Zhao Ni grabbed Qian’e and turned to leave, but there were many neighbors around them and they were surrounded.
“Oh, you’re intending to leave. If you go back now, you might produce a stack of letters tomorrow. You may even say that Xia Zhe’s father wrote to you.” Qiao Mei sighed and continued, “Who knows if you’ve hidden away Xia Zhe’s notebook and you may even be able to imitate his handwriting. Since you missed him so much, you must have stared at his things while thinking of him all these years.”
Qian’e did not say a word given that Qiao Mei had hit the nail on the head. Even Zhao Ni looked a little embarrassed. Zhao Ni was the one who usually cleaned the rooms at home and she had previously spotted Xia Zhe’s notebook with Qian’e. Furthermore, there were several notebooks, not just one, and Qian’e also possessed Xia Zhe’s used stationery.
Qiao Mei could roughly guess what Qian’e was thinking just by looking at her. After all, she used to be a lawyer and had seen many instances of handwriting being imitated. Although technology was not that advanced during this period of time, with a lot of practice and hard work, it was still possible for two sets of handwriting from two different people to look almost indistinguishable.
“How did this child end up like this!” an old granny in the crowd said regretfully.
“How can you do this!”
“You really have a lot of tricks up your sleeves. How did you become so evil!”
“Sigh, the old Xiao’e used to be so nice. Look at her now…”
Qian’e could hear all kinds of voices in the crowd talking about her. She was already used to everyone scolding her, but now there were actually people who felt sorry for her.
Most of the people in the crowd who felt sorry for Qian’e were the old people who had watched her grow up. They felt that the current Qian’e was the victim of circumstances,and it was fate that had played tricks on her.
“You think she’s pitiful! Then aren’t Xia Zhe and his wife pitiful? What if Xia Zhe’s superiors hear the rumors and feel that there’s something wrong with Xia Zhe’s character! Then Xia Zhe’s career will be ruined!” an old man with a walking stick shouted angrily from within the crowd.
After he spoke, everyone fell into deep thought. Compared to Qian’e, they felt that Xia Zhe was the child who showed the most promise in this compound. If Xia Zhe could not become a soldier or get promoted because of all this gossip, it would really be too much.
“That’s right! It’s really not easy for Xia Zhe! It’s only because Xia Zhe’s wife is highly principled and keeps an eye on the big picture that she doesn’t bother to argue with you! Who do you think you are! You’re still talking nonsense here!” the elderly female neighbor spat on the ground angrily and said to Qian’e.
Qiao Mei smiled happily when she saw that everyone showed so much care and concern for Xia Zhe.
Her sweet smile made people feel happy when they saw it. Everyone had always liked Xia Zhe very much, and everyone now extended their affection to his wife.
Qiao Mei felt a little tired after standing for a long time. She had not rested for the entire day and she rubbed her waist to try to ease the soreness.
“Oh! Xia Zhe’s wife! Are you pregnant!” the elderly female neighbor said in surprise.
This compound was full of doctors and it was easy for them to tell at a glance if she was really pregnant. Previously, they had all been staring at Qian’e and so they did not observe Qiao Mei closely.
When she first arrived, she was dressed simply and was covered in dust and dirt, so no one paid much attention to her. Now that she was wearing an elegant maternity dress, they could see the obvious bulge at Qiao Mei’s stomach.
Qiao Mei blushed and nodded in embarrassment. The anger on everyone’s faces quickly disappeared. This was joyous news!
Qiao Mei touched her stomach and said, “It’s probably about three months.”
“How nice!” The neighbors looked at Qiao Mei with big smiles.
When Qian’e heard that Qiao Mei was pregnant, she said furiously, “You’re pregnant!!!”
Qiao Mei subconsciously took a step back. Looking at how Qian’e was almost going crazy, it seemed that Qian’e really had a psychological problem.
Everyone purposefully stood in front of Qiao Mei to protect her. They were concerned that Qian’e would go crazy and wanted to fight it out with Qiao Mei. If anything should happen, none of them would be able to bear the responsibility.
Zhao Ni’s face was also filled with disbelief. She looked at Qiao Mei mockingly and said, “Don’t tell me you used some despicable trick on Xia Zhe to get yourself pregnant!”
When Qian’e heard what Zhao Ni said, her eyes lit up.
