The two of them conspired with a malicious scheme to harm Xiao Heshuo.

Hearing this, Xiao Hoshuo looked at Li Yutong with a cold gaze. "Whether my wife is savage or not, what business is it of yours?"

His tone was far from friendly. "Instead of meddling in our affairs as a married couple, you'd better mind your own business. It would be best if you showed your face in front of me as little as possible."

"You make me sick!"

Hearing this, Li Yutong assumed that Yan Ziyue must have been speaking ill of her behind her back to Xiao Hoshuo; otherwise, given her high school diploma and city-dweller status, Xiao Hoshuo would never treat her this way.

"Xiao Hoshuo, yesterday your wife poured a whole bucket of water on me and even incited a bunch of kids to curse at me," she said angrily. "She is so vicious. She splashed me with water and egged the children on to hurl abuses. You must teach her a proper lesson."

Ideally, he should divorce Yan Ziyue so that she could be with Xiao Hoshuo legitimately and get everything she wanted.

Xiao Hoshuo was all too clear on her hidden thoughts and scheming. His falcon-like gaze landed squarely on Li Yutong. "If my wife did something like that, it only means you deserved it!"

"And if I ever catch you showing up in front of my wife again, I have plenty of ways to ensure you never get to go back home for the rest of your life."

Li Yutong truly had not expected him to utter such harsh words. She stamped her foot in frustration. "Yan Ziyue is nothing more than a country bumpkin..."

"And just what kind of thing are you?" Xiao Hoshuo interrupted her coldly, a fierce glint in his eyes. "If you don't want that mouth of yours anymore, I can gladly help you get rid of it."

Sensing that he meant every word, Li Yutong quickly covered her mouth, her hatred and resentment toward Yan Ziyue growing even deeper.

If Yan Ziyue hadn't resorted to such despicable and lowly tactics, she would have been with Xiao Hoshuo long ago, and none of this would have happened.

Just as Xiao Hoshuo turned to leave, he heard Gao Zhaodi’s sarcastic voice ring out.

"Oh my, if it isn't Educated Youth Li? How can you be so shameless?"

Gao Zhaodi walked up to Xiao Hoshuo and positioned herself facing Li Yutong with the air of his wife.

While Li Yutong looked down on Yan Ziyue, she looked down on Gao Zhaodi, an aspiring home-wrecker, even more.

In her eyes, she and Gao Zhaodi were completely different. She was legitimate, not some cheap piece of work like Gao Zhaodi could ever compare to.

"My, what kind of filthy creature crawled out from where, reeking to high heaven," Li Yutong waved a hand in front of her nose with a look of extreme disgust.

Gao Zhaodi scanned her up and down as if appraising a piece of merchandise. "So you actually know you're a filthy creature with a stench about you?"

"And to think you're an educated person, yet here you are in broad daylight, publicly trying to seduce another woman's husband. Have you no shame?"

The moment she heard that Li Yutong was trying to seduce Xiao Hoshuo, she had resolved to put this bitch in her place.

And today, she had happened to run right into her.

Li Yutong was about to snap back at her when she caught sight of Xiao Hoshuo walking away out of the corner of her eye. She hurriedly chased after him. "Xiao Hoshuo, let's talk about some high school subjects..."

"Get lost!" Xiao Hoshuo swept a murderous glare over her.

Frightened, Li Yutong stopped dead in her tracks, not daring to pursue him any further. Xiao Hoshuo was terrifying right now.

Xiao Hoshuo glanced once more at Gao Zhaodi, who looked as though she wanted to chase after him too, and then strode away quickly.

Gao Zhaodi swallowed hard and lightly patted her chest. Xiao Hoshuo had been way too scary just now—he looked like he wanted to murder her on the spot.

"Li Yutong, just how can you be so shameless?" she taunted mockingly. "Going out of your way to act as a home-wrecker."

Deigning not to waste words with her, Li Yutong shot her a haughty, high-and-mighty look and walked off in the direction of the Educated Youths' compound.

Gao Zhaodi’s eyes rolled as an idea formed in her mind.

