Liu Xueyan had deliberately spoken the last few sentences loudly enough for Wang Xiaozao and Zhou Mingyu to hear.
When Zhou Mingyu heard that Liu Xueyan had agreed to end their engagement, he shot her a sidelong glance.
He had expected breaking off the engagement to be difficult, but he hadn’t imagined that Liu Xueyan would agree so readily.
Hadn’t she been completely infatuated with him before?
She had to be pretending!
But, to be honest, although Liu Xueyan was a village girl, she was quite beautiful.
Not a single one of his female classmates could compare to her.
What a pity that she came from the countryside and an ordinary family. If he married her, neither she nor her family would be able to help him get ahead.
If he could marry a senior officer’s daughter in the military in the future, his path to success would be much smoother.
When Wang Xiaozao heard that Liu Xueyan had agreed to break off the engagement, she was so excited that she nearly jumped for joy.
“Good! As long as you agree to end the engagement, that’s all that matters.
“This is the fountain pen you gave my Mingyu when we arranged the engagement. Here, take it back.
“And return the bracelet my family gave you, too. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to keep an engagement token after we’ve called things off.”
Liu Xueyan said nothing. She went straight to her room and retrieved the bracelet that the original owner had treasured and carefully hidden away.
Holding the bracelet, Liu Xueyan didn’t hand it directly to Wang Xiaozao. Instead, she looked coldly at both Wang Xiaozao and Zhou Mingyu.
“I’m willing to end the engagement! And I’m willing to return the bracelet to your family!
“But the money your family borrowed from mine must also be repaid in full!”
“Money? What money?” Wang Xiaozao shrieked.
Liu Xueyan calmly took out a notebook.
“Auntie Xiaozao, during the two years Zhou Mingyu and I were engaged, you and Zhou Mingyu borrowed a total of 256 yuan and 80 cents from my family under various pretexts.
“On top of that, you’ve eaten the fish, grain, and eggs from my family over the years. I won’t even bother calculating the cost of those separately. I’ll just round everything up, including the money you borrowed, to 300 yuan. That’s how much you owe us…”
“Three hundred yuan? Why don’t you just rob us!” Wang Xiaozao exclaimed, immediately growing frantic when she heard Liu Xueyan demand repayment.
Liu Xueyan’s gaze turned colder.
“Auntie, I’ve already deducted a great deal because we’re from the same village. For example, I haven’t even included the wages my father and my two older brothers should have received for working for your family.
“And what about all the housework I’ve done for your family? That should have been paid work, too.”
Liu Xueyan closed the notebook and glanced at Liu Shibing, who was standing nearby.
“Second Brother, go and get Uncle Village Chief. Ask him to come over and witness this.”
After speaking, Liu Xueyan turned back to Wang Xiaozao.
“You want to break off the engagement, and I agree. But your family must repay the 300 yuan you owe mine.
“Of course, I know your family probably can’t come up with that much money all at once. That’s fine. Zhou Mingyu can write me an IOU. I’ve heard that students at military academies receive a monthly allowance.
“He can repay me a little each month. He’s still in school, so I won’t make things difficult for you. As long as he pays everything back within three years, that’s good enough.”
Wang Xiaozao shook her head immediately.
“We have no money! We can’t pay you back! We don’t even have thirty yuan, let alone three hundred!”
Liu Xueyan let out a cold laugh.
“Auntie, I’m informing you that you owe us 300 yuan. I’m not asking for your opinion.
“If you refuse to agree, I’ll go to Zhou Mingyu’s school and speak to his superiors.
“Military academies take their students’ moral character very seriously. If the school leaders learn that, after getting accepted into university, Zhou Mingyu abandoned the fiancée who helped take care of his family and supported his education, do you think they’ll still want him?
“Besides, I’m someone who has nothing to lose. You people have reputations and futures to protect, so why should I be afraid of you?”
“You…” Wang Xiaozao was about to continue arguing with Liu Xueyan when Zhou Mingyu grabbed her and stopped her.
