The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 56 - 55: Zheng Guofeng

Wang Xia looked at him in astonishment. "What are you laughing at?"

Xue Xingzhou looked at her and said, "Who told you that we have to get married just because we’re on a blind date?"

"Isn’t that how it works?"

Xue Xingzhou leaned back, crossed his legs, and gave her a sidelong glance. "A blind date is just to see if our values align and if we click. Right now, it’s obvious we’re not a match. And you want to compare yourself to my sister? You may have a bit more schooling, but what have you really learned? That’s like trying to sail a great ship in a small ditch."

Wang Xia stared, her small eyes wide. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Xue Xingzhou laughed softly. "It means you’re having pipe dreams."

"You... How could you be so cruel?" Wang Xia pointed a finger at Xue Xingzhou, her eyes welling with tears. Furious, she shot to her feet, clapped a hand over her mouth, and ran out the door.

The commotion at the door startled everyone inside, and Xue Yue came out to see what was happening.

They’d only been in there for a few minutes.

Fourth Aunt He saw her niece run out of the room crying and quickly asked, "What’s wrong? Did he bully you?"

Mrs. He also looked extremely anxious. "What on earth happened?"

Xue Xingzhou walked out of the room unhurriedly, his face expressionless.

Wang Xia just kept crying and didn’t say a word.

Fourth Aunt He pointed angrily at Xue Xingzhou. "Did you bully my Wang Xia?"

Xue Xingzhou said with a smile, "Ma’am, I certainly didn’t bully her."

"Auntie, he refused to buy me a job and said I was having pipe dreams! I’ve never been so humiliated in my life! Auntie, this is all your fault! You said he was rich, didn’t you?" Wang Xia wailed, turning her accusations on Fourth Aunt He.

Xue Yue listened in disbelief, her face clouding with anger.

"Sun Hongying! You came begging me to be the go-between, and I can’t believe this was your scheme all along! And after I went out of my way to help, all with good intentions! Are you trying to make a fool out of me? You classless pair! Take that precious niece of yours and get the hell out! I have never met people as shameless as you!"

Mrs. He was absolutely livid. After all her hard work, the main thing was that it had all become a joke at Xue Xingzhou’s expense. ’If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve gotten involved!’

Fourth Aunt He was startled by Mrs. He and quickly forced a smile. "Second Sister-in-law, what are you saying? I just told her that if they got married in the future, then he could buy her a job. I didn’t mean for him to buy it right now."

The more she tried to explain, the worse she made it. Mrs. He, furious, glanced left and right, then grabbed the courtyard broom and started swinging it at the two of them.

"You shameless wretch!"

Terrified, Fourth Aunt He grabbed her niece and they scrambled away.

Mrs. He bent over, panting heavily with anger. Xue Yue walked over and patted her on the back.

"Ma, there’s no need to get angry over people like that."

Mrs. He felt a little guilty and looked at Xue Xingzhou. "Kid Xue, I really meant well, but I ended up making a mess of things. If I had known what they were plotting, I never would have let them come."

Xue Xingzhou said calmly, "It’s fine. It doesn’t bother me."

Mrs. He nodded. "That’s good. *Sigh*, I’m getting old and muddled. I knew what kind of person Sun Hongying was, yet I still thought her niece would be decent. I really misjudged her."

"Ma, it was just a meeting. It would’ve been great if it worked out, but it’s no big deal that it didn’t."

Of course, Xue Yue hoped her brother would get married soon, but not by just settling for anyone. Both sides had to be interested. And from the way her brother acted, she knew he wasn’t the least bit interested in that girl.

Mrs. He sighed. "It just makes me so mad. That Sun Hongying is so full of schemes. Who would have thought?"

The whole thing was a bit bizarre, but there was no real harm done.

After Mrs. He left, Xue Yue asked Xue Xingzhou, "Are you okay?"

Xue Xingzhou raised an eyebrow. "What could possibly be wrong with me?"

’Alright, I was worried my brother might be upset, but I guess I was overthinking things.’

When He Lang came home that evening, he asked Xue Yue about Xue Xingzhou’s blind date.

Xue Yue scoffed. "Don’t even get me started. The girl wanted my brother to buy her a job. Fourth Aunt He must’ve thought my brother was loaded and had it all planned out. In the end, Ma chased them out."

