Chapter 99

“You’re the one with ideological issues.”

Zhou Yanfeng didn’t hold back, not even for Feng Shishi, the former belle of their compound.

Perhaps his upbringing had once taught him to be considerate toward women, but for Tang Yunling’s sake, he was willing to turn into a sharp sword and cut down anyone who thought too highly of themselves.

“Hah, lacking common sense is a fatal flaw.”

“Feng Shishi, don’t act out in front of me if you don’t have the brains for it. I’m not Li Rucai, that lapdog who follows you around wagging his tail.”

“Do you even know that Liu Cuifang stole someone’s fiancé?”

Turning his cold gaze toward Liu Cuifang, he continued, “What’s the matter? You wanted to save face in front of Feng Shishi but didn’t mention how you tried to steal someone’s fiancé and got played by Zhao Yongsen and his mother?”

Tang Yunling truly had kicked Zhao Yongsen out of her heart.

This educated youth named Liu Cuifang showing up to invite He Ting and Zhou Yanfeng to her wedding banquet, trying to flaunt her engagement, was clearly an attempt to provoke her.

Having known Zhao Yongsen for years, Tang Yunling had expected to feel hurt upon hearing of his impending marriage.

But as Zhou Yanfeng stood up for her, berating both Liu Cuifang and Feng Shishi, she felt no pain—just relief.

Two words came to mind: locked in.

Let the scumbag and the schemer stay tied together for life, out of everyone else’s way.

Seeing Zhou Yanfeng’s fiery indignation on her behalf, Tang Yunling suddenly felt no need to argue. Instead, she stepped forward and grabbed Zhou Yanfeng’s arm.

“Alright, aren’t we dating? Why get worked up over someone else’s business?”

Tang Yunling then turned her radiant smile toward Liu Cuifang.

“Comrade Liu, you and Zhao Yongsen really are a perfect match. Congratulations on your marriage. The trash I threw out is all yours now.”

Liu Cuifang: “…”

She hadn’t come here to deliberately provoke Tang Yunling.

She just wanted to see He Ting.

Inviting Zhou Yanfeng and He Ting to her wedding banquet gave her an excuse to visit the village clinic, hoping to catch a glimpse of He Ting.

She was about to marry someone she didn’t love, and seeing He Ting one last time felt like holding onto the last shred of a dream.

When Feng Shishi suggested inviting He Ting and Zhou Yanfeng, she had hesitated.

After all, Zhao Yongsen was Tang Yunling’s former fiancé, and going to the clinic to invite He Ting would inevitably mean running into Lu Baiwei.

As Tang Yunling’s cousin, Lu Baiwei wouldn’t hesitate to throw her out.

She’d decided not to invite them, but Feng Shishi had dragged her along without a second thought.

And now, she’d walked right into this humiliation.

It was practically walking straight into humiliation.

Liu Cuifang felt utterly disgraced and secretly blamed Feng Shishi for meddling.

What stung even more was discovering that Zhou Yanfeng and Tang Yunling were now dating.

She had approached Zhao Yongsen out of spite for Tang Yunling, wanting to see her in tears after being dumped by her fiancé.

Her scheming had indeed hit Tang Yunling, but it also trapped her in her own mess.

And now, without Zhao Yongsen, Tang Yunling had quickly started dating Zhou Yanfeng.

Though Zhou Yanfeng seemed like just He Ting’s sidekick, the Zhou family was a well-established household in their compound. Zhou Yanfeng’s grandfather was a recognized expert in antique appraisal, working at Liulichang, while several of his uncles held respected positions in the military.

While not as prominent as the He family, the Zhou family had stability.

The He family patriarch had been exiled to plant trees in the northwest, yet the Zhou family members still firmly held their positions in the military.

Comparing Zhao Yongsen and Zhou Yanfeng was like comparing heaven and earth.

Zhou Yanfeng was heaven, while Zhao Yongsen—a mere carpenter—was the dirt of the earth.

Even though Zhao Yongsen was just a stepping stone for her, meant to help resolve her “problem” and let her escape everything by the time she returned to the city, it still stung.

Losing Zhao Yongsen, only to see Tang Yunling—a mere village girl—secure Zhou Yanfeng, a son of a prestigious family, left Liu Cuifang feeling bitter and envious.

