Chapter 32: Carefully Selected Control Group

How bizarre was it?

Anyone close to Lu Baozhen either suffered bad luck or died.

More chilling still, she seemed to possess some inexplicable pull—those who met her couldn’t help but develop a fondness for her, desperately wanting to treat her well.

This kindness had no motive, sought no reward; even if they themselves were drowning in suffering, they still wanted to be good to her.

It was downright eerie.

Lin Zhao recalled certain offhand lines in the book that decided a person’s fate, and goosebumps crawled over her skin.

It gave her the creeps.

Behind the sweet, soft voice came Su Yuxian’s.

“Lin Zhao.” As she spoke, she gently pushed open the door.

Su Yuxian stepped one foot inside, saw Lin Zhao in the courtyard, and said in a gentle tone tinged with barely concealed resentment, “I called you, why didn’t you answer?”

“Everyone has times when they don’t want to talk.” Lin Zhao was in a bad mood, didn’t want to entertain anyone, and certainly didn’t want to play nice with her.

Get out.

Su Yuxian froze. “What’s wrong with you?”

Before Lin Zhao could answer, she saw Lu Baozhen walking toward Dacai and Ercai.

She frowned slightly.

But she didn’t stop her.

Wanted to see what would happen.

Lu Baozhen stopped before the twins, her grape-like clear eyes fixed on the bowls in their hands, tilting her head with a smile, her two ponytails swaying as she asked softly, “Big Cai brother, Second Cai brother, what are you drinking?”

Ercai said boastfully, “Watermelon lemon juice—Mom made it for us, says it cools you down.”

“Is it tasty?” Lu Baozhen asked eagerly.

“There’s sugar in it, of course it’s tasty!” Ercai shouted.

“Big Cai brother, I’ve never had any.” Lu Baozhen pouted, looking pitiful, her voice sweet and soft.

She was just over four, with flat features, single eyelids, eyes neither large nor small, a low nose bridge and a big nose tip, utterly dull-witted, her face slightly paler and softer than other village girls her age, a bit chubby, looking round and cute as a child.

When she softened her voice, she became even more lovable.

Ercai didn’t take the bait. “I didn’t drink any at four either. You can have some when you’re five.”

He finished speaking.

Opened his mouth wide and swallowed the last sip of juice.

Lin Zhao: …pfft.

Well done.

Lin Zhao had feared the boys might be influenced, turning into little idiots.

Now it seemed that as long as she didn’t die, the boys wouldn’t be affected.

She forced down her inner excitement, her eyes bright, her lips curled high.

Dacai noticed his mother’s expression, blinked, and looked thoughtful.

Lu Baozhen stared at him pitifully and called again, “Big Cai brother, Second Cai brother is so stingy.”

Dacai frowned. “Second Cai isn’t stingy.”

Ercai stuck out his tongue at Lu Baozhen, making “nyah-nyah” noises. “My brother won’t fall for your tricks.”

Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Oh wow, she even knows the word “tricks.”

Lu Baozhen looked utterly confused, frozen in place, unable to understand why things hadn’t gone as she planned.

That’s not right—Big Cai and Second Cai should’ve given her the sweet drink.

The little girl stared blankly at Dacai and Ercai, tears welling in her eyes.

Su Yuxian shot a displeased glance at the Gu boys, thinking bitterly: What’s wrong with these brats? If they don’t cater to my Baozhen, I hope they break their legs.

“Lin Zhao, your two boys are too stingy and rude. I brought Baozhen over as a guest, and they don’t even offer chairs or water—how can they make a little girl cry? You really need to discipline them. If they keep this up, what future will they have?”

Su Yuxian delivered this with a “for your own good” expression and tone.

Hearing this, Dacai stiffened, watching Lin Zhao anxiously.

Ercai’s face turned red with anger, ready to retort—when Lin Zhao sneered.

“Get out.” She directly ordered them to leave.

Su Yuxian didn’t react at first.

After a long moment, she blinked, dazed. “...You’re telling me to... leave?” Her voice brimmed with disbelief.

“Take your new daughter and leave my home.” Lin Zhao repeated, her expression disgusted.

She had always acted on impulse, accustomed to doing as she pleased, never bothering with the complicated notion of saving face for others.

Su Yuxian’s dull eyes refocused; her carefully masked face twisted with anger, her voice rising sharply. “Lin Zhao, do you know what you’re saying?”

“I’m the only person in Fengshou Team you can even talk to. Are you sure you want me to go?” She bit out a threat.

“How my sons turn out is none of your concern. On my land, speaking ill of my sons—you’re overstepping terribly. We were never friends, have nothing in common. From now on, treat each other as strangers.” Lin Zhao spoke slowly and calmly.

Su Yuxian’s chest heaved. “What do you mean?”

“It means I don’t want to deal with you.” Lin Zhao said plainly.

Her whole family were cannon fodder; she didn’t want to get too close to the female lead’s household.

