Chapter 11: Innocent? Far from It!

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I really don't know whether to say that people nowadays have pure hearts and there aren’t many schemers like Manman Xu, or that she’s just too kind-hearted—her fiancé can be handed over at any time for her sisters to use.

Manman Xu cried out, “Sister, please don’t be like this. Chengxu really treats you well. Don’t hurt his feelings. As for my injury, I’ll see the doctor myself.”

“Chengxu, you don’t need to worry about me. It’s just a minor injury, no big deal. The doctor said today’s the last dressing change, and it should be fine. You should go accompany sister! I’ll tell my mother later—it’s not that you didn’t come with me to the hospital, so she probably won’t mind.”

So it was the mother-in-law who asked this future son-in-law to accompany the younger cousin. That made everything even less of a big deal.

In this day and age, having affairs leads to severe punishment—being locked up is the mildest consequence; in serious cases, one might even face harsh traditional penalties. Most people wouldn’t dare cross that line.

Therefore, no one really suspected any entanglement between these two.

Instead, it was Qinghuan Xu, the elder sister, who was at fault. How could she doubt her own fiancé and her sister like that? Wasn’t she sullying their reputations?

A kindly older woman spoke earnestly, “Comrade, your sister is quite sensible, and this gentleman’s words make sense too. Someone so cautious about marriage would never do anything improper. You’re overthinking it, and that’s your mistake.”

Is that so? If it weren’t for my close friend discussing the book’s content with me, or if I hadn’t read that book myself, Qinghuan Xu would also have believed they were truly innocent.

Xia Lan Lin was furious, realizing that in this two-against-two confrontation, they had lost miserably.

Qinghuan Xu never expected this outcome; she finally understood that when a person with principles clashes with someone shameless, defeat is inevitable.

Jiang Chengxu saw Qinghuan Xu frowning silently and sighed. “Qinghuan, I don’t blame you. I just didn’t explain myself clearly. Manman got hurt because of me, and from a moral standpoint, I can’t just ignore it.

“Rest assured, once she recovers, I will keep my distance from her.”

Lin Xia Lan shouted in anger, “Jiang Chengxu, can’t you understand plain language? Qinghuan already said it—whatever happens between you and her has nothing to do with me. I hope you stop bothering her!”

Jiang Chengxu’s expression darkened, and his gaze turned cold. “Lin Xia Lan, this is between Qinghuan and me. We are engaged.”

Lin Xia Lan trembled with rage, ready to rush forward and fight, but Qinghuan Xu held her back. “Comrade Jiang, since it’s like this and you say the two of you are innocent, I’m willing to believe you. As you said, we are engaged.

“You said you want to get married, right? That’s not impossible. Rather than choosing a date later, why not today? I happen to have time. Let’s find a place to discuss the wedding date.”

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Jiang Chengxu was both shocked and delighted, unable to contain his joy. “Qinghuan, you mean it? You’re willing to marry me?”

Qinghuan Xu snickered inwardly, while the onlookers, eager to witness a good match, could hardly suppress their applause.

A kind older woman clapped and laughed, “That’s good, that’s good. I knew these two were a perfect match; it should be like this!”

“Yes, once misunderstandings are cleared up and both sides compromise a little, marriage and life together will be smoother…”

Before the woman with faint, delicate eyebrows could finish, Manman Xu pressed her forehead, closed her eyes, and precisely collapsed into Jiang Chengxu’s arms. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Jiang Chengxu almost reflexively embraced her.

“Manman, what’s wrong? What’s happening to you?”

Unaware bystanders might have thought Manman Xu was the one paired with Jiang Chengxu. Even those cheering, seeing Manman’s odd condition, hesitated to comment.

After all, Qinghuan Xu was still standing in front, but this woman deliberately leaned into the future brother-in-law’s arms—no matter how you looked at it, it seemed strange.

Lin Xia Lan was so shocked she couldn’t close her mouth. This was too coincidental.

Qinghuan Xu, knowing Manman Xu’s true nature, hurried forward anxiously. “Cousin, are you alright? Are you okay?”

She pressed on a certain acupoint on Manman’s body. With a little more pressure, Manman winced sharply, jumped up, and slapped Qinghuan fiercely. “Qinghuan Xu, what’s wrong with you?”

Qinghuan Xu stepped back, dodging the slap, looking at Manman in disbelief. “Cousin, what’s wrong? Why did you hit me?”

Her teary eyes revealed her heartbreak. “I was just worried about you. Do you only want your future brother-in-law to care about you and not your own sister?”

At this moment, everyone could see clearly that Manman’s fainting was an act.

The crowd’s expressions became fascinating—those who had been so vocal were now as tight-lipped as clams.

So much talk about innocence, but it was never truly innocent!

Manman Xu now realized she had been tricked. She cried even more convincingly, her tears flowing like an endless river. “Sister, I was dizzy and faint, and I wasn’t feeling well. Why did you press on me like that?”

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Jiang Chengxu also said angrily, “Qinghuan, that’s wrong of you. Manman fainted, and you still laid hands on her!”

Qinghuan Xu sneered, “Pressed you? If you fainted and I managed to wake you up by pressing, that means I used enough force. Where exactly did I press?”

Manman couldn’t say for sure. After all, Qinghuan’s pressure on the acupoint wasn’t hard, but it caused her soul to tremble with pain.

“Here!” Manman randomly pointed to a spot and tearfully told Jiang Chengxu, “Chengxu, sister really used a lot of force. It might even be bruised.”

Qinghuan nodded. “Exactly. You fainted, and I could wake you with this pressure. That’s quite a bit of force. You’ve been frail since childhood; just a little touch leaves big bruises. Now let’s see if there’s actually any bruise.”

She had fallen for it again!

Manman’s face was pale and splotched blue. She couldn’t understand how Qinghuan’s mind worked so fast and how her tongue was so sharp now.

Lin Xia Lan joyfully exclaimed, “Yes, yes, let’s see if there’s a bruise!”

Manman cried even harder. “Chengxu, if people see this, how can I keep my purity? How can I live? This is clearly trying to kill me!”

Sure enough, many onlookers showed sympathy, and some even felt indignant.

If the blow didn’t land on oneself, there was no pain. Qinghuan Xu understood this well and didn’t care about the crowd’s opinions.

She said sorrowfully, “You are my sister after all. Even if you are unkind to me, how can I be unjust to you? How could I let you expose yourself like this in public? Let these two ladies here take a look. If it’s serious, they can help us decide whether to see a doctor.”

The kindly older woman and the fair-browed lady, who had spoken fairly, both glowed with eager gossip and urged, “Comrade, we’re both women; it’s just about skin. Let us see, so we can clear up the sisters’ reputations.”

Manman clutched her clothes tightly. “No, no, no need. I’m fine. I’ll just go home and apply some ointment myself.”

She was referring to the spot at her waist, where Qinghuan had pressed the acupoint.