Chapter 117: Ning Xiaoxiao’s Downfall (Part 1)
Ning Xiaoxiao, still not fully aware of what was happening, turned around in terror when she heard Wang Mazi’s voice.
“Ah! Wang Mazi, why are you here?”
At that moment, the blanket covering her slipped down a little, revealing the marks on her arms and neck. She noticed them too, and as her rationality returned, she finally realized the situation she was in — and an ominous feeling rose in her chest.
Someone spoke up, cutting through the silence: “Ning Xiaoxiao, don’t tell me you don’t even know where you are. Look at you two, messing around with Wang Mazi like animals. Tsk tsk, you were going at it so hard — there are even scratch marks all over his face — and you still have the nerve to ask!”
“Ah—!”
A scream filled with madness and rage pierced through the courtyard. Ning Xiaoxiao looked over and saw Wang Mazi’s face twisted in disgust as he leaned over the side of the bed and dry-heaved.
“Could she be pregnant?”
The crowd erupted into noisy discussion, pointing fingers and whispering vicious remarks.
Watching this, Ning Xiyue’s lips curled into a satisfied smile — this was exactly what she had been waiting for: to see Ning Xiaoxiao in this humiliating state.
Chen Yechu felt an indescribable satisfaction too. She couldn’t stop smiling. The humiliation she had suffered when she’d caught Ning Xiaoxiao cheating in their past life was now being repaid in full.
You reap what you sow.
This was how Ning Xiaoxiao should be — exposed, disgraced, and condemned by everyone. Not like in the previous life, when Chen caught her in bed with another man only for her to put on a weak, pitiful act while giving her a smug, taunting look behind his back.
After vomiting, Ning Xiaoxiao collapsed weakly beside the bed, clutching at the quilt while glaring hatefully at the crowd, screaming like a madwoman: “Ning Xiyue! Chen Yechu! Was this all your doing? Was it?! Why weren’t you the ones on this bed?! I’ll kill you—!”
“What’s going on here? I feel like there’s something behind all this,” one onlooker said excitedly, clearly enjoying the show.
“I think it’s obvious — Ning Xiaoxiao’s behind all of this. She must’ve had feelings for Wang Mazi and decided to take matters into her own hands.”
Chen Yechu’s face flushed green with anger: “Ning Xiaoxiao, how could you be like this? You can’t just throw accusations without evidence. You were the one who liked Wang Mazi and came here to sleep with him. Now that there are so many witnesses, you want to frame us? Pah! Shameless! I’m going to report this to the police!”
Before Ning Xiaoxiao could respond, Ning Xiyue spoke up right after Chen Yechu:
“Oh? From the way you’re talking, it sounds like the people on this bed should have been the two of us.”
Ning Xiyue’s voice rose with anger: “Well, now I understand what those letters were about — it was your doing, wasn’t it? Trying to frame us? And now that your plan failed, you’re trying to slander us too? I would love to have the police come here and judge this fairly. You shameless woman — you raped Wang Mazi and are still trying to frame us? I’ve never seen anyone as disgusting as you!”
“Don’t be mad, Xiyue,” Aunt Yangliu came over to comfort her, glaring fiercely at Ning Xiaoxiao. “People like her are rabid dogs — they try to drag everyone else down when they’re exposed. I’m sure she wrote those letters. Look, the handwriting even looks similar. It’s definitely her.”
“Mm.” Ning Xiyue whimpered pitifully, shrinking into Aunt Yangliu’s embrace as if seeking comfort.
Liu Yao stepped forward and shouted: “Pah! Ning Xiaoxiao, stop spouting nonsense! Xiyue and Yechu were in the educated youth dormitory the whole time — we all saw them. You were the only one missing. You’re truly wicked, trying to slander them!”
Yu Zhiyu and Li Xiuxiu also stepped up, confirming that the two had been diligently working since yesterday.
When the wall collapses, everyone pushes.
The crowd turned on Ning Xiaoxiao, condemning her from all sides.
“See? I told you she was the one behind this.”
Wang Mazi saw the tide turning and decided it was time to make his move. Before Ning Xiaoxiao could say anything else, he shuffled over to her and reached out to pull her closer.
“Don’t touch me! Get away from me! Get lost!” Ning Xiaoxiao recoiled as if avoiding a plague, her face twisted with disgust and rage.
But Wang Mazi was quite the actor too. His pockmarked face twisted into a look of hurt and betrayal. “Xiaoxiao, how can you treat me like this? You pushed me onto the bed without a word, and I didn’t even complain. It was you who said you liked me, you who wrote me those letters. And now…”
Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke, and he even let a few fall — earning him sympathetic looks from the crowd.
