Chapter 20: The Liang Family in Chaos

Just as the two had finished eating, a noisy commotion erupted outside, mixed with the sharp, piercing cries of a woman.

Su Yue moved closer to the corner of the wall, trying to hear more clearly.

Seeing that Su Yue wasn’t planning to open the door to take a look, Li Xiangbei grabbed a ladder and leaned it against the wall. He gave Su Yue a look, signaling for her to climb up and peek over the wall.

Su Yue rolled her eyes at him playfully but still climbed up the ladder.

Across from them, in front of the Liang family’s house, a large crowd had already gathered people standing layer upon layer.

From her high vantage point, Su Yue could clearly see everything that was happening below.

At the entrance of the Liang house, a young man lay unconscious on a recliner, his head wrapped in bandages. Next to him, a woman was sitting on the ground, wailing as if her heart were breaking.

“My good son only came to the Liang family as a guest, but they made him climb up and fix their roof. He fell off and now look at him! And what did the Liang family do? They dumped him at our doorstep like trash and walked away without a word! Everyone in our family works during the day—no one’s home. If it weren’t for a kind neighbor who saw him and rushed him to the hospital, my son might not even be alive right now!”

Though the woman sobbed bitterly, her account of what happened was clear and compelling.

“The doctor said if he had been brought in earlier, a simple bandage would’ve been enough. But because of the delay caused by the Liang family, the best treatment window was missed. Now my son has been in a coma ever since. The doctor even suggested that familiar voices might help, so I thought of Liang Xiaohong. She used to be close to my son. I went to the Liang family again and again, begging her to visit him. But what did she do? She kept hiding from me! And now the Liang family even wants to call off the engagement—are they trying to drive my son to his death?”

The gathered crowd began whispering among themselves, their voices rising with indignation and judgment.

“That’s just heartless of the Liang family. The poor boy got injured helping them.”

“Exactly. Calling off the engagement at a time like this? That’s so shameless.”

Just then, the Liang family’s front door creaked open. Auntie Liang stepped out with a stormy expression and pushed Liang Xiaohong forward. Liang Xiaohong glanced at the unconscious young man on the recliner and the weeping woman beside him, panic flashing in her eyes.

She quickly tried to defend herself.
“That’s not how it happened! Wang Qiang offered to help us with the roof himself. He climbed up on his own and then fell. It has nothing to do with us.”

Upon hearing that, the woman sobbed even harder.

She suddenly stood up, pointing a trembling finger at Liang Xiaohong, and shouted in grief and rage:
“You’re lying! My son’s been afraid of heights since he was a child. He won’t even climb trees—how would he ever volunteer to fix a roof? And it’s not like he even knows how! You’re just taking advantage of the fact that he’s unconscious and can’t expose your lies!”

At that moment, a man in the crowd stepped forward to testify.
“She’s right. Wang Qiang has always been afraid of heights. He even gave up on joining the military because of it. We all know this. There’s no way he would’ve volunteered to climb a roof.”

Liang Xiaohong instinctively took a few steps back, trying to stay composed.
“I already returned the betrothal gifts. I have nothing to do with your family anymore. These days, people are free to choose whom they marry. I don’t like Wang Qiang anymore, and I don’t want to marry him.”

Wang Qiang’s mother stared at her in disbelief, her voice shaking with fury:
“How can you say that?! You’re just trying to wash your hands of it now that something’s happened! My son got hurt at your house, and you must give us an explanation. If not, I’ll report you to the police for attempted murder! So many people saw you dump my son at our doorstep—they can all testify!”

Upon hearing this, Auntie Liang plopped down onto the ground and started wailing dramatically:
“Heavens! This is injustice! I don’t know what got into Wang Qiang—he insisted on climbing onto our roof and fell off on his own! We, the Liang family, were kind enough to take him home, and now the Wang family is extorting us? Where’s the justice in that?!”

Wang Qiang’s mother was trembling all over from anger.

Just then, a girl in the crowd suddenly spoke loudly:
“It was Liang Xiaohong! She wanted to show off in front of us how much Wang Qiang loved her—that he was willing to overcome his fear of heights for her. She’s the one who forced him to climb the roof!”

As soon as she said this, all the onlookers turned to look at her.

The girl took a deep breath and continued:
“Xiao Ling and Yaqin can back me up. Liang Xiaohong made Wang Qiang climb up there to prove how deep his love was for her. But Wang Qiang was scared and hesitated. Then Liang Xiaohong told him that if he didn’t do it, she wouldn’t marry him. That’s the only reason he went up. She even told him to walk ten circles on the roof. While he was doing that, she kept complaining he was too slow. When he got to the eighth circle, he lost his footing and fell.”

When she finished speaking, the girl turned to the two others beside her:
“Xiao Ling, Yaqin, you both saw everything with your own eyes. I know you’re loyal friends and consider Xiaohong a close sister, and you don’t want to sell her out. But look at Wang Qiang—he’s in this state because of her. If you protect her, aren’t you just helping her cover it up?”

The two girls looked torn, expressions full of conflict.
Liang Xiaohong saw this and immediately shouted back:
“Nonsense! You’re making this up, Li Juan! Why are you trying to frame me?”

But Li Juan didn’t back down. She pointed directly at Liang Xiaohong and said,
“Xiao Ling, Yaqin, look at her. She still doesn’t realize she did anything wrong. We’re her good friends—shouldn’t we help her recognize her mistakes?”

Xiao Ling and Yaqin exchanged a glance. Xiao Ling bit her lip, eyes filled with hesitation. Yaqin clutched her clothes tightly, eyes red with tears.

“It’s true… everything Li Juan said is true,” Xiao Ling said in a trembling voice. “That day, Xiaohong really did threaten not to marry Wang Qiang if he didn’t climb the roof. We tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Yaqin nodded nervously in agreement.

The crowd instantly erupted in rage.

“Wang Qiang’s really unlucky, finding someone like that.”

“Liang Xiaohong went way too far—just for her own pride, she ruined someone’s life!”

“The whole Liang family is despicable trying to dodge responsibility like that!”

In no time, the shouting and cursing surged like a tide toward the Liang household.

Liang Xiaohong’s face turned as pale as paper. Her body swayed unsteadily. She opened her mouth but couldn’t utter a word. Auntie Liang also panicked and scrambled up from the ground.

At that moment, someone had apparently called the police.

With the authorities present, the Liang family dared not continue acting up. The Wang family took the opportunity to demand compensation, but Auntie Liang kept crying poor.

In the end, under police mediation, both families agreed that Liang Xiaohong would marry into the Wang family as originally planned and take care of Wang Qiang.

Only then did this dramatic scene finally come to an end.