was missing, but I really didn't know why."
Zhang Chen's eyes flashed, and he said softly, "I heard that Xiaoyu seemed to have a conflict with that young lady from Shanghai last night. I wonder if she was bullied... We all know Xiaoyu's personality. She is well-behaved and obedient. She would never do something that would make things difficult for everyone."
"Hiding now is probably because they've been bullied and have no one to confide in, so they..."
The island couple were initially quite unhappy about having to come looking for someone so early in the morning.
Upon hearing this, the couple's hearts also turned towards Xu Haiyu.
After all, one was someone I watched grow up, and the other was a pampered young lady from Shanghai.
In this day and age, everyone likes simple and honest people, so someone like Xinli, who looks like she can't do any work, naturally doesn't get any favor.
"Could it be that Xiaoyu was bullied and that's why she's hiding away?"
Zhang Chen neither nodded nor shook his head.
The islander couple were both hot-tempered, and upon hearing this, they were immediately enraged: "I'll go ask her. Xiaoyu is usually so well-behaved. I was wondering why she made such a fuss this time. Turns out she was bullied. Do they think we're all dead? How dare they bully our island's girl right in front of us!"
The couple stormed off. Xu Haiyu came out of the house and looked at Zhang Chen with admiration: "Your idea is good. We didn't say anything, so if people find out about the misunderstanding later, they can't come after us. They can only swallow this bitter pill."
Zhang Chen smiled and said, "We're just testing Xin Li's abilities first. If she can't even avoid something like this, then she won't have a good time today without us having to do anything."
Hearing this, Xu Haiyu lowered her eyes and said with some resentment, "She's cunning; I doubt this trick will work on her."
Zhang Chen patted his chest and said, "It's okay, if this trick doesn't work, we have a backup plan."
"Just you wait and see, I will definitely avenge you."
Xu Haiyu smiled gratefully at Zhang Chen: "Thank you, Zhang Chen."
Zhang Chen blushed, said "It's nothing" and ran off to the side to grind herbs.
Xu Haiyu's face was full of smugness upon seeing this.
Xinli, Xinli, so what if you have those strange and unusual things?
With so many people helping me, do you think you can escape?
...
Xin Li was awakened by a commotion and realized that the people had searched everywhere but still couldn't find her, and were now heading towards the secluded spot where she was.
Xin Li quickly emerged from the shadows, pretending to be looking for someone.
"Xinxin?"
Zhang Jinhua and his men walked over and ran right into Xin Li.
Seeing some familiar women following behind Zhang Jinhua, Xin Li nodded to them as a greeting, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and asked breathlessly, "Sister-in-law, have you found Xiaoyu?"
"No, I don't know where that girl has gone... If she's just hiding, that's fine, but I'm afraid something might have happened to her."
Zhang Jinhua's face was full of worry.
The others initially found Xin Li rather odd, but seeing her flushed face and profuse sweat from searching for someone, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything.
"Let's search again. With so many people helping, we should be able to find it soon."
The crowd nodded, and many of them had changed their opinion of Xin Li.
"You've worked hard too, would you like some water?"
Xin Li noticed that the man's attitude towards her had softened. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly saw a couple walking quickly towards her.
"Xinli, did you hide Xiaoyu?"
Xin Li was taken aback, and looked at the couple with a puzzled expression: "What are you talking about?"
The couple glanced at Xin Li and then looked at Zhang Jinhua: "Sister-in-law Lu, how long are you going to cover for Xin Li? Xiao Yu was clearly bullied, why aren't you saying a word about it?"
"This is the woman who bullied Xiaoyu. How can you be so biased?"
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