Chapter 42 When will we get the marriage certificate?

“Mom, did you see clearly? Just now… was that really Chang Suisui?!” Xie Xiaohua’s voice was very low, but the shock in it was hard to hide. Her fingers trembled slightly, pointing toward the figure disappearing into the night. Xie Xiaohua’s eyes were wide, staring in disbelief at where Chang Suisui had vanished. Her lips parted as if to shout out, but she swallowed the words back hard.

“She… she went to a man’s house in the middle of the night?? Truly a loose woman! Always trying to seduce men!” Xie Xiaohua’s voice twisted in her throat, finally turning into a low curse. She wished she could rush to Xie Yu’s house right now and drag Chang Suisui out by her hair. But thinking of Xie Yu’s cold, bone-chilling black eyes made her shiver.

What should she do now? She had finally persuaded Zhao Xiulan to come with her to Xie Yu’s house to bring up her work at the supply and marketing cooperative. But unexpectedly, they caught Chang Suisui carrying things to Xie Yu’s house. No wonder Xie Yu wasn’t on her side—turns out he was already involved with Chang Suisui!

So what about her job at the cooperative? Zhao Xiulan glanced at Xie Xiaohua and quietly advised, “It’s not certain. Just today I told Chang Suisui I wanted her to marry Xie Yu since our families have a betrothal. Maybe that’s why she went there—perhaps to ask Xie Yu to cancel the engagement.”

Her words carried a hint of speculation, her eyes full of calculating fierceness. She originally planned to make Chang Suisui obedient, but didn’t expect her to be so cooperative as to come to Xie Yu’s house late at night. Well, then it’s no wonder…

Xie Xiaohua frowned. “Then what do we do?” Honestly, she really didn’t want Chang Suisui to marry Xie Yu. Even though Xie Yu was paralyzed, he was still her elder. If Chang Suisui married him, wouldn’t she have to call her aunt? The thought of someone her own age becoming her elder annoyed her greatly—especially since they had a feud!

Zhao Xiulan glanced at Xie Xiaohua and quietly instructed, “You go find people now. No matter what it takes, make sure to catch Chang Suisui at Xie Yu’s house. We want them to see for themselves that Chang Suisui is ‘secretly meeting’ Xie Yu, proving their illicit relationship. We’ll ruin Chang Suisui’s reputation. Let’s see how arrogant she can be then! Once she marries this crippled man, we can make full use of their family and torment this little bitch to death!”

At this moment, completely unaware of the plotting, Chang Suisui had already taken the braised pork out of the basket and placed it in Xie Yu’s hand.

“Eat quickly. You need to replenish your nutrition these days for the acupuncture to work better. Otherwise, your leg won’t heal fast.”

Xie Yu was about to say something but swallowed it dry, only managing a dry reply: “I will try to get better quickly.”

“Hmm, I believe you.” Chang Suisui propped her chin on one hand and quietly watched Xie Yu eat. She was thinking about how to subtly get close to him—should it be a kiss? Or his Adam’s apple? Or…

As her gaze lingered a bit too hotly on Xie Yu, it was almost tangible. As a former scout, he was not someone who couldn’t notice. His fingers unconsciously tightened around his chopsticks, his ears instantly flushing red. Unable to bear her intense stare, Xie Yu took the initiative to speak:

“You should be able to cancel the engagement with Xie Jianguo. What are your plans next?”

Chang Suisui snapped back to reality and raised her eyes to look at Xie Yu.

“Uh… I…” Her small mouth opened slightly, then her eyelids lowered again. “Actually, Zhao Xiulan came to see me today because of the engagement exchange.”

Xie Yu of course knew Zhao Xiulan had come to see her, and why. He took a slow breath and casually said to Chang Suisui, “I’ve also heard about the engagement exchange. They want you to marry me to give the Chang family an explanation.”

Chang Suisui hadn’t expected Xie Yu to bring this up himself. Her eyes widened a bit, then she looked at him questioningly, as if waiting for more.

Xie Yu clenched his fist and suppressed the impatience in his eyes, then deliberately said slowly, “I know my current condition is a bit of a burden to you, but… we can register our marriage first. When you find someone you truly love, we can divorce.”

He tried to speak calmly, but when he said “when you find your true love,” an inexplicable tightness squeezed his chest. Only he knew how much he wished that true love was himself. But right now, he felt unworthy of such a good girl.

Chang Suisui pursed her lips and was about to say something when Xie Yu spoke again, “If you’re not sure yet, you can take a few more days to think about it. After all, it’s a big life decision. I mean no offense or ill will, I just…”

The more he tried to sound righteous, the more uneasy he felt inside.

Chang Suisui lightly laughed and winked at Xie Yu, “I agree. I know you’re concerned about my reputation. After all, a woman who has twice called off engagements isn’t viewed well in the village…”

“That’s not true.” Xie Yu shook his head. “Chang Zhiqing, you deserve better. Someone who truly loves you won’t care what others say. You don’t need to care either.”

He didn’t know how to comfort her. For over twenty years, his life motto was to fight and never back down. There was no mountain he couldn’t take, only soldiers who didn’t try hard enough.

Xie Yu looked at Chang Suisui’s small head resting against the bed and slowly reached out his hand to gently pat it. Seeing she didn’t resist, he stroked her hair back twice and patted her head again.

Chang Suisui’s brow raised slightly. For some reason, she felt that the way Xie Yu patted her head was a little like… petting a dog. Her watery eyes blinked, then she looked at Xie Yu and suddenly said, “So when do we register the marriage?”

“Pfft—cough cough cough…” Xie Yu, who was drinking the spirit spring water, immediately sprayed it out. Though it was his suggestion, hearing those words come out of Chang Suisui’s mouth first made him the first to get flustered.

After coughing a few times and being patted on the back by Chang Suisui, he finally calmed down, “I… whatever you want. It all depends on you.”

Since returning to the village, he had no intention of dragging anyone down any longer. Now that he was going to marry Chang Suisui, even temporarily, he wanted to take on the responsibility of being a husband—to cherish her, love her, and lavish her with care as much as possible!

“Comrade Xie, I have one more question…”