I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 153: Afflicted by the Plague

Juying was beside herself with anger, but she felt completely drained of energy. Lu Xiangxiang’s eyes were also very red. Unbeknownst to her, overnight the entire village was abuzz with gossip about her and Lai Zi. The rumors were detailed and vivid, making it sound as if they were true.

When she went out to fetch water and wash clothes in the morning, several elderly people looked at her strangely. Especially Dezi, who ran straight towards her calling out "mom," followed by Lai Zi who came over, giving her a strangely cheerful smile and saying that Dezi was just missing his mother and mistook her for someone else.

Even though Dezi was not well-behaved, he was still just a kid. Yu Xueli always claimed she did not have such a son, but he was still flesh and blood, and Lu Xiangxiang knew she still thought of him from time to time.

So after a few words, she just carried her basin and left, not realizing that this scene had been completely misinterpreted by onlookers.

"Mom, don’t be angry. These are baseless allegations, all fake. Let Huang Maochun spout whatever she wants; it will blow over in a couple of days."

"How could it be that easy! It’s rare for the village wives to have something to gossip about. They’ll drag this from the beginning of the year to the end. Even if you don’t mind, what about Xiaobin? With such a bright future, if he gets any doubts in his mind, what then?"

Speaking of Shen Xiaobin, tears started streaming down Lu Xiangxiang’s face. Since meeting him, she understood what Sister-in-law Meng meant by the feeling of having a partner. The Shen Family’s life was hard, yet Shen Xiaobin would still often bring her things, like scarves, warm flasks, fabric, socks, and steamed buns made by Aunt Shen. He shared whatever he could with her, always thinking of her. They had even planned to speak to their families after the New Year to get married sooner.

"Mom, he... he won’t overthink it, he won’t harbor any suspicion. He’s a good man, we agreed to get married after the New Year."

Upon hearing her, Juying’s face lit up with joy, "Really."

"Mhm!"

Uncle Guai was crouching at the doorway smoking, listening to his wife and daughter. Unlike them, he was not as optimistic. Although the Shen Family was a rare good match, that was before the incident with Lai Zi. If they found out, they might overthink it. His daughter, no matter how upright, couldn’t overcome the gossip mongers.

Three people make a tiger; if the Shen Family heard about it, the marriage would likely fall through just like the last one did.

"Xiangxiang, look at your mother. You should go see Zhenping’s wife right away, have a good talk with her. Tell her there’s nothing between you and Lai Zi. Since we’re all from the same village and if she overthinks it, your marriage with Xiaobin might not happen. I’ll take your older brother with me to Lai Zi’s house in a bit and teach them a lesson."

"Aunt Xiangxiang, Aunt Xiangxiang, Grandpa Guai, a fight has broken out. Mrs. Daya and Lai Zi are fighting, my mom told me to call you."

Huang Maochun was still jumping around at the door; Mingyang sidestepped past her and ran into the yard.

Lu Xiangxiang and Uncle Guai hurriedly asked Mingyang what was happening.

Catching his breath, Mingyang explained, "My mom said she was going to come to your house, but she ran into Mrs. Daya right outside our door. She dragged my mom to Lai Zi’s house, even called Director Guo, saying she was lied about by Lai Zi when she married in, and he’s lying again, he wants to ruin Aunt Xiangxiang’s reputation to make her his wife!"

Hearing this, Uncle Guai immediately understood that the rumors from this morning were spread by Lai Zi himself, and he immediately called out loud.

"Eldest brother, eldest brother’s wife, Xiangxiang, third son and his family, let’s go, follow me to Lai Zi’s house to properly seek justice. Mrs. Daya has already gone ahead, we can’t lag behind."

Although they had divided their households, they still lived in the same courtyard, only Lu Xingchang and Huang Maochun had opened up a separate enclosure with a courtyard wall in between.

Zhu Juying also got down from the kang, tremblingly put on her clothes, leaned on a cane, and headed outside.

"Mom, you don’t need to go, we are here!"

"No, no, I must go, I feel like I have strength all over my body now, I really need to let off some steam!"

Lu Xiangxiang: "...."

The group marched imposingly toward Lai Zi’s house, and when they arrived, they were shocked and agape. Yu Xueli, who had always been bullied in the Xu Family, not only slapped each of Lai’s parents once but also knocked Lai Zi to the ground and furiously rained down slaps on him.

"You disaster-stricken creature, why won’t you just die? Like a dung beetle rolling dung, just roll as far away as you can! After all these years, this is your only trick—ruining a girl’s reputation and thinking she should marry you? How delusional are you? Are you too ashamed to show your face? Coming up with such a vile trick, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning? I’ll beat you to death for the public good."

"You bitch, how dare you hit me, you are no better yourself, hooking up right after getting divorced, you and Lu Changhong must have already crawled under the sheets, I spit on you, you dare scratch my face, I’ll beat you to death, you shameless bitch."

"Ptui, you disgusting schemer, take that for your nonsense, take that, why don’t you just die? Let the sky drop knives and kill you instantly. You ruined my reputation with this trick in the past, ruined my entire life, and now you even want to harm Xiangxiang. I’ll never let you succeed in your lifetime, Xu Daqiang, I’ll never let you succeed!"

Yu Xueli, extremely powerful in combat, could not be restrained even by several aunts and elderly women. It seemed as if some innate trait in her blood had awakened, fueling her increased strength, making Lai helpless to defend himself.

From her words, everyone understood—Lai Zi intended to tarnish Xiangxiang’s innocence and force her into marriage by showing up with a proposal. It must be said, his intentions were truly malicious.

Lu Debang’s sister-in-law and Zhang Hongfa’s mother were also there. Hearing this, they recalled how Yu Xueli was married into the Xu Family and felt an increased animosity towards Lai Zi. With the year’s end approaching and the evaluation of the best production team due, if this scoundrel affected their family’s prospects, they were determined not to let the Xu Family off easily.

Shen Meng saw Yu Xueli on the verge of collapse and quickly pulled her close, holding her tightly.

"It’s over, all over, there won’t be any more such incidents, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Everyone’s eyes are clear, Xiangxiang is fine, it’s all good!"

Lu Xiangxiang, seeing Mrs. Daya go berserk for her sake, covered her mouth and sobbed, then suddenly ran over and embraced Yu Xueli.

"I’m fine, Sister Yu, I’m fine. I’m innocent and not afraid of false accusations. He’s just a foul-mouth who can only spew filth, he’ll eventually receive his due karma. Let’s go."

Director Guo was about to head over after everything had settled when she saw Uncle Guai and Shen Meng’s group, who had left, signaled a few sons to go and beat up Lai Zi; she promptly stopped in her tracks.