Chapter 2, Chapter 0...
002
"Excuse me, comrade soldier, could you please take me home?" Jiang Lai asked, pointing to the bicycle lying on the ground.
"No problem." Actually, even without Jiang Lai saying it, Ye Anguo was already planning to give it to her. In any case, Jiang Lai was soaked to the bone, and if she didn't go back to change her clothes soon, she might catch a cold.
"Jiang Lai, shall I take you home?" Shi Cheng said expectantly, looking at Jiang Lai.
"No need, this comrade will be faster with a bicycle. Could you please go to the police station later and explain the situation? I'll go home, change my clothes, and come right away." Since Jiang Lai had decided to report the matter to the police, she was determined to keep her word. Regardless of the outcome, she would rely on the police investigation. She didn't think this would convict Su Erniu, but she certainly wouldn't let it go so easily. She knew that going to the police station in this era was no good. Even if the investigation found no wrongdoing, the public opinion surrounding it would be enough to cause her a lot of trouble.
"I really didn't mean to hurt you, can you please not report it to the police?" Su Erniu looked pitifully at Jiang Lai, Shi Cheng, and Ye Anguo, especially Shi Cheng, and tried to get pity from him.
Unfortunately, everything she did was like casting a seductive glance at a blind man. Shi Cheng's heart was entirely focused on Jiang Lai, so he wouldn't notice her. Moreover, when Shi Cheng heard Jiang Lai say that Su Erniu had dragged Jiang Lai towards Ye Anguo, he already knew what Su Erniu was up to.
As mentioned earlier, Shi Cheng is a lazy, unambitious, and complacent person. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know how important reputation is to a girl. There are countless stories of girls who fall into the water and are forced to marry due to public pressure. How could Shi Cheng not know what she's up to?
Although she didn't know why Su Erniu looked down on the soldier next to her and instead took a liking to her, who was completely useless, she had already achieved half of her goal, no matter what.
However, because Shi Cheng's heart was still with Jiang Lai, he trusted what Jiang Lai had just said. Seeing the shocking marks on Jiang Lai's hands made him even more distressed, and his impression of Su Erniu worsened.
Ye Anguo and Shi Cheng had very different thoughts. Just like Shi Cheng, he jumped into the water without thinking to save someone who had fallen in. He didn't know if what Jiang Lai said was true, but the red marks on Jiang Lai were a fact. In addition, Su Erniu kept saying that she didn't do it on purpose, but she didn't dare to go to the police station, which made Ye Anguo believe Jiang Lai's statement.
Ye Anguo rode his bicycle back with Jiang Lai on the back, without saying a word. He didn't know how to get along with girls, so he remained silent the whole way as long as Jiang Lai didn't speak.
Jiang Lai was deep in thought. Today's events weren't particularly unusual. Su Erniu had been reborn. Although it was unknown how old Su Erniu was when she was reborn, dealing with the original owner, a simple-minded, kind, and innocent girl, was too easy.
Jiang Lai and Su Erniu already knew each other. They lived very close to each other, in adjacent buildings on the same street. Both of Su Erniu's and Jiang Lai's parents were working parents, and each family had several children.
However, unlike others, Jiang Lai was the youngest. Her parents were thirty-seven years old when Jiang Lai was born, while her older brothers and sisters were already seventeen or eighteen and old enough to be married. Therefore, Jiang Lai was always pampered and spoiled as she grew up.
Su Erniu is different. Just by looking at her name, you can tell how much she has been overlooked. And even though Su's parents are both working, just like Jiang Lai's parents, they are extremely sexist and favor sons over daughters. She is still the second oldest, a ranking that is particularly easy to overlook.
From a young age, Su Erniu and Jiang Lai lived completely different lives. Su Erniu used to be jealous of Jiang Lai's good life and felt annoyed whenever she saw her. So even though they were the same age and classmates in school, Su Erniu and Jiang Lai were not close and had barely spoken a few words to each other.
However, after being reborn, Su Erniu set her sights on Jiang Lai's future status as the wife of the richest man. After having this idea, she deliberately approached Jiang Lai and became her friend. The original owner was simple-minded and kind-hearted. Su Erniu deliberately let the original owner catch her secretly crying several times, making the original owner feel sorry for her. Gradually, they became "friends".
