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

"What's going on? What happened?" Wang Dazui squeezed to the front, his eyes gleaming with excitement, his loud voice practically shouting to summon the whole village to watch the show.

"Waaaaah... Daddy... He's bullying me..."

When Su Jiaojiao saw the old village chief in the crowd, she cried even harder, her finger trembling as she pointed at Li Dongye, "He...he dragged me into the woods, thinking...thinking about me..."

The old village chief was so angry his beard trembled, and he slammed his cane on the ground: "Li Dongye! You beast! You even dared to lay a hand on my daughter!"

"I don't!"

Li Dongye roared, veins bulging on his neck, "She said she twisted her ankle and asked me to help her up, and when we got here she suddenly started tearing her clothes and yelling! I didn't even touch her!"

"You didn't touch her? If you didn't touch her, how come her clothes are like this? And where did those scratches on your face come from?"

The old village chief, his eyes bloodshot with rage, shouted without restraint, "Everyone, look at this! This is the good brother the eldest son of the Qin family raised! He's always been a bully because he has a few stinking coins, and now he dares to forcibly abduct a young woman!"

The villagers began to whisper among themselves, their pointing and whispering gazes piercing Li Dongye like needles.

Li Dongye is known for his womanizing ways and his loose tongue; everyone knows he loves to joke around with young women and wives.

If you put this pot on your crotch, it's like mud falling into your pants; even if it's not shit, it's still shit.

"I really didn't do it!" Li Dongye was speechless with accusations. He wanted to grab Su Jiaojiao for a confrontation, "You fucking come here and explain yourself! When did I touch you?"

"Don't come any closer! Ah—!" Su Jiaojiao screamed and shrank back, looking extremely frightened.

Several strong young men immediately blocked Su Jiaojiao's path, shoving and pushing Li Dongye: "What are you doing? You want to fight?"

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, the click of a bolt being pulled back clearly reached everyone's ears.

The sound wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the noisy crowd.

Qin Lie stood expressionless on the periphery of the crowd, the muzzle of his shotgun slightly lowered. Although he wasn't pointing it at anyone, the people around him instinctively made way for him.

He walked step by step to Li Dongye's side, his tall figure like a mountain, blocking all the accusations and insults.

Xiao Yong stood on the other side, holding a hammer, like an angry Vajra, ready to smash anyone who dared to come up.

"Big brother..." Li Dongye saw Qin Lie, took a deep breath, and said, "I really didn't do it."

Qin Lie didn't even turn around to look at Li Dongye; he knew his brother best.

The fourth brother does like to joke around, but he never leaves anyone with unclear relationships, and he never shirks responsibility for what he has done.

"My fourth brother said he didn't do it, so he didn't do it."

The old village chief was intimidated by Qin Lie's imposing manner and took a half step back, but seeing so many villagers around, he felt emboldened: "Qin Lie! Are you trying to cover for him? The facts are clear, so many eyes are watching!"

"What were you watching?" Qin Lie took a step closer. "Did you see him take off his pants? Or did you see him make a move?"

The old village chief took a step forward, his cane thumping loudly on the ground, sending dust flying everywhere.

"Qin Lie, don't try to bully me! Look at my daughter, she's never suffered like this in her life! This scoundrel Li Dongye, he won't rest until he gives us an explanation!"

Li Dongye stood by the bamboo grove, his leather jacket half-draped over his shoulder, the collar ripped out of shape. He was breathing heavily, trying to calm himself down.

"Explain? Explain my ass! I just parked the car and she rushed out saying she twisted her ankle and insisted I help her. I kindly helped her, and she went into the woods and started tearing her own clothes and scratching my face. I'm so damn innocent."

"How dare you slander me!" The old village chief's chest heaved with anger. "Jiaojiao, don't be afraid, everyone's here. Tell me, what did he do to you?"

Su Jiaojiao sat on the ground, her two braids half-undone, and two buttons on her floral shirt were indeed missing, revealing a small patch of pale skin. She lowered her head, her voice thick with nasal tone.

"Dad... he dragged me into the woods... I didn't comply, and he tried to hit me... Waaaaah..."

The surrounding villagers began to whisper among themselves.

Wang Dazui stood at the front of the crowd, craning his neck as if he wanted to crawl into Su Jiaojiao's arms to get a better look.

"Oh dear, this Li Laosi is always so unruly. He can't resist a pretty girl. He's really messed up this time."

"Exactly! They dared to touch the village chief's daughter? Do they really think no one in the village can control the Qin family?"

Lin Qingqing stood behind Gu Qiangying, looking at Su Jiaojiao, then at Chen Qinghe, a pale-faced educated youth standing not far away. Chen Qinghe had been huddled at the back of the crowd, his hands in his pockets, his body stiff as a piece of wood.

Every time Su Jiaojiao cried out, Chen Qinghe's shoulders would tremble.

Lin Qingqing moved forward a few steps, squeezed through the crowd, and walked to Su Jiaojiao's side.

"Jiaojiao, don't cry." Lin Qingqing squatted down, took out a clean handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to her.

Su Jiaojiao didn't take the handkerchief; she just shrank back a little.

Lin Qingqing took the opportunity to stare at Su Jiaojiao's neckline.

The button's break was very clean, not like it had been violently torn off, but rather looked like it had been forcibly ripped off. Looking at Su Jiaojiao's fingers, they were spotless.

If she really did resist Li Dongye, there's no way her hands wouldn't have gotten a speck of dust on them, given the three bloody marks on Li Dongye's neck, when the area was covered in trees and dirt.

"Jiaojiao, there are a lot of mosquitoes in this forest. Shall we get up first and go to my place to change our clothes?" Lin Qingqing lowered her voice, her tone sounding very gentle.

"I'm not going! There's not a single good person in your family!" Su Jiaojiao shouted, secretly glancing at Chen Qinghe out of the corner of her eye.

Lin Qingqing followed her gaze and saw that Chen Qinghe immediately lowered his head, avoiding all eyes.

"Jiaojiao, Chen, the educated youth, is watching over there." Lin Qingqing whispered in Su Jiaojiao's ear, "If this really blows up and alerts the commune, Chen's chances of returning to the city next year might be in jeopardy, right?"

Su Jiaojiao's crying stopped abruptly.

She froze on the spot, staring wide-eyed at Lin Qingqing, her lips trembling slightly.

"You... what nonsense are you talking about..."

"Whether I'm lying or not, you know best in your heart." Lin Qingqing stood up. "If this is true, Fourth Brother will definitely not escape. But if it's false, Jiaojiao, your reputation will truly be ruined."

When the old village chief saw that Su Jiaojiao was silent, he assumed she was terrified and started yelling at Qin Lie again.

"Look how terrified my daughter is! Qin Lie, you must hand over Li Dongye today and send him to be punished!"

Qin Lie took a step forward, slung the hunting rifle over his shoulder, and stared coldly at her.

"You can't just take someone away for no reason. If you want an explanation, come to my house tomorrow morning to pick them up."

"You dare!" the old village chief raised his voice.

Xiao Yong stepped forward and slammed the iron hammer in his hand heavily onto a large rock next to him. With a bang, the rock cracked.

"Let's see if my older brother dares to do it."