About an hour later, Sun Lanting slowly regained consciousness, but she still refused to accept reality. Unfortunately, the situation had already escalated beyond her control—there was no room for further tantrums.
And worse was yet to come. When Zhou Wenpeng heard the news, he not only demanded the full return of the bride price but also asked for compensation.
At first, the Sun family was only willing to return the bride price. But Zhou Wenpeng wasn't someone to mess with—Father Sun's hand was injured the very next day.
Even a fool could see it was Zhou Wenpeng who'd hired someone to do it. But the Sun family had no choice but to swallow the loss, as the attack happened during Father Sun's night shift, and the assailant had been fully masked.
Panicked, the Sun family ended up paying Zhou Wenpeng an extra 100 yuan to settle the matter and call off the engagement.
Later, when Matchmaker Wang learned what happened, she began spreading nasty rumors, claiming the Sun family had staged a marriage scam. She said their intentions had been impure—how could they come to her looking for a match when their daughter was about to be sent down to the countryside?
As a result, this ruined Sun Yan's chances of finding a partner too. The Sun family's reputation in the matchmaking market was in tatters—no family with sons or daughters wanted to associate with them.
Backtracking a bit—ever since Wu Yu had given Sun Yan that nightmare, he had developed a deep fear of women. Every time he saw a girl, his mind would conjure up the horrifying image of the fat woman tormenting him in that dream.
This incident dealt a serious blow to the Sun family. First, Father Sun was injured and missed several days of work. Then they lost a large sum of money.
When it came time for Sun Lanting to leave for the countryside, Yang Mother didn't dare spend too much on her. She quietly gave her 30 yuan, a military canteen, and a thick quilt…
Even that was only possible because Yang Mother had asked for her monthly salary in advance. As for Father Sun—after that unjust beating, he blamed his daughter for all their troubles and refused to give her any money, only promising to send 5 yuan per month.
In his eyes, Sun Lanting's engagement could've brought honor to the family. Instead, all they got was a mess. He only gave her money to buy peace.
He knew his daughter's temper—if he didn't shed a little blood now, she'd definitely hold it against him later. That would be a bigger loss.
Sun Yan, being a temporary worker who hadn't yet secured a permanent position, didn't even earn enough to support himself. How could he help his sister? All he could do was watch helplessly.
As for Sun Lanting, she went to the countryside filled with resentment, convinced everyone was against her.
Even Yang Mother, in her eyes, was useless—giving her so little. If she didn't still need help from the family in the future, she would've already cut ties with them.
Life in the countryside was brutal. As a city girl, Sun Lanting couldn't handle the hard labor at all. Fortunately, she looked "safe"—even the local troublemakers weren't interested in harassing her.
But now, without Wu Yu around to help with chores, she had to drag her tired body through each exhausting day.
Later, the whole business of how Sun Lanting got signed up for the countryside finally raised Yang Mother's suspicion. She became convinced someone had done it on purpose.
She took time to ask the neighbors and staff at the Youth Relocation Office—but Wu Yu had covered her tracks well. Yang Mother came up empty-handed.
Meanwhile, Wu Yu's workplace was far from the Sun residence. Unless someone tattled, they'd never figure out where she worked.
During the half month she'd been on the job, Wu Yu had grown accustomed to the laid-back pace of office life. Her once pale complexion was now rosy and healthy.
Living alone, she often took things out of her storage space to supplement her nutrition. After all, health was the foundation of revolution.
With her excellent appearance and figure, Wu Yu naturally stood out. She'd inherited her tall build from her biological father. At just 17, she already stood at 1.68 meters—taller than many of the men of that era.
On top of that, her face had a pure and harmless look. It didn't take long before unmarried men at the factory started noticing her.
Sure enough, today after work, a slightly chubby man blocked her path with full confidence and said, "Comrade Wu Yu, I'm Li Daqiang, a worker in the textile operations department. I'd like to date you. If you agree, we can get married next month. You can give your job to my sister, and I'll support you."
Listening to this delusional declaration, Wu Yu was utterly speechless. How blind would I have to be to like this pudgy, greasy man with bad breath?
Worse still, the guy not only had no shame but also wanted to steal her job. He was the embodiment of every low-quality man ever—overestimating himself and oblivious to the obvious gap between them.
Wu Yu immediately took several steps back and snapped loudly, "I have nothing to do with you, and never will. If you dare harass me again, I'll report you to the police for indecency!"
The man froze at the word "indecency," trembling as he stammered out apologies. Wu Yu waved him off, and only then did he flee in panic.
After he left, Wu Yu caught a whiff of something nasty—turns out the shameless guy had peed himself in fright. What a pathetic coward.
To be fair, in this era, being reported for indecent behavior could get you shot. Not everyone had the guts to risk that. Wu Yu, however, wasn't the type to back down—she delivered a killing blow right away.
She thought bitterly, Why do female protagonists always attract talented, handsome men… and I get bottom-of-the-barrel creeps like this?
Wu Yu had always been firm in her rejections. With guys like that, subtle hints were useless—you had to shut them down hard, or they'd keep bothering you.
But before long, rumors began circulating in the factory that Wu Yu was stuck-up and looked down on workers.
At first, Wu Yu didn't even know. It was Zhang-jie in the office who kindly told her and warned that if she didn't clarify the situation soon, it might affect her reputation and job.
After thinking it over, Wu Yu quickly realized who the likely culprit was. It had to be that cowardly guy from earlier.
Turns out it wasn't the guy himself spreading the rumors—but his mother. Once she heard what had happened, she decided Wu Yu had no taste and maliciously started rumors to ruin her.
Wu Yu was not the type to suffer silently. She immediately brought the matter to Director Wu, accusing someone of slandering a martyr's daughter.
Thank goodness for the original host's father—Wu Yu had every reason to use that identity when needed.