Font Size:
Su Xinyun glanced at Cheng Jiafu.
He knew exactly what kind of person Cheng Jiafu was—already in his twenties, never worked, never earned money, nothing more than a parasite at home. The Cheng family wasn’t well-off either; at most, they could scrape together five or six hundred yuan as a dowry.
As Su Xinyun hesitated over how to reject this proposal, Shen Xiuying had already spoken up bluntly:
“A few days ago, Wu Tianyou had his eye on your Peipei and wanted to force her into being his mistress. If it weren’t for my Jiafu stepping in to stop him, who knows what might have happened! Because of this, Jiafu even injured Wu Tianyou and almost ended up in jail.”
Saying this, Shen Xiuying grabbed Su Peipei’s hand earnestly:
“Peipei, you still remember what happened a few days ago, don’t you? If not for Jiafu, you might have been bullied by Wu Tianyou. That’s a life-saving favor—you’re an educated girl, you can’t just forget such a debt, can you?”
Zhang Xiaohong immediately came forward, prying Su Peipei’s hand out of Shen Xiuying’s grasp:
“Listen to yourself! If it weren’t for Cheng Jiafu making trouble that day, our Peipei might already have been married into the Wu family. Your Jiafu is lazy and useless, doesn’t even have a proper job, and you still think he can marry our Peipei? Impossible!
We’ve raised Peipei all these years, sent her to high school—she deserves to marry into a good family. Your Jiafu is out of the question. You’d better give up on that idea.”
Shen Xiuying’s temper flared:
“What’s wrong with my Jiafu? He’s handsome—plenty of girls would marry him! It’s you people, wanting to sell your niece rather than marry her off properly. You’re only bullying her because she’s been left in your care.”
Meanwhile, Cheng Jiafu pulled Su Peipei aside, lowering his voice:
“Your uncle isn’t letting you stay in school, right? If they won’t let you study, then marry me. I’ll support you through school, okay?”
Su Peipei shook her head.
“Brother Jiafu, you’re a good person, but I can’t marry you. As for school, I’ll find my own way—you don’t have to worry about me.”
Her father hadn’t sent money for half a year. Something must have happened. She needed to get in touch with him as soon as possible.
“Peipei, if you don’t agree to marry me, your uncle will send you to work in the city. The city is full of dangers—you’ll be taken advantage of easily. Marry me instead. I’ll go work in the city, and you just focus on your studies.”
As he spoke, Cheng Jiafu reached for her hand, trying to make her agree.
Not far away, Lu Chen had just arrived at Miaoxia Village, guided by locals to Su Xincheng’s home. From a distance, villagers saw Cheng Jiafu tugging at Su Peipei.
“Mr. Lu, that girl Cheng Jiafu is pawing at—that’s Peipei. Cheng Jiafu’s just a useless slob, lazy and greedy, yet he dreams of marrying her? A toad lusting after swan meat, hmph!”
Hearing this, Lu Chen’s face darkened.
So, Cheng Jiafu was nothing but a scoundrel. Su Uncle’s daughter was his sister—who dared bully his sister without asking his permission first?
“Let her go!” Lu Chen’s voice thundered from not far away.
Cheng Jiafu, still coaxing Su Peipei, was startled by the sudden shout. He lost his balance and nearly toppled onto her.
Seeing that, Lu Chen thought he meant to assault Su Peipei. He leapt forward and kicked him hard.
Bang!
Cheng Jiafu’s body flew several meters before crashing to the ground.
Standing at the side, watching the drama unfold like a melon-eating spectator, Cheng Yuanyue was dumbfounded.
It was happening—it was really happening! The iconic plot scene had arrived.
In the novel, it was precisely because of this kick that the heroine Su Peipei began to admire the male lead, ultimately following him wholeheartedly.
The sudden commotion startled Shen Xiuying and Wen Suying. Seeing a strange young man kick Jiafu so far, they hurried forward in panic.
“Jiafu! Are you alright?”
“Who are you? Why did you attack my son? If something happens to him, I’ll fight you to the death!”
“My butt hurts, it hurts so bad…” Cheng Jiafu groaned on the ground, clutching his waist with both hands.
“And you are…?” Su Xinyun eyed the tall, handsome stranger with a soldier’s haircut. Could he have been sent by his older brother?
“You’re Su Xincheng-uncle’s younger brother, aren’t you?” Lu Chen nodded at him. “I’m Lu Chen. Uncle Su Xincheng was my father’s comrade-in-arms. He’s on assignment right now and can’t leave, so he asked me to fetch Su Peipei to the city.”
At those words, Su Peipei’s eyes immediately reddened.
Her father—after half a year of silence—finally, there was news. He hadn’t abandoned her.
“So you’re Comrade Lu! Please, come in, come in!” Su Xinyun greeted warmly, ushering him inside. “I was just about to send Peipei to the county school. We had barely left the house when the Cheng family came to propose. Peipei’s still in school, only just turned eighteen—how could we possibly marry her off now?”
Zhang Xiaohong chimed in just as eagerly:
“Yes, yes, big brother entrusted Peipei to us all these years, and we’ve raised her like our own daughter. But the county is inconvenient, so we were just sending her to continue high school in the city. She’s still only eighteen and studying—how could we possibly marry her off now?”
Su Peipei looked at the man her father had sent, her mind briefly blank.
He… he was the man from yesterday.
Yesterday, when her uncle brought her to the city, he had given her a drink that knocked her unconscious. When the drug took effect, she had stumbled into this very man.
Lu Chen, too, recognized Su Peipei—she was the drugged girl from the guesthouse, the one he had rushed to the hospital.
He hadn’t expected her to be Uncle Su’s daughter.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiuying snapped at Cheng Yuanyue, who was still standing by idly:
“Useless girl! Can’t you see your brother’s hurt and can’t get up? Why aren’t you helping him?”
That Lu fellow—who knew where he had come from—had such terrifying strength!
Cheng Yuanyue glanced at Cheng Jiafu. Unlike the novel, he hadn’t broken any ribs—just landed hard on his backside, unable to get up for the moment.
“If he’s really hurt, don’t move him. Better to fetch a doctor first,” Cheng Yuanyue said coolly.
The plot was unfolding almost exactly as in the book.
Next, the male lead would take the heroine away, and from then on, the two would grow together, deeply in love.
But then Lu Chen’s ears caught a voice outside—it sounded very familiar. He looked out, and sure enough, there was Cheng Yuanyue—the woman who had slept with him and tried to walk away without responsibility.
Good. Very good.
He had come today intending to find her. He hadn’t expected her to show up on her own.
Seeing his interest in the Cheng family, Su Xinyun quickly explained:
“The one you kicked just now was Cheng Jiafu. The girl next to him is his sister. The Chengs always favor sons over daughters. All the hard work falls on the girls, while the sons act like little emperors, doing nothing but waiting to eat. Honestly, anyone who’d marry into that family would be out of her mind.”