The Tragic Heroine Fell in Love with Me - Chapter 78

Zheng Village wasn’t always this desolate.

Zheng Qi’s maternal grandparents had moved in from outside and settled on the edge of the village. They had two daughters. After her grandfather passed away, only three women remained in the household. Needless to say, they faced a lot of bullying at the time.

Zheng Qi’s mother married early, wedding Zheng Quanqiang from the same village. After marrying and having a child, they left to work elsewhere, like most villagers, leaving their child behind in the village.

The difference was that Zheng Quanqiang’s parents didn’t like Zheng Qi after all, she was just a girl so she was sent to live with her maternal grandmother.

Even when her grandfather was alive, her grandmother had been a lazy woman. After his death, she became even more neglectful, spending her days idling with other villagers and unwilling to care for her granddaughter.

Thus, the responsibility of looking after Zheng Qi fell to her aunt.

Back then, the only people left in the village were the elderly and children.

With nothing to do, they spent their days fooling around, fighting, or bullying others.

Zheng Qi received no love from her father or mother, and her only aunt had to attend school far away, unable to always watch over her. As a result, the village children took pleasure in tormenting Zheng Qi.

Their greatest joy back then was bullying Zheng Qi, watching her cry and scream until she was breathless.

Whenever Zheng Qi was beaten or bullied, she dared not complain, because if she did, her grandmother would beat her even more harshly.

One could say that the bullying from other children was mild compared to the beatings from her grandmother, who would thrash her so severely she’d break a broom.

As Xiao San listened to Gouzi lay out these past events so plainly, she couldn’t help but feel her heart ache for Zheng Qi.

So Zheng Qi had suffered so much back then, bullied by these very people.

It was truly remarkable that she had grown into such a gentle person.

“You all bullied Zheng Qi like that, yet you call her a jinx? Clearly, you’re the ones who are worse,” Xiao San said.

Gouzi quickly waved his hands. “It had nothing to do with me! I was still too young back then, couldn’t even walk.” Then, as if realizing something, he added, “Why are you defending her? Aren’t you her creditor?”

Xiao San quickly deflected, “I’m just standing up for what’s right.”

“What are you talking about? Do you know what she did later?” Gouzi said indignantly. “Later on, for some reason, she became really good at fighting and beat up a lot of people in the village.”

“Serves them right,” Xiao San muttered under her breath, too softly for anyone to hear.

“Then the villagers went to her house to confront her grandmother, but in the end, she apologized.”

Xiao San was stunned. “Huh?”

This turn of events wasn’t at all what she had expected. At the very least, she thought Zheng Qi would have argued back.

“Everyone in the village found it strange too. She apologized so sincerely,” Gouzi recalled with a sigh. “She was so earnest and cried so bitterly that no one had the heart to cause more trouble for her family.”

“It was all your fault, yet Zheng Qi was the one who had to apologize,” Xiao San muttered, pursing her lips.

“Later, people in the village started encountering all sorts of strange incidents some suddenly fell and broke their legs, others sprained their arms, and one even fell into a pit and nearly died after being trapped for a day and night before someone found them.” Gouzi fearfully rubbed his arm, and just talking about it gave him goosebumps all over.

“Anyway, people kept getting injured, and all of them had some connection to Zheng Qi. The more someone bullied her, the worse their misfortune seemed to be.”

“Oh, so that’s why your third uncle ended up with a limp.”

“What do you know!” Gouzi immediately snapped. “My third uncle was still young back then. He only teased her a little nothing serious. And look, she’s perfectly fine now!”

Xiao San looked at Gouzi with pity. “Do you really think Zheng Qi was completely unaffected? Do you really believe that ganging up to bully someone is harmless?”

Gouzi turned his face away. “Later, a fortune-teller said the village was plagued by evil and needed an exorcism. Many people thought Zheng Qi was the source of that evil, so her aunt took her away.”

Though it was just five simple words, “took her away” Xiao San could sense the storm of violence and fear hidden behind them.

Xiao San hummed in acknowledgment. “After I get back, I’ll mail you a phone as payment for what you’ve told me today.”

Gouzi’s face lit up instantly. “Really? Can you send me a gaming console too?”

“Hey, don’t push your luck!”

Gouzi’s expression fell. “Fine, fine. Just make sure to include the charging cable too, okay? I saw yours yesterday, it’s different from any I’ve ever seen.”

