The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 84.2

Now that she had a plan for work, the next matter was dealing with Lame Lai.

Until she resolved the issue with him, she wouldn’t feel at ease.

After visiting two villages, she’d gathered plenty of information about Lame Lai. The key now was catching him red-handed.

As the sun dipped westward, Tang Jing pedaled back toward the village. Passing the entrance, she noticed a group of aunties chatting. Their gazes seemed odd as she rode by, but she was in a hurry to get home and didn’t stop to ask.

Once she was out of earshot, the aunties resumed their conversation.

“So, does that little Nan really have feelings for the Gu girl? I don’t see it.”

“I think it’s possible. I’ve seen them go for walks in the woods up ahead a few times. Who knows what they were doing there.”

“Auntie Liu, you can’t just say things like that. Besides, what’s wrong with two girls taking a walk in the woods? By your logic, does that mean you and I can’t walk together anymore without people thinking I like you?”

“Ugh, enough!” Auntie Liu flushed with embarrassment. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting at your age?”

“Weren’t you the one who brought it up?” The other woman rolled her eyes.

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, another person quickly stepped in to mediate, “Alright, alright, we’re here to talk about Xiaonan’s matter. What’s the point of you two fighting?”

When Tang Jing rode her bike home, she didn’t see her grandmother but spotted Chiyu in the yard, who was sewing clothes with a needle and thread. Smiling, she leaned her bike against the corner of the wall and asked, “Xiaoyu, are you bored at home?”

Chiyu’s mind was still preoccupied with what her third aunt had said earlier, her expression somewhat dazed.

Noticing her distracted state, Tang Jing asked curiously, “What’s wrong with you? What are you thinking about so deeply?”

A shadow fell over Chiyu, snapping her back to reality. She shook her head in response.

“Where’s Grandma?” Tang Jing asked.

Chiyu pointed toward the house.

Tang Jing went inside. “Grandma?”

“In here,” came the muffled voice from the adjacent room.

Pushing the door open, Tang Jing asked, “Grandma, what are you doing in here?” Seeing her sitting by the bed with an odd expression, Tang Jing felt the strange sensation she’d noticed since entering the village grow even stronger.

“What’s going on? Why do you both look like that? Even Aunt Liu and the others at the village entrance gave me weird looks when I came in,” Tang Jing said.

“Xiaonan, come here,” Grandma Qin said, pulling over a stool.

Tang Jing sat down. “Did something happen?”

“Your third aunt came by this morning,” Grandma Qin said.

Tang Jing frowned. “What did she come for?”

Though her third aunt usually visited, she rarely came in the morning. If she had something to say, she’d typically come in the afternoon since she had a grandson to look after. Mornings were usually quiet, with only her at home.

“Xiaonan, I’m asking you, do you like that girl from the Gu family?” Grandma Qin asked sternly.

Though she had vehemently denied it in front of others, now that they were alone at home, she wanted to get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, the matter would continue to weigh on her mind.

Now it was Tang Jing’s turn for her expression to shift, though she tried to hide it. “Who said something? Was it Third Aunt?”

Grandma Qin replied, “Your third aunt heard it from others. The whole village was talking about it this morning.”

Tang Jing began to ponder who could have spread the rumor. The timing today of all days could only mean one thing: someone had recently found out.

The only incident that could have led to this was yesterday.

Thinking back to yesterday, Tang Jing recalled one thing: while she and Gu Sihuan were chatting by the roadside, there had been a rustling in the grass nearby. At the time, she’d assumed it was just a cat or dog and paid it no mind.

After all, during that time of day, most families were at home resting. Who would be hiding in the grass?

Wait, the only person who would be lurking in the grass at that hour was the village’s idle troublemaker, Lai the Cripple.

At this realization, her eyes narrowed, and she snorted inwardly. She hadn’t even gone after him yet, and here he was, throwing a bomb her way.

“It’s not true,” Tang Jing said.

Even if it were, she couldn’t admit it. She wasn’t worried about Gu Sihuan compared to her, Gu Sihuan was even more afraid of others finding out. Besides, Gu Sihuan didn’t actually like Qin Nanshu. In this village, the only person she could talk to was Qin Nanshu.

Originally, to keep Qin Nanshu hooked, she had strung her along, waiting for the day she no longer needed her before cutting ties.

Grandma Qin looked at her with probing eyes.

Tang Jing met Grandma Qin’s gaze without a trace of guilt.

If it had been the original owner of this body, she wouldn’t have been able to lie at all under such scrutiny, she probably would have panicked under Grandma Qin’s stare.

But Tang Jing, who had experienced so many worlds, wasn’t the least bit flustered. Even without mentioning all that, just her feelings toward Gu Sihuan, that scumbag of a woman let alone liking her, Tang Jing couldn’t even be bothered to waste emotions on hating her.

