Xu Jianguo had forgotten that Liang Yufeng was still in the inner room. Startled by her sudden outburst, he knew she had a fiery temper and didn’t want to provoke her. He said in a low voice, “Liang Yufeng, this is our family’s business. It has nothing to do with you!”
“Xu Jianguo, if your family’s business has nothing to do with me, then why did you call me here?” Liang Yufeng, her anger boiling over, pointed at Xu Jianguo’s nose and scolded, “You bastard! Qingning is my own niece. If you find her in the way, you should have said so earlier. I’ll take her away right now. I’ll make sure she marries off with dignity from my home, and from now on, she won’t have a father like you!”
Liang Yufeng’s voice was too loud.
The onlookers in the hallway heard every word clearly.
With a stepmother comes a stepfather—it seemed Xu Qingning’s life at home wasn’t easy.
“Auntie, what are you saying?” In front of the Xiao mother and son, Jiang Yumei forced a smile and stepped forward to take Liang Yufeng’s hand. “Qingning is the daughter of this family. Of course, we won’t treat her unfairly. It’s just that this happened so suddenly, and we weren’t mentally prepared.”
“Stop pretending to be the good person here. Do you think everyone else is a fool?” Liang Yufeng rudely shook off her hand. “You only have eyes for your own daughter. How could you ever make room for Qingning? Otherwise, why would you rush to send her to the countryside for labor while letting your own daughter marry in the city?”
“Liang Yufeng, today is supposed to be a good day for both my daughters. I don’t want to argue with you.” Xu Jianguo was furious, but he didn’t want to lose face in front of the Xiao family, so he held back. “Qingning is my daughter, and I’ll decide her matters. If you ruin her marriage, you’ll be letting your sister down.”
“Fine, go ahead and talk.” Liang Yufeng angrily sat down on a chair. “I want to see how you two plan to treat both daughters equally.”
Damn it, if Xu Jianguo treated Xu Qingning unfairly, she’d fight him to the end.
What a piece of work!
“Dad, whether you agree or not, I’m leaving with him.” Xu Qingning stood at the bedroom door, her gaze briefly resting on Zhao Jingyu. Zhao Jingyu met her eyes and stood up, saying, “Then let’s go get the marriage certificate now!”
Since he had decided to take responsibility, he might as well cut through the mess quickly.
His time was limited, and he had no extra to waste on these matters.
Getting the marriage certificate so soon?
Xiao Tingshen looked at Zhao Jingyu in confusion, then glanced at Xu Qingning. He knew Xu Qingning liked him—he was used to rejecting her and ignoring her.
Zhao Jingyu knew about Xu Qingning’s feelings for him.
But when did Zhao Jingyu and Xu Qingning start? How come he didn’t know?
“Wait, marriage is no trivial matter. How can you just leave like that?” Xu Jianguo, caught in a difficult position by Liang Yufeng’s interference, took a deep breath and said to Zhao Jingyu, “Sit down. Let’s get things clear first.”
If Zhao Jingyu took Xu Qingning away in front of the Xiao mother and son, wouldn’t his family be seen as lacking in propriety?
“Alright.” Zhao Jingyu sat back down. The two young men behind him stood guard, eyeing everyone in the room warily, as if ready to take action at any moment.
The room fell silent instantly.
Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Xu Jianguo.
Xu Jianguo’s face flushed red then paled white, momentarily unsure how to begin, awkwardly saying, “Wenya is the elder sister, let’s talk about Wenya’s matter first.”
Once the Xiao family left, he could deal with Xu Qingning later.
That wretched girl, she was giving him a headache.
Jiang Yumei understood his meaning, smiled, and said to Liu Yuzhen, “Dear in-laws, since the two children want to get married before taking the college entrance exams, we as elders are also happy to see it. We accept the betrothal gifts; you can decide the wedding date.”
“Tingshen said the same thing.” Liu Yuzhen, thinking of the betrothal gifts Zhao Jingyu had sent, felt a surge of anger in her heart. She even suspected Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei were deliberately embarrassing them, and said coolly, “We’ll go back and carefully pick a date before deciding!”
Originally, she hadn’t taken a liking to Tang Wenya, believing Xiao Tingshen would surely find a better girl than Tang Wenya after going to university.
Who would have thought Tang Wenya was so improper, already carrying a child in her belly.
If not for her son’s reputation, she wouldn’t have bothered coming to deliver the betrothal gifts. Their family’s old man was so angry upon learning of this that he refused to show his face.
