The Fourth Blood Orange

August 12th, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month—a day deemed unsuitable for weddings or business openings.

That day, Liao Xue was to be married.

In the height of summer, dawn came early. Liao Xue hadn't slept all night. At 5:30, a knock came at the front door, and a stream of people entered her room, smiling, carrying tools, waking the bride-to-be.

Dark circles shadowed Liao Xue's eyes, and a lively makeup artist teased, "The bride was so nervous she couldn't sleep all night, huh?"

Nervous, indeed. The thought that in two hours she'd meet Shen Qiancheng at the bus stop at the foot of the mountain and then, like an elopement, go to Shen Qiancheng's home, made her shoulders tremble with excitement.

By seven, Liao Xue's makeup was nearly done. Mother Liao bustled about, preparing tea and wedding candies for the staff. It was Liao Xue's wedding, but Mother Liao sang and danced as if it were her own. Yet everyone present was genuinely happy.

At eight, a string of firecrackers hanging at the Liao family's door was lit, crackling loudly, the lingering gunpowder smoke filling the small space with festive joy.

After the firecrackers faded, the groom was helped through the door. Everyone smiled, sincerely and from the heart.

Until a scream rang out. Mother Liao rushed out in a panic, shouting, "Liao Xue is gone!"

On such a happy day, the bride had vanished. The guests' faces changed in an instant, joy replaced by terror.

The man helping the groom had been sent by the groom's family to keep watch. With the bride missing, he had to lead the search.

"Have you searched the whole house?" he asked.

"I've looked everywhere, even the bathroom," Mother Liao said frantically. "She's just gone."

The man remained calm. "How long has she been missing?"

Mother Liao thought a moment. "About five minutes. I went to get the wedding candies, and when I turned around, she was gone."

"Five minutes. She can't have gone far. Split up and search," he ordered.

With that command, everyone found their bearings and scattered to search in different directions.

The groom saw Liao Feiyu's candy and shouted, "I want it! I want it! I want it!"

Liao Feiyu eyed the groom. This man had come to their house a few times before—why was he here again today?

Stingy Liao Feiyu would never share his snacks. Seeing how dim-witted the groom looked, he spat at him, made a face, and said, "You want it? Ha! I've got it, but I won't give it to you. Nya nya nya!"

The groom, pampered and spoiled at home, had no one to help him get the candy now that everyone had gone to search. Tears welled in his eyes, and he burst out crying.

Mother Liao, already irritated by Liao Xue's disappearance, saw Liao Feiyu causing more trouble and grabbed him to spank him.

Thirty-five thousand yuan in hand had flown away—the cooked duck had escaped.

Furious, Mother Liao forgot that Liao Feiyu was her precious darling. She hit him without restraint, and Liao Feiyu howled like a ghost.

Terrified, Liao Feiyu sobbed, "My sister gave it to me! I'm not giving it to him!"

Liao Xue? Mother Liao stopped and grabbed Liao Feiyu by the collar. "You saw your sister?"

Liao Feiyu cried, snot and tears mingling. Relieved that the beating had stopped, he spilled everything like beans from a sack: "She gave me candy and told me not to tell anyone it was from her."

Mother Liao gripped his arm tightly, her face twisted. "When did she give it to you? What did she give you candy for?"

Liao Feiyu sobbed, hiccuping. "She said she wanted to play hide-and-seek and I couldn't tell anyone. She said she was hiding by the big tree at the village entrance. She said if I didn't tell, I was a good kid, and she'd reward me with candy."

By the big tree at the village entrance? And that Shen always left too? Those two...

Mother Liao's slow mind suddenly had a flash of insight.

That Shen had treated Liao Xue so well—hiring her as an assistant, curing her leg, standing up for her...

Then Liao Xue suddenly came back saying Shen was a terrible person...

Oh no. She'd given Liao Xue her ID card.

Mother Liao put it all together and realized they were doomed.

How had those two little girls tricked her like this?!

With a direction in mind, Mother Liao led everyone toward the village entrance. As long as Liao Xue and that Shen hadn't met yet and hadn't left, there was still a chance to turn things around.

The big tree at the village entrance stood alone, never having imagined that the whole village would gather at its base, searching for someone named Liao Xue.

The Village Chief, bewildered, scratched his head as he watched everyone searching for Liao Xue. "What Shen and Liao Xue? Shen left early this morning, said she was catching a plane. I took her to the foot of the mountain. What time? Around 3 a.m., before dawn... No car? Her friend picked her up, in a car..."

Liao Feiyu was dragged out again, stammering, "That's really what she said! Really!"

The groom's caretaker snorted coldly. "Then she must have gone to the bus stop at the foot of the mountain. She can't have gotten far. Let's drive and find her."

The whole village's tricycles were mobilized. In a place with so few gossip topics, they'd been chewed over and over. Now that a bride from the Liao family had fled her wedding, everyone swarmed like flies, eager to get the first-hand story, embellish it, and spread it as if it were something glorious.

Time rewound to 3 a.m. Summer nights were short, but it was still dark. A few lonely stars hung in the sky, the brightest called the Morning Star.

Shen Qiancheng had arrived with a backpack, and she left with only a backpack, taking nothing but her memories.

The only ones seeing her off were the Village Chief and his wife, standing at their door. The Village Chief's Wife, though she hadn't liked Shen Qiancheng, had endured her bad temper for two whole months and had developed some affection. At that moment, she felt a bit melancholy.

