Father Su stood up with the flow of the conversation. In his heart, he thought, "If he gets caught, so what." That little punk dared to trick his daughter—he deserved it. But what he said aloud was, "I heard some of it too. People described it in detail, and more than one person saw it. Dan isn't exactly wrong about him. What do you want me to do?"
It was just Mike's bad luck. The threshing field was at the east end of the back street village, and the educated youth spot was at the west end of the front street village, forming a diagonal across the village. For Mike to get back to the educated youth spot from the threshing field, he had to walk across most of the village.
People in the countryside wake up early. Even though he tried to be careful, he still got spotted.
And with Widow Wang having a grudge against Mike, once she opened her mouth and added fuel to the fire, Mike had just stepped back into the youth spot, and almost the entire village already knew about it.
With such "solid evidence," how was he supposed to explain it away? Not to mention, Father Su didn't want to help Mike cover it up. If it weren't for the fact that he was the village head, just based on Mike daring to deceive his daughter, he'd have taken the chance to step on him while he was down.
Village Committee Zhang could clearly see that Father Su had no intention of helping.
And rightly so. That Mike had just tricked his daughter, caused her to fall into the water and nearly die. If it were him, he wouldn't help either. Not pushing him further into the hole was already being kind, let alone trying to clear his name.
Still, he had to say what needed to be said.
"Before I came here, Yara, the educated youth, came to our brigade office. Village Vice leader Zhao was there too. She said Mike was wrongly accused. Last night, someone hit him over the head, knocked him out, and even stole his clothes."
Village Vice leader Zhao was the vice village head. Back then, he and Father Su both competed for the head position, but he lost. Ever since then, he held a grudge.
On the surface, he showed respect to Father Su, but in reality, he was always watching him closely, waiting to catch a mistake and take him down.
If Father Su really ignored Mike's situation, Village Vice leader Zhao would likely use it to stir up trouble.
More importantly, "Village Vice leader Zhao and I went to check. Mike really does have injuries on his body." That meant Yara wasn't lying.
He leaned close to Father Su and whispered, "I know you're upset, but we have to be careful with Mike's case."
Whether Mike had committed "hooligan behavior" or had really been mugged, it still showed that something was wrong with their brigade's environment. He was afraid Village Vice leader Zhao would latch onto this and use it to take down Father Su.
He truly respected Father Su. The man always worked for the people and never put himself first. Village Vice leader Zhao wasn't the same.
Over the years, if he and Father Su hadn't kept things tightly controlled, Village Vice leader Zhao would've already used his position to benefit his own family.
Village Committee Zhang's words were clearly heard by Cohen and Chase. Cohen felt a bit regretful. He tugged on Chase's sleeve and whispered, "Third brother, do you think we messed things up even though we meant well?"
They were the ones who hit Mike last night. If they hadn't left evidence on him, Mike probably wouldn't even have a chance to clear his name now.
Callan shook his head. "Don't overthink it. You know what Dan is like. Even if Mike has 'evidence,' with Dan's temper, he might not let him go."
These days, "hooligan behavior" was considered a serious crime. Mike had been seen walking around the village completely naked. Even if he hadn't done anything wrong with a woman, just that alone could land him in jail.
And let's not forget, the commune still had a group of "Red Little Soldiers."
What about them? Well, they were a mixed bunch. Some really wanted justice, but many just liked finding fault with others.
Because of their red armbands, a lot of people were scared of them. That power also boosted their egos.
Among them were those who acted fairly, and others who made things up just to satisfy their own desires.
People were selfish. Dan might be upright and usually didn't trouble the common folk, but unfortunately, the other person was Mike.
Mike once said bad things about Dan and his mother, and Dan overheard him. Because of this, they even had a fight. Mike not only refused to admit it but also turned the tables and accused Dan of being violent and hitting him for no reason.
Mike was good at pretending, and Dan wasn't good with words, so in the end, Dan was blamed.
Now, Mike had fallen into Dan's hands, and with Dan's temper, he definitely wouldn't let Mike go easily.
Thinking about this, he started to admire the person who set up Mike. It was a smart move. That person might have calculated everything perfectly.
If Hailee knew that her third brother thought so highly of her, she would definitely feel a little shy. Back then, she only thought about Widow Wang and forgot about Dan. Now that Mike ended up like this, it could only be said that it was an accidental success and that bad people got what they deserved.
Village Committee Zhang said a lot, and Father Su thought for a while and said, "Alright, I'll go with you and have a look."
Mike was from their Chun Geng Brigade. Now that something happened to him, as the team leader, Father Su had the responsibility to be there.
Father Su didn't eat his meal and followed Village Committee Zhang out. The rest of the Su Family looked at each other. Cohen suddenly picked up his bowl of porridge and gulped it down quickly. He wiped his mouth and said, "Mom, you all eat. I'll go check things out."
Callan immediately stood up too. "I'm going as well. Second Brother has no sense. I'll watch over him so he doesn't get used by others."
Hailee stood up instinctively. She wanted to see what was going on too.
Mother Li snapped, "Hailee, where do you think you're going? Did you forget you promised your grandpa to go into the mountains with him? Your grandpa loves you the most. He's old and his legs aren't strong. Are you going to ignore your grandpa just because of Mike?"
It was the first time Mother Li had spoken to Hailee in that tone. She was truly scared. She was afraid her daughter would lose her mind and plead for Mike in front of everyone to get him out of trouble.
Mother Li couldn't read or understand big ideas, but she knew that the village committee wasn't united. Especially that scumbag, Village Vice Leader Zhao. Right now, Old Su was the team leader, so Village Vice Leader Zhao didn't dare do anything to them. But if Old Su made a mistake and Village Vice Leader Zhao caught him, he would definitely not let him go.
If Old Su lost his position, what would happen to her daughter?
At the end of the day, Mother Li was worried about her daughter. It wasn't her fault—her daughter was just too pretty.
Hailee was stunned by the harsh tone. When she saw the tears in Mother Li's eyes, she finally realized her mother was afraid she'd do something foolish to defend Mike.
Her feelings were complicated.
After thinking for a moment, she decided it was time for the family to see that she had changed.
Hailee looked seriously at Mother Li. "Mom, from the moment I jumped into the river, the Hailee who was obsessed with Mike died. Mike doesn't deserve someone as good as her. Now, it's me who doesn't want him."
Yes, the love-struck Hailee had drowned. The one standing here now was Hailee the survivor, the one hardened by the end of the world. Mike didn't deserve someone who gave everything for him, and he definitely didn't deserve her.
Acting like the old Hailee might be fun for a while, but to live as her forever? Impossible.
Saying this clearly would help prepare them when she slowly began showing her real self.
"Mom, I jumped into the river because of Mike, and Hailee died because of him. Today, I just want to see how Mike ends up. That's all."
Mike, that guy who played with a girl's feelings and caused a death, deserved whatever was coming to him.