“About what happened yesterday—I admit I was in the wrong. But the situation was urgent. I thought you could swim well enough to hold on a bit longer, so I planned to save Comrade Lin, who couldn’t swim, first, and then come back for you. I really didn’t think that much.”
“I know you’re angry, but our marriage isn’t a joke. How could you tell others that our engagement is off?”
Shen Qinghe’s face was icy. Without a word, she picked up the basin the chickens used for drinking from the coop beside her and slowly walked up to Gu Linchuan.
Gu Linchuan’s expression changed. A bad feeling crept up on him, but he still thought Shen Qinghe wouldn’t actually go that far. He stood there without moving. “Qinghe, you—”
Splash!
Shen Qinghe hurled the basin—water and all—straight at Gu Linchuan. The outside of the basin was smeared with chicken droppings, and the water inside was filthy and murky, mixed with who knew what. Gu Linchuan hadn’t expected her to really splash him. The stinking water drenched him from head to toe, and he could even smell the strange odor on himself. The veins at his temple throbbed. “Shen Qinghe! Are you crazy?”
“Get lost! Our engagement is off. I have nothing to do with you anymore. If you ever come to my house again, I’ll beat you every time I see you!”
“Shen Qinghe—”
Shen Qinghe grabbed a broom, a dustpan, and whatever else she could find and threw them all at him. Sanbao even handed things to her as she went. Gu Linchuan was battered into a sorry state. No matter how angry he was, he couldn’t vent it. In the end, he could only slink away in disgrace.
“Sanbao, well done!”
Huo Yanxiu and Xu Chenfeng were carrying meat they’d just bought from the supply and marketing cooperative back to Shen Hongwei’s house when they happened to run into Gu Linchuan, looking utterly disheveled, coming out of the Shen family courtyard.
Huo Yanxiu instinctively glanced into the yard and only caught sight of Shen Qinghe’s back as she went inside.
“Battalion Commander Huo, Deputy Commander Huo.” Seeing Huo Yanxiu, Gu Linchuan’s expression turned complicated. On one hand, he was grateful to Huo Yanxiu for saving Shen Qinghe’s life—things had been urgent, and he truly hadn’t had time. But on the other hand, as the man about to marry Shen Qinghe, knowing that Huo Yanxiu might have seen her body stirred an unmistakable, subtle hostility in him.
Of course, it wasn’t that he liked Shen Qinghe. It was just that she was bound to marry him sooner or later. Even if he’d already decided to remain chaste for Xiaoxue and would never touch Shen Qinghe, she was still his woman. What did it look like for another man to see her body? In Huo Yanxiu’s eyes, he probably looked like a cuckolded fool, didn’t he?
Thinking this, Gu Linchuan unconsciously stopped. “Battalion Commander Huo, you saved Qinghe, and I haven’t had the chance to thank you yet.”
“When spring comes next year and Qinghe and I get married, I’ll definitely invite you for a drink at the wedding.”
“You’re welcome.” Huo Yanxiu nodded lightly, his expression unreadable.
Xu Chenfeng, however, spoke up. “Funny—I heard Aunt Zhou say that Comrade Shen has already called off the engagement with you. And, Xiao Gu, all this on you… don’t tell me Comrade Shen splashed you?”
Gu Linchuan didn’t feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he curled his lips into a smile. “Qinghe just likes to throw little tantrums. I made her angry this time, so it’s only right that she kicks up a fuss. But what we have between us won’t be broken over something like this.”
“Is that so?” Xu Chenfeng smiled. “I think Comrade Shen is pretty angry this time. Xiao Gu, you really should take it seriously. If you’d saved Comrade Shen yesterday and left Comrade Lin for us to rescue, wouldn’t none of this have happened?”
“Come to think of it, I find it a bit strange. Why did you save Comrade Lin first back then?”
Gu Linchuan stiffened. “Qinghe can swim. I thought… I thought she could hold on a bit longer.”
“I see. Then Xiao Gu, you’re really kind-hearted—putting the person you’re negotiating marriage with in danger for the sake of someone you barely know.”
Gu Linchuan’s face darkened. But the two men in front of him were both his superiors, so he couldn’t offend them. He could only mutter that he still had things to do and hurry off.
“I thought he was something special. Turns out he can’t even take a few words,” Xu Chenfeng said smugly with a grin.
“Why bother arguing with him?” Huo Yanxiu carried on walking.
“Wasn’t he the one being all snide first? Don’t tell me you didn’t feel the hostility he had toward you?” Xu Chenfeng snorted. “Hey—don’t tell me he’s taken you for a romantic rival?”
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Huo Yanxiu paused, then quietly spat out three words.
“How is that nonsense? Weren’t Gu Linchuan’s words obvious just now? But do you think he’s telling the truth? Will Comrade Shen really forgive him?”
“I doubt it. A scumbag like that…” Thinking of what he’d heard last night in the woods near the educated youth compound, Xu Chenfeng hesitated. “Should we remind Comrade Shen? What if she really gets fooled by Gu Linchuan? The guy does have a decent face—don’t girls care about that kind of thing?”
“She won’t.” After a pause, Huo Yanxiu added, “If you’re still worried, you can remind her.”
“Hey, what do you mean if I’m worried?” Watching Huo Yanxiu’s back as he walked farther away, Xu Chenfeng muttered, “Why does this guy feel kind of off…”
Forget it—better wait and see. Shen Hongwei’s funeral hadn’t been held yet, and they’d be staying in Shenjia Bay for a few more days. If Comrade Shen really got fooled by Gu Linchuan, he’d definitely step in to help. After all, he was a good person who loved helping others, right?
……
Seeing that Shen Qinghe meant it, the Gu family couldn’t sit still anymore. At lunchtime, the whole family showed up at the door carrying gifts.
“Dear in-laws! Eating lunch? We heard Qinghe fell into the water, so we came to see her!”
“Qinghe, we dragged this brat here to apologize to you. You can hit him or scold him—it’s all what he deserves. Just don’t damage the relationship between our two families!”
The Gu family brought quite a lot: a slab of cured pork, a small bag of white rice, a packet of brown sugar, and some eggs.
Gu Linchuan’s temple seemed to have been injured by something. The blood hadn’t even been treated yet. When he saw Shen Qinghe, he awkwardly averted his gaze.
“Don’t call us in-laws. Nothing’s been settled between our families yet—and after what happened, there’s no need for it to be,” Zhou Chunfeng snorted coldly. “Didn’t your son save that Comrade Lin’s life? Perfect. Since the engagement with my daughter is off, take your things to the educated youth compound and go see Comrade Lin instead!”