Chapter 9

Ex-Fiancé

    Inside the central market of Ping Yan village,

    Shan Shan brought wild animals to sell to a meat vendor, earning only enough to buy a few sheets of paper along with some ink and brushes, which greatly dissatisfied her.

    She walked home, irritated, thinking she should find some unscrupulous way to make more money.

    On her way back to the secluded bamboo house by the stream, which was far from other homes, the road was lined with wilderness, adorned with flowers and greenery on both sides. Suddenly, she heard a voice behind her calling out,

    “Eldest Sister.”

    The voice was bright and cheerful; it was Qing Li.

    Shan Shan, in the body of Qing Lin, just looked back indifferently.

    She saw her lovely younger sister walking alongside a young man. He had a strikingly handsome face, his skin fair as jade, dressed in a pristine white outfit that made him look like a proud scholar. His facial features were harmoniously arranged, his peach blossom-liked eyes mesmerized women.

    He was Qing Lin’s ex-fiancé, and now the fiancé of her younger sister.

    Zhang Chuan…

    The two openly displayed their relationship without any reservation now, showing what their status was.

    Since the elder sister had already married another man, it was nothing wrong for the ex-fiancé and the younger sister to be together.

    Shan Shan watched the loving couple with an emotionless gaze.

    Truthfully, this treacherous younger sister didn’t need to greet her who was walking away, but she still called out, most likely to emphasize their relationship.

    Probably wanted to see Qing Lin in pain...

    Shan Shan narrowed her eyes, her expression cold, her demeanor calm and dignified, exuding arrogance.

    Qing Li noticed the change in her sister’s attitude, which seemed haughtier and more formidable than before. Her lips twitched into a forced smile, which froze momentarily but soon returned to her usual charming and innocent demeanor, as she was accompanied by Zhang Chuan and couldn’t afford to slip out of character.

    “Did Sister Lin go to the market to buy paper?”

    Qing Li asked her elder sister with a sweet, friendly voice, covering her mouth to giggle lightly, adding,

    “It’s unbelievable. Normally, Sister Lin isn’t fond of writing, right?”

    She looked at the paper in Qing Lin’s arms with a condescending gaze, implying that Qing Lin was foolish to buy it because she had never been good at reading or writing. The greeting was a way to remind the other of her lack of skill and to mock the irony of her buying lots of paper. So funny...

    However, Qing Li was taken aback when she heard her sister responded,

    “When people’s hearts can change, why can’t I, who disliked studying, start to enjoy writing?”

    The meaning was clear that the people before her had also changed.

    Ending her remark, she glanced at Qing Li and then swept her gaze to Zhang Chuan, the detest was clear in her challenging stare, asking,

    “I just turned to like writing, but what exactly have you two changed?”

    Qing Li’s face twitched.

    Zhang Chuan was silently assessing Qing Lin.

    On the path at the edge of the forest, surrounding with greenery, Zhang Chuan observed Qing Lin’s face and demeanor carefully. After not seeing her for several days, he found that his ex-fiancée seemed to have changed.

    He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that she looked different today, somehow more elegant and beautiful than before.

    A cool breeze fluttered by for a moment, causing her blue garment to ripple closely against a once frail body that used to stand unsteadily. However, Qing Lin today stood firm and upright, her posture dignified and composed, a stark contrast to her past. Her gaze was cold and detached, unwavering and fearless, without a trace of the timid or fawning looks she once had.

    Importantly, there was no tenderness in her eyes towards him, and the foolish infatuation was utterly absent.

    Zhang Chuan found his heart beating irregularly,

    As if disrupted by the change in his ex-fiancée.

    She was different...

    Her penetrating gaze, her proud demeanor, and her regal posture were all unlike anything he had seen in her before.

    Usually, she would show signs of panic, fear, and a lack of self-confidence, but now her actions were decisive, her attitude determined and strong, clear-cut and firm.

    His sharp eyes flickered; Zhang Chuan felt as if he had fallen in love with his ex-fiancée again.

    He was surprisingly puzzled to see Qing Lin so transformed.

    Her voice remained sweet as always, yet it resonated with a peculiar clarity. The way she once looked at him with infatuation had changed; there was no trace of affection in her eyes now, only a striking intelligence. She seemed irresistibly charming in a way she never was before.

    Zhang Chuan felt as if the mundane and worthless possession he once had was now dazzlingly vibrant and slipping through his fingers regrettably.

    In the moment Zhang Chuan was lost in his long reverie, Qing Li's voice interjected.

    "I understand now. Sister Lin is improving herself, isn't she? Since you married a hideous scavenger, you have to develop yourself, so others won't look down on you even more. That's very good, Sister Lin. I am really proud of you. You must love Gong Niu very much."

    After saying this with a charming smile, emphasizing Qing Lin's degradation and her lowly husband, implying she needed to better herself to rise from the muck.

    Shan Shan responded coolly, "What I do with my husband is nobody's concern. I certainly love and cherish him more than anyone else."

    Zhang Chuan's brows furrowed tightly, visibly displeased.

