“You people!” Su Shuiqin’s face rapidly paled, her lips trembling along, yet she remained defiant. “They aren’t married yet, and whether they can successfully marry later is still uncertain. Isn’t the engagement called off now?”
“You don’t actually think Lu Jingxuan would marry you just because his engagement with Qingran fell through, do you? Look at yourself! You’re not even half as lovely as Qingran! Tch!”
Although the others didn’t speak, their expressions clearly conveyed the same sentiment.
“You! Don’t go too far! I’ll report you to the team leader!” Su Shuiqin abruptly stood up from her seat, her eyes reddening as if she had genuinely been wronged.
Su Dayan rolled her eyes. “Then hurry up and leave. That way, we can have a few more bites of meat.”
With no one stopping her, Su Shuiqin couldn’t bring herself to stay any longer. No matter how much she craved the meat, she had no choice but to steel herself and depart.
The remaining girls at the table comforted Su Qingran, urging her not to be too upset. Some even offered to introduce her to potential partners, successfully making her laugh.
With many people seated around them, the argument at their table had been overheard by all. Before the day was over, the news of Lu Jingxuan’s involvement with Qiao Manxue had spread throughout Su Family Village.
It wasn’t until evening, when Lu Jingxuan stormed over in a rage, that Su Qingran learned how the noon conversation had been exaggerated and twisted in the retelling.
“How could you tarnish Comrade Qiao’s and my reputation like that outside?”
Lu Jingxuan looked at Su Qingran with profound disappointment. “Do you have any idea what kind of impact this will have on us? I might manage, but Comrade Qiao is a female comrade. How is she supposed to live in Su Family Village after this? You’re a woman yourself—why would you make things so difficult for her?”
“You need to go explain to everyone right now that you were just speaking nonsense out of heartbreak. There’s absolutely nothing between Comrade Qiao and me!”
“Moreover, you must apologize to Comrade Qiao! But don’t worry, Comrade Qiao is understanding and won’t make things hard for you.”
Su Qingran responded with a cold laugh and abruptly slapped Lu Jingxuan across the face. The blow was so sudden that he staggered backward. When he recovered, he stared at her in disbelief. “You actually hit me?”
“I hit you, and I’ll do it again!” Su Qingran delivered another slap. “You want me to apologize to Qiao Manxue? Dream on! I never said anything. If you don’t believe me, go ask others—did I say the two of you were involved?”
“It was everyone else who noticed something off about your relationship! Who told you to be so obvious about it? Lu Jingxuan, you might think I’m a fool, but everyone else has sharp eyes!”
Lu Jingxuan’s expression shifted as he struggled to suppress his panic. “What nonsense are you spouting? Comrade Qiao and I are completely innocent! I’ve explained this to you multiple times—why won’t you listen?”
“Go explain it to everyone yourself and see if they believe you,” Su Qingran retorted coldly. “I’ll say this for the last time: our engagement is over. Don’t come looking for me again, or I’ll hit you every time I see you!”
“If you still have a taste for chicken droppings, then by all means, come closer!”
Lu Jingxuan was speechless. “How did you become like this…?”
“Lu Jingxuan, did you really take me for a fool? Did you honestly believe I’d willingly be the shield for your romance?”
“You…” Lu Jingxuan’s heart was in turmoil.
Could she really know?
“Get lost now!” Su Qingran couldn’t be bothered to waste more words on him. She turned and walked away directly, but Lu Jingxuan still wanted to grab her.
“Didn’t you hear? My little sister told you to get lost!”
Su Junze, who had been standing nearby, could no longer hold back. This bastard actually dared to suggest his little sister apologize to that so-called Comrade Qiao? He must be out of his mind!
With such audacity, why doesn’t he go perform in an opera instead?
Huang Cuicui, who had been cleaning, suddenly approached carrying a basin of chicken manure. Seeing Lu Jingxuan, she directly splashed it at his feet. The chicken manure splattered all over his shoes, and quite a bit stained his trousers too.
Seeing him in such a disheveled state, Huang Cuicui felt much better. Feigning panic, she said, “Oh my! I’m so sorry! It’s so dark I didn’t see you standing there. Are you alright, Battalion Commander Lu?”
“…It’s fine.” Lu Jingxuan didn’t want to lower himself by arguing with a village woman. Suppressing his anger, he glared at Su Qingran, “You’d better not regret this!”
