Tong Zhaodi nodded immediately. She knew that if she refused, then her mother and brother would only beat her up even more harshly. With the two of them facing her, Tong Zhaodi knew better than anyone that she could not beat them up. So even though she felt that what they had done was wrong, she could not go against them.

Tong Hao looked at Tong Zhaodi with a hint of suspicion in his eyes. He did not believe that she would keep her mouth shut and turned to look at his mother. "Mom, should we really let her go? What if she makes a mess and tells the truth to Han Ruochen? I really like her; if I cannot marry her, then I won’t marry anyone else!"

Tong Hao had set his eyes on Han Ruochen ever since he saw her bringing that shining motorboat. She was the only one who had a motorboat in the entire village. Just thinking about how he would be able to become the owner of a motorboat, Tong Hao felt like he could wake up smiling from his dream as well. Since he had already set his mind on her, how could he let her go?

As soon as Mother Tong heard her son’s words, she turned anxious. She raised her hand and smacked Tong Zhaodi hard. "You hear that? You better not cause trouble for your brother, or else I will kill you!" When Mother Tong uttered those words, her eyes flashed maliciously.

Seeing her mother like this, Tong Zhaodi trembled in fright. She looked at the woman in front of her and felt as if she was facing her greatest enemy. The way her mother looked at her was as if she was really going to kill her if she dared to utter anything.

Realising that she was in danger, Tong Zhaodi agreed at once. "I ...I will not say anything."

Only when Mother Tong saw Tong Zhaodi lower her head obediently did she hum in satisfaction. She then turned to look at her son and said to him comfortingly, "Don’t worry, Haohao. Your sister is such a good girl; how can she say anything to Han Ruochen? Don’t think too much; she will keep her mouth shut."

Tong Zhaodi was such a coward. Since she was a child, this girl had never dared to cause trouble for her. If she dared to say ’east’, then this woman would never dare to go west. So she was not worried at all. Since her daughter had promised that she would not tell anything to Han Ruochen, she wouldn’t dare to.

Only then did Tong Hao let go of Tong Zhaodi. "You better do what you have promised, or else I will never be done with you!"

Tong Zhaodi hurried out of the house. When she saw Han Ruochen standing outside her house looking safe and sound, she heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Han Ruochen was not entangled by her mother and brother or else she would be ruined for sure.

She clutched the small shore in her hands and then walked over to where Han Ruochen was standing.

"Sister Ruochen."

Han Ruochen nodded when she heard Tong Zhaodi’s call. However, when she turned to look at the woman, she could not hide the complex emotions in her eyes. "Zhaodi, I will send my second uncle to call you from now on. Follow him to the shore, alright?"

Though Han Ruochen did not know what Tong Hao had planned, she, who had been schemed against all her life, knew that there was something wrong with Tong Hao. Since she could not fight back against that man, she might as well avoid him!

She knew that Tong Hao was not a good person. He was the only one in the Tong family who was given the chance to study till the middleschool, but not only was he not grateful for it, but he also learned all kinds of bad things. He not only became a thug in the school, but he also made a girlfriend in the school and slept with her.

She did not know what that man did in the end, but somehow he managed to get away from the danger, and it was the little girl who was unlucky enough to fall for his lies who had to bear the brunt of the situation. If Han Ruochen was not wrong, that girl jumped into the sea after the rumours became too harsh on her, and her body was never recovered.

And yet Tong Hao never showed even an ounce of guilt when he heard of the death of that girl; if anything, he even pretended to be unaware of who that little girl was and even mocked her along with the villagers for being shameless.

A man who could turn a blind eye to the very woman whom he promised to treat well, Han Ruochen could never trust him.

When Tong Zhaodi heard Han Ruochen’s response, she knew that Han Ruochen seemed to have understood that there was something amiss with her brother’s intentions and heaved a sigh of relief. At least she did not have to worry about Han Ruochen being schemed against by her brother. Though her brother was a liar and a bad person, he was a good-looking man, and many women were fooled by his appearance.

"Let’s go." Han Ruochen had no intention of discussing what happened and took her second uncle and Tong Zhaodi to the shore.

The three of them walked toward the mudflat that appeared after the recent high tide. When Second Uncle Han saw that Han Ruochen was heading toward the mudflat where most of the places were already dug up, he could not help but remind Han Ruochen. "Chenchen, this mudflat... I am afraid that you will not be able to catch anything here. The villagers had already dug this place out in the morning after the high tide receded. You can see it clearly; look at how many holes have been dug up in this mudflat."

Han Cheng felt that his niece was wasting her time by digging in the mudflat that had already been scavenged by the villagers.

However, to his surprise, Han Ruochen simply smiled and shook her head. "Don’t worry, second uncle. Just follow me. Today, I will teach you how to make use of others as a stepping step."