How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 81: Discovery_1

Li Qiao told Old Mrs. Qin before leaving that due to preparing for a competition, she wouldn’t be coming home next Saturday.

"Do you have enough rice? Is your money sufficient? Have you packed light clothes now that the weather’s warm?" Old Mrs. Qin, worried that Li Qiao would be aggrieved, kept nagging.

Li Qiao responded with a smile, "I’ve prepared everything that needs to be prepared."

"Let me walk you there."

"No need." Li Qiao left.

Old Mrs. Qin watched until she reached the village entrance before turning back.

Yu Feng said, "Grandma, I hate to say something unpleasant, but Qiaoqiao..."

Old Mrs. Qin’s face darkened, "If you know it’s unpleasant, why say it?" Wasn’t it just because they thought the grand-daughter-in-law, having been to university, looked down on her grandson?

Did they think she hadn’t seriously considered the consequences?

Yu Feng’s words stuck uncomfortably in her throat as she waited for Old Mrs. Qin to enter the house before whispering to those around her.

Everyone unanimously believed that the Qin family would regret supporting Li Qiao’s education in the future.

....

When Li Qiao arrived at school, only Hu Xiufang was in the dormitory. "Why did you come today?"

"My significant other is away earning our living; no time to see me off." Li Qiao felt a pang of emptiness, before, when he left for half a month, she barely thought of him.

This time, his shadow kept popping into her mind.

Hu Xiufang spoke with envy, "Your significant other really treats you well, not only picking you up every week but also earning money for you to spend; it makes me want to find one for myself."

"My significant other was arranged by the heavens for me, so be careful when you choose your own," Li Qiao said with a sense of pride lifting the corners of her eyebrows.

Hu Xiufang chuckled, "How did Heaven arrange it for you?"

With a smile brimming with both sincerity and jest, Li Qiao responded, "By devoutly making a wish to the gods."

Hu Xiufang became tense, "Feudal superstition isn’t good; be careful or others might hear you."

Li Qiao pressed her lips together and went up to her bed to sort out her luggage and bedding.

Suddenly, Hu Xiufang asked, "What happened to your face?"

Li Qiao was too embarrassed to explain plainly, "I bumped it by accident."

She felt the bedding was slightly damp, so she took the quilt outside to air it. Since the start of school, she hadn’t washed the pillowcase, so she pulled out the pillow insert intending to wash the cover.

A piece of yellow paper floated down, landing at Hu Xiufang’s feet.

Bending down to pick it up, Hu Xiufang asked, "What’s this, drawing talismans? An amulet?" She teased, "Li Qiao, I didn’t know you believed in this stuff."

Li Qiao looked surprised, pulled the yellow talisman from Hu Xiufang’s hand, examined it, and couldn’t understand it, then denied, "It’s not mine."

Hu Xiufang thought she was too embarrassed to admit it. "You better throw it away quickly, if people find out the top student is superstitious, it won’t be good for your reputation."

"It’s really not mine."

Li Qiao’s expression was serious and didn’t seem like she was lying, leaving Hu Xiufang puzzled, "Could it be someone from the dorm?"

Li Qiao first suspected Li Jinhua, then Zhao Li and Liu Lanlan, but without evidence, she couldn’t jump to conclusions. However, she was certain the talisman was meant to curse someone. She planned to bait the perpetrator out. She cautioned Hu Xiufang, "Don’t tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Don’t worry, my lips are sealed," Hu Xiufang reassured, patting her chest.

Li Qiao stuffed the talisman back into the pillowcase and took it straight outside to air.

One by one, the roommates began to arrive.

Li Jinhua also noticed the bruise on Li Qiao’s face and asked an extra question about it.

Upon reflection, Li Qiao said, "I don’t know either, I just woke up with it, and it kind of hurts."

"It wasn’t Loser who beat you and you’re too embarrassed to say, right?"

Li Qiao: "..."

"..."

Li Qiao observed each of her roommates, each appearing suspicious. She came up with a plan and pretended to have a headache after lights out.

Zhao Li was the first to panic, "It’s nothing to do with me, right?"

Hu Xiufang said, "The doctor at the hospital mentioned there might be lasting effects in the future, how can it not be related?"

Anxious and near tears, Zhao Li said, "Li Qiao, you can’t be in trouble." That week, a local thug stopped her on her way home and threatened her severely. The gist was that if Li Qiao lost even a single strand of hair at the school in the future, they would hold her accountable.

