The Lu Household.
Out by the river, Lu Yichen poured out a mountain of comforting words until Xia Lin finally stopped crying. He even made a solemn promise that he would force Lin Ruochu to apologize to Xia Lin and set the record straight.
With Xia Lin in tow, he marched back to the wedding banquet, expecting to use the pressure of the crowd to force an apology out of Lin Ruochu. To his shock, when they returned, they found the guests entirely gone, the tables completely stripped down to bare plates, not a single scrap of food left behind.
Unaware of what Lin Ruochu had declared moments earlier, Lu Yichen saw her absence and immediately cursed under his breath, calling her “petty-minded.”
At that moment, the Lu parents—who had been faking illness inside—stormed out. The sight of Lu Yichen still clinging to Xia Lin pushed Lu Xianggui (the father) to the brink of physical violence.
“You still have the face to come back? Look at the mess you’ve made! You’ve completely dragged our Lu family’s honor through the dirt.”
Looking terrified by the elder Lu’s ferocious expression, Xia Lin offered a timid, protective defense for Lu Yichen. “Uncle Lu, don’t blame Brother Lu. It’s all my fault.”
While Lu Xianggui hesitated to lash out too harshly at a female educated youth, Lu Mother—her face thick with flesh and eyes narrowed into triangles—shot a glare of pure venom at Xia Lin. “Shut your shameless mouth! If it weren’t for a cheap educated youth like you, would my fine daughter-in-law have been driven away?”
She then snapped at Lu Yichen, “What are you standing there for? Go apologize to Lin Ruochu right now and coax her back!”
Stung by the sudden verbal assault, Xia Lin’s eyes reddened once more. “Brother Lu, I should probably just leave.”
Naturally, Lu Yichen stopped her immediately. “Dad, Mom, even if you like Lin Ruochu, you can’t be this unreasonable! Today’s mess was entirely Lin Ruochu’s fault to begin with.”
“Alright, just go call Lin Ruochu out here.”
Lu Xianggui stated flatly, “Lin Ruochu has already left. Before she walked out, she made it clear: the wedding is off.”
Hearing those words, Lu Yichen felt as though his mind had been split open by a lightning bolt. “Impossible. Lin Ruochu would never refuse to marry me.”
Xia Lin hurriedly grabbed Lu Yichen’s arm. “Brother Lu, Ruochu is just throwing a temper tantrum. You two are childhood sweethearts—how could she possibly call off the wedding?”
“That’s right, Ruochu wouldn’t really break things off with me. I’m not going to coddle her this time. In a couple of days, she’ll realize she was in the wrong.”
That was the final straw for Lu Xianggui. He swung a walking stick hard across Lu Yichen’s back. “Shut your damn mouth! Go apologize to Lin Ruochu right this second, or don’t bother coming back!”
Right as Lu Xianggui was in the middle of disciplining his son, the Lin family arrived in full force.
Stung by the humiliation of being beaten in public, Lu Yichen glared defiantly. Believing Lin Ruochu was still fundamentally in the wrong, he stiffened his neck, waiting for her to come and beg his forgiveness.
Stepping forward, Lin Jianguo looked straight at Lu Xianggui. “Old Lu, our two families have shared generations of friendship. Since your Lu Yichen and our Ruochu clearly aren’t a match, let’s call off this engagement once and for all.”
The bond between the Lu and Lin families spanned several generations; the original betrothal between Lin Ruochu and Lu Yichen had even been arranged by their grandfathers.
Choked up by the blunt demand, Lu Xianggui knew deep down that his son was entirely at fault today. He offered a strained, apologetic smile. “What happened today was entirely our Yichen’s fault. I’ll make him apologize to Ruochu right now—he still has deep feelings for her in his heart.”
Putting aside her inner grievances, Lu Mother (Li Guifen) turned to Lin Jianguo with an aggrieved tone. “In-law, what kind of talk is that? In my heart, I only ever recognize Ruochu as my daughter-in-law. No unrespectable, trashy outsiders are ever stepping foot into our family’s doors.”
Xia Lin flinched, acutely aware of the thinly veiled insult directed at her, while Lin Ruochu let out a cold, silent sneer.
To an outsider, Lu Mother and Father looked like fierce protectors of Lin Ruochu right now, didn’t they? But it was all a masterclass in hypocrisy.
