Chapter 53

Those words made it sound as if she were heartless and unfaithful. Bai Xinmei pouted, she hadn’t forgotten why she came here in the first place.
“Where’s Educated Youth Ming? Didn’t they say you two came out holding hands?”
Holding hands. Song Jinping froze. Who the hell spread that rumor?! He’d only told them to say he came out with Ming Xiaoxiao, there was no need to add anything else.
His expression shifted several times.
“Who said that?”
“The educated youth at your compound.”
Bai Xinmei also tried to climb up, failed several times, and ended up venting by kicking the straw stack twice.
Song Jinping reached out to her.
“No need. I still have things to do at home, so I’ll head back first.”
From the moment she heard that Song Jinping had come out with Ming Xiaoxiao, Bai Xinmei had already been uncomfortable. Now everything seemed to go wrong, and she felt like she was about to explode. Even the thing she’d originally planned, to tell Song Jinping about her decision to divorce, she no longer wanted to mention.
She was going back to tell Qin Yuanzheng that she wasn’t divorcing after all!
“Hey? Hey!”
Her anger flared too fast. She flung her arm away, leaving Song Jinping, still standing on the straw stack with his hand out, looking rather ridiculous. He hadn’t even reacted yet. He’d only meant to provoke Meimei a little by letting people talk, but why was the effect so different from
Ming Xiaoxiao had gone out with him, but the moment they stepped outside, the two of them went their separate ways.
Song Jinping hurriedly jumped down from the straw stack to chase after her. This really had to be explained, how had his mind gone blank this time, doing something so stupid? Meimei wasn’t the kind of woman who only realized something was precious once someone else tried to take it. How had he come up with the idea of using another woman to provoke her?
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!
The golden straw stack was two to three meters high, piled from leftover rice straw after the grain had been harvested. Lying on it felt soft and warm, extremely comfortable, but when getting down, it was all too easy for someone who’d been lying there a while to forget just how hard the ground really was.
So when Song Jinping jumped down, a crisp crack rang out. His face went pale in an instant. This was truly adding insult to injury, now he definitely couldn’t catch up to Meimei.
Naturally, Bai Xinmei heard the sound of bone breaking as well. Her steps faltered, and she slightly turned her head to glance back. When Song Jinping saw that she’d stopped out of concern, his face lit up with joy.
Her expression stiffened. She snorted twice and continued walking forward.
“Meimei, wait for me!
Wait, listen to my explanation…”
Because he’d twisted his right ankle just now, Song Jinping was afraid the injury would worsen and didn’t dare put weight on it, hobbling after her on one leg.
Just like women everywhere when they’re angry, seeing him keep chasing only made Bai Xinmei feel even more wronged for reasons she couldn’t explain. She quickened her pace.
That made things even harder for Song Jinping. Sweat kept seeping from his forehead, and his complexion grew worse and worse.
Hearing the footsteps behind her grow fainter, Bai Xinmei couldn’t help but look back again.
She saw Song Jinping bent over, his left hand braced on his knee, as if enduring great pain. His right foot barely touched the ground, he clearly didn’t dare put any weight on it.
Only then did she panic. She turned and ran back to help him, though her mouth was still stubbornly sharp.
“What? Why are you chasing after me? Afraid I’ll go back to the village and say you and Educated Youth Ming were improper together, and it’d look bad?”
As she helped him straighten up, the pain in his ankle made Song Jinping suck in a sharp breath. Unable to hold back, he said aggrievedly,
“Do you have to say things like that just to stab at me? I see you and Qin Yuanzheng together these days, all sweet and affectionate. You’re the real husband and wife, I’m just an outsider.”
“Do you have to talk like that, all sarcastic and strange, Song Jinping? Keep this up and I’m going home.”
Bai Xinmei couldn’t stand him like this. Where was the composed, distant, untouchable Educated Youth Song she’d first met? He looked more like an unloved concubine of some landlord now.
“Don’t go.”
He grabbed her sleeve, looking fragile and helpless. Qin Yuanzheng wasn’t like Wang Shuisheng, over the past few days, Song Jinping had been hopping around, stirring trouble like a monkey, trying to find fault with Qin Yuanzheng, yet it hadn’t affected him in the slightest.
Yes, out of Bai Xinmei’s sight, the two men had already exchanged many rounds. Song Jinping had tried to dig up political errors on Qin Yuanzheng, or flaws in his marital status due to his being “dead” for years. In the end, he discovered that Huaguo’s legal system in this area was still imperfect, there was no direct way to prove that a marriage became invalid because one party had been declared “dead.”
Qin Yuanzheng, meanwhile, was also finding ways to let the Song family learn the truth of the situation, for example, that their son was entangled with a married woman.
The Song family might accept a future daughter-in-law who was a village girl, or even a widow, but a married woman? That was another matter entirely. It was likely they’d soon send someone to force Song Jinping back to the city.
“What is it?”
Song Jinping found it hard to say, but he also knew that if he didn’t explain now, Meimei would probably look down on him even more.
“After we went out, I didn’t come here with Ming Xiaoxiao. They’re talking nonsense.”
This was enough for now. Bai Xinmei didn’t notice the faint happiness quietly igniting in her heart, she was only worried about when Song Jinping’s ankle would heal.
