Chapter 73

“They’ve gone to get him, he should be back soon,” Zhao Ruozhu said. “Get up quickly, your dad and Qiu Yang’s family are all here!”

As Yu Xiangnian stepped out of the bedroom, she saw four people sitting in the main room.

Yu Jiashun, Qiu Dahui, and Yang Fang all looked furious.

The most noticeable was Qiu Yang, whose mouth was bruised and swollen, with a piece of gauze on his left cheekbone and a swollen left eye.

Seeing his beaten-up face, Yu Xiangnian wanted to laugh but restrained herself.

Qiu Yang glared at her, and she struggled to suppress her laughter as she greeted them, “Dad, Uncle Qiu, Auntie Yang, you’re here.”

Yu Jiashun, sitting on a stool with a gloomy face, asked, “Did you and Qiu Yang do something again?”

Yu Xiangnian felt wronged!

Before she could speak, Qiu Dahui immediately complained, “Yu Jiashun, what do you mean ‘you and Qiu Yang’? Your son-in-law came to our house in the middle of the night to beat him up, and you still want to blame Qiu Yang?”

Yu Jiashun retorted, “Cheng Jingmo wouldn’t beat someone for no reason. Qiu Yang must have done something again!”

Qiu Dahui countered, “Your son-in-law hits people, and he’s still in the right?”

Just as the argument heated up, Cheng Jingmo returned, bringing Yu Xiangyang along.

“Mom, Dad, Uncle Qiu, Auntie Yang, you’re here.” Cheng Jingmo set down some cups of water in front of them.

Qiu Dahui snorted, “Cheng Jingmo, if you can’t give us a good explanation today, I won’t let this go!”

Yu Jiashun backed Cheng Jingmo up, “Take your time, Cheng Jingmo. Did Qiu Yang do something again?”

“Yu Jiashun, stop being biased!”

“I know what kind of person Qiu Yang is!”

Seeing that they were about to argue again, Zhao Ruozhu intervened, “Should we let the soldiers from the military district come and see how their leaders argue every day?”

Yu Jiashun and Qiu Dahui glared at each other, then turned away.

Zhao Ruozhu asked Cheng Jingmo, “What happened yesterday?”

Cheng Jingmo recounted the events of the previous night.

Yang Fang, with a stern face, said, “What does this have to do with our Qiu Yang?”

In fact, Yu Xiangnian also thought Qiu Yang was somewhat wronged.

Qiu Yang definitely didn’t want anything to happen to her!

Cheng Jingmo might have acted impulsively out of anger when he hit Qiu Yang.

Although she felt a bit sorry for Qiu Yang, she had to stand by Cheng Jingmo at this moment.

Uncle Qiu and Auntie Yang had watched her grow up, treating her like half a daughter. Even if she did something wrong, they’d be angry for a few days but wouldn’t hold a grudge against her.

But Cheng Jingmo was different. They would seriously hold him accountable.

“Uncle Qiu, Auntie Yang, I know no one wants to see this kind of thing happen. Qiu Yang, too, wishes for my well-being. But Qiu Yang still bears some responsibility for this.”

The expressions of those present varied upon hearing this.

Qiu Dahui and Yang Fang’s faces grew colder, while Yu Jiashun and Zhao Ruozhu’s brows relaxed a bit.

Cheng Jingmo looked surprised; Yu Xiangnian was actually supporting him?

Qiu Yang shot Yu Xiangnian a look that said, “Well done, you’re impressive.”

Yu Xiangnian continued, “Yesterday, when we came back from the mountains, I asked Qiu Yang to drop me off at home. But Qiu Yang insisted on taking me to eat. At the restaurant, I saw Auntie Yang and that girl, and I realized Qiu Yang was using me as a cover. What happened next, Auntie Yang knows.”

“To avoid disrupting Qiu Yang’s matchmaking, I had to walk home. It was already dark, and I had to walk a long way alone. Who knew I’d run into trouble? Cheng Jingmo was just distressed for me and acted impulsively when he hit Qiu Yang.”

Zhao Ruozhu quickly mediated, “Both Cheng Jingmo and Qiu Yang were wrong in this matter. As elders, we shouldn’t always intervene in the younger generation’s issues. Let them resolve it themselves.”

Yu Jiashun stood up, saying, “Luckily, nothing happened to our Nian Nian. Otherwise, even killing Qiu Yang wouldn’t have been enough!”

The Qiu family knew just how much the Yu family cherished this daughter! It was hard to argue that Qiu Yang had no responsibility in this matter at all.

With an embarrassed expression, Qiu Dahui stood up and said, “I’ll kill your son-in-law first!”

The two men bickered their way out, and Zhao Ruozhu helped Yang Fang up, saying, “Old Yang, let’s go too. Let the young people solve their own issues.”

The room was left with the four young people.

Yu Xiangyang said, “Xiao Qiu Yin, you should be grateful I wasn’t there last night, otherwise I would have beaten you to death and turned you into a real earthworm!”

“Enough! Yu Xiangyang, you should leave now!” Yu Xiangnian pushed Cheng Jingmo and Yu Xiangyang out of the house. “You both should go back to work!”

She closed the door, turning to face Qiu Yang’s cold expression with a smile, and spoke gently, “Qiu Yang, don’t feel wronged. If you hadn’t insisted on taking me into town yesterday, none of this would have happened.”

Qiu Yang shook his head in frustration, “Yu Xiangnian, do you even have a conscience? Think about how I’ve treated you!”

“Back then, when you said you didn’t want to get married, I played along, almost getting strangled by Cheng Jingmo, and my dad thought I really liked you and beat me up! Later, I helped you go abroad, nearly severing my relationship with my dad!”

“And now, when I ask you to help me with a date, you refuse. Cheng Jingmo beats me up, and you still say it’s my fault!”

Knowing she was in the wrong, Yu Xiangnian handed him a glass of water, “Calm down! Just think of this as enduring for my sake. I remember your kindness. How about I treat you to a meal today?”

“Like I care about your meal!” Qiu Yang pushed the water away, “I see now, you’d sell me out for a man!”

“I wouldn’t, I promise!” Yu Xiangnian said, “How about this, to repay your kindness, I’ll help you figure out what’s wrong with your friend’s mother and how to treat her?”

Qiu Yang scoffed, “You? Really?”

Then he slapped his thigh, “Ah! I was supposed to meet the educated youth to find medicine on the cliff today, and now it’s all delayed!”

Yu Xiangnian suddenly remembered the dream from last night.

Better safe than sorry.

“You’re in this state, you shouldn’t go. If you trust me, have your friend send the medical reports, and I’ll take a look. If you don’t trust me, there’s nothing I can do.”

“I trust you as much as a ghost!” Qiu Yang said, “If you can diagnose, I’ll eat shit!”

Yu Xiangnian: “…” She almost wanted to start a live stream!

Cheng Jingmo didn’t idle away his day.

First, he investigated Ding Yunfei’s activities from the previous day.

Ding Yunfei had left work early, citing gastrointestinal discomfort, and had gone to the military hospital before 8 p.m., where he even got medication.

Yu Xiangnian’s incident happened around 9 p.m., making it very likely that Ding Yunfei was just passing by.

Cheng Jingmo also visited Zhao Laosan’s village. The villagers all confirmed Zhao Laosan had been crazy for over ten years.

Could it all be coincidences?

And what about Haozi? Why was he there at that particular time?