She couldn’t help but ask herself:

Why was she the only one who ended up miserable?

Why was her fate so cruel?

Why had she started so high, only to fall so low?

The argument outside the village clinic grew loud enough to catch the attention of He Ting and Lu Baiwei.

Knowing that Lu Baiwei was pregnant, Chen Wen and Liu Zaicheng at the rabbit farm had been helping He Ting manage most of the responsibilities.

Whenever He Ting stopped by the rabbit farm, they would urge him to return quickly to the clinic to assist Lu Baiwei.

At this moment, He Ting was in the kitchen helping Lu Baiwei prepare vegetables. Through the window, he saw Zhou Yanfeng standing protectively in front of Tang Yunling, angrily confronting Feng Shishi and Liu Cuifang.

He Ting set the vegetables down.

“Baiwei, I’m going to check what’s going on out there.”

Lu Baiwei followed his gaze out the window, spotting Liu Cuifang, who had once again come to the village and now appeared to be bothering her cousin.

She immediately became flustered, tossing her work to Zhou Yueying.

“I’ll come with you and see.”

He Ting and Lu Baiwei stepped outside, just as Zhou Yanfeng and Tang Yunling were mocking Liu Cuifang for “picking up scraps.”

“Jiejie, weren’t you two heading up the mountain to gather chestnuts? How did you come back so quickly?”

“Jiejie, weren’t you two going up the mountain to collect chestnuts? How come you’re back so quickly?”

“Baiwei, come quickly and take a look! Zhou Yanfeng and I picked a whole basket of wild jujubes!”

Tang Yunling didn’t take Liu Cuifang and Zhao Yongsen’s marriage announcement seriously at all. She pulled the basket off Zhou Yanfeng’s back and happily showed it to Lu Baiwei.

“Look! A whole basket of wild jujubes. Since you’ve been craving sour things during your pregnancy, I’ll have my mom come over later to help make jujube cakes and candied jujube preserves for you.”

Tang Yunling grinned at He Ting, seeking credit. “Aren’t I good to Baiwei? This lot of jujubes will last her quite a while.”

“Though, making jujube cakes and preserves takes a lot of sugar.”

Tang Yunling’s thoughtfulness toward Lu Baiwei was undeniable.

It was true that his Baiwei had been constantly craving sour foods.

The pair had apparently stumbled upon a wild jujube tree while up the mountain and abandoned the chestnuts entirely to pick a whole basket of fruit instead.

No wonder they’d come down so quickly.

He Ting appreciated Tang Yunling’s effort. “I’ve got plenty of sugar ration tickets. I’ll have Zhou Yanfeng take you to the supply and marketing cooperative later to weigh some sugar. I’ll also give you two extra sugar tickets for a couple of pounds of rock sugar as a reward for picking this basket of jujubes for Baiwei.”

Zhou Yanfeng was more than happy to take Tang Yunling on his bicycle to the cooperative.

There was no need to reward her with extra sugar tickets.

“No need for your sugar tickets, Ting-ge. My family sent over plenty of tickets last time.”

Zhou Yanfeng eagerly took charge. “I’ll buy the sugar for my girlfriend myself.”

Perhaps because Feng Shishi and Liu Cuifang were present, Zhou Yanfeng called Tang Yunling his “girlfriend” so naturally that it startled everyone.

Tang Yunling didn’t refute him but secretly pinched his leg.

It hurt like hell!

But Zhou Yanfeng found it exhilarating.

He gave Tang Yunling a look, as if to say he was standing up for her and that she should give him some credit.

To Feng Shishi and Liu Cuifang, this looked like the two were flirting openly.

Tang Yunling might have lost Zhao Yongsen, but now she was dating Zhou Yanfeng, a son of a prestigious family. Meanwhile, Liu Cuifang was stuck marrying someone like Zhao Yongsen, a morally questionable farmer.

Liu Cuifang felt like a complete joke.

“Some people have changed so much after coming to the countryside, forgetting the bond we shared growing up in the same compound.”

She tugged at Feng Shishi. “No one here wants us around. Why should we stay?”

“Shishi, let’s go.”