Never Been Engaged

Zhao Qiancheng rode hard all the way and finally reached his eldest brother Zhao Manjiang's home before nightfall.

Though Zhao Manjiang found his sudden arrival strange, he said nothing and merely told his wife, Lin Manqing, to make his younger brother a bowl of noodles.

"Alright!"

After pouring water for the two men, Lin Manqing took her youngest daughter out of the sitting room. Before long, she returned carrying a steaming bowl of egg noodles. "Second Uncle, have a bite first. We can talk afterward."

Zhao Qiancheng thanked her gratefully. "Alright, thank you, Sister-in-law."

He immediately picked up the bowl and wolfed the noodles down. Lin Manqing frowned, then took the child into the study to keep her other two daughters company while they did their homework.

Zhao Manjiang glanced at their retreating figures, then sat upright. Only after his younger brother had finished the noodles did he speak.

"You came in such a hurry. Did something happen?"

"Yes."

Zhao Qiancheng wiped his mouth clean, then selectively told him about Zhao Jianguo and Jiang Hongmei.

Zhao Manjiang's anger flared, and his face darkened further. "I warned him back then that he couldn't have that woman, but he refused to listen!

"Now look at him—he's got a green hat planted right on his head, yet he can't bear to take it off! Has the Zhao Household ever produced such a spineless coward!?"

Bang!

He slammed his palm onto the coffee table so hard that the bowls, chopsticks, and enamel mugs rattled loudly. Zhao Qiancheng flinched and hurriedly glanced toward the door. "Big Brother, don't scare Sister-in-law and the girls."

Zhao Manjiang indifferently pushed the enamel mug aside. Still, he did not lose his temper again, though his expression remained unpleasant.

Zhao Qiancheng pretended not to notice and continued in a lowered voice. "I came to ask you and Sister-in-law for help finding Jianguo a match, so he can cut things off completely with that educated youth. If they keep tangling like this, I'm afraid that educated youth will ruin Jianguo."

Hearing this, Zhao Manjiang understood that he truly did not want his nephew getting involved with Jiang Hongmei again. His expression softened at once, and his tone improved as well.

"Don't worry! Jianguo is the hope of the Zhao Household. I won't let that Jiang Hongmei drag him down."

He patted his younger brother's arm and said seriously, "Tomorrow, your sister-in-law and I will ask around at our respective work units. If there's anyone suitable, we'll notify you immediately."

"Thank you, Big Brother. Sorry to trouble you and Sister-in-law."

With his brother's assurance, the weight hanging over Zhao Qiancheng's heart finally settled. He decisively rose to his feet and smiled as he said goodbye. "Then I'll head back first."

"It's already dark. What are you going back for!?"

Zhao Manjiang stood and grabbed him. "Stay here tonight. Go back after daybreak."

Zhao Qiancheng waved him off. "No, no, I..."

Click!

The door opened from inside. Lin Manqing stood in the doorway with her three daughters crowded around her, smiling at Zhao Qiancheng. "Second Uncle, stay the night! I was just about to clear out a room for you!"

"Yes, Uncle."

The three girls stepped forward, tugging at him and acting cute. "Stay at our house for one night! You haven't visited in so long."

Zhao Qiancheng looked at the three girls of varying heights before him, lowered his eyes to hide the mockery within them, then put on a touched expression and shook his head with a smile. "No, maybe next time."

Then, amid everyone's attempts to keep him, he left his eldest brother's little courtyard without looking back.

Zhao Manjiang stood in the doorway and watched his younger brother ride away. Only after he was out of sight did he enter with his hands behind his back. Once the door was shut, he stared expressionlessly at Lin Manqing and the three girls for a moment, then snorted coldly, entered the bedroom alone, and slammed the door behind him.

Lin Manqing pursed her lips aggrievedly. There were only so many rooms in the house. Though their eldest daughter, Zhao Xiaoqin, was married, they still had three daughters at home. With the two of them included, it had been inconvenient enough for Zhao Qiancheng to stay over.

