Chapter 1: Two Slaps
 

“……”

After listening to the long-winded breakup speech, Jiang Qian remained silent. She simply looked quietly at the man sitting across from her.

Seeing her in this “devastated” state, Wang Hesong also felt a bit uncomfortable, because he truly did have feelings for Jiang Qian. But things had changed…

“Qianqian, I know saying this is cruel to you, and I’m really sorry. But let’s end this mistaken relationship together.”

Only then did Jiang Qian snap out of it, her eyes sweeping coldly over him.

The man spouting this cheesy breakup line, straight out of a Qiong Yao drama^[1]Qiong Yao dramas are known for their melodramatic love stories, so referring to the breakup speech as “Qiong Yao-style” suggests it’s full of clichés and overly emotional lines., was none other than Wang Hesong—the man she was supposed to meet for a engagement meeting and get engaged to tomorrow.

Wang Hesong wasn’t bad-looking. In their area, standing at about 1.75 meters (5’9″), his height was considered above average.

In addition, he had a town residency and worked as a junior official in a local government unit.

He was considered a “financially practical man.”

However, when the Wang family invited a matchmaker over to arrange a meeting between the two families, Jiang Qian’s parents didn’t immediately agree.

After making some inquiries, they found out that Wang Hesong was born after the Wang family had six daughters in a row, which made them hesitate.

But the Wang family was very sincere. Old Lady Wang even went to the matchmaker again, not only promising “forty-eight legs” (a reference to giving livestock or work animals, a traditional dowry) ^[2] The term “forty-eight legs” refers to a traditional dowry, often indicating livestock (e.g., twelve animals with four legs each)., but also offering a sewing machine^[3]           Sewing machines were valuable in that era, so offering one as part of the dowry was a significant gesture of sincerity..

Their sincerity was undeniable.

As for the pressure of bearing a son, with Old Lady Wang as the matriarch and given her history, there wouldn’t be much concern if Jiang Qian couldn’t give birth to a boy immediately after marriage.

Besides, Jiang Qian had four older brothers, so the family didn’t have much to worry about in general.

Moreover, no matter whom she married, she would be expected to have several children. In these times, who had only one child?

So, after some hesitation, the Jiang family agreed.

As for why the old lady of the Wang family from the town took an interest in Jiang Qian from the village, it all stemmed from Jiang Qian’s fondness for helping elderly people cross the street. Once, on her way to work at the town’s elementary school, she saw that Old Lady Wang wasn’t feeling well. After helping her cross the road, Old Lady Wang became extremely fond of her.

As a result, she even brought her only son, Wang Hesong, to meet Jiang Qian.

Seeing that Jiang Qian didn’t object, Old Lady Wang invited a matchmaker to the Jiang family to discuss marriage.

After a series of negotiations, the two families arranged for the formal engagement meeting/date to take place tomorrow.

Before this, Jiang Qian had also thought Wang Hesong wasn’t a bad match.

Looking around, she didn’t have many choices, and more importantly, Old Lady Wang genuinely liked her. Whenever Jiang Qian went to school to teach, Wang Hesong’s mother would occasionally come by to check on her, bringing her food and chatting with her warmly.

It was clear that Wang Hesong’s mother was very satisfied with her.

Jiang Qian could sense that, and Wang Hesong was also considerate. He even wanted to invite her to see a movie. However, Jiang Qian didn’t go because the autumn harvest had just ended, and her whole family had been busy working together. There was no way she could go off to watch a movie with him during such a busy time.

She figured that after the harvest was done and the formal engagement was settled, they could go see a movie then—it wouldn’t be too late.

So, while they were calling it a “engagement meeting” tomorrow, it was pretty much the same as an engagement, since most of the conditions had already been settled.

But reality gave her a shocking surprise—she had completely misjudged him!

Jiang Qian looked Wang Hesong up and down. Though her voice was soft and sweet, her words were anything but polite: “Wang Hesong, don’t forget, it was your family who asked the matchmaker to come to my house!”

Wang Hesong looked guilty, but he still had to say, “Qianqian, I know this is hard for you to accept, but I can’t give you happiness. You… you should just forget about me. After all, you can’t force a melon to be sweet!”

