“Tian Xin…”
“Xin Xin…”
“Xin Xin, tell them… the two of us are…”
“No, no, no—Xin Xin and I are the ones who truly understand each other.”
They say a group of people chattering together sounds like a bunch of ducks quacking.
Right now, Tian Tian watched seven men—tall, short, stocky, lean, handsome, and homely—all talking at once, and the effect was noisier than ten ducks.
Who says women are the loud ones? Listen to these men fighting and bickering—they’re the ones who are truly noisy.
Tian Xin was so shocked by this sudden turn of events that she couldn’t even speak.
After a long moment, she finally stammered, “You… why are you all here…?” By the end, her tone had turned quite frightened.
The seven men, for once, were perfectly in sync. “We received your letters. Your letters said you have many ‘good brothers.’ We didn’t believe it…”
“What letters?” The panic on Tian Xin’s face intensified, and her voice became extremely shrill. Smart as she was, she had already realized someone was setting her up. No, she couldn’t let this happen.
Having spent years navigating between various men while emerging unscathed, Tian Xin wasn’t one to be easily knocked down. An ordinary girl, confronted by so many “good brothers” at once, would have been too ashamed to show her face.
But not Tian Xin.
“Oh, this… hey. If you all have something to discuss, let’s find a place to talk slowly. There’s definitely a misunderstanding here.”
Tian Xin tried her best to put on an understanding expression, persuading the seven men in front of her.
Then, putting on a troubled look, she nodded toward the villagers watching from all directions.
Initially, hearing what the seven men had said, everyone was silently concluding that Tian Xin was having improper relationships. But seeing her troubled expression, they began to think that maybe what she said about a misunderstanding was true.
After all, even if someone were having improper relationships, most people would at most be two-timing. But here were seven men! Surely Tian Xin couldn’t be messing around with seven men at once, right? Although there are seven days in a week, and one man per day—well, that might be plausible.
Tian Tian, watching the villagers’ changing attitudes from the sidelines, clicked her tongue in amazement.
She had to give it to Tian Xin—she really had skills. Even in a situation like this, she could turn it around. But how could Tian Tian let her off that easily? Wouldn’t that waste the dozen or so letters she had sent?
But before Tian Tian could make her own move, someone else couldn’t hold back.
Just as the seven men, swayed by Tian Xin’s persuasion, were thinking of following her somewhere quiet to talk things out slowly, a voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd:
“Hey boys, don’t go! Which one of you is Tian Xin’s boyfriend?”
As soon as those words landed, the seven men spoke in unison again: “I am!”
Boom…
Tian Xin felt an explosion in her ears, her brain flooding with blood.
Tian Tian, on the other hand, looked toward the person who had shouted. It was the village widow He, her uncle’s wife’s old rival.
Like mother, like daughter? Or rather, a mother’s sins coming back to haunt her child?
Seizing the moment, Tian Tian immediately spoke up: “Aunt He, what are you saying! There are seven men here! They all claim to be Tian Xin’s boyfriend. Is that even possible? They must be lying!”
This kind of saccharine, fake-concern speech was something Tian Tian had learned from Xu Lifen. As for the effect? Just look at the villagers whispering and pointing at Tian Xin.
Tian Xin was so furious at Tian Tian’s words that she felt her lungs might burst. But she didn’t dare throw a tantrum now. She could only force a dry laugh and continue along with what Tian Tian had said: “It’s true, these are all my friends. There are just some misunderstandings. Please don’t misunderstand—I’m still single, I don’t have a partner!”
With that, unable to stay a moment longer, she turned and bolted toward the village entrance.
The seven men, who were still arguing over who was the legitimate boyfriend, stopped fighting and immediately followed. With so many of them, they kicked up clouds of dust from the village’s dirt road.
Tian Tian, left behind at the scene, was surrounded by the villagers.
“Tian Tian, among those young men just now, which one is really Tian Xin’s boyfriend?”
“Tian Tian, Tian Xin has so many boyfriends. How come you’re still single?”