Especially with the sinister Lu Baozhen in the Lu family—she had to be cautious.

Breaking ties with Su Yuxian was a necessary step.

As the two adults clashed, the children sensed the tension and stayed silent. Dacai and Ercai stepped behind Lin Zhao; Lu Baozhen moved to her new mother’s side, gripping her hand, her dark eyes fixed on Lin Zhao.

On this sweltering day, even the cicadas had gone mute. A chill rose from Lin Zhao’s soles, racing swiftly through her entire body.

She felt something terrifying watching her.

As a mother, her first instinct was to shield her two sons.

Lin Zhao looked down at Lu Baozhen, about to speak—when Da Huang and Hu Po entered, followed by Gu Mu and the Long Fengtai.

“Woof—” Da Huang burst in without warning, letting out a low, guttural growl at Lu Baozhen.

His back arched, his thin body taut like a drawn bowstring, sharp fangs glinting coldly in the slanting sunlight, as if he would leap and snap the prey’s neck in the next second.

Da Huang barked in front; Hu Po barked behind.

The courtyard grew lively as Wang Chunhua’s brat climbed the wooden ladder against the wall, poking his head out to watch.

The moment Da Huang appeared, the chill on Lin Zhao’s skin vanished instantly.

Perfect timing!!

She looked at Da Huang, her fondness for the big pup deepening further.

Lu Baozhen screamed in fright, hiding behind Su Yuxian and trembling.

“Wahhh—I want to go home! I hate dogs! They’re terrifying! Take me back!!” She tugged at Su Yuxian’s clothes, eyes red and swollen, pitifully innocent again.

Lin Zhao had always been tolerant of children, but after her first encounter with the original novel’s little golden carp, she felt not a trace of affection—only that this child was deeply strange.

If Da Huang hadn’t returned, she had no idea what might have happened next.

Gu Mu frowned at Su Yuxian and Lu Baozhen, confused why they were here.

“Baozhen’s afraid of dogs? Never noticed that before. Xiao Su, take her home, calm her down—don’t let her cry her face off.”

“Understood.” Su Yuxian picked up her adopted daughter, took a few steps forward, then stopped, turning back to Lin Zhao. “Let’s pretend we never knew each other.”

“I never thought you’d be this kind of person—get a job and ditch your friends. I misjudged you.”

Then she walked away.

Lin Zhao’s words reached her ears.

“You’re wrong. I’m not your kind, and we’re not friends.”

Su Yuxian stiffened, her face darkening, and strode off.

“Why did she come?” Gu Mu frowned, giving Da Huang an approving pat. Keeping a dog was useful after all—look, it solved a big problem.

“No idea. Didn’t say why she came.” Lin Zhao guessed she’d come to ask about her job.

At that moment, the long-tongued Ercai ran to his grandmother to complain.

“Nai, that Xiao Su insulted me and my brother!!”

What?

Gu Mu’s thick black eyebrows knotted into an inverted eight. “What did she say?”

Ercai hung his head, scuffing his toes against tiny stones on the ground, cheeks puffed. “She said me and my brother are rude and will never amount to anything.”

“Who does she think she is, coming to someone else’s home to insult their children? Liao Hongjuan must’ve raised her this way!” Gu Mu fumed. “Don’t listen to her nonsense! She’s the rude one!”

“My Dacai and Ercai are polite boys—they’ll definitely amount to something.” The grandmother believed her grandsons were the smartest, impossible to be useless.

Ercai lifted his head, his earlier gloom gone—his face beamed like a blooming flower.

“Hehe, I think so too.”

Lin Zhao rubbed her forehead.

“Dacai, go get your nai two slices of watermelon.”

“Yes!” Dacai’s voice rang clear as he ran into the kitchen and brought out two cut slices.

In the countryside, flies and mosquitoes were everywhere; Lin Zhao was particular, so she’d commissioned several bamboo food covers to keep the cut watermelon protected.

Gu Mu received the watermelon from Dacai—green rind, red flesh, looking sweet and juicy.

“Such good watermelon—have you eaten it yet?”

Dacai nodded, “We ate it—my brother and I each had a piece. Ma made us watermelon lemon juice, sour and sweet, with both watermelon and lemon flavors—so delicious.”

As he spoke, he lowered his head, face flushed with shame. “I forgot to save some for Grandma.”

Gu Mu hadn’t drunk that juice he mentioned, but her heart was warm enough to bubble.

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? You drank it—that’s the same as me drinking it.”

Not the same, Dacai thought. “If Ma makes it again, I’ll save some for Grandma.”

“Alright, alright,” Gu Mu laughed in reply.

“Grandma, eat the watermelon—it’s so sweet, so sweet!!” Dacai urged.

Gu Mu bent down and took a bite. It was indeed juicy and sweet, melting away most of her fatigue from the day.

She had never eaten a watermelon this sweet.

