My dad's marriage into my family made me rich, and my fierce yet adorable older sister spoils m

Those villagers who were once moved to tears by Guan Siya's calculation of work points now turn their backs faster than flipping through a book.

Fear and anger over their losses led them to target Guan Siya, who seemed to be the weakest, without hesitation.

For the next three days, the Linhe Brigade was shrouded in a thick cloud of suspicion.

Although the police from the commune police station came to investigate the scene, there was no surveillance footage at that time.

The brigade headquarters was a dilapidated courtyard that anyone could come and go as they pleased, with fingerprints and footprints all over the place, so no useful clues could be found at all.

The case has reached a stalemate.

Even so, the rumors and gossip in the village cut into the Guan family like knives.

Guan Hongying, both angry and heartbroken, stood at the village entrance with a pig-slaughtering knife and cursed for a long time, but she couldn't silence the gossip.

Late at night, the Guan family compound was quiet, and everyone had gone to sleep.

When Lin Chuan got up to use the bathroom at night, he passed by Guan Siya's room and noticed a faint kerosene lamp light shining through the crack in the door.

This made Lin Chuan frown slightly, and then he quietly pushed open the door and went in.

In the dim light of the room, he saw a scene that made his heart skip a beat.

Guan Siya was seen lying on a cold wooden table, wearing only a thin, coarse cloth garment.

In front of her was an abacus, and in her hand were several bills that she had written down from memory.

"Crackling... crackling..."

The beads on the abacus were dancing wildly between her fingertips, almost at an astonishing speed.

At this point, Guan Siya even began to distrust her own brain and chose to use the oldest method.

But every few turns of the abacus, her hand would pause, and then large tears would fall onto the abacus, making the wooden beads wet and shiny...

"No...nothing's right...I've done nothing wrong...why won't they believe me..."

Guan Siya choked softly, her voice hoarse like that of a wounded little animal.

But she stubbornly kept recalculating, trying to find a loophole in those perfect numbers that could prove her innocence.

This is also a kind of stubbornness born of utter despair.

Lin Chuan sighed helplessly in his heart, then closed the door behind him before quietly walking over.

He took off his own warm military overcoat and gently draped it over Guan Siya's shoulders, which had become thinner in just a few days.

Guan Siya trembled and turned around in terror.

But when she saw that the person in front of her was Lin Chuan, her tense emotions instantly broke down, and she grabbed Lin Chuan's clothes as if she had found a lifeline.

At this moment, she went from being flustered to becoming focused.

She stared intently at Lin Chuan, as if she were looking at her pillar of support.

"Lin Chuan... I really didn't steal it... I didn't even touch a single penny... Why are they looking at me like that? When I walk through the village, I feel like everyone wants to kill me..."

The seventeen-year-old girl looked up, her usually carefree eyes now filled with grievance, confusion, and deep fear...

Guan Siya, who was usually always laughing and joking, suddenly became timid...

Lin Chuan didn't say anything, but pulled up a stool and sat down next to Guan Siya.

The two were very close, close enough to hear each other's breathing, close enough for Guan Siya to smell the faint, yet comforting, scent of soap on Lin Chuan.

Strangely enough, sitting next to Lin Chuan, Guan Siya's heart, which had been beating anxiously, suddenly calmed down.

Gu Chi stretched out his long, strong hand and gently covered Guan Siya's small hands, which were red and cold from fiddling with the abacus.

The man's palm was broad and hot, and that warmth traveled down Guan Siya's hand and burned all the way to her heart.

Guan Siya's breath hitched, and even her crying stopped.

She stared blankly at Lin Chuan in front of her...

The dim light of the kerosene lamp shone on Lin Chuan's angular profile, outlining his high nose and deep-set eyes...

At that moment, Guan Siya's mind suddenly went blank for a moment.

Yes, although Lin Chuan is her nominal brother, they... do not share a single drop of blood.

He was no longer the skinny boy he once was, but a man with shoulders wider than a doorframe, capable of standing firmly in front of his family even when condemned by everyone…

A strange, yet heart-pounding, tingling sensation spread rapidly from Guan Siya's fingertips...

As a result, Guan Siya's cheeks also flushed uncontrollably.

She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Lin Chuan gently grasped it in return.

"Fourth sister... I know it wasn't you."

Lin Chuan's voice was low, but that deep voice carried an irresistible sense of peace... It sounded especially gentle in the quiet night, yet also exceptionally firm!

Lin Chuan raised his other hand and gently wiped away the tears from Guan Siya's eyes with his rough fingertips.

The slightly intimate gesture made Guan Siya's eyelashes tremble slightly.

"Fourth Sister, you must remember, never punish yourself for someone else's foolishness."

Lin Chuan looked into her eyes, which seemed to hold a cluster of stars, making him unable to resist exploring them further.

"The sharpest thing in this world isn't a knife, it's the human heart; the most terrifying thing is also the human heart. But don't worry, as long as I'm here, even if the sky falls, I'll hold it up for you!"

As he spoke, Lin Chuan chuckled and reached out to pull the somewhat dazed Guan Siya into his arms.

"Fourth Sister, I can take back your innocence, even if it's from the clutches of the King of Hell."

Guan Siya slightly raised her head, her eyes fixed on Lin Chuan, her chest heaving violently.

Under the gaze of those dark eyes, she miraculously calmed down.

Even the fear brought by those rumors seemed to be completely dispelled by these hands and this embrace.

"Um……"

Guan Siya lowered her head, her voice barely audible, but her full earlobes were already bright red.

She didn't try to break free from Lin Chuan. Instead, like a cat longing for warmth, she couldn't help but gently rub against Lin Chuan's broad and reassuring embrace.

"Go to bed early. Tomorrow, we'll start watching the show."

Lin Chuan ruffled Guan Siya's hair, a cold, sharp smile curving his lips.

"No matter how well a fox hides its tail, it will eventually be revealed."

Guan Siya sniffed. "What fox tail? Where's the fox?"

Lin Chuan: "………………"

He looked down at Guan Siya in his arms and was immediately at a loss for words, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Lin Chuan reached out and gently patted Guan Siya's back, unable to help but chuckle.

"Fourth sister, you're so adorably silly."

Guan Siya: "? Huh?"