Her palm was bright red, and her hand had even gone numb.
But she felt incredibly satisfied!
“I’m breaking off the engagement! I want to end my engagement with you!”
At this point, even if Zhong Yi was the one who initiated the breakup, it would not damage her reputation in the slightest.
Liang Feng had found himself another woman, and that woman had even come knocking at his door. How was that any different from humiliating the entire Zhong family right to their faces?
Her uncle couldn’t tolerate such an insult, and neither could her aunt.
Meanwhile, Liang Feng’s face was swollen like a pig’s head. Yet when he heard Zhong Yi’s words, his first reaction was actually to feel relieved.
It was just as well that they were breaking off the engagement. All he had to do was coax Meng Lina into forgiving him. Once he established himself in the city, he could simply stop returning to this miserable countryside.
To be honest, he had never felt the slightest attachment to this place anyway!
“Fine! Let’s break off the engagement!” he declared defiantly.
By now, Zhong Yi had calmed down considerably. Since she had realized what a rotten person Liang Feng was, there was no reason to keep entangling herself with someone like him and waste her youth.
Sometimes, knowing when to cut your losses is a form of wisdom!
“Since Grandpa Zhou is here, I’d like to ask him to serve as a witness. Today, Liang Feng and I are ending our engagement. He is the one who wronged me, and I have done absolutely nothing wrong.
“Furthermore, over the years, my family has provided Liang Feng personally, as well as the Liang family, with all kinds of support, including financial assistance and material necessities. All of that was given on the understanding that Liang Feng and I would eventually get married.
“Now that our engagement has been called off, the Liang family must return everything my family has provided over the years. In addition, they must pay me a sum of money as personal compensation.”
Her demands were entirely reasonable.
But Liang Feng was instantly furious when he heard them.
“Zhong Yi, have you gone crazy? You gave me that money willingly! And besides, besides…”
Where was he supposed to find that much money now?
When he was in school, the Zhong family’s financial support had left him with plenty of spending money. He had never even considered saving any of it. Instead, he spent it treating his buddies to meals and buying himself new clothes and shoes.
To outsiders, he had always claimed that his family was well-off, all to maintain his image as a wealthy young man.
Although he was earning a salary now, Meng Lina was a city girl who loved romance and sophistication. She wanted to dine at restaurants, watch movies, and receive gifts. Every single one of those things cost money.
He barely had a few coins left in his pocket.
At this point, Zhong Yi found Liang Feng so disgusting that even looking at him made her want to throw up.
“Grandpa Zhou, do you think my demands are unreasonable?”
“Not at all,” Grandpa Zhou replied.
Zhong Yi then turned to the villagers who had gathered to watch the commotion.
“Uncles, aunties, grandpas, and grandmas, what do you think? Are my demands really unreasonable?”
“Not at all! There’s nothing unreasonable about them!”
“Exactly! Without your family’s support, the Liang family would have starved to death! How else could they have afforded to send him to university?”
“That’s right! A person shouldn’t be so ungrateful. Heaven will punish people who have no conscience!”
The villagers’ angry words came pouring down on Liang Feng like a barrage of spit.
His face turned green, then red, then white, until it was practically ghostly pale!
Finally, Zhong Yi looked at him again.
“Do you have any objections?”
Could Liang Feng really say that he did?
If he dared, he was afraid he wouldn’t even make it out of his own front door alive!
“No,” he muttered.
At worst, he would agree for now. After all, Zhong Yi had always been deeply in love with him. She was simply angry at the moment. He could coax her in private later.
Once he had sweet-talked Zhong Yi into calming down, he could tell everyone that he had already paid the compensation.
Zhong Yi had guessed exactly what he was thinking. She sneered.
“Once I get home, I’ll discuss this with my mother and prepare a detailed list of the compensation owed. You’ll pay us according to the amounts listed. If you fail to pay, I’ll go straight to the county hospital and speak to your superiors. I’m sure the hospital’s leadership will handle the matter fairly and justly!”
Liang Feng’s heart sank.
If Zhong Yi really went to the hospital to make a scene, he could lose his job as well.
He gritted his teeth so hard they nearly ground together, glaring at Zhong Yi with venomous hatred.
This woman really was lucky.
