Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 192 Fanning the flames
This was the story that Zhou Xia and Liu Yanran had prepared in advance. Considering that Zhou Xia actually did just that, there were no loopholes.

After a pause, Liu Yanran continued, "However, this matter could very well be a misunderstanding. After all, as everyone knows, Wang Chengpeng has suddenly become rich for no reason recently, and he hasn't done anything else wrong."

At this point, Liu Yanran seemed to suddenly understand something, feigning shock as she covered her mouth and said:

"No wonder Wang Chengpeng suddenly broke up with me; it turns out there was such a thing behind it."

"No, how could I think of Wang Chengpeng like that? He definitely didn't turn bad after he got rich."

“Even though he treated me that way, I still think he’s a good person and wouldn’t do something like extortion.”

"How could I spread rumors and cause trouble here? Everyone should wait and wait for the police to confirm."

"After all, there are other people in the world named Wang Chengpeng besides the one in our Wangjia Village. It is very likely that they share the same name."

The more Liu Yanran said that, the more everyone felt that she was deliberately trying to cover it up and make things worse.

After all, there may be a few people named Wang Chengpeng, but very few Wang Chengpengs suddenly become rich for no reason. There just happens to be one in Wangjia Village.

Everyone was already suspicious of Wang Chengpeng's family's wealth, and Liu Yanran's explanation made them feel as if they had discovered the truth, and they were filled with the thought that "now that's how it is."

Looking at Liu Yanran, who was still desperately trying to protect Wang Chengpeng even after being abandoned by him,
Upon comparison, everyone suddenly realized they had been blind to have been misled by Wang Chengpeng and wronged such a good young girl.

Liu Yanran is utterly shameless. Taking advantage of the fact that Wang Chengpeng no longer has evidence of her having affairs, she began to maliciously smear him.

People are easily misled by the information they fill in their own minds. Although Liu Yanran spoke vaguely, it was extremely easy for everyone to imagine a story of Wang Chengpeng becoming rich and changing his ways, and then abandoning Liu Yanran after taking advantage of her.

If Wang Chengpeng was indeed taken away for extortion, then this story can be considered completely true.

Thanks to Wang Chengpeng's painstaking efforts, his reputation has become extremely good.

That's why, in this inexplicable breakup, half of the villagers actually sided with Wang Chengpeng, believing that Liu Yanran was the one with the problem.

But after Liu Yanran's smear campaign, those who were originally on Wang Chengpeng's side began to waver, and the idea arose that Liu Yanran was a good girl, Wang Chengpeng was the real bad guy, and they had been deceived.

In the crowd, Aunt Wu seemed to suddenly remember something and exclaimed in surprise:

"I see!"

"So that's why a stranger contacted me a few days ago to ask about Wang Chengpeng. It turns out the truth is like this."

"I thought that person looked familiar. Wasn't he Comrade Fan who came to the village before?"

If Wang Chengpeng knew that such a farcical incident had occurred, and that Aunt Wu had inexplicably brought up a matter that had clearly been completely resolved, he would probably be both amused and exasperated.

What kind of nonsense is this?!

Aunt Wu's words provided further strong support for Liu Yanran's argument, and immediately a busybody aunt chimed in to confirm:

"Aunt Wu, are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"

"Making such things can lead to legal consequences."

Aunt Wu looked displeased and said with great dissatisfaction:

"How could I joke about something like this?"

"I swear on my honor that I am not lying."

What exactly happened? Didn't Brother Xia just call the police today?
Among everyone, only Liu Yanran, the instigator, looked completely bewildered and had no idea how things were going.

Then, as if she had suddenly realized something, a hint of smugness flashed in her eyes, and she thought to herself, "Heaven is truly helping me."

Wang Chengpeng is truly a case of karma getting its comeuppance; he likely committed other crimes secretly, which is why he attracted the attention of the police investigation.

I was really clever to tell Brother Xia to act sooner, otherwise we might not have gotten the money back.

Although that's what she thought in her heart, Liu Yanran outwardly wore an expression that said, "You don't believe me?"

"I think everyone should stop talking about Wang Chengpeng like that; it might just be a misunderstanding."

"After all, no police came to arrest him, so how could he have really committed a crime?"

If you ignore the fact that it was clearly Liu Yanran who initiated this, she seems as innocent as a pure white flower.

Liu Yanran's behavior of only thinking about others and being preoccupied with their needs immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the crowd.

