28. A Slap in the Face

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“Why, exactly?”

“I just don’t think Qin Xiaoyu and I are right for each other.” Yang Fan carefully considered how to put it. This was what he truly thought.

Qin Xiaoyu had become this way, and the two of them really were incompatible. Even if they married, they probably would not be able to live together. That would only make things more painful.

Smack!

A loud slap rang out.

Yang Fan was dazed. Blood trickled from his nose. His father was furious, and he had struck him hard.

“Old man, talk things out. Don’t hit the child!” His mother threw her arms around Yang Fan like a mother hen protecting her chick.

His father’s next slap landed on her back.

“Dad, don’t hit my brother!” the little girl sobbed, clutching at their father’s arm.

Just look at this mother and daughter.

“Ah!”

His father let out a long sigh and lowered his hand in despair. His child had grown up and now had a mind of his own.

“Calm down, old man. It’s late, and the boy has been driving all day. He must be exhausted. Let him get some rest. Whatever it is, we can talk about it tomorrow.”

Deep into the night, the little girl fell asleep, tear stains still glistening on her small face. Yang Fan could not sleep. He heard his parents turning restlessly in bed.

“Old man, Xiaofan is grown now. How could you hit him so hard? His face is all red.”

“I was angry. He’s been away for a few years and his heart has grown bigger. How can a family like ours withstand this kind of turmoil?”

“Could Xiaofan have some difficulty he hasn’t told us about?”

“He’s been dazzled by what he saw outside. He looks down on us country people now.”

“Old man, I keep thinking—could it be as you say? Maybe Qin Xiaoyu and Xiaofan had some quarrel. I know our Fanzi. He fell for that girl the moment he first saw her.”

“People change. After seeing more of the world outside, they develop thoughts they never had before.”

“Ah, what are we going to do? If the engagement is called off, will her family return the bride price? Where would we find the money to get Xiaofan another wife? By the time we save enough, he’ll be older and it’ll be harder for him to find someone.”

“And what about Xiaoyu? She’s an innocent girl. If the engagement is broken, won’t that ruin her reputation? We have to give her family an explanation.”

“Ah, her mother… Marriage is a lifelong matter. No matter what, we can’t let the child suffer. If he truly refuses to marry Xiaoyu, I’ll put aside my pride and go speak to her family myself.”

“If they won’t return the bride price, then let it go. We’re still strong enough. We can work another ten years and help our son marry.”

Yang Fan squeezed his eyes shut as tears silently streamed down his face.

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The next day, no one mentioned what had happened. At noon, his mother instead prepared a table full of good dishes and poured wine for father and son.

Yang Fan had been wanting to discuss the matter, but he never found the chance.

“Old Yang, are you home?”

Looking out through the large glass window above the brick bed, he saw the gate open and several people enter.

At the front was a man in his fifties with a close-cropped, graying haircut: Village Chief Qin.

Behind him came a middle-aged couple—the parents of Qin Xiaoyu.

“Family, are you home?” Qin Shanlin called.

Yang Fan’s thoughts raced. Why had Qin Shanlin and his wife brought the village chief with them?

Then the corner of his mouth lifted into a faint, cold smile.

Qin Xiaoyu, you’re in such a hurry.

Village Chief Qin Shanhai was Qin Shanlin’s cousin, and he had also served as a witness when the engagement was arranged.

Yang Fan’s parents stared at the visitors outside in astonishment. Why had their future in-laws brought the village chief?

“Dad, Mom, don’t say anything. I’ll handle this,” Yang Fan said.

The two exchanged a glance. They could sense that something was wrong. Perhaps Qin’s family was involved in Fanzi’s desire to break off the engagement.

The three visitors entered, and Yang Fan’s family hurriedly invited them to sit on the brick bed.

“Xiaofan, you’re home?” His prospective mother-in-law, Li Chunhua, looked somewhat flustered when she saw him. His prospective father-in-law also avoided his eyes.

“When did you get back, Xiaofan? Look at you—you’ve really made something of yourself. What a fine young man.” Village Chief Qin laughed heartily.

“Oh, you’ve prepared such a grand spread. Old Yang, did you know we were coming today?” the village chief joked.

“Come, sit down, sit down. It’s just been taken off the stove. Old Qin, in-laws, climb up and sit here.” His father welcomed them enthusiastically. “Dear, bring three more sets of bowls and chopsticks. And two more wine cups.”