When she wanted to deceive someone, she could act sweet on the surface while cold inside, breaking hearts with ease. But when she liked someone, she became all talk and no honesty.
“What does that have to do with me? But… seeing how pitiful you are, I, I’ll walk you back to the educated youth compound.”
She’s taking me back?
Song Jinping felt a surge of joy. He tugged at the corner of his mouth to smile, but walking hurt, and every twinge twisted his expression, so he ended up grinning in a tooth-baring grimace.
That foolishly happy look made Bai Xinmei twitch her lips. Was it really necessary? It was just walking him back, had she treated Song Jinping that badly before?
After walking for about half an hour, they were still far from the educated youth compound. Bai Xinmei thought of detouring to the Qin house. His ankle was swollen like a small hill, he needed it set as soon as possible.
“Hey? Is that Xinmei?”
Someone was calling her? Bai Xinmei followed the voice with her eyes. The village secretary? Why was he calling her?
As Bai Xinmei walked over, the village secretary’s eyes lit up. Truly, wearing out iron shoes to find nothing, only to have it fall into one’s lap.
Ever since Qin Yuanzheng had dealt with him so mercilessly last time, he’d completely decided to cooperate with the man who had barged into his house.
Later, he discovered that this man, called Guo Jianglong, was carrying a gun. He was tall and lean, extremely alert, with an unremarkable face. Yet when he stared at someone without moving, he radiated ferocity.
The village secretary immediately realized this was a dangerous character, most likely someone Qin Yuanzheng had offended during some secret mission.
Guo Jianglong’s goal this time was simple: revenge. Qin Yuanzheng had been lying low inside their organization for years. He’d risen in rank and wealth, but many brothers they’d mixed with had been killed or arrested. Several factions had openly put a price on his life.
After some discussion, they concluded that Qin Yuanzheng, having been a soldier for so many years, a military academy graduate, a high-ranking officer with outstanding combat ability, wouldn’t be easy to seize directly.
If they couldn’t catch him, they’d catch someone close to him instead. Looking around, Guo Jianglong decided Qin Yuanzheng’s pretty wife was the most suitable target, soft, delicate, and often wandering around on her own.
Unlike the rest of the Qin family, who did everything together in a big crowd, adults and children adding up to four or five people, there was no way he could grab them all alone.
Today just happened to be the perfect chance: have the village secretary trick her over, knock her out, and take her away.
As Bai Xinmei drew closer, the village secretary noticed she was supporting someone. He subconsciously glanced at Guo Jianglong beside him, these two… were they still going to make a move?
“Uncle Li, why did you call us over?”
Bai Xinmei was confused. The two families had just had a conflict not long ago, was he trying to retaliate? But they were all from the same village. No matter what, things wouldn’t get out of hand.
However, as the village secretary and the man beside him sized up her and Song Jinping with their eyes, Bai Xinmei mistakenly thought they were gossiping about rumors between her and Song Jinping.
She hurriedly explained,
“Educated Youth Song sprained his ankle. I’m just walking him back.”
No matter what their relationship ended up being, she was still Qin Yuanzheng’s wife for now. If she didn’t explain and people saw her like this with Song Jinping, rumors would spread, saying Qin Yuanzheng was being cuckolded.
While she spoke, Song Jinping was also observing the man standing beside the village secretary. This man… he’d never seen him in the village before. The village secretary said he was a distant nephew, but Song Jinping noticed calluses on the man’s tiger’s mouth, and through the open collar of his floral shirt, faint bluish-black marks seemed to show.
His scrutiny was too obvious. Guo Jianglong’s expression stiffened. He buttoned up one more button at his collar, one hand slipping into the pocket of his trousers where the gun was hidden.
Earlier, inside the house, the village secretary had asked him whether to make a move today, mentioning that the woman was even supporting her lover. Guo Jianglong had laughed loudly, so this was Qin Yuanzheng’s fate. Four years away, and his wife had already been slept with by someone else. Damn satisfying.
Stepping outside and seeing the white-faced educated youth with a twisted foot, Guo Jianglong felt this was a heaven-sent opportunity to grab someone.
But after watching him for a while, he realized this pretty boy wasn’t so simple. Still, since he’d already shown his face, there was no turning back halfway.
Unexpectedly, just as the two men locked eyes, Song Jinping heard the woman he’d been longing for once again distancing herself from him. Jealousy surged, was he really that shameful? Wasn’t she going to divorce Qin Yuanzheng anyway?!
His eyes filled with disbelief. Bai Xinmei felt caught between two sides and signaled to him with her eyes: Ancestor, don’t make trouble! I’m not divorced from Yuanzheng yet. If people say we’re still together now, wouldn’t that make him lose face?
After all, they’d been husband and wife for many years. She still had some affection for Qin Yuanzheng, and the resentment from being abandoned had gradually faded during these recent days together.
Song Jinping looked at her with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
Bai Xinmei immediately turned away, out of sight, out of mind, and spoke to the village secretary instead.
“Nephew’s wife, the compensation matter was handled poorly by your uncle. I promised last time to make it up to your family. Come, go inside with me and take the things.”
Seeing that the village secretary was already old, Bai Xinmei didn’t have the habit of making things hard for elderly people, so she refused.