Fifteen, Gu Chen actually made a move?_1

Ji Pianran felt her pockets.

She was a bit troubled.

Right now, she really didn't have forty yuan.

Although Gu Chen had given her a hundred yuan, it was true.

She would have to get change to repay Shen Cuilan.

But it was getting late, and it was almost dark.

Where could she go to get change?

Seeing her troubled expression.

Shen Cuilan took it as Ji Pianran trying to weasel out of it.

She hooked the corner of her lips, scoffing coldly.

"What's this, no money to repay debts, but money to buy meat? I think you never intended to repay me at all?"

Ji Pianran bowed her head, her hands twisting the hem of her clothes.

She looked somewhat uneasy.

In a soft voice, she tried to explain, "That's not it, Sister Shen, can I repay you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I want the money now! Didn't you say your good-for-nothing husband bought the meat? If you don't have it, he must have it, have him come out and pay me now!"

Shen Cuilan's voice grew louder as she spoke, and her tone became more hostile.

Gu Chen was sitting inside the house.

Because of the distance, he couldn't hear exactly what was being said.

But, from the fragmentary words he could catch, he sensed ill intent.

He added a piece of beef to Tangtang's bowl and smiled at her.

"Tangtang, be good and eat your meal. Daddy will go out to check on Mommy and will be right back."

After speaking, he put down his chopsticks and went out.

Shen Cuilan, still shouting, was also curiously peeking into the yard.

When she saw Gu Chen come out, she rolled her eyes disdainfully.

"Oh, finally coming out. I thought you were planning to hide in the house like a turtle with its head locked in. I heard you can afford meat now?"

Gu Chen, seeing her full of malice, knew she must have been giving Ji Pianran a hard time.

He went over, grabbed Ji Pianran's arm, and pulled her behind him.

Then he gave Shen Cuilan a cold look.

"Do you need something?"

Shen Cuilan stretched out her hand.

"Repay me, forty!"

Ji Pianran, worried Gu Chen would think she was deliberately avoiding repaying the debt, hurried to explain to him.

"I don't have small change on me, so..."

Gu Chen, knowing what kind of person Ji Pianran was, didn't wait for her to finish, gently patting her shoulder.

Reassuring her.

"I know, it's okay."

Only then did he turn to look at Shen Cuilan.

"How about this, we'll repay you the money tomorrow, does that work for you?"

As he spoke, he was ready to take Ji Pianran back into the house.

But just as they took a step, Shen Cuilan's shrill voice rang out again from behind.

"If you don't have the money just say so, are you two trying to put on an act together? Stop pretending, we're all from the same village, and everyone knows what's what!"

Ever since she had started at the door, Shen Cuilan's attitude had been all wrong.

Mocking and scornful non-stop.

Ji Pianran knew she was in the wrong and had remained silent.

But this statement, it wasn't just about her anymore, it included Gu Chen as well.

She didn't know where the anger came from, but it suddenly surged up.

Seemingly without reason she became angry.

She shrugged off Gu Chen's hand from her sleeve and turned her head to head back.

Ji Pianran naturally had a somewhat aloof appearance.

Now, because she was angry and her complexion wasn't good, she looked even more unapproachable.

She took a deep breath, and the normally lovely light in her eyes instantly dimmed.

"Sister Shen, you're being a bit too much. We really don't have any small change today, I'll get it tomorrow and give it to you first thing in the morning."

Shen Cuilan sneered contemptuously.

"Still pretending! No small change? Forty yuan! That's half a month's wages! In your poor and pitiful house, has that become just small change?"

Everyone had finished their day's work, some were cooking at home, others chatting leisurely.

Shen Cuilan kept shouting at the door, piquing everyone's curiosity, and they all came out to see what was happening.

In the village, people knew each other.

A bit more enthusiastic, but also even more gossipy.

Whose kid made a big fortune.

Whose daughter-in-law isn't proper.

Whose son is a disappointment.

All these were topics everyone couldn't get enough of during leisurely chats after meals.

If they could witness a commotion first hand, then the storytelling would be even more spirited.

In just a few minutes, at least a dozen people had gathered.

Even Shen Cuilan's husband, Tian Laosì, had come out.

Tian Laosì saw his wife blocking the door, demanding money from someone.

It was somewhat embarrassing.

To be honest, although Ji Pianran was pretty, she lived a tough life.

Tian Laosì originally felt sorry for her and wanted to help out. He had lent her the money out of kindness.

He didn't know how he had managed to infuriate his own wife.

Shen Cuilan was a real tigress to begin with, and petty to boot; she had been brooding over this for more than ten days.

Now with so many onlookers enjoying the drama,

It was an embarrassing situation for everyone involved.

Tian Laosì frowned slightly and without a word, grabbed Shen Cuilan and started walking home.

"Enough, stop making a scene. Can't you see everyone's come out? Isn't this embarrassing enough!"

Shen Cuilan felt that Tian Laosì was bewitched by Ji Pianran, that vixen.

Now he was even taking her side.

Instantly, she felt a tingling numbness in her scalp from anger.

With her round face flushed, she jabbed her finger fiercely at Tian Laosì's head.

And spat hard.

"Pah! You think I don't know what you're thinking? It's just because you find that vixen pretty!"

At her words, murmurs began to rise from the crowd.

"Enough, Shen Cuilan. We're neighbors after all; don't say such unpleasant things."

"Exactly, we see each other all the time. Over forty bucks, you've made it ugly enough already."

"Yes, give Pian Ran a few days, and she'll surely pay you back."

The onlookers advised with seeming concern, but in reality, they couldn't wait for the situation to escalate even more. Calling them mean-spirited wasn't quite right,

but it wasn't entirely wrong either.

It's just that life in the village was too dull, and everyone knew each other.

They spoke with apparent understanding,

but each harbored their own little schemes.

Truth be told, Gu Chen, having been reborn, didn't mind the opinions of others.

Having lived a second time, many things for him just weren't that important anymore.

Besides, he had always been a rascal

What couldn't be said, he really didn't mind at all.

But!

If anyone dared to speak ill of his wife, that was absolutely not okay.

Especially calling her a vixen, that was even worse!

Nobody was allowed to say that!

He set his face, clenched his fists, and walked up to Shen Cuilan.

"What did you say?"

Shen Cuilan, seeing Gu Chen's stern expression, felt unnerved without reason.

But she, Shen Cuilan, was not someone to be trifled with.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and stood taller, her slightly bloated body straining.

"What did I say? I said your wife is a vixen, who in the village doesn't know?"

"Day in and day out, she goes around borrowing money from other men. Who in the village doesn't..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

"Smack!"

A resounding slap landed on Shen Cuilan's face.

It wasn't just her; everyone was shocked.

Gu Chen, he hit someone?

Tian Laosì, though a man of few words, still felt a pang of heartache seeing his wife slapped.

He pointed at Gu Chen.

"You can talk all you want, but why did you hit someone?"