Among the crowd watching the commotion, besides the villagers of Laotianwan, were Gu Qingtang and the young man standing beside her, Zhou Duo.
When Gu Qingtang heard Grandpa Zhou’s words clearly, she nearly collapsed. The thing she had feared most had happened after all.
Other people had no idea what had really happened, but she had witnessed it with her own eyes that morning. Zhou Shu had slept with a young woman, and that woman was none other than Zhong Yi.
And now, it turned out that this woman even had a fiancé.
With a background like hers, how could she possibly be worthy of Zhou Shu?
Gu Qingtang bit her lip in silence, unwillingness and jealousy almost consuming her reason.
Meanwhile, Zhou Duo was equally shocked by what he had heard. Yet beneath his astonishment, a secret flicker of delight arose.
As a thought crossed his mind, he deliberately leaned closer to Gu Qingtang and said, “My older brother only came back yesterday. Wait, does my brother even know about this? Grandpa has already arranged a marriage for him? Isn’t this a little too outrageous?”
As he spoke, he watched Gu Qingtang from the corner of his eye.
Looking at Grandpa Zhou, Gu Qingtang almost wanted to rush forward and tell everyone that Zhong Yi was completely unworthy of Zhou Shu. Zhou Shu had been forced to marry her because the two of them had slept together.
But she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t ruin Zhou Shu’s reputation.
She clenched both hands tightly, struggling to contain herself.
Noticing the veins bulging on the backs of her hands, Zhou Duo asked with concern, “Qingtang, are you okay?”
Gu Qingtang suppressed the resentment in her heart. “I’m fine. I don’t want to stay here anymore. Let’s go home.”
She was referring to their home in the city.
Zhou Duo naturally understood. He hurried over to fetch his bicycle.
“I’ll ride you back.”
The village wasn’t particularly far from the county seat. Rather than walking to town and then taking a bus to the county, with all the trouble that entailed, riding a bicycle would be much more convenient.
Gu Qingtang gave a quiet hum, climbed onto the back seat, and lightly gripped the hem of Zhou Duo’s shirt.
Zhou Duo straightened his back until his entire body became stiff. After taking a deep breath, he reminded himself to stay calm and composed.
“The country roads are bumpy. Do you want to put your arms around my waist?”
Gu Qingtang bit her lip.
When he heard no response from behind him, Zhou Duo grew even more nervous and began stumbling over his words.
“Don’t misunderstand! I don’t mean anything else. I’m just worried you’ll fall off. The roads in the countryside aren’t as smooth as the ones in the city.”
“I know.”
Gu Qingtang’s voice was very soft.
After saying that, she loosely wrapped her arms around Zhou Duo’s waist and lowered her head. Her long eyelashes drooped, concealing the complicated emotions in her eyes.
The truth was, she understood everything.
Zhou Duo liked her.
Their departure attracted little attention from the crowd. Grandpa Zhou noticed them, but the two had already told him that they had matters to attend to in the city and needed to return that day.
The younger generation had their own lives and jobs, and Grandpa Zhou wasn’t the type to interfere too much.
As for the Liang family’s matter, it had finally come to an end.
After everyone had seen enough of the commotion, Grandpa Zhou told them to disperse. After all, it wasn’t appropriate for so many people to keep crowding around.
Once everyone had finally left, Liang Feng took off his glasses and wiped his forehead with his hand. His palm was instantly covered in sweat.
This whole ordeal had felt like going through death and coming back to life!
Zhong Yi was also ready to leave. However, after remembering something, she walked over to Grandpa Zhou.
“Grandpa Zhou.”
Knowing that this spirited old man was aware of what had happened between her and his grandson, Zhong Yi felt a little less at ease around him.
Grandpa Zhou, however, remained warm and kind.
“How did you find out Liang Feng had another woman on the side?”
Zhong Yi’s heart skipped a beat. For a moment, she couldn’t quite figure out what he meant, so she stuck to what she could safely tell him.
“I was only guessing at first. Later, I went to the county hospital and made some inquiries. It didn’t take long to find out. The two of them were always together at the county hospital, acting like a couple. Most of the medical staff knew about them. They had simply kept it hidden from us.”
“That shameless bastard!” Grandpa Zhou cursed.
Then he turned back to Zhong Yi, his expression becoming gentle again.
“Now that everything has been cleared up, that’s good. Make sure you get the compensation you’re entitled to. There’s no need to waste too much time and energy on someone like him. And if Liang Feng comes looking for you later, don’t go out with him alone. That man has bad intentions.”
