After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

The blinding sunlight streamed in, and Su Jiaojiao instinctively shielded her eyes.

"But Jiaojiao, have you forgotten that this child needs a biological father?" Lin Qingqing turned around, her back to the light, her expression somewhat blurred. "What about Chen Qinghe? Isn't he willing to take responsibility?"

Upon hearing this name, Su Jiaojiao's defenses completely crumbled.

She covered her face and began to sob.

"He...he said he would take responsibility...he said he would pick me up when he returned to the city..."

"Do you believe that?" Lin Qingqing asked as if she'd heard a joke. "If you really believed it, why bother with all this?"

"Don't you know how precious those spots for educated youth to return to the city are? So many people fight tooth and nail for just one. If he really wanted to take you with him, where was he last night when you were crying and screaming about being 'bullied'? He was hiding behind the crowd, not daring to utter a single word!"

"Stop talking! Stop talking!" Su Jiaojiao screamed and covered her ears.

Lin Qingqing didn't stop. She walked over, grabbed her hand, and forced her to look at her.

"Wake up, Jiaojiao! Chen Qinghe is a coward! If he were a real man, he would have stood up and admitted the child was his last night! He didn't! He just watched you throw dirt on Li Dongye, watched you ruin another man's reputation to protect his future! You expect a man like that to take you back to the city? Dream on!"

Every word felt like a needle piercing Su Jiaojiao's heart.

She wasn't unaware of Chen Qinghe's cowardice, but she was helpless.

She was pregnant, and Chen Qinghe hadn't explicitly stated his intentions yet. She couldn't just stay in bed with the baby, so she had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure.

"What can I do..." Su Jiaojiao cried, unable to breathe. "I'm pregnant... If my father finds out, he'll beat me to death... I just want to find someone to marry... Li Dongye... He already has a bad reputation, so this one more thing won't matter..."

"Nothing much?" Lin Qingqing's eyes turned cold. "He'll go to jail! You want a good reputation, but doesn't my fourth brother?"

Su Jiaojiao was stunned by the shout and shrank her neck, not daring to speak.

Lin Qingqing took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

She reached into the egg basket, pressed a red button, and then took out the small tape recorder and placed it on the table.

"I recorded everything that just happened."

Su Jiaojiao stared wide-eyed at the dark little box, as if she had seen a ghost.

"What...what is this?"

"Recording machine." Lin Qingqing pressed the stop button, then pressed play.

As the cassette tape started spinning, after a hissing sound, Su Jiaojiao's tearful voice rang out clearly, "I'm pregnant... I just want to find someone to marry."

Su Jiaojiao lunged forward like a madwoman, trying to snatch it: "Give it to me! Give it to me!"

Lin Qingqing was prepared; she grabbed the tape recorder and took two steps back.

"If you dare to steal it, I'll take this thing to the commune's broadcasting station right now. Then everyone in the commune will know that you, Su Jiaojiao, are pregnant with an illegitimate child and trying to frame an innocent person."

Su Jiaojiao collapsed to the ground, looking at Lin Qingqing in despair.

"Sister Qingqing... I was wrong... I shouldn't have hurt your fourth brother... Please, don't let it out... Please..."

Looking at her disheveled appearance, Lin Qingqing felt a pang of sadness.

One wrong step can lead to disaster. Su Jiaojiao is despicable, but Chen Qinghe, who was hiding behind her, deserves to die even more.

"Get up," Lin Qingqing said coldly.

Su Jiaojiao dared not disobey, and tremblingly got up and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not trying to force you to your death." Lin Qingqing put the tape recorder back in her pocket. "I'll keep this thing. As long as you're obedient, it will never ring."

"I'll listen! I'll listen!" Su Jiaojiao cried as if she had grasped at a lifeline.

"First of all, you know perfectly well whose child this is. Whether you want to keep the baby or have an abortion is your business, don't drag my fourth brother into this."

"Secondly, later you should tell your parents that you were too scared last night and mistook someone for someone else, or that you fell by yourself. In any case, you must clear Li Dongye of any wrongdoing. If you dare to try anything funny..." Lin Qingqing patted her pocket, "you know the consequences."

Su Jiaojiao nodded frantically: "I know, I know! I knew it..."

"Third," Lin Qingqing paused, her tone softening slightly, "a man like Chen Qinghe isn't worth your life's investment. If this child is born, your life will be ruined. Think it through."

After saying that, Lin Qingqing picked up the empty basket on the table, turned around and left.

As she reached the door, she stopped and turned back to look at Su Jiaojiao, who was still sitting blankly on the bed.

"Also, tell your father and mother not to call me 'little widow' anymore. I have a name, my name is Lin Qingqing."

……

Once outside the Su family's gate, Lin Qingqing realized that her back was covered in a layer of cold sweat, and the wind made her feel chilly.

My heart was still pounding in my chest, and my palms were sweaty.

This was the first time she had ever schemed against someone like this. In the past, when she was mistreated in the Li family, she could only endure it and cry.

But once she entered the Qin family home and saw the men protecting her, she suddenly realized that she could no longer be a burden who only hid behind others.

She needs to grow teeth and learn to bite.

"Resolved?"

A clear, cool voice came from behind the old locust tree by the roadside.

Gu Qiangying leaned against the tree trunk and saw Lin Qingqing come out, so she walked over.

Lin Qingqing nodded and handed him the tape recorder from her pocket.

"She confessed."

Gu Qiangying didn't take the tape recorder, but instead reached out and held her hand.

Her hands were cold and trembling slightly.

"Well done, Qingqing." Gu Qiangying rubbed her hand twice with his thumb, in a reassuring tone. "Don't be nervous, don't be afraid."

"Third Brother, was I being a bit unfair?" Lin Qingqing looked up at him, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "I saw her crying like that just now, and I even tried to scare her with the tape recorder..."

Gu Qiangying laughed, "Qingqing, in this world, if you don't eat people, people will eat you. If you soften your heart today, it will be Lao Si who goes to jail tomorrow."

He led Lin Qingqing back, taking small steps to accommodate her pace.

"Remember this feeling. Even if we're not around, you have to be just as ruthless."

Lin Qingqing nodded as if she understood, and let him lead her.

……

That's all for today.

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I'll try to get the bus running these next few days.

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