Sun Yiliang, who had initially planned to end things with Lu Daya, now found himself in a bind. The other girl’s attitude towards him had shifted dramatically, making a clean break impossible. He turned to Xu Ying, affecting the air of a fragile scholar. “I would like to take her to meet my parents as soon as possible, but I’m afraid they won’t agree. Da Ya is from a rural area and doesn’t meet my parents’ standards. I just want to work hard on my own, and when I create something on my own, I will take her to meet my parents.”
From her hidden spot, Lu Daya’s heart swelled with emotion. She truly believed she had chosen the right man.
Xu Ying, however, merely sneered. Was he launching a personal attack? “Teacher Sun, what’s wrong with rural people? Do you city people look down on us rural folk? Your Sun family is truly powerful, acting like capitalists. You think your family are landlords, looking down on rural people. Da Ya’s education is no worse than yours, and her job is the same as yours, so why doesn’t she meet your parents’ standards? Is it possible that your parents want you to find a wife you can cling to, someone to lead your family to prosperity? If this is the case, I seriously suspect there’s something wrong with your parents’ thinking.”
Sun Yiliang had not anticipated such a direct accusation, a public shaming that could greatly impact his work. He quickly interjected, “My parents didn’t mean that. They just wanted me to find someone who is a good match.”
“You are well-matched?” Xu Ying scoffed. “Didn’t you say your family’s conditions aren’t good? Since the conditions aren’t good and you’re still picky, your parents must be evil father-in-law and evil mother-in-law!”
Sun Yiliang’s face flushed with anger. “My parents are not!”
“Then if your family’s conditions aren’t good, why do you still look down on others?”
Sun Yiliang choked, his eyes wide. “No matter how bad my family’s conditions are, my parents are both working.”
Xu Ying’s eyes widened in feigned confusion. “That shouldn’t be the case. Since you’re both working, and your parents also get a salary every month, and you also get a salary, logically speaking, it’s enough to support your sister. Teacher Sun, what you said is contradictory!”
“Me…” Sun Yiliang was utterly disarmed by Xu Ying’s relentless logic. He regretted ever crossing her, regretting falling into her trap. No matter what he said now, it only highlighted his panic.
A veil lifted in Lu Daya’s heart, and suspicion bloomed. If they truly had no money, then they were perfectly matched. But if they did have money, why was he weeping about not having any?
Xu Jingjing, watching the scene unfold, suddenly realized the truth: Sun Yiliang was not just a freeloader, but a liar as well. How could Sister Da Ya have chosen such a partner?
“Besides,” Xu Ying pressed on, “marriage is between you and Da Ya. It’s not your parents who want to marry Da Ya. As long as you really like Da Ya, why can’t you get married? Even if you work hard on your own, that’s your ability, and it has nothing to do with Da Ya. If you really like her, you’ll be willing to overcome all difficulties for her, take her to meet your parents, and convince your parents of Da Ya’s worth.”
“Sun Yiliang,” Xu Jingjing suddenly blurted out, exposing his true intentions, “don’t you just want to deceive Sister Da Ya, cheat her out of her money, and then, after your sister returns to the city, run away without Sister Da Ya?”
Sun Yiliang’s face paled, his desperation evident. He couldn’t find a single valid retort, resorting to a flimsy excuse. “Don’t talk nonsense! I just haven’t seen my feelings for Daya clearly yet.”
These words struck Lu Daya’s heart like a dagger. With tears streaming down her face, her eyes red and swollen, she emerged from the corner. “Sun Yiliang, what do you mean by not seeing your feelings for me clearly? Do you feel that you have no love for me, or do you feel that your love for me is not enough for marriage? Sun Yiliang, let’s break up.” She spoke simply, definitively, yet the raw pain in her voice was palpable. This time, she made the decision, enduring the heartache.
“From now on, let’s just go back to the bridge and go back to the road. Just pretend that nothing happened.” Xu Jingjing clapped her hands, applauding. “Da Ya, you should have been like this a long time ago.”
Sun Yiliang glared at Xu Ying and Xu Jingjing, resentment burning in his eyes. Then, he quickly rushed to Lu Daya, grabbing her arm. “Daya, listen to my explanation! That’s not what I meant. I just don’t know whether I should take you back or not.”
Lu Daya looked at him with distant eyes, shaking off his hand. She wiped her tears and then looked at Xu Ying and Xu Jingjing. “Let’s go.”
Sun Yiliang hadn’t expected her to be so decisive, and his heart clenched. “Lu Daya, I told you I didn’t mean that!”
“Than what do you mean?” Lu Daya retorted, her voice tinged with bitterness. “Your family is too noble for me to reach. You city people are superior to others, and I am not worthy of it.” With that, she pulled Xu Ying and Xu Jingjing, quickening their pace. What a scumbag. He had money yet was reluctant to spend it on her, and he didn’t want to meet her parents. These were all just flimsy excuses.
“Sister Da Ya, are you okay?” Xu Jingjing asked, seeing Lu Daya’s sorrowful tears, a pang of discomfort in her own heart.
Lu Daya wanted to say she was okay, but the tears flowed uncontrollably. She had grown so old, and no one had ever been truly kind to her except for her second brother. Sun Yiliang’s appearance had made her feel a love like a father’s, a care like a mother’s. She had been so immersed in it, unwilling to see the reality clearly.
“Cry if you feel uncomfortable, don’t hold it in your heart,” Xu Ying said softly, patting Lu Daya on the shoulder.
With those words, Lu Daya’s tears flowed like a faucet. She buried her face in Xu Ying’s shoulder and sobbed loudly. “Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, Yingying, besides my second brother, you are the best to me. I thought Sun Yiliang was also very kind to me. I thought he could be trusted by me for the rest of my life. I had already thought that after I got married, I would take good care of him, give him children, and do housework. But I didn’t expect that he never wanted to marry me.”
Xu Ying looked at Lu Daya, feeling a profound pity. Perhaps this was simply the result of differing family upbringings, leading to different perspectives. Xu Ying herself would never be willing to marry a man just to bear his children and serve him. These were responsibilities that should be shared by both partners. If Huo Chen thought that way, she wouldn’t marry him either.
“Sister Jingjing, do you also think that women should work at home and serve men?” Xu Ying asked, a hint of indignation in her voice.
Xu Jingjing immediately shook her head. “No, I think it depends on the work of men and women. When both my parents were not working, our family had a clear division of labor. My father did a lot of work in the fields, but my mother did a lot of work at home. My mother goes to work now, and my father does more work at home. When I get married in the future, if my man earns money outside and does a lot of work, then I will do more work at home. Of course, the premise is that he gives me all the money he earns. If I earn more and do more work outside, then my husband will have to do more work at home.”
Xu Ying thought this was entirely reasonable.
Lu Daya stopped crying, a puzzled expression on her face. “Is this the case in your family? My mother and sister-in-law are the ones working at home. My mother always said that women should put their husbands first, men are a woman’s heaven, and a woman should take good care of her man.”