Xu Ying berated Dong Wenzhong eloquently, her voice sharp and unforgiving:
“Dong Wenzhong, you’re nothing but an average-looking man with an inflated ego. Look at your bamboo-thin frame, your rustic get-up dressed like a peacock trying to show off. Just seeing you makes me feel sick.
I, Xu Ying, must have been blind back then to fall for a pretty boy like you who never once thought of working hard or improving himself. All you ever wanted was to live off women, to sponge off others.
In all my life, I’ve never met a man as shameless as you. Next time you see me, take a detour. I swear, if you cross paths with me again, I might just throw up everything I’ve eaten!”
Dong Wenzhong’s entire body trembled with rage at her words. His teeth gnashed audibly as he spat back:
“Xu Ying, fine—you’re really something! If you’ve got the guts, then don’t come crawling to me again!”
“Tch, who’d bother? Useless white lotus.” Xu Ying snorted coldly, lifted her chin high, and strode away, leaving him fuming behind her.
Dong Wenzhong was so livid he almost fainted on the spot. Xu Ying had actually dared to call him a ‘useless white lotus’—that bitch! If not for her father being the captain, he wouldn’t have spared her a second glance. And yet, she’d dared humiliate him like this. He swore he’d never let her off so easily.
Fuming, Dong Wenzhong stormed back to the educated youth center.
Just as he arrived at the doorway, Chen Yanran came running over from nowhere, anxiously chasing after him.
“Brother Wenzhong!” she called breathlessly. “Did you talk to Xu Ying? What did she say?”
Dong Wenzhong drew in a deep breath, swallowing down his earlier anger. “Xu Ying… she’s stubborn this time. She wouldn’t listen to me at all. I’m afraid this won’t be easy to resolve.”
At his words, Chen Yanran’s face drained of color. Her voice trembled as she looked at him, nearly collapsing from panic.
“Brother Wenzhong, if Xu Ying refuses to acknowledge me as her savior… how am I supposed to live here after this? I… I might as well be dead!”
With those words, Chen Yanran turned abruptly and slammed herself toward the nearby wall.
Dong Wenzhong hastily caught her arm, pulling her back.
“Yanran! What are you doing?” he scolded. “Don’t hurt yourself over this. I won’t let you take the blame for nothing.”
Chen Yanran’s eyes shimmered with tears, but a calculating gleam flickered beneath them. “Brother Wenzhong… if Xu Ying won’t acknowledge me, then what else can we do?”
That damned Xu Ying—why wouldn’t she cooperate? Even Brother Wenzhong couldn’t persuade her.
Dong Wenzhong’s face darkened as he recalled Xu Ying’s scathing insults. His expression turned sour.
“When the time comes, just insist it was you. The captain is grateful you brought Xu Ying back. After all, if you hadn’t carried her home in time, she might’ve burned alive. As for who really rescued her from the river… well, no one knows for sure.”
At this point, it was the only way forward.
Chen Yanran bit her lip, lifting her gaze to study Dong Wenzhong’s face.
“Brother Wenzhong… is that really our only option? You’ve always been the one Xu Ying listens to. Can’t you try talking to her again?”
If Brother Wenzhong could persuade Xu Ying, then from now on she’d be acknowledged as the savior. With the Xu family’s gratitude, maybe Xu Jianguo would arrange an easier job for her—or even help her secure an official position.
Especially since Xu Ying’s third brother worked at the Transportation Bureau and had plenty of connections.
Thinking about the generous gifts Xu Jianguo had sent to the Lu family recently, Chen Yanran’s heart burned with envy.
But Dong Wenzhong stiffened, his pride bruised. After being insulted so cruelly, how could he lower himself again?
“No,” he said firmly. “I’m not going. Xu Ying’s jealous that I care about you, so she’s deliberately making trouble for you. I didn’t expect her to be so vicious. I’ll never speak to her again.”
Chen Yanran frowned. If Dong Wenzhong really cut ties with Xu Ying… what if Xu Ying stopped sharing food with him? Without Xu Ying’s help, even their rations might be affected.
