Reborn in the 90s, tearing apart scumbag men for the sake of women.

"Didn't the newspapers all mention Zhou, Wang, and Li?"

"Yes, when it's published in the newspaper or on the news, we will handle it carefully and not disclose the real name. But during interviews, we will find out more details to ensure the authenticity of the information."

"Oh, her name is Zhou Songmei."

As expected, when Qi Dongshan uttered the name, Song Lingge still felt her head buzzing.

It seems that some mysteries are about to be solved, and the answer is about to be revealed.

After having lunch at the village chief's house, Song Lingge and Qiao Nansheng decided to take a walk around the village. Song Lingge still had some questions that hadn't been answered.

During this time of day, only a few children are left playing outside in the village.

As soon as Song Lingge and Qiao Nansheng came out of the village chief's house, a group of children surrounded them.

Song Lingge bent down to be at the same height as the children and asked with a smile, "How old are you? Do you go to school?"

The children were timid, only coming over for snacks, and didn't know how to respond to Song Lingge's words.

After waiting for a while, only the twelve or thirteen-year-old boy from the morning nodded.

"What's your name? Do you study in Yuning County?"

The boy's name is Zhang Jianhua. He is a first-year junior high school student at Yuning Middle School and is one of the few students in the village who is still attending school.

Is the school far away?

Song Lingge kept smiling and gave the children lots of snacks, which made them bolder and less shy.

Zhang Jianhua said, "I'm used to walking this distance, so I don't think it's far."

"I heard it's a shortcut, can you take me to see it?"

Zhang Jianhua nodded and skipped ahead to lead the way. Soon they reached a mountain path, and he pointed to the winding path and said, "Go down from here."

Following the direction he pointed, Song Lingge could only see a faint path, just like the saying goes, a narrow, winding path made by people walking on it.

"Where will we go if we go down from here? Are there any forks in the road? Won't you get lost?"

Zhang Jianhua and the other children looked at Song Lingge as if she were an idiot. How could they possibly mistake her?

However, his mother said that this was a big shot from the city, and that he had even eaten at the village chief's house.

So Zhang Jianhua thought for a moment before answering: "If an adult leads the way once, you won't get lost. Even if you do get lost, you can just ask an adult working in the mountains. It's not long after you go down from here to Blind Man's Ridge, where people live too, so you can find someone to ask along the way."

"Blind Man's Ridge?" Song Lingge murmured to herself, a place name that sounded so familiar.

Song Lingge patted Zhang Jianhua on the shoulder and smiled at him, as well as at the other children, saying, "Don't give up on your studies. If possible, go back and ask your parents to take you to school. You saw the notebooks, pencils, and snacks that your older brothers and sisters brought today. It's because we study hard, graduate, and find good jobs that we can buy these things and improve our family's life."

If you explain it in too complex a way, even a child wouldn't understand.

But no matter who it is, as long as he mentions what he longs for or needs, it will pique his interest.

Song Lingge was deeply moved by her trip to Qianxing Village, something she had never experienced in her previous social circle.

Some other thoughts began to form in her mind.

Having achieved their goal, Song Lingge and Qiao Nansheng bid farewell to the village chief and villagers and embarked on their return journey.

After starting the car, Qiao Nansheng finally spoke: "Any progress now?"

Song Lingge nodded and then shook her head, but immediately realized that Qiao Nansheng definitely wouldn't understand what she meant.

So he explained, "I can't quite put my finger on it. It feels like it makes sense, but then I feel like there's some illogical part to it."

"Where to now? Back to Nanzhou?"

This time, Song Lingge shook her head firmly: "No, I still want to go to a few more places."

In Yuning County, we started looking for schools, beginning with those closest to Xiaziling.

If you search school by school—elementary, middle, and high school—you're bound to find some clues.

Song Lingge always felt that Zhou Songmei and Fang Guanghua, two people who seemed to have nothing in common, were somehow connected.

In addition, they learned from Zhang Jianhua that the route from Qianxing Village to the school inevitably passed through Xiaziling.

Is it possible that Zhou Songmei knew Fang Guanghua when she was in school?

Zhou Songmei was a freshman in college, while they were already juniors, so she never even considered this possibility.

However, based on the timeline mentioned by Village Chief Qi, Zhou Songmei is very likely to be in the same cohort as Fang Guanghua.

She just had to delay taking the college entrance exam by two years because of pregnancy and childbirth.

If they were classmates and had a good relationship, like she and Qiao Nansheng, perhaps Fang Guanghua would be willing to stand up for Zhou Songmei.

My good friend, who excelled in her studies, was tricked into getting pregnant and dropping out of school by her sponsor.

Or perhaps it's a couple who were originally in a flirtatious relationship, but were tricked into getting pregnant by their benefactor, and then, in a fit of rage, sought revenge.

It has that melodramatic, cliché romance drama feel to it.

Thinking of this, Song Lingge suddenly asked, "Qiao Nansheng, if I were tricked into having a child and dropping out of school, would you stand up for me?"

"Screech—" Qiao Nan suddenly slammed on the brakes.

"What did you say?"

"Hey, you're a seasoned driver, why do you keep slamming on the brakes?"

"what did you just say?"

"Assuming, didn't you hear me say 'assumption'?" Song Lingge realized what he was concerned about and replied irritably.

"Even assumptions won't work!"

It seems there's no way to get answers from him. If we switch the roles, and it were Qiao Nansheng who was deceived, Song Lingge thinks she would definitely stand up for him.

Actually, there's something even more important—Xiaomei.

Because of Li Meimei's affair with Fang Guanghua, she had assumed that Xiaomei referred to Li Meimei.

However, Fang Guanghua and Li Meimei are more like a butterfly effect triggered by her rebirth.

Zhou Songmei, or Xiaomei.

If she were Xiaomei, wouldn't everything make more sense?

On the way down the mountain, the two of them remained silent, as if they were locked in a contest.

It wasn't until they arrived in Yuning County that Qiao Nansheng finally asked, "Where are we going now?"

"Yu Ning Middle School".

Yuning Middle School is Fang Guanghua's alma mater.

Song Lingge now wishes she could fly to Yuning Middle School immediately and find out the truth right away.

Her heart was pounding in her throat, and she felt more and more that this most terrifying and bizarre conjecture was indeed true.

At this time, Yuning Middle School had already started its winter vacation.

However, in those days, the faculty and staff dormitories were located inside the school, so even during holidays, the school gates would not be closed, and students could come and go as they pleased.

Song Lingge and Qiao Nansheng arrived at Yuning Middle School and planned to wander around casually to see if the school had any cultural walls or similar features.

Nanzhou University of Foreign Languages ​​is a very good university. If there were a cultural wall or something similar, it might display information about students who were admitted to prestigious universities.

However, Song Lingge and Qiao Nansheng searched almost the entire campus but did not find the so-called cultural wall.

Moreover, although the gates of Yuning Middle School were open, no one was seen inside.

Could it be that the staff dormitory of Yuning Middle School is not located on the school grounds?

Where else can we look for clues?

"Song Lingge?"