“There must be some mistake. I’m here to see Zhou Huaimin.”
Qin Man removed her headscarf, revealing herself with calm confidence.
Looking around the room, she smiled brightly.
“I arrived in the provincial capital by train a couple of days ago, but something unexpected came up along the way. Fortunately, I still made it in time for the engagement banquet.”
As she spoke, Qin Man walked over to Liu Amei and affectionately linked arms with her.
“Aunt Zhou, although my grandfather saved Huaimin’s life years ago, that was more than a decade ago. Times are different now, and it’s not appropriate to make too much of it.”
The moment Qin Man appeared, the Tian family’s expressions darkened.
Embarrassed, Tian Jianshe shot Zhou Huaimin a glare.
“What exactly is going on?”
“This is my sister’s engagement banquet. Why has another fiancée suddenly appeared?”
Everyone invited to the state-owned restaurant was either family or close acquaintances.
Feeling the suspicious gazes of the guests, Tian Jianshe’s face burned with humiliation.
Whispers immediately spread throughout the room.
Zhou Huaimin lowered his head without saying a word.
His silence only made it seem as though the Zhou family was in the wrong.
“Qin Man, what are you doing in the provincial capital?”
Liu Amei clutched the tablecloth, her hands trembling.
Remembering the plan she and her son had discussed beforehand, she deliberately raised her voice.
“Everyone, judge for yourselves! She was the one who fell for an educated youth from Beijing and insisted on breaking off the engagement. Now she’s come here to ruin my son’s engagement banquet. What kind of intentions does she have?”
Another bucket of dirty water was thrown at Qin Man.
This time, however, Yang Xiaoyun wasn’t fooled.
The traffickers had already used the exact same trick at the hospital.
Stepping protectively in front of Qin Man, Yang Xiaoyun snapped,
“Auntie, do you really think you can slander Xiaoman just because you say so?”
Growing bolder, she put her hands on her hips.
“Why don’t we go explain everything to the Revolutionary Committee?”
She only said it to bluff.
Deep down, Yang Xiaoyun knew there was no guarantee Qin Man would receive fair treatment there.
After all, she’d heard the Tian family had powerful connections.
Gently tugging on Yang Xiaoyun’s sleeve, Qin Man put on a deeply wounded expression.
“Uncle Zhou… Aunt Zhou… isn’t today’s engagement banquet supposed to be for Huaimin and me?”
Her voice wasn’t aggressive, but it made Liu Amei’s scalp tingle.
Starting by acting weak? She’s much harder to deal with than expected.
Liu Amei had assumed Qin Man would throw a loud tantrum.
That would have given the Zhou family the perfect excuse to paint her as unreasonable and publicly sever ties.
“Qin Man! You’re the one who ran off with an educated youth! My brother already let you go!”
Thinking about the job that was almost hers, only to be threatened by Qin Man’s sudden appearance, Zhou Qiaohong trembled with rage.
She didn’t care whether there had really been an educated youth or not.
Her brother absolutely could not marry a worthless country girl.
“Zhou Huaimin, you owe the Tian family an explanation.”
There were too many people watching.
Not wanting to make an even bigger spectacle, Tian Jianshe spoke up.
The Tian family had never once heard that Zhou Huaimin already had a fiancée.
Holding Zhou Huaimin’s hand proudly, Tian Dan lifted her chin.
“Brother, Huaimin already told me about it. I just thought it was too embarrassing, so I didn’t tell you or Mom and Dad.”
A country girl who fooled around with another man, was abandoned by an educated youth, and then came crawling back to Zhou Huaimin… Did she really think the Zhou family would accept just anyone?
“Uncle, Auntie, Brother… this is all my fault.”
Without saying a single bad word about Qin Man, Zhou Huaimin stepped forward, bowed deeply, and apologized to both the Tian family and all the guests.
Qin Man couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
No wonder he’s the novel’s male lead.
Retreating in order to advance… ruthless, calculating, and incredibly scheming.
She refused to believe he hadn’t known she was kidnapped.
