Meng Jiaru was wiping away her tears and grieving alone when she suddenly heard a voice behind her. Startled, she quickly turned around.
The moment she saw it was Zhou Yu, her face immediately turned pale.
Very few people knew that she liked Zhao Ziming.
For one thing, she hadn’t had many opportunities to interact with him before. For another, she was too shy to openly pursue him.
If she hadn’t been so unwilling to accept that Zhao Ziming was about to marry Zhou Rulan, she never would have taken the initiative to ask him to meet her today.
And Zhou Yu was Zhou Rulan’s older sister!
If Zhou Yu had seen what happened and spread word that she had secretly met Zhao Ziming, her reputation in Niuniu Village would be ruined.
“Y-you…”
For the first time in her life, Meng Jiaru found herself in such a situation. Her mind went blank, and she couldn’t get her words out.
Seeing this, Zhou Yu almost laughed.
She hadn’t expected Meng Jiaru to be this nervous.
Pretending to be puzzled, she asked,
“Comrade Meng, what’s wrong? I came here to dig up some purslane and heard someone crying. I never expected it would be you.”
Hearing this, Meng Jiaru finally calmed down a little.
Tentatively, she asked,
“Zhou Yu, did you only see me here alone?”
“Of course.”
Zhou Yu widened her eyes in surprise.
“Was there supposed to be someone else? Oh no, Comrade Meng, did somebody bully you? Tell me who it was. After all, you kindly bought my clothes and hair ornament when I urgently needed money. I’ll definitely help you!”
Only then did Meng Jiaru’s expression improve.
Zhou Yu’s concern made her view Zhou Yu much more favorably.
Naturally, she didn’t dare admit she had come to meet Zhao Ziming. Shaking her head, she claimed nothing was wrong and quickly changed the subject, asking why Zhou Yu was digging for purslane.
As far as she knew, the Zhao family was one of the wealthiest families in the surrounding villages.
They might not eat meat every few days, but they certainly weren’t poor enough to survive on wild plants.
This was exactly the question Zhou Yu had been waiting for.
Immediately, she forced a bitter smile.
“It’s because of my brother-in-law and my younger sister… Never mind. Family matters shouldn’t be spread around. Comrade Meng, I should go.”
“Wait!”
The moment she heard Zhao Ziming and Zhou Rulan mentioned, Meng Jiaru couldn’t help calling out to stop her.
“Comrade Zhou, you just said we’re friends now. If you’re having difficulties, why not tell me about them?”
She nervously clenched her fingers, afraid Zhou Yu would notice her ulterior motives.
But she worried for nothing.
Acting as though she had found a kindred spirit, Zhou Yu immediately pulled her over to sit on a ridge between the fields.
Secretly pinching her own thigh hard, Zhou Yu instantly brought tears to her eyes.
“Comrade Meng, it’s because I think you’re a good person that I want to tell you this! You know I married into the Zhao family and became Brother Zhao’s wife, right?”
Meng Jiaru nodded.
Because of her feelings for Zhao Ziming, she paid extra attention to the Zhao family.
She knew Zhao Ziming’s older brother, Zhao Yunzheng, had served in the military but had been seriously injured and carried home some time ago. He still hadn’t woken up.
When she heard Zhou Yu had married Zhao Yunzheng, she had actually admired her.
She thought Zhou Yu was a good woman who didn’t look down on a comatose man, and her opinion of Zhou Yu had greatly improved.
That was why she had generously bought Zhou Yu’s clothes and hair ornament when she saw her trying to raise emergency funds.
Then a thought struck her.
“Don’t tell me you regret marrying Brother Zhao?”
Disdain crept into her eyes.
“Even if Brother Zhao can’t wake up and you’ll effectively be a widow, he’s still a soldier. Being a military wife is honorable. Are you really planning to abandon him now?”
Without changing expression, Zhou Yu choked back a sob.
“Of course not. I thought carefully before marrying Brother Zhao. I’m willing to take care of him for the rest of my life. I don’t regret it at all. It’s just…”
Meng Jiaru’s expression softened.
The contempt disappeared.
Then she asked patiently,
“If that’s not it, then what’s wrong?”
Only then did Zhou Yu raise her tear-streaked face.