The atmosphere that day was strange. Although his father warmly urged the guests to drink, the couple remained guarded and ill at ease, unable to relax.

The awkwardness never lifted.

Yang Fan sneered inwardly, wondering how they would perform their little act. He said nothing, merely obediently following his father in offering toasts.

Since they were in such a hurry, why should he be?

Qin Xiaoyu really was unlucky. If she waited a few more days, he would disappear to that other world and remain missing for years. She would have an even better reason to free herself from the marriage. For all he knew, she might even be planning to take his money.

But now, she could not wait even a few days.

A wave of sorrow passed through Yang Fan’s heart.

Had she really hated him that much?

She had only just entered Yanjing University, yet she could not endure even a few days.

It seemed that this matter had tormented her for a long time. She had already reached her limit. The moment she set foot on the Yanjing University campus, she could no longer control herself.

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Yang Fan was not stupid. It was only that he had been wholeheartedly in love with her, and had automatically ignored all these signs. As long as she showed the slightest displeasure, even the faintest change in her expression, he would become utterly at a loss.

Over the past few days, Yang Fan had experienced emotional upheavals unlike anything in his entire life, a crisis between life and death, and travel through time and space. The shock had been immense, but it had also allowed him, for the first time, to open his eyes from his own perspective and take another look at the world.

Once he had calmed down, he realized there was nothing complicated about it.

It all came down to fame and fortune.

And after being abandoned, when he recalled everything Qin Xiaoyu had done in the past, what filled his heart more and more was disgust.

Village Chief Qin cast an inadvertent glance at Qin Shanlin. Yang Fan did not miss it. From the village chief’s eyes, he detected many different emotions.

There was disdain for this sordid affair and an unwillingness to become entangled in it. There was also irritation and an urge to hurry things along. As the head of the clan, he felt helplessly obliged to intervene. Above all, however, was his impatience to bring the matter to an end.

“Ahem. Well, in-law, Xiaoyu has made quite a name for herself. She was admitted to Yanjing University—that’s one of the very best universities. The county says it’s ranked among the top eighty-five or something,” Qin Shanlin said hesitantly.

His mouth was a little dry, and he looked uncomfortable. As soon as he finished, he lowered his head and took a gulp of beer.

Yang Fan’s parents, who had been suspicious from the moment the visitors arrived, now understood a little more. His father’s expression began to stiffen.

“In-law, what do we parents work for, after all? Isn’t it for our children’s future?”

Seeing how useless Qin Shanlin was—stumbling over a matter that should have taken only a few sentences—Li Chunhua cleared her throat and said, “In-law, I’ll speak frankly. None of us expected Qin Xiaoyu to be so capable, to achieve so much. Is Yanjing University somewhere just anyone can get into? After Xiaoyu graduates, she could sit for the graduate entrance examination, go abroad for further study, or even work for a ministry, a government office, or a major corporation.”

The Yang family’s only response was silence.

Li Chunhua had not expected them to remain so calm. She saw none of the anger she had anticipated, and this made her uneasy.

“Well… Xiaofan is a good child, but what future can he have carrying bricks at construction sites? The gap between him and Xiaoyu will only grow wider. Do you really think the two of them are suitable for each other?”

Yang’s mother glanced at Yang’s father, her eyes filled with pain. Old man, you’ve wounded the child with that beating. This isn’t Xiaofan’s fault. The boy has always been proud and ambitious.

Yang’s father wore an expressionless face and listened quietly. In truth, he had suspected this ever since the Qin family hosted the banquet celebrating Xiaoyu’s admission. He simply had not wanted to believe it.

The village chief cleared his throat and began to speak.

“Old Yang, speaking of which, your Yang family is one of the oldest households in our village. The elders say your ancestors moved here at the end of the old dynasty, don’t they? That finest piece of land at the village entrance once held your family’s ancestral hall. What a magnificent place it was—a three-courtyard compound. I used to run inside and play when I was a child. What a pity it was torn down during those years of turmoil.”

Yang Fan thought to himself: Wasn’t it people from your Qin family who destroyed it in the name of breaking the old ways? What a shame to lose such a fine piece of land.

“Your eldest branch prospered and went to Pudong to serve in government. That must have been twenty years ago now, right? Your family is the only Yang household left here. The elders always say yours is a family of scholars, the most virtuous and reasonable family around.” Qin Shanhai spoke with deep significance.

He was also somewhat surprised. The Yang family had paid such a tremendous price to marry Qin Xiaoyu. Why were they so calm?