That very day, rumors began to spread through the village that Li Yutong was utterly shameless, having openly tried to seduce Xiao Hoshuo in an attempt to ruin Yan Ziyue's reputation and drive a wedge between the married couple.

In an instant, Li Yutong became a figure reviled by everyone in the village. Even the leader of the educated youth brigade gave her repeated warnings not to pull any more inappropriate stunts.

Inside her room, Li Yutong battered her bed in a fury of rage, her face twisted with bitter hatred. It had to be that bitch Gao Zhaodi spreading malicious gossip about her everywhere.

She would never let Gao Zhaodi off the hook.

A knock sounded at the door: *tap, tap, tap*.

It was Xu Lecheng, leaning on a pair of crutches. He offered a gentle smile. "Won't you invite me in for a chat?"

"I can help you."

Li Yutong looked down on Xu Lecheng in his current state. She raised her chin slightly. "If you have something to say, say it right here."

As far as she was concerned, Xu Lecheng was a total fool—a proper city-dweller who had gone and married some lowly wretch from the countryside.

Xu Lecheng could see the utter contempt and disdain in her eyes and felt a burning hatred inside, though he did not let a trace of it show on his face.

"I know you want to use Xiao Hoshuo's money to help you return to your hometown as soon as possible," he lowered his voice. "I have a way to help you. Who knows, in a few days, you might actually be able to head back home."

Suspicious, Li Yutong didn't believe him. "Would you really be that kind-hearted?"

"Because I can't bear to see Xiao Hoshuo and Yan Ziyue living comfortable lives," Xu Lecheng said, his face contorted with bitter rage. "If it weren't for those two, how could I have ever fallen to this state?"

Every single moment since his return, he had wished he could slaughter Yan Ziyue and Xiao Hoshuo with his own hands.

Only then did Li Yutong believe him a little. "What good plan do you have?"

With venom in his eyes, Xu Lecheng replied, "I've observed them. Every few days, Xiao Hoshuo goes up into the mountain to hunt."

"There are many dangers in the mountain. No matter how familiar he is with it, he's bound to run into trouble eventually. As long as you appear at just the right moment, and he happens to be unconscious, whatever happened is entirely up to your word."

"Besides, if you end up as Xiao Hoshuo's savior, would Yan Ziyue ever dare to treat you badly?"

Li Yutong weighed the proposition, though she remained skeptical of Xu Lecheng. "Are you really doing this out of the goodness of your heart?"

Xu Lecheng explained, "I'm not doing it out of kindness. I want Xiao Hoshuo to die a slow, lingering death."

"Once Xiao Hoshuo is dead, Yan Ziyue will have no one to rely on. When that time comes, I can deal with her however I please, can't I?"

Hearing him put it that way, Li Yutong believed him even more. "Still, Xiao Hoshuo takes a hunting rifle with him when he goes up the mountain. That makes things tricky."

A calculating glint quietly flashed across the depths of Xu Lecheng's eyes. "I'll handle that part."

"Once it succeeds, just give me a sum of money and help me get back to my hometown."

Li Yutong agreed, already scheming in her mind how to use Xu Lecheng to achieve her own ends.

Both of them harbored their own treacherous agendas.

...

At noon, at the junior high school.

Yan Ziyue led several classmates to the school gates to meet Miao Lanlan.

Miao Lanlan was wearing a brand-new blue outfit and was dressed very neatly. Even her hands were scrubbed cleaner than clean, and there was a faint pleasant scent lingering about her.

"Xiao family—Ziyue, right here!"

Spotting Yan Ziyue and the others, she waved eagerly. She couldn't call her "Xiao's wife" at school; she'd heard that some people at the school tabooed such terms.

Yan Ziyue walked up to her and introduced her to her classmates. "Sister Miao, thank you for the trouble of bringing the food."

Miao Lanlan handed over the bamboo basket with a bright smile. "I caught the bus here, it's no trouble at all."

She did begrudge the five-cent bus fare, but the moment she thought about how she would earn much more and that the students wouldn't have to smell her sweat, she stopped minding the expense.

Right in front of her classmates, Yan Ziyue lifted the cloth covering the bamboo basket.

A rich, savory aroma of meat immediately wafted out into the air.