Feng Yuying was used to being a domineering figure in the village. In the past, some people said her family line would end, that she must have committed terrible sins in her past life to be unable to raise a son, and that she and her husband would have no one to care for them in their final days. After crying twice, she became quite fierce, never losing an argument, and holding her own in a fight. So when she opened her mouth, not only Su Qing, but even Su Qing's mother and sister-in-law were intimidated, their voices softening.
Su's mother said awkwardly, "Yuying, this must be a misunderstanding. Su Qing isn't that kind of person. She has no dealings with Xu Zhiqing. Don't make wild guesses. This... this might be Xu Zhiqing thinking the wrong thing and making excuses. Could it be that Xu Zhiqing wants to go back to the city and is deliberately making excuses to ease the tension with Wanyun? Is it to trick your family into supporting his studies?"
Xu Zifan's face turned cold. He didn't argue with Su's mother and stared at Su Qing, questioning her: "Su Qing, what goes around comes around. Your mother is distorting the truth like this. Aren't you going to stand up and explain? Not a single word I just said is false. You told me everything yourself. I hate Yang Wanyun because of what you said. Now you have to tell me whether what you said is true or you made it up. I don't want to wrong you or Yang Wanyun."
Su Qing was terrified. She had no witnesses to vouch for her. She had only vaguely mentioned hearing that Yang Wanyun had taken a liking to Xu Zifan, and had even warned Xu Zifan not to sell her, lest she be unable to face anyone in the village. She had been Xu Zifan's wife for over a decade in her past life and knew him well; he was a man of few words, preferring to keep everything to himself, and he would never reveal what he had promised not to. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to stir up trouble.
What to do now? She was in a precarious position; if she couldn't explain herself clearly, her reputation would be ruined. Panicked and helpless, she looked around, and finally, gritting her teeth, she said through tears, "I...I swear, I didn't say those things to Xu Zhiqing. I...I did see Xu Zhiqing on their wedding day, but I only said congratulations, nothing else! If I did, may I die a horrible death!"
Seeing Xu Zifan's shocked expression, she lowered her head and wiped away her tears in grievance. "I don't know why Xu, the educated youth, is trying to smear me, but I really didn't harm Wanyun."
Only the two of them know what they said. Now, with each side sticking to their own version of events, it's better than being accused. The "Destroy the Four Olds" movement happened several years ago. Although no one openly tells fortunes anymore, they won't force her to swear an oath and accuse her of superstition. In fact, this has led some people to believe her. After all, people still hold oaths in high regard, and their gazes towards Xu Zifan are now tinged with suspicion. Moreover, one is a helpless, out-of-town man, and the other is a little girl they watched grow up in the village, always crying and feeling wronged; people's hearts are easily swayed towards her.
Xu Zifan took a deep breath, his face unusually cold. "I understand. I've learned my lesson. I was stupid to be deceived by you. Today, in front of everyone, I can't produce any evidence to prove that you said those things, and I admit it. However, I still believe that good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished. People who do such wicked things will not have a good ending."
From the moment Su Qing made her vow, Su's mother was terrified. Hearing Xu Zifan say this, her heart pounded even harder. She said angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean by 'ends'? Su Qing has already explained everything clearly. Whatever you're thinking is none of my family's business. Don't drag my family into this."
Xu Zifan glanced at her indifferently. "I didn't name names, so those who have done wrong don't need to rush to sit down. Time will tell. As we all live in the same village, we'll eventually see the truth. I'm making this clear today: I'm a stickler for things. I'm not taking the college entrance exam; I'm staying in the village to find out who's right and who's wrong!"
The onlookers murmured amongst themselves. Su Qing's solemn oath was quite surprising, but Xu Zifan's decision to stay in the village even if it meant forgoing the college entrance exam to find out what was going on seemed even more ruthless. Wasn't the biggest wish of all the educated youth sent to the countryside to return to the city? Looking at Xu Zifan's pale face, he was clearly not used to life in the village, yet he still wanted to stay. It didn't seem like a lie.
People were confused, but everyone had their own opinion and their own judgment. Whether to believe Su Qing or Xu Zifan, they would make their own decisions. In any case, this argument would affect the reputations of both Su Qing and Xu Zifan, and everyone was waiting to see how they would behave in the future.
Wu Zhigang's mother, Su Qing's fiancé, also had her doubts. She felt the marriage should be postponed until the storm had completely passed, and she needed to reassess Su Qing's character. Previously, Su Qing had eagerly helped Xu Zifan with chores, causing his family considerable embarrassment. If it weren't for Su Qing's later improvement and her diligence and generosity, she would have definitely called off the engagement. Now, with this incident, she decided to reconsider the marriage.
Su Qing was furious at everyone's reaction. So what if Xu Zifan didn't take the college entrance exam? He failed it three times in his previous life; he was simply not cut out for it. Now he was trying to gain sympathy by not taking the exam, but what could she do? She couldn't say anything.
She secretly regretted her actions, wishing she hadn't gone to the trouble of stirring up trouble with Xu Zifan. But it was too late for regrets now. Sometimes she just couldn't control herself and did impulsive things; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to work for Xu Zifan before announcing the engagement in her past life. This incident served as a wake-up call; she needed to be more careful and calm in the future, and it would be best to earn some money as soon as possible. Capable people will always be respected, and in the future, society will laugh at poverty but not prostitution!
The Yang and Su families parted on bad terms. Xu Zifan followed the Yang family members silently back home. Just as he was about to reach his house, he suddenly turned and separated from them. Seeing this, Yang Yongqing called out, "Fanzi, where are you going?"
