Chapter 2: Life-Saving Benefactor

It was pitiful that her eldest brother, in the prime of his life, was paralyzed in bed, forced to watch helplessly as his wife was bullied by the village thugs, and he passed away before he even turned thirty.

First, her husband died, then her son; her mother could not bear the successive blows and soon died of grief.

Her eldest sister-in-law, having lost her support, was bullied and teased even more viciously, eventually choosing suicide because she could not bear the humiliation.

Her second and third brothers, lacking their parents' care, both went astray. One became a hoodlum, was tricked by street thugs into stealing, and ended up with a lifelong disability after a fall; the other was caught participating in black market dealings and was thrown into prison.

In contrast, after Dong Wenzhong and Chen Yanran left, they used the money she had given them to start a business. They thrived, owning several storefronts, blessed with a son and a daughter, living a happy and fulfilling life.

Later, she went to great lengths to find them. Before she could even settle the score, she was tied up by Dong Wenzhong and Chen Yanran working together.

She clearly remembered their disgusting faces. Chen Yanran sat triumphantly before her, looking at her with a mocking expression: "Xu Ying, I’ve never seen a woman as stupid as you, but I suppose I owe you a debt of gratitude."

"It’s only because of you that Wenzhong and I were able to return to the city so early and live a good life. Do you know how grateful we are to you?"

Sitting in the chair, Xu Ying’s face twisted with rage upon hearing this, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from her nose and mouth.

After finishing, Chen Yanran gave Dong Wenzhong a coquettish look, then continued with a smile: "Do you know how your third brother got caught?"

Xu Ying’s heart trembled violently, her eyes filled with fury as she looked at Chen Yanran: "Chen Yanran, what do you mean by that?"

Chen Yanran giggled as she looked at her: "Your third brother heard from Dong Wenzhong that you were ill and had no money for treatment, so he ran to the black market to earn money, and then we reported him, which is how he got caught."

"Tell me, the people around you are so good to you, why don't you cherish them properly!"

"Chen Yanran, I’m going to kill you!" Looking at the smiles of the two scumbags before her, Xu Ying found it utterly ironic. She roared, cut the ropes, and rushed toward Chen Yanran with a blade in her hand, only to have her skull smashed by a bottle thrown by Dong Wenzhong.

In the end, she died from blood loss.

Thinking of her own death, Xu Ying looked at Chen Yanran with nothing but hatred.

"Chen Yanran, you say you saved me? Then, can you swim?"

"If you really saved me, go into the river and swim for me to see right now." As she said this, Xu Ying grabbed Chen Yanran’s arm and pulled her toward the door.

Chen Yanran was startled by her demeanor and was dragged out before she could even react.

The commotion at the captain’s house had long since drawn a crowd to watch the spectacle. Seeing Chen Yanran being dragged out by Xu Ying, everyone craned their necks, filled with curiosity: "Xu Ying, you didn't die?"

"You're the one who died! Your whole family is dead! My daughter is perfectly fine. If anyone dares to say my daughter is dead again, see if I don't scratch you to death!" Mother Xu cursed through gritted teeth.

These shameless wretches, all of them cursing her daughter to be dead—she remembered every single one of them, and she would deal with them when she had the chance.

"Xu Ying, what are you dragging the educated youth Chen for?" The crowd was already used to Mother Xu’s behavior.

They were even more curious about what had happened between Xu Ying and the educated youth Chen.

"Xu Ying, the educated youth Chen saved you. Why aren't you grateful, and why are you treating her like this?"

Seeing so many people, Xu Ying sneered and exposed her directly: "The educated youth Chen says she saved me."

"But I clearly saw that it was the eldest daughter of the Lu family who saved me. I just want to know who actually saved me."

"The Lu family's eldest daughter? She also had an accident the day you fell into the river, and she hasn't woken up yet!" someone with a sharp eye remarked.

Chen Yanran’s face turned pale. She couldn't swim at all; if Xu Ying really dragged her into the river, she would surely drown.

