"By the way, Nianhua, when you went to the lake on the back hill yesterday, you weren't really thinking of giving up, were you? What were you doing there?" Zhong Juan looked at Xu Nianhua curiously, her eyes searching.
Zhong Juan was only a year older than Xu Nianhua, and no matter how hard she tried to conceal her thoughts, they were nonetheless written all over her face.
"I, I just felt uncomfortable inside, so I went to the back hill to be alone for a while." Xu Nianhua looked down, remembering that yesterday she fell into the lake because she saw some things she shouldn't have, which caused her to lose her footing and tumble in.
Time had passed so long that Xu Nianhua couldn't recall what she had seen, but now, with Zhong Juan actively inquiring, she began to vaguely remember.
"You went to the back hill to find peace in the middle of summer, not afraid of snakes?" Zhong Juan said teasingly, her eyes fixed on her, and as if in passing, she asked, "There's nobody in the back hills, aren't you scared?"
"What's there to be afraid of, it's quite clean around there," Xu Nianhua replied.
"So, did you run into anyone on the back hill?"
Zhong Juan was afraid that Xu Nianhua had seen something and had come specially to ask about it. Now, after asking for so long and getting answers that weren't to the point, Zhong Juan was somewhat worried. Had she really seen something?
"Who are you referring to?" Xu Nianhua lifted her gaze and saw the worry at the bottom of Zhong Juan's eyes. She said, "I didn't see anything, didn't notice anything, I just accidentally fell into the lake, and luckily my second brother came to look for me, so he rescued me."
That meant she hadn't seen anything.
The huge stone in Zhong Juan's heart slowly settled to the ground. They had left in a flurry yesterday and had been on tenterhooks ever since.
Just yesterday, she heard that Xu Nianhua fell into the lake on the back hill, and today she heard about the Xu Family splitting up. After a lot of thought, Zhong Juan still decided to visit Xu Nianhua to find out what she might have seen yesterday.
"Your brother is really good to you." Zhong Juan, knowing she hadn't seen a thing, let out a sigh of relief.
"Yes, both my eldest brother and my second brother are indeed very good to me."
Xu Nianhua smiled and said, "Sister Juan, you keep asking about the back hill, I thought you were there, too."
Xu Nianhua's words made Zhong Juan's heart skip a beat, and she said with an uneasy look, "How could that be?"
"Exactly, if you had been on the back hill, you certainly would have saved me if you saw me fall into the lake, right?" Xu Nianhua blinked.
Zhong Juan's walls were not airtight, as the saying goes, if you don't want people to know, don't do it at all. Her face looked even worse. Yesterday, when they heard a noise, their souls almost flew away in fright; who would dare to see what was happening and who had fallen into the lake?
It was only after returning home did she find out that it was Xu Nianhua who had fallen into the lake.
Suddenly, Zhong Juan thought of something, if, if Xu Nian'an hadn't gone to find Xu Nianhua, would she have...
"I would, of course I would." Zhong Juan's voice rose high, but even the heightened pitch couldn't hide her guilt.
"Sister Juan, speaking of which, the news of me falling into the lake has already spread everywhere overnight. In this world, there are indeed no walls that can keep out the wind, and no secrets that last forever," Xu Nianhua said with a double meaning.
Zhong Juan responded offhandedly, "Yes, the village is just so big, any small disturbance and everybody knows."
...
"How come she's here?" When Ji Ying returned home, she happened to run into Zhong Juan leaving.
"She probably came to check on me," Xu Nianhua said nonchalantly. If it weren't for her second brother, she would have lost her life.
But, seeing that she had turned misfortune into a blessing, Xu Nianhua had deliberately hinted with a double meaning, whether Zhong Juan would listen or not, that was no longer her concern.