When Yang Liwen saw Li Qinkuai, her face grew even angrier, her eyes filled with resentment.
“You were eavesdropping on us! Li Qinkuai, you have no shame!”
Li Qinkuai laughed in anger. She hadn’t expected Yang Liwen, caught gossiping about her, to show no embarrassment at all—instead, she was the first to hurl insults.
Truly, she had even less shame than Li Qinkuai herself.
But Li Qinkuai also knew exactly how to provoke Yang Liwen to make her lose her composure.
“You’re right, I have no shame. Otherwise, how could I have married Duan Pengyue? No matter how angry you are, it’s useless!”
As she spoke, Li Qinkuai walked toward Duan Pengyue, and right in front of Yang Liwen, she linked arms with him, leaning her head against his shoulder in an intimate gesture.
“This man is mine now.”
“You! Just you wait! You two will get divorced sooner or later!”
Yang Liwen’s eyes reddened with rage.
Li Qinkuai smiled triumphantly and tugged Duan Pengyue away.
Only after leaving the educated youth dormitory, ensuring Yang Liwen could no longer see them, did Li Qinkuai immediately let go and take a step back.
Her obvious attempt to avoid suspicion stirred a surge of anger in Duan Pengyue’s heart.
He recalled what Yang Liwen had said earlier—that before he arrived, Li Qinkuai had also taken a liking to other educated youths—and grew even angrier.
With anger in his heart, his words carried a sharp edge.
“What’s wrong? Just a few days ago, you were calling me ‘Brother Duan’ and trying to touch me whenever you could. Now, after only a few days, you’re already so disgusted? Is there someone else in your heart?”
Li Qinkuai felt somewhat embarrassed by his words, but then she thought: if he knew there was someone else in her heart, maybe he wouldn’t marry her after all?
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Based on her understanding of Duan Pengyue, he had never liked forcing things.
Why not pretend to cry a little and say she had already fallen for another man?
Eager to try, Li Qinkuai lowered her eyes and spoke in a pitiful tone, “Since you already know, I won’t hide it from you. I’ve actually fallen for someone else. Yang Liwen wasn’t wrong—our marriage won’t bring happiness.”
“If you truly love me, don’t marry me. Let me go, and don’t report me for the crime of hooliganism either. Forced melons are never sweet.”
Duan Pengyue could tell at a glance that Li Qinkuai was pretending. He sneered coldly and deliberately played along, “Oh, really? Who have you fallen for? Tell me, and I won’t marry you.”
Li Qinkuai’s eyes lit up, and she looked at him excitedly, “Really?”
Duan Pengyue hummed in agreement, waiting for her to say the man’s name.
Her eyes darted around. She couldn’t say it was someone from their own village—Duan Pengyue definitely wouldn’t believe that.
“It’s Danian from the neighboring village. We grew up together as childhood sweethearts. Although he’s not as handsome as you, he’s a good person, and I really like him. Please, let us be together. My mother invited you to dinner at our house anyway—we can go now and tell her we’re not getting married.”
Duan Pengyue remained expressionless, “I don’t believe you. You still have to marry me.”
Li Qinkuai: “…”
She could see it now—Duan Pengyue was doing this on purpose.
He had no intention of letting her go!
“Go back. I don’t want you coming to my house for dinner anymore. Feeding you would be a waste!”
In response, Duan Pengyue strode toward her house.
Li Qinkuai had no choice but to follow.
“You’re finally here! Come, come, come! The food is ready. Let’s eat.”
Cheng Yun smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits, pulling Duan Pengyue to sit down, ignoring Li Qinkuai behind her.
Duan Pengyue looked at the braised pork and braised rabbit on the table, along with the full bowls of rice at each seat, a flicker of surprise flashing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
“Auntie, you’re too kind.”
Cheng Yun warmly urged him, “You’re our son-in-law, there’s no need for such formality. You must be hungry after working in the fields all day. Hurry and eat, try my cooking.”
Li Dafu chimed in, “Yes, sit down and give it a try.”
Li Qinfen, however, snorted disdainfully, neither welcoming nor acknowledging anyone.
He currently held a strong dislike for Duan Pengyue, this scheming man, convinced that once his younger sister married him, she would be completely under Duan Pengyue’s thumb.
Thinking this, Li Qinfen leaned close to Li Qinkuai’s ear and whispered, “Qinkuai, if Duan Pengyue dares to bully you, tell your brother. No matter where you are, as soon as I get the message, I’ll come help you!”
