Chapter 53 A Village Girl in the 1970s
"What did you say? This is for Grandpa?"
Lu Jiaxing's mind went blank.
He snatched the letter from Lu Weihua's hand, staring intently at the familiar words on it, his hands trembling violently.
It can't be wrong, it can't be wrong.
He wasn't mistaken; this was Yunzhen's handwriting, it was definitely her handwriting!
How did they meet? Why did she write a letter to her grandfather?
Lu Jiaxing's breathing became rapid. He tried to calm himself and open the letter, but his hands were shaking so badly that he could barely hold the envelope.
Lu Weihua asked cautiously, "Jiaxing, what's wrong?"
Lu Jiaxing didn't answer. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
He carefully opened the envelope, and a photograph immediately slid out and fluttered down.
Before the photo hit the ground, Lu Jiaxing grabbed it.
His beloved's radiant smile met his eyes.
When his suspicions were confirmed, Lu Jiaxing froze on the spot.
At that moment, he didn't even dare to take the letter out of the envelope, let alone read what was written on it.
Lu Weiguo tilted his head to look at the photo in his hand.
The photo was a bit distorted and couldn't fully capture Yao Yunzhen's appearance, but even just half of it made Lu Weihua momentarily lose his composure.
Fortunately, he was quite old and had seen all sorts of things, so he quickly regained his composure.
"Who is this girl? Could it be... one of the old man's friends who's going to introduce his granddaughter?"
Lu Weihua patted Lu Jiaxing on the shoulder: "You're a lucky guy."
He is the only one in the Lu family generation who is still unmarried.
Lu Jiaxing, his face stiff, carefully put away the photo, his fingers slowly but firmly pulling out the letter.
The letter was written in the name of Yao Yunzhen's mother, but Lu Jiaxing was all too familiar with the handwriting; it was clearly written by Yao Yunzhen on her behalf.
The letter first briefly introduced Yao Yunzhen's situation, then talked about her own family's living conditions, and then got to the main point, starting to subtly inquire about the man's recent situation, mentioning between the lines that the two children were not young anymore.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is the bride's family subtly inquiring about the wedding date.
"So this girl is the fiancée that the old man arranged for you."
"Yes, my fiancée."
Lu Jiaxing wanted to smile, but his lips felt as heavy as if they weighed a ton, and he couldn't manage to force a smile. In the end, he could only manage a half-smile that looked like he was crying.
"So, she was actually my fiancée..."
Lu Weihua asked worriedly, "Son, what's wrong?"
Even if he was very oblivious, he noticed that something was wrong with Lu Jiaxing at this moment.
Lu Jiaxing gripped the letter tighter and tighter until his knuckles turned white. He opened his mouth, but his throat felt blocked. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a hoarse sentence: "It's nothing, it's just too sudden."
The sound was so light and airy, as if a gust of wind could carry it away.
Seeing his son's distraught appearance, Lu Weihua felt increasingly uneasy. Just as he was about to ask again, Lu Jiaxing seemed to suddenly come to his senses, hurriedly stuffed the letter back into the envelope, and said with feigned composure, "Dad, I'm going out for some fresh air."
After saying that, he strode out the door without waiting for Lu Weihua's response.
Lu Jiaxing walked faster and faster, until finally he started running.
He rushed back to the hospital, only to find that Xie Jingyue had already been discharged. He then ran to the guesthouse almost without hesitation and arrived at the door of Yao Yunzhen's room.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, he suddenly realized that Yao Yunzhen was still living inside.
He took a few deep breaths before slowly raising his hand and gently knocking on the door.
Who is it?
Upon hearing Xie Jingyue's voice, Lu Jiaxing almost couldn't hold back and roared out in anger.
He tried to speak in a calm tone: "Old Xie, it's me."
Xie Jingyue lifted his head from under the covers, looking somewhat puzzled.
It's so late, what is Lu Jiaxing doing here?
Is she still not giving up and trying to poach his girlfriend?
Thinking of this, Xie Jingyue's tone became a little harsh: "Did you need something from me? If not, hurry back, Zhenzhen and I are going to sleep."
"Something's wrong. Come out first, and we'll talk downstairs."
The best solution would have been to expose Xie Jingyue's true colors directly in front of Yao Yunzhen, but Lu Jiaxing ultimately chose to resolve the matter privately, not wanting to cause Yao Yunzhen any trouble.
Xie Jingyue sensed the unusual tone in Lu Jiaxing's voice. After hesitating for a moment, he got up, put on his clothes, and prepared to go out.
"Zhenzhen, I'll go out for a bit and see what he has to say."
Yao Yunzhen rolled over and said lazily, "Go ahead."
Xie Jingyue opened the door, and the red mark on his neck stung Lu Jiaxing's eyes.
He turned abruptly and walked downstairs first: "Let's talk outside."
Xie Jingyue narrowed his eyes but did not refuse.
The temperature dropped further at night, and heavy snowflakes fell, turning the outside world into a white wonderland.
The two walked out of the guesthouse one after the other, letting the snowflakes fall on them.
Lu Jiaxing turned to look at Xie Jingyue, his usually smiling face now cold.
"Xie Jingyue, I already know."
Xie Jingyue asked calmly, "What do you know?"
His anger erupted like a volcano, and Lu Jiaxing raised his hand, ready to punch someone.
As soon as I raised my hand, I remembered how hard Zhenzhen had worked during this time.
The other person's injuries hadn't fully healed yet, and if they went back to the hospital, it would be even more difficult for Zhenzhen.
Lu Jiaxing endured it for a long time, but slowly lowered his hand, though his face showed barely suppressed anger.
"Are you still trying to play dumb? Zhenzhen is clearly my fiancée! What have you done?! You stole her away! I should be her husband, the one who will spend her life with her! You shameless thief, give Zhenzhen back to me!"
His painful struggles and hopeless love during this time were all due to Xie Jingyue!
This shameless thief stole my happiness!
really.
Xie Jingyue had been guessing this since earlier.
Considering that he wasn't at the guesthouse in the afternoon and then came to find him in the heavy snow that evening, he must have received some news when he got home.
Now that his guess had been confirmed, Xie Jingyue felt surprisingly calm.
"What do you mean by saying this now? If I remember correctly, it was you who didn't want this engagement, wasn't it?"
Before Lu Jiaxing could speak, Xie Jingyue continued, "You haven't forgotten what I asked you to do at Baiyang Brigade, have you? You asked me to bring money and tickets to the Yao family just to appease them so you could easily annul the engagement later. And now what are you arguing about? Saying Zhenzhen is your fiancée? Have you ever acknowledged that in these eighteen years?"
Lu Jiaxing's face paled: "That's because I didn't know Zhenzhen was my fiancée. If I had known, I wouldn't have ignored it."
"So you didn't even bother to get to know them before rejecting the engagement outright, so what right do you have to try and take them from me now?"
"No, no, I..."
"What do you mean, 'not'? You don't even know your fiancée's name, who her family is, or how she's been doing all these years. All you know is the name 'Yao Daqiang,' and you only found out about that from Grandpa Lu."
Lu Jiaxing's face instantly lost all color. His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.
"If this fiancée wasn't Zhenzhen, would you still be looking for me now?"
"Admit it, Lu Jiaxing, you're an irresponsible person who lacks a sense of duty. Whether you liked this engagement or not, you should have made a decision sooner rather than later."
"Do you believe it? Even without me, if Zhenzhen knew you were her fiancé, she wouldn't have chosen you."
Lu Jiaxing was greatly shocked.
He came to question Xie Jingyue, demanding that he return Zhenzhen to him, only to discover now that he was not worthy of Zhenzhen at all.
What are you talking about?
Behind them, Yao Yunzhen's voice suddenly rang out.
The two were startled and quickly turned around.
"Zhenzhen, why are you here?"
Despite Xie Jingyue's scathing critique of Lu Jiaxing earlier, he was incredibly flustered when facing Yao Yunzhen.
Xie Jingyue immediately left Lu Jiaxing behind and prepared to take Yao Yunzhen back with him.
"It's cold, what if you catch a cold? Shall I come up with you?"
Yao Yunzhen flung his hand away and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I just heard you say that Lu Jiaxing is my fiancé?"
Lu Jiaxing suddenly raised his head.
What does Zhenzhen mean by that? Doesn't she know that he used to be her fiancé?
Lu Jiaxing originally thought that Zhenzhen was too disappointed in him, her fiancé whom she had never met, and that's why she gave up on him and turned to Xie Jingyue. Now it seems that there is another reason.
A glimmer of hope rekindled in Lu Jiaxing's lifeless eyes.
On the contrary, a sense of despair spread through Xie Jingyue's heart.
But now, there's only one way out: to be honest.
Xie Jingyue said cautiously, "Zhenzhen, listen to me. It's like this: Lu Jiaxing is indeed engaged to you, but I know he has long planned to break off the engagement. That's why I took advantage of Mom's apology and admitted to being her fiancé."
"So you were lying to me back then?"
"I didn't mean to..." Xie Jingyue was stunned for a moment.
Whether intentional or unintentional, and whatever his purpose, he did lie to her.
He was just... too scared.
Zhenzhen was surrounded by wolves, and Lu Jiaxing would likely rush to Baiyang Brigade after finishing his work.
When he sees Zhenzhen then, will he still be willing to break off the engagement?
Although the Lu family treated Zhenzhen very poorly, to be fair, Lu Jiaxing was still very outstanding and was indeed a good choice for the Yao family at the time.
However, he cannot guarantee that he can outcompete Lu Jiaxing.
Therefore, he dared not and could not block her; he only wanted to bring Zhenzhen into his arms as quickly as possible.
Xie Jingyue lowered his head. "Yes, I lied to you."
"Zhenzhen, you can punish me however you want. I know I was wrong, and I will never do it again."
Lu Jiaxing couldn't help but say, "Zhenzhen, don't believe him. If he can lie to you once, he can lie to you twice or three times."
He dared not use his own identity as an excuse anymore, but he was merciless in his attacks on Xie Jingyue.
"I forgot you were here."
Yao Yunzhen stepped forward and slapped Lu Jiaxing across the face.
"Smack!"
A crisp slap rang out in the darkness, and Lu Jiaxing's head snapped to the side from the blow.
"Zhenzhen, does your hand hurt? If you want to hit him, just tell me, and I'll do it. Why do you have to do it yourself?"
Xie Jingyue quickly took Yao Yunzhen's hand and gently massaged it, his tone revealing his heartache.
Lu Jiaxing didn't feel humiliated by the slap; instead, he felt a sense of relief, as if he had been redeemed.
Lu Jiaxing turned around and looked at Yao Yunzhen with concern.
However, due to his position, there was nothing he could do.
Yao Yunzhen ignored him, put one hand on her hip and pointed at Lu Jiaxing with the other.
"So you're the so-called fiancé. If you didn't want to continue this engagement, you should have said so earlier. Why are you pretending to be indifferent? Why are you playing the disappearing act? You've changed your phone number, and my letters have been ignored."
Don't forget, it was your grandfather who initiated this marriage, yet you've made it seem like our Yao family owes you something. If my grandfather had known you were this kind of person, he would never have agreed to this marriage!
Thinking of the letter she had written voluntarily, Yao Yunzhen felt resentful.
As for the fact that they treated this marriage as a lifeline at that time, didn't they fail to grasp that lifeline?
Since it wasn't used, there was no debt involved, Yao Yunzhen retorted righteously.
Lu Jiaxing sensed something was amiss and couldn't help but quietly argue his point.
“Zhenzhen, no, I didn’t receive a call. I only just found out that you wrote a letter. I’ve been in other military regions all these years, not in Beijing.”
He genuinely didn't know, and because he disliked this feudal-style marriage contract but couldn't go against his grandfather's wishes, he could only reluctantly maintain the marriage.
Because he was unwilling, he basically ignored everything, and his mother was in charge of all communication with his fiancée.
Of course, through tonight's letter that had been sitting in the mailbox for months, he also knew how his mother had handled it...
Regret surged into his heart like a tidal wave. Those opportunities that had been ignored and missed now turned into sharp reefs, crashing against him and leaving him scarred and almost suffocating in the torrent of emotions.
Yao Yunzhen scoffed coldly: "Hmph, so you don't know anything? Everything was done by others, and you're the only innocent one."
"You're really selfish. You're so confused, yet you still maintain this engagement. Don't you even think about others? What if this stupidity gets passed on to me?"
Yao Yunzhen launched into a tirade, not caring about the specific facts; it was all a result of his irresponsibility, and she had no intention of showing any sympathy regardless of any difficulties he might be facing.
Even the goodwill he had gained from taking care of her these past few days suddenly decreased, turning into a negative number.
These words struck Lu Jiaxing's heart like a heavy hammer, causing him to stumble back a few steps, his head seemingly sinking into the dust.
"sorry……"
Yao Yunzhen said without any politeness, "Since you know you're sorry, why don't you get lost?"
"I'm so sorry..."
Lu Jiaxing apologized again, then silently turned and left.
Xie Jingyue breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he turned misfortune into blessing. Not only was his rival eliminated, but although the big problem he had planted was also detonated, Zhenzhen did not blame him for it. That's wonderful.
The heavy weight that had been hanging over Xie Jingyue's heart for so long was finally lifted.
"You're celebrating too soon."
Yao Yunzhen said in a sinister tone, then reached out and grabbed Xie Jingyue's ear, pulling it up forcefully.
"Tell me, besides this, is there anything else you're hiding from me?"
Xie Jingyue bent down obediently: "No, Zhenzhen, really no, I promise, I will never lie to you again, I will listen to you in everything, and I will never do it again."
"Think it over carefully? Really not? If I find out about another one, I don't mind finding another man."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingyue panicked and wished he could swear an oath.
"Really, there's nothing more, absolutely nothing more. If I'm still hiding anything from you, may I be struck by lightning and suffer a terrible fate..."
Yao Yunzhen interrupted him impatiently: "Alright, why are you saying all this? It's bad luck."
"Even if it's just this one thing, we absolutely cannot tolerate it, or you'll be tearing the roof off the house later."
Although she was deceived, Yao Yunzhen did not deny Xie Jingyue's involvement.
Upon closer examination, this man has many merits: he has a gentle temperament, outstanding abilities, is incredibly considerate towards her, and is also very handsome…
Moreover, if it weren't for him, she probably would have actually married that so-called fiancé, which would have been truly awful.
Although Lu Jiaxing treated her well, it couldn't offset the coldness and neglect he had shown her over the years.
Xie Jingyue smiled ingratiatingly: "I'm not going up on the roof. What would I do up there? You're not up there anyway. Zhenzhen, punish me however you want, as long as you're happy, anything is fine."
…………
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. Xie Jingyue used all his skills to finally bring a smile back to Yao Yunzhen's face.
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