Chapter 18: Blame it on marriage

His voice grew quieter and quieter, completely lacking confidence. He knew that as long as Xie Yu was unwilling, whatever he said was meaningless. If their leader’s words couldn’t convince him, his… were just wasted effort!

“Mm, got it,” Xie Yu replied calmly.

Qian Weimin was momentarily stunned, not reacting right away. “Leader, if you don’t want me to stay, I can just live in the forest nearby, I—”

“I said, got it,” Xie Yu said again with a hint of helplessness, looking at Qian Weimin. He didn’t know what their leader was thinking sending him such a stubborn bodyguard.

Qian Weimin froze for a moment, then immediately burst with joy. “Leader!” He practically wanted to hug Xie Yu and spin him around. Their leader actually agreed to let him stay! His dark, bright eyes locked onto Xie Yu with overwhelming excitement. “Leader! Is there anything you need me to do? I can go up the mountain now and catch a wild boar, I can definitely handle it!”

Xie Yu pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at Qian Weimin. “There are so many brothers in the regiment, why did they send you?”

Hearing this, Qian Weimin immediately puffed up proudly like a rooster crowing at dawn, raising his head. “That’s because I won the fight inside our regiment! Leader, you don’t know, all those guys looked so defeated, hehe!” He got more and more smug as he talked, standing there like a little dog waiting for praise.

Alright, their leader must’ve sent the muscle since Xie Yu’s legs weren’t in good shape, so they needed someone quick on his feet.

Xie Yu nodded seriously. “Mm, then you have a task to complete now.”

Qian Weimin’s eyes lit up. “Leader, you say!”

“First, don’t call me leader,” Xie Yu said.

Qian Weimin was so eager to respond he cut him off, “Okay, leader!”

The room fell silent for a moment, and Xie Yu gave Qian Weimin a sharp look. Qian Weimin immediately made a zipper gesture over his mouth.

Xie Yu continued, “Teach Xie Jianguo a lesson, just don’t kill him.”

“Xie Jianguo?” Qian Weimin furrowed his brows. “Isn’t he… the regiment, uh, Xie Ge—your nephew?”

Xie Yu’s dark eyes blinked slightly. “No matter the relation, just complete your task.”

“Got it! Task accepted!” Qian Weimin agreed without hesitation. Their leader said so—no reason to hesitate, just do it!

By dusk, a fine drizzle started falling. Soon, the rain grew denser and more urgent, filling the air with a damp, cold atmosphere.

“Brother Jianguo, it’s all my fault, I brought you trouble, boohoo…” The sound of a woman crying came from the small wooden hut near the pigsty. Chang Meili wiped her tears, heart aching as she looked at Xie Jianguo.

After the whole afternoon, Xie Jianguo’s face wasn’t as swollen as before, but his frustration grew deeper inside.

He glanced at the pitifully crying Chang Meili, then remembered the recent incident between them, softening a bit more.

His gaze on Chang Meili grew more lustful. “It’s not your fault. It’s all that bitch Chang Suisui’s doing!”

He reached out to caress Chang Meili’s slender waist and pulled her close. The overwhelming stench of manure almost made him vomit.

The air was already thick with the foul smell of pig dung, dampness, and mildew. Now, mixed with the manure smell on Chang Meili’s body, Xie Jianguo nearly couldn’t bear it.

He instinctively pushed her aside and suddenly stood up.

Chang Meili fell to the ground, stunned and confused, looking at Xie Jianguo as if silently questioning why he did that.

Xie Jianguo quickly covered her mouth, “Shh! I think I heard someone outside!”

Hearing this, Chang Meili immediately quieted and carefully listened to the sounds outside.

Sitting together in the relatively dry corner of the room, they listened intently.

Besides the relentless raindrops pounding on the pigsty’s roof and walls, making a dull oppressive noise, there was no other sound.

Only then did Xie Jianguo relax and seriously say to Chang Meili, “Meili, our situation is very dangerous now. I don’t want you to risk yourself for me…”

Chang Meili was instantly moved. As expected of the man she chose, all his heart was for her! Tears welled in her eyes and she hugged Xie Jianguo tightly.

Xie Jianguo lifted his chin, trying to hold his breath and ignore the smell on Chang Meili.

After a moment, she slowly loosened her grip, “I know you mean well, but I can’t leave you suffering here alone. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been framed by my cousin…”

Xie Jianguo finally exhaled, feeling exhausted.

His eyes inadvertently scanned Chang Meili’s face, sunburned and darkened from working with manure, then suddenly flashed to Chang Suisui’s fair and delicate face in his mind.

He seemed to snap out of it and asked, “You said Chang Suisui used every method to try to get me, so why was she so hostile to me in the field?”

Chang Meili was taken aback, feeling a little guilty.

Because in the previous life, she tried every trick to swap engagements, so Chang Suisui ended up marrying Xie Jianguo.

If she remembered correctly, Chang Suisui liked Zhao Hang, and had barely any contact with Xie Jianguo, so it was normal for her to be hostile when he approached.

Especially now, this Chang Suisui was a bit unusual.

Chang Meili even suspected at first that Chang Suisui might have been reborn, otherwise why be so hostile?

But soon she dismissed the thought — if Chang Suisui was reborn, she would have immediately gotten together with Xie Jianguo, just like she did.

So… maybe Chang Suisui recently incited others to bully her, causing her to rebel.

Thinking this, Chang Meili feigned hesitation and said, “My cousin really likes you, but you belittled her in front of others, so she was hostile to you. Besides… if she didn’t like you, why would she force me to break off the engagement and make my grandma arrange a swap?”

With that, she successfully pinned the blame for the future swap on Chang Suisui.

When the letter about the swap from grandma arrives, no matter how much Chang Suisui protests, she won’t be able to explain clearly!