The Engagement is Off
His first thought was, What about her?
Just then, his father’s shovel came swinging down. Lin Chuan, worried about dragging Su Su into this mess, could have dodged it, but instead, he turned to shield her, pressing one hand against the wall to protect her in his arms.
*Thud.* A heavy blow landed on his back.
Su Su jumped in fright, her voice trembling as she asked, “Are you okay?”
She could see cold sweat breaking out on Lin Chuan’s face from the pain, and she quickly cried out, “Stop! Don’t hit him! This isn’t his fault—he was just drunk, and he didn’t do anything to me.” After all, they were only sleeping; she hadn’t even noticed when he came in.
Father Lin, still fuming, raised the shovel again, but Mother Lin quickly grabbed his arm. “Enough, enough! Do you want to beat him to death?”
Lin Donghe, standing coldly on the side, added, “Lin Chuan, how could you do such a thing? What about Comrade Qin? And what about Comrade Su?”
This situation—sleeping on the same bed—would ruin both girls’ reputations if word got out. Especially Su Su, this could push her to a breaking point, maybe even drive her to something as drastic as drowning herself.
Lin Chuan’s head throbbed with pain, and he couldn’t even form a response, but he knew he had wronged Su Su. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he quickly got out of bed, put on his shoes, and stood by the window. He didn’t dare to look at Su Su, terrified that she might be crying.
Meanwhile, Mother Lin sat on the kang, trying to comfort Su Su. “Don’t be scared, my dear. Don’t be scared.”
But Su Su wasn’t scared. She didn’t think this was a big deal. So what if they ended up sleeping on the same bed? They were both fully dressed—what else could have happened?
However, then she remembered that this was the highly conservative late 1970s. Things like this could be a bit more serious.
More importantly, it seemed like she had completely messed up the storyline.
At that moment, Qin Yue Yue began to cry. “The wedding is so close. What am I supposed to do now?”
Lin Chuan, irritated by her crying, felt the pain in his back intensifying, making it hard to stand up straight. But he still stood tall and said, “Then let’s not get married. You didn’t want it anyway, so let’s just call it off.”
“What?” Everyone was stunned.
Lin’s uncle scolded, “Nonsense! The wedding preparations are nearly complete, and all the relatives have been informed of the date. You can’t just say you won’t get married and leave it at that.”
Lin’s aunt added, “Absolutely not! What about your father’s and mother’s reputations?”
Lin Donghe chimed in, “Not to mention, what will happen to Comrade Qin’s reputation?”
This time, Lin Chuan didn’t dodge the issue. He said, “You can just tell everyone that I wanted to call off the wedding because my superiors in the army introduced me to someone. I didn’t want to marry Comrade Qin anymore.” That way, her reputation would remain intact.
“No way. The Lin family doesn’t have cowards like that. If you want to call off the wedding, you’ll have to step over my dead body.” Father Lin stubbornly threatened his son with his own life.
The situation was spiralling out of control, and Su Su, still sitting on the kang, was completely confused. Why had Lin Chuan ended up on the bed where she was sleeping? This wasn’t supposed to happen!
And why did it feel like this whole thing was a setup, like a planned ambush? The way the male and female leads were talking, it was almost as if they were forcing Lin Chuan to call off the wedding and take all the blame.
Lin Donghe pressed, “Second Uncle, now that your son has shared a bed with Su Su, how can you expect Comrade Qin to marry him?”
Mother Lin, eyeing Qin Yue Yue, thought the girl was being unreasonable. Sure, her son had made a mistake, but it was clear that nothing had really happened between them. So she coldly asked, “Then what do you propose we do?”
Qin Yue Yue stole a glance at Lin Donghe before saying, “I—I believe in Brother Chuan.”
Her words eased Mother Lin’s expression, but Lin Donghe’s face turned stiff, while Su Su couldn’t help but feel that something was going on between them.
