R70 Chapter 14

Don’t Think I Don’t Know You’ve Taken a Fancy to Wu Yunzhu

Wu Yunzhu stood in the courtyard, holding a broom in her hand, her gaze cold as she looked at Xie Yun outside the gate.

She knew Xie Yun would definitely come looking for her. After all, Jianhua was sick, he had no money, and besides coming to her, who else could he turn to?

But she wouldn’t give him a single cent.

When they first adopted Jianhua, she had made it clear that she wouldn’t contribute a penny.

Xie Yun had sworn confidently at the time that he could support the child, but what about now?

As soon as the child fell ill, he panicked and came running to beg her.

Wu Yunzhu let out a cold laugh, her heart unmoved.

She had long seen through Xie Yun—selfish, incompetent, and always liked to shift responsibility onto others.

Jianhua was the one he insisted on adopting, and now that there was a problem, he wanted her to bear the consequences?

Dream on.

“Yunzhu, Jianhua is sick and needs money for treatment. Can you lend me some money? I’ll definitely pay you back later!”

Wu Yunzhu said coldly, “Xie Yun, I already told you, I won’t pay a single cent. Jianhua is the one you adopted, it has nothing to do with me.”

Xie Yun fell silent for a few seconds, then his voice came again with a hint of pleading. “Yunzhu, the child is innocent, you can’t just stand by and watch him die! Just consider it a loan, okay?”

Wu Yunzhu’s voice remained icy. “Xie Yun, stop wasting your time here. I have no money, and I won’t give you a single cent. Leave.”

Xie Yun gritted his teeth, his voice trembling slightly. “Wu Yunzhu, you’re truly heartless! Jianhua is a life after all, are you just going to watch him die of illness?”

Wu Yunzhu laughed coldly, her tone sharp. “Xie Yun, don’t try to morally blackmail me here. Jianhua is the child you adopted, his life and death have nothing to do with me. If you truly care about him, go find a solution yourself, don’t waste time here.”

With that, she turned and went back inside, ignoring Xie Yun outside the gate.

A few days later, rumors about her began circulating in the village.

Some said she was cold-blooded and heartless, not even caring about a child’s life or death.

Others said she was cruel and merciless, driving even an honest man like Xie Yun to desperation.

Wu Yunzhu heard these discussions but wasn’t much affected.

She had long grown accustomed to the village gossip; she didn’t care what others thought anyway.

Taking advantage of these two days, she completed the system’s activation task.

[Congratulations, Host, you have successfully activated the Spiritual Spring Space System!]

[The spiritual spring is currently at level one. Each time you complete a task, it will rise three levels. Please explore on your own, Host~]

Wu Yunzhu’s eyes brightened. Just as she was about to ask the system how much water the spiritual spring could produce daily, the next second she saw Yuan Ye standing at her front gate.

Yuan Ye stood at her courtyard gate, his gaze deep, his tone calm. “Yunzhu, don’t take those village rumors to heart.”

Wu Yunzhu was stunned for a moment, then laughed coldly, “Why should I take them to heart? They can say whatever they want, it has nothing to do with me.”

Yuan Ye looked at her, his eyes carrying a hint of inquiry. “You really don’t care?”

Wu Yunzhu raised her head and looked directly into his eyes. “Team Leader Yuan, is this what you came to tell me?”

Yuan Ye was hurt by her gaze, knowing she had misunderstood him, and immediately explained, “I didn’t come as Xie Yun’s advocate. I’m just worried about you…”

Wu Yunzhu froze. After Yuan Ye finished these words, even his ears turned red.

“Cheng Yaoyao tells everyone that you’re heartless, and with Xie Yun fanning the flames, now the villagers are all privately saying you’re a vicious stepmother…”

Yuan Ye stole a glance at Wu Yunzhu, only to find her face remained calm as water, as if those rumors had nothing to do with her.

Her gaze swept lightly over Yuan Ye, her tone carrying a hint of mockery, “Team Leader Yuan, do you think I care about these things?”

Yuan Ye was momentarily speechless, feeling somewhat annoyed with himself.

He had clearly come to comfort her, but his words made him seem like he was meddling in other people’s business.

He pressed his lips together and said in a low voice, “Yunzhu, I just… don’t want you to be misunderstood by them.”

Wu Yunzhu laughed lightly, her gaze falling on the distant mountains, her tone indifferent. “Misunderstood? What do I care how they think? Xie Yun is incompetent, Cheng Yaoyao is hypocritical—let them put on whatever show they want, I’m not participating.”

Yuan Ye looked at her, his feelings complicated.

He knew that Wu Yunzhu suddenly becoming calm and rational was a good thing.

But this version of her made him feel a twinge of heartache.

A few days later, the village rumors grew even worse.

Cheng Yaoyao, using the opportunity of helping Xie Yun raise money, loudly proclaimed her own kindness throughout the village, while conveniently portraying Wu Yunzhu as a cold-blooded, heartless, vicious woman.

The villagers began pointing fingers at Wu Yunzhu, with some deliberately cursing her as “stone-hearted.”

[Congratulations, Host, you have triggered the second main quest: Expose the conspiracy of Xie Yun and Cheng Yaoyao, and make them slap their own faces!]

Just as the system’s voice faded, Wu Yunzhu saw Xie Yun leading several villagers blocking her gate.

Xie Yun’s face was grim, his eyes carrying a hint of anger. “Wu Yunzhu, Jianhua’s surgery fee is still far from enough. Are you really going to refuse to save him?”

Wu Yunzhu looked at him coldly, her tone without a ripple. “Xie Yun, I already told you, Jianhua is your business, it has nothing to do with me. If you don’t have money, go find a solution yourself, don’t waste time here.”

Xie Yun was enraged by her attitude, his voice rising several octaves. “Wu Yunzhu, how can you be so heartless? Jianhua is a life after all, are you just going to watch him die?”

The villagers nearby began echoing. “That’s right, Yunzhu, the child is innocent, you can’t be so heartless!”

“No matter how wrong Xie Yun is, the child is innocent. Just help him out!”

Wu Yunzhu laughed coldly, her gaze sweeping over those villagers, her tone icy. “If you’re all so charitable, why don’t you pay for him yourselves? Why morally blackmail me here?”

The villagers were choked by her words, not knowing how to refute for a moment.

Seeing this, Xie Yun’s face grew even uglier. He gritted his teeth and said, “Wu Yunzhu, don’t think you’re something special just because you have some money! If anything happens to Jianhua, you’ll be the criminal!”

Wu Yunzhu’s eyes suddenly turned cold. She stared at Xie Yun, her tone carrying a hint of frost. “Xie Yun, stop making trouble here unreasonably. Jianhua is the one you adopted, his life and death have nothing to do with me. If you dare to cause trouble again, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Xie Yun was enraged by her words and was about to explode when a low voice interrupted, “Xie Yun, enough.”

Everyone turned around to see Yuan Ye standing not far away, though no one knew when he had arrived.

His gaze was stern, his tone carrying an undeniable authority, “Xie Yun, Jianhua’s matter is your own responsibility. Don’t make things difficult for Yunzhu here.”

Xie Yun was stunned for a moment, then laughed coldly. “Yuan Ye, what right do you have to interfere in my business? Don’t think I don’t know—you’ve taken a fancy to Wu Yunzhu, that’s why you keep speaking up for her!”