Like today, it was because Su Erniu told the original owner that she wanted to go to the mountain to pick chestnuts that the original owner came with her. When they got here, Su Erniu said she was too tired and wanted to sit by the river for a while. She sat there for more than an hour without leaving. She kept talking about how miserable she was when she was a child, how she had to take care of her younger brother and do housework... A series of sob stories made the original owner have no choice but to comfort her.
Then came the incident of falling into the water. It was indeed Su Erniu who dragged her down. The original owner did indeed die after falling into the water. Although the original owner could swim, she drowned while playing at the reservoir with her older brother. From then on, she was terrified of water. Otherwise, Jiang Lai wouldn't have ended up here.
That's why Jiang Lai insisted on reporting it to the police.
Su Erniu did indeed take the original owner's life, and for that reason, she wouldn't let Su Erniu get what she wanted. There's no such thing as a free lunch; she took the original owner's life and now wants to take back her happy life? She's dreaming.
This is the real reason why she deliberately brought this up in front of Shi Cheng. At this moment, Shi Cheng's heart is still with the original owner, and if she didn't do these things, how could she be worthy of the original owner's life?
"Lai Lai?" A call startled Jiang Lai from her reverie. She looked up and saw it was Liu Aihua, the original owner's mother. At this moment, Ye Anguo heard the sound and stopped the bicycle. Jiang Lai jumped off the back seat.
"Lai Lai, didn't you say you were going to pick chestnuts in the mountains with Su Er Niu?" Liu Aihua said as she ran over, but when she saw Jiang Lai's dripping pants, she immediately changed her tone: "Why are your clothes all wet? Go back and change quickly."
Liu Aihua, who was several decades old, saw Jiang Lai's dripping pants and the young man who brought her back was also soaking wet. She roughly guessed what had happened: "Comrade, please ride your bicycle faster and take my daughter home."
At this moment, Liu Aihua didn't think about anything else but the cold weather and the fact that Jiang Lai was weak and absolutely couldn't get cold.
"Okay." Ye Anguo then rode his bicycle away with Jiang Lai.
As soon as Jiang Lai and Ye Anguo left, Liu Aihua was stopped by someone she knew, who asked her what was going on and why Jiang Lai was brought back by a man who was also soaking wet.
"I have something to do at home today, so I'll head back first. I'll chat with you guys later." After saying that, Liu Aihua jogged home. She didn't need to mention Jiang Lai's situation for now; she just needed to make some ginger soup when she got home.
"Did you see that? Liu Aihua's daughter and the man who brought her back are both soaking wet. It seems that Liu Aihua's daughter fell into the water and was rescued. Now her family should have a happy occasion, right?"
"Liu Aihua cherishes her youngest daughter so much, so many people have come to propose marriage but she hasn't liked any of them. Now look what's happened, her daughter has been given away for nothing." The middle-aged woman who spoke had a mean face and her words were unpleasant.
Those who didn't get along with her but were on good terms with Liu Aihua retorted, "It's still too early to say what's going on, it's too early to talk about this now."
"That's right, we don't know anything about the situation. A girl's reputation is so important, how can we just say things like that?"
"I'm not just making things up. Look at them, they're both soaking wet. Jiang Lai is even wearing a man's shirt, a military uniform no less. Maybe she saw him wearing a military uniform and deliberately went into the water to set him up."
"Hey, why are you talking so rudely? Jiang Lai is such a wonderful girl. Not only is she beautiful, but she's also incredibly polite to every neighbor she meets. She can even help her kids with their homework if they don't understand something. She's polite, well-behaved, and a high school graduate. She could marry anyone she wanted. Why would she need to plan?"
"That's it."
"Nobody knows what's going on. What are you yelling about? We're all neighbors. Aihua and her husband never refuse to help anyone who needs it. If I remember correctly, they helped you fix your coal stove just a few days ago. It's only been a few days, and you don't even remember their kindness and are still talking nonsense."
"What nonsense did I spout? The facts are obvious. They both came back soaking wet. What else could it be but a drowning accident and rescue? Jiang Lai was still wearing that man's clothes. I think she has no choice but to marry him..."
“…I think you’d better stop talking and look back.” Someone interrupted her.
"What are you looking back at?" The person turned around and saw Su Erniu and Shi Cheng, who were also soaking wet. She recalled what she had just said, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
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