In her past life, shortly after she and Lu Yichen married and he returned to the military unit, the elder Lus completely abandoned farm work, dumping every domestic chore and backbreaking burden onto Lin Ruochu while treating her with chilling cruelty.
Years passed without Lu Yichen returning home, and they eventually turned their resentment onto Lin Ruochu, convincing themselves that Lu Yichen refused to return simply because he despised having her as a wife.
Later, when Xia Lin returned carrying a child and demanded Lin Ruochu adopt it, Lu Mother had initially put on a massive show of cursing the heavens and opposing it—only to suddenly flip her stance and accept the child, treating it with the fierce affection of a biological grandchild.
In her past life, a naive Lin Ruochu assumed Lu Mother had simply had a change of heart, believing her to be a good person who had merely been temporarily confused.
Now, looking back with crystal-clear vision, Lin Ruochu realized there was never any change of heart. Lu Mother had simply realized that the child was the grandchild Xia Lin had birthed for their family.
Not a single soul in the Lu family had ever possessed a shred of genuine goodwill toward her.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lin Ruochu made her absolute stance known. “This marriage is canceled, permanently. I have no interest in playing the villain standing in the middle of other people’s romance. I gladly step aside to fulfill Lu Yichen and Xia Lin’s grand romance.”
Panicking, Xia Lin rushed to defend herself. “Ruochu, you’ve completely misunderstood—”
“Shut your trap!” Li Guifen roared, shockingly lunging forward to shove Xia Lin hard. “Have you no shame at all? Why are you still sticking your nose into our family’s business?”
Humiliated in front of everyone, Xia Lin knew staying would yield zero benefits. Shielding her face, she turned and fled the scene in a torrent of theatrical tears.
Lu Yichen made a reflex move to chase after her, but Lu Xianggui bellowed, “If you dare take one step after her, I’ll break your legs!”
Frozen in place, Lu Yichen pulled his foot back and glared resentfully. “Lin Ruochu! Just how far are you planning to drag this out? The scene you’ve made today is already ugly enough!”
Seeing Lu Yichen raise his voice and glare at Lin Ruochu, Lin Zhiyuan charged forward instantly. Fueled by adolescent hotheadedness, he threw a direct punch straight at Lu Yichen’s jaw. “Let me make something crystal clear to you: don’t think Lin Ruochu is someone you can just walk all over. She has a family backing her up! If you’ve got the guts to yell at her right in front of my face, God only knows how terribly you treat her behind closed doors.”
Under normal circumstances, whenever Lin Zhiyuan clashed with Lu Yichen in the past, Lin Ruochu would instinctively rush forward to shield Lu Yichen. But today, Lin Ruochu stepped forward and shielded Lin Zhiyuan instead.
As Lu Yichen instinctively moved to retaliate, Lin Ruochu blocked his path. “Lu Yichen, why are you lowering yourself to trade blows with a kid? Where’s your dignity?”
Realizing things were spinning out of control, Lu Xianggui barked at his son. “Enough! Yichen is the one in the wrong today; letting them vent their anger is the least you deserve.”
“As for breaking off the engagement, let’s not mention that nonsense again. Our family only recognizes Ruochu as our sole daughter-in-law, and Yichen’s heart belongs to her.”
Lin Ruochu’s expression remained carved in ice, her resolve unshakable. “The engagement is over. The least the Lu family can do right now is return my dowry so we can part ways cleanly and never cross paths again.”
Seeing that Lin Ruochu’s mind was completely made up, Lin Jianguo threw his full weight behind his daughter. “Lu Yichen had the absolute audacity to parade another woman around in her place at their own wedding banquet—and you still have the nerve to claim his heart belongs to our Ruochu?”
“We came here today for one reason: to collect her dowry. And this marriage is finished, once and for all.”
Lin Jianguo’s imposing stance broached zero argument. Desperate to salvage the situation, Lu Xianggui nudged his son aggressively. “You ungrateful brat, say something!”
Resentment still festering deep in his chest, Lu Yichen convinced himself that Lin Ruochu was merely staging a dramatic power play to force his compliance.
“Enough, Lin Ruochu! Your little stunt has gone far enough. Fine! If it makes you happy, I’ll turn around and hold a second wedding ceremony with you just to appease you!”