Shen Qiancheng took a deep breath and said, "You two weren't the most hospitable, but I won't hold a grudge."

For Shen Qiancheng not to hold a grudge was the greatest magnanimity she could offer.

The Village Chief's Wife's melancholy vanished. She pushed the Village Chief toward his tricycle and urged, "Hurry up, take her away! Quick, get her out of here!"

The Village Chief started the vehicle and, in the silence of the empty countryside, drove Shen Qiancheng away.

The winding path flowed behind them like a small stream. Shen Qiancheng thought of that tiny, unremarkable evening primrose.

Beyond the window stretched vast cornfields, lush and green.

Shen Qiancheng rested her arm on the window sill. The early morning wind blew cool. She glanced one last time at the village that looked almost blue in the dim light, then closed the window and curled up in the passenger seat.

"Having President Su as my driver—what an honor," she said.

Shen Qiancheng turned her head to look at Su Tongqin, whose sharp, defined features were illuminated. Though her words spoke of honor, her expression held a hint of provocation.

Su Tongqin focused on driving; the road was terrible, and she didn't even spare Shen Qiancheng a glance.

"Even this harsh life hasn't cured your bad habits? You're so nice to your little rabbit, but with me, you're a firecracker?"

They came to a crossroads. Su Tongqin expertly turned the wheel, and the road ahead opened up.

Shen Qiancheng snorted. "What rabbit?"

Su Tongqin glanced at her, a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "Aren't you going to take that little rabbit back? My car's not too small. Why sneak off in the middle of the night?"

Su Tongqin had secretly investigated Liao Xue—a high school dropout in her sophomore year. She must have some skill to have Shen Qiancheng so worked up.

Su Tongqin speculated what Shen Qiancheng would say. How would Miss Shen, who prided herself on having no morals as her greatest virtue, respond?

Just playing around? A momentary fancy?

Su Tongqin passed another crossroads before hearing Shen Qiancheng's answer.

"She's the real Shen Qiancheng."

The car screeched to a halt.

Su Tongqin's body jolted violently with the sudden stop. Her perpetually icy face cracked for a moment.

"What do you mean?" she demanded.

Shen Qiancheng raised her eyes to meet Su Tongqin's. Her amber pupils reflected Su Tongqin's eyes—eyes, mouth, cheekbones... every micro-expression proved Shen Qiancheng wasn't lying.

Shen Qiancheng said flatly, "Exactly what you think."

Shen Qiancheng wasn't the Miss Shen family. Her rival of over a decade wasn't even a Shen family member!!!

Su Tongqin took a deep breath, grabbed Shen Qiancheng by the collar, brought her chiseled face close, and squinted. "So, you treated her well with ulterior motives?"

"Ridiculous," Shen Qiancheng said. "Who have I ever treated well? Would I be nice to a stranger for no reason?"

Su Tongqin understood the madness in Shen Qiancheng's eyes all too well—she'd fallen for it countless times.

Once the shock subsided, Su Tongqin remembered the key issue. "But why tell me? I'm not someone who can keep secrets for a rival."

"No need to keep it a secret," Shen Qiancheng said, patting Su Tongqin's arm to signal her to let go of her uniform collar. She tilted her head. "Those who need to know already know. Why else would I be running?"

Su Tongqin calmed down. So Shen Qiancheng had known she wasn't the Shen family heiress even before fleeing the marriage, which is why she'd run. And Liao Xue was the real heiress. Shen Qiancheng, a fake, had traveled far to be near the real one...

Su Tongqin gathered her composure and reverted to her usual calm, composed self as the Miss Su family.

She released her grip, restarted the car, and executed a perfect drift, which helped her regain her logical footing.

"Then why not take her back to the Shen family and have her marry my bastard brother Su Zeye in your place? When did Shen Qiancheng become so noble?" Su Tongqin asked.

Shen Qiancheng, expression unchanged, looked ahead and said softly, "She likes me."

Su Tongqin nearly slammed the brakes again. She let out a long breath. "You're so narcissistic. Do you expect men and women alike to fall for you? Good thing I hate you, or you'd be spreading rumors that I like you..."

Shen Qiancheng ignored her sarcasm and added, "She secretly kissed me while I was asleep. Only a girl with a budding heart would do that, wouldn't you say?"

Su Tongqin dismissed it. "I've kissed women too. That doesn't mean anything. Besides, if she really liked you, would she agree to marry a man? And if she really liked you, would you give up the chance to have someone devoted to you, not to toy with and torment her? You're not the Shen Qiancheng I know."

Shen Qiancheng emphasized, "That's why she's Shen Qiancheng, and I should be Liao Xue."

"Enough," Su Tongqin said, flipping her short hair to reveal the blue earring on her earlobe. "We're both ruthless people. Don't try to be sentimental with me. If she likes you, this first love is the most devoted. Tell her to marry Su Zeye, and she'd jump into the fire without hesitation."

Shen Qiancheng's melancholic expression darkened at Su Tongqin's words, her foul mood freezing the entire car.

"Don't ask more questions. I can't guarantee what I'll do with what I have in my hands."

Su Tongqin deliberately turned to face Shen Qiancheng, leaned in, and flipped her off. How had Shen Qiancheng gotten her hands on her secrets? She'd have to investigate thoroughly when she got back.

"Now that's the Shen Qiancheng I know," Su Tongqin said sourly. "Still so annoying. That fool you asked me to handle—I've dealt with him. I need a word from Miss Shen."