Then Qin Yue Yue added, “But given the situation, no one’s in the right state of mind for a wedding. How about we put it off for a while? I’m still Brother Chuan’s fiancée—what do you all think?”
Finally, Su Su understood the female lead’s plan. She wanted to delay the wedding, keeping Lin Chuan on the hook until she left for university. Meanwhile, she’d have Lin Chuan cover her tuition, room, and board, while she kept flirting and stringing along others. Then, when the male lead came to claim her, she’d jump ship, marry into wealth, and leave Lin Chuan in the dust.
What a scheming little… She hadn’t realised it while reading, but now, experiencing it first-hand, she could see just how calculating the female lead was.
And the male lead? He was likely hoping that Lin Chuan and Qin Yue Yue would call off the wedding, giving him the green light to pursue her. Even if it didn’t work out, at least he’d have a shot. But it seemed like the female lead wasn’t considering his feelings; she was still set on using Lin Chuan’s family for support.
Su Su took a deep breath, prepared to see just how far Qin Yue Yue would go.
As for Lin Chuan, it was obvious he would agree to this.
But to her surprise, Lin Chuan firmly said, “No, this wedding must be called off.”
Father Lin raised his shovel again, and Su Su, feeling a twinge of pity, asked, “But what about me?”
Yes, they were all focused on Qin Yue Yue’s feelings, but no one seemed to care about her, the actual victim.
Mother Lin kicked her husband lightly and said, “Su Su, my son made this mistake, so how about we have him be your honorary brother?”
What?
She was hoping to flirt with him, but his mom wanted to make him her brother? That wouldn’t work at all.
But before she could speak, Lin Chuan suddenly said, “No.”
Su Su’s heart skipped a beat. It was only then that she really looked at Lin Chuan. When their eyes met, he quickly looked away, but not before she noticed a slight flush on his neck under the flashlight’s beam.
No way, it couldn’t be what she was thinking, right?
Could she really be that attractive?
No, no, no—Lin Chuan liked the female lead, didn’t he?
Her heart pounded as she tried to dismiss the idea, but part of her felt like she had just stumbled onto something valuable. If Lin Chuan really was reconsidering his feelings, maybe she should help him along.
As she was lost in thought, Qin Yue Yue frowned and asked, “Brother Chuan, do you have someone else in mind? If you do, then we can call off the wedding. But I have my pride too.”
Lin Chuan, suddenly shedding his usual reserved nature, bluntly replied, “This wedding must be called off. Just like I said, put all the blame on me. I’ll even cover your university expenses. Is that enough?”
“Fine, if that’s how it has to be.” Qin Yue Yue agreed, surprisingly easily.
Su Su couldn’t believe it—just like that, they called off the wedding.
Lin Chuan didn’t hesitate either. He immediately took off the old watch that had been exchanged as a token between their families and handed it back to Qin Yue Yue. She accepted it without a second thought.
Father Lin and mother Lin didn’t argue any further, realizing that their son was dead set on calling it off. What could they do? Besides, it was their son who was at fault here. Qin Yue Yue’s response was actually quite reasonable.
**Author’s Note: So, I noticed many of you were eager to see the engagement get called off, so here it is!
And as for those of you who’ve been labelling my female lead as a “homewrecker,” let me clarify.
In her past life, the original female lead never married the male lead; they never had any romantic feelings for each other. Knowing this, my female lead developed feelings for the male lead. And no, they never engaged in any inappropriate behaviour or had any substantial interaction—at most, it was just a crush or admiration for a supporting character. So, how does that make her a homewrecker?
What exactly do you expect my female lead to do?
Should she just stand by coldly and watch? Or should she have immediately called off the engagement when she first arrived in this world? She didn’t even have the standing to do that right away, did she?
But hey, everyone’s entitled to their opinion, so I won’t say much more. However, this story has only just started, and seeing so many people comment negatively is a bit disheartening. All I can say is, if you don’t like it, feel free to leave. I still have to keep writing. Thank you.
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