It was a serious threat.

How could there be a Loser Qin in every village?

"This time, it’s not related to you." Li Qiao first cleared Zhao Li’s name.

This woman had become the most concerned person about her in the dormitory; she wouldn’t do anything to harm others.

Hu Xiufang suggested seeing the school doctor.

Zhao Li volunteered, "Li Qiao, why don’t Hu Xiufang and I take you there?"

Li Jinhua said, "Big sister, I’ll come along too."

Li Qiao agreed with a yes.

Everyone started to get dressed, when Li Qiao suddenly said, "It seems like it doesn’t hurt anymore."

Liu Lanlan remarked, "It hurts one moment and doesn’t the next—are you just toying with Zhao Li?"

Zhao Li felt aggrieved but dared not show it.

Li Qiao, full of contrition, said, "I’m sorry, but Zhao Li, my headache has nothing to do with you. You can rest assured, I’ve always been clear about right and wrong—it’s been a week since the incident, and I won’t blame you."

Zhao Li felt much more at ease.

She asked Li Qiao to step aside for a word.

Li Qiao draped on her clothes and stepped outside.

The two of them went to a secluded spot; Zhao Li quietly shared her own experiences with Li Qiao.

Li Qiao was stunned. The fact that Qin Jin knew only Zhao Li’s name yet could still find her was impressive. She quickly agreed.

Zhao Li had one less worry and could finally sleep peacefully.

After Li Qiao returned to the room and got back into bed, she soon clutched her forehead and complained of pain again.

Liu Lanlan joked, "Is there a needle hidden in your pillow? You’re hurting off and on—how are we supposed to sleep if this goes on all night?"

"No joke, it does feel like the pillow is causing the headache, like something’s burrowing into my head; plus my face, inexplicably bruised." Li Qiao shook her pillow vigorously.

Li Jinhua, who had been quiet, said, "Big sister, all the dust from your pillow is falling onto Zhao Li’s bed."

"Selfish people are just like that!" Liu Lanlan disapproved openly.

Li Qiao retracted her pillow and, as her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she squinted and watched the reactions of Li Jinhua and Liu Lanlan.

The former, seeing her shake the pillow, immediately sat up in bed while Liu Lanlan only poked her head out, with everyone else sleeping undisturbed.

She narrowed her suspects down to these two.

Because only someone worried about her discovering the yellow talisman inside the pillow would pay attention to whether she’d found it or not. "I’m sorry to disturb you," she said before lying down again; Li Jinhua was on the upper bunk, and Li Qiao deliberately raised her hand to cover her head so that the other saw.

Li Jinhua thought the talisman was taking effect.

She was secretly pleased that her scheme had succeeded.

But contemplating the upcoming exams, she was conflicted about whether or not to continue.

In the end, she decided to stick with the original plan.

The clever Li Qiao who had inherited the body of a Li Qiao in love would retain some memories, right?

Even a fool inheriting just half would have no issue getting into university.

....

The next morning, Li Qiao asked her teacher for leave, using discomfort as the excuse.

After her morning run, Li Jinhua came back with her meal box and asked with concern, "Big sister, does your head still hurt?"

"It doesn’t hurt now. It hurt during sleep. If it still hurts tonight, I will apply to stay at home," Li Qiao covertly observed Li Jinhua’s expression.

Li Jinhua’s brow twitched, "Go home?" How would the talisman work if she stayed at home? She advised, "How would you manage the journey back and forth, over ten miles? Could it be because you overexerted yourself doing chores at home? I heard from mom that your family has been working on knitting, and your brother-in-law even bought a new bicycle on credit. I mean, with all the debts your family has outside, why buy a bicycle now?"

In her previous life, the Qin family had never been involved in weaving.

Nor had they ever bought a bicycle.

Was it because of this life’s Li Qiao that things had changed?

A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Li Qiao’s lips. Li Jinhua seemed to be quite concerned about her headache.

This was against reason.

That talisman must have been placed by Li Jinhua, right?

She was curious to see what the talisman was supposed to do.

She softly said, "I didn’t do anything at home."

Old Mrs. Qin didn’t need to weave; everything was well-prepared for her, and she only needed to focus on her studies.

The pleasant smell of food wafted to her nose, and Li Qiao pulled out some spicy pickled radish, taking some to add to her pancake.