“Do you know me?” Qin Yan asked cautiously, his cold eyes fixed on the young woman in front of him. Her face was slightly flushed, her almond-shaped eyes bright and expressive, lips red and teeth white, a few strands of hair brushing her face. She looked apologetic, and her gaze, tinged with awkwardness and nervousness, didn’t seem like that of someone seeing a stranger.
She was very pretty—fair-skinned, delicate features, large expressive eyes that seemed to speak. If he had met her before, he surely wouldn’t have forgotten. But as far as he could remember, he had never seen her before. This was his first time at Su Jiawan, and the first time seeing this young woman.
And yet, without warning, she had tried to hit someone with a stone—almost making him lose control. This girl really…
“I… I don’t know you!” Su Tian blurted out, almost revealing herself. In her past life she’d met him, but this time she didn’t. She smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, I mistook you for someone else. Are you okay? Do you want to go to the clinic? I’ll pay for the medical expenses.”
Qin Yan rubbed his swollen forehead, wincing slightly, but her strength wasn’t enough to cause serious harm.
“No need,” Qin Yan said coldly. It was just a small injury, not worth the trouble of going to the clinic. Su Tian, seeing that his head was only slightly bruised and knowing he disliked hassle, didn’t insist.
Still worried, she added: “Then when you get home, boil an egg and roll it on the swollen area to reduce the swelling and bruising.”
Qin Yan found her noisy, glanced at her expressionlessly, and walked off. Su Tian felt a little embarrassed but didn’t mind being ignored. She thought of the person she was supposed to face soon and called out for help: “Com… comrade, could you help me with something?”
Qin Yan paused but, turning his back to her, refused: “No.”
“…,” Su Tian thought. As expected, he was cold, just like in her past life—difficult to deal with. Fine, she wouldn’t push it. She picked up the stone and looked at a small puddle nearby, the urine smell was unbearable. Only then did she realize how embarrassing her earlier action had been—she had thrown a stone at someone while they were relieving themselves. She felt utterly speechless.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaojun had been waiting in the reeds for quite a while. He had broken off many reeds nearby and, just when he thought he had been stood up and was about to go back to Su Jiawan, he saw Su Tian approaching.
Chen Xiaojun’s face lit up with a sly smile. “Why is it you? Where’s your cousin?”
“She’s getting married today. I’m here to give you a message: part ways amicably,” Su Tian said seriously, as if dutifully delivering a message. Then she turned to leave.
Chen Xiaojun wasn’t about to let her go. He had been waiting for two hours! Blocking her way, he put on the act of a heartbroken man: “Why didn’t Lili choose me? Is that Guo Zhiwei so great? How am I any worse than him?”
Su Tian rolled her eyes. “Maybe it’s because there’s no mole on your nose!”
“…,” Chen Xiaojun was taken aback. Didn’t Su Lili say she was naive and easy to fool? But Su Tian didn’t look like she could be easily tricked.
Undeterred, he continued to play the victim: “I know! She must like the city, thinks marrying into the city means she can eat rationed grain, she looks down on a rural boy like me. She only cares about wealth!”
Su Tian was speechless. So you admit you’re just a country boy and inferior to city folks, and now you blame her for being materialistic? Clever excuse.
“Speak. What do you want? I’m waiting to get back and eat wedding candy. No time for your nonsense,” Su Tian said impatiently, not wanting to hear his act of being a rejected victim.
Chen Xiaojun, seeing how blunt she was, could no longer continue the act. He grabbed a water bottle and drank deeply, the strong smell of alcohol rising. “Lili doesn’t want me anymore. What’s the point of living? Might as well drink myself to death.”
Su Tian watched him take swigs, pretending to drown his sorrows, and refused the bottle: “Drink it yourself. I’m leaving.”
“No… don’t go! I like you so much! I said I’d come to your house to propose at the end of the year, how could you marry someone else, Lili? How could you do this to me?”
Drunk and desperate, Chen Xiaojun lunged at Su Tian. At this time, the village was busy with Su Lili’s wedding, so no one was around in the reeds. Even if he tried to assault her, he could later claim he was drunk, slap himself to apologize, and then marry her responsibly. That would be perfect! This thought made his blood boil.
Suddenly, a scream rang out in the reeds. A few small birds scattered in panic.
Su Tian struck Chen Xiaojun on the head with a stone, making him bleed. Just as she prepared for a second strike, he—used to hard labor and strong—grabbed the stone from her hand.
Realizing the danger and knowing she couldn’t overpower him, Su Tian tried to run but was grabbed by the shoulders. In desperation, she shouted: “Help!”
Chen Xiaojun, blood on his face, pushed her down onto the horse and loomed over her: “Shout all you want, everyone else is eating your sister’s wedding candy. It’s just you and me here—you can’t run.”
“Since your sister has wronged me, I’ll take it out on you,” he said, groping and tearing at Su Tian’s clothes. Her thin early summer clothes quickly ripped, exposing the vest underneath.
A large patch of skin was exposed to the air, making one’s eyes heat up, and he was just about to lower his head and take a bite. Su Tian flailed and resisted in panic, but she was no match for Chen Xiaojun at all. No wonder Su Lili had suffered domestic violence—this beast really was hard to deal with.
Just as Su Tian was about to suffer, Chen Xiaojun suddenly felt sharp pain in his shoulder. Before he could react, he was thrown to the ground. Someone then rained down punches and kicks on him, striking hard and accurately, even kicking his vital parts. The pain nearly knocked Chen Xiaojun unconscious. His face flushed red as he clutched his groin and rolled on the ground—his manhood felt like it was about to break…
Su Tian hadn’t expected Qin Yan to really come—she had gambled right. Don’t be fooled by Qin Yan’s taciturn nature and cold temperament. Once you get to know him, you realize he’s tough on the outside but soft-hearted, not the kind of person who would stand by and watch someone die. Sure enough, hearing her cry for help, he had come to beat the man up.
Watching Chen Xiaojun get brutally thrashed by Qin Yan, Su Tian couldn’t help adding a few kicks of her own. She picked up the stone thrown aside and was about to smash it down on his head when a strong hand grabbed her: “Killing someone means paying with your life. Are you sure you want to smash it down?”
Su Tian looked at Qin Yan, who clearly disapproved of her actions, and thought about it. It wasn’t worth risking her own life for a piece of trash. Hitting the head could be fatal, so she didn’t bring the stone down. Her gaze dropped, her eyes turning cold, and she slammed the stone down hard on Chen Xiaojun’s leg.
Chen Xiaojun’s leg was broken. “Ahhh!”
Su Tian looked with satisfaction at the pain-twisted expression on Chen Xiaojun’s face and warned him, “If you ever think about harming someone again, it won’t just be a broken leg. Think carefully.”
Furious and unwilling, Chen Xiaojun stared at Su Tian and spat out a threat: “Su Tian, just you wait. I’ll kill you sooner or later.”
Her response was to lift the stone and smash it down on his other leg as well. Whether it broke or not, Su Tian didn’t know—she wasn’t an orthopedist. She just knew she’d used a lot of force.
Su Tian? The name really didn’t fit her. It sounded sweet and soft, yet Qin Yan looked at this vengeful Su Tian and raised an eyebrow. He’d thought she was someone easy to bully—he hadn’t expected her to be this fierce and ruthless. Consider him enlightened.