Wang Mazi’s mother, Liu Guifen, was furious after hearing this. She stormed over and slapped Ning Xiaoxiao several times across the face.
Just hearing the sound of the blows made Ning Xiyue wince.
Before Ning Xiaoxiao could react, Liu Guifen collapsed dramatically to the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing loudly: “You shameless slut! You seduced my son and raped him! You’ve ruined him — my poor Mazi’s 42 years of innocence gone! Tied to the bed, unable to move, and you defiled him! And now you’re denying it! Captain, everyone, please judge this fairly — how can such a person exist? Boo-hoo-hoo…”
Wang Mazi hung his head, playing the part of the heartbroken victim.
Ning Xiyue was impressed — this woman could turn black into white and even make people feel for her. No wonder she was the best “professional mourner” in the village — her tears and tone could rival anyone’s.
Liu Yao sighed beside her. “Sigh… I almost feel bad for Wang Mazi now. Forty-two years of purity, gone, all thanks to Ning Xiaoxiao.”
Li Xiuxiu snorted with laughter. “Pft — it is kind of tragic, in a way. You’re too funny.”
Many onlookers cast sympathetic glances at Wang Mazi. Some even looked envious. But when their eyes shifted to Ning Xiaoxiao, their gazes were filled with disgust and hostility.
Ning Xiaoxiao tried to explain herself, but Liu Guifen’s loud wailing drowned out her voice completely — not a single word of her defense could be heard.
Ning Xiyue noticed her frustration and flashed a dazzling smile.
Chen Yechu also gave her the same mocking, triumphant smile Ning Xiaoxiao had once given her in their past life.
It made Ning Xiaoxiao so furious that her face turned green. She tried to lunge at them with clawed hands, but since she wasn’t wearing any clothes — and the clothes she had were now nothing but torn rags — she had no choice but to sit back down, clutching the blanket tightly, her face twisted with rage.
Liu Guifen wiped her tears and looked at Wang Mazi again.
“Mazi, where are those letters? Take them out and let everyone judge for themselves — we’re not taking the blame for this.”
Wang Mazi looked up, his gaze casually flicking toward Ning Xiyue and Chen Yechu. When he saw their approving nods, he relaxed completely.
“Mom, those letters were written by Xiaoxiao. I don’t think it’s a good idea to take them out…” he said, feigning hesitation.
Ning Xiaoxiao pointed at him furiously. “You! When did I ever write you letters? You disgusting toad — look at yourself! Pah! Shameless! If you’re so sure, then show them!”
Ning Xiyue shook her head. So stupid. Who would lie about something like that without evidence in front of so many people?
Ning Xiaoxiao was about to be disappointed again.
Wang Mazi, acting utterly heartbroken yet still tolerant, spoke gently: “Xiaoxiao, I didn’t want to show them — after all, they’re from you. But since you’re denying it now, I have no choice but to.”
“Mom, they’re in my wardrobe. Go get them.”
The crowd was ecstatic, eagerly making way for Liu Guifen. They were all dying to see what kind of letters the educated youth had written.
“Hmph! Let’s see what you can come up with,” Ning Xiaoxiao said coolly. Even if Wang Mazi accused her, she had powerful backing. Once she became rich in the future, she’d settle the score with every single one of them.
One of the older women huffed indignantly: “I can’t wait to see what those letters look like. Look at how arrogant she is — tch, she’s such trash.”
“Have you found them, Liu Guifen?”
“Don’t rush me— Ah, found them! Found them!” Liu Guifen said excitedly, pulling out a stack of letters.
“Wow, ten letters! Shameless.”
Ning Xiaoxiao looked at the letters without fear. “They’re fake.”
No one cared what she said. They just wanted to read them.
“Hurry, let us see!”
Impatiently, Liu Guifen handed the letters to the literate villagers, since she couldn’t read much herself.
“Let me read — wow, this is so cheesy I’m embarrassed to say it out loud. I can’t believe Ning Xiaoxiao is this kind of person.”
Ning Xiaoxiao: “They’re all fake. I didn’t write them.”
Ning Xiyue’s lips curled. If it’s embarrassing, then it’s probably real. You’re about to be disappointed again.
“Ah — this one says, ‘Brother Mazi, you’re amazing. I liked you from the very first moment I saw you…’ Ugh, I can’t even read the rest!”
The captain picked up one of the letters too. He had seen Ning Xiaoxiao’s handwriting before — and this was unmistakably hers. His face darkened. When he read the bold and overly intimate words on the page, it darkened even more. He tossed the letter to the ground in disgust, right at Ning Xiaoxiao’s feet.
“This is disgraceful! Ning Xiaoxiao, I could forgive you for causing trouble once or twice — but how can a young woman like you be so utterly shameless?”