Unlike the rest of the Zhou family, she was exceptionally beautiful.
Her features were naturally stunning.
Since she hadn’t been working in the fields these past few days, her skin had become noticeably fairer, making her beauty stand out even more.
Combined with her tears, she looked heartbreakingly pitiful.
Meng Jiaru stared blankly for a moment.
For some reason, she suddenly felt uncomfortable comparing herself to Zhou Yu.
Then she heard Zhou Yu say:
“Comrade Meng, did you know? I was originally supposed to marry Ziming!”
The moment those words left her mouth, Meng Jiaru felt her breathing stop.
She shot upright.
“What did you say?!”
“It’s true.”
Suppressing her disgust at calling him by his given name, Zhou Yu continued,
“A while ago, Ziming and I were already discussing marriage. It wasn’t a secret. Plenty of villagers knew about it.”
The way Meng Jiaru looked at Zhou Yu changed instantly.
Hostility appeared in her eyes.
“How could Teacher Zhao have wanted to marry you? You’re not worthy of him! And if that’s true, how did you end up marrying his older brother while he married Zhou Rulan?!”
Without the slightest guilt, Zhou Yu shifted all the blame elsewhere.
“Because of my younger sister and my parents, of course.”
“Comrade Meng, you probably don’t know this, but I’m not my parents’ biological daughter. Ever since they found my younger sister, she became the only person they cared about. They always demanded that I give way to her. As her older sister, I was willing to do that.”
“But who could have imagined that after my sister married Zhao family’s second son, she would…”
Zhou Yu deliberately trailed off.
As expected, anger appeared on Meng Jiaru’s face.
Sighing deeply, Zhou Yu continued.
“I don’t know when she and Ziming fell in love. But when the Zhao family came to finalize the marriage proposal, Ziming suddenly broke off our engagement and decided to marry my sister instead. My sister and my parents all pressured me into agreeing.”
Her voice trembled even more.
Grabbing Meng Jiaru’s hand, she said,
“I could accept it. I considered it repayment for my parents raising me. But what I don’t understand is why they couldn’t have told me beforehand. Why did they have to humiliate me like that on the very day of the engagement?”
Meng Jiaru immediately became furious.
“Your sister and your parents are shameless!”
She already liked Zhao Ziming and was dissatisfied that he was marrying Zhou Rulan.
Now she had found a perfect justification.
“So that’s why Teacher Zhao suddenly wanted to marry Zhou Rulan! That shameless woman must have secretly seduced him long ago!”
Zhou Yu immediately pretended to panic.
“Comrade Meng, you mustn’t say things like that! I believe my sister simply made a mistake because she liked Ziming too much. She stole him from me, yes, but it definitely wasn’t because she wanted to avoid widowhood and stay in the Zhao family to enjoy a better life. She couldn’t possibly have deliberately seduced him!”
That only convinced Meng Jiaru even further.
Looking at Zhou Yu as if she were hopelessly naïve, she said,
“She stole your fiancé and forced you to marry a disabled man and live like a widow, and you’re still defending her! No wonder you couldn’t keep Teacher Zhao!”
Then she jumped to her feet.
“No! Teacher Zhao can’t marry a woman like that! I have to warn him before Zhou Rulan deceives him and ruins his future!”
As she prepared to run after Zhao Ziming, Zhou Yu quickly grabbed her arm.
“Comrade Meng, don’t! Ziming and my sister are already engaged. They’ve even decided to register their marriage and hold the wedding banquet at the end of the month!”
“Unless someone could make Ziming fall in love with someone else now, how could he possibly change his mind and stop marrying my sister?”
She added casually, as though the thought had just occurred to her,
“It seemed to me that my sister simply found lots of opportunities to spend time with Ziming, and that’s how she got him to fall for her. I wonder whether that would work for someone else.”
Then she sighed.
“Anyway, Comrade Meng, don’t do anything foolish.”
Meng Jiaru froze.
A strange light flickered in her eyes.
She didn’t want to give up on Zhao Ziming either.
If Zhou Rulan could shamelessly steal Zhao Ziming away from Zhou Yu…
Then why couldn’t she steal Zhao Ziming away from Zhou Rulan?