This day, two events in Wujing Village directly shattered the calm surface.
Cheng Tianhua, who always wore a kind face, wanted to marry his daughter to Deputy Director Qian, who was older than him, and colluded with Song Yulian and Cheng Tao to scheme against his own daughter.
And Cheng Wenyu, upon returning home, almost attacked Cheng Tianhua, his own father, with a knife, shouting that he wanted to sever ties with him.
While some condemned Cheng Tianhua for acting inhumanely, others still felt Cheng Wenyu had gone too far.
He was his biological father, after all; he shouldn't have resorted to a real knife, no matter what.
Meanwhile, the educated youth point was also discussing the matter.
They already disliked Cheng Tianhua, so naturally, they sided with Cheng You.
Especially Sun Xiaowan, who gritted her teeth, wishing she could tear Cheng Tianhua and Song Yulian apart.
"I can't believe there are people like that. He's his own daughter, how could he bear to harm her?"
Duan Liping sighed softly, "Cheng You's situation is much tougher than mine at home. At least my dad and stepmother would never dare to treat me like this."
Everyone knew about her family situation and nodded in agreement.
Cheng You's father was nothing like a real father; he was like a jackal or a tiger.
Sun Xiaowan added, "With her family background, if her personality were a bit softer, she would have probably been sold off by her father by now."
"Exactly. It seemed like her father wanted to send her to that Deputy Director Qian's house on the spot today."
"It's not the old society anymore, how can people still do things like this?"
"Sigh! For money, what won't he do?"
"Cheng You is truly pathetic to have a father like that."
Qi Chengyan lowered his gaze, not participating in the discussion from beginning to end.
Sun Xiaowan, as if unintentionally, glanced at him, trying to gauge something from his expression.
But he was a master at concealing his emotions, revealing nothing.
Weren't all these words meant for him? Had he not heard a single word?
Sun Xiaowan pouted, men were truly heartless.
Just as she was about to speak to him, Duan Liping pulled her back and shook her head.
Forget it, matters of the heart couldn't be forced.
Qi Chengyan got up and went into the room, sitting on the bed.
After he left, the educated youths in the courtyard were still discussing Cheng You's matter.
This incident was truly astonishing and would likely be a topic of conversation for the villagers of Wujing Village for a long time.
His gaze fell on the porcelain bottles by the bedside, all gifts of medicine from Cheng You. The bottles were all of the same design.
Pure white, with a cute tangerine painted on them.
She had said she personally had them custom-made for him.
Only he had them, no one else.
He hadn't touched those bottles for a long time.
They were like medicine; touching them would automatically unlock memories he had deliberately sealed away.
But now, he couldn't help but pick one up.
It was just an ordinary white porcelain bottle, nothing special.
The only thing special was probably the medicine inside, especially the hemostatic powder, which had miraculous effects.
He had no doubt that what Cheng You gave him was the best.
After a moment, Qi Chengyan's eyes sharpened as he noticed writing at the bottom of the bottle.
He had never turned the bottles over to look; this was the first time.
The hemostatic powder bottle was engraved with "喜" (xǐ - joy).
Because the strokes were a bit complex, it wasn't engraved very smoothly, even a bit ugly.
Next to the character "喜," there was a trace of dried blood. Qi Chengyan felt a prick in his heart, a dull ache.
He suddenly realized that this character must have been engraved by Cheng You herself.
He suddenly picked up the other bottles.
Cheng You had given him a total of five bottles of medicine. Together, they read: Cheng, You, Xi, Huan, Qi...
This sentence wasn't finished before she lost the chance to give it.
Qi Chengyan's throat moved twice, his heart feeling as if it had been struck by a heavy blow.
He couldn't describe the feeling; his heart felt as if it had been submerged in a dyeing vat, filled with mixed emotions.
It felt like a stone was stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.
After a long while, he held his forehead, lowered his head, and tightly gripped the porcelain bottles, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
How could he have suspected that such a girl would have ulterior motives towards him?
At that moment, Cheng You's face appeared vividly in his mind.
Like a movie, her mischievous self, her willful self, her vulnerable self, all crowded in, refusing to leave.
Suddenly, Cheng You's voice came from outside the door: "Is Qi Chengyan in?"
He startled violently, then stood up abruptly, even walking out with a hint of eagerness.
Cheng You, standing at the doorway, saw him and smiled, "Are you free? Can we talk outside?"
Qi Chengyan's heart felt as if a basin of cold water had been dumped on him.
Because the Cheng You of the past would never smile so politely and distantly.
He nodded slightly and stepped out.
She had lost a lot of weight. Her already small, palm-sized face now looked even smaller.
Sun Xiaowan whispered, "Are they going to get back together?"
Duan Liping was startled and shook her head, looking at Cheng You, she didn't think so.
Her guess was right, Cheng You hadn't come to reconcile.
She pulled a watch from her pocket and handed it to him.
"I forgot to return this to you before. I just remembered, so I'll give it back now," Cheng You said with a smile.
In reality, she hadn't forgotten; she had been reluctant to part with it.
She had always hoped Qi Chengyan would come back for her; this was the only thing he had ever given her.
Now, she didn't hope anymore.
Perhaps she had truly made a mistake, but she didn't regret it.
When you meet someone you like, you should give it your all; if you had to do it again, you'd still do the same.
If you've tried your best and the outcome is still the same, then attribute the reason to what Qi Chengyan said: you're not suitable.
Qi Chengyan looked at her small face, the words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat.
Her attitude was already clear.
Cheng You thought he didn't want to accept it and hastily stuffed the watch into his hand, then put her hands in her pockets.
"If you don't want to take back something you gave away, then do whatever you want with it. It's too expensive; I don't want to keep it."
Qi Chengyan suppressed his emotions, a deep, hoarse sound emanating from his throat: "I'm sorry."
Cheng You was stunned and then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Qi Chengyan, why are you so silly? You don't need to apologize to me."
You don't need to apologize for not liking someone. People can even get divorced after getting married; who says dating has to be for a lifetime?
She raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. "That... I've returned your thing. I have one more thing I'd like to ask for your help with, okay? No, rather than help, it's more like a transaction."
Every word she spoke made his heart feel as if it were being torn apart, like being cut by a knife.
He wanted to explain that his apology wasn't what she thought, but he didn't know how to say it.
Seeing his silence, Cheng You continued on her own, "You know my family situation. I'm afraid the same thing will happen again, so I'd like to ask for your help to continue pretending to be in a relationship with me. In exchange, I can help you heal your leg."
"But you don't need to worry about me pestering you. Once I resolve the issue with Cheng Tianhua, I will publicly announce our breakup. If you're worried about me clinging to you, we can sign an agreement."
Her fingers in her pocket curled, nervously awaiting his reply.