When Su Jincheng saw it was Cai Xiaolan, his listless eyes instantly lit up.
Previously, when his mother had told him to break things off with Cai Xiaolan, he had only agreed on the surface. Deep down, he was still hoping that his mother would eventually come around and consent to their marriage.
But last night, his mother suddenly informed him that she was going to the Ruan family to propose marriage. He disagreed, but his mother insisted that he must marry Ruan Tang.
Objecting was useless.
Wu Mengzhi noticed the lingering gazes between the two and immediately darkened her expression.
Yesterday afternoon, she had deliberately sought out Sister-in-law Cai, asking her to take Cai Xiaolan out today and keep her occupied. How could they be back so early?
“Auntie, since we’re already here, why not come to our place for a cup of tea before leaving?”
Unaware of Wu Mengzhi’s schemes, Cai Xiaolan continued to put on a show in front of her, hoping she would change her mind and approve of her marriage to Su Jincheng.
“No need,” Wu Mengzhi said coldly, then grabbed the stunned Su Jincheng and left.
Cai Xiaolan wanted to chase after them but was held back by Sister-in-law Cai.
Supporting her pregnant belly with one hand, Sister-in-law Cai urgently said, “Xiaolan, my stomach is uncomfortable—maybe it’s the heat. Let’s hurry home.”
Cai Xiaolan stamped her foot in frustration.
“Didn’t we just get checked at the hospital? Why are you feeling unwell again?”
“Always so much trouble. How annoying!”
Though she kept complaining, she still helped Sister-in-law Cai back home.
Sister-in-law Cai breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
She was truly afraid of ruining Wu Mengzhi’s plans; otherwise, the job opportunity she had been promised would be lost.
Yesterday afternoon, Wu Mengzhi had someone arrange to meet her at the nearest State-Run Restaurant to discuss a deal.
At the time, Wu Mengzhi had said, “As long as you can get Cai Xiaolan to sign up for the rural assignment, I will give you a job placement.”
“Don’t rush to refuse. That job at the cotton mill was originally yours. Now that Cai Xiaolan has cost you that job, she owes it to you. So, don’t feel guilty about it. Sending her to the countryside would, at most, make things even.”
Sister-in-law Cai rubbed her hands under the table, hesitating as she said, “I… I can’t persuade her. My mother-in-law wouldn’t agree either.”
Her mother-in-law was still hoping for Cai Xiaolan to marry into the Su family!
Wu Mengzhi took a sip of tea and suggested in a low voice, “You could secretly sign her up. Once her name is submitted, even if she finds out, there will be no turning back.”
Upon hearing this, Sister-in-law Cai broke out in a cold sweat on her forehead, unsure whether from the heat or fear.
Wu Mengzhi poured her a glass of water and pushed it toward her.
“There’s no need to be nervous. Every man for himself, and the devil takes the hindmost. She didn’t care about your job, so why should you care about her?”
“Jobs are so hard to come by these days. Can you really bear to let this opportunity slip away?”
“Even if you don’t think of yourself, you should at least consider the child in your belly!”
“Who knows? This job might even be passed down to your son someday!”
Wu Mengzhi’s final words struck a chord with Sister-in-law Cai.
That was why today’s events had unfolded.
Once the two entered the compound, Sister-in-law Cai released Cai Xiaolan.
Ruan Tang was fetching water in the courtyard and happened to see Cai Xiaolan return. After a moment of thought, she suddenly called out to her.
Cai Xiaolan turned around, her face full of impatience. “What do you want?”
Ruan Tang glanced toward the house, lowered her voice, and said, “Let’s talk outside the gate. It’s about Su Jincheng.”
Hearing that it concerned Su Jincheng, Cai Xiaolan quickly followed Ruan Tang out.
Still muttering: “Ruan Tang, let me tell you, Su Jincheng is mine. He only likes me, he never liked you. Don’t get the wrong idea—I won’t back down.”
Once outside the courtyard gate, Ruan Tang stopped.
Crossing her arms, she listened with mixed feelings as Cai Xiaolan rambled on.
Honestly, she couldn’t understand where Cai Xiaolan got the idea that she was being delusional.
When they were children and their families lived close by, she did enjoy following Su Jincheng around to play. But he always found her bothersome and never wanted to include her.
As they grew older, Su Jincheng started seeking her out instead, often teasing her for no reason and getting physical—either tugging her braids or holding her hand.
She disliked being touched by others and would scold him harshly every time.
After numerous such incidents, Su Jincheng called her dull and uninteresting, a block of wood who didn’t understand romance.
She simply thought Su Jincheng was a lunatic and wanted even less to do with him.
So, even though they were betrothed since childhood and grew up together, there was no romantic affection between them.
“Cai Xiaolan, I’m not delusional, and I don’t like Su Jincheng—never have, from start to finish. I came to tell you that Su Jincheng came to my house this morning to propose.”
“If you don’t want to lose him, find a way to hold onto him and keep him from bothering me.”
After saying this, Ruan Tang turned to leave but was stopped when Cai Xiaolan grabbed her arm.
“Is all of that true?” Cai Xiaolan’s face was full of disbelief.
“You’re not worth lying to.” Ruan Tang shook off her hand.
After a pause, she added, “Su Jincheng’s mother also promised she could definitely cut off your connection. She didn’t say how, so you should be prepared.”
“I’m only warning you so you can keep Su Jincheng firmly attached and away from me. He and his mother are truly annoying.”
Ruan Tang spoke bluntly; she had no desire to be Cai Xiaolan’s imaginary rival.
With that, Ruan Tang left first.
Cai Xiaolan stood rooted to the spot as if under a spell, completely motionless.
She never imagined that their earlier visit was to propose marriage.
And the bride wasn’t her.
How could Su Jincheng take her virtue and still marry someone else?
What was she to do now that she’d lost her purity?
Furious, Cai Xiaolan’s face twisted, and her whole body trembled.
There was no way she’d let him discard her and marry another.
Her eyes fierce, she clenched her fists and strode off—but not toward home.
Cai Xiaolan turned down two alleys and went straight to Su Jincheng’s house.
The Su family lived in a two-courtyard siheyuan. Their main gate was tightly shut. Instead of knocking blindly, Cai Xiaolan found a four- or five-year-old boy nearby.
She pulled out ten cents and handed it to him. “Little friend, help your sister with something, and this ten cents is yours.”
Ten cents was quite tempting for a child—after all, an ice pop cost only two cents at the time—so the boy agreed without hesitation.
Cai Xiaolan hid behind a large tree, peeking at the Su family’s gate.
Unsure whether Su Jincheng’s mother was home, she instructed the boy to knock and call Su Jincheng out.
She also warned him not to mention she was the one looking for him.
The boy knocked hard for quite a while before the gate finally opened from the inside.
Spotting Su Jincheng, Cai Xiaolan hurried over from her hiding place.
“Come out for a moment. I need to talk to you,” she said, her voice soft and urgent.
Su Jincheng was somewhat surprised to see it was Cai Xiaolan. Without wasting time on words, he glanced into the alley, grabbed Cai Xiaolan, and pulled her inside.
The little boy had long since vanished. Su Jincheng swiftly closed the main gate.