Chapter 64

It seemed that the original plot was indeed unstoppable. No matter how much Meng Yinyin struggled, she couldn’t escape the storyline and would still end up entangled with Dou Zhengrong!

Realizing this, Lin Xiuzhi felt a surge of glee, and the agitation that had been troubling her for so long instantly dissipated.

She even began to think that perhaps she should take advantage of this opportunity to create some chances for Meng Yinyin and Dou Zhengrong to spend more time alone together, speeding up their progress. That way, she could comfort the heartbroken Lu Chen and then gradually enter his heart. But before she could say anything, Meng Yinyin continued.

“However, there is one more thing I need to tell you both. It’s possible that Lu Chen and I will be getting married soon.”

What?

They’re getting married?

The moment this sentence left Meng Yinyin’s mouth, both Dou Zhengrong and Lin Xiuzhi froze for a moment.

Dou Zhengrong wasn’t overly surprised, but Lin Xiuzhi’s reaction was far more intense. It was as if a huge storm had erupted in her heart.

Married? Lu Chen and Meng Yinyin getting married? How could that be possible? How could this happen?

If Lu Chen really marries Meng Yinyin, what would happen to her? Wouldn’t that mean she couldn’t be with Lu Chen, and her dream of becoming the future wife of the richest man would be shattered?

The thought of this made Lin Xiuzhi feel panicked and uneasy.

Unable to contain herself, she directly confronted Meng Yinyin.

“Did you use some trick to force Lu Chen into marrying you?”

Otherwise, there’s no way he would marry you!

Because in the original plot, he was supposed to remain single forever!

Now, he was about to marry Meng Yinyin—this was absolutely impossible!

Meng Yinyin felt a bit guilty under Lin Xiuzhi’s interrogation. After all, the marriage story was a fabrication she had made up on the spot, and it wouldn’t hold up under closer questioning.

However, if she didn’t say this, she was afraid Lin Xiuzhi might do something based on her current attitude.

Moreover, if she and Lu Chen were really married, with that connection, neither Lin Xiuzhi nor Dou Zhengrong would likely have any other thoughts, right?

If Lin Xiuzhi and Dou Zhengrong still harbored any intentions after knowing she was about to marry Lu Chen, Meng Yinyin would truly be impressed.

Thinking that telling a harmless lie could resolve this situation, Meng Yinyin felt a bit more confident.

She slightly lifted her chin, maintaining a calm expression as she looked at Lin Xiuzhi.

“How could you say that? Lu Chen is a grown man, and I’m just a weak woman. How could I force him into anything?”

“And how do you know Lu Chen doesn’t want to marry me? Let me tell you, he’s so happy that I agreed to marry him! After all, he really likes me, a lot!”

When she said the last part, Meng Yinyin had to suppress her embarrassment and shame, but she still tried to maintain a calm front. In truth, anyone paying attention would have noticed her wandering gaze, but unfortunately, Lin Xiuzhi was so absorbed in what she said that she didn’t pick up on these details.

Lin Xiuzhi couldn’t accept what Meng Yinyin had just said about Lu Chen loving her so much. Even though she had always felt that Lu Chen’s attitude toward her was harsh and unkind, she still hadn’t given up on the idea of being with him.

After all, she was a loyal fan of the supporting male character, Lu Chen, and even though the real Lu Chen was much harder to approach and colder than he appeared in the book, in her heart, he was still the one she most wanted to marry.

She could accept everything else, but what she couldn’t accept was the fact that Lu Chen actually had someone he liked!

At that moment, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Lin Xiuzhi felt an urge to kill these two. The news of Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen getting married not only shattered her dream of becoming the future wife of the richest man, but it also destroyed the image of Lu Chen as her “white moonlight” in her heart!

Seeing Lin Xiuzhi standing there, her expression darkening, Meng Yinyin began to feel uneasy.

It looked like Lin Xiuzhi might actually lash out. Was she really going to attack her?

Feeling a bit scared, Meng Yinyin instinctively took two steps back.

Dou Zhengrong, standing nearby, also noticed Lin Xiuzhi’s fierce expression. He frowned, and a flash of impatience crossed his face.

If he didn’t know that the woman in front of him was his wife, Lin Xiuzhi, he wouldn’t have wanted to look at her for another second.