Still, she did not dare say much. After all, she had no real grounds to defend her actions. She swallowed her grievances, sent the children back to do their homework, and went into the bedroom to placate him.

By the time Zhao Qiancheng returned home, the moon had already climbed above the treetops. Hearing the sound of him locking up his bicycle, Zhao Jianguo's skin tightened. He hurriedly stood, intending to go out and greet him, but Zhao Qiancheng had already pushed through the door. Guilt surged through him, and he quickly called out, "Dad."

Unfortunately, Zhao Qiancheng ignored him and walked straight to the table before sitting down. Qin Fengying perceptively poured her husband a large half-mug of water and gently set it on the table. "Father of the children, have some water first."

"Mm."

Zhao Qiancheng lifted the enamel mug and gulped down several mouthfuls. Only then, panting slightly, did he viciously slam it down on the table.

Bang!

Everyone could not help shuddering. Qin Fengying hurriedly signaled to her daughter and youngest son. Understanding at once, the two lowered their heads and said, "Dad, Mom, you should rest early."

Then they hunched their shoulders and ran out of the main room. Only after Zhao Qiancheng heard the door close did he raise his eyes to look at his eldest son, who stood before the table like a quail, and bark angrily.

"What did you tell me last night? Today, you rushed over to become a green-headed turtle who slapped his own face? How did the Zhao Household end up producing a spineless bastard like you!?"

Zhao Jianguo had not expected him to curse so viciously and could not accept it for a moment. He immediately opened his mouth to argue. "Dad, it's not what you think. I..."

"What do I think!?"

Zhao Qiancheng shouted back. "Weren't you toyed with by Jiang Hongmei and made into a green-headed turtle? Aren't you still obsessed with her? Yesterday, you said you'd find someone better than her, but today you rushed over to lick..."

"Dad!"

As his father's words grew more and more excessive, Zhao Jianguo could no longer save face and said loudly, "I saw that she'd hurt her leg today, so I carried her back. It wasn't what you think."

"Ha!"

Zhao Qiancheng laughed from anger at his sophistry. "Are you scattering Sichuan peppercorns over a grave, trying to numb ghosts?

"There wasn't."

Zhao Jianguo's face reddened. His hands at his sides unconsciously clenched. Just as he was about to argue, Zhao Qiancheng raised a hand to stop him. "Son, I'll make this clear today. No matter how much you like Jiang Hongmei, I will never let her enter the Zhao Household."

Looking at his son's darkened face, Zhao Qiancheng said earnestly, "Originally, I didn't dislike her quite this much. But today, after admitting she was Gu Yu's fiancée, she still dared play tricks and seduce you. That is something I cannot tolerate."

Zhao Jianguo could not help frowning as he met his gaze. "Dad..."

"Listen to me first."

Zhao Qiancheng snapped coldly. Glancing at his unwilling-looking son, he continued, "You've been back for so long. Have you ever considered why she didn't fall early or late, but fell only after you appeared? And..."

His tone paused briefly before he analyzed the matter for him. "People may advocate free love between men and women now, but have you ever seen a woman openly say that she has a fiancé, then go seducing another man who harbors improper thoughts toward her the very next day? Unless she has something wrong with her head, she must have some other unspeakable purpose."

With his father's reminder, the murky, swollen feeling in Zhao Jianguo's head suddenly cleared a little. Everything that had happened during the day flashed rapidly before his eyes.

His face instantly went pale as paper. Jiang Hongmei's little trick had been so crude, yet he had failed to see through it. He truly had loved her too deeply.

Zhao Jianguo gave a bitter laugh and murmured, "Dad, I was muddleheaded."

Hearing this, more than half the fury in Zhao Qiancheng's heart dissipated at once, and his tone unconsciously softened. "Son! Don't blame your dad for being cruel. Jiang Hongmei is riddled with faults, and she wavers in love as well.

"Even if things worked out between the two of you, who can say she wouldn't go looking for someone else behind your back? By the time that happens, it'll be too late for regret."

"Mm!"

