Chapter 13: Reveal

With that, Li Luo turned and walked toward the door.

"Hey, don't go, don't go! You haven't told me your name yet. My name is Tang Qiqi, you can just call me Sister Qi." Tang Qiqi hadn't expected that despite looking so young, Li Luo already had a husband. Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance.

She wondered which pig had managed to root up such a fine head of cabbage.

"My name is Li Luo. Li as in dawn, and Luo as in poised and elegant," Li Luo said, waving her hand behind her without looking back.

Tang Qiqi quickly locked the door. Since Li Ailian had disrupted everything today, her business was effectively ruined anyway; she might as well close up early and go have some fun.

Riding her vintage bicycle, Tang Qiqi soon caught up to Li Luo, who was carrying a vegetable basket. She pulled up in front of Li Luo and patted the back seat. "Come on, Luoluo. Where is your home? Sister Qi will take you there."

Since the girl hadn't taken her silk fabric worth hundreds of yuan, she didn't mind acting as a free driver for once—besides, the girl had done her a huge favor.

Li Luo checked her watch. Time was tight, so she didn't decline.

"Sister Qi, just drop me off at the entrance of Wanlong Village is fine." Seeing that Tang Qiqi was heading in the same direction, Li Luo decided to take the free ride.

"Hey! Our two villages are actually quite close. My house is in the village right behind Wanlong. I ride my bike here to open the shop every day," Tang Qiqi explained with a smile.

"I say, little sister, how are you so young and already married? Looking at you, you seem like a pampered young lady from the city who hasn't suffered, or maybe a sent-down youth, or even a college student. How could you end up marrying into a poor place like Wanlong Village?"

Thinking of that Li Ailian in Wanlong Village made Tang Qiqi feel a surge of irritation.

"Haha, I did live in the city before, but I'm no wealthy heiress. The real heiress is someone else," Li Luo said, lowering her eyes as a trace of sorrow that didn't belong to her welled up in her heart.

"It is strange. There was originally a girl in our village who was switched at birth. She was supposed to be a wealthy lady raised in the city, but her adoptive parents sold her for five thousand yuan and then ran off."

"It seems that girl ran away from an arranged marriage and found her biological parents. I heard she married into your Wanlong Village," Tang Qiqi continued, becoming more excited as if she had discovered a new continent, talking incessantly.

Li Luo's heart skipped a beat. The world was truly small; a random acquaintance could know the female lead. What a coincidence: "I am that switched-at-birth fake heiress."

Tang Qiqi was still in the middle of her excitement and hadn't realized what Li Luo had said. "Haha, you're so funny! The real heiress ran away from marriage, and you found your biological parents and married into Wanlong Village... how can everything be so coincidental?"

"You're that fake heiress..." Finally processing the words, Tang Qiqi slammed on the brakes, nearly causing both herself and Li Luo to tumble off the bike.

It truly was a case of "no coincidence, no story."

"To be fair, besides that annoying Li Ailian, there are good people in Wanlong Village, like you, Luoluo," Tang Qiqi said with an awkward laugh, trying to break the tension.

Just as she mentioned Li Ailian, she saw her walking out of the health clinic, looking left and right like a thief.

"Huh? Is she sick? Then how could she yell at me so loudly?" Tang Qiqi was puzzled, but she ultimately didn't ask aloud. Instead, she pedaled quickly, zooming past Li Ailian.

As luck would have it, there was a small puddle in her path. The bike splashed muddy water all over Li Ailian, soaking her.

From a distance, Tang Qiqi could still see Li Ailian's expression, which looked like she was suffering from severe constipation.

"Hahahaha! Did you see that? Li Ailian's face just now looked like she had eaten something terrible. It was brilliant!" Tang Qiqi was very proud of her prank.

"Sister Qi, watch the road." When the splash happened, Li Luo had been tactfully lifted her legs to avoid being caught in the mess.

"Alright, alright! Hold on tight, we're speeding up!" Tang Qiqi didn't forget that Li Luo needed to get home to cook. She couldn't let her quest for revenge interfere with the girl's chores.

"Sister Qi, I'm here." Li Luo got off the bike a distance away from the two-story western-style house and bid Tang Qiqi farewell.

"Ah? So fast?" Having chatted and laughed with Li Luo the whole way, Tang Qiqi hadn't realized they had reached Wanlong Village so quickly.

"Luoluo, if you want that silk fabric in the future, just come find me in town. I work at that garment shop," Tang Qiqi waved to Li Luo, watching her figure recede into the distance.

After seeing her off, she noticed Li Luo walking toward that two-story western-style house.

She had been lamenting just moments ago: "If I could live in a two-story house like that one day, I'd wake up smiling from my dreams."

At the time, Li Luo had only smiled without saying a word. Tang Qiqi had thought Li Luo was too afraid to dream like her, but it turned out...

A hidden wealthy person was right beside her?

She had originally worried that Li Luo, a woman who had just found her biological parents and immediately married, would have a hard life—perhaps even a forced marriage. But seeing that house, she felt her thoughts were too naive.

However, a bad premonition rose in her heart. On the way, she had heard Luoluo mention that there were three children and her husband was older.

Perhaps that old man was just rich, but fat and unsightly, and not a good match for their Luoluo at all...

***

Li Luo arrived home at exactly 10:10, just enough time to cook rice and prepare dishes.

To show her gratitude, Li Luo grabbed some candies and biscuits and brought them to her neighbor, Xu Mei. After some initial refusal, Xu Mei eventually couldn't argue with Li Luo and accepted the gift.

Xu Mei's smile never faded as she held Li Luo's hand. "Brother Ling is truly lucky to have married such a virtuous, heavenly wife like you."

"With you here, that Auntie Wang won't have any business interfering!" As she spoke, Xu Mei glanced outside, fearing Auntie Wang might suddenly appear at the door.

"You have no idea. I often see Auntie Wang sneaking into her house under the cover of darkness with a bamboo basket. Even from a distance, I can smell the pork."

"She claims to be cooking for the children, but the children only get hungrier and thinner. Yet, whenever Brother Ling is home, the children never miss a meal..."

Xu Mei knew she shouldn't be meddling, but since Li Luo had given her something, she felt she had no reason not to make things clear. Besides, she saw that Li Luo was a child-loving person.

She bought such expensive biscuits and milk candies so easily, and she even bathed the children and gave them new clothes.

What kind of stepmother would be so considerate? Who would take such good care of children that weren't their own? Xu Mei certainly couldn't do it.

Li Luo made her decision in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. Instead, she gave a standard, bright smile. "I will be careful, Sister Xu."

Xu Mei nodded. It was better to be cautious; otherwise, one might be cheated and end up helping the thief count the money. She saw Li Luo as a kind, perhaps too naive, girl and naturally wanted to help her more.

"Sister Xu, it's getting late. I'll come back to pick up Yaya after I deliver food to Brother Ling," Li Luo said.

(End of Chapter)