Knowing about it and choosing to ignore it proved just how cold-hearted he really was.
If the two families had simply drifted apart, that would have been one thing.
But her grandfather had sacrificed his own life to save Zhou Huaimin’s.
“Mom, please don’t say any more.”
Zhou Huaimin stepped forward to stop Liu Amei.
“Grandpa Qin saved my life. No matter what, the Qin family has shown great kindness to ours. We’ll remember that debt forever. Without Grandpa Qin, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
“I’ve always treated Qin Man like my own younger sister.”
There was gratitude.
But no romantic love.
After saying that, Zhou Huaimin looked at Qin Man with generous understanding, acting as though he wasn’t upset at all that she’d come to ruin the banquet.
Qin Man was speechless.
I was wrong.
He’s not just ruthless.
He’s a monster.
Mother and son played their roles perfectly—one the villain, one the saint—cornering Qin Man from both sides.
An ordinary village girl would have been completely overwhelmed.
But Qin Man wasn’t.
She was willing to go all in.
Facing Zhou Huaimin’s carefully staged magnanimity, Qin Man staggered back two steps, her face turning deathly pale.
“Huaimin… you’re saying I was involved with another educated youth?”
She wiped away her tears.
Without offering any explanation, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a thick coil of hemp rope.
She had borrowed it from Zhu Huifang.
Song Qingsong and Yang Xiaoyun exchanged confused looks but didn’t ask why.
The next thing they knew, Qin Man had thrown the rope over a ceiling beam.
The two of them stood frozen in shock.
Qin Man dragged over a chair, tears glistening in her eyes.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I believed I would marry into the Zhou family. Huaimin was the only man I ever loved.”
“Yes, there are educated youths in our village—but none from Beijing. And even if there were, none of them could ever compare to Huaimin.”
“My parents are gone. I barely have any family left.”
“If Huaimin doesn’t want me… then what’s the point of living anymore?”
Today, Qin Man was going to hang herself in front of everyone.
Well…
Not really.
Crying, causing a scene, and threatening suicide.
The oldest trick in the book.
Against shameless people like the Zhou family, being tough would only make her look unreasonable.
These days, the weaker person usually won public sympathy.
The trafficker Chen Fengying had already taught Qin Man that lesson.
No one had believed the original Qin Man.
Instead, they’d believed the trafficker simply because she looked honest.
“Xiaoman, are you out of your mind?”
Yang Xiaoyun rushed over and hugged Qin Man tightly.
“Zhou Huaimin climbed the social ladder and dumped you because you’re just a country girl with no background. If you really hang yourself, won’t that just make things easier for the Zhou family?”
From the way Qin Man had outsmarted the traffickers, Yang Xiaoyun already knew she wasn’t someone who would truly give up her life.
The rope was simply another clever tactic.
Sure enough, Qin Man burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
The crowd’s sympathy immediately began shifting back toward her.
Silently, Yang Xiaoyun gave Qin Man a mental thumbs-up.
As the drama unfolded, Tian Dan’s parents could no longer remain seated.
Her father, Tian Jinrong, stood up with a grim face.
“My apologies, everyone. We’ve made a fool of ourselves today.”
“If Zhou Huaimin already has a fiancée, then this marriage can end here.”
He grabbed Tian Dan’s arm.
“Come home. Haven’t we embarrassed ourselves enough?”
“I’m not going!”
Tian Dan shook him off stubbornly.
“Huaimin and I fell in love on our own. Who still believes in arranged marriages these days?”
“My dear in-laws, please let me explain!”
Liu Amei panicked completely.
She couldn’t think of a way to salvage the situation.
The room fell into a tense silence.
After weighing his options, Zhou Huaimin realized he had no choice but to reveal his trump card.
“Qin Man, now that you’ve come to the provincial capital, I can take care of you.”
“I can even support you for the rest of your life.”
“But I will never marry you.”
His face was icy as he continued,
“The man you were involved with wasn’t an educated youth from your own village.”
“It was Huang Zhonghua from the neighboring Xiangyang Village.”