It was Gu Jingcheng.
“Xiao Yue, I won’t hold it against you for slapping me and pushing my mom,” he said stiffly, his tone lofty, as if not holding it against her were some great favor.
Li Jiyue shot him a sideways glance. “Who do you think you are? Are we that close?”
Did he really think that just because he said he wouldn’t pursue it, she should be grateful? Where did he even get that confidence from?
Ah… probably from the original owner.
Gu Jingcheng was, after all, the second male lead of the novel. He looked decent—fair-skinned, slender and tall, about 178 cm, considered tall in the south. He was still a high school student, which already put him in a good position within the factory compound. Unfortunately, he had an older brother, and all the family resources were tilted toward that brother. His father’s job went to the eldest son, leaving Gu Jingcheng unemployed. No one in the compound dared marry their daughter to him—no job meant no house, and no future.
The two families lived close by. The original owner wasn’t favored in the Lin family; Lin Fugui and Wang Aihua only cared about the bride price and didn’t care whether she would live well afterward. Once the matchmakers in the compound brought the two families together, the engagement was settled. But just after the engagement, it was discovered that Li Jiyue wasn’t actually the Lin family’s daughter, and the marriage was put on hold.
Gu Jingcheng continued, “I promise you—from now on I’ll never look for Yuzhu again. I’ll cut things off with her completely. There’ll only be you.”
He had noticed Li Jiyue’s coldness, but so what? Women liked to play hard to get. Men were supposed to coax and flatter them. Once she was dizzy with affection, all it would take was a crook of his finger and she’d be devoted again. He had absolute confidence in himself.
That day, Yuzhu had told him that aside from her professor parents, the Li family had many powerful relatives. If he made good use of his relationship with Li Jiyue, his ambitions would eventually be realized. Just now, he had even seen a car drop her off, which made him believe Yuzhu’s words even more. He needed to secure Li Jiyue and make her the stepping stone to his success.
At first, he didn’t want to curry favor with this vicious woman. But after thinking all night, he realized he couldn’t change his background. In ancient times there was Han Xin enduring humiliation, Goujian sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall. What was wrong with Gu Jingcheng relying on a woman for a while? The book even said that before the revolution succeeded, everything required endurance.
Li Jiyue clenched her fist. “I have nothing to do with you. Who you care about has nothing to do with me. Get lost—don’t block my way!”
Was he a lapdog or what? Couldn’t even understand human language.
Before meeting Fu Chunsheng, the original owner had once liked Gu Jingcheng. He was the only cultured person in the compound, exactly her type. Later she met Fu Chunsheng and realized he was even more educated, from a better family, better-looking, gentle and refined. Most importantly, she and Fu Chunsheng were truly engaged. So she transferred all her feelings to Fu Chunsheng.
When Li Jiyue read the book, she thought the original owner was pure cannon fodder—wherever she was needed, she was shoved there. When the male lead and female lead were entangled, she liked the male lead. When the female lead and second male lead were entangled, she liked the second male lead. She had no bottom line, constantly hovering around the female lead just to get slapped in the face, becoming part of the female lead’s romantic “play.”
Gu Jingcheng was about to lose his composure, anger creeping into his voice. “Xiao Yue, I already apologized. You slapped me and pushed my mom, and I didn’t even hold it against you.”
This damned woman—still didn’t know when to stop. Making him lose face like this. Fine—no matter how she begged later, he would never forgive her.
Li Jiyue didn’t want to waste time on this delusional man. She moved to go around him.
He blocked her again. “I said I won’t pursue it—what more do you want?”
“What do I want? I want to hit you.”
“Bang!”
She punched him in the abdomen, grabbed his arm, bent forward, swept his leg, and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him to the ground.
“Bang!”
Luckily, the compound ground was dirt with sand, not hard concrete.
“Ah!”
Gu Jingcheng hadn’t even reacted before the world spun and he crashed down. “You—how dare you throw me?”
This was the woman who used to starve herself rather than eat, saving dog food for him to secretly eat at school.
Li Jiyue stepped on his chest, looking down at him with disdain, her voice cold and full of warning. “I’ll step on you too. If you ever pester me again, I’ll beat you every time I see you. Get lost!”
