As Zhou Heshan finished speaking, the soldiers under his command were completely stunned.
They had secretly followed along out of curiosity—just wanting to see what their deputy commander’s fiancée looked like.
But instead, they walked right into a shocking drama.
Liu Qingyue let out a cold laugh.
Just like in her past life… he said the exact same things.
With his awareness, there was no way he didn’t know people were watching. Even if he hadn’t noticed them directly, there were clearly others nearby.
Speaking so loudly and openly like this—he was deliberately trying to ruin her reputation.
In those days, saying a woman had been touched all over by another man was almost the same as destroying her life.
As Liu Qingyue gathered her thoughts, she noticed the soldiers staring at her in shock.
They clearly assumed she had been involved with another man.
Zhou Heshan had calculated this perfectly—he mentioned she had been “touched,” but conveniently left out that she had fallen into the water and was rescued.
She turned to glance at Liu Wanwan.
But Liu Wanwan quickly avoided her gaze.
No doubt… she had already written to Zhou Heshan about this.
The two of them were working together.
Seeing the guilty look in Liu Wanwan’s eyes—and the judgment in the soldiers’ faces—Liu Qingyue acted without hesitation.
Smack!
She slapped Liu Wanwan.
Everyone froze.
Then Liu Qingyue stepped forward, pressing her.
“Have you already been involved with my fiancé behind my back?”
Liu Wanwan had originally come to enjoy the situation. She had indeed written that letter, thinking everything would unfold exactly as she planned.
But now, being slapped in front of everyone, she was completely stunned.
Zhou Heshan immediately stepped in, standing protectively in front of Liu Wanwan.
Frowning, he snapped, “Liu Qingyue, have you lost your mind?”
“Why are you hitting Wanwan?”
Looking at the two of them standing together, Liu Qingyue gave a bitter smile.
“Just look at yourselves… anyone can tell there’s something going on between you.”
“You’re even calling her ‘Wanwan’ so affectionately?”
She let out a mocking laugh.
“No one would believe there’s nothing between you two.”
Realizing how it looked, they quickly stepped apart.
“You’re talking nonsense!” Zhou Heshan shot back. “She’s like a sister to me—it’s normal to call her that!”
“It’s you who lost your virtue. I’m only switching the marriage to honor the arrangement our families made.”
“If you hadn’t been touched by another man, would I even consider this? Don’t twist the truth—your reputation is the problem here!”
Liu Qingyue slowly swept her gaze across the soldiers.
They were completely stunned.
One twist after another.
First, they thought she had done something improper.
Then she accused her sister.
Now it was turning into something even more complicated.
Finally, Liu Qingyue spoke clearly:
“The reason I was touched by another man… is because the person behind you—Liu Wanwan—pushed me into the lake.”
“I was rescued, and during that rescue, yes, he had to touch me.”
“As for the ‘kissing’ you mentioned—that was CPR. I even said in front of the villagers that you would understand, since you’re a naval officer. Don’t tell me you don’t even know basic life-saving procedures?”
She paused, then continued with a sharp edge in her voice:
“Isn’t it all a bit too convenient?”
“I get pushed into the lake by my own sister… rescued by a stranger… my reputation gets ruined…”
“Then I come here—and my sister insists on coming along.”
“And somehow, in such a short time, you already know everything… and suddenly want to switch the marriage—to the very sister who followed me here.”
Liu Qingyue stepped closer to Zhou Heshan, her voice steady but sharp.
“The only reason all of this lines up so perfectly… is because the two of you are involved with each other.”
“My dear sister wanted to marry you, so she pushed me into the lake and set everything up, didn’t she?”
“I can’t swim. If I fell in, I would either drown… or be rescued by a man and lose my reputation.”
“And then you’d use that as an excuse to switch the marriage and be together.”
“My reputation would be completely destroyed… I might not even be able to face anyone and end up taking my own life!”
As she finished speaking, Liu Qingyue suddenly began to cry pitifully.
She was acting—but convincingly.
“My life is so miserable… We had an arranged marriage, yet you still plotted against me like this!”
“I came all this way to the island, and my fiancé greets me with words like this!”
“Now my fiancé and my own sister are involved with each other, and he’s twisting the truth about me being rescued—just to ruin me completely!”
“Are you trying to push me to my death?!”
Her voice grew louder and louder, drawing a crowd.
Zhou Heshan and Liu Wanwan both started to panic.
His original plan had been simple—once Liu Qingyue arrived, he would make things clear in front of everyone. With so many witnesses, she would have no choice but to back down.
But things weren’t going as expected.
This wasn’t the Liu Qingyue he remembered.
Back in the village, she used to keep everything bottled up. She would never make a scene like this.
By his expectations, she should’ve broken down quietly… maybe even tried to end her life.
But instead—she was fighting back.
“I came all this way for you,” Liu Qingyue cried out, “and now you say you want to marry my sister? Do you have no conscience?”
“I even defended you back in the village! The man who saved me was worried about my reputation, and I said you’d understand—because you’re in the navy! Saving a life should matter more than anything!”
“But you… you’ve lost all sense of right and wrong!”
“I think you two were already involved long ago—this was planned from the start!”
Her crying became even more intense.
Some of the soldiers nearby couldn’t help but speak up.
“I think she’s right. She just fell into the water and was rescued. Of course there would be contact during a rescue—it’s unavoidable.”
“We’re in the navy. If someone falls into the water, our first instinct is to save them.”
“Are we supposed to let someone die just to protect their reputation?”
“Exactly. Being rescued shouldn’t be a problem—her safety is what matters. So why is the deputy commander saying she’s ‘no longer pure’ and trying to switch brides?”
“And why did her sister come along in the first place? That’s already suspicious.”
“Usually, family elders accompany someone—not a sister tagging along. Something about this doesn’t feel right.”
“Could it be that they were already involved before this?”
The soldiers murmured among themselves, one after another.
Zhou Heshan’s head started to ache.
He and Liu Wanwan had already agreed—this time, he would break off the engagement and marry her instead.
He was determined.
Even if others suspected something, as long as he denied it and stuck to his excuse about “traditional values,” he could still force the marriage change.
At worst, he’d just endure some gossip.
He took a deep breath, then glared at Liu Qingyue.
“Liu Qingyue, can you stop making a scene?”
“Even if you were only rescued after falling into the water, my family can’t accept it. We’re traditional people—my parents and I both feel the same.”
“I cannot marry you.”
He repeated his stance firmly.
Inside, Liu Qingyue rolled her eyes.
“Traditional values?”
If he was truly so conservative, then why had he already been involved with Liu Wanwan before marriage?
Disgusting.
A complete hypocrite—one face in public, another behind the scenes.