Qin Yue Yue stiffened, then lowered her head. Before doing so, she glanced weakly at Lin Dong He, who clenched his fists and turned his head away.
So, the drama was playing out just as expected. Su Su noticed everything, including the fact that Lin Chuan still hadn’t come out of the kitchen. Maybe he really was cooking himself in there. Lin Hai and his two brothers were watching the scene unfold, but Lin Chuan suddenly barked, “Go inside and do your homework. Stop gawking.” His voice was stern, and the three boys, looking a bit crestfallen, obediently went inside. It seemed they respected their older brother.
“Auntie, this is your family’s decision, especially since my parents aren’t here. However, I’m planning to take the college entrance exam this year, so maybe we should delay the wedding until next year,” Qin Yue Yue said, then looked at Lin Chuan, who had just entered the room. “Lin Chuan, you understand the importance of education. I think we should get married after I graduate from university.”
“That’s not feasible. Don’t think we don’t know that university takes three years. By then, Lin Chuan will be almost thirty, and we’re eager to have grandchildren,” Mother Lin said, frowning in disagreement.
Lin Chuan also frowned. He had taken leave with difficulty, and if he had known about her plans for the exam, he wouldn’t have come back now.
“But…”
“You can still go to university after you get married. I can take care of the child while you study. Why wouldn’t that work? Lin Chuan, this time you have to listen to me,” Mother Lin insisted, with a strong personality that left little room for argument.
However, Qin Yue Yue looked at Lin Chuan and said, “Lin Chuan, you understand the importance of education, so…”
“I support your decision to attend university, but this leave is very hard to come by, and I don’t see how it conflicts with our marriage,” Lin Chuan said calmly.
“But I…”
“You’re not even admitted yet,” Mother Lin interrupted bluntly.
“Auntie, everyone is hoping the college entrance exam candidates will succeed this year. How can you say such discouraging things?” Lin Dong He, feeling protective of Qin Yue Yue, interjected. She was young but determined and ambitious, something these older villagers might not understand. Especially with such a strong-willed aunt, Qin Yue Yue would likely suffer if she married into their family.
“Comrade Su Su, you’ve attended university. Isn’t it true that getting married during university can be quite distracting?” Qin Yue Yue unexpectedly redirected the discussion towards Su Su.
Su Su, with her scholarly demeanour, smiled gently and said, “Not at all, university is very easy.” Even though she wanted to disrupt this marriage, she needed to side with Mother Lin for now, as she was currently the most influential person in the household.
Qin Yue Yue’s eyes widened, completely baffled by Su Su’s statement about university being easy.
“You see, even young Su Su says so. That’s settled then. I’ll go ahead and buy the house at the back. You two should start preparing for the wedding,” Mother Lin concluded, her husband slamming his tobacco pipe in agreement, as if sealing the deal.
In the adjacent room, the boys, who had been eavesdropping, cheered, “Big brother is getting married! He’s getting a bride!”
“Quiet,” Lin Chuan snapped, a bit nervously, before returning to tend the fire.
It was perfectly normal for someone in their twenties to want to get married. However, Su Su knew that his fiancée wasn’t genuinely interested in building a life with him.
She recalled the story’s beginning: on the night before their forced wedding, the reluctant bride was crying in a small grove when someone handed her a handkerchief. Then, the heroine nestled into the male lead’s arms, expressing her grievances. The male lead, unable to take her away due to various reasons, ultimately watched her marry someone else with a heavy heart.
Su Su thought to herself that she could take Lin Chuan to catch the heroine in a compromising position. Once he saw that, he surely wouldn’t want to marry her, effectively saving him from future misery.
With this plan in mind, she listened to the wedding preparations for a while longer until her stomach started to grumble. She excused herself to go to the restroom. On her way back, she noticed someone smoking under a tree—it was Lin Chuan.
Why was he out here smoking when the others were discussing his wedding? She approached him and observed his expression, which revealed neither happiness nor reluctance.
“Comrade Lin Chuan, aren’t you happy about your upcoming marriage?”
“Why are you, a young girl, worrying about such matters? Go back inside,” he replied curtly.
“…” Who’s a young girl? I’ve graduated from university.
She noted the stark difference between his curt, dismissive attitude now and his earlier anxious demeanour when discussing marriage. No wonder he was getting walked over. She huffed and went back inside without another word, leaving Lin Chuan to his thoughts.
Lin Chuan continued smoking, knowing full well that his fiancée didn’t care for him and wanted to change her life through the college entrance exam. However, he had agreed to the engagement and intended to keep his promise.
Crushing his cigarette into the ground, he returned inside to listen to the ongoing wedding discussions.
Later, he was tasked with escorting Qin Yue Yue back, which felt slightly awkward since she seemed quite unhappy.
At that moment, Su Su jumped in, saying, “I’ll come too. I haven’t had a chance to see what the village looks like.”
“Alright,” Lin Chuan surprisingly agreed, and Su Su walked alongside the heroine.
As they walked, Su Su chatted, “This village is quite large. Comrade Qin, how old are you this year?”
“I’m twenty-two,” Qin Yue Yue replied.
“Then you should be getting married soon. Tell me, how did you and Comrade Lin Chuan meet and fall in love?” Su Su asked, appealing to the universal love of gossip among women. Her questions were also meant for Lin Chuan’s ears, to make him realise that the heroine didn’t want to marry him and that it would be better for him to give up on this idea.
“We were betrothed as children, so we don’t really have any romantic experience,” Qin Yue Yue said, sounding a bit aggrieved.
Clearly, she was unhappy with the arranged engagement. Look how aggrieved she sounded.
“What? In this day and age, people still have arranged marriages?” Su Su exclaimed, glancing at Lin Chuan. He walked with his hands in his pockets, looking straight ahead, his expression unchanging.
So composed.
“Yes,” Qin Yue Yue muttered, but anyone could see her reluctance toward the marriage.
“Do you really like Comrade Lin Chuan?” Only someone like Su Su, not from this era, could boldly ask such a question, accustomed as she was to modern ways.
This made Qin Yue Yue pause. She glanced at Su Su, opened her mouth to speak, but then covered her face and ran off.
Su Su scratched her head. What had she said to cause such a dramatic reaction?
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