Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead, spilling across half of Lin Aiyun’s face, making her look like a celestial maiden descended from heaven.
At least, that’s how she appeared in Peng Juan’s eyes.
Lin Aiyun watched Peng Juan practically staring at her in a daze and frowned deeper. Losing patience, she said directly: “What do you want? If it’s nothing, I’m leaving.”
“Hey, don’t go!” Peng Juan snapped out of it and grabbed Lin Aiyun’s arm. Lin Aiyun yanked it free and stepped back several paces, putting distance between them.
Seeing Lin Aiyun treat her like some kind of threat, Peng Juan’s expression shifted. Afraid she’d walk away—and afraid someone might see them together—she quickly got to the point: “You’re getting married?”
Lin Aiyun couldn’t figure out Peng Juan’s angle. After a pause, she nodded. The news had spread through the village—anyone could find out with a little asking. There was no point denying it.
“I heard your man is loaded. You wouldn’t want him finding out about your past, would you? What if he calls off the wedding? That’d be humiliating.” Peng Juan smirked, then added for good measure: “With that kind of scandal, no man would ever want you again.”
Lin Aiyun listened quietly, looking more puzzled than alarmed. What past was Peng Juan even talking about? What could possibly make Xiao Cheng call off the wedding?
Was she talking about the time she’d chased after Meng Baoguo and made a scene about marrying him?
Not many people knew about that. Could Meng Baoguo have told her? But she dismissed that thought immediately—the Meng Baoguo of this life wasn’t like that. In her past life, he’d kept their affair completely secret until she’d convinced her family and agreed to marry him.
So Peng Juan must have heard it from someone else—after all, walls had ears.
She wouldn’t have come looking for Lin Aiyun without a reason. From what she knew of Peng Juan, it was always about money.
But looking at Peng Juan’s smug, overconfident expression, Lin Aiyun nearly laughed out loud. This was what she was worried about?
Lin Aiyun turned away, no longer willing to waste time. She glanced at the soy sauce bottle in her hand, remembered she had an errand to run, and started to leave.
“Hey! Where are you going? Aren’t you scared?” Peng Juan chased after her and blocked her path.
“Get out of my way. A good dog doesn’t block the road.” Lin Aiyun’s sharp gaze made her look anything but weak. Peng Juan flinched back half a step, then sputtered at the insult: “Who are you calling a dog?”
“Whoever answers to it.” Lin Aiyun rolled her eyes.
“You—you—you!” Peng Juan pointed at her, speechless, before finally managing: “With that attitude, anyone who marries you is asking for trouble. No wonder my brother-in-law dumped you.”
Hearing that, Lin Aiyun couldn’t help but scoff: “I dumped him. Anyone who marries him is the one asking for trouble.”
Meng Baoguo—that spineless mama’s boy who didn’t dare say a word at home. Whoever married him was doomed. That was a truth she’d spent half her past life verifying.
But Peng Juan latched onto a different part: “So you admit you and my brother-in-law were together!”
“Who’s going to believe you now, after all that talk about dying to marry him?”
“Just imagine what your man would think if he heard this—whether he’d believe it, whether he’d think you’re dirty. Oh, I remember—you were completely soaked when my brother-in-law fished you out of the river, weren’t you? Who knows what he touched out there. A woman not yet married, already touched by another man before her own husband ever laid a hand on her—don’t you think he’d care?”
“What man could just pretend nothing happened and still marry you after being cuckolded?”
“He’d probably find it revolting, can’t even stand to look at you. And who knows—maybe he’d wonder if you and my brother-in-law already slept together?”
“Before, no one in the city told him about all this. But if I go to him now…”
Peng Juan left the rest unsaid—which only made it more ominous.
But Lin Aiyun didn’t fall to her knees and beg for mercy as expected. Instead, she shot back with cool sarcasm: “Aren’t you tired after all that useless chatter?”
