Bai Ci picked up a green bean and naturally began prepping it.
This was her strategy to actively end and avoid the topic.
Seeing this, the village chief's wife stopped pressing. She lowered her head and went back to prepping the green beans, as if her previous probe had been nothing more than casual small talk without any deeper meaning.
The three of them prepped the vegetables together for about half a minute. Just as the basket of green beans was finally nearing the bottom, light, brisk footsteps echoed from the courtyard entrance.
Qu Ling had returned.
She walked with a light step, her back straight, her eyes filled with an undeniable confidence and joy that she could barely hide. Her entire aura seemed much more relaxed.
Clearly, during her morning outing, she had unearthed an incredibly valuable and important clue.
Qu Ling's gaze swept indifferently over the three people prepping vegetables in the courtyard. Without lingering for even a second, she walked straight into the house, headed upstairs, and shut her door, all without uttering a single word.
Xie Lai snapped a green bean in frustration. How on earth did she actually manage to find a clue?
The more critical Qu Ling's clue was, the more she would target Xie Lai in the future. This was the direct consequence of Xie Lai having drawn all the hostility to herself earlier.
But Xie Lai didn't regret it at all.
After all, this completely kept Bai Ci out of the line of fire. Since the others were ignoring her, it would be much easier for Bai Ci to move around and take action.
In any case, with her injured ankle, Xie Lai's mobility was limited, so she couldn't have done much anyway.
Serving as a shield allowed her to at least make herself useful.
Time ticked by. The sun finally climbed to the center of the sky, and the temperature rose steadily, ushering in the hottest part of the day.
Laughter and chatter echoed from the entrance of the village. The team leader had returned from purchasing supplies, accompanied by Sang Lan, Wang Dong, and the village chief.
As usual, the vehicle was parked at the village entrance. According to the village chief, they had brought back a whole truckload of materials.
The village chief's wife stood up and went to the kitchen to bring out the warm dishes. Soon, a table was laden with home-cooked food, and everyone sat down for lunch.
As lunch wound down, the team leader set down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and began organizing the afternoon schedule.
“The midday sun is too brutal, and doing high-intensity work now could easily lead to heatstroke. Everyone should head back to their rooms and rest.”
“We will gather in the courtyard at three o'clock this afternoon. Everyone will head to the Red Church to wrap up the venue construction and ritual set decoration.”
At this point, the team leader paused. He realized that they might not actually be able to get everyone there.
He turned to look at Xie Lai, who was sitting to the side, his gaze landing on her ankle as he asked,
“Is your ankle feeling any better today? Can you walk around and do some work?”
Before Xie Lai could answer, the village chief's wife spoke up first, her tone protective as if shielding a younger relative.
“The girl's foot is recovering well after having the bone reset. She can walk normally, but it hasn't fully healed on the inside yet. She can't do heavy labor like carrying or building, or she might relapse.”
“It's safer for her to stay in our house this afternoon. I'll go help you guys work instead. I've got nothing else to do anyway.”
The team leader nodded at her words and immediately finalized the division of labor.
“Then we'll stick to the usual plan. Xie Lai will stay in the second-floor guest room to organize the inventory ledger and incoming/outgoing data for the supplies purchased in town this morning. Just complete the logistics request report and archive all of this morning's purchasing data.”
“Sister Guihua, you come with us this afternoon to lend a hand.”
With the tasks settled, everyone stood up to head upstairs to their guest rooms for a midday nap.
Qu Ling was the first to move. She seemed to have grasped the essence of her Makeup Artist persona; her seemingly pretentious behavior allowed her to logically slip out of quite a few chores.
She turned to walk up the stairs, which required her to pass by where Sang Lan was sitting.
Fortunately, the dining room was very spacious. No matter how she walked, there was still a gap of one or two paces between her and Sang Lan, making any shoulder-brushing or close physical contact completely impossible.
Yet, the moment Qu Ling drew near, Sang Lan instinctively leaned backward—a physical reaction born of pure bodily instinct.