Especially Aunt Wu, who hated evil as if it were her enemy, spoke her mind bluntly:
"Yanran, even at a time like this, you're still saying bad things about Wang Chengpeng?"

"The eyes of the masses are discerning, and right and wrong will be judged fairly. It's really hard on you. Wang Chengpeng was clearly in the wrong, yet you still defend him so much."

“We didn’t say it was definitely his fault, but based on all the signs, there’s a high probability that he has a problem.”

The moment Aunt Wu finished speaking, two booming sounds suddenly came, rapidly approaching from afar.

When everyone looked toward the source of the engine roar, they saw two uniformed police officers riding up on a motorcycle.

Before anyone could react, a smug smile flashed in Liu Yanran's eyes, and she feigned panic, saying:
"Police? Why would the police come to our Wangjia Village? And they're from the city? Could it be that what I heard before was true?"

As if to confirm Liu Yanran's guess, Mao Weimin asked the question that everyone expected:
"Fellow villagers, I have some official business with Wang Chengpeng. I wonder if any of you can help me find him?"

Upon hearing Mao Weimin's words, everyone's expressions became somewhat indescribable. They never expected Wang Chengpeng to be like this.

Since they were from the same village, they needed to save face, so they didn't say anything bad in front of Mao Weimin. They simply pointed in the direction of Wang Chengpeng's house and said:
"Just drive over there, and you'll see Wang Chengpeng's house."

"There's only Wang Chengpeng's family over there, so they're very easy to find. We're not worried about getting lost."

After receiving guidance from everyone, Mao Weimin said thank you and immediately rode his motorcycle to Wang Chengpeng's house.

After Mao Weimin had completely disappeared from sight, Aunt Wu sighed and said:
"I never thought this was actually true. Police officers who can ride motorcycles are probably only found in the city; the police in the town aren't qualified."

"I wonder what serious crime Wang Chengpeng committed that the city police actually came knocking on his door. It's really something..."

At this point, Aunt Wu seemed to remember something, glanced at Liu Yanran with sympathy, and said:
"Every cloud has a silver lining, Yanran, take it easy and don't be sad."

Sad? I'm overjoyed!
Pretending to wipe away tears from the corners of her eyes, Liu Yanran said, feigning strength:

"I'm not sad, I'm really not sad."

"By the way, I have a lot of things to do at home, so I won't chat with you ladies any longer."

"I go first."

Watching Liu Yanran's departing figure, Aunt Wu murmured:

"What a kind and pure child, how could his fate be so cruel?"

...The motorcycle was moving very fast, and soon they arrived at Wang Chengpeng's house.

Everyone else was busy with their work, and only Wang Meiyan was still playing at the gate of the courtyard.

Seeing the unexpected visitor, Wang Meiyan showed no fear whatsoever, but simply shouted:
"Father, Mother, Brother, two more police officers have come to our house."

Mao Weimin was completely dumbfounded by Wang Meiyan's situation. He never imagined that a farmer's child could be so bold and unafraid of him.

Thinking of this, Mao Weimin subconsciously asked a question he shouldn't have:
"Little girl, aren't you afraid of me?"

This wasn't the first time the police had come to their door, and especially after discovering that Wang Chengpeng could easily handle such matters, Wang Meiyan felt no fear whatsoever.

She believed her brother could handle it!
Thinking this, Wang Meiyan looked at Mao Weimin innocently and asked in return:
"No one in our family has done anything wrong, so why should we be afraid?"

"By the way, what brings you two to our house? You should have told me earlier so I could have gone to call for help."

Zhou Xia's IOU was already somewhat strange, and Wang Meiyan's attitude made Mao Weimin unsure of Wang Chengpeng's power, thinking that perhaps the other party was not easy to mess with.
Thinking this way, Mao Weimin's attitude softened slightly, and he said:
"Young lady, do you have a comrade named Wang Chengpeng in your family? We need to discuss something with him."

Nodding, Wang Meiyan shouted loudly in the direction of Wang Chengpeng's room:
"Brother, I'm still looking for you."

In fact, Wang Chengpeng was already mentally prepared when he heard Wang Meiyan's first shout.

His family are all honest people who would never complain even if they were bullied. He's the only one who could attract the attention of the police.

Thinking of this, Wang Chengpeng sighed slightly. He just wanted to protect his legitimate rights and interests, so why did all these troubles keep coming his way?