    But Qing Li, feeling elated, turned to give Zhang Chuan an innocent smile to bring him back to the moment before turning back to Qing Lin and continuing cheerfully,

    "It's good that you're doing this, Sister Lin. I was really worried about you. You wronged Brother Chuan before, so now you should make it up by being good to Gong Niu."

    With a bright smile and a face full of sincere concern, she finished her statement, but her meaning was clear: Qing Lin had wronged Zhang Chuan yet was shamelessly devoting herself to Gong Niu.

    Qing Li's goal was to make Zhang Chuan realize this.

    The woman before him was already taken—Qing Lin had been swallowed up by Gong Niu.

    At that moment, Zhang Chuan's eyes darkened and his face stiffened immediately, regretting his ex-fiancée all the more.

    However, Qing Li was unaware of the man's inner thoughts. She confidently continued,

    "Sister Lin, you must love Gong Niu very much, okay? Don't wrong your husband."

    This remark made Zhang Chuan's eyebrows twitch incessantly.

    Shan Shan, not one to enjoy flowery language, was too tired to listen to the nonsensical comments, so she responded bluntly, "Why do you meddle in my affairs when I married Gong Niu according to your plan?"

    As she finished, it seemed like everything around them came to a sudden halt.

    Qing Li and Zhang Chuan fell silent.

    Qing Li was the first to regain her composure, unwilling to believe her ears. She couldn't believe her foolish sister knew more than what she had been tricked into believing. Perhaps her changed demeanor was due to her hideous husband driving her insane. Qing Li then mockingly smiled with a hidden taunt,

    "Eldest Sister must be joking. Don’t speak irresponsibly and blame the heavens and earth, creating stories that embarrass me like this. The difficult life is a choice you made yourself, and you can’t blame anyone else. Just try to behave properly. Perhaps the filth you carry can be cleansed. I will always help clear the slander, just don't speak nonsense."

    This was a ruthless rebuke of her sister. Qing Li stated that everything Qing Lin had said earlier lacked witnesses and evidence.

    Shan Shan stared at Qing Li silently before letting her gaze fall slightly to the collar of her garment, which bore faint red marks.

    Clearly, the couple before her had just been engaged in an intimate act.

    Despite the evidence before her eyes, they dared to act so boldly.

    Finding it tiresome to argue such absurdity with the woman, Shan Shan then turned her attention to her ex-fiancé.

    "Why hasn’t Brother Chuan hurried to marry my sister? You’ve been secretly courting her for so long, isn’t it proper now to openly show your love?" She paused for a moment and then added pointedly,

    "Oh...my apologies for speaking out of turn. I see clearly that you two parade your love all over the village, so dignified. Ah...and why not marry my sister already? How else can all these rumors be dispelled when one sister has already tainted our family's reputation? Why does my sister still allow herself to be with a man who defies traditions like this?"

    Shan Shan spoke at length, causing Zhang Chuan to freeze, while Qing Li's eyes widened in shock.

    Shan Shan hadn’t intended to engage with these two vipers for so long, but since her dear sister had started it, she couldn’t help but respond.

    Though her face remained impassive and devoid of emotion, Shan Shan’s voice was slow and pressing,

    "In truth, I understand your needs well because in our village a younger sister cannot marry before her elder sister. Although you two love each other deeply enough to have reached the point of intimacy, you still had to wait until I was married off. But now that you’ve beautifully executed your plan to push me aside, why are you not rushing to get married?"

    She narrowed her eyes and said sarcastically, "Or perhaps the man likes to continue playing around, and the woman enjoys being so generous. Hmm...let's see how this rots."

    The couple in front of her was left utterly speechless.

    Shan Shan continued, unrelenting, "Since I've paved the way for you, you are ready to marry at any time without any guilt. But don't forget, even if everyone around is blind, heaven and earth know the truth of all matters. You know better than anyone, a bit of shame would do you good, so that when you die and become ghosts, you won’t be sucked into hell."

    She smirked, her eyes sharp and piercing.

    Being a woman of the wild lands was indeed better than being a noble lady.

    There’s no need to maintain decorum or watch one’s words—utterly satisfying!

    Qing Li’s face turned pale, anger flaring in her eyes, unable to believe that her normally timid and voiceless sister could speak such vicious words. She turned to Zhang Chuan, who stood silently by, speechless, his eyes still fixed on Qing Lin, as if he had encountered something profoundly impressive.

    Qing Li's gaze towards Qing Lin was full of disdain,

    While Zhang Chuan was stunned. He truly hadn't expected the words he heard to come from the woman before him, his once foolish fiancée. Since when had she become this fiery?

    Ah...how pleasing.

    When people were weak to a certain extent, and they encountered something that deeply impacted their psyche, they could grow up overnight and escaped their timidity.

    Having understood this, Zhang Chuan moved past his initial shock. A faint smile formed on his lips, enhancing his handsome features as he deliberately offered a warm smile to the woman before him, well aware that it always had an effect.

    Qing Lin used to stare at him dazedly…

    But everything changed when she coldly snorted and said with an icy smile, “Keep your deceitful smiles for some other foolish girl. Seeing it makes me want to vomit.”

    With those final words, she left, leaving the couple looking as if they had seen a ghost.