Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

Chen Sumei took Chen Xiaoxiao's arm and slowly walked towards the river.

Chen Xiaoxiao didn't suspect anything and just followed her sister: "It's much quieter here than inside." Chen Sumei nodded and led her to sit down on a flat rock on the shore. She then picked up a small pebble and threw it into the water, watching the ripples spread out in circles.

"This water is so clear." Chen Xiaoxiao also craned her neck to look, and the water reflected the images of herself and Chen Sumei.

Chen Sumei looked at the face reflected in the water, then at her own hands. She pulled her hands back into her sleeves, her heart pounding.

She had been thinking about this all the way here, and even now, she still couldn't bring herself to do it. Xu Yun had treated her so well, always going along with her wishes, even bringing her to today's literary gathering. If she really did it, what would Xu Yun think of her? Chen Xiaoxiao was, after all, her own sister.

Chen Xiaoxiao glanced at the water, then turned back to look at her: "Sister, why are you acting so strange today?"

Chen Sumei smiled and asked, "What's strange about it?"

Chen Xiaoxiao tilted her head and said, "I can't really explain it. You haven't eaten much since just now, and you haven't said a word either." Chen Sumei bent down, picked up a small pebble, and threw it into the river. "I'm fine, it's just that there are too many people here, and I'm a little tired."

Chen Xiaoxiao stopped asking and was hesitating when she suddenly whispered, "Sister, look." She raised her chin and pointed towards the stone bridge.

Chen Sumei followed her gaze and saw Su Yan and Xu Wanning standing side by side on the bridge. Xu Wanning was leaning almost on Su Yan's arm, looking up at him as she spoke, her eyes crinkling with laughter. Su Yan also looked down at her, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

Chen Xiaoxiao said, "Is that girl Su Gongzi's...?" She didn't finish her sentence, only letting out a soft "Ah," and then moved closer to Chen Sumei.

Chen Sumei remained silent; she felt as if ice shards had pierced her heart, leaving her feeling both cold and aching.

I remember chasing him down the street, asking if he remembered the Lantern Festival, but he didn't even turn his head, only saying that he had mistaken me for someone else.

She did all this just to be closer to Su Yan. But he wouldn't even give her a second glance, yet here he was, so intimate with another woman.

Chen Xiaoxiao turned to look at her and, noticing her pale face, asked, "Sister, are you cold? Your face is so pale." Chen Sumei replied, "No, I'm not cold."

She stared at Su Yan on the bridge, her gaze growing colder with each passing moment. Xu Yun was good to her? What good was being good to her? He wasn't Su Yan. No matter how good he was, he wasn't Su Yan.

She slowly stood up, casually brushing aside her skirt, and took a step towards the riverbank. Chen Xiaoxiao was still looking at the bridge and didn't notice her.

Chen Sumei glanced at the water, then suddenly turned back and said with a smile, "Xiaoxiao, look at that fish in the water." Chen Xiaoxiao hummed in agreement and peered into the water.

It was at this moment that Chen Sumei reached out. Her movements were extremely fast; using the hand that was pointing at the fish for Xiaoxiao, she gave Xiaoxiao a hard push on the lower back.

Chen Xiaoxiao was crouching down to look at the water when suddenly a force hit her, causing her to fall forward.

She cried out "Ah!" and before she could react, she had already fallen into the river. Water splashed everywhere, and the cold made her shiver.

She struggled to stand up, but her thick clothes, soaked with water, felt as heavy as stones. She thrashed about frantically, choking on water, unable to even cry out for help.

Chen Sumei took two steps back, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst through her chest.

She watched Chen Xiaoxiao thrashing about in the water, her mouth opening as if she wanted to shout something, but in the end she just strained her voice and cried out, "Help! Miss Chen has fallen into the water! Help!" Her shouts were urgent and loud, and could be heard throughout the entire riverbank.