Li Qinkuai felt a surge of emotion, but more than that, a pang of bitterness.
In her previous life, before she and Duan Pengyue returned to the city, Li Qinfen had said the same thing to her.
“Okay.”
At the dinner table, Li Dafu, Cheng Yun, and Duan Pengyue discussed the bride price.
Since they were returning to the city next month, there was no need to buy too many things. In the end, they settled on a bride price of one hundred yuan.
Hearing Duan Pengyue agree to a bride price of one hundred yuan, Cheng Yun felt even more satisfied with this son-in-law.
After all, they were the ones who had drugged Duan Pengyue. Not only was he not angry, but he had also taken the initiative to propose marriage and was even willing to give a bride price of one hundred yuan.
In the nearby villages, no one’s bride price reached one hundred yuan—thirty yuan was already considered the maximum!
Her daughter’s choice of man really brought her face.
After the meal, Cheng Yun urged Li Qinkuai to walk Duan Pengyue back.
Li Qinkuai: “?”
He’s a grown man—does he need her to walk him back?
Cheng Yun glared at her. “Mom is creating an opportunity for the two of you to spend time together. Hurry up!”
An opportunity to spend time together?
If it were the old Li Qinkuai, she wouldn’t have needed Cheng Yun to say anything—she would have created opportunities herself. Now, she wished she could stay as far away as possible.
But since Cheng Yun had spoken, Li Qinkuai had no choice but to comply.
“Let’s go, I’ll walk you back.”
Li Qinkuai approached Duan Pengyue, who had been standing at the doorstep for several minutes without moving.
Duan Pengyue had been persuaded by his father to drink quite a bit of alcohol, and his face was now flushed red.
But he still seemed relatively sober.
Except he kept staring at Li Qinkuai, not saying a word, not moving.
Li Qinkuai wondered if he was already drunk.
“Are you drunk?”
“Hmm.”
After responding, Duan Pengyue swayed slightly, looking as if he might topple over at any moment.
Li Qinkuai looked at him with some disbelief. She remembered that in her previous life, Duan Pengyue could hold his liquor quite well.
Thinking back, it seemed that was after he got married and joined the army…
Just as she was lost in thought, her shoulder suddenly felt heavy. Duan Pengyue leaned his head against it, eyes closed, looking utterly dazed.
It seemed he really was drunk.
Li Qinkuai reached out to support him, saying irritably, “If you can’t handle alcohol, don’t drink! Can you still walk?”
“Yes.”
Duan Pengyue’s muffled voice came from her shoulder, carrying the scent of alcohol.
“Then stand straight, and I’ll help you walk.”
As soon as Li Qinkuai finished speaking, Duan Pengyue straightened up.
He moved so quickly that it made one suspect he was faking it, but upon closer inspection, his face suggested otherwise.
And so, Li Qinkuai had no choice but to support Duan Pengyue as they walked toward the educated youth dormitory.
Originally, Li Qinkuai wanted to take a small path, where there were fewer people and no one would see them.
But Duan Pengyue was drunk and a man at that, so he stubbornly headed for the main road, impossible to pull back.
He even claimed it was a shorter route this way.
Li Qinkuai was almost driven mad by him.
On the main road, many villagers would come out after dinner to chat, sharing household matters or gossip about others.
Sure enough, seeing Li Qinkuai supporting the unsteady Duan Pengyue, someone immediately teased them.
“Oh my, Qinkuai is taking her man back! If your man got drunk at your place, he should’ve stayed over, especially since you two are already husband and wife in practice!”
“Exactly, your man can’t hold his liquor well, getting like this after just a few drinks, and now you have to send him back.”
“Qinkuai, you have to take responsibility for what you did, otherwise Duan Pengyue might report you for hooliganism!”
“That’s right, such a good man—you better hold onto him tight!”
Listening to their words, Li Qinkuai knew they were mocking her out of jealousy.
“Don’t worry, I’ll hold onto Duan Pengyue just fine. He’s my man, so there’s no need for you to worry!”
After saying this, Li Qinkuai quickly led Duan Pengyue away.
When they reached a place with few people around, Li Qinkuai reached out and pinched the drunk Duan Pengyue.
“It’s all your fault, making me a laughingstock.”
This was rather unreasonable—after all, it was Li Qinkuai who had done wrong first, yet now she was shifting the blame onto Duan Pengyue.
Duan Pengyue suddenly chuckled.
Li Qinkuai glared at him sharply. “Duan Pengyue, you were pretending, weren’t you?”