When Li Mei first saw Yang Qing, she was also taken aback.
Where did such a handsome young man come from?
Not only was he good-looking, but he was also a towering 1.8 meters tall.
In the south, finding a young man who was 1.7 meters tall was common, but finding someone as tall and handsome as the man before her was truly rare.
While Li Mei was still wondering, the elder beside the young man quickly stated their purpose.
Li Mei was shocked once more. Meng Ruo’s partner?
As soon as Yang Heping entered, he began chatting warmly with Meng Jun. With Meng Jun present, she couldn’t easily interject and could only listen from the side.
Listening in, Li Mei sensed something was off. A young man this handsome with such a good job shouldn’t be single at nearly thirty.
Could there be some hidden story? she wondered.
But then again, with such good looks and a great job, why would Meng Ruo’s colleague be so kind as to introduce such an excellent candidate to her instead of their own daughter or relative?
With this in mind, Li Mei joined Meng Jun in seeing the guests out.
After they left, she was about to head home when her next-door neighbor, who was cracking melon seeds, called out to her.
“Li Mei, Li Mei,” the neighbor asked while snacking, “Was that someone coming to propose to your family?”
Li Mei nodded, unsure of what Big Sister Zhou was up to.
Big Sister Zhou: “He looks quite old, doesn’t he?”
Li Mei: “Nearly thirty.”
Big Sister Zhou gave Li Mei a gossipy look and said, “Do you know why he’s almost thirty and still can’t find a wife?”
The neighbor living across from Li Mei was named Zhou Qinjuan. She had nothing better to do all day but dig for gossip and spread rumors. Whenever Li Mei wanted to know something, she went to her first.
Hearing this, Li Mei knew there was a secret. She quickly leaned in and asked, “What’s the story?”
So, Big Sister Zhou vividly recounted the rumors she knew, adding her own embellishments for Li Mei’s benefit.
As Li Mei listened, her eyes widened with a mix of shock and delight.
No wonder! She had thought it impossible for such an outstanding young man to be single at nearly thirty. So there were so many hidden stories.
Having finished the gossip session, Li Mei returned home in high spirits. She found that Meng Jun was gone, but Zheng Wan had returned from the restaurant.
Meng Jun’s restaurant didn’t close until after nine o’clock, so he wasn’t off work yet.
“Why are you back?” Li Mei asked.
She had been so busy gossiping with Zhou Qinjuan about Yang Qing that she had no idea when Zheng Wan had returned.
“Master Sun in the kitchen had something for Uncle, so he asked me to come home and get him,” Zheng Wan answered.
“Then why are you still here?” Li Mei asked again.
“I’ll go over in a bit,” Zheng Wan replied unhappily.
Li Mei knew she was trying to slack off, but she only gave her a sharp glare and said nothing more.
“Who was that just now?” Zheng Wan asked, looking toward the door.
Li Mei knew she was asking about Yang Qing. “Someone came to propose.”
Zheng Wan: “Propose? For Meng Ruo?”
Li Mei curled her lip. “If not Meng Ruo, could it be for you?”
“What’s his name?” Zheng Wan asked.
This was what she cared about most.
And in her heart, she prayed it wasn’t You Che.
“I think he’s called Yang Qing,” Li Mei replied.
Zheng Wan breathed a sigh of relief the moment she heard the answer.
“He’s actually quite handsome,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of disappointment.
To be honest, she had long since forgotten what You Che looked like. In her previous life, she had only met him a few times when they were young.
Shortly after You Che’s grandmother passed away, he left Jiang Province for Shen City. She and Tan Lin stayed in the provincial capital until they were old, so the two families naturally lost contact.
Later on, Zheng Wan only saw You Che in newspapers or on TV. Decades had passed, and her memory of his appearance had become even more blurred. She only remembered that he was dignified and extraordinary in stature.
At this, Li Mei gave a disdainful smile. “What’s the use of being handsome? No father, no mother, and…”
She originally wanted to add “is useless,” but remembering that Zheng Wan was still unmarried, she swallowed the words.
Indeed, such matters were not for an unmarried girl like Zheng Wan to inquire about.
“And what?” Zheng Wan asked.
“Why are you asking so much? Get back to the restaurant,” Li Mei scolded.
Hearing this, Zheng Wan could only shut up and stop asking.
