After Shen Ziming was publicly exposed for his relationship with Su Ranyue, he gritted his teeth and agreed to repay the money before slinking away in humiliation.
Su Ranyue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chased after him.
The moment they stepped out of the Cui family courtyard, Shen Ziming violently shook off her hand, fury in his voice.
“Su Ranyue, what exactly did you do?”
Su Ranyue’s eyes instantly reddened, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Brother Shen, I only did it for our future home… I’m sorry, it was my fault. I won’t do this again.”
“Cui Qingshu’s surname is Cui. Everything in the Cui family naturally belongs to her. I can’t compete with her anymore. I won’t fight over it again. I’ll return everything to her…”
She cried in a restrained, pitiful way that tugged at the heart.
Shen Ziming’s brows twitched. Thinking about the Cui family’s enormous wealth, his hand slowly settled onto her shoulder and his tone softened.
“I misunderstood you. I’ll definitely marry you. The only person I love is you.”
Buried in his arms, a calculating smile flashed through Su Ranyue’s eyes.
She knew it. Shen Ziming coveted the Cui family’s fortune too.
After all, who in this world didn’t love money?
Pretending it was accidental, she mentioned that the dowry Cui Yuanwei had secretly prepared for her was far more generous than the one prepared for Cui Qingshu.
Feeling his grip on her shoulder tighten instantly, Su Ranyue’s lips curved upward slightly.
Just wait, Cui Qingshu.
Aren’t you indifferent to Shen Ziming?
Once Father dies and Shen Ziming marries me, I’d like to see whether you can still remain so lofty and calm.
At the thought of Cui Qingshu someday being dragged through the streets and publicly denounced as the daughter of a capitalist, Su Ranyue nearly laughed aloud.
Naturally, Cui Qingshu had no idea what Su Ranyue was thinking at that moment.
And even if she did know, she would only find it ridiculous.
Because Su Ranyue would never get what she wanted in this lifetime.
After seeing Shen Ziming off, Su Ranyue returned to the house, only to be greeted by Cui Yuanwei’s impatient face.
“What took you so long? Hurry up and cook.”
Aunt Wang had been kindly “given leave” by Su Ranyue herself, so cooking duties naturally landed squarely on her shoulders.
Su Ranyue looked pitifully toward Cui Qingshu and said sweetly,
“Big sister, come help me. We sisters can chat while we work.”
Cui Qingshu glanced sideways at her.
What exactly was there for them to talk about?
Before she could answer, a gentle male voice spoke first.
“Auntie hasn’t seen Qingshu in a long time and wants to spend more time talking with her. How about I help instead?”
“No, no, how could we let an honored guest do such work?”
Cui Yuanwei hurriedly piled on a flattering smile as he refused. But the moment he turned toward Su Ranyue, his expression darkened and his tone became stern.
“Why are you still standing there? Go!”
Su Ranyue understood her father’s meaning instantly—the Wen family was extremely important to him and absolutely could not be offended.
Filled with unwillingness, she could only turn and head toward the outer kitchen.
Washing vegetables, trimming them, chopping, tending the fire—she had to do everything herself, leaving her utterly disheveled.
The noon sun blazed mercilessly overhead. Just standing beside the stove made sweat pour down endlessly. In no time, her clothes were soaked through, and even she could smell the sweat clinging to her body.
In miserable contrast, out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the room inside—
Cui Qingshu sat beside the electric fan, smiling lightly at Wen Jingci, her brows relaxed, looking comfortable and happy.
Su Ranyue lowered her head expressionlessly. Hidden from view, her nails dug deep into her palms until blood seeped out, yet she felt no pain at all.
At the dining table, Cui Yuanwei fawned excessively over the Wen family, practically groveling.
Madam Wen, however, remained distant and polite the entire time, only continuously placing food into Lin Weihua’s bowl, lamenting how thin she had become and repeatedly implying that Cui Yuanwei had failed to take proper care of her.
The smile on Cui Yuanwei’s face grew increasingly stiff, but he could only endure it silently.
As for Su Ranyue, she was ignored from beginning to end.
By the end of the meal, cold sweat covered Cui Yuanwei’s forehead.
After dinner, Su Ranyue quietly cleaned up the dishes.
