I am chasing a rough man in the 80s
Chapter 38: The Seriously Quarreling Little Suizi

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The Seriously Quarreling Little Suizi

"Rumors are circulating now...you went to Yuanjia Village, and...frightened a young girl."

Suizi’s heart tightened. Despite the man’s tactful wording, everyone knew what he was suggesting.

They suspected that Yu Jingting was involved with the villain who had dragged the young girl into the cornfield in Yuanjia Village.

She turned pale, not just because Yu Jingting was treated as a suspect, but because the news had spread throughout the village, and the young girl surely had to bear the slanderous gossip.

Even the old woman knew to keep this secret, unwilling to pierce the veil of pretense.

The victim’s family kept silent.

The perpetrator would not spread the news either.

It must have been spread by Li Youcai.

This wicked fellow, he not only calculated against herself, but also her family. He wanted to send Yu Jingting to jail.

The angrier Suizi became, the paler her face turned, her hands clenched into fists.

She had two choices in front of her, either to endure or to retaliate fiercely.

Everyone in the room remained silent, many staring without blinking, afraid to miss anything.

It wasn’t the first time Yu Jingting’s rumored misdeeds were being discussed, and while people often gossiped about him behind his back, no one dared to bring it up to his face.

Now Li Youcai was considered a "brave man" in everyone’s eyes.

Suizi, white-faced and fist-clenched, stood there, and in Yu Jingting’s eyes, his wife seemed frightened.

Just as he was planning to knock Li Youcai out, Suizi spoke.

"What happened in Yuanjia Village?" Her voice was noticeably lower than usual, like the oppressive clouds before a storm.

She couldn’t hold back anymore.

Upon hearing Suizi’s voice, Li Youcai quickly looked up, despite Yu Jingting’s intimidating presence, and said:

"A young girl there was dragged into a cornfield. It was Yu Jingting who did it!"

Yu Jingting raised his fist, but before his hand could land, he saw Suizi pick up a small stool from the ground. Yu Jingting sprung up from his seat beside Li Youcai.

The couple worked together seamlessly. As he jumped up, Suizi swung the stool down, striking it directly onto Li Youcai’s head.

Li Youcai’s vision went dark. Her blow was even more ruthless than Yu Jingting’s! Why?!

"A girl’s reputation is not for you to tarnish as you please!" Suizi pointed at him and scolded.

Li Youcai’s heart trembled. He was in trouble.

He was so focused on slandering Yu Jingting that he had forgotten Suizi’s love for children.

In her past life, Suizi had always been single with no children, but she had adopted a child who she showered with affection. She was clearly a good mother, but unfortunately, the child was ungrateful...

He had aired the village’s dirty laundry in public, and Suizi was probably upset for the young girl, which was why she had hit him.

"Suizi, listen to me, I didn’t mean it like that—" Li Youcai’s last words were cut off, as he fell to the ground motionless.

The last thing he remembered was Suizi’s shoe stepping on his face. Her feet were really small.

Yu Jingting clicked his tongue twice, bent over to check if Li Youcai was still breathing.

"He’s still breathing. He fainted."

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he stood up and gently patted Suizi’s back.

"Oh dear, why are you letting someone like he upset you? He’s just envious of our good life and is blabbering about it. From now on, if anyone talks non-sense, I’ll cut their tongue out."

He calmly scanned the people in the room, many of whom turned pale.

They had been discussing him during the day.

As Yu Jingting intimidated the crowd and was satisfied to take his wife, who had performed extraordinarily well today, off the stage, Suizi stood there as if she didn’t want to leave.

She couldn’t leave. If she left, he would never be able to shake off this slanderous rumor. Suizi knew very well that though force could silence people’s mouths, it couldn’t change their minds.

"Fellow villagers, you all know what kind of person I, Chen Hansui, am. Some of your children have been to my classes, you know my character. I may not be upright and transparent, but I can stand by my words."

As soon as Suizi started speaking, tears fell. Her tear ducts were known to be sensitive, and she easily got emotional in times of distress.

As she spoke, the crowd’s expressions subtly shifted.

Even though Suizi’s biological father was not well-liked in the village, her biological mother was a youth cadre and had some prestige when she was in the village.

Suizi herself was the most educated woman in the village. Her words carried weight.

"I teach children, I care for them. You all have children too. It would be heart-wrenching for anyone to hear their child being talked about like this. All of this idle gossip, it can’t just be tossed around without consequences. What if this kind of tragedy befalls your own family, would it be okay then for others to gossip?"

No one had ever openly talked about this topic in public, and no one had ever thought this way. Everyone followed unspoken rules, discussing others’ affairs and being discussed by others in turn.

"Let’s not mention whether this incident happened or not, just talk about my husband. If he does something wrong, I won’t spare him, but for something he hasn’t done, I can’t let you slander him."

Yu Jingting looked at his tear-eyed wife in shock. How did she manage to articulate such tough words in such a vulnerable state? Was he...defended by a woman?

"Suizi, let’s go. There’s no point discussing this with them. They won’t understand," Yu Jingting suppressed his slight anguish and tried to pull her away, but Suizi pushed him back.

"You’re not allowed to talk! Let me talk!"

Everyone in the room gasped in unison. Who dared to yell at Yu Jingting?

"Everyone present here, if anyone can provide evidence that he did it, this money will all be his, and I will personally send Yu Jingting to jail! Can anyone step forward?" Suizi pulled out the bride price money she had reclaimed from her pocket.

A bundle of banknotes of all sizes.

Everyone’s eyes were dazzled by the "huge sum", but no one dared to say a word.

"Second Uncle, you claim everyone is saying that it was my husband who did it. When did he do it?" Suizi turned her gaze to the man who had just spoken.

The man glanced at the money, then at Yu Jingting’s murky face, and swallowed hard.

"Just...just yesterday evening."

"Yesterday evening, he was fetching water for our home, and he even argued with our neighbor—Fourth Auntie, right?"

There was a well in Yu Jingting’s courtyard, but the water tasted bitter and could only be used for washing clothes.

The drinking water for the house had to be fetched from the sweet well at their neighbors’. When he splashed some water onto the street while fetching water, Fourth Auntie murmured a complaint from within their courtyard, which Yu Jingting, with his keen ears, heard. He stood on their wall and argued with her incessantly for half an hour.

Despite Suizi’s pleas, Yu Jingting refused to back down.

His ruffian-like behavior gave Suizi a headache, but this time it served as his alibi.

"Yes, that’s right. Well, Yu Jingting wasn’t really scolding me, he was just...chattering..." Fourth Auntie answered in a small voice. She dared not upset Yu Jingting, who was not a peaceable person.

"So, do you still think he is the perpetrator?" Suizi asked.

The onlookers glanced at each other. Seems like it wasn’t Yu Jingting this time.

Suizi cried as she spoke, her voice wavering towards the end.

"Sure, he might have a temper, but you can’t pin every blame on him and claim he’s guilty of every nasty thing that happens. How are we supposed to live here if you continue to slander us this way? Are you leaving us no way out?"

Everyone drew a sharp breath inward, not because of Suizi’s heartfelt plea, but...

The expression of Yu Jingting behind her was fierce as if he was about to devour someone.