“Then it’s settled.” Jiang Yumei, seeing Liu Yuzhen’s sullen expression, didn’t say anything more and busied herself preparing to cook. Liu Yuzhen had no appetite for a meal now, abruptly stood up, and said to Xiao Tingshen, “Tingshen, let’s go!”
“In-laws, stay for a meal, it’s all prepared.” Xu Jianguo sincerely urged them to stay; according to custom, they were supposed to stay for a meal.
Liu Yuzhen curled her lip: “No need, you still have distinguished guests to entertain, we won’t disturb you.”
Tang Wenya noticed Liu Yuzhen’s displeased expression and secretly tugged at Xiao Tingshen’s sleeve. She had to explain today’s events to him; she truly hadn’t known Zhao Jingyu would come to deliver betrothal gifts.
Xiao Tingshen hesitated for a moment but still followed Liu Yuzhen out. If only their family had come to deliver the gifts, he definitely would have stayed for the meal.
But right now, he really couldn’t eat.
“Then come again another time.” Jiang Yumei, familiar with Liu Yuzhen’s temper, quickly grabbed the prepared return gifts and went out to see her off.
Xu Jianguo also took his coat and followed to escort the guests.
Tang Wenya watched Xiao Tingshen’s retreating back, her eyes reddening.
“Tingshen, wait a moment, I have something to ask you.” Only then did Zhao Jingyu speak up to stop Xiao Tingshen.
Liu Yuzhen paused her steps, glanced back at Xiao Tingshen, said nothing, and walked away without looking back.
The hallway was still crowded with neighbors watching the commotion, all discussing the two families’ betrothal gifts.
Liu Yuzhen was so angry she didn’t even take the return gifts, her face dark as she pushed through the crowd and stomped down the stairs.
“Dear in-law, walk slowly, wait for me.” Jiang Yumei hurried after her; not taking the return gifts was unacceptable.
Xu Jianguo awkwardly followed downstairs to see the guests off.
“What is it?” Xiao Tingshen stood at the doorway asking Zhao Jingyu.
“Zhao Jingyu, he knows nothing about what happened that night; don’t stir up trouble.” Tang Wenya spoke first.
Zhao Jingyu briefly mentioned the events of that night, expressionlessly looking at Xiao Tingshen: “If this was Tang Wenya’s doing alone, you and I might still be able to continue our friendship. But if you were also involved, we can’t even be friends anymore.”
“I really didn’t know.” Xiao Tingshen looked at Tang Wenya in utter shock. “Wenya, is what he said true?”
“Tingshen, don’t believe him, he’s wronging me!” Tang Wenya’s eyes instantly reddened, looking pitiful as she said, “Qingning is my sister, even if I knew she liked you, I wouldn’t do such a thing. I trust your character.”
“Xiao Tingshen, if you think we’ve wronged Tang Wenya, go investigate at the guesthouse yourself.” Xu Qingning glanced at Xiao Tingshen, the so-called Male Lead, and said disdainfully, “So, from now on, I won’t have any dealings with Tang Wenya, nor will I have any further interaction with you.”
Xiao Tingshen was the Male Lead in the book—handsome, from a good family, with both parents being unit leaders, which made many young girls fall for him.
But to Xu Qingning, all of this was fleeting. Matters of love and affection were far less real than having enough to eat and wear at the moment.
She didn’t even like Xiao Tingshen.
Xu Jianguo and Jiang Yumei returned after seeing Liu Yuzhen off. Standing outside the door, they had clearly overheard the entire conversation.
Xu Jianguo grew angrier the more he listened. As soon as he entered, he scolded Xu Qingning: “Your sister is constantly showing weakness, yet you keep pushing step by step. What exactly do you want?”
“What do I want? I just want justice for myself,” Xu Qingning raised her voice as well. “Should I just let her frame and bully me?”
“You…” Xu Jianguo was so furious he raised his hand to strike her.
“Uncle Xu, you can take your time investigating Tang Wenya’s matter. If you have nothing else to discuss, I’m taking Qingning to get our marriage certificate now.” Zhao Jingyu stood up and walked over to Xu Jianguo, enunciating each word clearly. “I have neither the time nor the interest to watch you discipline your daughter.”
“Marriage certificate? What marriage certificate?” Xu Jianguo was provoked by Zhao Jingyu’s attitude. “I don’t agree to this matter between you two!”