“Lin Aiyun, don’t you dare regret this!” Only now did Peng Juan begin to sense that Lin Aiyun genuinely didn’t care. But why? Any of those things, if brought to light at a time like this, would surely cause a storm.
Didn’t she care about her reputation? Didn’t she want to marry that Xiao fellow?
Peng Juan had been so confident precisely because she assumed Lin Aiyun would care. She’d even waited for a moment when Lin Aiyun was alone, hoping to squeeze her dry.
But nothing was going as planned.
“You can go right ahead and tell him.” Lin Aiyun shrugged.
Peng Juan thought she was just being stubborn. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm, and finally revealed her true purpose: “Give me three hundred yuan, and I’ll take this secret to the grave. I won’t tell a soul.”
Three hundred yuan—a fortune for an ordinary person in those days.
“Ha—Meng Baoguo’s sister-in-law.” Lin Aiyun let out a cold laugh, as if she’d just heard the most ridiculous thing. She glanced at Peng Juan, her expression still calm—but now tinged with contempt. “Have you gone mad with greed?”
Setting aside the fact that her “relationship” with Meng Baoguo had never been official—no confession, no commitment—just a few days of flirtation. There was no proof. If Peng Juan went around spreading rumors, who’d believe her?
As for the time she’d thrown a fit at home, swearing she’d marry Meng Baoguo—also no proof. A few neighbors might have overheard, but if she denied it, who’d press the matter?
And that incident of falling into the river—yes, he’d touched her while rescuing her, but there were people around. Once she was on shore, he’d behaved himself the whole time, never taking advantage.
That was one of the reasons she’d been moved—she thought he was a gentleman.
Her family had gone in person with generous gifts to thank him. They’d handled it properly; no one could find fault.
But now Peng Juan was using that very rescue to insult her purity and extort money—as if she were some weak-willed girl who’d crumble at a few threats and hand over whatever she wanted.
Ridiculous.
As a woman herself, Peng Juan knew how hard life was. And yet she used this against Lin Aiyun without hesitation—disgusting. What was the difference between her and the scumbags who spread baseless rumors about women?
Besides, Lin Aiyun trusted Xiao Cheng. He wouldn’t throw away their relationship because of a few words from a stranger.
Trust was the most important thing between lovers. If she didn’t even have that, what was the point of getting married? They’d fall apart sooner or later.
So why be afraid of Peng Juan? Why give her any satisfaction? Why let her win?
Peng Juan was breathless with rage. Her chest felt like it was being crushed. Her lips were dry, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. It took several deep breaths before she could finally choke out her curses.
“Lin Aiyun, you’re nothing but a gold-digging fox! You run off to the city, land yourself a rich man, dump my brother-in-law, and now you have the nerve to get married so happily? You ungrateful slut—I’m going to that Xiao fellow and telling him exactly who you really are!”
“Just wait. I’ll see if you can still smile then.”
Hearing this, Lin Aiyun couldn’t help thinking of the miserable past she’d left behind. Her eyes went cold. “Go ahead and try.”
Seeing that Lin Aiyun truly wouldn’t part with a single cent, Peng Juan stomped her feet in fury, spat out a few more threats, and ran off.
Lin Aiyun watched her retreating back, her good mood ruined. She stood there for a moment, then picked up her soy sauce bottle and continued on her way. What she didn’t notice was a scrap of black fabric peeking out from the corner of the wall nearby.
By the time she got home with the soy sauce, Zhang Wenhua was already back, prepping some loofah someone had given them. Hearing her come in, she didn’t look up, just smiled and said: “Xiao Cheng liked that loofah and egg drop soup last time, so I’m making it again tonight.”
“Alright.” Lin Aiyun nodded.
But Zhang Wenhua was sharp enough to sense something off in her daughter’s voice. She looked up, frowning: “Aiyun, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” The automatic answer came out, but then she pressed her lips together. There was no point hiding it. So she briefly told her mother about Peng Juan’s visit—leaving out the worst of the insults.
