Chapter 50: Kill Three Birds with One Stone
One of the aunties asked, “Hey, Little Ning, how are you adjusting to life here? Are you tired? Should we introduce you to someone? Then you wouldn’t have to work so hard anymore. Tell us what kind of man you’re looking for.”
“Yeah, tell us,” another chimed in. “I’ve got a few good-looking, hardworking relatives. Maybe you could meet one of them.”
Aunt Zhang was even more straightforward: “Little Ning, my nephew’s a great catch — honest, hardworking, and decent-looking. Want me to introduce you two?”
Looking at the enthusiastic aunties, Ning Xiyue sighed with a troubled expression. “Aunties, I’m… afraid. You don’t know… sigh…”
“Afraid of what? If you want, we can introduce you to someone we know well. What’s there to be scared of? Or do your parents not want you marrying someone from the countryside?”
Ning Xiyue closed her eyes painfully and shook her head. Then, as if steeling herself, she opened them again, took a deep breath, and looked at the aunties.
“Since you’re all so kind and thinking about me, I won’t hide it anymore. Do you see the scar on my forehead? Do you know how I got it?”
The four aunties shook their heads and asked, “No, how?”
“It’s a sad story… let me tell you slowly.”
Ning Xiyue wiped away a tear, her nose turning red. “It was all thanks to Ning Xiaoxiao and the man who liked her. They tricked me. When I went to question them, somehow I ended up falling to the ground and cracked my head open. There was blood everywhere — I almost didn’t make it.”
At this point, she even let two symbolic tears fall. Her red-rimmed eyes looked at the aunties’ sympathetic faces as she continued.
“One was my classmate, the other my cousin. I’m not saying they directly caused my injury, but even so, they didn’t bother to take me to the hospital. A passerby found me and rushed me there. And while I was recovering, they came to mock me. Over the years, they took plenty of good things from me.”
With a deeply hurt expression, Ning Xiyue shook her head. “That’s when I realized how truly evil people can be. I stopped trusting anyone. If even family can do that, how can I trust strangers? And after seeing so many women beaten by their husbands, I decided I wouldn’t date or marry before the age of twenty-five. And even then, my parents will have to approve — they would never harm me.”
“So… I’m sorry to turn down your kind offers,” she said apologetically.
Aunt Liu hadn’t expected to stir up such painful memories. “Ah, Little Ning, don’t be sad. If you don’t want to date, then don’t. Focus on your health. Your forehead injury hasn’t healed yet.”
“Mhm.” Ning Xiyue touched her forehead. “Thank you, Auntie. It doesn’t hurt as much as before. Those first few days were agony.”
Aunt Qian nodded. “I scraped my knee once, and it hurt for days. It still aches when it rains. That scar on your head must hurt even more. They say it takes a hundred days for bones and tendons to heal — you should rest well.”
Aunt Zhang, who had wanted to introduce her nephew, lost all motivation. The young educated youth had said her parents must approve, and that she’d been traumatized by terrible people. Pushing further would just make things awkward.
Thinking of Ning Xiaoxiao, Aunt Zhang grew indignant. “I can’t believe that Ning Xiaoxiao is so awful. There’s no way that head injury had nothing to do with them. She’s rotten — taking so much from you and still treating you like that. What a vicious person.”
Aunt Zhao jumped in eagerly. “I knew Ning Xiaoxiao wasn’t a good person — always pretending to be pitiful just to attract men. As if no one could tell.”
Aunt Liu nodded, looking at Ning Xiyue with pity. “Exactly. Poor you, having such a relative. Ning Xiaoxiao’s heart is black. That man’s no better — they’re both sinners.”
Whenever they looked at her, Ning Xiyue made sure to show just the right amount of sadness.
Before long, the aunties had completely abandoned the idea of matchmaking. The conversation had turned into a full-blown “Ning Xiaoxiao Criticism and Condemnation Meeting.”
Yes! Two birds with one stone.
Ning Xiyue had brought it up on purpose — these aunties were notorious gossips. Now, the whole team would know about it.
With the mood already stirred up, how could she not make things difficult for Ning Xiaoxiao?
Now, those four aunties were her righteous allies. Not one of them liked Ning Xiaoxiao anymore.
When Aunt Yangliu arrived, the aunties reluctantly stopped chatting and went back to work.
Ning Xiyue put her water bottle away, happily grabbed her wooden rake, and started working again.
By the end of the afternoon, every woman in the drying team knew the tragic story of the new educated youth. The more they pitied her, the less they liked Ning Xiaoxiao. Everyone was gossiping about how terrible she was.
Some even started helping Ning Xiyue with her tasks out of sympathy, which made her workload much lighter.
She hadn’t expected such an effect — Ning Xiyue was delighted. This was more than a win-win — it was a win-win-win.
Aunt Yangliu also heard the story. After work, she hurried over to comfort her. “Xiyue, don’t be sad. People like that don’t count as family.”
It took Ning Xiyue a second to realize Aunt Yangliu must have overheard everything and had come to console her. She felt a bit touched.
“Auntie, I’m not sad. I still have family who truly care about me. The rest aren’t my family.”
Aunt Yangliu, however, thought she was just putting on a brave face. She sighed inwardly, admiring the girl’s mental strength. “Good child.”
Li Cuihua had also heard about Ning Xiyue’s story. She had wanted to come mock her — So much for being so capable, huh? You still got bullied.
But after Ning Xiyue’s display that morning, she was too scared. She knew this educated youth was strong, and if they fought, she’d be the one to suffer.
So she only dared to glare mockingly from the shadows, not daring to say anything aloud.
Coward, Ning Xiyue thought, rolling her eyes. She ignored her and began packing up to head back to the educated youth dormitory.
Just then, an aunt came running over in a hurry, shouting from afar: “Li Cuihua! Come quick! Your daughter Wu Xiuli is causing trouble again. It’s serious this time — even the team leader’s gone over. Hurry!”
Li Cuihua screamed, her voice sharp and panicked. “What? That damned girl — where is she? What’s she done now?”
“At the reservoir. Hurry!”
Li Cuihua grabbed her things and sprinted off toward the reservoir.
The messenger aunt didn’t leave immediately but instead shouted toward Aunt Wang: “Wang Bigmouth, you should come too — your son Li Jiandang is there as well!”
“What? That damned brat—!”
Aunt Wang, who had been secretly gloating, suddenly panicked when she heard her son was involved. She shouted and ran off with the messenger, bombarding her with questions along the way.
Everyone else, excited by the dramatic news, said, “Come on, let’s go watch!”
Just from the messenger’s tone, it was obvious something big was happening — and everyone wanted to know what.
The moment she heard it involved those two again, Ning Xiyue’s gossip-loving soul instantly ignited. She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and followed the group of aunties straight toward the reservoir.