Frowning, Zhou Mingyu looked at Liu Xueyan.
“Xueyan, even if we end our engagement, we can still be friends. Do you really have to make things so ugly?”
Liu Xueyan curled her lips into a faint smile.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be friends with you. I just want my money!”
At that moment, Village Chief Li Chunhua arrived.
On the way over, Liu Shibing had already told him about Zhou Mingyu’s intention to break off his engagement with Liu Xueyan.
Originally, Li Chunhua had been very proud of Zhou Mingyu, the first person in their village to get into university—and not just any university, but a military academy.
However, Zhou Mingyu had barely received his admission letter before deciding to break off his engagement.
What was the difference between him and those men in traditional opera who abandoned their long-suffering wives after passing the imperial examinations and gaining fame?
“Mingyu, are you really going to break off your engagement with Xueyan?”
Li Chunhua stared at Zhou Mingyu seriously.
Zhou Mingyu glanced at Wang Xiaozao, who hurriedly spoke up.
“Village Chief, we have no choice but to end the engagement. We’re doing this for Xueyan’s own good.
“Xueyan isn’t going to school anymore, so she can get married right away while she’s still young.
“But my Mingyu still has to attend university. We simply don’t want to hold Xueyan back…”
Ha!
So they wanted to have their cake and eat it too?
Liu Xueyan had a sudden idea.
“Auntie, I don’t mind waiting for him. I’m willing to wait for Zhou Mingyu.
“Besides, university students are allowed to get married nowadays. Why don’t Zhou Mingyu and I go to his school together and discuss it with the school authorities?”
Wang Xiaozao glared at Liu Xueyan.
“Discuss what? Why would you go looking for the school authorities?
“Liu Xueyan, didn’t you just agree to end the engagement?”
Liu Xueyan nodded.
“That’s right. I agreed. But your family has to repay the money. If you don’t have it, Zhou Mingyu can write an IOU.”
Liu Xueyan then explained the 300-yuan debt to the village chief.
The village chief nodded in approval.
“Debts must be repaid. That’s only right and proper. Zhou Mingyu, do you acknowledge the accounts Xueyan has listed?”
“I do!” Zhou Mingyu admitted through gritted teeth.
He genuinely hadn’t expected Liu Xueyan to have kept records.
The notebook listed everything clearly and meticulously. He couldn’t deny the debt even if he wanted to.
Li Chunhua’s expression softened somewhat.
“Good. As long as you acknowledge it, that’s fine.
“Now tell me, are you going to repay the money right away or write an IOU?”
Zhou Mingyu thought for a moment.
“Village Chief, you know my mother hasn’t had an easy time supporting my education. My family simply can’t produce that much money all at once.”
“Then write an IOU,” Li Chunhua replied.
He took Liu Xueyan’s notebook and pen and quickly drafted an IOU according to her requirements.
He even signed his name as a witness.
Zhou Mingyu and Liu Xueyan also signed it.
Their engagement was officially over. Although Liu Xueyan hadn’t received the money yet, she now had a written IOU, so she wasn’t worried about Zhou Mingyu refusing to pay.
If necessary, she could take the IOU directly to his school or even approach the superiors at whatever workplace he joined in the future.
News of Zhou Mingyu and Liu Xueyan breaking off their engagement quickly spread throughout the village.
Some people were delighted by the misfortune, while others felt sorry for Liu Xueyan. However, most of the villagers criticized Zhou Mingyu.
Feeling humiliated, Zhou Mingyu left the Liu family home as soon as everything was settled and headed straight back to his own house. Wang Xiaozao followed close behind him.
Liu Shijun clenched his fists and turned to Zhang Cuihua.
“Mom, why didn’t you let us beat Zhou Mingyu up?
“It’s obvious he’s bullying our Xueyan!”
Liu Shibing nodded in agreement.
“Exactly, Mom! If you hadn’t held me back, I would’ve beaten Zhou Mingyu up myself!”