“Huo Xuan, why have you come back again?” Xie Mingzhu asked with a frown. “Weren’t you supposed to have returned to the city long ago?”
Only at the sound of her voice did Huo Xuan snap back to his senses. He reined in his overwhelming emotions, wiped his face, and replied in a voice still trembling slightly with feeling, “I dreamed you had met with an accident. I was so worried that I rushed straight over to check on you.”
As he spoke, his eyes flickered with a strange light.
Xie Mingzhu sensed something was off, but before she could ask further, Xie Shaoqian’s voice cut in: “Ah Xuan, you’ve arrived just in time. Would you mind helping me take this bicycle away?”
Only now did Xie Shaoqian realize who the man standing before them actually was.
Huo Xuan quickly steadied himself and nodded, yet he did not immediately reach for the bicycle. Instead, he said, “Second Brother, please wait just a moment.”
Without waiting for Xie Shaoqian to respond, he turned and strode into the Qin family’s courtyard, his face dark with anger.
Xie Mingzhu and Xie Shaoqian exchanged a puzzled look. Before she could speak, a sharp cry of pain rang out from inside—the unmistakable voice of Qin Haoyu.
They looked at each other once more and hurried into the yard. There they found Huo Xuan pinning Qin Haoyu firmly to the ground, landing blow after blow straight to his face. His eyes burned red with rage, and he struck with all his might—anyone watching would have thought he was taking revenge on the man who had murdered his own father.
Zhang Zenglan, standing nearby, quickly realized what was happening. She let out a scream and rushed forward to pull Huo Xuan away. But the moment her hand touched his arm, he roared and shoved her back hard. “Get off!”
Terrified, Zhang Zenglan stumbled two steps backward.
Seeing that Qin Haoyu was on the verge of being beaten senseless, Xie Shaoqian rushed in to separate them. “Huo Xuan, calm down!”
Assault was still against the law; it was not worth ruining his own future over such a worthless scoundrel.
Only after being pulled away by Xie Shaoqian did Huo Xuan finally regain his composure. “You rotten piece of trash!” he spat, then turned and walked out of the yard.
Xie Shaoqian followed closely behind.
Once outside, Huo Xuan glanced over at Xie Mingzhu. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings, but he simply patted the rear seat of the bicycle, forced his emotions under tight control, and said in a gentle tone, “Mingzhu, sit here behind me.”
Seeing this sudden shift from the furious man just moments ago to someone so calm and soft‑spoken, Xie Mingzhu blinked in surprise. She nodded lightly and climbed onto the back of the bike as he asked.
The onlookers stood there, stunned by the dramatic turn of events. What had begun that morning as a wedding everyone envied had, in the blink of an eye, turned into a complete disaster. It was only by sheer luck that Qin Haoyu had not been beaten to death by the bride’s family.
His face already swollen and disfigured, Qin Haoyu saw the pity in everyone’s eyes. The thought that he, who considered himself so capable and handsome, might have his entire life ruined like this drove him over the edge. He stormed out of the yard and hurled a stream of vicious, filthy insults straight at Xie Mingzhu.
Xie Mingzhu’s expression turned cold as she watched him behave like a cornered dog. She was about to climb off the bicycle when Huo Xuan moved faster. He stepped forward in two quick strides and landed another heavy punch right on Qin Haoyu’s face.
Outwardly, Qin Haoyu looked like a refined, gentle young man—tall and slender, more like a scholarly gentleman than the burly farmers around him. Huo Xuan, though raised in the city, was tall, broad‑shouldered, and built with solid strength. The force of that single blow was so powerful it seemed to crack bone.
Amidst the gasps of the crowd, Qin Haoyu collapsed heavily to the ground, unable to get back up. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he spat out two loose teeth.
Zhang Zenglan wailed loudly and rushed to help him up. “This is pure bullying! Where is the law and justice? Secretary, you have to speak up for us! Look what they’ve done to my son!”
Secretary Chen stood to the side, at a loss for words. Though in his heart he felt Qin Haoyu deserved every bit of it, as the village leader he still had to try to keep the peace.
Huo Xuan stood with his brows drawn tight, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. He looked like a fierce demon risen from the depths of the earth. Had he not held onto his last shred of self‑control, Qin Haoyu would have lost far more than just two teeth.
He turned to meet Xie Shaoqian’s steady, assessing gaze. Without a word, he gripped the bicycle’s handlebars, kept his eyes lowered so he would not have to look at Xie Mingzhu, and began to push forward.
Lying on the ground, Qin Haoyu watched their retreating backs, burning with rage and humiliation. His speech slurred from the swelling, he shouted, “Xie Mingzhu! Once you walk out that gate, you’re nothing but a second‑hand wife! Let’s see who will dare marry you after this!”
Xie Mingzhu glanced back at his furious, disheveled state and pressed her lips together. Before she could reply, Huo Xuan’s voice rang out loud and clear: “If she is willing to have me, I will marry her without hesitation!”
Xie Mingzhu turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise. Huo Xuan stared straight ahead, his expression firm and resolute, his gaze holding a deep, earnest longing she could not fully understand.
Xie Shaoqian, who had remained quiet until then, could not help but let out a sharp laugh at Qin Haoyu’s words. “Qin Haoyu, do you think so highly of yourself? If this girl hadn’t been blind enough to choose you in the first place, what on earth made you believe you were anything special?”
He paused, glancing coldly at the man on the ground. “I’ve never seen anyone like you—living off your wife’s family while still acting as if you’re too good for them!”
With that, he waved a hand at Huo Xuan to urge him to leave. “You two go on ahead. I’ll stay here and sort everything out.”
Huo Xuan nodded and swung his leg over the bicycle.
Xie Mingzhu looked back one last time at the three people from the Qin family—messy, humiliated, and defeated—and felt completely indifferent. Not a single ripple of emotion stirred in her heart.