Zhang Shengli chuckled. “What do I need to ask around for? That girl’s tough as nails polite, gentle, always taking things in stride, never losing her temper. If you’re really set on marrying her, just find a matchmaker to go to her house later, that’s all.”
Lu Dongsheng ignored him, his brow furrowing as he looked at Song Min tied to the tree.
“Su Ying’s had a rough life,” Zhang Shengli continued. “A deadbeat dad who drinks too much, a vicious stepmother, a half-sister from her stepmom’s side… and now a fiancé who’s been caught cheating. Really miserable.”
No sooner had he spoken than Su Ying’s eyes swept over in their direction, cutting off the rest of his words mid-throat.
Oh no did she hear that?
Lu Dongsheng kicked him lightly in the calf. “Go help her.”
Zhang Shengli pulled a face. “If she’s the one you’ve got your eye on, you should be the one to step up.”
Lu Dongsheng grinned and strode toward the crowd.
Tian Cuifen was screaming like a shrew; if the villagers hadn’t held her back, she’d have already thrown a brick at Su Ying.
Just then, the village party secretary arrived in a hurry with a few men.
He wore a faded blue military-style jacket, a worn, frayed cap, and carried a well-used pipe. He’d already heard what had happened on the way over, and his face was dark with anger.
“Nonsense!” he roared. “Who tied them up here? Get them out of here now!”
He was humiliated this was his only son, and the boy had disgraced the whole family.
A few team leaders quickly untied the two from the pagoda tree. The secretary walked straight toward Su Ying.
She was a good girl small and delicate, but among all the village girls, none could match her for housework or farm work. She ate little and did much; marrying her to his son would be like getting a hardworking laborer for a bargain. If she could bear children, great if not, he’d just kick her out and find another.
But Song Min was different. She’d seduced his son just to get him to recommend her for college, hadn’t she? As if he’d give her the spot if they married she’d just go to the city and never come back, leaving his son a bachelor. Besides, city women were just pretty faces too delicate to carry anything or do any work. What use were they?
These thoughts raced through his mind, but his face showed only worry. “Yingzi, this was all a misunderstanding. Don’t be upset I’ll take this good-for-nothing home and teach him a lesson, then send him to apologize to you. How does that sound?”
How did that sound? Terrible, of course.
“Uncle, the wedding’s off,” Su Ying said. “I let people walk all over me, but I’d never marry someone so immoral and without principles.
Uncle, I don’t know how much dowry you gave, or who you gave it to. Whoever took the money should be the one to pay it back.
If you force me to marry Jiang Xiaofei, I’ll put on red clothes and hang myself from this pagoda tree. I’ll haunt you forever and I mean it.”
A murmur ran through the crowd. “What’s gotten into her? She’s usually so quiet today she’s like she’s been possessed by a fox fairy!”
“Tell me about it.”
In the distance, Lu Dongsheng paused mid-step, watching with amusement. Oh, he’d misjudged her earlier she wasn’t a soft little rabbit at all. She was a hedgehog.
Not bad. Interesting.
Zhang Shengli caught up and saw his knowing smile, then grinned too. “Hurry up, or your wife’ll get away.”
Lu Dongsheng’s smile froze. “Who said anything about a wife? I don’t have a wife yet.”
Zhang Shengli had originally planned to introduce Song Min to him but now it seemed the man had set his sights elsewhere. He himself was still single, but here he was, worrying about someone else’s love life.
Lu Dongsheng’s eyes returned to Su Ying. He thought she was perfect what fun would life be if he married a doormat?
When the secretary realized Su Ying was serious about calling off the wedding, his expression changed faster than a flipped page.
“Hmph you can’t just say ‘off’ and be done with it. Your dad and stepmom have to return the three hundred yuan dowry, or you’ll marry him whether you want to or not.”
Jiang Xiaofei, who’d just gotten dressed in the team office behind the pagoda tree, rushed out at this, waving his arm. “Dad, that woman’s as skinny as a monkey! She doesn’t want to marry me, and I don’t want to marry her! If you force me, Xiaomin and I will drink rat poison and then you’ll have no heir left!”
Su Ying’s mouth twitched. Typical of Jiang Dahai’s son. What was the author thinking, pairing someone as good as Yingzi with such a fool? He deserved a beating!
Inside the courtyard, Song Min now fully dressed felt a flash of disgust at his words. She’d only seduced this idiot to get back to the city, planning to have him ask his father to recommend her for college. She’d never expected they’d be caught so quickly after crawling into the haystack.
She’d already lost all her dignity what was the point of pretending to care? Let this fool die if he wanted to; she wasn’t going to drink rat poison with him. As the saying went, a bad life was better than a good death.
Tian Cuifen’s pants were still damp and stinking from the dung. At the thought of losing the three hundred yuan she’d already pocketed, her face turned red with rage.
“The wedding can be called off, but we’re not returning the dowry! It was your son who did something shameful our family did nothing wrong. If you want the money, go ask that worthless Su Ying for it!”
Su Ying was so angry she was about to roll up her sleeves and fight, when Jiang Xiaofei lunged at her, ready to hit her. Her eyes widened in shock but just as his arm raised, someone grabbed it from the side.
Jiang Xiaofei turned, following the hand up the arm to see Lu Dongsheng his face serious, his eyes cold, radiating integrity.
“Who the hell are you?” Jiang Xiaofei struggled. “You dare meddle in my business?”
Lu Dongsheng’s dark eyes turned colder. “Someone who’s going to teach you a lesson. What kind of man picks on a woman? The girl said she doesn’t want to marry you are you deaf?”
With that, he gave a light flick of his wrist. Jiang Xiaofei stumbled back two steps, rubbing his arm.
Lu Dongsheng looked down at Su Ying, who was staring up at him with admiration and suddenly his ears turned red.
He hadn’t gotten a good look before, but up close, she was truly beautiful. Her cheeks had a faint pink flush from anger, maybe, or something else and looked soft and…
And cute.
Zhang Shengli watched with a knowing smile. Oh no looks like the cold-hearted devil is finally blooming.