Chapter 86: with translation of chapter title

The clerk elder sister glanced around, confirmed no one was there, then mysteriously said to Su Ruo: "Everyone says it's definitely Chen Xiaomei's ghost returning for revenge; Wang the butcher is haunted by a ghost, that's why he keeps shouting in pain."

You didn't see it, but Wang the butcher's death was practically identical to Chen Xiaomei's, even more gruesome, with his brains spilling out; no normal person, even if seeking death, could possibly be so cruel to themselves.

Upon hearing this, Su Ruo didn't feel it was gruesome; she only thought dying like that was too cheap for Wang the butcher.

That afternoon, Su Ruo took a bundle of white chrysanthemums and went to see the reburied Chen Xiaomei.

She said: "Wang the butcher is dead; I've taken revenge for us!"

Yellow chrysanthemums swayed in the wind, sparse raindrops fell from the sky, and Su Ruo didn't know whether this was Chen Xiaomei crying.

She said: "In your next life, pick better parents and be reborn into a good family!"

Su Ruo hoped Chen Xiaomei would be happy in her next life, like an ordinary girl—studying, learning to read, marrying and having children, living a peaceful and smooth life.

At this moment, in a cave on Da Qing Shan, a black-robed man lay on the ground with a deathly pale face, fresh blood continuously gushing from his mouth.

To prevent Wang the butcher from implicating him, the black-robed man used a secret technique, controlling the imprisoned Wang the butcher to make him commit suicide silently.

But the price for doing so was that he lost ten years of his yang lifespan and over half of his cultivation.

When he first received this mission, the black-robed man was still contemptuous, thinking Su Ruo was merely a rootless little girl, that dealing with her would be a breeze; he never expected to be defeated by such a girl.

The black-robed man's eyes were full of resentment, but to heal his wounds he had to return to the Imperial Capital; he remembered this grudge, and one day he would repay it with interest.

After Wang the butcher died, Su Ruo's life returned to peace; everyone in the village knew about her relationship with Zhou Feng and Public Security Bureau Chief Wang Liangping.

Therefore, no one in the village dared to have designs on her anymore; even those who previously had such thoughts now quietly put them aside.

After all, no matter how good Su Ruo is, she still needs to get married! Look at Wang the butcher's fate—who would still dare to have designs on Su Ruo?

A few days later, from the old woman who had come to see a doctor, Su Ruo learned that Li Zeyu and Li Yanhong were going to get married.

Su Ruo was quite surprised; in her previous life, although Li Zeyu had been sent to the countryside, he had her as a free maid taking care of him, plus a large group of female admirers, and his life was quite comfortable.

Only after the college entrance exam was restored and Li Zeyu got into university and returned to the city did he kick Su Ruo to the curb; it was said that later Li Zeyu married a girl from a high-ranking official's family, and his life was extremely proud.

In this life, without Su Ruo this free maid diligently caring for these two siblings, can Li Zeyu really not hold out so quickly?

Moreover, Li Yanhong had liked Li Zeyu in her previous life, so she had not spared Su Ruo; in this life, being able to marry Li Zeyu is also wish fulfilled, and she only hopes she won't regret it in the future.

While fetching medicine for the old woman, Su Ruo casually asked: "Li Zeyu wants to marry Li Yanhong; does the Battalion Commander agree?"

Everyone knows that the villagers look down on these educated youths sent to the countryside, thinking they can't shoulder burdens or lift things, and will just drag the village down.

Li Yanhong's father is the Battalion Commander; her family is considered the best-off in the village, plus Li Yanhong is not bad-looking and has attended junior high, so the Battalion Commander and his wife have high hopes.

Now Li Yanhong wants to marry Li Zeyu, who is merely a pretty face with no other redeeming qualities; the Battalion Commander would surely not agree.

Sure enough, after hearing this, the old woman glanced sideways, lowered her voice to Su Ruo's ear and said: "How could he possibly agree? But there's no other way; I heard Li Yanhong's belly is already big, so even if the Battalion Commander wanted to object, he couldn't."

After saying that, the old woman exaggeratedly gestured at her belly with her hand, her eyes full of contempt; clearly she looked down on Li Yanhong's premarital pregnancy.

During this period Su Ruo had been busy and hadn't paid attention to the Zhiqing Dian; she never expected Li Zeyu to have gotten Li Yanhong pregnant.

Su Ruo knew Li Zeyu had always been someone who wouldn't get up early without profit; his doing all this clearly wasn't just to climb onto the Battalion Commander's big tree.

But besides climbing onto the Battalion Commander, why else would Li Zeyu do this? Su Ruo couldn't figure it out for now, so she simply stopped thinking about it; after all, the fox's tail will eventually show.

In the Zhiqing Dian, Li Shiro saw Li Zeyu come in from outside; she lifted her head from her book and said: "Brother, are you really going to marry Li Yanhong?"

Because Li Shiro had been staying in her room reading, not going out to work, she had visibly become much fairer; paired with her light yellow sweater, she looked softer all over, no longer so gloomy, faintly retaining a hint of how she looked when she first went to the countryside.

Upon hearing this, Li Zeyu walked over, reached out to ruffle Li Shiro's hair, and said: "We already discussed this, didn't we?"

"Before, it was because I, the brother, was useless and failed to protect you, allowing that bastard accountant Wu to defile you! But I guarantee you, such a thing will never happen again."

The reason they dare to treat us like this is nothing but seeing us two siblings as helpless and alone!

Although Li Yanhong is not good, her father is the Battalion Commander; as long as I marry her, from now on in this village no one will dare to bully us!

Li Zeyu's face was full of sinister and vicious expression as he said this, but he quickly composed himself and continued:

"I've found out that the recommended spots for the Worker-Peasant-Soldier colleges in the county have been announced; because Li Family Village is an Advanced Brigade, it also has a spot."

"As long as I marry Li Yanhong, this college student spot will definitely be mine; once I enter university, I'll bring you back to the city."

"Once we leave here, if Li Yanhong is obedient and sensible, I can keep her; if she is not, I can completely kick her out."

Li Shiro's fingers tensed slightly, crumpling the physics and chemistry books in her hand into wrinkles; she very much wanted to tell Li Zeyu the news that the college entrance exam would soon be restored, and also tell him that the Battalion Commander, being so shrewd, would not let him have his way.

But in the end Li Shiro said nothing; she had already lost so much, and absolutely could not lose this chance at the college entrance exam.

Moreover, before the college entrance exam, the two siblings had to make a living; to survive, they had to sacrifice one of them, and between herself and Li Zeyu, Li Shiro chose Li Zeyu.

Li Shiro did not feel that what she did was wrong; the saying goes, 'If one does not act for oneself, heaven will destroy and earth will annihilate,' and this holds true even when the other party is her own brother.

As for whether Li Zeyu would later find out and blame her, Li Shiro had never thought about it; or rather, in Li Shiro's mind, as long as she could get into university and leave this place, whether Li Zeyu hated her or not was irrelevant.