Just then, a rough female voice rang out. “Li Jiyue! How can you step on Brother Jingcheng—move away!”
It was a girl from the compound. Because she was dark-skinned, she’d been called “Hei Niu” (Black Girl) since birth—and that was even the name on her household registration. She was not only dark but also burly. She charged toward them, trying to knock Li Jiyue away.
Thud, thud, thud—the sound of her feet pounding the ground was like an elephant charging.
As she ran, she shouted, “Brother Jingcheng, I’m coming to save you!”
Li Jiyue quickly dodged away.
Hei Niu was moving too fast to stop. She tripped over Gu Jingcheng on the ground and fell straight onto him.
“Ow!”
Hei Niu was under 1.6 meters tall but weighed about 160 jin. Her elbow landed squarely on Gu Jingcheng’s ribs.
Crack!
The man pinned beneath her let out a piercing scream. “Ah—!”
“Get off me, you fat woman! Get off! You’re crushing me to death—ah!”
Hei Niu looked aggrieved. “Sorry, Brother Jingcheng, I was trying to help you…”
It was around one in the afternoon. Everyone had just finished lunch and was about to rest before heading back to work.
Li Jiyue, never one to shy away from spectacle, watched while exclaiming loudly, “Oh my goodness—what are you two doing in broad daylight?”
No one was outside, but as soon as she shouted, everyone came running to look.
“What happened?”
“Didn’t Black Girl just fall down? What’s so surprising about that? It’s not the first time she’s fallen.”
Because they worked at the steel factory and were already getting on in years, they felt dizzy and didn’t clearly see that there was still someone pinned beneath her. When the others heard this, they also felt it wasn’t anything big. It was better to go back inside and get some rest. Just as they were about to turn around and head indoors, someone suddenly cried out in surprise.
“Wait, something’s not right. Why do I see four legs? There seems to be another person under her.”
With that, they were no longer sleepy.
“Who is that?”
“No idea. Let’s go take a look.”
Gu Jingcheng pushed Black Girl aside and crawled out from under her. The residents of the family compound all gathered around.
“It’s the Gu family’s second son.”
“I’m sorry, Brother Jingcheng, I didn’t do it on purpose. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Black Girl kindly tried to help him up, but he coldly shoved her away.
The look Gu Jingcheng gave her was full of disgust, his voice icy as a blade. “Go away. As long as you don’t come near me, I’ll be fine. Get lost.”
Black Girl looked hurt and guilty. “Brother Jingcheng…”
She really did like Brother Jingcheng.
After shouting, Li Jiyue squatted not far away, cracking sunflower seeds while watching the show. This was also a cannon-fodder female supporting character—she fawned over the second male lead even more than the original host, one of the stepping stones to his success.
When Black Girl’s family heard the news, they rushed over. Pushing through the crowd, they saw their daughter’s aggrieved expression.
Black Girl’s mother, Chen Xuelian, was both angry and heartbroken. She stormed forward and dragged her daughter back.
Black Girl refused to leave. “Mom, why are you pulling me? Don’t pull me—Brother Jingcheng, Brother Jingcheng…”
Chen Xuelian said, “He doesn’t appreciate you at all. What are you still doing here? You’re embarrassing yourself. Hurry back. Tomorrow I’m sending you on a blind date.”
“Mom, I’m not going on a blind date. In this life, I’ve set my heart on Brother Jingcheng.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? He looks down on you. Still thinking about him is just being cheap… If you marry a man like that, you’ll regret it sooner or later.”
Chen Xuelian looked furious and disappointed, raising her hand to slap her.
Black Girl’s three older brothers stepped forward to stop her. “Mom, don’t hit Little Sister. When you hit the child, it hurts the mother’s heart. Let’s talk it out properly.”
Black Girl took after her father and was very dark-skinned. As a child, she had a high fever that damaged her brain, leaving her not very sharp. The three sons were normal, taking after Chen Xuelian, with fairly fair complexions.
Black Girl’s parents felt they owed their daughter—giving birth to her like that and making it hard for her to find a partner. Whenever there was good food at home, they always let her eat first. As a result, she gained weight to 160 jin and found it very hard to lose it.