“This has nothing to do with whether he drank or not. A person must take responsibility for their own words.” Zhou Yinghuai narrowed his eyes. He had just been in close proximity to Li Jianping and could tell that there was no smell of alcohol on him.
Li Lifen was completely lying.
“We don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Li Lifen frowned and pulled Li Jianping, attempting to leave. Cheng Fangqiu blocked their way. “You’re not leaving until this matter is cleared up.”
“Xiaohua, go call the village branch secretary and the brigade leader.”
“Alright!” Cheng Xiaohua took off without hesitation, running so fast that Li Lifen couldn’t stop her even if she wanted to.
“It was just a few joking words, is there really a need to call the village branch secretary over?” Li Lifen stiffened her neck, still unwilling to give in.
“A girl’s reputation is extremely important. Auntie, don’t you understand that? If this matter spreads, how will I be able to face anyone? If this issue isn’t resolved today, I will not let it go.”
After venting her anger, Cheng Fangqiu turned her gaze toward Li Jianping.
“I never agreed to marry anyone, nor has my family ever made such a promise. Where exactly did you hear that I was going to marry that Jia fellow? And why did you call him a scumbag?”
Hearing this, Li Jianping let out a breath of relief, but only then did he belatedly realize something was amiss—and the problem lay with his aunt. As this thought crossed his mind, he instinctively cast a quick glance at Li Lifen, only to catch her signaling him with her eyes.
That action alone confirmed his suspicions.
Li Jianping had spoken those words to Cheng Fangqiu in the heat of the moment, but now that anger had inexplicably faded, leaving him feeling guilty and even afraid to raise his head. He had never expected things to escalate this far.
He swallowed nervously, glancing between Cheng Fangqiu and Li Lifen, suddenly unsure whether he should say anything or not.
“Aren’t you supposed to like me? If you like me, why wouldn’t you tell me something like this? What kind of ‘liking’ is that?” Cheng Fangqiu let out a cold laugh, the curve of her lips mocking, as if she was completely disappointed in him.
“Qiuqiu…” Li Jianping subconsciously called out the name he had always used for her, but remembering how she had just forbidden him from calling her that, he immediately corrected himself. His expression betrayed his hurt. “Fangqiu, I really do like you. I’ve liked you since we were children.”
Ever since he could remember, there had been a girl in the village, beautiful like a celestial fairy. All the boys liked her, and he was no exception. But it seemed like she never really noticed any of them—including him. Her attitude toward everyone was the same: neither warm nor cold.
He had thought that as long as he waited for her to grow up, he would have a chance to marry her. So for years, he worked desperately hard, wanting to prove that he was capable of supporting her and hoping to gain an edge over the others, to stand out from the competition.
But now, she was doubting his sincerity. She had rejected his feelings.
A trace of defeat and loss flickered across Li Jianping’s tanned face. He clenched his palms as if making up his mind. Just as he took a deep breath, about to explain everything, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his arm. When he turned his head, he was met with Li Lifen’s warning gaze.
And just like that, all the words he was about to say got stuck in his throat.
“Qiuqiu, this is just a misunderstanding. Wasn’t it your mother who asked me to help arrange a marriage proposal for you a while back? This kid happened to overhear it. Around the same time, the Jia family kept coming to see me, so he thought you were getting married.”
Li Lifen truly lived up to her years of experience as a matchmaker—her words were smooth and convincing. In just a few sentences, she had distanced herself from the matter.
“But he only heard half of it. He didn’t know that your family had already refused, and he kept thinking about you all this time. That’s why he acted foolishly today. Once we get home, I’ll be sure to teach him a lesson.”
Her explanation was half-true and half-false, making it impossible to find fault with. She even managed to paint Li Jianping as deeply devoted and infatuated, a man of unwavering love and loyalty.
“Oh, so it was just a misunderstanding?”
“The Cheng girl was discussing marriage? How come I never heard anything about it?”
“What, do you like her too? Tsk, tsk, but do you have the guts and deep devotion that Li Jianping has? Or is it just that Cheng Fangqiu is truly something special? Look at that, all the men in the village are smitten with her.”
The crowd started buzzing with chatter, shifting focus away from Li Jianping’s earlier certainty that Cheng Fangqiu was getting married, and from the question of why the Jia fellow was supposedly a scumbag.
But Cheng Fangqiu engraved everything deeply in her heart. No matter how logical and convincing Li Lifen’s explanation sounded, she still felt that there was something hidden beneath it. Just as she was about to press Li Jianping further, the brigade leader and others arrived.
Arriving at nearly the same time were Cheng Fangqiu’s parents and her younger brother, Cheng Xuejun.
“What’s going on here?” Brigade Leader Meng Xinfeng swept his gaze around the crowd. When Cheng Xiaohua had rushed to the brigade office looking frantic, they had assumed something serious had happened. But now that they were here, not only was there no bloodshed, but the atmosphere was strangely calm.