…
Faced with all kinds of probing questions, Tian Tian simply put on a good-natured smile. Just a smile, nothing more. Not a single word.
In this situation, if she said anything nice about Tian Xin, people would say she was in cahoots with her.
If she said anything bad about Tian Xin, people would say she had no sisterly loyalty.
At times like this, silence was golden.
But luck had really been on Tian Tian’s side lately.
Just as she was surrounded by the villagers, someone from the village committee called out to her, saying there was a phone call.
Tian Tian hurried over, picked up the receiver, and sure enough, it was someone from the Anti-Smuggling Division asking her to come in for further cooperation with the investigation.
After hanging up, the village chief asked with concern, “Are you in some kind of trouble out there?”
Phone lines back then weren’t secure at all, and the village chief had overheard the entire conversation.
Tian Tian shook her head. “It’s nothing, Uncle Village Chief. I’m just going in to cooperate with the investigation. I’m not the only one—most of the cooperative has been called in.”
The village chief was startled.
He had heard from an acquaintance that morning that something had happened at the cooperative yesterday. But unlike the villagers, who had only heard about the affair being caught, the village chief knew more.
“They say it’s about smuggling arrests. I don’t understand how the cooperative got mixed up with smuggling. Anyway, you’re just a young woman. Go to the Anti-Smuggling Division, tell them what you know, and don’t get involved in anything else.”
Tian Tian wanted to say that she was already deeply involved—in fact, she was the one who had set everything in motion. But she only thought it. She had already discussed things with her parents and agreed not to reveal a single detail about what had happened at the cooperative to anyone in the village.
The staged affair had served two purposes. It had bought her time to escape the cooperative with the evidence. And it had also acted as a distraction in the eyes of the public.
That way, apart from those directly involved in the case, no one would know she had played a part in it.
—
“Oh, Tian Tian, you’re here! Where were you yesterday? You missed something really good—what a waste! Let me tell you, Xu Lifen with her bare ass exposed? It was hilarious. Serves her right for always picking on my mother. Hmph…”
The moment Tian Tian stepped into the Anti-Smuggling Division, she was grabbed by an enthusiastic Ma Xiaomei, who giggled as she eagerly shared all the details of the affair being caught the day before.
“You really missed out by not being there. Let me tell you, I was ready to do it myself. But then Section Head Xu’s wife showed up. Oh man. She kicked the door open, charged in, grabbed Xu by the collar, and just started slapping him left and right, smack smack. It was so satisfying to watch.”
Tian Tian had expected Ma Xiaomei to kick Xu Lifen while she was down and gleefully describe her humiliation. But instead, as Ma Xiaomei spoke, her tone was full of approval for Section Head Xu’s wife. It seemed that despite her impulsive nature, her values were sound.
When a man cheats, the mistress is wrong. But the man is even more wrong. Tian Tian fully approved of the wife going after the man directly.
But no sooner had Tian Tian praised Ma Xiaomei in her mind than the woman started trashing Xu Lifen.
“Don’t you think she’s an idiot? She’s young. Sure, she walks around with that gloomy look like her whole family died, but she had a good job! Why would she set her sights on some old man like Section Head Xu? And then get caught with her pants down—literally. But I guess Xu Lifen is lucky too. A few years ago, she’d have been dragged out, head half-shaved, paraded through the streets, and publicly humiliated.”
While Ma Xiaomei rattled on with her various complaints, Tian Tian’s eyes scanned the people who had come in to cooperate with the investigation. After looking around, she confirmed it: everyone from the cooperative, from the director down to the janitor, had been summoned.
Just then, a young man from the finance department sidled over. He had started at the cooperative around the same time as Tian Tian, also handling menial, unimportant tasks.
“Tian Tian, why weren’t you in the office yesterday? Some people said you…” His voice dropped very low at the end, and his eyes suggested something meaningful.
Tian Tian understood immediately. He was really asking whether she had been the one to report Section Head Xu and the others.
The chaos from the affair the day before had meant that few people knew Tian Tian had fled with the ledgers. But those in her same department more or less knew something.