Why are these people always so confident in smearing me? Do they think I look so easy to bully?

Through the window, Wang Chengpeng immediately spotted the two policemen standing at the gate of the courtyard.

After a moment's thought, he decided to make some arrangements to ensure his absolute safety.

Shanghe City is quite different from Hetian Town; the police there are much more difficult to deal with.

Thinking this, Wang Chengpeng shouted, "Looking for me? I'm coming right away."

The people arrived at Zhu Hong's room first.

Without hesitation, Wang Chengpeng shoved a wad of cash into Zhu Hong's hand and said:

"Zhu Hong, there's something I need your help with."

"Go to the supply and marketing cooperative to find Song Wenxin, but this time you just need to tell her that the fish has taken the bait."

"After you finish this, wait for my call near the police station."

"If I find I can't handle it, I'll blow the whistle you gave me."

"When the time comes, just find an opportunity to get me out. Don't be afraid of spending money; ensuring my safety is the top priority."

The fish bit the hook so quickly that Zhu Hongcai had just gone to deliver the message and needed to go to Shanghe City again immediately.

However, Wang Chengpeng is not used to placing his hopes on others; he prefers to take full control of the situation himself.

What if Song Wenxin is love-struck and makes a foolish mistake at the last minute, thinking Zhou Xia is a good man? Wouldn't Wang Chengpeng, who is counting on her, be ruined?
Therefore, he did not let Zhu Hong go back directly, but instead had him guard the vicinity of the Public Security Bureau, which was an extra layer of insurance for his own safety.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Chengpeng added, "..."
"By the way, tell Song Wenxin that if she doesn't want her family scandals to be aired in public, she'd better not let me take action myself."

If Wang Chengpeng were to intervene, this matter would inevitably descend into chaos, and things wouldn't be so easily resolved. Nodding vigorously, Zhu Hong readily agreed, saying:

"Brother Wang, you can rest assured that I can handle things."

“I will not only deliver the message to Song Wenxin as soon as possible, but I will also stay near the police station.”

"Once I receive your order, I will go and rescue you immediately."

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Chengpeng stuffed a small box into Zhu Hong's hand and said:
"Keep this box safe for me. Don't give it to anyone unless I ask you for it in person."

Carrying the original IOU on his person was too risky, so Wang Chengpeng decided to take a more cautious approach.

After arranging everything, Wang Chengpeng went to the kitchen, where his parents were busy.

Upon seeing Wang Chengpeng, Wang Tieshan asked with great concern:

"Son, what have you done now? The police have come knocking on your door again. This is not a good thing."

With a slight sigh, Wang Chengpeng said helplessly:

"I abide by the law and do no bad things, but I am just too worried, which always attracts the jealousy of some people."

"Don't worry, just like last time, I can handle it myself."

"I'll ask Zhu Hong to come and help me. You just wait at home for me to come home."

Having already experienced this once before, and with Wang Chengpeng's words brimming with confidence, the two breathed a slight sigh of relief.

After all, the last time was the same scenario. Wang Chengpeng made the same promise, but did nothing and returned home unharmed.

Thinking this, the two could only softly comfort their son, saying, "Son, be careful."

"I'll find someone to help me out. Don't worry, I absolutely won't let anything happen to you."

Although Wang Chengpeng spoke with certainty, how could the two not worry about him? They were just not as worried as the first time.

They still decided to try to pull some strings, at least to prevent Wang Chengpeng from suffering at the police station.

After all, they had heard that the police seemed to possess a terrifying ability called the Great Memory Technique, which was completely unreasonable and illogical.

They didn't care about asking for help; as long as Wang Chengpeng could return safely, the two felt that all the sacrifices were worthwhile.

Seeing that his parents were still so worried, Wang Chengpeng smiled and took out a photocopy of an IOU, saying:
"Father, Mother, how could I be unreliable?"

"I knew Zhou Xia was unreliable; I had already prepared a backup plan."

"Look, this is a photocopy of the original IOU. I spent a lot of money to make several copies."

"With something like this as proof, I think my trip to the police station will just be a formality."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Meiyan's urging voice came from outside the door. It seemed that the police were afraid that Wang Chengpeng would escape through the window and had begun to urge him on.

Without saying another word, Wang Chengpeng gave his parents a reassuring look, then bid them farewell and walked outside.

There were two police officers waiting for him outside.

(End of this chapter)