Yesterday, she had clearly drugged Zhou Shu. If everything had gone according to plan, she would have been discovered lying in the same bed as Zhou Shu.
At that point, Liang Feng could have blamed everything on his mother and then conveniently proposed breaking off the engagement. He would have walked away without a stain on his reputation.
Instead, things had turned out like this, leaving him trapped in an impossible situation.
He resented Zhong Yi even more. Since she supposedly loved him so much, why couldn’t she understand his predicament?
“Don’t worry, little Zhong. I’ll personally make sure he pays you back,” Grandpa Zhou added, delivering yet another devastating blow to Liang Feng.
Hearing this, the villagers also chimed in, promising to keep an eye on Liang Feng and ensure that he repaid every cent.
Liang Feng had never suffered such humiliation in his life, nor had he ever been publicly cornered like this.
Sweat covered his forehead, and his eyes were filled with unmistakable hatred.
Zhong Yi remained completely unmoved.
She had done nothing wrong. There was no reason for her to be afraid, much less feel guilty.
“Thank you, Grandpa Zhou, and thank you, uncles and aunties, for standing up for me.”
She bowed respectfully to everyone.
The gesture earned her even more praise. She was poised, gracious, and well-mannered. Who wouldn’t like a girl like that?
Grandpa Zhou watched Zhong Yi, who carried herself with such calm dignity, and found himself liking her even more.
Originally, according to the plan he had made with his grandson, they were supposed to pressure Liang Feng into voluntarily breaking off the engagement. That would have indirectly done Liang Feng a favor.
But things were different now.
This time, Liang Feng had practically been nailed to a pillar of shame.
The engagement was over, and Zhong Yi bore none of the blame!
Brilliant!
And if Liang Feng still refused to cooperate, taking the matter to the county hospital could easily cost him his job.
As Grandpa Zhou looked at Zhong Yi, he recalled what his grandson had told him.
He decided to add one more spark to the whole affair.
“Since everyone happens to be here, this old man might as well join in on the excitement.”
The moment he said this, the villagers hurriedly insisted that Grandpa Zhou was being too modest. After all, without him, the village wouldn’t enjoy the peace and security it had today.
Naturally, the old man’s words carried considerable weight.
Zhong Yi had originally planned to head home. She was genuinely exhausted. Her legs barely felt like her own anymore, and if she hadn’t been forcing herself to stay upright, she would have collapsed onto the ground long ago.
Her palm was burning with pain, too.
However, Grandpa Zhou deserved her respect, so she stayed instead of leaving. Like everyone else, she turned to look at him.
Strangely enough, Grandpa Zhou was looking right back at her.
Zhong Yi couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
Then she heard the old man’s aged but powerful voice ring out.
“I’ve watched little Zhong grow up, and I think she’s a girl who values loyalty and kindness. Previously, since she and Liang Feng were engaged, I respected their choices. But now that Liang Feng has failed to appreciate such a wonderful girl, I’m going to step in myself!”
What exactly did he mean by that?
Grandpa Zhou continued, “My grandson serves in the military, and he’s already getting on in years without finding himself a partner. I think little Zhong would make an excellent match for him. She’s loyal, kind, and beautiful.
“So, for once, I’m going to take the liberty of making the decision myself. I’ve decided to arrange an engagement between my grandson and Zhong Yi!”
His announcement sent the watching villagers into an uproar.
Everyone knew that the Zhou family had the best circumstances in the entire village. The family of Zhou Shouan, in particular, was especially well-off.
Although they had lived in the city for years, everyone knew that Zhou Shouan was a government official and his wife was a university teacher. As for Zhou Shu himself, he was a soldier.
No one knew his exact military rank, but since he had served in the army for several years, he was probably at least a company commander!
With a family background like that, how could Liang Feng possibly compare?
How could Liang Feng not understand this?
That was precisely why he had plotted against Zhong Yi and Zhou Shu in the first place. If the two of them had been caught in bed together, both their reputations would have been completely ruined.
By contrast, Liang Feng would have been the unfortunate man deserving of everyone’s sympathy. If he had been lucky, he might even have avoided repaying all the money the Zhong family had given him.
Instead, things had turned out exactly the opposite, and now he had become a public disgrace.
The thought made Liang Feng grind his teeth in fury. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes filled with poisonous hatred.