When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 372: Chapter 136: The Green Tea Female Supporting Character in a Period Novel (23)

Finally, someone interrupted them. "This is outrageous! Director Zhang, how dare you bring your bullying into someone’s home?"

"Today is supposed to be a happy day for our Yumin! How could you... how could you do this to her..."

The people outside who couldn’t see what was happening were practically tearing their hair out in anxiety. What on earth did that mean?

It couldn’t be what they were thinking, could it?

The village chief and the other two men woodenly turned to look at each other. ’Bian Yumin couldn’t possibly be so stupid as to get caught in her own trap, could she?’

In their eyes, Chi Yun’er’s fighting ability was a joke. She was the type of person a ten-year-old could take down.

But Director Zhang, sitting on the bed and unhurriedly getting dressed, raised an eyebrow and glanced to the side.

He had been in too much of a rush earlier to get a good look at the woman. Now, in the dim light, he pursed his lips without a shred of shame.

"Well, I’ll be. It might really be your idiot daughter. She’s average-looking at best. Other than her skin being a bit fair and smooth, she’s not even one percent as beautiful as the rumored celestial beauty, Chi."

Jiang Zishu whipped his head around. He saw Jiang Yihua’s cold, mocking smile, the shifting gazes of the crowd, and behind them, Chi Yun’er occasionally jumping up to get a better view of the spectacle.

It was like having a basin of ice water dumped over his head in the middle of summer.

He had already debased himself by agreeing to marry a village girl for a spot at the Industrial and Agricultural University, but now that village girl had lost her innocence...

The devastating trap they had set for Chi Yun’er—to be defiled, to have her reputation ruined, to face the condemnation of the masses—had backfired completely, rebounding right back onto them!

The village chief’s wife craned her neck to look, her expression one of disbelief. When she saw the woman lying nonchalantly on the bed and recognized the familiar burn scar on her arm, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

The village chief’s house instantly descended into chaos. They hadn’t even made it out the front gate before some clueless children on the edge of the crowd, having picked up a few phrases from the adults, started clapping their hands and chanting a little rhyme...

"The chief’s house has a lazy pig, so fair and round and white! She crawls in stinky beds with men, oh what a terrific sight!"

Jiang Yihua found Chi Yun’er and looked her over several times from head to toe before finally letting out a breath. "Let’s go. We’re going home."

Chi Yun’er chuckled, gave Aunt Chun Gui a little wave, and obediently followed him.

They didn’t wait for anyone else, just drove the tractor straight back.

The countryside was pitch-black at night, like a thick cloth had been draped over one’s eyes. Even with the cool moonlight in the sky, the tractor’s headlights only made the surrounding darkness feel deeper and more viscous.

"Brother Hua, aren’t we waiting for the others?"

Jiang Yihua shook his head and said lightly, "This just gives them an excuse to stay the night in Bian Family Village. It’ll be more convenient for them to check on the Manduo in the back mountains."

After that, he drove in silence, the tractor chugging along until they were about halfway. Then, he abruptly stopped, pulled her directly onto his lap, and pressed his body fiercely against hers.

Chi Yun’er froze for a moment, sensing his unease and urgency. She wrapped her arms around his waist and let him take the lead.

After a long moment, Jiang Yihua pulled her into a tight embrace, greedily inhaling her sweet scent. "Yun’er, I used to see the world too clearly. I didn’t believe in fate, or in anything that science couldn’t explain."

"But this time, I’m so grateful to the heavens that we met and fell in love at just the right moment—not a moment too soon, not a moment too late."

He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if they had been just one step too late—if Jiang Zishu and Bian Yumin had gotten engaged before she left Bian Family Village. What a tragic fate would have awaited her.

"Don’t you worry. Even though their scheme against you failed and blew up in their own faces, they will still be punished!"

"The friends I asked for help were all transferred here from the Capital City for training. None of them have a weak background; they won’t be intimidated by the local thugs."

"One of my friends was secretly protecting you the entire time. I can tell you," he coughed lightly, "that even if you hadn’t reacted in time and Bian Yumin had managed to drug you, my friend would never have let things get to that point."