However, thinking that his wife would come back and return to this body in the future, he could only suppress his disgust for Lin Xiuzhi in front of him, and then walked up to Meng Yinyin and Lin Xiuzhi to separate the two, so as to prevent them from arguing and hurting each other.

After Lin Xiuzhi’s terrifying gaze was blocked, Meng Yinyin couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief.

Dou Zhengrong lowered his head and gave Meng Yinyin a polite smile, saying, “Congratulations, Educated Youth Meng. When you and Lu Chen get married, I will definitely come to congratulate you.”

Seeing that he believed her, Meng Yinyin didn’t dare linger at their home. After all, she was really afraid that Dou Zhengrong would ask them when the wedding was.

Realizing that her purpose for coming was almost complete, Meng Yinyin quickly spoke up.

“Well, it’s getting late, and there are some things at home. I’ll head back now!”

With that, she ran off in a hurry.

Behind her, Lin Xiuzhi and Dou Zhengrong stood in silence for a long time, until the voices of Dabao and Erbao finally broke the quiet.

“Dad!”

“Mom…”

One voice called out joyfully, while the other was timid, full of fear and anxiety.

Dou Zhengrong noticed that the smiles on the children’s faces disappeared the moment they met Lin Xiuzhi’s gaze. His heart sank, but he suppressed his emotions, forcing a smile as he addressed the children.

“You’re back. Come on, let Dad see what treasures you’ve brought back today.”

The children glanced at Lin Xiuzhi and noticed she didn’t roll her eyes at them like she had in the past few days. They secretly felt relieved and quickly walked up to Dou Zhengrong, showing him the wild vegetables and mushrooms they had found.

“Dad, we found so much food. Tonight, we can eat wild vegetables instead of the ones we grew ourselves!”

The two children, who had been raised by Lin Xiuzhi, were very frugal and sensible. Even though Dou Zhengrong had told them that the hot weather made it unnecessary for them to go out searching for wild vegetables every day, the children didn’t listen. They knew that their father’s leg was injured and that planting vegetables was difficult for him. As for their mother…

Their mother was not the same as before. She couldn’t do anything now, and if they didn’t go out to find things, their father would have to drag his injured leg to tend to the crops alone. They were worried about him.

Dou Zhengrong understood his children’s feelings. Although they couldn’t always express themselves clearly, he could still feel their love. This made him even more guilty and miss his wife Lin Xiuzhi even more.

It was because of her good teaching that the children had become so well-behaved.

Looking at the children’s increasingly thin bodies, the goal in Dou Zhengrong’s heart became even clearer.

He knew it was time to solve this problem.

The task ahead was difficult, but for the sake of bringing his wife back and giving his children their real mother, he had to do it!

He needed to find someone to help.

Someone to drive the evil spirit that had taken over his wife’s body away!

…

After returning home from Dou Zhengrong’s house, Meng Yinyin immediately closed the door. Worried that Lin Xiuzhi might come to her senses and try to cause trouble again, she even locked the yard gate twice!

Unless she could climb the wall, no one was getting in!

Back in her room, Meng Yinyin thought for a moment and then pulled out the address that her brother, Meng Xuan, had written for her. She carefully looked it over.

When Meng Xuan had given her the address last time, he had been very clear: unless it was a major event, like her getting married or having a child, she should not contact their parents to avoid causing trouble for both sides.

Meng Yinyin hadn’t looked at the piece of paper with the address for a long time, but now, for some reason, she felt a strong urge to remember the address.

Perhaps it was because she had just talked about marrying Lu Chen at Dou Zhengrong’s house. Although she had said it to make Lin Xiuzhi and Dou Zhengrong give up, still…

What if?

What if Lu Chen really was going to marry her soon?

In that case, she probably wouldn’t refuse.

Aside from her slight concern about whether Lu Chen might lock her in a small dark room in the future, other issues seemed to have been resolved.

So, if Lu Chen proposed to her, Meng Yinyin thought she probably wouldn’t refuse.

Thinking about the wedding, she couldn’t help but smile.

Because of this, Meng Yinyin’s mood remained light and happy throughout the afternoon. When Lu Chen came home that evening, he brought even better news.

As soon as Lu Chen returned home, he told Meng Yinyin that he had been selected to become a tractor driver for the commune.

Originally, this decision wasn’t expected to be finalized for a few more days. After all, the brigade leader had just told Lu Chen yesterday to wait for the news. But to their surprise, the result came out today.