There were countless scumbags in this world, and Gu Sihuan was just one of them.

Seeing that her expression showed no signs of deceit, Grandma Qin finally relaxed, her heart settling as she grabbed Tang Jing’s hand and spoke earnestly, “Xiao Nan, even if you really like women, I’d rather you like Xiao Yu than that troublemaker from the Gu family. That girl would ruin you.”

It had to be said Grandma Qin had hit the nail on the head.

In the original story, Gu Sihuan had indeed brought disaster upon their family, framing Qin Nanshu for murder. Heartbroken, Grandma Qin fell gravely ill and passed away not long after, leaving Qin Nanshu unable to even see her one last time.

Liking someone wasn’t wrong the real fault lay with those heartless scumbags who preyed on good people.

Just as the grandmother and granddaughter were talking, a noise came from outside, followed by the sound of someone hastily fleeing.

Tang Jing stood up and said, “I hope that wasn’t Xiaoyu.” She chuckled helplessly. “Grandma, if Xiaoyu heard you say that, she might think you brought her home to be my child bride.”

“What child bride? Xiaoyu’s already an adult, you’re the one talking nonsense!” Grandma Qin scolded, then grew anxious. “Hurry and go see if that was her just now.” She lightly smacked her own lips. “Blame my big mouth, why did I have to say that?”

“Don’t blame yourself, Grandma. Maybe Xiao Yu didn’t overthink it. Alright, I won’t keep chatting, I’ll go check on her.”

Stepping outside, Tang Jing saw Xiao Yu sitting under the eaves, head bowed, her ears bright red. Upon closer inspection, her face was flushed too.

“Xiao Yu,” Tang Jing called out.

Chi Yu looked up at her in a fluster, then shyly turned her face away, shifting to sit with her back to Tang Jing.

“What’s wrong?” Tang Jing walked over and crouched in front of her, tilting her head slightly to peek at her face. Feigning surprise, she said, “Your face is so red are you suffering from heatstroke? Come on, let’s go inside.”

Chi Yu quickly shook her head, still not daring to look up.

Seeing how embarrassed she was, Tang Jing decided not to tease her further. She crouched down again and asked softly, “Did you hear what Grandma said just now?”

Chi Yu gave a tiny “Mm,” her fingers clutching her pants tightly from nervousness.

“Are you scared?” Tang Jing asked. “Grandma said she wanted you to be my child bride, would you hate that?”

Chi Yu frowned slightly, thinking it over, then shook her head.

Tang Jing smiled, unable to resist teasing her again. “So, you’re willing to be my child bride?”

Chi Yu remained silent, head still lowered.

Tang Jing pretended to be hurt. “No reaction? Does that mean you don’t want to?”

Chi Yu immediately shook her head, afraid she had genuinely upset her. She glanced up, only to see the playful smile on Tang Jing’s face. Her eyes widened, and she buried her face again in embarrassment, turning away in a mix of shyness and frustration, refusing to look at her.

Realizing she had gone too far, Tang Jing quickly tried to soothe her. “Don’t be mad, Xiaoyu. Nanshu-jie was just teasing you. If you don’t want to, then you don’t have to. And don’t worry, no one’s making you be a child bride.”

Upon hearing that it wasn’t possible, Chi Yu’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as her fingers tightened around the fabric of her pants, a pang of sadness rising in her heart.

With her head bowed low, Tang Jing didn’t notice her unusual expression. He stood up and said, “Come on, let’s go inside. It’s too hot out here.”

Grandma Qin shot him a questioning look, to which Tang Jing silently mouthed, “I made her angry.”

Granny Qin glared at her, then smiled and took Chi Yu’s hand, saying, “Be good, Xiao Yu. Grandma was just joking earlier. I didn’t mean for you to be Xiao Nan’s child bride. No one can make you be a child bride.”

As soon as these words were spoken, tears fell from Chi Yu’s eyes.

Thinking the mention of a child bride had frightened Xiao Yu, Granny Qin quickly soothed her, “Be good, Xiao Yu. Don’t cry, don’t cry.”

Tang Jing, standing nearby, was also anxious and couldn’t help but chide her grandmother, “Grandma, look what you’ve done. You made Xiao Yu cry. I just spent so long calming her down.”

Granny Qin wagged her finger in the air before leading Xiao Yu inside to comfort her.

Tang Jing stood outside for a while, then shook her head with a faint smile.

Then she turned her gaze outside, her expression turning cold. Originally, she had planned to wait for Crippled Lai to mess up again so she could deal with him once and for all. But now, it seemed she couldn’t wait any longer.

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