“Sister Mandong, I only made one joke, saying the dog was so fat we could butcher it for meat, and Manxue came at me. It really wasn’t my fault. I came today intending to tell you that once you leave for school, I’ll stay here and help you look after Manxue. But look at her temper—she attacked me over one little joke.”
“What are you to joke around with us? You knew perfectly well I wouldn’t let you through the door, yet you used a stomachache as an excuse to sneak into my yard and pick a fight with my sister. What exactly are you trying to do? And don’t tell me you walked all the way here from the educated youth settlement just to use our outhouse.”
“Sister Mandong, whether you like it or not, we’re relatives. I only came to congratulate you. Quite a few people at the educated youth settlement have come down with dysentery these past two days—you must have heard about it. What bad intentions could I possibly have? My stomach suddenly started hurting when I happened to pass by. Since none of you welcome me, I simply won’t come again.”
With that, Wang Yuanyuan turned and ran.
She hadn’t expected Xiao Mandong to be so wary. She had to leave immediately; if she let anything slip, all her efforts would be wasted. She couldn’t have taken this beating for nothing. After tonight, Xiao Mandong would be moving into the Revolutionary Committee office. Wang Yuanyuan wanted to see how long she could keep acting so arrogantly then.
Xiao Mandong didn’t believe a word Wang Yuanyuan had said. Her instincts told her that Wang Yuanyuan had definitely come with an ulterior motive. And now that she had gotten involved with Sun Wenbin, Xiao Mandong knew she had to be even more careful.
After Wang Yuanyuan left, the others felt awkward about staying and hurried away as well.
Meanwhile, Wang Yuanyuan stumbled all the way to the shed where the fields were watched. Sun Wenbin had been waiting there. The moment he saw the scratches covering Wang Yuanyuan’s face and her miserable appearance, he frowned.
“What happened? Did it fail? Were you discovered?”
All of Wang Yuanyuan’s grievances and hatred burst forth at once, and tears flooded her eyes. “That slut Xiao Manxue hit me! I’ll never let her off!”
Sun Wenbin had no interest in her personal vendetta. The only thing he cared about was whether she had managed to plant the bracelet in the house.
He stepped forward and seized Wang Yuanyuan by the shoulders, his voice filled with urgency. “Enough with that nonsense. What about the bracelet? Did you put it away? Where did you put it?”
Wang Yuanyuan sniffled. “I… I didn’t get inside the house. I buried it in the dirt beneath the window.”
Sun Wenbin nearly keeled over from anger. A wave of fury shot straight to his head, and his eyes filled with viciousness. He nearly slapped her across the face.
“You buried it beneath the window? Wang Yuanyuan, how can you be so stupid? Is there something wrong with your head? If you bury it in the yard, who’s going to believe Xiao Mandong hid it herself? Anyone can tell at a glance that someone deliberately planted it there to frame her.”
If his leg hadn’t been injured—and if he hadn’t been afraid Zhou Qichuan would notice something—he would have gone to plant it himself. Instead, he had ended up relying on an idiot like her.
This was partly his own fault. He knew Wang Yuanyuan was stupid, so why hadn’t he explained things more clearly? What was he supposed to do now? He didn’t know how much authority his contact in the Revolutionary Committee had. If that person held a powerful position, the plan would surely succeed. But if he was merely an ordinary staff member, then the whole scheme would be pointless.
The sudden tirade struck Wang Yuanyuan like a heavy blow to the head. Her expression instantly froze. The tears clinging to her lashes had yet to fall as she stared blankly at Sun Wenbin’s twisted face. The eyes that had once held nothing but tenderness for her were now filled with ruthless fury. The unfamiliarity of it made her panic, and the helpless confusion of being abandoned by her family swept over her once again.
Seeing Wang Yuanyuan standing there in shock, her eyes red and her entire body rigid, Sun Wenbin finally came to his senses and realized he had lost control. What if he pushed this idiot too far and broke her? He would have no one left to do his dirty work.
Suppressing the viciousness in his eyes, he swiftly put on an expression of anxiety and concern, softened his voice, and pulled Wang Yuanyuan into his arms.
“You silly girl, I wasn’t really trying to scold you. You’re just too honest. If you couldn’t get inside, you shouldn’t have forced yourself to try. You took such a risk and got beaten for it. And if someone discovers that you buried it there, do you know how dangerous that’ll be? They’ll pin the crime of framing someone on you. You won’t even have room to defend yourself. The bracelet’s origins can’t be explained, and if something happens to you, what am I supposed to do? I know I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I was just terrified. I was worried about you and afraid you’d ruin your own life.”
As he spoke, Sun Wenbin’s eyes reddened, filling with reluctance and concern.
Wang Yuanyuan had already been frightened out of her wits by his outburst. Now, hearing his gentler voice and seeing the worry on his face, she finally burst into tears. Much of her panic faded.
She felt terribly guilty. So Sun Wenbin hadn’t been angry because he wanted to scold her—he had only been too worried about her. She had almost thought he was going to abandon her. She sniffed.
“I… I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s just that Xiao Mandong would never have let me into the house. I had no choice. Don’t worry—if they really trace it back to me, I absolutely won’t mention you. I’ll deny everything. What can they do to me? The item was found in her house. What does that have to do with the two of us?”
Sun Wenbin cupped her face in his hands and kissed away her tears, soothing her with a few more words. In the end, he decided to make a call and take a chance. There was no way the matter would be traced back to him. The Agricultural University was about to start its new term, and Xiao Mandong might be leaving within the next few days. If she left, his treasure would truly be lost forever.
He had spent so long digging up graves, and this time he had found the best item of all. He couldn’t bear to lose it just like that.
The next morning, Sun Wenbin went to the brigade chief’s house early and asked for leave, claiming that he needed to go to the hospital for dysentery treatment. After leaving the village, he had no idea that Zhou Qichuan was quietly following him.
Sun Wenbin stuck to the smaller paths, occasionally using the small knife in his hand to scratch marks into tree trunks. It was unclear what kind of signs he was leaving behind.
He went straight to the supply cooperative, where he bought several White Rabbit milk candies. Then he stopped not far from the Revolutionary Committee office and crouched down, looking around cautiously.
After quite a while, several children around six or seven years old passed by. Sun Wenbin stopped the slightly older boy and handed him a piece of candy.
“Hey, kid, go take something into that building for me. These candies will be yours.”
The boy gripped the candy in his hand and swallowed hungrily.
“Sure. Give me the thing.”
Sun Wenbin took a note from inside his clothes, then handed the candies to the boy and instructed him to deliver the note to someone inside.
The boy ran inside happily, clutching the note. Sun Wenbin slipped into the nearby alley and held his breath as he watched the entrance to the Revolutionary Committee office.
Before long, two staff members came hurrying out with the note in their hands, searching for the person who had reported the matter.
Sun Wenbin knew the plan had worked. He quickly slipped away.
Less than an hour later, five people came out of the Revolutionary Committee office, mounted their bicycles, and sped straight toward the Red Flag Brigade.