Not only was Lu Chen surprised, but it seemed the brigade leader was also confused.

Although confused, getting the position was still good news, so Lu Chen immediately shared it with Meng Yinyin, who, of course, was thrilled.

“Wow, that’s great! From now on, you’ll be a tractor driver and have a government job!”

Although Meng Yinyin had never even seen a tractor before she went to the countryside, and even the poorest person in her family worked in the army, none of this stopped her from feeling overjoyed and wanting to jump for joy.

After all, things were different now. Their family had come a long way, and having someone with a steady job was already an improvement!

Of course, beyond her happiness, she also felt proud of Lu Chen.

He had stood out among so many people to earn this position, and without any background or assistance, he achieved it entirely on his own merit!

He was simply amazing!

“Lu Chen, you’re really great!”

Meng Yinyin’s smile and praise made Lu Chen’s heart feel a little lighter. Maybe he had been overthinking. There probably wasn’t anything shady behind this position. After all, even Yinyin said he was really great.

Because of this good news, that evening, Meng Yinyin had originally planned to impress Lu Chen with her cooking skills. However, she realized that if they celebrated with her food, it wouldn’t feel like a celebration but more like an act of harm. So, reluctantly, she handed over the kitchen to Lu Chen.

When Lu Chen saw her finally leave the kitchen, he silently sighed in relief.

Occasionally eating Meng Yinyin’s cooking was a happy treat, but the more often it happened, the more nervous he became.

After all, when he had come home that day, Meng Yinyin had stormed out of the kitchen with a scowl, and the charred food in the pan had been burned into his mind.

He was genuinely afraid of her going back into the kitchen. If anything happened, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.

That evening, while Meng Yinyin and Lu Chen were celebrating over the tractor driver news, far away in the capital, the atmosphere in the Dong family was incredibly tense.

The Dong family had received a call from Dong Qingcheng in the afternoon. However, since some of the family members were at work, they could only gather that evening to discuss the message Dong Qingcheng had relayed.

When Mrs. Dong repeated Dong Qingcheng’s words to the rest of the family, everyone fell silent. The only sound in the room was Mrs. Dong’s uncontrollable sobbing.

“Xiao Qi, my Xiao Qi… how could she… how could she leave us like this…”

Mrs. Dong’s eyes were already red from crying, and now she leaned against her eldest daughter, unable to stop crying.

Beside her, Mr. Dong and his eldest daughter, Dong Wenqian, remained silent, but their expressions showed the depth of their sorrow.

Finally, it was Dong Wenqian’s husband, Deng Tao, who sighed and hesitated before speaking.

“Didn’t Qingcheng say that it’s not 100% certain that it’s my little sister-in-law? Maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem. Perhaps she’s alive, just living somewhere else?”

However, Dong Qingcheng had also mentioned that after leaving Lu Chen’s place, he had inquired in the village and the surrounding areas. He found out that Lu Chen’s mother had appeared in their village only when she was several years old. Dong Qingcheng was now 90% sure that the person in question was his aunt.

Otherwise, what family would bring back a child who was already several years old? Even though Lu Chen’s grandfather explained that his daughter had been at his mother’s house before he went to pick her up, Dong Qingcheng also found out that Lu Chen’s grandfather was never married and didn’t have a wife.

The child was likely either adopted or bought!

Despite this, Deng Tao’s words were like a last ray of hope for the Dong family, even though they knew that this hope might not save them. Still, they couldn’t help but hold on to that flicker of hope.

In the end, Mr. Dong took a deep breath, paused for a long time, and made a decision.

“I’ll go with the eldest son-in-law to take a trip.”

Mr. Dong had hoped to go with his wife, but when he saw her state, he couldn’t bear to let her go with him.

As for himself, his legs were still in decent shape. Although his children were worried about him, he had already made up his mind. He had to go personally.

For all these years, they had received no clear information, but now he was going to see what might very well be his daughter’s grave. No matter what, he had to see it with his own eyes.

When Mrs. Dong heard that her husband was going, she immediately widened her eyes and sobbed, “I’m going with you!”

She had to go. She must see that child again.

Her only wish in this life was to see that child once more.

Even if it was likely that she would never see the living child again, she had to see her grave and bring her home!

The rest of the Dong family, of course, opposed the idea. However, they couldn’t resist when Mrs. Dong cried and pleaded. Eventually, the entire family made up their minds to go together.