She struggled desperately, but Xu Ying held her tightly: "Xu Ying, I'm not feeling well, I can't go into the river!"

Someone who loved a good show teased: "Educated youth Chen, are you really unable to go into the river, or are you afraid to? It’s strange, Xu Ying is a head taller than you, and you usually can't lift or carry anything in the fields. How were you able to pull Xu Ying? She must weigh over ninety pounds, right?"

Once this was said, everyone became curious.

Xu Jianguo watched as the educated youth Chen was pulled by his daughter, unable to move, and he knew exactly what was going on.

His face grew darker and darker, and he said gloomily: "I’m going to find the Lu family’s eldest daughter and ask her clearly."

Chen Yanran panicked instantly. She had thought Xu Ying was unconscious and had no idea who had saved her.

At the time, the Lu family’s eldest daughter had also fainted after saving Xu Ying. There were many people around, and Dong Wenzhong had told her to wet her clothes and claim the title of savior.

She had thought that by becoming Xu Ying’s savior, Captain Xu would surely be grateful and assign her an easier task.

Even if Xu Ying knew who saved her, she wouldn't dare say anything out of consideration for Wenzhong.

They had thought through every angle, but they hadn't expected Xu Ying to suddenly act like she had lost her mind.

And just now, that damn girl looked at her as if she were an enemy.

Could it be that she knew something? That shouldn't be!

Fearing that her lie would be exposed, she looked up and saw Dong Wenzhong in the crowd, and immediately grabbed onto him like a straw: "Educated youth Dong, you saw it at the time, I saved Xu Ying, right?"

Dong Wenzhong had been standing in the crowd, but when he was called out like that, everyone turned to look at him, and he could no longer hide.

He walked toward Xu Ying, his eyes gentle and breezy as he said: "Yingying, I can testify that the educated youth Chen saved you."

"How can you testify? Just saying it with your empty mouth? My eyes aren't blind; I saw clearly who saved me." Xu Ying stepped back in disgust, enduring her nausea as she spoke.

Dong Wenzhong’s face stiffened. He hadn't expected her to disrespect him in public, so he asked with a mix of annoyance and shame: "Yingying, you don't believe me?"

Xu Ying wanted to slap him across the face. It was clearly a lie, yet he wanted her to believe it—he was truly shameless to the extreme.

Why had she loved such a scumbag in her past life?

She suppressed her anger and asked coldly: "Why is the educated youth Dong helping the educated youth Chen tell lies?"

Dong Wenzhong looked angry and lowered his voice as he walked up to Xu Ying: "Xu Ying, what are you trying to do? Now is not the time for jokes."

Looking at Dong Wenzhong approaching, Xu Ying couldn't hold back her anger and slapped him across the face.

"Get lost, stay away from me."

The surrounding people were stunned.

Who didn't know that Xu Ying loved the educated youth Dong to death, following him around all day, bringing him steamed buns and eggs one day, chicken legs the next?

She had shown him no end of devotion, while the educated youth Dong had always acted high and mighty, keeping her on a string.

The young men in the village were all envious, and even some of the girls wished they were the educated youth Dong.

Why had she suddenly turned against him today?

Mother Xu and Father Xu were also stunned.

Xu Ying had just recovered from a fever, and her head still ached. Plus, seeing Dong Wenzhong had stirred up the hatred in her heart, and she was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from exploding.

She turned to Mother Xu and said: "Mom, I still feel unwell, I want to go back to my room and lie down."

Hearing this, Mother Xu’s heart tightened, and she immediately helped her daughter toward the room.

She shouted at the crowd blocking the way: "What are you looking at? Move aside! If you delay my daughter from getting back to her room and something else happens, none of you will be able to leave."

Xu Jianguo was also worried about his daughter, so he shouted sternly at the onlookers: "What are you all looking at? Don't you have work to do? Go back and eat and get to work!"

The captain’s authority was still significant. The onlookers, startled by his roar, immediately ran away.