Chapter 5 Tokens

This action enraged the entire Liu family, who grabbed whatever tools were at hand and prepared to attack.

Lu Jianping turned pale with fright and hurriedly shouted at the furious Liu family, "In-laws, calm down! Let's talk this out! Fighting won't solve anything!"

Liu Shouren had always been seen as an honest and simple man in the village, but such honest people are even more terrifying when they get angry.

Liu Shouren's eyes were bloodshot and filled with rage: "Lu Jianping! My Liu family may be poor, but we are not easy to bully! This is a new society, and it's not up to you, a brigade leader, to act like a tyrant!"

Lu Jianping shouted anxiously at Lu Huaiyuan, "You little beast, release Liu Laosi right now!"

Knowing he had caused a major incident, Lu Huaiyuan reluctantly let go of his hand.

Seeing that his son was alright, Liu Shouren put down his farm tools and pointed at Lu Huaiyuan, saying, "The engagement must be annulled today, and the token must be returned! I don't care if you lost it or sold it, if you can't produce it today, we'll see you at the top!"

Li Xuemei, still shaken, shielded Lu Huaiyuan and whispered, "Son, hurry back and look for them. The Liu family is both poor and wicked. Let's break off the engagement with them as soon as possible, and then I'll ask someone to find you a better match in the city."

Lu Huaiyuan glanced resentfully at Liu Zhixia, who was standing in the center of the crowd. She was the one who caused all of this today.

Even if she cried and begged to get back together, he wouldn't agree.

With her qualifications, finding someone like me is simply a pipe dream.

She's only good enough for those country bumpkins in the village.

Lu Huaiyuan glared at Liu Zhixia with resentment before heading off to the educated youth settlement.

At this moment, Zhou Shuwan still wanted to persuade Zhang Xiuying to stay, and kept trying to persuade her with kind words. However, Li Xuemei stood not far away and watched quietly with disdain, glaring at Liu Zhixia with dissatisfaction, as if Liu Zhixia had done something terrible by asking Lu Huaiyuan to return her things.

As Lu Huaiyuan walked through the fields, he grew angrier the more he thought about it.

Liu Zhixia, who usually listens to him, is going against him again today and even wants to ask him for the engagement bracelet!

But he had already given it away, so he still had to go and ask someone to take it back.

Today, not only have I lost face in front of the villagers, but I've also lost face in front of Gu Zhiqing. That bitch Liu Zhixia doesn't care about her fiancé at all.

If it were Gu Zhiqing, she would never have let herself be so embarrassed today!

Just as he thought of this, Lu Huaiyuan looked up and saw Gu Mansheng walking towards him, and the knot in his chest was instantly swept away.

"Xiaoman!"

"Huaiyuan!"

Gu Mansheng quickened her pace and ran over, looking at him worriedly: "Are you alright? I heard that Comrade Liu and his family caused a scene at the brigade headquarters?"

Lu Huaiyuan's face fell: "Don't even mention it. Being uneducated means being unreasonable. If you can't reason with someone, they resort to violence, and they even slapped me!"

"What? They even laid a hand on you?"

Gu Mansheng gently stroked his swollen face, her eyes filled with heartache.

Lu Huaiyuan's heart melted when he looked into her eyes.

If Liu Zhixia had someone as considerate as Gu Zhiqing, how could he not like her?

Facing this gentle person, Lu Huaiyuan found it even more difficult to speak, especially considering the words he was about to utter.

"Um... Xiaoman, Liu Zhixia is making a scene and wants to break off our engagement..."

Gu Mansheng lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes: "It's all my fault. It was my first time seeing a live cow, and I was so frightened that I startled it, which implicated Comrade Liu and you. Otherwise, I'll go find her and kneel down to apologize!"

Lu Huaiyuan pulled her into his arms with a pained expression: "Just because she's a country girl? Don't worry, she wouldn't want to break off the engagement. She's just trying to put on airs and force me to back down so she can marry into the family and be treated like royalty!"

Gu Mansheng paused for a moment, then forced a smile: "How could she think like that... A girl throwing these little tantrums, maybe she just wants you to care about her more? But doing it this way is too hurtful to you... Please don't get angry with her, what if you hurt your health?"

Lu Huaiyuan said angrily, "Let her have her way? She can back out whenever she wants, I don't care! It's all because my grandma is senile, insisting on this marriage, and treating that broken bracelet like a treasure. ...By the way, are you wearing that bracelet?"

Mentioning the bracelet, Gu Mansheng blushed slightly and pulled up her sleeve: "You gave it to me, of course I wear it close to my body, afraid that I might bump into it while working."

"Liu Zhixia is making a scene about breaking off the engagement and is demanding the bracelet from me. Xiaoman, give me the bracelet first. Don't worry, she'll return it obediently once she regrets it."

Upon hearing this, Gu Mansheng subconsciously tightened her grip on the bracelet on her wrist. Although the bracelet was of poor quality, she had worn it for so long that she had long considered it her own.

The thought of a village girl wearing something she had worn for so long filled her with utter disapproval.

However, when she met Lu Huaiyuan's increasingly impatient gaze, she finally gritted her teeth, took off the bracelet, and handed it to him.

Just as the bracelet touched Lu Huaiyuan's hand, she took advantage of his inattention and gently hooked it with her hand, causing the bracelet to slip from his hand and fall onto the stone at his feet.

The bracelet broke.

"Oh dear, how could you be so careless? What are we going to do now..."

A hint of smugness flashed in Gu Mansheng's eyes as she looked at Lu Huaiyuan with concern.

Lu Huaiyuan smiled dismissively: "It's nothing. Anyway, she just wanted a bracelet, she didn't say whether it was good or bad. I'll go to the city and buy you a good one later."

Gu Mansheng revealed two dimples, her eyes crinkling as she looked at him, and gently pressed her red lips against his swollen cheek: "You're so kind."

Gu Mansheng took out her handkerchief and handed it to Lu Huaiyuan. The two of them squatted down and wrapped the broken bracelet in the handkerchief. From the outside, it looked completely intact.

Lu Huaiyuan returned to the brigade with the wrapped bracelet and proudly handed it to Liu Zhixia.

"Here you go, the bracelet you wanted."

Liu Zhixia looked at the bracelet wrapped in a handkerchief, then narrowed her eyes as she saw the cunning glint in Lu Huaiyuan's eyes.

There must be something fishy going on here.

She didn't reach out to take it.

Lu Huaiyuan looked at her with disdain.

See? This woman was just pretending. Even when we returned the engagement token to her, she didn't want it anymore.

"What, regretting it now? You were the one who wanted to call off the engagement back then, and now you're the one who won't back down. Liu Zhixia, haven't you had enough of this hypocritical act yet?"

Liu Zhixia kept her sharp gaze fixed on Lu Huaiyuan without replying.

Lu Jianping, standing to the side, couldn't help but twitch his eyelids at his son's guilty look.

Liu Zhixia slowly said, "Heh, you said it was lost, and then you found it? And it was wrapped up so tightly, who knows if you're trying to fool me with a fake?"

Lu Huaiyuan was getting impatient: "I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you, just look for yourself! The stuff is real, believe it or not!"

Liu Zhixia curled her lips and said slowly, "Then... open it and let us see."