Zhao Jianguo now recalled how clingy Jiang Hongmei had been toward Gu Yu, and the last traces of romantic longing he held for her vanished in an instant. He stared darkly at the edge of the table and muttered coldly, "Dad, don't worry. I won't... go looking for her again."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Zhao Qiancheng stopped pressing the matter. He merely told him to prepare for matchmaking before sending him back to his room to rest.

From that day onward, Zhao Jianguo truly did not see Jiang Hongmei again. Even when going to work, he took a roundabout route.

Zhao Qiancheng and Qin Fengying saw it all, yet they still could not rest easy. They feared that their son might get hotheaded someday and go to the Educated Youth Station to find that vixen again. Then all their efforts would have gone down the drain. So they took turns working alongside him, solely to keep the two from meeting.

Unaware of the situation, Jiang Hongmei took three days off to rest. She had originally wanted to use her foot injury to get Zhao Jianguo and herself "back to how they were," while also getting Gu Yu to come visit her.

Yet even now, she had not seen so much as a ghost. After thinking it over, Jiang Hongmei decided the two of them must have been held up by some matter or person, which was why they had not come to see her. So she begged group leader Wang Hongbo to pass along a message.

He had not wanted to go, but Jiang Hongmei's skin was too thick. Whenever she heard them returning from work, she would howl at the top of her lungs, repeatedly calling, "Brother Wang! Group Leader Wang!"

Driven to his wits' end, he had no choice but to agree to make the trip. But when he reached the fields and had only just approached Zhao Jianguo, he had barely said the word "Jiang" before Qin Fengying scoffed and mocked him without even giving him time to explain.

"Educated Youth Wang, have you earned too many work points and got plenty of grain to eat? Then next month, you should be able to repay the grain the production brigade lent you, right?"

"No."

Wang Hongbo was so embarrassed that his face turned crimson. He lowered his head and picked at his trouser leg. "N-next month won't work either."

"Heh!"

Qin Fengying put her hands on her hips, raised her brows slightly, and sneered at him. "Since you can't repay it, you still have the leisure to enjoy helping others here? Why aren't you hurrying back to work? Are you trying to get work points deducted!?"

"No, no."

Wang Hongbo was left red-faced and thick-necked by her retort, and he ran off in disgrace. Qin Fengying spat at his fleeing back. "Pah!"

She turned to look at her eldest son, who had his head lowered as he worked. Seeing that he showed no reaction whatsoever, she finally relaxed and went off to weed elsewhere.

Wang Hongbo ran wildly for quite some distance. Only after making sure Qin Fengying could no longer see him did he dare stop, patting his chest as he gasped for breath. But when he inadvertently looked up, he saw Gu Yu and Shen Jianan working not far away.

Since he had run into them anyway, he figured he might as well pass the message along. He walked straight over to call out to them, but before he could mention Jiang Hongmei's injury, Gu Yu spoke first.

"Brother Wang, please pass a message to Jiang Hongmei. Tell her to stop using the title of my fiancée to stir things up everywhere and create a bad influence. We were never engaged. That was merely wishful thinking on her and her parents' part."

Gu Yu rested both hands on his hoe and frowned slightly. "Jiang Hongmei's father used to work under my father, while her mother attended my mother..."

His voice paused. Then he looked at Wang Hongbo, seeming to hesitate before speaking. "Although my family has fallen... to this state, not just anyone can..."

Though Gu Yu did not finish his words, Wang Hongbo understood. His unspoken meaning was that the supposed engagement was something the Jiang Household had imagined for themselves; the Gu Household had never acknowledged it.

And Jiang Hongmei's supposed identity as a young lady from Capital City, which she had hinted at both openly and in private, had been completely fabricated. To put it harshly, in the old society, her whole family would have been servants of Gu Yu's household.

Wang Hongbo silently spat at Jiang Hongmei. She was a toad dreaming of swan flesh. Back when the Gu Household had not yet fallen, Gu Yu's parents had likely rejected her parents over and over again. Her family had simply been thick-skinned enough to keep pretending not to understand.

