Chapter 2: Caught in the Act

Xie Jinyu stood outside the dormitory, watching the villagers’ gossiping faces, each brimming with curiosity, and a surge of vindictive satisfaction welled up within her. Her tragic life from the previous world was about to be rewritten from this very moment.

Suppressing the relief of having survived the ordeal, she paused briefly amid the villagers’ murmurs and then called out to Chen Wanru inside the house, “Wanru, no wonder you wanted me to visit Teacher Yan at the cattle shed this afternoon. So you were planning a date with Lu Qianjin!”

Upon hearing this, Lu Qianjin’s face twisted with anger as he bit Chen Wanru’s ear fiercely. “You filthy bitch, you deliberately set me up?”

Lu Qianjin truly believed Xie Jinyu’s words, suspecting Chen Wanru of scheming behind his back. Surrounded by so many watchful eyes, Chen Wanru was overwhelmed with shame and embarrassment. She had no desire to argue with Lu Qianjin; all she wanted was for him to leave her body immediately. Yet, the more they struggled to separate, the tighter their connection seemed—like conjoined twins fused even closer.

The women’s director arrived. The village party secretary appeared. Other villagers, eager for entertainment, quickly gathered from all directions.

Everyone craned their necks, crowding in front of the teachers’ dormitory at Yuejin Elementary School, afraid to miss this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

The party secretary puffed on his pipe and addressed Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru, “Don’t you think this is disgraceful enough...?”

Due to the cold weather and the shock both Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru had suffered, Lu Qianjin was neither able to enter nor leave.

The entertained villagers teased and poked fun at the two, who appeared as if conjoined. Seeing this, the party secretary had no choice but to call for Yan Hongying.

Yan Hongying took out golden needles and administered a few acupuncture points on both Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru.

Chen Wanru’s eyes brimmed with tears from anger, while Lu Qianjin felt like a performing monkey surrounded by an audience. Frustrated and furious, he asked, “How much longer before this is over?”

Yan Hongying packed away her needle case and said sternly to Lu Qianjin, “Lu Qianjin, you drank the deer blood wine, didn’t you? At such a young age, you treat your body so carelessly; you’ll regret this in the future.”

Her words instantly reminded Xie Jinyu of everything that had happened in her previous life. No wonder Lu Qianjin had been incapacitated starting from this very day last time.

It was all because of the deer blood wine.

After marrying Lu Qianjin, he had never once touched her. Innocent and unaware, Xie Jinyu had thought he had today, but it was only later, during the physical examination organized by the education bureau, that she realized there had never been any physical relationship between them.

Upon learning there was no real marital bond, Xie Jinyu sought a divorce and simultaneously signed up for the college entrance exam.

Unfortunately, before the admission letter reached her hands, the old party secretary and Lu Qianjin intercepted it and gave it to Chen Wanru, who had borne Lu Qianjin’s son.

Chen Wanru took Xie Jinyu’s place at university, and there, thanks to a pocket watch Xie Jinyu had gifted Lu Qianjin, she was recognized by Xie Jinyu’s biological parents and taken in.

Perhaps burdened by guilt, or perhaps wanting Xie Jinyu to stay obediently in the Yuejin Brigade, after news of Lu Qianjin’s death arrived, the grieving old party secretary arranged for Xie Jinyu to adopt the youngest son of her elder brother, Lu Shuguang, to carry on Lu Qianjin’s lineage.

With the onset of reform and opening, Lu Shuguang earned money outside and brought the old party secretary, his adopted son, and the entire family with him, leaving Xie Jinyu alone in the village as a teacher at Yuejin Elementary.

As the number of students dwindled, Xie Jinyu was transferred to teach in town. She taught until retirement and was rehired by the school afterward.

Living alone, she devoted her entire salary to sponsoring students who left town for higher studies. In return, her students honored her with the title of “National March 8th Red-Banner Holder.”

Sadly, her students never saw her appear in the news.

Yan Hongying, with her back to the pair conjoined like twins, said, “You may separate now.”

Before the eyes of all, Lu Qianjin stood up, picked up his pants from the floor, fastened his belt, and trudged over to the party secretary.

“Father.”

The party secretary struck Lu Qianjin’s back with his pipe, scolding him harshly, “Look at the mess you’ve made.”

“If you liked Chen Wanru so much, why didn’t you say so earlier? You could have just gone through the proper channels with a matchmaker, gotten engaged, and married without all this trouble.”

“Now look at the disgrace you’ve brought upon us all.”

His aged face reddened with shame.

Chen Wanru stood flustered, quickly dressing with her back to the crowd. Stammering, she approached Lu Qianjin’s side and called out, “Secretary.”

One villager, eager to stir trouble, asked, “Secretary, when will you invite us to the wedding banquet?”

The party secretary’s face darkened as he tossed out, “Get your marriage certificate tomorrow first. We’ll talk about the banquet later,” then turned and left.

The villagers exchanged glances, too afraid to incur the party secretary’s wrath.

Fearing that Lu Qianjin and Chen Wanru would scheme against her again, Xie Jinyu hurried after the party secretary.

“Secretary, Comrade Ye Changzheng and I will register our marriage tomorrow…”

The party secretary replied vaguely, “Teacher Xie, come with me now to the brigade office to get your marriage report.”

“Alright.”

Xie Jinyu turned around and waved to Ye Changzheng behind her.

“Changzheng, let’s go get the marriage report.”

Seeing Xie Jinyu’s nose was red from the cold, Ye Changzheng quickly untied his scarf and wrapped it around her neck, asking, “Teacher Xie, do you want to wear another jacket?”

Only then did Xie Jinyu realize she was wearing Yan Hongying’s old padded coat and hurriedly said, “Wait for me a moment.”

As she stepped into the dormitory, Chen Wanru grabbed her arm fiercely, eyes filled with resentment.

“Xie Jinyu! I considered you my closest friend, and yet you deliberately set me up!”

She and Lu Qianjin had been sneaking around for so long without incident. Why did trouble strike today of all days?

It should have been Lu Qianjin and Xie Jinyu caught red-handed!

How had it ended up with her and Lu Qianjin being the ones caught?

Xie Jinyu pried Chen Wanru’s fingers apart one by one, her gaze fixed on the intimate marks on Chen Wanru’s body, and sneered coldly, “Chen Wanru, I was kind enough to help you and Lu Qianjin, yet you repay me with ingratitude.”

The very words Chen Wanru had said to her in the past life were now returned verbatim.

Chen Wanru had stolen her life once; this time, Xie Jinyu would reclaim it piece by piece.

“Xie Jinyu…” Chen Wanru trembled with fury, “I treated you like my closest friend, and you betray me like this!”

“Friend?” Xie Jinyu stepped forward, grabbing Chen Wanru’s collar and whispering into her ear, “What did you put in that cup of malted milk you handed me? Do you really think I didn’t notice? Shall we report this to the authorities right now?”