Chapter 368: Chapter 318: Falling Roof Tiles

Another traveler rushing through the red dust in the rain.

With a basin over her head and a slender figure, her flowing white dress clung to her body, outlining the delicate curves of the young girl. Beneath the hem of her skirt, her slim, fair calves were visible. Due to the prolonged heavy rain, the ground was flooded, submerging up to her ankles, so only when she lifted her foot could one see the plastic sandals on her feet.

With just one glance, both Xue Zongsheng and Jiang Mingyue quickly looked away.

Jiang Mingyue, standing near the Dingxiang Tree, used her spiritual power to “observe” the girl newly under the eaves.

She realized that her quick recognition of the other person was due to the inexplicable memories that surfaced under the eaves earlier.

She looked quite similar to the memory, but reality differed. It wasn’t a matter of growing up; this person was also reborn.

At the same time as Jiang Zhenzhu.

Even the way she fell and hit the steps was identical, only Jiang Zhenzhu was pushed, while Cui Xiaoxiao framed Cui Ying.

Old Mrs. Cui’s birthday, the whole family gathered.

She was a child of the second house, but grew up in the first house, while Cui Ying, the youngest daughter of the first house, grew up in the countryside.

Years ago, when Mr. Cui was relocating the border defense line, Mrs. Cui, who was pregnant with Cui Ying, had her mother’s family worried that she was unattended in the city, so they sent word for her to stay in the countryside.

She stayed for five years, but when she was seven months pregnant, Mrs. Cui received tragic news of her husband, which turned out to be a mistake. However, at that time, the stress caused complications, and she fell, resulting in a preterm birth. Cui Ying was born unhealthy, so when Mrs. Cui returned to the city, she left her daughter behind, saying the countryside environment was beneficial for her health.

After returning to the city, when Mrs. Cui missed her daughter, the couple from the second house made a plan, dressing their daughter as Cui Ying and teaching her how to win over the elder brother and sister-in-law. Over time, the fake became real, and Mrs. Cui’s initial substitution turned into genuine affection.

Later, under the incitement of the second house, Mrs. Cui officially adopted Cui Xiaoxiao. Over time, even Mrs. Cui seemed to forget she had a daughter in the countryside.

Several months ago, during Mr. Cui’s birthday, as he was getting older, he wished for the younger generation to gather, so the first house remembered Cui Xiaoxiao in the countryside and brought her back.

Since Cui Ying’s return, Cui Xiaoxiao felt a sense of crisis, always discreetly causing trouble to ruin Cui Ying’s image in front of the elders. Surprisingly, Cui Ying, raised in the countryside but taught by her grandmother to be generous and wise, never fell for it. Instead, Cui Xiaoxiao’s image suffered.

This led to the incident during Old Mrs. Cui’s recent birthday, where Cui Xiaoxiao orchestrated her own fall, supposedly pushed by Cui Ying. However, it was later proven that Cui Ying hadn’t even touched Cui Xiaoxiao’s hem, and the fall was judged as self-inflicted.

With a large cut on her forehead bleeding profusely, Cui Xiaoxiao, who fell into a coma for two days, successfully reincarnated.

The day after her rebirth, Cui Xiaoxiao encountered Jiang Zhenzhu, who came knocking.

Jiang Zhenzhu used the past incident where Cui Xiaoxiao instructed her to push Jiang Mingyue into the river as leverage, successfully convincing Cui Xiaoxiao to help Jiang Zhenzhu and Ning Yan assume new identities.

Now they are Xu Zhenzhu and Xu Yan.

Jiang Mingyue recalled from the book that deep down, Cui Xiaoxiao always harbored feelings for Cui Mingshi, but they were destined to be siblings. So, Cui Xiaoxiao painfully suppressed her feelings and later confessed to Cui Mingshi’s good friend, Rong Hua, but Rong Hua refused outright. From then on, the book never mentioned what happened next.

