Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Drunken Misconduct

The child’s words left Xu Huaizhi and his wife feeling deeply embarrassed.

Da Cheng stopped crying and fussing, instead staring thoughtfully at Da Bao.

“Look at how they raise their child! And what about our Da Cheng? What have you turned him into? Lying and falsely accusing people at such a young age, and talking big too,” Xu Huaizhi fumed.

Lin Xiaomeng was angry as well. “You have the nerve to say that? Isn’t it all because of your mother? She’s always calling him a bastard and a jinx, and the child overheard her.

I have to work all day and do the housework—where would I find the time to educate the child? It’s your mother who’s been teaching him these things. I’m even more wronged than Dou E!”

Xu Huaizhi fell silent. He knew she’d suffered a lot, but wasn’t every family like this? Was he, a grown man, supposed to stay home and look after the child instead of working?

Compared to other families, theirs was already doing pretty well—at least they didn’t have to worry about food and clothing.

The scene that was supposed to be about proving innocence turned into a marital argument between Xu Huaizhi and his wife.

“Now that everything’s clear, you two can argue all you want. We won’t be joining you,” Gu Qinghuan said, not interested in listening to their family drama. Was the food at home not good enough?

As for making Da Cheng apologize, there was really no need. An insincere apology was meaningless.

Xu Huaian felt the same way. The two children had already vented their anger; both sides were even now, so there was no need to drag things out.

Seeing that the main characters of the gossip had left, the onlookers naturally dispersed as well.

On the way home, the four of them walked hand in hand, with Da Bao and Bei Bei in the middle, laughing and chatting—a picture of a happy family.

This sight left the men who had once secretly admired Gu Qinghuan heartbroken.

Especially Chen Jianghe from the educated youth compound—he felt stifled and miserable.

The lily he’d been pursuing for so long, the woman he could never win over, was now willingly living with a “madman.” He just couldn’t accept it.

Back at the compound, he dug out his stash of liquor and went to drink alone by the haystack near the drying yard, trying to drown his sorrows.

As he was getting drunk to the point of blacking out, he seemed to see Gu Qinghuan walking toward him with a bright smile, calling him “Brother Jianghe.”

He didn’t have time to think—he just wanted to pull her into his arms, to make her his, so she could never smile at anyone else again.

So, like dry tinder meeting a spark, passion ignited instantly.

Of course, the one who ended up spending the night with him wasn’t Gu Qinghuan, but Xu Meiling.

Xu Meiling had gone out looking for her brother and sister-in-law since there was no one home to cook.

When she arrived, the crowd had already dispersed, and as she was heading back, she saw Chen Jianghe leaving the compound alone.

She had a feeling something was up, so she made an excuse to go home later and secretly followed Chen Jianghe.

She saw him sighing at the moon and drinking to drown his sorrows.

And so, what happened next happened.

After their passionate encounter, Xu Meiling looked at the man beside her, feeling both happy and bitter.

She was happy because now that they’d slept together, she was confident she could make him marry her.

She was bitter because he’d mistaken her for someone else, calling out “Huanhuan, Huanhuan” the whole time.

She had never hated anyone as much as she hated Gu Qinghuan at that moment. What did Gu Qinghuan have that made Brother Jianghe so obsessed with her?

Back at the Xu house, dinner was destined to be skipped that night. As soon as they got home, Xu Huaizhi started a fierce argument with Liu Guifang about how to raise the child.

Liu Guifang thought her son was being egged on by his wife, so she dragged Lin Xiaomeng into the fight.

Xu Huaiyu, the classic mama’s boy, actually stood up for his mother at this crucial moment, siding with her against his brother and sister-in-law.

After all, he still needed his mother’s support for his own marriage prospects, and all the family money was in her hands!

Helping his brother wouldn’t get him a penny, but pleasing his mother meant endless wealth and comfort—he knew which side his bread was buttered on.

Lin Xiaomeng felt this was a heaven-sent opportunity. Taking advantage of her husband’s resentment, she straightforwardly brought up splitting the family and living separately.

How could that be allowed?

Xu Mingshan and Liu Guifang planned to live with their eldest son in the future. Even though Liu Guifang doted more on her younger son, she knew all too well what he was like—the eldest was far more reliable.

Xu Huaizhi had never really considered splitting the family before, but now that he thought about it, maybe living apart wouldn’t be so bad. At least they wouldn’t be at each other’s throats every day.

He used to urge Lin Xiaomeng to bear with it, to endure, but a child’s education couldn’t wait. If they missed the right time, it would be too late to fix.

So he stood behind Lin Xiaomeng and demanded a split as well.

Liu Guifang, who’d already been beaten by her younger son that morning and now infuriated by her eldest at night, completely lost it. She started cursing like a shrew.

“Lin Xiaomeng, you vixen, you shameless woman! What kind of witchcraft did you use on my son? Trying to drive us old folks out—what are you up to?

Unless I’m dead, don’t even think about splitting this family!”

Xu Mingshan agreed—there was no way they’d split the family, not even a window, let alone a door.

In short, the whole family ended up in a huge shouting match.

They argued for hours, even forgetting that someone was missing from home.

Back at the haystack—

Even though they were hidden inside, it was still pretty cold at night.

Chen Jianghe was jolted awake by the chill on his backside, his head splitting with pain. He was confused for a moment.

Then he remembered drinking alone and, in a drunken haze, seemingly sleeping with Gu Qinghuan.

He reached out and, sure enough, felt a woman’s body.

Wait—this wasn’t Gu Qinghuan. Gu Qinghuan wasn’t this heavy.

The next second, he shot upright as if he’d been pricked by a needle.

“Who’s there?” He looked over in the moonlight.

Xu Meiling sidled up shyly. “You’ve already had your way with me, and now you’ve forgotten me, Brother Jianghe?”

Chen Jianghe wished he could slap himself. Why did he have to drink? Why did he have to drown his sorrows? Why did his eyesight have to be so bad?

A wave of nausea hit him. Of all people, why did it have to be Xu Meiling, who was as round as a winter melon?

Even Jiang Xue would have been better!

Xu Meiling, for some reason, was ugly, dark, and fat—nothing like her brothers. But she was also one of the hardest people to deal with in the whole village, since her father was the local bully.

Chen Jianghe’s mind was a mess.

Xu Meiling suddenly dropped a bombshell: “Brother Jianghe, when are you coming to my house to propose?”

“Pro… propose?” Chen Jianghe wanted to back away three meters. What kind of nonsense was this? She’d thrown herself at him, and now she wanted him to marry her?

“That’s right! Don’t you plan to take responsibility for me?” Xu Meiling heard the evasion in his voice and raised her own.

“Meiling, look, what happened just now was just a drunken mistake—it doesn’t mean anything. If you hadn’t come onto me, I wouldn’t have…

Let’s just say we’re both at fault. How about we both forget about it? If you don’t tell, I won’t tell—no one will ever know.

And I’m willing to compensate you with a hundred yuan. How about that?”

A hundred yuan was enough to get a wife—he didn’t believe Xu Meiling wouldn’t be tempted.

He thought of the hundred yuan, and how, because he’d been a step too late, he’d missed out on Gu Qinghuan, who would always be his greatest regret.

But he was wrong.

A moment’s pleasure and a lifetime’s pleasure—Xu Meiling knew the difference.

If she married Chen Jianghe, all the Chen family’s money would be hers. What good was a hundred yuan?

“I don’t agree! Brother Jianghe, how can you measure my love for you with money? I want to be with you because I like you!”"

"Chapter 60: Forced Marriage