The weather in the capital was hotter than in the countryside. Though it was already autumn, the blazing sun hung in the sky like it wanted to melt people.

As soon as Xu Xiaoyue got off the train, a wave of heat rushed at her. She carried her luggage in her left hand and held a slip of paper in her right—the one the driver had given her before leaving, with the Yan family’s address on it.

Even though the driver had already told Xu Xiaoyue that someone from the Yan family would be picking her up after she got off the train, she just asked where the exit was and left the station without hesitation.

Of course, she knew the Yan family had sent someone—no one else but her so-called fiancé, Yan Shuli.

In the original story, Xu Xiaoyue believed what the driver had said and foolishly waited alone at the station for four hours before her fiancé finally showed up.

By the time she arrived at the Yan household, it was already 9 p.m. The meal that had been prepared since early morning sat cold and untouched. Yan Shuli didn’t explain anything, letting Yan’s mother and father misunderstand Xu Xiaoyue, thinking she had deliberately put on airs to spend more time with Yan Shuli and dragged her return.

That first meeting left a bad impression on the Yan family.

Now that she was here to call off the engagement, she cared even less about whatever nonsense Yan Shuli was up to.

Today, the military compound was livelier than usual. Several women were gathered, chattering excitedly, waving their hands as they talked with animated gestures and spit flying.

Liu Ye glanced over and curled her lips. There were only so many topics of gossip in the compound—she didn’t even need to go over to know they were definitely talking about the Yan family.

This whole mess could be traced back to when Old Master Yan had gone to the countryside as an educated youth. After eating two meals at the Xu family’s house, he felt indebted and, seeing that the Xu family’s daughter-in-law was heavily pregnant, decided on the spot to arrange a child betrothal between the unborn children.

At the time, only the Xu family and the Yan family knew about it. Over the years, Old Master Yan never forgot the engagement and even wrote many letters to that remote place.

When Liu Ye first found out, she nearly lost her mind. Her fine, upstanding son—an exceptional young man and a respected intellectual—was suddenly betrothed to some peasant girl from the countryside. She had countless arguments with her husband over it.

While the old man was still alive, Liu Ye secretly intercepted and dealt with all the letters he sent to the Xu family. Thankfully, the Xu family had the good sense to stay away all these years.

She thought that with Old Master Yan gone, this old and forgotten matter would fade away. But unexpectedly, that child betrothal had been witnessed and recorded.

Now, just as her husband Old Yan was about to be promoted, the scandal broke out: the Yan family was accused of going back on their word, making false promises of marriage for food and hospitality during their countryside days, only to abandon the agreement after making it big.

It wasn’t a huge issue, but it wasn’t small either—and soon, everyone knew about it.

To quiet things down, the Yan family had no choice but to send a telegram to the Xu family in the countryside, bringing the matter back up again.

Liu Ye admitted to having her own selfish reasons. She had raised such an outstanding son—handsome, accomplished, a national intellectual. If he really ended up marrying an illiterate country girl, she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.

She would rather pay that country girl off than let Yan Shuli’s entire life be ruined like that.

She was completely unwilling, but with so many eyes in the compound watching, even if she had to put on a show, she had to do it well. Knowing her future daughter-in-law would arrive today, she dragged the housekeeper to the West City Market early in the morning to buy chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

“You’re back?”

Liu Ye was silently grumbling when steady, firm footsteps came from upstairs—it was her husband, Yan Jianguo.

“So many bags—quite a lot. Must’ve been hard on you,” Yan Jianguo said as his gaze fell on the several bags the woman was holding.

Liu Ye sat down and took a big gulp of tea to catch her breath.

“Just now, as I walked through the compound carrying everything, the looks those women gave me… Back then, when female comrades from the cultural troupe were chasing after Shuli, he didn’t even look at any of them.”

“And now you’re having him marry a girl from the countryside. Forget whether he’s willing or not—even I don’t know where to put my face.”

Yan Jianguo sat on the sofa and waited for his wife to finish speaking before folding the newspaper in his hand and putting it on the coffee table. “Alright, stop with the ‘girl from the countryside’ stuff already. You haven’t even seen the person. What’s the point of speaking so soon?”

“I figure she should be about here by now. Tell Aunt Wang to start preparing the meal.”

The clock on the wall ticked slowly. Aunt Wang had already brought out the last dish and set it on the table, but there was still no sound at the door.

“Why isn’t she back yet?” Yan Jianguo raised his hand to check the time. Just as he spoke, a loud knock sounded on the front gate of the Yan household.

“I knocked for a while—I thought none of you were home.”

The woman speaking had a trendy perm and a mocking smile on her face. Her gaze shifted to Liu Ye. “Director Liu, not going to the hospital today?”

“No, not today. Do you need something?” Liu Ye responded with clear annoyance.

This woman had obviously come just to mock her. She felt Yan Shuli had been foolish to reject her daughter, and now, hearing that the Yan family had found some rural girl to be his wife, she rushed over to enjoy the show.

“Oh come on, we’re neighbors. Can’t I drop by even if there’s nothing urgent?”

Ignoring Liu Ye’s gloomy expression, the woman pushed the door open and walked right in, puzzled in her heart. Wasn’t the rural fiancée supposed to arrive today? Why hadn’t anyone seen her yet?

“Xiao Ye, I don’t mean to criticize you, but even though Old Master Yan arranged a rural betrothal for your family’s Shuli, that’s no reason to block the girl from coming up. Whether it’s a mule or a horse, it’ll have to be put to the test sooner or later.”  

(Note: The phrase “这是骡子是马早晚得遛遛” is a Chinese idiom meaning that the true worth or nature of something/someone will eventually be revealed when put to the test. )

Liu Ye pinched her palm with her fingertips, her face dark and cold.

Finally getting a chance to see Liu Ye looking defeated, the woman wanted to add a few more jabs when the open front gate was knocked on again.

“Excuse me, is this Comrade Yan Shuli’s home?”

A young girl holding luggage looked over at the group. Liu Ye froze for a second when she saw that fair and delicate face. “Comrade, who are you looking for?”

“Director Liu, now that’s a bit much. She’s already at the doorstep—who else could she be looking for? Of course she’s here for that brat Yan Shuli.”

The permed woman was eager to stir the pot. She stared at Xu Xiaoyue’s palm-sized face, puzzled. She hadn’t heard of any such strikingly pretty girl joining the cultural troupe. Could she be new?

“What a coincidence—Yan Shuli went to pick up his countryside fiancée. Why don’t you stop by Auntie’s place for a bit?”

Her own little rascal was at the right age too. They’d considered a few matches before but none were satisfactory. Now, looking at the radiant beauty before her, a thought stirred in her heart, and she blurted out the offer.

Liu Ye frowned, clearly annoyed by the woman’s behavior. But before she could intervene, Xu Xiaoyue spoke up:

“Auntie, you must be joking. I just came up from the countryside by train to find Yan Shuli.”

“You’re Comrade Xu Xiaoyue?” Yan Jianguo’s voice came from behind.

“Yes,” Xu Xiaoyue answered crisply with a smile on her face.

At that, not only did Liu Ye freeze, even the gossip-loving woman beside her was completely stunned.

What was going on? This bright and lively girl was the countryside fiancée everyone had been gossiping about?