Of course, Tian Tian didn’t admit to anything. She was here today as a concerned citizen. She wasn’t acknowledging anything else. Besides, she had already sold her job. No one could say anything about her not going back to the cooperative. Though it was a shame she’d miss out on this year’s end-of-year benefits. She felt a tiny pang of regret at that.
Seeing her wooden, unresponsive expression, the young man stopped probing.
Ma Xiaomei, still chattering away nonstop, suddenly let out an “Oh!” “How come Xu Lifen isn’t here? Didn’t they say everyone from the cooperative had to come in for questioning? Oh, right, Tian Tian. Do you know what happened? Let me tell you…”
And off she went again, talking about how Section Head Xu and the others had been arrested.
“Who would have thought? Section Head Xu and his crew actually dared to steal and resell the cooperative’s supplies. And I bet Xu Lifen, hooking up with Section Head Xu like that, is probably involved in this too…”
And it wasn’t just Xu Lifen. Everyone who had been summoned was whispering among themselves.
First, the affair had been exposed at the cooperative. Then, before anyone could figure out what was going on, the adulterer Section Head Xu and two others had been arrested. Right after that, the director had shown up to announce the office was closed, and it was closed again today. In short, everyone knew it had to be more than just an affair. Otherwise, why would three people have been arrested?
After a night of speculation, those with good connections had already gotten wind of the real story.
Tian Tian pricked up her ears and listened to all the various theories. Once she was sure no one was pointing a finger at her, she went through the motions, gave her statement, and walked out.
She didn’t go back to the cooperative after that. She stayed home, waiting patiently for the results of the anti-smuggling case.
But just as she stepped out of the statement room, she ran straight into Xu Lifen. The woman didn’t have many injuries on her face or body. Apparently, no one had hit her during the affair exposure the day before.
“Tian Tian, you bitch. Tell me, was it you? Did you set us up?”
The accusation was infuriating. Who had been trying to harm whom first? Tian Tian wasn’t about to put up with her bad attitude.
“You’re the bitch. You’re the homewrecking whore. You’re the one with a scrambled brain, colluding with criminals, trying to drug me and kill me. You got exactly what you deserved.”
Hearing Tian Tian’s words now, Xu Lifen didn’t seem to know how to respond. But her eyes kept shooting daggers.
Tian Tian wasn’t afraid of her.
Not to mention that in her previous life, Xu Lifen had ruined her future. In this life, the moment Xu Lifen decided to help kill her, she became Tian Tian’s enemy. Showing mercy to an enemy was cruelty to oneself.
And the “Strike Hard” campaign that had been ongoing since last year? That was Xu Lifen’s death warrant.
Whether it was adultery or assisting in the theft of public property, either charge alone was enough to put a bullet in Xu Lifen.
Meeting the woman’s murderous glare, Tian Tian held her head high and walked out of the Anti-Smuggling Division.
—
When she got back to the village, she saw her uncle’s wife and Widow He in a fierce fight.
Tian Tian went up to ask what was going on and found out it had started over Tian Xin’s situation.
“So where is Tian Xin now?”
She grabbed her mother’s arm and asked. Her mother was standing with a few of her friends, watching the commotion. Hearing her daughter’s question, she shook her head. “They say she ran off from the village committee and hasn’t come back since.”
One of Mother Tian’s friends immediately chimed in, “Don’t worry about her! There were seven young men following her. She won’t come to any harm. Hey, Shuya, look at your sister-in-law. She fights dirty.”
Tian Tian looked over and happened to see her uncle’s wife using the “pinch twist” move.
Most of the onlookers were women. Seeing that move, they all let out a synchronized hiss.
The village chief, who had been called over to mediate, immediately turned his head away. At the same time, he instructed a few of the women to go over and pull the two apart.
But both women were formidable fighters. Everyone was afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, so no one dared to go near.
Just then, someone pointed toward the village path and shouted, “What? Isn’t that Tian Xin? Tian Xin’s mother, your daughter’s back! Stop fighting!”
Tian Tian looked over and saw that it was indeed Tian Xin returning. But she wasn’t alone. Two familiar figures walked beside her.
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