“Heh.” Xiao San rolled her eyes at him.

In the end, Xiao San didn’t leave with the people arranged by the limping third uncle. Instead, she went to find Count Corey.

When she arrived, Count Corey was also preparing to depart. His face was even paler than before, as if he might collapse at any moment.

“Did you find your friend’s home?” Count Corey asked, looking at Xiao San. From their first meeting, he had taken a liking to her someone so transparent and uncomplicated was an irresistible presence for someone like him.

Xiao San nodded. “I found it.”

“But you don’t seem happy about it.”

“Ah, it’s a long story.” Xiao San took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “What about you? Why are you leaving so soon?”

“Before coming, I felt like I had to make this trip like I’d lose something if I didn’t. But after arriving, I realized this place is just ordinary. Memories tend to beautify things, after all.” Count Corey didn’t press for details. “Besides, my health seems to be failing faster. I should return home sooner and spend more time with my family.”

“Yes, spending time with family is important.”

The two got into the car, with Xiao San once again sitting in the back seat beside Count Corey.

This time, Xiao San felt much more relaxed.

Compared to the people in Zheng Village, Count Corey gave her a far better impression at the very least, he made her feel a sense of security.

“Uncle Corey, I want to ask you a question.” Xiao San had pondered for a long time but couldn’t find an answer. Perhaps Count Corey, as an outsider, could give her a better one.

Placing her hopes in Count Corey, Xiao San waited for him to nod before voicing her recent confusion.

“My friend, she seems very gentle. We’ve known each other for many years about seven or eight. Her personality, well, you could say she’s gentle, even a bit timid. Her own mother doesn’t treat her well, yet she still cherishes the good in her mother.”

Xiao San struggled to describe everything about Zheng Qi. “Later, she went abroad for over two years. When she came back, she had changed a lot become much stronger, and even took on a leadership role in her company.”

Count Corey was truly a good listener, nodding as he listened to Xiao San.

“After that, I met her grandmother and visited the village where she was born and raised. But I feel, ” Xiao San found it hard to articulate, but after steadying herself, she continued, “It’s just that she seems different from what I imagined.”

“How exactly is she different?” Count Corey asked.

“I thought she never lied, but I’ve discovered she’s told me many lies. Also, I thought she was very kind not that she isn’t kind, but it’s just very different from what I imagined.”

Count Corey closed his eyes. “Your friend is Zheng Qi, right?”

“Yes.”

“Zheng Qi!” Count Corey’s lips curled into a smile. “Could it be that it’s actually you?”

“Uncle Corey, what do you mean by ‘could it be you’?”

“Nothing, I’m just wondering if your friend Zheng Qi might not have been a kind person from the start. Perhaps she’s someone who lies through her teeth, enjoys deceiving others, and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals.”

“How could that be!” Xiao San retorted without a second thought. “A Qi is so good, how could she be like that?”

“You hesitated when you said that,” Count Corey leaned back in his chair, his smile unwavering.

He didn’t even bother to explain or analyze anything to Xiao San. With just that one sentence, her resolve crumbled.

Because, from the moment Xiao San asked the question, she could no longer fully trust Zheng Qi.

“I know someone,” Count Corey suddenly said. Waiting until Xiao San looked at him, he continued slowly, “She suffered a lot of bullying when she was very young, so she beat up every one of those people. After that, she went from house to house to apologize until they forgave her.”

Xiao San’s eyes widened, feeling that the person Count Corey described shared some similarities with Zheng Qi’s childhood.

“Then, one by one, she took revenge on all of them either deliberately breaking their ladders or leading them into traps. Fortunately, she was still very young and didn’t intend to take anyone’s life.”

Count Corey chuckled.

“A child, could do all that? How old was she then?”

“Seven? Eight?” Count Corey thought for a moment but couldn’t recall the exact age. “She was so young, how could she possibly have done all that?”

Xiao San breathed a sigh of relief.

“I had help back then.” Count Corey smiled with a hint of cold amusement. “Those people thought the weak deserved to be bullied, believed the weak wouldn’t fight back, how utterly foolish.”

Xiao San nearly choked on her breath. “You helped?”

“Don’t worry. While she took revenge on the children, I merely assisted the adults just made a few minor adjustments. At most, it only gave rise to ghost stories in this village.” Count Corey even seemed rather pleased with himself.

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