Jiang Mingyue speculated that Cui Xiaoxiao’s animosity towards the original protagonist was likely because of Cui Mingshi.

What about now? Will the reborn Cui Xiaoxiao still be so crazy?

The answer is yes.

Cui Xiaoxiao’s memories surfaced at the top.

It turned out she and Cui Mingshi were not related by blood. Although Cui Xiaoxiao bore the surname Cui, she was the product of Aunt Cui’s affair.

Now, Cui Xiaoxiao desperately desired Cui Mingshi, yet couldn’t tolerate his real sister. This division, Jiang Mingyue couldn’t help but resent.

At this moment, Cui Xiaoxiao, after setting down the basin, looked down at her appearance, feeling deeply ashamed, especially noticing a man nearby.

But since the man turned his head the other way, she couldn’t see his face.

Still, it didn’t hinder her purpose.

“Comrade, may I borrow your coat? If not, can I buy it? How much?”

The gentle voice, contrasting with the fierce rain, seemed to soothe one’s inner turmoil, like a chilled papaya water on a summer day.

Xue Zongsheng felt Cui Xiaoxiao was presumptuous, but remembering her close association with Xue Hong, he reluctantly took off his coat with a “swish.”

“Thank you!” Cui Xiaoxiao thought the man had good taste and warmly accepted the coat handed to her without meeting the man’s gaze, swiftly putting it on.

Only then did Xue Zongsheng look at Cui Xiaoxiao.

“It’s you? Xue Zongsheng, what are you doing here? Oh! Listen to what I’m saying; if I can be here, naturally so can you.” Originally, she didn’t want to engage with him, thinking this man was foolishly in love with Jiang Zhenzhu. But now things were different; they had divorced, and Jiang Zhenzhu became an abandoned wife.

“Thank you for the coat. I’ll wash it and return it to you.”

“Didn’t you say you’d pay? Not much, just twenty bucks.” He reached out his hand.

Cui Xiaoxiao’s smile froze a bit: “… Okay.” She counted twenty bucks from her pocket and handed it over.

Being asked for money like that left Cui Xiaoxiao feeling uncomfortable, and she dropped her facade.

“Who’d have thought your love with Zhenzhu would be so brief? What a pity! But as a friend, I’m happy for you; otherwise, she’d have kept cheating on you!”

Xue Zongsheng sneered, “Doesn’t matter, I cheated on her too, so we’re even.”

Unwilling to give up, Cui Xiaoxiao continued, “… But you’re a man. How could she do such a thing? Xue Zongsheng, you should hate her. With what she did, I’m embarrassed as a friend; you shouldn’t indulge her.”

Xue Zongsheng laughed disdainfully, meeting Cui Xiaoxiao’s eyes, “Cui Xiaoxiao, you’re instigating. With such ill intentions, you’re targeting Jiang Zhenzhu! If you want to deal with her, confront her directly. Don’t think of using me as a tool; you’ve chosen the wrong person.”

“Boring, no wonder you can’t outsmart Xue Hong.”

“Ahem…” Jiang Mingyue had to remind them, did they think she was invisible?

Cui Xiaoxiao followed the voice and locked eyes with Jiang Mingyue, her pupils contracting visibly.

“Jiang Mingyue, why are you here?”

“Is this your place?”

Cui Xiaoxiao was momentarily speechless, “Well, no.”

“Then there you have it. Why should I explain myself to you?”

You, who schemed to kill me, I certainly won’t speak kindly to you.

Just then, a cold wind swept in so suddenly that a rooftop tile above Cui Xiaoxiao and Xue Zongsheng loosened and “thud! thud!” struck them on the head.

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

The screams of a man and a woman echoed simultaneously, and instantly, their entire faces were covered in flowing blood. Wiping it off with their hands brought another round of screams. If anyone timid saw this, they’d surely run off scared.

Jiang Mingyue was among them, but not out of fear—rather, because the rain had lightened.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep