The young man walked out of the gate of Xu's house with his head held high, as if he had finally straightened his spine today. Because only in this way could he walk and sit upright in the future.

Ji Yu saw the two figures from afar and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

"What's the situation?" Ji Yu asked with concern, while reaching out to wipe away the raindrops on their hems.

Shen Chengzhi's face was as gloomy as water, and he recounted in detail what had just happened.

After hearing this, Ji Yu was furious: "Their family is really going too far! How can they change the marriage contract that we made when we were young? They even want me to marry them as a concubine. Do they really think we are easy to bully?" He shouted angrily.

Shen Chengzhi felt the same way.

If the Xu family had simply cancelled the engagement today, considering their mother's past friendship, perhaps he would not have fought out of pride and made the situation so embarrassing.

However, the Xu family insisted on using such despicable means as taking a concubine to humiliate him, so he would certainly not easily do as they wished and cancel the engagement smoothly.

The group had just left the Xu Mansion not far away when Xu Nanchen, who was behind them, happened to arrive at the door of the Xu family.

Xu Nanchen looked at the figures walking away, his heart filled with curiosity. He turned to the boy at the door and asked, "What are those people doing in our house?"

The servant looked up at Xu Nanchen, then quickly lowered his head and replied, "To answer your question, young master, those are the young lady and young master of the Shen family. They came to the mansion today to look for the lady."

When Xu Nanchen heard the word "Shen family", a smile immediately appeared on his face: "You said they are from the Shen family?"

The servant nodded repeatedly and replied respectfully, "Yes, it is indeed written on the visiting card that it is 'Shen'."

"It seems that their visit today must be to cancel the engagement." Xu Nanchen muttered the word "cancel the engagement" to himself, while quickening his pace and walking forward.

When he walked into the hall, he saw his mother sitting blankly on a chair in the hall.

"Mother, what's wrong with you? Is the cancellation of the engagement not going smoothly?" Xu Nanchen asked anxiously. He was not worried about his mother, but was more concerned about whether this marriage could be successfully cancelled as he wished.

"It has been returned." Xu's mother said slowly, with a hint of disappointment that was hard to conceal in her words.

"Since the engagement has been called off, why are you still so dejected? Isn't calling off the engagement a good thing?" Xu Nanchen could not hide his excitement. The smile on his face became brighter and brighter, and his originally tense body gradually relaxed.

"You don't understand! She is a good girl picked out of a thousand. You are not blessed enough to have her become the daughter-in-law of our Xu family." Mother Xu sighed helplessly. As she spoke, she shook her head gently, her eyes revealing a hint of blame and disappointment towards her son.

However, Xu Nanchen had no time to care about his mother's feelings. For him, being able to successfully turn down this marriage was a great relief. As for what the girl was like, he didn't care.

"Then I will go to the house of the girl I like to propose marriage in the next few days." Xu Nanchen couldn't contain his inner excitement. His voice unconsciously rose octaves, and his eyes were shining with anticipation and joy.

"Don't be anxious, let's talk about it in a few days! Let me write a letter to the Shen family and tell you the news from Uncle Shen. It won't be too late for you to take action then." Mother Xu said in a firm tone.

Although Xu Nanchen was unhappy, he knew that he could not defeat the opponent, so he could only nod and agree reluctantly.

…

Three days later, a letter of withdrawal of engagement sent to a distant county town was delivered to Shen's father.

Upon learning of this, Shen's father was furious and immediately wrote a letter to his son Shen Chengzhi. The tone of the letter was extremely stern, ordering him to bring his daughter Shen Jinjin back home.

Shen Chengzhi knew very well that his father had already known the reason why he ran away from home with his sister.

What's worse is that his father clearly stated in the letter that if Shen Chengzhi could not bring Shen Jinjin home safely as promised, he would come to Ganzhou City in person and take back the "scourge" that brought shame to the family.

On the third day after receiving the letter from his father, the school where Shen Chengzhi studied was on holiday.

He packed his luggage in a hurry and set off on the journey home with Shen Jinjin. And Ji Yu, of course, went with them without a doubt.

After a whole day's long journey, they finally arrived at their hometown. The three stood at the city gate and said goodbye to each other.

It was also in this place last time that they went hand in hand, and with a thirst for knowledge, they embarked on the long journey to Ganzhou City to study.

Over the years, neither of them had tacitly decided to return to their hometown while studying away from home.

Even on such an important occasion as New Year's Eve, they still chose to stay together and spend the holiday together. However, this time they were separated for a long time for the first time in many years.

Shen Chengzhi couldn't help but feel emotional: What kind of turbulence will he face after returning home? Will it set off a huge uproar like a storm?

Thinking like this in his heart, Shen Chengzhi couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Brother Ji, let's say goodbye here! Two months later, we will meet here again and then set off together to return to Ganzhou."

As soon as the words fell, Shen Chengzhi hurriedly pulled his sister and walked quickly in the direction of home.

Father Shen already knew that the two would be returning home today, so he waited at the door early.

Shen Chengzhi had never expected that his father's anger would come so quickly. He was still optimistic that after a long journey, he and his sister, who were exhausted, could at least take a short rest. After they had recovered their strength, his father would ask about the cancellation of the engagement.

But they never expected that Father Shen had already been waiting impatiently at the door, as if just to reprimand and teach them a lesson.

“You and the rebellious girl, kneel down quickly.” Father Shen roared at Shen Jinjin.

This cry awakened Shen Jinjin's long-forgotten memories. She had been extremely afraid of her father since she was a child, so when faced with her father's scolding, she did not dare to resist at all.

Even though she had learned all these years and had been taught the ideals of freedom and equality, the fear that had penetrated her bones could not be calmed down overnight.

Shen Jinjin knelt down obediently, and seeing that he couldn't pull her up, Shen Chengzhi could only kneel down with her.

"What do you want to do, you rebellious son?" Father Shen saw Shen Chengzhi's actions and couldn't help but get angry.

In the eyes of Shen's father, Shen Chengzhi's actions at this time were undoubtedly a silent resistance.

"An elder brother is like a father. If you blame Jinjin, you might as well punish me as well." Shen Chengzhi is the eldest son born to the wife of the first wife. He grew up in the mansion with great pampering.

He didn't have too much fear of Father Shen, so he dared to resist Father Shen.