CHAPTER 261: 222_2

The important parts are pixelated.

"Tiantian?"

"It must be her." Lan Tian handed the newspaper back to her. It was already in the paper, and the facts spoke louder than words, undeniable.

Lan Tian wasn’t surprised at all about Yanhua’s fate. Zhou Yuwei was a woman with a heart of a serpent. Yanhua still dared to associate with her; she truly didn’t know how to write the word ’death’.

"Who did it? Who did she offend?" It really was her. Zhao Li thought she had recognized the wrong person, just someone who looked similar. What on earth had this girl been doing outside to lose her life like this?

"Who knows." Lan Tian replied nonchalantly.

Zhao Li always had a feeling, as if Tiantian knew who did it. These matters of life and death were very troublesome. Their family already had enough worries, so it was best not to bother with it anymore. Zhao Li decided not to ask further and took the newspaper outside.

Lan Tian said from behind her, "Auntie, show it to Chun Mei."

"Show her what?" The photo was so horrifying, it was not meant to scare someone to death; she was going to use it to kindle a fire for cooking.

"Yanhua came by frequently, everyone in the village recognizes her. The police will be knocking on our door soon, and since Chun Mei was the last person to see her, the police will definitely want to speak with her. Show it to her first, see if she can recall anything useful."

Zhao Li didn’t understand these things but thought Lan Tian made sense, albeit feeling that it was kind of strange. She didn’t understand how looking at a photo could help think of clues. Since Lan Tian said so, there must be her reasons. Zhao Li took it to show Chun Mei.

As expected, Chun Mei’s scream soon rang out in the courtyard. Lan Tian curled her lips and put down her brush to go outside.

Zhao Li hadn’t expected Chun Mei to have such a huge reaction upon seeing the photo; she trembled all over and didn’t let anyone near her. Every time Zhao Li approached, she would scream, which also woke up Chunhua.

Zhao Li was at a loss and saw Lan Tian coming out. Lan pulled her back a little to keep her safe from Chun Mei in case she went crazy and hurt her.

"What’s wrong with Chun Mei? Why such a big reaction?"

"I don’t know. I’ll go check." Zhao Li tried to hold her back, but Lan Tian patted her hand reassuringly, "Auntie, don’t worry, I will be fine. If she keeps screaming like this, the entire village will hear."

Chunhua was completely out of it and had no idea what had happened. She looked at Lan Tian for answers with a face full of confusion.

Chun Mei was not in a normal state, as if there was something horrifying in front of her, waving her hands and retreating backward. There was a table behind her, and she would hit it if she kept moving back.

The scene was really eerie.

Neither Zhao Li nor Chunhua could get close to Chun Mei and could only watch helplessly as she moved backward.

Chun Mei’s mind was filled with the gruesome image of Yanhua before her death, as if she saw Yanhua crawling towards her drenched in blood, her eyes nearly popping out, mouth agape in a ghastly grin, fresh red blood flowing out from her mouth, a hand reaching out to Chun Mei, "Chun Mei, I’m so lonely, it’s so cold down here, come keep me company!"

"Ah!" Chun Mei screamed again and again, eyes shut tightly as she desperately flailed, "Don’t come over, don’t come over, I didn’t do anything to you, go find the one who harmed you."

Lan Tian walked over, grabbed Chun Mei’s hands, and put her index finger on Chun Mei’s forehead. The terrifying vision suddenly collapsed.

"It’s me, open your eyes!"

Chun Mei gasped for breath, with Lan Tian’s voice echoing in her ears, she finally opened her eyes and saw Lan Tian holding onto her tightly. The fear in her eyes still hadn’t dissipated as she looked around uneasily. The courtyard was bathed in brilliant sunshine, hot temperatures, and even the breeze that wafted by was warm, with no sign of Yanhua’s ghost shadow. The nightmare she had just endured was vivid.

Lan Tian held Chun Mei, her hand gently patting her back, her head close to her ear. The words that came out sent a chill through Chun Mei, trembling with cold from the feet up.

"My clothes were given to Yanhua by you, the poisoned water Chunhua drank was also your doing, wasn’t it?" Chun Mei wanted to explain; she didn’t mean it on purpose, she didn’t know what Yanhua needed Lan Tian’s clothes for, she also didn’t know about the drug Yanhua gave to Chunhua.

Lan Tian’s voice, cold as if coming from hell, rang again in her ear, "This is what happens when you harbor ill intentions. Did you see that? Yanhua plotted against me for someone else, and what happened in the end? She was murdered to silence her, dying a restless death. As long as you behave from now on, you will be fine, otherwise... Yanhua will come find you every night to keep her company." Lan Tian let go of her after speaking; this was the consequence of scheming against those she cared for.

Chun Mei’s pupils shrank, eyes wide in disbelief as she looked at Lan Tian. At this moment, Lan Tian, in Chun Mei’s eyes, was a demon, even more terrifying than a demon itself.

She wanted to go home and never come back to Shanghai again, and if she ever saw Lan Tian again, she would detour. This demon was not someone she could afford to provoke.

Chun Mei wanted to leave, and this time Lan Tian didn’t stop her. Her goal had been achieved; Chun Mei would never dare to target Grandma Sun’s house again.

Grandma Sun and the three others were going back to their hometown; there was a lot to pack, and they had many things to bring - gifts for their in-laws Wang Guiyu, village chief’s house, Fourth Mo. According to Lan Tian, Fourth Mo’s share was not needed to be taken back; it would only be troublesome because they would complain that it wasn’t enough.

Early in the morning, Mo Yuanle went to the railway station by bicycle to buy tickets. There was a train at four in the afternoon, and they still had one day left. Looking at the several sacks of sorted items, Grandma Sun felt they could still take some back to share with village sisters.

Lan Tian glanced around, curled her lips, and decided to drop by Granny Lin’s place to say goodbye, to let them know that no one would be home for a while so they wouldn’t come looking for people in vain.

When Lan Tian arrived, she saw Lin Guohao trimming flowers and plants in the yard and found it peculiar.

"Why is Brother Lin at home?" The question was strangely phrased, as if he wasn’t supposed to be at home, "And the sister-in-law, why didn’t she come?"

Lin Guohao’s heart bloomed with joy upon Lan Tian’s mention of ’sister-in-law,’ but his face remained serious, "We’re not married yet, don’t call her that randomly. She’s at work, coming over later."

Lan Tian snorted and glanced at Lin Guohao as she stepped into the house. Clearly, he was overjoyed on the inside yet kept a straight face; Lan Tian thought he was what people called a ’silent show-off’. Lin Guohao felt shivers down his spine under her strange gaze.