Meanwhile, Yang Qing and Yang Heping arrived home.
His aunt, Liu Xiuying, was sitting on a stool cracking melon seeds. As soon as they entered, she squinted at them.
“Where have you been?”
Liu Xiuying didn’t know that Yang Qing was planning to get engaged.
If she found out, the engagement would likely face more trouble.
Therefore, he had intentionally kept quiet about visiting the Meng family tonight.
But Yang Heping was unaware of this. When Liu Xiuying asked, he answered directly.
“Xiao Qing has taken a liking to a girl. He just brought gifts to visit her home and set a date for the formal proposal.”
Liu Xiuying’s eyes widened instantly.
She asked, “Which family’s girl?”
“The Meng family. You wouldn’t know them even if I told you,” Yang Heping said.
Speaking of the Meng family, Yang Heping couldn’t help but think of Meng Ruo; he was very satisfied with that girl.
So, he started talking to himself: “That girl Meng Ruo is truly not bad. She’s beautiful, a college student, and has a secure job at the food factory.”
Hearing this, Liu Xiuying immediately felt unbalanced. “For such a good girl, instead of introducing her to our Xiangxiang, you introduce her to Yang Qing?”
“Yang Heping, do you have any idea what’s going on? Who is your biological son?”
“What kind of madness are you having again? I didn’t introduce this girl; Big Sister Wang across the way introduced her to Xiao Qing,” Yang Heping said in an annoyed tone.
“That won’t do either! Why should my son be a bachelor for life while Yang Qing gets to marry a wife?” Liu Xiuying gritted her teeth, filled with resentment.
Yang Heping frowned. “What kind of nonsense is that? What does your son not being able to find a wife have to do with Xiao Qing?”
“How does it not have to do with him? If he hadn’t broken my son’s leg, would my son have lost his job? Would he still be stuck at home at thirty, unable to find a wife?”
Yang Heping raised his hand and pointed at Liu Xiuying, his finger trembling with rage. “Shut your mouth! Xiangxiang said himself that he broke his leg climbing a tree and it had nothing to do with Yang Qing.”
“Besides, how many years has it been since that happened? Why are you still talking about it now?”
“I don’t believe it.” Liu Xiuying wouldn’t listen to a word Yang Heping said.
“Xiangxiang must have said that on purpose because he was afraid we would blame Yang Qing.”
Yang Heping pointed at her with a shaking finger. “You’re truly going to be the death of me.”
…
The next morning, as the Meng family sat together for breakfast, Li Mei mentioned Yang Qing, intentionally or not.
“The young man is decent in all aspects, but he’s a bit old,” Meng Jun added.
Although Meng Ruo knew that in twenty or thirty years there would be plenty of people staying single in their thirties, it was currently the early 90s. Most people were traditional in their thinking regarding marriage and children.
“Yes, almost thirty,” Li Mei quickly followed. “If you ask me, he’s not as good as my cousin from my hometown.”
Looking at the two of them playing off each other, Meng Ruo thought that while nearly thirty might be considered old for people in the 90s, it was nothing to her as a modern person. Besides, Yang Qing’s actual age was only twenty-seven, whereas Li Mei’s cousin was a genuine thirty.
“Auntie Li, isn’t your cousin also thirty?” Meng Ruo said with a look of pure innocence, blinking at Li Mei.
Li Mei was left speechless and gritted her teeth in anger. The words she hadn’t planned to say were forced out by her rage.
“Don’t go thinking Yang Qing is all that great. I heard from Big Sister Zhou next door that his reputation is terrible.”
“It’s just my bad luck,” Meng Ruo sighed, her tone light. “Putting his reputation aside, he’s still better than someone who has actually been to jail, right?”
“Don’t you agree, Auntie Li?” Meng Ruo asked with a smile.
“Fine! When you marry him and get mistreated, don’t come home crying, and don’t blame your Auntie Li for not warning you,” Li Mei said through gritted teeth.
Meng Ruo remained unmoved. “That’s no concern of yours.”
Li Mei nearly crushed her molars in fury, thinking: You’d better marry him. I’m waiting to see you cry.
Li Mei wanted to say more to provoke Meng Ruo, but she was cut off by Meng Jun before she could speak.
Meng Jun slammed his chopsticks down in anger. “You still haven’t given up? You’re still thinking of having my daughter marry that useless cousin of yours?”