Not far away, Xu Yungang was talking to Su Yan and Xu Wanning when he heard someone shout "Miss Chen has fallen into the water," and his face changed instantly.

He looked up at the riverbank and saw a figure bobbing up and down in the water. He recognized the color of the clothes; it was the fabric he had personally chosen and given to Chen Sumei.

Without thinking twice, he pushed through the crowd and ran towards the riverbank. Reaching the shore, he jumped in without even taking off his shoes. The splash was even higher than when Chen Xiaoxiao fell in.

He swam over a few times, grabbed Chen Xiaoxiao's arm, and dragged her ashore. Chen Xiaoxiao had already choked on several mouthfuls of water, her eyes were half-closed, and her whole body was as limp as a wet cotton ball. Xu Yun carried her ashore and only then could he see who was in his arms.

He paused for a moment, then looked up to find Chen Sumei. Chen Sumei was standing in the crowd, her face pale, her eyes filled with panic, calling out, "Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, you... Xu Yun, why are you holding her... How is Xiaoxiao?" She looked terrified.

Chen Xiaoxiao collapsed into Xu Yun's arms, coughing violently, water gushing from the corner of her mouth.

The crowd automatically parted to both sides. Su Yan also rushed over, with Xu Wanning following behind him.

Seeing Chen Xiaoxiao shivering from the cold, Xu Wanning quickly took off her cloak and gently covered her with it: "Quickly take her inside, she'll get sick if she stays in the cold any longer."

Xu Yun nodded, but did not move, because at that moment he and Chen Xiaoxiao had fallen into the water, and he had just hugged Chen Xiaoxiao in broad daylight.

In ancient times, a woman's reputation was of utmost importance. Originally, he only needed to rescue her, but he had mistaken her for Chen Sumei and held Chen Xiaoxiao in his arms, which was seen by so many people. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but frown.

"Mei'er, Xiang'er, come quickly and help me carry this young lady into the house." Xu Wanning noticed Xu Yun's embarrassment and took the initiative to help him out.

Xu Yun went to the guest room to change his clothes.

Once inside, Chen Xiaoxiao, wrapped in an outer robe, trembled like a leaf in the wind. Chen Sumei went over, knelt down, and took her hand, tears streaming down her face: "Xiaoxiao, how did you fall in? Weren't you standing right next to me? How could you..." Chen Xiaoxiao looked up at her.

Her eyes were unfocused, as if she hadn't yet recovered from the shock. She opened her mouth, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible: "Someone...someone pushed me..."

Chen Sumei's hand trembled, and tears fell even more fiercely: "Who pushed you? Did you slip? Those stones are slippery, I told you not to stand so close..." Chen Xiaoxiao glanced at her again, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything more.

She simply lowered her face and began to sob softly.

Xu Wanning stood aside, looking at Chen Sumei and felt that she looked familiar, but couldn't remember her for a moment: "Let this young lady change her clothes first. I have some clothes here that I don't usually wear. Please don't mind them. I've asked Xiang'er to prepare some ginger soup. You can have a cup of ginger soup to warm up in a while."

After hearing this, Chen Sumei had no choice but to let Chen Xiaoxiao go change her clothes first. After she had washed up, Su Yan and Xu Yun were already waiting outside the door. There were also some of Su Yan's classmates. With such a sudden incident today, the literary gathering was naturally not in the mood to continue, so they had to leave early.

Xu Yun stood to the side, his face remaining calm, while Su Yan's expression was not good.

Chen Xiaoxiao walked out of the room with her head down. She was already frightened, and being seen by so many people being held by a man after falling into the water made her even more ashamed.

Seeing this, Su Yan asked Xu Yun, "Brother Xu, do you think we should report this to the authorities?"

Xu Yun paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, how could someone fall into the water for no reason? Could someone have tampered with it?" Su Yan nodded, "Okay."

Just as they were about to send someone to the county government to report to the authorities, Chen Sumei quickly spoke up: "No, you mustn't."