Zhong Yi immediately understood what Grandpa Zhou meant.
He was warning her to be careful of Liang Feng.
And he had a point. In this era, transportation was underdeveloped, and communication was even more inconvenient.
If Liang Feng deliberately sought revenge and abducted her to some remote mountain village, her entire life could be ruined!
“I understand. Thank you for warning me, Grandpa Zhou. Once I get the money back, I won’t have anything more to do with the Liang family. Even if I have to deal with them again, I’ll bring my mother along.”
Hearing her response, Grandpa Zhou knew she had understood his warning.
What a clever girl!
Grandpa Zhou chuckled cheerfully and clasped his hands behind his back.
“Well, this old man should head home, too. At least I haven’t let my grandson down!”
His words implied that he had done all this at Zhou Shu’s request.
So, was he helping Zhou Shu earn some brownie points with her?
Zhong Yi tried hard to suppress the corners of her mouth from curling upward.
She failed.
The corners of her lips still lifted ever so slightly.
After everyone dispersed, Zhong Yi went to retrieve her bicycle. When she noticed Liang Feng staring at her, she snorted coldly and deliberately turned her face away.
She returned the bicycle to the Zhou family and then headed home.
At last, she could get some proper rest.
Summoning the last of her strength, Zhong Yi took a shower before collapsing onto her bed. Within a second, she was fast asleep.
She slept very deeply.
When Zhong Huilan returned after selling tofu, the villagers stopped her before she even reached home. They eagerly crowded around her, all talking at once as they told her what had happened that afternoon.
Worried, she hurried home, wanting to question her daughter about everything.
She called out several times from outside, but no one answered. She found the key, unlocked the door, and went inside.
Zhong Yi was sleeping soundly, even snoring.
Zhong Huilan closed the door again and quietly retreated outside.
By the time Zhong Yi opened her eyes again, thirty hours had already passed.
It was the middle of the night. Outside the window, everything was pitch-black, and the entire Zhong household was silent.
Zhong Yi looked around. Realizing there was nothing to do now that she was awake, she lay back down and continued sleeping.
This time, she slept until the early hours of the morning.
Zhong Huilan had to get up a little after three to make tofu. She was lenient with her son in other matters, but when it came to making tofu, she refused to let Zhong Shu off the hook. So he was helping her nearby.
“Mom, just agree already! Xiuxiu really is a good girl. I like her a lot.”
Zhong Shu pushed the mill, looking as carefree and nonchalant as ever.
“Your younger sister has just been through something so serious, and you don’t even care! All you ever talk about is Xiuxiu, Xiuxiu! I don’t know what kind of spell she’s cast on you!”
For the past two days, everyone in Laotianwan had been discussing the engagement between the Zhong and Liang families. Almost the entire village knew about it.
Even people who had nothing better to do had asked after Zhong Yi and shown concern.
Yet her own older brother hadn’t said a single word about what had happened.
Zhong Huilan couldn’t describe how disappointed she felt.
As the eldest son of the family, Zhong Shu was supposed to shoulder some responsibility for the household and set a good example for his younger siblings.
Zhong Shu scratched his head.
“But the matter has already been resolved. What else am I supposed to do?”
Zhong Huilan was so angry that she wanted to dump the entire basin of soybeans over his head.
Just then, Zhong Yi walked out of the room.
“Mom. Big Brother.”
“Xiao Yi, you’re awake!” Zhong Huilan asked. “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
Zhong Yi shook her head.
“No. I’ve had enough sleep. I’m just hungry.”
The original owner had been thin to begin with. After going more than thirty hours without eating, Zhong Yi was now absolutely famished, her stomach practically sticking to her back.
She couldn’t help rubbing her belly.
Seeing this, Zhong Huilan handed her the soybeans.
“Help your brother grind these. I’ll go make you some breakfast.”
Since tofu-making was a family tradition passed down through generations, all the Zhong children had grown up surrounded by the aroma of soybeans. They could all make tofu to some extent, although their skills varied.
Zhong Yi couldn’t sleep anymore anyway, so she didn’t mind helping grind the soybeans. Fortunately, her older brother was the one doing the heavy work of pushing the large mill. Otherwise, she might have ended up lying down again.
“Little sister.”
Seeing their mother enter the kitchen, Zhong Shu nudged his sister with his elbow.
“Help me put in a good word with Mom. Get her to agree to let Xiuxiu marry into our family.”
Zhong Yi looked at her broad-shouldered, burly older brother.
“Big Brother, are you a little stupid or what?”