At night, Lin Xiang didn’t sleep well. She vaguely heard the sound of soone walking outside, the rustling of fallen leaves underfoot.
The sound was even clearer in the deep, silent night.
Lin Xiang turned over and found that although the sound was intermittent, it never completely disappeared.
The noise disturbed Lin Xiang’s sleep, so she simply threw on a coat and went outside.
When the flashlight’s beam hit the yard, Lin Xiang vaguely saw a figure disappearing into the dark night.
"Who could it be at such a late hour?" Lin Xiang suppressed the unease in her heart and pushed open the courtyard door, a strong scent of blood assaulting her senses.
Lin Xiang stood stunned for a mont before she started yelling for Mrs. Lin.
Mrs. Lin was a light sleeper and imdiately ca out when she heard the noise, "What’s wrong, girl?"
"It seems like soone splashed blood on our house."
"Splashed blood?" Mrs. Lin obviously didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation until Lin Xiang pointed the flashlight at the ground, and Mrs. Lin saw the moist soil.
The night was deep, and Mrs. Lin couldn’t really see what the wet patch on the ground was, but the strong scent of blood was impossible to ignore.
"Could it be that soone committed murder?" Mrs. Lin tightly grasped Lin Xiang’s hand, her voice trembling, "Girl, what should we do!"
With only the mother and daughter at ho, it truly felt unsafe. Lin Xiang turned back into the main house to get a lock, secured the front door, and then went with Mrs. Lin to their Fifth Uncle’s house.
"What? You say soone splashed blood on your house? Who could be so wicked in the dead of night!"
Lin Xiang’s eyes fell on Mrs. Lin, "Besides Zhao Xiui, there’s no one else."
After all, the people she had offended were limited, and there was the barrier of Yu Yuan between her and Aunt Lin, who had long resented her.
Mrs. Lin still tried to excuse Aunt Lin, "Maybe it was soone else? Besides, what good would it do her to splash blood at our house?"
But Mrs. Lin’s argunt wasn’t very convincing.
Though superstitions were strongly banned by the state, everyone knew that whether chicken blood or dog blood, it might be connected to a curse.
Whether Aunt Lin genuinely believed in her actions’ effectiveness was beside the point; the act itself was undeniably disturbing.
So, early the next morning, Lin Xiang went to find the brigade leader.
"Brigade leader, you must stand up for us! Last night they dared to splash blood at my door. Who knows if next ti they might break in! You know our family’s situation, my dad passed away early, and my brother is in the military. It’s just my mom and at ho; we can’t bear any shock!"
Regarding the bun workshop, the brigade leader and most villagers now saw Lin Xiang as soone valuable, and upon learning about her troubles, everyone voluntarily helped find the culprit without needing instructions from the brigade leader.
The first suspect was Aunt Lin.
Lin Xiang had expected Aunt Lin to defend herself a bit, but when confronted, Aunt Lin brazenly admitted it.
"Yes, I did it! Why should my son eat peanuts and leave to bury him while Zhao Xiuli and Lin Xiang get to live happily? It’s not fair!"
"What’s unfair about it!" the brigade leader retorted angrily. "If Yu Yuan hadn’t made mistakes himself, would the governnt pin him down? You’re just being unreasonable and causing trouble without reason!"
Aunt Lin didn’t care what the brigade leader said; she conceded to her actions but refused to apologize to Lin Xiang.
She looked indifferent, as if to say, "What can you do to ?"
Lin Xiang spoke slowly, "Since your actions have threatened the safety of my mom and , I will report to the Public Security Bureau. Whatever punishnt cos next is the consequence you deserve!"
She neither cried nor argued, just straightforwardly reported to the police.
Aunt Lin didn’t expect Lin Xiang to be so decisive and shouted, "Lin Xiang, I’m your aunt!"
"Trying to bring up our relationship now? I don’t rember having an aunt!"
Lin Xiang pulled along the bewildered Mrs. Lin and firmly led her ho.
The soil in front of the gate had already been turned, and the sll of blood was gone.
Fifth Uncle wiped the sweat off his forehead, "The soil’s been turned over; when it rains, your Fifth Aunt and I will bring so new mud and replace the soil in front so this nastiness doesn’t bother you."
Fifth Uncle didn’t think he had done anything significant, but Lin Xiang’s eyes were red.
They were all relatives, yet she wished both the Zhao Family and the Lin Family would learn from Fifth Uncle!
Of course, Lin Xiang knew that was just wishful thinking; those people would never change.
Because of the incident, Fifth Aunt and Chunya didn’t go to the fair today, so Lin Xiang didn’t get to et Chunya’s sweetheart.
Before returning to the city, she gave Chunya so fabric in various patterns.
"Young girls all love beauty, and now that you have a sweetheart, surely you’d want to wear so new clothes. Here, take this fabric and make yourself sothing when you have ti."
Chunya hugged Lin Xiang, "You’re so good to , how should I repay you?"
"Between sisters, there’s no need to talk about repaynt. But you must promise not to overstep boundaries before Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt agree to your marriage, okay? You need to take responsibility for yourself."
Chunya blushed and gave Lin Xiang an angry look, "What are you talking about; I wouldn’t do such a thing!"
"Great if you won’t. Alright then, I’m leaving now. I’ll co back to see you next month."
Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt saw Lin Xiang and Mrs. Lin off to the village entrance, "When we go to town for the market in a few days, we’ll co see you."
Ti flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the beginning of May.
With Lin Xiang’s help, Ge Yuanyi’s grades improved significantly and she passed the school entrance exam. Though she wasn’t studying at Town First Middle School, she could take the college entrance exam alongside Lin Xiang.
After sending Ge Yuanyi off outside the school, Lin Xiang had just returned to the classroom and settled into her seat when a few female classmates gathered around.
"Lin Xiang, why are you associating with soone like that?"
"Hmm? Who are you talking about?" Lin Xiang didn’t catch on imdiately and instinctively asked back.
The girl who spoke pursed her lips, "That girl who ca to school with you today, didn’t you hear about her? She was with several n... It’s a disgraceful ti!"
"Exactly, with such poor character, you’d better distance yourself from her to avoid trouble."
"Bang!" Lin Xiang slapped her palm hard on the table, and those who spoke just now all miraculously fell silent.
Lin Xiang’s deskmate muttered softly, "But it’s true, we’re only advising you out of goodwill. Why get angry?"
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