Cheng Fangqiu was about to speak, but Li Lifen seized the opportunity first, quickly recounting the entire situation and then concluding, “It was just a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. The young ones don’t know any better.”
After that, she turned her head and snapped at Li Jianping, “Well? Hurry up and apologize.”
“…I’m sorry.” Li Jianping, seeing that so many people had gathered, didn’t dare stir up any more trouble and could only obediently offer an apology.
Cheng Fangqiu coldly watched him without saying a word, her attention drawn to Ding Ximei and the others who had just arrived. She hurriedly reassured them with a few words.
“You’re not young anymore. You should know how to speak and act properly. You need to respect female comrades. Aren’t you embarrassed to act like this in front of so many people?” Meng Xinfeng scolded Li Jianping for a few moments but didn’t take the matter too seriously, feeling that the situation had been blown out of proportion.
His gaze casually swept toward Cheng Fangqiu, but then his eyes suddenly narrowed as he noticed someone behind her. A smile curved his lips as he walked toward Zhou Yinghuai, who was standing behind her.
“Ah, Comrade Zhou is here too. What a farce this has been today—I must have made a fool of myself in front of you.”
“Brigade Leader.” Zhou Yinghuai shifted his gaze away from Cheng Fangqiu and onto Meng Xinfeng, greeting him with a polite smile. However, beneath the surface, there was a certain coldness to it. “This situation reminds me of something. We are in a new era now, a society governed by law.”
Meng Xinfeng wasn’t sure why he had suddenly brought that up, but he went along with it, replying, “Of course. Just recently, we even discussed putting up some propaganda posters in the village.”
“But I’ve heard that in some remote villages, there are still outdated customs of forced marriages and abductions. That, of course, is illegal.” Zhou Yinghuai’s eyebrows lifted slightly, his long, narrow eyes slowly narrowing, carrying a chilling sharpness. The next words that came out of his mouth made Meng Xinfeng’s heart skip a beat.
It was clear that Comrade Zhou was implying something, trying to give him a warning. But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what exactly he was being reminded of.
Fortunately, Zhou Yinghuai continued, “But given what I’ve seen of the brigade leader and the village branch secretary’s approach to handling matters… there’s no way such things could happen in our village.”
His tone was relaxed, as if he hadn’t just been speaking in such a sinister manner a moment ago.
Meng Xinfeng had been rattled by Zhou Yinghuai’s roundabout way of speaking. He forced out a laugh before replying righteously, “That goes without saying. If anyone dares to do such things in this village, I’d be the first to put a stop to it and personally hand them over to the Public Security Bureau.”
Those with a clear conscience eagerly echoed the brigade leader’s words, praising his integrity and decisiveness—after all, everyone had sons and daughters, and this was a good thing for them.
But those with guilty consciences… their hidden hands trembled uncontrollably behind their backs.
From the moment Zhou Yinghuai spoke, Cheng Fangqiu had been watching him intently. She blinked thoughtfully. He was definitely warning someone—though she wasn’t sure if it was for her sake.
It probably was.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly. Now that her mood had improved, she didn’t feel like pressing the matter further. Besides, with so many people involved and Li Lifen’s seemingly airtight explanation, this situation would likely be left at that.
However, she wasn’t going to let the matter drop entirely. Someone had tried to manipulate her behind the scenes. As the person directly involved, she needed to uncover the truth so she could guard against being schemed against again.
At this thought, Cheng Fangqiu’s gaze darkened slightly. She took a deep breath, adjusted her expression, and turned to Ding Ximei. “Let’s go home. No point wasting time here—we still have guests to host tonight.”
Ding Ximei, reminded of their original plans, smacked her forehead. “Oh! I still have water boiling in the pot.”
She then turned to Zhou Yinghuai with a smile. “Comrade Zhou, later—”
“Comrade Cheng has already invited me. I’ll be there tonight.” Zhou Yinghuai returned a polite smile, his demeanor toward Ding Ximei respectful.
As they spoke, the group was about to leave when suddenly, Li Jianping couldn’t hold back and called out, “Fangqiu!”
Cheng Fangqiu’s footsteps paused slightly, but she didn’t turn back nor stop walking. Instead, it was Ding Ximei who coldly turned around and said, “We won’t pursue today’s incident, but I ask that you never do something like this again. If you tarnish Qiuqiu’s reputation, don’t think our family is easy to bully.”
Publicly declaring one’s love—some might think it romantic, but they only found it bothersome and irritating!
For Li Jianping, there was nothing to lose, but what about Qiuqiu? Who knew how many people would gossip behind her back, saying she was leading men on and failing to appreciate kindness…
This kind of so-called “love”—neither their family nor Qiuqiu wanted it.
Everyone knew how sensitive relationships between men and women were these days. Only a crude, thoughtless man like Li Jianping would dare to pull such a stunt.
The two families had been on good terms before, but after today, who could say if that would remain the case?