Chapter 236 This person is reliable
But Guo Zhenyi was different. He kept a low profile, but he spent every penny wisely.
Zhou Liya lowered her head and rubbed her hands together, whispering to her sister.
"This person... is reliable."
The family warmed themselves by the stove.
The courtyard gate was suddenly slammed loudly.
The people around the stove were all stunned.
Guo Zhenyi immediately stood up and placed his hand on the shovel beside the stove.
Zhou Shufen also frowned and got up.
"Who would come so late?"
Amidst the sound of wind and snow, the knocking on the door continued relentlessly.
Qi Changyu ran to open the door.
In the dim light, a hunched figure stood in the snow.
Qi Changyu frowned, but still managed to pry open the bolt with a "click" and pull open the door.
Yang Muyan was standing outside the door.
He was wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket, his trouser legs were covered in mud and snow, and his face was covered in stubble.
Upon seeing Qi Changyu, he grinned.
"Changyu, I'm here."
His face darkened, and without saying a word, he darted out and slammed the door shut.
Before Qi Changyu could react, he had already squeezed into the yard and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Yang Muyan, what are you doing here?"
Qi Changyu recognized him.
He stepped forward, blocking Yang Muyan and the doorway.
On the day Zhou Dajun proposed to Zhou Lijuan, he personally witnessed Yang Muyan sneaking into Yu Fen's backyard and not coming out until half an hour later.
Enraged, he grabbed a carrying pole and rushed over, giving Yang Muyan a sound beating.
The fight left Yang Muyan with a bruised and swollen face, and his left eye was so swollen he couldn't open it. He lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) for three days.
The villagers were talking about it, some saying Qi Changyu was too protective of his sister, and others saying he was meddling in other people's business.
But Qi Changyu didn't care.
In his eyes, Zhou Lijuan, though from a humble background, was of pure character and would never be defiled by anyone.
Yang Muyan was the one who almost ruined her reputation.
What am I doing here?
Yang Muyan grinned.
"I've come to see my fiancée."
"fiancée?"
Qi Changyu gritted his teeth.
"The annulment letter is still with your aunt, and you have the nerve to mention it?"
The letter annulment was written by Zhou Lijuan herself.
But Yang Muyan just stood there, motionless, her gaze passing over him and fixed on the direction of the door.
The door creaked open, and Zhou Lijuan peeked out, revealing half her face.
Hearing the argument outside, she couldn't help but come out to check.
"Changyu, who is that?"
She didn't see Yang Muyan's face clearly, only a blurry shadow standing in the snow.
Yang Muyan stared at her without blinking.
That face...
Those eyes...
He had seen it in his dreams day and night.
this……
Is it really Zhou Lijuan?
The girl in his memory who always wore a tattered gray cotton coat and kept her head down, afraid to look people in the eye?
The person in front of me was wearing a moon-white cotton-padded jacket.
She had a slender neck and wore a pair of small silver stud earrings on her earlobes.
These are things she never had before.
She raised her hand to smooth her wind-blown hair, her fingertips white.
What made him tremble the most were her eyes.
Clear and bright.
Whenever she saw him before, she wished she could shrink into a ball and hide in a crack in the wall.
But now?
She stood in the shadow of the door frame, straight and resolute.
He suddenly realized that this girl was no longer Zhou Lijuan, whom he could order around at will.
"You...how did you get like this?"
Yang Muyan's voice trembled.
Now Yu Fen has run away and there's been no news of her.
She, on the other hand, transformed herself into someone he was afraid to even speak to for fear of being presumptuous.
Zhou Lijuan frowned.
She didn't retreat in a panic like before, but simply spoke calmly.
"Yang Muyan, what I look like is none of your business."
Xiao Ya, who was standing behind her, also peeked out and curiously looked at Yang Muyan.
She glanced at Yang Muyan and whispered in her sister's ear.
"Sis, why is he staring at you like that, with such a saccharine look in his eyes, like he doesn't see any women at all?"
Yang Muyan's face turned bright red.
He took a step forward, wanting to say another word.
Before he could even finish speaking, he was suddenly pushed back half a step by a force.
Qi Changyu gently blocked, firmly protecting Zhou Lijuan behind him.
"Yang Muyan, have you stared enough? If you dare to stare at her again, I won't mind adding some more new injuries to your body."
Yang Muyan staggered back two steps.
He gazed at the pale figure protected behind him.
The wind and snow had not yet stopped, and she stood quietly under the eaves, her clothes fluttering slightly.
Why is it that she already has someone by her side, while he can only stand there miserably in the cold wind?
Why is this world so unfair?
Zhou Lijuan was just a girl from a poor village who hadn't received much education.
How come he's living such a successful life now?
Not to mention the man beside her.
Qi Changyu was tall and handsome with clear features.
Such a man is the envy of many, yet he stayed by her side.
And what about him?
Yang Muyan lowered his head.
He lived in a drafty, dilapidated house outside town, where he couldn't sleep in the winter because it was too cold, and he couldn't breathe in the summer because it was too hot.
He has no parents, no relatives, and no one to talk to. He makes a living by collecting scraps every day.
When will this end?
On what grounds?
Why is she the one who has everything she has today, while he has to wallow in the mud?
"Lijuan! I know I was wrong!"
Yang Muyan suddenly raised his head and shouted into the courtyard.
"I must have been blind to get together with Yu Fen! Who does she think she is? Her family is so poor they can't even afford to eat, what do I have for her? I shouldn't have broken off the engagement! I shouldn't have listened to her mother's instigating words! Lijuan, can't we start over?"
"I swear, I'll never do it again. I'll treat you well, provide you with food and clothing, as long as you're willing to look back at me..."
"Shut up."
Zhou Lijuan interrupted coldly.
"You were the one who proposed breaking off the engagement, it's all in black and white, you signed it yourself. You said back then I wasn't good enough for you, that I was poor, that I wasn't good enough for you. You said Yu Fen's family had some dowry, that it could help you turn your life around. And now? Now you're desperate, and you're coming to me for help?"
She gave a cold laugh.
"It's too late. Yang Muyan, I, Zhou Lijuan, will never look at you again in my life. Forget about starting over, I would feel disgusted just to have you standing in front of me."
After saying that, she tightly grabbed Xiaoya beside her and took two steps back.
Then, he turned his head and looked at Qi Changyu beside him.
"Changyu, don't waste your time on him. He's not worth your trouble. The charcoal in the brazier is almost out. Go inside and close the door."
Qi Changyu nodded, his gaze piercing Yang Muyan in the snow.
"Did you hear me clearly?"
"She doesn't want to see you. If you keep making a scene, it'll only make things worse. While you still have some dignity, leave on your own."
"If you don't leave, I don't mind having someone carry you out. Don't embarrass yourself here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and pulled the latch, and the door slammed shut with a bang.
Outside the door, Yang Muyan stood frozen in place.
He watched helplessly as the wooden door closed in front of him, shutting out the lights in the courtyard.
Undeterred, Yang Muyan threw himself against the door and pounded on it with both hands.
“Zhou Lijuan! Open the door! You can’t treat me like this! Do you have any conscience? We grew up together, and you just cut ties like that? How am I supposed to live?”
Just then, the door to the main room opened.
Guo Zhenyi came out wearing a dark cotton-padded coat.
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