He Lang looked at her. "Are you alright, then?"

"What could be wrong with me? I’m not the one who went on the date."

He Lang walked over and stroked her belly. "As long as you’re okay. I had a feeling this whole thing wasn’t very reliable. I know exactly what kind of person my fourth aunt is."

Xue Yue slapped his hand lightly. "Then why didn’t you say so earlier?"

He Lang said with a smile, "I saw how eager you and our Ma were, and Big Brother didn’t object either. It was just one meeting, right? What’s the harm?"

Xue Yue pouted. "I was just anxious on Big Brother’s behalf."

He Lang said helplessly, "You really can’t rush these things. Look at me, I went on plenty of blind dates before, and none of them worked out. This kind of thing depends on fate. When fate arrives, you can’t stop it. Like us, for example, right?"

Xue Yue reached out with both hands and pinched He Lang’s cheeks. "Confess. You went on so many blind dates, and you’re telling me there wasn’t a single one you liked?"

He Lang said with a laugh, "Wifey, if there had been, would we have this ’us’ right now?"

The corners of Xue Yue’s mouth turned up, her eyes crinkling with amusement. "Hmph, you never know," she said.

He Lang leaned in and gave Xue Yue a quick kiss on the lips. "How about now?"

Xue Yue gazed at He Lang’s handsome face. The hands she had on his cheeks moved to circle his neck, and she rose onto her tiptoes to lean in.

He Lang wrapped his arms around Xue Yue’s waist.

A long while later, the two of them broke apart.

He Lang’s breathing was a little unsteady. "Wifey, don’t tempt me anymore. It’d be bad if I couldn’t hold back and hurt you."

Xue Yue’s face was flushed and her legs felt weak. She didn’t dare provoke He Lang again.

The next morning, He Lang was out, so Xue Yue, with nothing else to do, took a basket and went up the mountain.

There were many wild vegetables this season, so Xue Yue picked some at the foot of the mountain.

Hearing someone approach, Xue Yue stood up to look and saw it was the middle-aged man who lived in the cowshed.

The moment Zheng Guofeng saw Xue Yue, he froze. His eyes were wide with astonishment, and if one looked closely, they would see that his whole body was trembling.

Because he was wearing glasses, Xue Yue didn’t notice that something was wrong with him. She just found it strange that the man seemed to be staring at her. Luckily, her basket was full, so she picked it up and left.

Only after Xue Yue had walked some distance away did Zheng Guofeng snap back to his senses. His heart was pounding violently. He quickly turned and hurried back toward the cowshed.

He stumbled back, not even hearing when someone called out to him. He rummaged through his luggage, and from the pocket of a piece of clothing, he pulled out a long-cherished photograph, yellowed from being handled so often.

The photograph was of a woman. She was very beautiful, with gentle eyes and brows, and a smile that curved the corners of her lips. She looked to be in her early twenties.

If anyone had seen the person in the photograph, they would have discovered that the woman looked remarkably like Xue Yue, and also bore a slight resemblance to Wang Shumin.

Zheng Guofeng stroked the woman’s eyes and brows in the photo, his own eyes filled with nostalgia and an endless, unspeakable pain.

That night, just as the people in the cowshed were about to sleep, a sudden knock came from the door.

Zheng Guofeng went to open the door and saw Wang Shumin.

"Didn’t I tell you not to come here anymore?"

"Uncle Zheng, when I was sent down to the countryside, my mother specifically instructed me to look after you when I got here. This is some food I bought for you." As Wang Shumin spoke, she placed a package by the door.

Zheng Guofeng said coolly, "I don’t need looking after. Take it back. I won’t accept it. And you don’t need to come again in the future. If you do, I won’t open the door."

With that, he shut the door from the inside.

Inside the room, Old Man Gu asked, "Was that the same girl from last time?"

Zheng Guofeng nodded.

Old Man Gu said no more and lay down next to Mrs. Gu.

Outside the cowshed, Wang Shumin stood for a long while before she sighed in resignation, picked up her things, and walked away.

It was nine o’clock at night, and Xue Yue was still awake because He Lang hadn’t returned yet.