Seeing him truly angry, Li Mei quickly explained, “Old Meng, that’s not what I meant.”
“I don’t care what you meant. If you mention that cousin again, don’t blame me for turning against you.”
“Fine, I won’t say it anymore.” With that, Li Mei lowered her head, her eyes red.
“Xiao Ruo, don’t worry. If this Yang Qing really isn’t right, we’ll look again. I’ll definitely find you a good husband,” Meng Jun told her solemnly.
“Thanks, Dad,” Meng Ruo said, flashing a dutiful, fake smile.
As expected, Meng Jun fell for the act of playing the victim and acting weak. Whoever was more pitiful or soft, he would side with them.
In the evening, after Meng Jun finished dinner, he went out for a walk. After Li Mei finished clearing the dishes, she took Meng Jiyue out to visit neighbors.
Meng Ruo was the only one at home.
She was getting ready to wash up and sleep when there was a knock at the door.
Meng Ruo went to open it and saw a middle-aged woman she had never met before.
“Is this Meng Jun’s house?” the visitor asked.
Meng Ruo nodded and asked, “And you are?”
“I am Yang Qing’s aunt,” Liu Xiuying said.
Although Meng Ruo didn’t understand why Yang Qing’s aunt had come to her house, she invited her inside.
Entering the house, Liu Xiuying didn’t immediately state her business but instead looked around the Meng home.
She asked, “Where are the adults of the house?”
“They went out to visit neighbors and probably won’t be back for a while. If you have something to say, you can tell me; I can pass it on,” Meng Ruo said.
Liu Xiuying nodded, thinking it was fine to speak directly to the girl.
“You’re Meng Ruo, right?” she asked.
Meng Ruo nodded.
“It’s fine to tell you directly,” Liu Xiuying said. “I came here specifically today because I wanted to talk to you about your marriage to Yang Qing.”
“That boy Yang Qing is beneath you. I advise you to find someone else quickly before the engagement is finalized,” Liu Xiuying said in a lukewarm tone.
Hearing this, Meng Ruo frowned.
Where in the world was there an aunt who personally came to ruin her nephew’s marriage?
“What do you mean by that?” She put on a look of confusion.
“Girl, I’m doing this for your own good. You probably don’t know much about Yang Qing’s background. His mother died early, and his father remarried and has a new family. Yang Qing resented his father for remarrying and has since cut all ties with him.”
“When you two get married and have children in the future, you’ll inevitably need help from the elders. With Yang Qing’s mother gone and his father out of the picture, your life will be hard.”
Once she started speaking ill of Yang Qing, Liu Xiuying couldn’t seem to stop. “To put it bluntly, he’s been leeching off our family for so many years, yet I haven’t seen him show much filial respect to his uncle or me.”
“Would you dare to marry such an ungrateful person?”
Seeing Meng Ruo silent, Liu Xiuying thought she had convinced her and continued to fan the flames. “Girl, even if you just pick someone at random, they’d be better than my nephew.”
Listening to Liu Xiuying, Meng Ruo had a good idea of what was going on.
If what Yang Qing said before was true—that the rumors about him being “lazy” and “disrespectful” were false—then it was highly likely those rumors were spread by his aunt.
Wait, could the rumor about him being “incapable” also have been spread by her?
Meng Ruo re-evaluated Liu Xiuying. Even if there was a grudge and rumors were spread, there should be a limit.
In fact, the rumor about Yang Qing being “incapable” really wasn’t spread by Liu Xiuying.
Over the years, she had just spread rumors that he was a bad person, often shaking her head and telling people that Yang Qing was “no good.”
But somehow, as the words were passed around, it turned into Yang Qing being “no good” in that specific way.
Liu Xiuying was happy to see this and naturally didn’t clarify anything. The more bad things said about Yang Qing, the better.
That’s how rumors are: if one person says it, no one believes it, but if ten or a hundred people say it, everyone will be convinced.
Seeing that she had said so much without Meng Ruo taking a stand, Liu Xiuying said somewhat impatiently, “Alright, that’s all I have to say. You make the decision yourself.”
Not long after Liu Xiuying left, Meng Jun and the others returned.
Meng Ruo didn’t tell Meng Jun about Liu Xiuying’s visit. She decided to go find Yang Qing tomorrow to ask about the grudge between them.