When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 340: Chapter 128: The Green Tea Female Supporting Character in a Period Novel (15)

"What if he gets reckless and does something you’ll regret? By then, it’ll be too late."

"Sigh, I was wrong about you before. You had Jiang waiting on you hand and foot, so I thought you must be really hard to get along with. I never expected you to be so much fun in private."

Chi Yun’er’s eyes curved into crescents.

A smile like that gave her a sweet and gentle air, making it doubly lethal.

"And I never expected someone with a temper like a firecracker, like you, Zheng, to have such a heroic heart."

Zheng waved her hands dismissively. "Oh, don’t flatter me. What heroic heart? My parents say I’m a simpleton—the kind who’d get sold and still help the buyer count the money."

"Sometimes I do things that hurt people before I’ve even thought them through. I used to really disapprove of you, thinking it’s better to rely on yourself than anyone else."

"The only difference between you and the rest of us was that you had parents who doted on you and a childhood sweetheart who was completely devoted to you. We were all toiling away miserably in the fields while you were living a life of leisure in your courtyard. Who wouldn’t feel bitter seeing that?"

Chi Yun’er shrugged and sighed. "What could I do? The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. All I could do was let you channel your grief and indignation into strength, and silently cheer you on."

Zheng stared at her for a long moment before asking in a low voice,

"Chi, did you really not push Comrade Bian?"

Chi Yun’er raised an eyebrow. "If I said I didn’t, would you believe me? Aren’t you afraid I’m lying?"

Zheng waved her hand and laughed. "What’s there to be afraid of? How many of those rumors are ever true? Besides, didn’t they say at the time that no one actually saw it happen?"

"Even Jiang said his angle was bad. He only saw you reach out your hand; he couldn’t tell if you were trying to push her or pull her back."

"But as the story got passed around, it turned into you pushing Comrade Bian off the bridge out of jealousy."

"It just boggles my mind. Our Chi is beautiful and was Jiang’s childhood sweetheart. Why would she be threatened by a village girl who’s barely even passable-looking?"

"Who would be holding a white flour bun and still want a sweet potato cornbread? Besides, the way Jiang doted on you was completely unprecedented!"

"Even if you did push her, it must have been because she said something nasty to provoke you!"

"We’re right next to the big river here. All the kids, boys and girls, go swimming in it during the summer. The water under that bridge isn’t deep—you can see the green stones on the bottom. The bridge isn’t high, either. So what if someone got pushed off?"

"The village chief’s family just made a big fuss because they wanted to snag a son-in-law from the city for free. Instead, they just dragged Chi’s name through the mud and made her out to be the villain."

Once Zheng got started, she just couldn’t stop talking:

"At night, us girls talk about it in bed. That rumor just doesn’t hold water. At first, everyone probably just wanted to watch the drama, hoping it would get bigger and bigger."

"But nobody’s a fool. It’s one thing to enjoy the show, but if you think about the rumor for even a second, you can tell what’s true and what’s not..."

Chi Yun’er smiled and prepared two rich cups of malted milk, pushing one in front of Zheng.

Zheng grinned, picked it up without any ceremony, and took a sip despite the heat. "Ahh, that’s the stuff!"

"Honestly, I think it’s a good thing you and Jiang didn’t work out. Everyone says Jiang is so great and that Chi isn’t good enough for him. But I think it’s the exact opposite. Jiang was the one sucking up to you."

"How long can an unequal relationship like that last? Isn’t there that story about Chen Shimei from ancient times?"

"Jiang is our real-life Chen Shimei, abandoning his old love for the sake of his future! Chi, don’t you be sad over someone who isn’t worth it. There’s probably a much better man out there waiting for you!"

Chi Yun’er raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You make a lot of sense, Zheng."

"Hehe, right? I might be a bit impulsive, and I tend to act before I think, but I’m not actually an idiot. My mom told me to reflect on the day’s events before bed each night, and over time, you start to figure things out," Zheng said, savoring the malted milk sip by tiny sip, completely entranced.

’This stuff is a real luxury. Ordinary families would never be willing to buy malted milk unless it was a gift for a superior.’

’Brown sugar was the best her family could afford.’

The more she drank, the more Zheng felt that Chi was a good person, and that everyone had been fooled by her aloof exterior.

’How could such a beautiful, delicate girl be that dangerous?’

The two of them talked for a while. It was mostly Zheng speaking, who felt encouraged by the bright, smiling light in Chi Yun’er’s eyes. Her vanity was immensely satisfied.

She wished she could pour her heart out to Chi Yun’er and tell her absolutely everything she knew. When she heard the other sent-down youths returning to the courtyard, she still felt like she hadn’t said nearly enough.