The twins, with their few tiny teeth, gnawed and sucked at the watermelon, their pale faces streaked with juice. Sensing Lin Zhao’s gaze, they lifted their cheeks, flushed like rouged porcelain, and smiled with pure, unspoiled joy.

Gu Mu ate one piece, then hesitated to eat the other—she wanted to take it home for her husband.

After telling the grandsons goodbye, she turned to leave. She wanted to hurry back and give the watermelon to her son’s father, to make the old man happy too.

At that moment, Lin Zhao stepped out of the kitchen, called out to her, took a few steps forward, and pressed half a watermelon into her hands.

“Ma, take this watermelon home and eat it.”

Gu Mu opened her mouth to refuse, but Lin Zhao had already turned away—still that aloof, indifferent demeanor she’d always had.

“...” Gu Mu fell silent. “Then I’ll take it.”

Lin Zhao finally looked at her. “It was meant for you all along.”

Gu Chenghuai wasn’t home, and he’d given her all his allowance. As his wife, it was her duty to care for his parents. Compared to what her son-in-law gave her, this was nothing.

Gu Mu walked out of the third son’s house clutching the watermelon, her back straightening unconsciously, her pace slowing, the watermelon in her arms unmistakably eye-catching.

“Far Mountain’s wife, why are you carrying a watermelon? It’s so big—so red! Looks so sweet,” a passerby remarked.

Honestly, no one in the whole brigade had ever seen a watermelon this large.

Gu Mu held her spine rigid, feeling refreshed and light. “Where else could it come from? Third son’s wife shoved it into my hands, insisted I take it home to quench my thirst—even refused to take it back.”

She sighed dramatically, though her smile refused to fade. “Oh dear, I already ate some at her place. She insisted I take half more. Really now—why not just leave it for Dacai and Ercai? They’ve split the family, yet she still thinks of me and her father-in-law. I don’t even know how to respond…”

The people of Fengshou Brigade changed their view of Lin Zhao entirely.

“Dacai’s mother is truly filial.”

“Even after splitting the family, she still gives watermelon to her in-laws. Truly filial. My own daughter-in-law won’t even give her parents a roasted sweet potato.”

“Sigh.”

After proudly parading through the village, Gu Mu finally reached home, ears filled with envy. She had never felt so proud.

“Grandma, what’s that you’re holding!??”

“Grandma, did Third Auntie give you this!?”

Voices buzzed around her. Gu Mu’s head felt ready to burst. She rushed to the kitchen, cut a corner of watermelon for each child, and finally shooed them away.

Having many children had its perks—plenty of hands for fights—but they were just too noisy.

After walking through the village with the watermelon, Lin Zhao’s reputation was completely reversed.

Before, whenever people mentioned Chenghuai’s wife, they’d shake their heads, unwilling to speak of her—thinking her lazy and greedy. Now, when they spoke of Lin Zhao, they raised their thumbs, praising her filial piety, her education, how they’d always known she’d amount to something.

Su Yuxian, who had just calmed Lu Baozhen, heard the village gossip. Her brow furrowed, her eyes darkening with displeasure.

She wanted Lin Zhao to be troublesome. But Lin Zhao wasn’t. How could that make her own virtue stand out?

Su Yuxian had finally found the perfect contrast: Lin Zhao, a biological mother who was cruel to her own children, while she—a stepmother slandered by all—loved her husband’s first child as if she were her own. What a perfect stepping stone.

Thinking of all the effort she’d wasted, Su Yuxian’s face flushed with rage.

Lu Baozhen saw her expression and recoiled in terror, frantically pushing at her face.

“Get away! I don’t want you to hold me!”

Su Yuxian’s cheek was scratched, leaving a red mark. She hissed, but dared not shout. Instead, she soothed gently: “Baozhen, don’t struggle. You’ll fall.”

Lu Baozhen didn’t hear her. She thought her stepmother meant to throw her down. She froze, then screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Help! Evil stepmother’s trying to throw me down—!”

The scream was piercing.

Villagers turned to stare.

Their gazes at Su Yuxian were full of suspicion.

The gossipy aunts and uncles exchanged glances, each reading the same thought in the other’s eyes: Tsk, tsk, tsk—when has a stepmother ever been good? Especially one who’s so eager!

Su Yuxian cared deeply about what others thought. Sensing their stares, she tightened her grip on Lu Baozhen, her face darkening.

Lu Baozhen’s body ached from the squeeze, and she wailed louder.

“Wahhh—I hurt! Grandma, save me! Papa, save me! The stepmother wants to eat me!!”

Lu Yizhou, hearing his daughter from afar, rushed over.

He wore his military uniform, posture straight as a pine, with a square face, thick brows, bright eyes, radiating integrity and reliability.

“Baozhen,” Lu Yizhou walked toward Su Yuxian, took Lu Baozhen from her arms, wiped her tears with gentle hands, and whispered softly: “Why are you crying?”

He didn’t look at Su Yuxian once.

(End of Chapter)