Her eyes reddened at the thought. “Brother Wenzhong… you can’t fall out with Xu Ying. We’re still outsiders here. Without her, we might not even have enough to eat.”
Dong Wenzhong felt frustrated. “Even if I don’t speak to her, she owes you an apology. She has to apologize to you first.”
At those words, Chen Yanran felt a little better. She imagined Xu Ying eventually coming to bow her head in apology and couldn’t help feeling secretly satisfied.
That afternoon, after work ended, Xu Jianguo personally went to Lu Daya’s house and brought her along to confront Chen Yanran.
For rural folks, nothing was more entertaining than watching a confrontation. The moment word spread that the captain was confronting Comrade Chen , villagers flocked over to watch the drama unfold.
Comrade Chen —delicate, gentle, always mild-mannered like a Lin Daiyu—had long been admired by many young men in Xu Family Village.
“Captain,” an older woman, Zhang Dacao, called out while cracking melon seeds. “So who really saved your Yingying that day?”
She’d never liked Xu Ying’s mother, but she despised that vixen Chen Yanran even more. That shameless girl had seduced her son so badly that he’d been running errands for her every day, head over heels.
If Chen Yanran really married her son, she’d still be glad—after all, marrying an educated city girl would give them face. But Chen Yanran kept stringing him along, calling it ‘friendship.’ Bah! Friendship between men and women? What nonsense.
“Chen Zhiqing,” Xu Jianguo said sternly, “Lu Daya’s awake now. Tell her clearly what happened—or explain it yourself.”
He looked furious. His daughter might’ve been unconscious, easily fooled. But they were honest folk in Xu Family Village. They wouldn’t tolerate deceit.
Chen Yanran’s gaze darted toward Lu Daya, guilt flashing in her eyes. But she quickly straightened, raising her chin, her tone righteous.
“Captain, I always thought you were a fair man… but I guess I was wrong,” she said, voice trembling with grievance. “I brought Xu Ying home that day, and you thanked me again and again. Did I ever once say I went into the river to save her?
Not once. You were the one thanking me—I thought you were just thanking me for bringing her back. If I’d known you misunderstood, I would’ve explained back then.”
Xu Jianguo’s expression froze. Normally calm and steady, he felt momentarily thrown. This girl… she was good at twisting words.
But what she’d told him that day wasn’t just about carrying Xu Ying home!
Beside him, Lu Daya frowned in confusion. This wasn’t what she’d wanted to say at all.
Xu Ying stepped forward, gaze sharp.
“Chen Zhiqing, what my father asked that day was who went into the river to save me. And you answered that it was you. Since you claimed you carried me back, then why did you refuse to swim with me this morning when I asked?”
She fixed her with a cold stare. Did she really think the morning’s refusal could just be erased?
“Yeah,” another female educated youth piped up. “I remember Chen Zhiqing said this morning she’d gone into the river to save Xu Ying, right?”
At those words, Chen Yanran’s face twisted with anger. “Zhang Qiuling! Stop talking nonsense! I never said that publicly.”
“Then where did you say it?” Zhang Qiuling challenged.
“…I said it at the captain’s house,” Chen Yanran blurted out without thinking.
The moment the words left her mouth, her face turned sheet white. She’d admitted it—without even needing more questions.
Xu Ying raised her eyebrows, anger burning in her eyes.
“Chen Zhiqing,” she said coldly, “I never imagined you’d be so despicable, so shameless. And to think—I once treated you sincerely.
Lu Daya was the one who saved me, but you tried to steal her credit just so my father would reward you. A fine scheme.
Now that you’ve been exposed, you’re still trying to weasel out of it with lies. How truly shameless.”
“No!” Chen Yanran cried, tears falling down her cheeks in panic. “I… I did help! If I hadn’t carried you back, you’d have been burned to death!”
But her trembling voice could no longer cover the truth. For the first time, Xu Ying’s sharp words had cornered her completely.