Volume One, Chapter 13: Look at the Mess You've Made!

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Shen Zhiyi froze, then suddenly turned her head to look at the pen in Second Brother Shen’s hand. When she saw that familiar fountain pen, she instinctively reached for her pants pocket. Finding nothing there, she glanced up toward the direction Song Huaichuan had left. She remembered that when she exchanged for the portable self-defense device with the system, she had taken it out from her pocket. She must have accidentally brought the pen out at that time. Seeing the pen in Second Brother Shen’s hand, there was nothing left unclear to Shen Zhiyi.

“Song Huaichuan.”

She called out to stop him. The man on the other path paused, turned around, and looked at her with a deep, quiet gaze. Shen Zhiyi coquettishly winked at him: “I’ll return your pen next time.” Song Huaichuan’s dark eyes flashed with a faint smile. He curled his lips slightly—

“All right.”

On the way back.

Wang Tieniu couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Boss, did you just smile at Miss Shen?”

“No, you must have seen wrong.”

“Impossible! You definitely smiled, I saw it clearly!”

“You’re seeing things.”

“Nonsense! I clearly saw it—your smile stretched all the way to your ears. I can’t be wrong…”

Wang Tieniu kept pressing Song Huaichuan to admit he smiled, then asked what Shen Zhiyi’s words meant and whether he still had a chance. But Song Huaichuan ignored him.

Returning to the unit, passing by the mailroom, someone suddenly called out.

“Deputy Commander Song, your family called today. It sounded urgent. They asked you to call them back immediately.”

“Thanks.”

Without delay, Song Huaichuan walked into a nearby phone booth and dialed home. Someone must have been waiting, as the call was answered instantly after one ring—

“Is that Huaichuan?”

“Aunt Sun, it’s me.”

“Wait, wait, I’ll get the old master to speak with you.”

On the other end, Aunt Sun seemed to be calling someone over.

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After a moment, the phone was answered again, and the anxious voice of Old Master Song came through the receiver:

“Huaichuan, go to Shen Family Village quickly. Find that girl Zhiyi and protect her! Your second brother, that good-for-nothing, actually sent people to ruin Zhiyi’s purity... Hurry, protect her well. Don’t let her suffer even a scratch!”

Song Huaichuan’s jaw tensed, his eyes dark as ink. He gripped the receiver tightly. “It’s already too late.”

“What?!”

In Jing City, after a chaotic commotion, Old Master Song’s voice came over the phone again. This time, his tone was noticeably weaker.

“Huaichuan, what did you just mean? Could it be that... that girl Zhiyi has already...”

Song Huaichuan heard the frailty in Old Master’s voice and realized his words might have distressed him. He quickly changed his approach, first assuring him that Shen Zhiyi was safe, then swiftly recounting the entire incident.

Hearing that Zhiyi was unharmed, the old master relaxed. But upon learning of the danger she faced, his anger flared again. Knowing she fainted from fright filled him with deep guilt.

“It’s all my fault... I’m to blame... Huaichuan, please look after Zhiyi more for me. If you have the chance, bring her some things to check on her... That girl’s health is poor; she’s probably suffered a lot this time…”

After hanging up, Song Huaichuan stood dazed by the phone, lost in thought. Wang Tieniu, originally counting ants at the door, saw Song Huaichuan hurry out and immediately approached.

“Boss, what’s wrong? Where are you going?”

“To Xinghua Commune.”

...

In Jing City.

After hanging up the phone, Old Master Song finally felt a weight lift from his heart. But when he thought of the people in the west wing, his face fell again.

Upon waking, the old master had summoned his second son’s family for questioning. At first, Chen Shuzhen tried to defend herself, refusing to admit her actions.

When the relevant authorities sent over the recording pen, the evidence was undeniable. Though she admitted to slandering Shen Zhiyi, both mother and son vehemently denied sending people to ruin the girl’s reputation.

Only after it was discovered this morning that Su Yinwan had called a cousin in Guangdong Province, and after being summoned and questioned repeatedly, did Su Yinwan finally confess.

Thus came Old Master Song’s urgent call to Song Huaichuan.

With the truth exposed, Chen Shuzhen still tried to justify herself, kneeling and crying:

“Dad, what could I do? You know that girl’s health is poor. I was just worried she’d delay Huaoyu…”

“A country girl is easily bought off with some money. Why must Huaoyu marry her? You’re just being biased, old master…”

“If you want that girl as your granddaughter-in-law, why not let the eldest son Huaichuan marry her? Although the girl helped Huaoyu back then, Huaoyu got into trouble trying to save you. It was all for your sake. The debt is yours to repay, why make Huaoyu bear it alone?”

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Perhaps out of despair or panic, Chen Shuzhen vented years of grievances against the old master, making him groan in exasperation.

Old Master Song turned to Song Huaoyu: “What about you? Do you think like your mother?”

Song Huaoyu stammered, unable to respond.

Old Master’s eyes were full of disappointment.

“Do you remember? When this matter first came up, I asked you, and you agreed yourself. At that time, Zhiyi even refused, but you went to her and promised to take responsibility, vowing to care for her for life. Was that your guarantee?”

“If you didn’t agree, why didn’t you say so then? If you wanted to break off the engagement, why not do it properly and not disgrace her…”

The old master was too angry to speak further.

Lin Manyu was also disgusted by what her sister-in-law had done.

What kind of thing is this? If you want to break off the engagement, fine, but why sully someone’s name and send people to ruin a girl’s reputation?

Now the Song family’s reputation was utterly destroyed. Her husband was even called in for questioning.

Her Huaichuan was still single, and with this scandal, no decent girl would dare marry into their family. Matchmakers would avoid them entirely.

Though Huaichuan had been unwilling to resolve his personal matters over the years, not wanting to find someone and being unable to marry were two entirely different things.

Thinking about the unavoidable gossip even while hiding at home these past few days made Lin Manyu furious.

On the Su family side, it was also a mess.

As soon as Su’s father returned home, he slapped Su Yinwan across the face.

“Look at what you’ve done!”

Su’s mother was displeased: “Why hit the child? She’s just panicked. What’s wrong with pursuing her own happiness?”

Su’s father snapped, “Why must she chase after that Song boy who’s already promised to someone else? Why didn’t she go meet the youngest son of the Huo family when I told her to?”

Hearing the name Huo Qi, Su Yinwan’s eyes flickered.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to marry into the Huo family, but though Huo Qi looked decent, he was truly a good-for-nothing.

In her previous life, marrying Huo Qi led to her tragic death on foreign streets.

Now, given a second chance, how could she possibly choose Huo Qi again?

In fact, she had originally set her sights on Song Huaoyu’s eldest brother, Song Huaichuan.

But since Song Eldest Brother was often away with the military and ignored her even when home, she had no choice but to focus on Song Huaoyu.

Su’s mother said, “It’s happened now. What good is hitting her? It was just a few words. The girl wasn’t actually harmed. Shouldn’t this be taken seriously?”

“How was she not harmed?” Su’s father pointed at Su Yinwan, his face dark as iron. “Your precious daughter incited her cousin to attempt something against the girl, and he was caught red-handed! Just now, a call came from Guangxi Province saying he’s being sent to a labor camp!”