Hearing Wang Hesong’s self-important tone, Jiang Qian raised her eyebrows and looked at him like she was watching a performing monkey. “You can’t force a melon to be sweet, but it still quenches your thirst.” ^[4]The idiom “强扭的瓜不甜” (literally “a forcibly twisted melon isn’t sweet”) means that a forced relationship won’t be happy or satisfying. Jiang Qian’s witty comeback … Continue reading

“She’s not willing to give up on me that easily.” He thought, Wang Hesong felt a wave of sweetness in his heart. It was all because of his damned irresistible charm!

However, if he didn’t handle this properly, there was no way he could explain it to Jiang Yue!

So he simply decided to be firm: “I didn’t come here to negotiate with you today. I’m here to inform you that tomorrow’s engagement is canceled. If you insist on clinging to this, don’t blame me if it causes a scene—I’ve warned you!”

Qianqian, don’t blame me, I’m only doing this for your own good!

That’s what he told himself in his heart.

Jiang Qian sneered coldly, “You think you can engage or cancel as you please? Who do you think you are? The date has been set for tomorrow, everything is already arranged, and now you come here telling me you’re backing out? Where were you earlier? Do you really think my Jiang family is so easy to bully?”

As she spoke, she didn’t hesitate to slap Wang Hesong hard across the face!

With a loud smack, a bright red handprint instantly appeared on Wang Hesong’s cheek!

Having been pampered and spoiled by his family since childhood, Wang Hesong was completely stunned. He hadn’t expected Jiang Qian to actually hit him!

But when he met Jiang Qian’s furious gaze, he convinced himself that this was just because her love for him ran so deep that it had turned into hate!

“I know it’s my fault. I’ve let down your deep feelings for me. If one slap isn’t enough to calm your anger, you can hit me again!” Wang Hesong accepted the slap without complaint and even tried to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor.

Jiang Qian, being the type who immediately retaliated when wronged, swiftly raised her hand and gave him another hard slap.

Wang Hesong: “…” How much must she love him to hate him this much?

After the second slap, Jiang Qian finally felt a bit of her anger subside. She let out a cold snort and said, “Tomorrow’s engagement is off. But remember this, Wang—I am the one canceling it! I don’t care for someone as fickle and untrustworthy as you!”

Without giving him another glance, she turned and headed back to the school.

As Wang Hesong watched her walk away, he realized that he had just incurred a serious emotional debt.

With the two fresh slap marks still on his face, Wang Hesong went to the supply and marketing cooperative where Jiang Yue was working.

Jiang Yue was quite capable and had already gotten along well with her colleagues. When she saw him arrive, she quickly asked one of her coworkers to watch her stall for a bit and came out.

Upon seeing the two handprints on Wang Hesong’s face, she immediately looked concerned. “Who did this?”

“Jiang Qian slapped me. She’s really angry,” Wang Hesong sighed.

Jiang Yue couldn’t help but raise her hand to gently touch his face. “Jiang Qian has always been arrogant and domineering. She only pretends to be obedient and sensible in front of others. It’s good that you’ve decided not to marry her!”

Wang Hesong knew that Jiang Qian’s anger was because she truly loved him, and it was his fault for letting her down. Despite her temper, she was actually a kind and caring person.

His mother had back pain and no one was there to help her cross the road—only Jiang Qian stepped in to assist.

That’s when his mother grew really fond of her and arranged the marriage. In the days following, his mother often brought boiled eggs to Jiang Qian, insisting she eat them to build her strength.

Just yesterday, when she found out he wanted to break off the engagement, his mother was against it. She said she had already set her heart on Jiang Qian as her daughter-in-law.

It was only after he explained the real situation that his mother reluctantly agreed.

“Did you settle the issue of your engagement tomorrow?” Jiang Yue, unaware of his complicated thoughts, asked the question that concerned her the most.

“I’ve made things clear to her about the engagement,” Wang Hesong replied, looking at her. “When should we go to the hospital for a check-up? To see if the baby is healthy.”

That’s right—Jiang Yue was already carrying his child.

It was precisely because he had already consummated the relationship with Jiang Yue, and now she was pregnant, that even his mother, no matter how reluctant, had no choice but to agree to this marriage.