Chi Yun’er chuckled and nodded.

Her senses were much sharper now; she could hear the slightest disturbance.

Despite the commotion in the front yard, at the moment she had turned the tables on Bian Yumin, she had caught something. The person hidden in the shadows must have thought their mission was complete. For just a second, they relaxed their guard and let their presence slip, and she had detected it.

When they got back to the farm, Jiang Yihua walked Chi Yun’er to her dorm and ruffled her hair. "Good girl. Go get some sleep. Everything should be settled by tomorrow."

Chi Yun’er pressed her lips together, then couldn’t resist stepping forward to hug him, pressing her cheek against his hot chest. "Brother Hua, I used to think my parents would be the ones I could rely on unconditionally for my whole life."

"But after everything that’s happened, I realize that’s not true."

"They’re getting older every day. They’re no longer the towering trees that could shield me from every storm. Now, they’ve become my biggest worry, my weakness. There are so many things I can’t tell them with complete honesty."

"’You only tell them the good news, never the bad.’ But it’s different with a husband and wife. Two people in love should trust each other completely and walk through life hand-in-hand."

"Brother Hua, can I trust you?"

"I’ve also heard another saying: ’A couple is like birds in the same wood; when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways.’ Will we be like that one day?"

Jiang Yihua lovingly stroked her wispy hair and chuckled. "I won’t. I can’t guarantee what choices or sacrifices I might have to make for the sake of the organization at a critical moment."

"But you will always be more important than I am. For my entire life, my love."

Moved once again, Chi Yun’er snuggled deeper into his embrace.

’If anyone else had said that, she would have scoffed. Sweet words are easy to say. A lifetime is long, and even she couldn’t guarantee her own heart wouldn’t change.’

’She was someone who didn’t even trust herself. After all, she had been a madwoman once. Or rather, it was as if she’d been split in two—one half, mad, hiding in a safe harbor of self-deception; the other, soberly witnessing all the ugliness of the world.’

’But she believed Jiang Yihua. There were people in this world who truly did what they said, who forged every word of a promise in gold.’

’Besides, being loyal to and cherishing one woman wasn’t so difficult. As long as a person saw things clearly enough, they could make the smart, correct choice.’

’Living earnestly wasn’t just about being responsible to your lover and family; it was an entire attitude toward life, a way to write the perfect answer to the test of your own existence.’

After cuddling for a while longer, she reluctantly closed the door and went inside.

Jiang Yihua chuckled and shook his head. He’d never had someone cling to him like that before. The feeling was new, a little overwhelming, but sweet.

He took a few steps, then suddenly froze. In disbelief, his hands began to pat all over his body.

On the way here, he had not only held Chi Yun’er, but kissed her, too. With that much intense contact, he should have broken out in red welts all over his body—a feeling like being fried in hot oil. It was only now that he realized something was off!

His skin was perfectly smooth, showing only the defined lines of his muscles. All he felt was the comfortable, cool evening breeze. There were no welts, no feverish heat, no unbearable itching.

Jiang Yihua clenched his fists, his eyes flooding with joy as he looked back toward her door.

The next morning, Chi Yun’er heard the cafeteria whistle signaling breakfast. She groggily climbed out of bed and grabbed her washbasin to go clean up.

The moment she opened the door, she jumped in fright. Jiang Yihua was standing right there, and had been for who knows how long.

"Brother Hua?" she called out, her voice a mix of laughter and confusion.

Jiang Yihua looked left and right like a thief. The sky was just beginning to lighten. After the summer harvest rush, everyone had taken a short break before starting the next round of work.

Most people would be out in the fields in the morning, shouldering their hoes to rake grass or water the crops, slacking off a bit before taking their meal tins straight to the cafeteria.

As a result, the dormitory area was nearly deserted at this hour.

He pushed her back into the room and immediately started kissing her hungrily.

Chi Yun’er dodged back and forth, laughing. "Brother Hua, what’s wrong with you? I... I haven’t even washed my face! Stop..."