As for why they had later sent Jiang Hongmei to the countryside with Gu Yu, it was obvious they believed that while the Gu Household looked down-and-out on the surface, Gu Yu's aunt had married a high-ranking official, and he also had an uncle overseas.

Even if the Gu Household could not reclaim its past glory in the future, with those two people to rely on, so long as Gu Yu held out a little longer, he might be brought back. When that happened, he could still live quite well. That was probably why Jiang Hongmei had kept clinging to Gu Yu and refusing to let go.

Thinking of this, Wang Hongbo felt a trace of sympathy for Gu Yu. Being tangled up with someone like Jiang Hongmei, he really was unlucky.

"I understand. When I go back after work, I'll tell her."

At that, a smile appeared on Gu Yu's face. "Alright! Thanks, Brother Wang."

"N-no problem."

Seeing how gentle and polite Gu Yu was, Wang Hongbo felt somewhat unaccustomed to it. After all, though this man had always been courteous in the past, aside from Shen Jianan, he had never smiled at anyone like this.

He nodded to Gu Yu, turned, and hurried away. Seeing him run as though ghosts were chasing him, Gu Yu could not help twitching his lips. He turned to Shen Jianan at his side, about to say something, when the whistle signaling the end of work sounded.

He immediately put away his smile, walked over to Shen Jianan, and said quietly, "Don't wait for me for dinner."

Then he quickly stepped up onto the field ridge and hurried toward the Cattle Shed. Shen Jianan frowned faintly as he watched his retreating figure, seeming to want to speak but holding back.

Ever since the two had opened their hearts to each other that day, Gu Yu had become busy. Shen Jianan did not know what he was occupied with. He only knew that Gu Yu spent more and more time at the Cattle Shed. The day before yesterday had been even more outrageous—he had pretended to be sick not long after work began, frightening everyone half to death by foaming at the mouth.

Zhao Hongjun and Zhao Gang had wanted to send him to the clinic, but that fellow had convulsed as he said it was an inherited illness that even famous doctors in Capital City could not cure. What else could the two say? They could only let him go back to rest.

What a character. The moment he returned to Half-Mountain Courtyard, he slipped away when no one was paying attention. He did not return home dusty and travel-worn until dawn the following day, just as they were about to start work.

"Ah!"

He sighed softly, drew his thoughts back, and shouldered his hoe, preparing to return to Half-Mountain Courtyard.

Who would have thought that when he passed the fork near the Educated Youth Station, he would unexpectedly run into Jiang Hongmei, hobbling on a stick and running as she cried, along with Wang Hongbo, Lu Xiaoyue, and the others trailing behind and trying to persuade her.

"Don't go. Zhao Jianguo ignored me completely, and his mother even mocked me. And Gu Yu@¥＃Б@..."

It turned out that Jiang Hongmei could not accept Wang Hongbo's failed attempt to deliver her message. She insisted on finding Zhao Jianguo and Gu Yu to demand an explanation.

Wang Hongbo feared she would go too far. Not only would they be pursued for debts and dragged down with her, they might also offend the secretary's family, making life even harder afterward. That was why he had brought the other educated youths to desperately stop her.

But what kind of person was Jiang Hongmei? How could she possibly consider such things for their sake? The moment she heard that Zhao Jianguo was indifferent to her injury and Gu Yu had directly denied their relationship, anger rushed to her head and she instantly lost all reason.

"I don't believe it!"

She turned and roared, her eyes bloodshot as she stared at Wang Hongbo. "Gu Yu would never say that! Jianguo isn't that kind of person either! They@♡%&@..."

The young man caught the gist of it. After thinking for a moment, he understood what trick Jiang Hongmei intended to pull again. He silently cursed his bad luck, then expressionlessly shifted the farm tools on his shoulder. Hunching down, he made a wide detour around them by the roadside before suddenly breaking into a run.

Patter, patter, patter!

The hurried footsteps instantly caught Wang Hongbo and the others' attention. Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a figure flash past. Looking closely, who else could it be but Shen Jianan?

Everyone was speechless. Why did he look as though he were avoiding the plague?