Chapter 54
Yue ger lowered his eyes and silently glanced around, noticing that everyone was staring at him with suspicion.
His fingers, hidden in his long sleeves, suddenly clenched, his knuckles turning white as if he were enduring something unbearable - yet his face showed no sign of it.
“A-Mu, what do you mean by that?” he asked, feigning ignorance.
Mu ger, furious, retorted, “Stop pretending! Isn’t this needle meant to harm A-Jin?!”
He pointed accusingly at the bone needle on the floor.
Yue ger glanced down at the needle for a moment before suddenly bending to pick it up. He raised it toward Mu ger.
Mu ger shielded Wang Jin and took a step back, his expression growing even more wary.
Yue ger pulled the needle back toward himself, his eyes welling up like a spring, his voice trembling with a sob.
“Are you saying… I deliberately placed this needle on the cushion?”
His lips quivered, making his voice unsteady. Paired with his tearful, aggrieved expression, he truly looked as if he had suffered great injustice, softening the hearts of those present.
Some of the ger couldn’t help but speak up for Yue ger.
“Mu ger… isn’t this just a misunderstanding? Yue ger would never do such a thing… Why would he harm Jin ger?”
“That’s right! Yue ger has always been so kind to Jin ger, even inviting him over as a guest. How could he do this?”
Yue ger had won everyone’s favor by sending meat and fruits during his wedding days and promising fresh meat for them to take home later.
Earlier, when Mu ger had angrily questioned him, they might have doubted Yue ger a little. But now, with Yue ger putting on such an innocent act, their hearts immediately swayed in his favor.
Mu ger, furious, demanded, “Then how do you explain this needle?!”
“Well…” The crowd fell silent.
At just the right moment, Yue ger let out a sob - soft, delicate, and brimming with grievance, tugging at everyone’s heartstrings.
He lifted his tear-streaked face, looking both disheveled and pitiful.
The crowd’s hearts ached as they watched him take a deep breath, steadying himself before speaking firmly, “I stayed up late last night sewing this cushion. I worked until dawn and was so tired that I forgot to remove the needle… That’s why it was left there…”
“I never meant to harm Jin ger…” Yue ger said, his nose reddening as tears fell like a running faucet.
Mu ger and Wang Jin knew it was just an excuse, but they had no way to refute it since no one had seen him do it intentionally.
For a moment, the two were speechless.
Seeing this, the crowd leaned even more toward Yue ger’s side. As Yue ger sobbed softly, noticing their silence, he opened his mouth and poured blame onto them instead.
“A-Jin and A-Mu must still hold a grudge against me… The first thing they thought was that I wanted to harm someone… But how could I? I only wanted to be good to A-Jin…”
His crying grew louder, the sound grating on Wang Jin’s nerves.
Yue ger continued, “Does A-Jin still resent me? Even after I reached out, even after I sewed that cushion all night for him…”
His nose and eyes were red from crying, his breath hitching as if he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.
Each accusation struck Wang Jin like a hammer, painting him as an ungrateful wretch who had scorned Yue ger’s sincere efforts.
Wang Jin stared at Yue ger, dumbfounded. The man’s acting skills rivaled those of the finest performers from his past life.
If Yue ger weren’t targeting him, Wang Jin might have applauded and settled in to enjoy the show.
Mu ger stepped forward, about to speak, but Wang Jin quickly grabbed his arm and shook his head.
This level of manipulation reminded Wang Jin of one of his father’s concubines in his previous life.
That woman had also been a master of playing the victim, often putting on a pitiful act in front of his father while secretly accusing Wang Jin and his mother.
Whenever Wang Jin confronted her, he always lost. Even when she won, she would still act wronged in front of his father, making him the villain.
Those had been miserable days—until his mother taught him that dealing with such people required strategy, not brute force.
Remembering his mother’s methods, Wang Jin pressed his lips together, then discreetly pinched his own thigh hard.
Even though he was prepared, the sharp pain still made his eyes water.
It hurt. It really, really hurt!
Blinking back tears, Wang Jin softened his voice and said, “A-Mu was just worried about me.”
The sudden words from the previously silent party involved, spoken in a soft, tearful voice, carried even more grievance than Yue ger’s act.
The crowd turned to Wang Jin and saw his eyes brimming with unshed tears, clinging to his long lashes like morning dew on grass - trembling, fragile, tugging at their hearts.
Mu ger was stunned, but Wang Jin continued, “Back when I wasn’t in my right mind, people like Ju ger would often bully me. Leaving needles on chairs for me to sit on was common. A-Mu got used to checking because of that… and this time, he actually found a needle. Since it happened so often before, of course his first thought was…”
Wang Jin trailed off, but everyone understood.
Because of past experiences, Mu ger had assumed Yue ger was acting maliciously, just like Ju ger and the others.
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