Cui Yuanwei escorted Madam Wen and Wen Jingci to the gate, only to be casually dismissed after a few polite words from Madam Wen.
Wen Jingci deliberately slowed his pace, falling behind so he could speak with Cui Qingshu alone.
“Auntie finally agreed to come back. You…”
He paused. Knowing Qingshu had always been distant from her mother and fearing she might not like hearing this, he sighed softly before continuing seriously,
“Auntie truly loves you very much.”
Far more than that hypocritical and selfish Cui Yuanwei.
Cui Qingshu looked at him and instantly understood the unspoken words beneath his meaning.
Toward someone who sincerely cared for her, she naturally put away her sharp edges.
“I know. Thank you, Brother Jingci.”
Joy instantly lit up Wen Jingci’s eyes, and he hurriedly asked,
“You really are going to break off the engagement with Shen Ziming?”
Cui Qingshu gave a soft hum of agreement, her tone calm.
“Once he spits back out everything he swallowed over the years, we’ll break off the engagement.”
But the light in Wen Jingci’s eyes slowly dimmed instead.
He had heard vaguely about how much Auntie had given Shen Ziming over the years. With Shen Ziming’s meager savings, how could he possibly repay it all?
Bitterness rose in Wen Jingci’s heart.
So she still couldn’t let him go after all.
What was so good about Shen Ziming?
The only thing he had going for him was his identity as a soldier.
At that thought, Wen Jingci decided he wanted to fight for himself just once.
“Qingshu… there’s something I want to tell you.”
Madam Wen and Lin Weihua had already walked far ahead. Only the two of them remained at the gate.
Wen Jingci looked at the girl standing close before him. Her eyes were clear and transparent, as if one glance could see directly into a person’s heart.
This was the girl he had cherished secretly since his youth.
Spoiled in the most lovable way. Countless times he had thought to himself—if only Qingshu could marry him someday.
Unfortunately, in the past, her eyes had only ever held someone else. She had only ever treated him as an older brother.
The feelings and longing he had buried for years surged violently upward, almost spilling out.
But when he met those calm, clean eyes of hers, those turbulent emotions seemed to slam against a suddenly closed gate and were forcibly swallowed back down.
Cui Qingshu looked at him with an open, natural smile—the kind one gave a childhood neighbor and older brother.
“Brother Jingci, what did you want to tell me?”
She still didn’t love him.
A suffocating ache spread through Wen Jingci’s chest. Yet unwillingness still lingered, and he gritted his teeth before finally speaking.
“Qingshu… we grew up together. I’ve liked you since we were children… marry me.”
He held his breath nervously, waiting for judgment.
But Cui Qingshu felt no ripples in her heart.
She knew clearly that this affection belonged to the original owner of the body.
She only felt regret on the original girl’s behalf—if she had chosen Wen Jingci back then, no matter what life in Hong Kong might have been like later, it could never have been worse than being exiled to the countryside.
But she could not accept these feelings in the original owner’s place.
“Brother Wen, in my heart, you’ve always been the dearest older brother to me.”
The light in Wen Jingci’s eyes dimmed completely.
“What exactly do I lack compared to him?”
He was never arrogant, yet he firmly believed he was a hundred times better than Shen Ziming.
“Brother Wen, you’re very good,” Cui Qingshu said sincerely. “We grew up together. To me, you’re the most important older brother.”
“Love can fight and quarrel. People drift apart. They can even become enemies. But the bond between childhood sweethearts like us will never change.”
“We practically grew up wearing split pants together.”
Wen Jingci found no comfort in her words at all. Instead, they stabbed painfully into his heart.
Thinking about his family’s plans, and about her uncertain engagement with Shen Ziming, he lowered his voice and spoke through gritted teeth.
“Do you know that staying in the mainland—”
“Sister, what are you two talking about?”
Su Ranyue suddenly emerged from the doorway, staring vigilantly at the pair standing so close together.
With an outsider present, Wen Jingci could only force the unfinished words back down his throat.
After he left, Su Ranyue casually probed,
“Sister, what was Brother Wen talking to you about just now?”
“Something about the mainland and Hong Kong? I didn’t hear clearly.”
Cui Qingshu answered casually, not thinking much of it.
But Su Ranyue’s expression changed instantly.
He actually wanted to take Cui Qingshu away?
Absolutely not.