With that, he hurried away.
Huang Cuicui rolled her eyes at his retreating back, “What kind of person is that!”
Su Junze wrapped an arm around her, grinning, “My wife is something else! With one move, you drove that bastard away.”
“Of course!” Huang Cuicui smirked proudly.
The day after the funeral, Shi Yunxiao and Xie Jin’an prepared to leave Su Family Village. Su Hongshan and Zhao Lanzhi specially brought Su Qingran to see them off, carrying freshly made stuffed pancakes.
“Auntie, you’re really too kind.” Xie Jin’an accepted the basket somewhat sheepishly.
Zhao Lanzhi smiled broadly, though with a hint of regret, “Once you leave, we might never see you again. Comrade Shi saved my daughter, and we don’t know how else to repay you. It’s just some food—please take it to eat on your journey.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” Shi Yunxiao glanced at Su Qingran standing beside Zhao Lanzhi and suddenly said, “Comrade Su, may I have a word?”
Su Qingran froze, but Zhao Lanzhi was the first to react. Delighted, she nudged her daughter, “Comrade Shi wants to talk to you. Hurry up!”
She chuckled inwardly—what did Comrade Shi want to say to Ranran?
Could it be…?
The two walked under a tree.
“Comrade Su.” Shi Yunxiao stopped, his gaze complex as he looked at Su Qingran. “I’ve been thinking it over, and I feel I must tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about Lu Jingxuan and Comrade Qiao. Jin’an and I saw them talking in the woods. From the way they looked… they seemed familiar with each other.”
Shi Yunxiao had phrased it quite tactfully. To put it bluntly, they were having an affair!
Su Qingran smiled. So that’s what it was. She hadn’t expected them to witness it, but she was still grateful to Shi Yunxiao for warning her. “Thank you, Comrade Shi. I’m aware.”
Shi Yunxiao’s eyes swept over her fair, radiant face. His index finger unconsciously twitched, and he nodded slightly. Before leaving, he handed her an address. “If anything happens, write to me.”
This was somewhat selfish of him.
Su Qingran was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and accepted it. “Alright!”
As soon as the two men left, Zhao Lanzhi couldn’t contain herself any longer. “Ranran, what did Comrade Shi say to you just now?”
Su Qingran repeated Shi Yunxiao’s words. Although Zhao Lanzhi was angry about Lu Jingxuan and Qiao Manxue’s affair, she felt even more disappointed. “I thought… ah…”
“Mom, what are you thinking about?”
“Well, it’s just…”
Upon learning her mother’s thoughts, Su Qingran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. In her previous life, she had heard Lu Jingxuan mention Shi Yunxiao countless times, and she could still vividly remember Lu Jingxuan’s jealous expression.
On the other side, Xie Jin’an, who had just gotten in the car, teased with a smirk, “Old Shi, what did you say to Comrade Su? When did you two become so close?”
“Lu Jingxuan.”
Xie Jin’an finally understood, “Oh, you told her about that night. But now the whole Su Family Village is buzzing with rumors about that Lu guy and that so-called Comrade Qiao having an affair. Comrade Su probably already knows, right?”
He had originally planned to subtly hint at it to Su Qingran, but after hearing the gossip himself, he assumed she already knew and decided not to bring it up.
“Those are just rumors without evidence.”
“Oh, are you worried that Comrade Su might still choose to believe Lu Jingxuan and marry him?”
“That makes sense. After all, they were already at the stage of discussing marriage. I heard Comrade Su used to like Lu Jingxuan quite a bit.”
Xie Jin’an then sensed something off, “Wait a minute, Old Shi, since when have you become so warm-hearted?”
“Back when your sister was chasing after that Pei family guy, and he never gave her the time of day, your dad asked you to talk to her, but you completely ignored it.”
Shi Yunxiao fell silent for a moment before replying, “That’s different.”
Xie Jin’an thought about it and agreed. No matter how cold that Pei guy was to Shi’s sister, he was still a decent person. This Lu Jingxuan was nowhere near comparable.
…
“Didn’t sell any?”
Su Junze placed the jar of Hawthorn Jam on the table and shook his head. “This thing is novel, and quite a few people asked about the price at first. But as soon as they heard it costs three yuan, they all shook their heads, thinking it’s too expensive. Yellow peach jam is only seventy-five cents a jar.”