Chapter 6: Whether It Is Black or White Depends on What One Says

"Xia Zhi, you've truly gone mad!" Chen Xiuping looked at the Xia Zhi before her in disbelief.

In the past, Xia Zhi had never once spoken to them in a loud voice, let alone the posture she currently held, charging into the room with a knife.

That bright knife flashed with a chilling light under the sunlight.

Xia Zhi stared at them expressionlessly, her gaze as cold as frost.

Seeing the fear in their eyes, Xia Zhi gripped the knife even tighter; they truly were a bunch of cowards who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

In the end, Chen Xiuping had no choice but to take Hao Liping to clean up her room.

Throughout the entire process, Xia Zhi remained standing quietly by the door, clutching her knife, motionless like a statue.

The warm sunlight spilled gently onto her withered, yellowish hair, adding a peculiar charm to her already somewhat haggard appearance.

Upon her palm-sized face hung an imperceptible chill that made people dread her.

In the eyes of the others in the courtyard, this appearance made her look exactly like a malevolent deity.

The Gu family had long since closed their doors and windows, fearing she would come looking for them.

"Alright."

Chen Xiuping and Hao Liping walked to the door carrying the soiled bedding, unable to help but glance at the knife in her hand, their hearts filled with apprehension.

Hao Liping's thin lips were pressed into a straight line as she looked at her with suspicion.

Why was this Xia Zhi so different from the previous life?

Could it be...

She had also been reborn!

Alarm bells immediately rang in Hao Liping's mind. She stopped her footsteps as she passed Xia Zhi and said to her fiercely, "Xia Zhi, I will absolutely never let you snatch Brother Yunshen away."

"Ah!"

Just as she finished speaking, she was kicked hard and fell face-first into the dirt.

"Xia Zhi!"

Hao Liping scrambled up from the ground in a disheveled state, turning around and preparing to settle the score with Xia Zhi.

Then, with a "Bang!"

The rushing Hao Liping was struck again.

Inside the room, Xia Zhi climbed onto the bed, pulled up the quilt, and covered her head to sleep, turning a deaf ear to the cursing outside.

Hao Liping clutched her aching nose, tears streaming down her face.

The people in the courtyard all showed expressions of astonishment.

This Xia Zhi had probably couldn't handle the blow and had gone mad!

In the Gu house, Zhang Xiao had been pacing anxiously in the room, stealing glances outside from time to time.

"Mom, stop pacing, you're giving me a headache. I can't even focus on my books," Gu Yunshen said impatiently, putting down the book in his hand.

Gu Yunshen's handsome brows were tightly furrowed, and his gaze involuntarily fell upon the books in the cabinet beside him.

He felt a sense of reluctance in his heart; although this cabinet of books had all been bought for him by Xia Zhi, he had been reading them very attentively.

Seeing her son staring blankly at the bookcase, Zhang Xiao couldn't help but urge him: "Yunshen, if your father can't find a way later, you should still give these things back to Xia Zhi tomorrow. Otherwise, if word gets out, it won't be good for our family."

Gu Yunshen withdrew his gaze. It was just books, wasn't it? As if he couldn't afford to buy them himself.

In the evening, Gu Chonglin returned with the old lady. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they felt the strange looks from the neighbors.

"Chonglin, is... is something wrong with the family?"

On his back, the old lady wore a set of thick clothes covered in patches.

Early this morning, Gu Chonglin had taken the old lady, Liu Guifang, to the military hospital for a check-up.

The two had just reached the door and hadn't had time to clarify the situation.

Zhang Xiao opened the door with a panicked expression, then pulled them inside, glancing at Xia Zhi's tightly closed bedroom door before shutting it.

"What's wrong with you? You're acting all skittish, like a thief."

Gu Chonglin set the old lady down and frowned at the empty table beside him.

"Where is Zhizi? Why is it so late and there isn't even a single hot dish? This girl is getting lazier and lazier."

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao realized that she had been terrified all day and hadn't prepared anything hot.

"Oh dear, it's my oversight. I'll go heat up the leftovers right now." Zhang Xiao slapped her thigh and stood up, not mentioning Xia Zhi in a single word.

By the bedside, the old lady began to wail.

"Zhizi, where is Zhizi? My legs are starting to ache again. Hurry and have her come massage them, and bring my foot-washing water."

Liu Guifang leaned back, shouting at the top of her lungs; her voice was so loud it didn't sound like someone who was ill at all.

"Oh, Mom, stop shouting. Xia Zhi... won't be coming to our house anymore," Zhang Xiao said hurriedly to the two of them as she came out.

Gu Chonglin's movement of smoking his pipe paused, and he glared at her with furrowed brows, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Xiao sighed and recounted everything that had happened during the hundred days.

"What!" After hearing it, Gu Chonglin slammed the table in rage, "Six hundred yuan? Who does she think she is? To be worth six hundred yuan! Bah! A little bastard with dead parents dares to demand money from me."

Zhang Xiao felt a surge of joy upon hearing this; that meant there was a way.

That was six hundred yuan; if they actually gave it out, it would truly be like cutting flesh from her own body.

"Husband, Xia Zhi has leaned on Battalion Commander Lu, and she might even ask him to write a report. This won't do. The restoration of the college entrance exam is only a few months away; we can't afford any delays."

Zhang Xiao was still somewhat worried; after all, seeing Xia Zhi today, she truly seemed mad, daring to threaten people with a knife.

Gu Chonglin smoked, his brows tightly knit. Xia Zhi was easy enough to deal with, but this Battalion Commander Lu would likely not be easy to fool.

Just then, Liu Guifang on the bed let out a cold snort, "What's so hard about that? As the saying goes, 'an upright official is hard-pressed to settle family matters.' This is our business. What does it have to do with that Lu Beiting?"

Gu Chonglin's eyes instantly lit up, "That's right! Battalion Commander Lu is in the military every day and isn't in the courtyard. He doesn't know anything. Whether something is black or white is just a matter of us speaking up."

"Come, let's do this: we'll align our stories first. Zhang Xiao, you get up early tomorrow morning and give the others in the courtyard a heads-up. Even if that Lu Beiting shows up, we won't have to fear him!"

Zhang Xiao nodded half-believing, half-doubting, then leaned in, and the family began to deliberate.

The next day, before dawn, Zhang Xiao headed out with a basket in her hand.

(End of Chapter)