Yao Guihua felt that her son marrying Xu Xiuqin would be worse than marrying Su Luowan. So she looked at Su Luowan and said:
“Girl Wan, don’t listen to those rumors outside. Our Chengyi would never do something so disgraceful.
It must be that this Educated Youth Xu ( Xu Zhiqing) has been pestering our Chengyi, which is why people mistakenly think there’s something going on between them.”
Xu Xiuqin stood to the side, her face flushing white and red in turns. She hadn’t expected Yao Guihua to slander her like this just to protect her son.
She bit her lip, suppressing the dissatisfaction in her heart. She didn’t speak, only looked at Qin Chengyi with a pitiful expression.
The affection and grievance in her gaze were clearly seen by everyone.
Qin Chengyi was already quite taken with Xu Xiuqin. Seeing her looking so wronged, his earlier reproach toward her softened considerably.
Coupled with the status of Xu Xiuqin’s uncle, he immediately chose to stand on her side.
Thinking of this, he looked at Su Luowan and said through gritted teeth:
“Su Luowan, there’s no need for you to slander us like this just because you want to break off the engagement!”
Su Luowan looked at his angry expression, the corners of her lips curling slightly:
“You met Educated Youth Xu for the first time the day after you returned from the army. After that, you met at least once every day.
Meanwhile, I—your fiancée—could hardly even see you once.
Your relationship progressed quickly. Three days ago, you confirmed your relationship as lovers, and you’ve even exchanged love letters.”
After saying that, Su Luowan looked at Qin Chengyi and asked:
“Am I right?”
Hearing her words, Qin Chengyi’s eyes widened in shock.
How did Su Luowan know so clearly about his affairs with Xu Xiuqin?
Just as he was about to refute her, Su Luowan continued:
“Curious how I know? If I say Educated Youth Xu told me, would you believe it?”
Looking at the shocked expressions of the two, Su Luowan thought to herself that there was no way they could guess she had read all this from their physiognomy.
Just as her voice fell, a child’s voice suddenly rang out:
“A couple of days ago, when I was pooping in the small woods, I saw Brother Chengyi kissing this educated youth sister!
Mmm… Mom, why are you covering my mouth?!”
The speaker was Tie Dan, the youngest grandson of the Liang family. His mother was now covering his mouth to stop him from talking:
“You brat! Is that something you should be looking at? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get a stye in your eye?”
Tie Dan retorted:
“I was the one there first, behind the dirt mound! They came later. I didn’t even dare make a sound, and mosquitoes bit my butt all over—there are still bumps that haven’t gone away!”
As soon as he spoke, the crowd erupted. People whispered among themselves, their gazes darting back and forth between Qin Chengyi and Xu Xiuqin.
Qin Chengyi’s face flushed red, and he said angrily out of embarrassment:
“Su Luowan! Even if you didn’t break off the engagement today, I was going to do it myself! What’s so good about you anyway? A girl as shrewish as you—who would want to marry you!”
Su Luowan didn’t get angry—she laughed instead:
“Qin Chengyi, since you say I’m shrewish, then I’ll show you just how shrewish I can be!”
As she spoke, her gaze sharpened, and she swiftly raised her hand and slapped him.
Smack! Smack!
Two crisp sounds rang out as clear handprints appeared on Qin Chengyi’s face.
“These two slaps are because, as a soldier, you already had a fiancée yet still went around seducing other women. You deserved to be hit!”
Her movements were so fast that even after two years of training in the army, Qin Chengyi couldn’t react in time.
Seeing Qin Chengyi being hit, Xu Xiuqin screamed and rushed forward, shielding him.
Su Luowan’s eyes turned cold. She hadn’t intended to hit a woman, but since Xu Xiuqin came forward herself, she wouldn’t hold back.
She lifted her leg and kicked Xu Xiuqin behind the knee. With a scream, Xu Xiuqin collapsed onto Qin Chengyi.
The scumbag man and the shameless woman ended up hugging each other perfectly!
Su Luowan glanced at them coldly. The original host’s suicide by drowning had been foolish, but these two had played a big role in it.
She rarely struck people; today, she acted only to vent some anger on behalf of the original host.
“Su Luowan, you crazy woman!”
Qin Chengyi shouted as he prepared to strike back. Yao Guihua, seeing her son being beaten, also rushed forward to fight.
Su Luowan braced herself. Having trained in ancient martial arts with her two masters for years, even though this body lacked inner energy, dealing with Qin Chengyi and Yao Guihua would be more than enough.
However, it seemed fate wouldn’t give her the chance. Qin Chengyi’s father, Qin Jiabao, looked at the chaos and said in a deep voice:
“Enough! Stop! Guihua, go get the jade pendant. We’ll end this engagement today!”
Hadn’t this mother and son already made enough of a spectacle today?
Hearing this, Yao Guihua glared fiercely at Su Luowan before walking into the house with a dark expression.
Soon, she came back with a jade pendant and threw it onto the table.
“Here! I hope you don’t regret this. And don’t ever come bothering our Chengyi again!”
Lin Yuzhen trembled with anger upon hearing this. She stepped forward, staring straight at Yao Guihua, her voice cold and firm:
“That’s what we should be saying! Today’s broken engagement is because your Qin family wronged my daughter. If I hear even a single word slandering her again, I won’t let this go!”
Su Luowan stepped forward, gently holding Lin Yuzhen’s hand in silent comfort.
Her gaze fell on the jade pendant on the table—and her pupils suddenly contracted.
Wasn’t this her jade pendant? The one she had worn since she could remember in her previous life!
With that thought, she stepped forward, picked it up, and held it tightly in her hand.
What exactly was going on? She looked like the original host, her mother resembled the original host’s mother—and now even the jade pendant she had worn since childhood had appeared in this fictional era.
Why?
At the same time, Xu Xiuqin also noticed the jade pendant.
Covering her bruised cheek, she felt an impulse to stop Su Luowan when she saw her pick it up.
She remembered that in her previous life, during an interview she saw on television, Su Luowan’s biological father had been a high-ranking officer—and this jade pendant was a gift from him when she was young.
A trace of jealousy flashed in Xu Xiuqin’s eyes as she looked at the pendant, along with the urge to take it for herself.
But she quickly forced herself to calm down. In her previous life, wasn’t it because of Qin Chengyi that Su Luowan had left Linjiawan Village and eventually been found by her father?
In this life, Qin Chengyi would no longer belong to Su Luowan. Most likely, Su Luowan would end up like her former self—marrying in the countryside, having children, and being trapped there for life.
Thinking of this, Xu Xiuqin felt a bit better. Things were going even more smoothly than she had imagined.
She had been reborn half a year ago. In her previous life, she had never managed to leave this small mountain village and had been trapped here for her entire life.
Perhaps heaven pitied her suffering and gave her another chance.
Some time ago, when she saw Qin Chengyi returning from visiting family, she immediately recalled the happy scene she had seen on TV in her previous life—him and Su Luowan together.
Back then, Qin Chengyi had already become a regimental commander, and Su Luowan had found her biological father.
Compared to Su Luowan, her own life had been a stark contrast.
Fortunately, she had been reborn and seized the opportunity—successfully getting close to Qin Chengyi.
Thinking about how Qin Chengyi would become a future regimental commander, and she would be the commander’s wife, Xu Xiuqin couldn’t suppress the excitement surging in her heart.