The moment she finished speaking, Zhang Wenhua slammed the loofah into the wooden basin, her fingers trembling with rage as she shot to her feet. “That foul-mouthed wretch! What have we ever done wrong to their family? Not only does she slander your reputation, but she dares to extort money—utterly shameless!”
“Let’s go—I’ll confront her and ask exactly what their family is playing at, bullying us like this!” Zhang Wenhua rolled up her sleeves and started for the door, but then stopped, her face turning worried. “What about Xiao Cheng…”
Lin Aiyun knew her mother was concerned that Xiao Cheng might hold this against her—that even if he believed her, a seed of doubt might be planted, laying a hidden mine beneath their marriage.
“Don’t worry—he won’t.” Lin Aiyun gave Zhang Wenhua a reassuring smile.
“That’s good.” Zhang Wenhua breathed a sigh of relief, then gritted her teeth. “Let’s go find your father. We’ll go together and demand justice.”
Lin Aiyun knew that with matters like this, it was best to strike first. If Peng Juan got to spread her version first, people would be more inclined to believe her. They had to get ahead of it.
But it was already getting dark, and the two villages were a fair distance apart. Showing up at night wouldn’t give them any advantage—better to wait until tomorrow.
Besides, Peng Juan’s goal was money. Having hit a wall with Lin Aiyun, she’d likely shift her target and keep trying until she got what she wanted.
Even if Peng Juan wanted to spread rumors right away, her mother-in-law wouldn’t allow it. After all, this plan couldn’t have been Peng Juan’s alone—Huang Xiuying had to be behind it. Without her approval, Peng Juan wouldn’t even have had the time to spy on Lin Aiyun; she had enough housework to keep her busy all day.
So Lin Aiyun wasn’t afraid Peng Juan would act rashly and blurt everything out immediately.
She quickly stopped Zhang Wenhua from going to find Lin Jianzhi, laid out the pros and cons, and said that she had to tell Xiao Cheng first—to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
Zhang Wenhua saw the wisdom in that and reluctantly held back her anger.
“Alright, don’t dwell on it.” Lin Aiyun hugged her mother, and the two of them talked for a while until their emotions settled, then started preparing the family dinner.
As the sun set, the men gradually returned from their long day’s work. After hauling the grain from the square in several trips, they washed up and gathered around the table.
Zhang Wenhua was unusually quiet during dinner, and Lin Jianzhi kept glancing her way, wondering if he’d somehow upset her. He kept piling food onto her plate, trying to win a smile.
Lin Aiyun, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease, attending to everyone as usual.
“Mother made this especially for you.” After Xiao Cheng finished his meal, Lin Aiyun took his bowl and ladled him some loofah and egg drop soup. The pale green chunks and warm yellow egg ribbons floated together, a feast for the eyes, and melted down the throat without chewing.
“Thank you, Mother-in-law. It’s delicious.” Xiao Cheng’s eyes curved as he held the bowl.
Hearing his address—even though it wasn’t the first time—Zhang Wenhua’s expression softened, and she couldn’t help laughing: “Then drink some more.”
“Will do.” He downed two full bowls before finally setting down his chopsticks.
Watching his wife beam at his son-in-law while giving him the cold shoulder, Lin Jianzhi was now certain he’d done something wrong. After finishing his meal, he scrambled after her, offering to help clean up. He rolled up his sleeves and took over the dishes.
“Aiyun, take Xiao Cheng to the village entrance to buy some salt. The flashlight’s in the hall drawer.”
Zhang Wenhua seized the moment to shoot Lin Aiyun a meaningful look—a signal to go talk to Xiao Cheng.
Before Lin Aiyun could respond, Lin Jianzhi—carrying a stack of dirty bowls—blinked and said: “It’s dark out, you can barely see the road. You two might trip—let Kangzi go.”
Lin Wenkang: “…” So I wouldn’t trip? Wuwuwu, I’m forgotten.
“Mind your own business—go wash the dishes!” Zhang Wenhua pinched his arm and pushed him toward the backyard.
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