Feng Yuying said angrily, "Ignore him. He has such a bad temper every day. Who knows where he's going to get angry right now. He treated our daughter like this because of a few words from Su Qing. What did our daughter do to deserve this? It's really bad luck."
Yang Wanyun comforted them, saying, "It's alright, Mom and Dad, don't be angry anymore. Although this matter..."
Although things are still unclear, it's good that things have come to a head; at least we all know what happened and we don't have to keep guessing. And Xu Zifan knows I didn't do it, so he won't throw tantrums at home anymore, which is a good thing.
"What's so good about it? He's not good if he doesn't treat you well for even a day." Feng Yuying's head started to ache again as she thought about how the two of them hadn't consummated their marriage yet. Yang Yongqing, standing beside her, also frowned, feeling annoyed.
They only have this one daughter, and naturally they want the best for her. But now, one wrong step leads to another. Watching their daughter suffer day after day feels like a piece of their heart is being ripped out. Seeing how much Xu Zifan trusts Su Qing, it's obvious he's interested in her. And with his troublesome marriage to Yang Wanyun, how can they possibly have a good future together?
Yang Wanyun packed her things to cook, but a desire for a better life resurfaced in her mind. She didn't want her parents to worry, nor did she want outsiders to gossip. Xu Zifan was reasonable; their previous disagreements were due to misunderstandings. She felt she could try to save their marriage.
Just as Yang Wanyun finished cooking and set the table, Xu Zifan returned carrying a basket on his back. Yang Wanyun then remembered what they had gathered in the back hill, and the thought of the pheasant running away filled her with regret. Why had she thrown the pheasant at Xu Zifan? A pheasant would have been so much better; they could have made for a good meal.
Yang Yongqing and Feng Yuying both looked at Xu Zifan. Xu Zifan closed the door and took out four roasted fish wrapped in leaves from his basket. He gave each of them one fish and poured them a bowl of water. Picking up his own bowl, he said shamefully, "Today I offer you this water as a substitute for wine to apologize. I'm sorry, I didn't understand the truth and was misled by others. I'm truly ashamed. I won't live a passive life anymore; I will definitely try my best to share the burden of the family. Please forgive me."
Normally, Feng Yuying and he would give each other the cold shoulder and sometimes even argue. Seeing him so polite all of a sudden made her feel very uncomfortable, and she subconsciously looked at Yang Yongqing. Yang Yongqing was quite happy, patted her on the shoulder and laughed, "Good, it's good that you've figured it out. We're family now. Let's turn the page on the past and not bring it up again. From now on, let's live well together."
Feng Yuying then picked up the water and said somewhat awkwardly, "You were also deceived. This time it's not your fault. From now on, you and Yunyun can live a good life together."
Yang Wanyun smiled and picked up the water glass. The four of them clinked glasses, signifying a reconciliation. Xu Zifan offered them fish, and Yang Wanyun gave him a flatbread as well. Although only a day had passed, the atmosphere at home was completely different.
Without destruction, there can be no construction. Xu Zifan deliberately provoked Yang Wanyun into arguing with her, using this as a pretext to explain the misunderstanding and find the root of the problem in order to resolve it. Even if his reputation is slightly affected now, it doesn't matter. As he said, time will tell, and people will soon know who is right and who is wrong. This is nothing at all.
Although this whole incident seemed to only cause Su Qing a little trouble, it actually brought him closer to the Yang family. They truly felt like family, which was the biggest gain and also his original intention. As for Su Qing's fate, he didn't really care. After all, his mission didn't require him to deal with Su Qing; whether she lived a good or bad life afterward depended on her own abilities.
He genuinely had no intention of taking the college entrance exam. Before he was a student, he was very curious about schools, but after being a top student for a while, he lost interest. Given his abilities, going to university now would be a complete waste of time. Although university graduates are highly valued these days, his interests lie in business, not academia. He'd rather give his place to someone else; perhaps it would even contribute to the country's talent pool.
After dinner, Yang Wanyun washed the dishes, and Xu Zifan helped wipe the table and sweep the yard, showing that he was really trying to change. This made Yang Yongqing and Feng Yuying very gratified and relieved.
That evening, Yang Wanyun was about to pour him water to wash his feet again, but Xu Zifan poured it before she could and said, "Don't do these things for me anymore. I can do it myself. I'm not used to you taking such good care of me."
Yang Wanyun smiled at him, "Okay, I got some medicinal wine from Dad, I'll rub it on you in a bit. I'm sorry about today, I was so angry that I hit you a couple of times. I thought you were bullying me with Su Qing. But then I realized you were also deceived, I shouldn't have treated you like that. Actually, I'm not usually like this, I was just... I was just really angry."
"Yes, I know. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, let's not bring it up again."
Yang Wanyun nodded, then, remembering what he had said in front of everyone, she asked hesitantly, "You really aren't going to take the college entrance exam? Actually, I don't think you need to delay yourself because of a fit of pique. I heard that the educated youth in the settlement were ecstatic when they heard this news."
Xu Zifan shook his head. "Since the country has resumed the college entrance examination, it means that there is an urgent need for talents from all walks of life. It will take three or four years for college students to graduate. These three or four years are a great opportunity. It's not only those who study who have a way out. I didn't say that impulsively. I have my own ideas. I think our village has a very good geographical location. In fact, there are many ways to make money."
Yang Wanyun was stunned. "Our village... has many ways to make money? How come I didn't know that?"
Xu Zifan chuckled, "The methods are all figured out by using your brain. You'll see once you stay by my side."
He and Yang Wanyun needed that previous argument; it not only helped them resolve their inner conflicts and vent their frustrations, but it also gave them a chance to show each other their true personalities. Now, Yang Wanyun is much more lively in his presence, and he no longer needs to imitate the original owner of this body, which is great.