It was unclear whether he realized that the person sitting behind him was Bai Ci, but when he leaned back, he crashed straight into her arms.
There was no telling if it was intentional or accidental.
The others, being tactful, went upstairs one after another. They all chose to avoid playing third wheel, leaving the young couple some private time.
Once everyone had cleared out, only she and Sang Lan remained in the dining room.
Bai Ci turned her head to look at Sang Lan beside her. Her eyes curved into a smile, and her tone was relaxed, sounding exactly like a girlfriend teasing her partner.
She had to make her enemy lower his guard before she could slowly interrogate him.
“Your reaction to Qu Ling just now was really strange. It looked like you were deliberately avoiding her. You two didn't have some sort of secret argument behind my back, did you?”
Bai Ci's accusation was blatantly fake. Sang Lan looked up, immediately catching his girlfriend's drift, and played along.
His face instantly crumpled into an exaggerated, dramatic look of grievance. With clear eyes and a theatrical, innocent tone, he gently nudged Bai Ci's forearm, perfectly playing the part of a loyal partner who had been falsely accused.
“I've been framed, Ci-mei'er! My heart for you can be seen by the sun and moon, witnessed by heaven and earth. I don't have a single selfish thought!”
“I just couldn't stand the smell on Qu Ling. When she got close, that scent became even stronger. It made me feel a bit sick to my stomach, that's all.”
A flash of doubt crossed Bai Ci's mind. Basing her response on her own senses, she countered, “Surely it's not that bad.”
“There's a breeze in the mountains today, and the temperature is cool. She didn't sweat much during her walk, and she doesn't have any body odor.”
“I didn't smell anything, at least.”
“Besides, it's easy to sweat in this season. A mild sweaty smell is normal. There's no need to be so repulsed.”
“It's not sweat,” Sang Lan said, shaking his head immediately. A look of genuine disgust crossed his face. He was about to explain the source of the smell in detail when he suddenly realized something and stopped himself.
“In short, it's not a normal body odor. It's hard to describe, but it's the kind of smell that triggers a physical sense of nausea the moment you get a whiff of it.”
Considering Sang Lan's identity, Bai Ci began to understand.
It was known that Qu Ling had gone out to look for clues this morning, and before that, Sang Lan's reaction and attitude toward her had been perfectly normal.
So, where exactly had she gone?
It seemed that while she had indeed found a clue, she had left behind a flaw in the form of a scent.
Throughout the afternoon, the setup of the Red Church venue proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Securing backdrops, hanging floral arrangements, adjusting the lighting, and arranging the ceremonial chairs—everyone kept their heads down and focused on their respective tasks.
Sang Lan went out of his way to avoid Qu Ling the entire time. Whenever Qu Ling approached his area, Sang Lan would immediately grab his tools and move to the other side, keeping a wide distance.
Not only did he avoid her himself, but he also dragged Bai Ci along with him.
He was quite self-righteous about it: “Ci-mei'er, you smell so clean and nice. Make sure to stay far away from her. Don't let that bizarre smell of hers rub off on you.”
The afternoon passed smoothly, and at dusk, everyone was finally able to return and rest.
As dawn broke the next day, the full rehearsal for the Honey Rite officially began.
The doors of the Red Church were wide open, and all the floral arrangements and fragrances were in place. Although there were no guests to watch the ceremony like there would be for the actual event, this year's Honey Bride, Shen Tan, arrived at the church right on time.
She was still dressed in a loose, pure white gown, the voluminous fabric completely shrouding her figure. A thick veil tightly covered her entire face, hiding her eyes beneath a misty haze.
Her expression remained completely numb, no different from her doll-like state during the initial makeup trial. She was utterly indifferent to everyone and everything around her.
Except for Bai Ci.
Shen Tan walked straight to Bai Ci's side, reached out, and took hold of her wrist, gripping it tightly and refusing to let go.
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