In the room, Jiang Chengxu saw Xu Manman holding her head, crying from pain, and the bit of annoyance in his heart was instantly replaced by worry. He quickly took her hand away and noticed that blood was seeping through the bandage.
(AI-generated image of the female protagonist)
No wonder she's in such pain.
"What's wrong with you? Don't you know not to touch the wound? Do you want it to heal or not? Didn't the doctor warn you? You might end up with a scar!" Jiang Chengxu felt a surge of anger.
Couldn't she be more quiet and composed like Qinghuan, and cause less trouble?
Xu Manman's heart was filled with joy; she knew he wouldn't leave her alone. He always had a sense of pity for her, and the more trouble she caused, the more he couldn't let go of her.
"Brother Chengxu, if I end up with a scar, will it be ugly?" Xu Manman said pitifully.
Jiang Chengxu turned his eyes away, "No... You won't have a scar! Let me rebandage it for you!"
"Alright, thank you, Brother Chengxu. But, will this delay you?" Xu Manman grasped his wrist, "Brother Chengxu, what are you going to say to my sister? Can you tell her not to misunderstand us? I'm afraid it might affect your relationship."
Jiang Chengxu remembered his previous promise to Xu Qinghuan, but this time, it wasn't just him and Xu Manman going out alone. At that time, Qinghuan was there too and saw Xu Manman's injury. Although Qinghuan was a bit petty, it was because she cared too much about him.
As long as he explained it clearly, Qinghuan shouldn't mind. If she doesn't understand like last time and argues with him, he'll just have to reason with her about how to be a good wife and mother.
Jiang Chengxu didn't plan to say these words to Xu Manman. He unwrapped the bandage and saw the wound seeping blood, probably accidentally knocked it again, applied some medicine, and rebandaged it.
"No, I'll explain it clearly to her." Jiang Chengxu stood up.
Xu Manman gave him a graceful smile and playfully shoved him, "You better go now, don't keep my sister waiting too long, or she'll get mad at you. Her temper isn't as good as mine."
After waiting for half an hour, Xu Qinghuan didn't get impatient and remained indifferent towards Jiang Chengxu. Being in the drama, whether he could break away from the plot or not was understandable.
"Qinghuan!"
Xu Qinghuan turned around to see Jiang Chengxu, nodded, "Say whatever you have to say!"
"Qinghuan, let's get married!" Jiang Chengxu said, watching her nervously, his eyes full of anticipation.
His obsession after coming back to life; divorcing Qinghuan in his previous life was an unending sorrow.
Xu Qinghuan was so shocked she took two steps back, her bottom hitting the edge of the ping-pong table, and she laughed, "Married?"
"Yes, Qinghuan, let's get married, have the ceremony now, and get the certificate when we're of age." Jiang Chengxu took two steps forward, his dark eyes looking at Xu Qinghuan as if flames were burning inside.
Xu Qinghuan turned her face away, "Jiang Chengxu, this marriage was arranged by my mom and your grandmother without my consent. Initially, I didn't want to go to the countryside, so I planned to accept it. But now I've figured it out—I don't want to sacrifice a lifetime of freedom and dignity just to avoid going to the countryside. So, I'm not going to honor this marriage contract."
She's not someone to agonize over decisions. Once made, she doesn't plan to string anyone along.
Jiang Chengxu was extremely shocked, but reflecting on the past life, Xu Qinghuan had significant issues with her mother. At the time, he urged her to remember that there are no parents without fault, and now he can understand.
"Qinghuan, if we don't talk about who arranged this marriage, but just about me as a person, would you want to marry me?" Jiang Chengxu asked sincerely.
Xu Qinghuan shook her head, "No!"
She looked up and caught a glimpse of Xu Manman's figure through the hallway window, a smile curved on her lips, "Jiang Chengxu, marriage is not child's play. I hope you carefully consider before making a decision."
Jiang Chengxu's face turned dark suddenly. He cursed himself for not realizing sooner. Had he gotten the chance earlier, he would've reached Xu Family in Yan City first, asking his mother to arrange the marriage for him.
In the previous life, he never understood why she insisted on divorcing him, not giving him a chance, despite him never considering marrying Xu Manman. He only wanted a child with both Jiang and Xu bloodline, eventually providing her for old age.
Only now does he realize her displeasure with the marriage stemmed from the resentment she carried.
Upon hearing this, Xu Manman trembled, biting her lips. Her body was gently shaking; she hadn't expected Brother Chengxu to talk about marriage with Xu Qinghuan.
Were they going to get married so soon?
Seeing Xu Qinghuan heading upstairs, Xu Manman quickly ran back and lay down on the bed before she entered the room.
No, she couldn't sit idly by. If Brother Chengxu had absolutely no feelings for her, that would be different. But clearly, he didn't entirely reject her—why should she give up such a good opportunity?
Such a good man, with such a good family background. Jiang Chengxu and their family having a seat in Yan City, this is something she discovered after pestering him for the past six months.
Returning, Xu Qinghuan found her asking, "Are you planning to marry Brother Chengxu?"
Xu Qinghuan glanced at her, "I'm not planning to marry him. Whether he plans to marry you, I couldn't care less. Don't ask me."
Her current goals are just two: cancel the engagement and go to the countryside.
Tomorrow, once the work is sold off, she'll have money, can purchase some supplies, and then register. Before leaving, she'll cancel the marriage.
Wang Mingxia returned, saying she arranged to meet with Jiang's mother tomorrow, and at night, she and Xu Liqun discussed how to bring up the topic with Jiang's mother.
In fact, Wang Mingxia doesn't need to worry about how to bring it up, because as soon as Jiang's mother returned home, seeing her son's listless look, upon asking found out it was about his desire to marry but Xu Qinghuan had refused.
This marriage contract was arranged between the Jiang Family in Yan City and Song Wanlin without notifying him. Father Jiang always respected the elders, relying much on the Jiang Family, and since her son and Xu Qinghuan were classmates from childhood, he never opposed it.
But Jiang's mother was upset, the whole marriage arrangement skipping over her, the mother who raised him, and directly made the plans? She already decided that when Xu Qinghuan entered her house, she wouldn't make it easy for the daughter-in-law.
Initially having a distaste for Xu Qinghuan, upon hearing the refusal to her son's proposal, just filled her with more grievances towards Xu Qinghuan—a mere orphan, already stepping over the bounds marrying into Jiang Family, now bossing around her son?
Next day, Jiang's mother met with Wang Mingxia, openly saying, "I heard your niece doesn't want to marry, is there an issue with the marriage arrangement she has?"
Although Wang Mingxia wished to cancel the marriage, she dared not offend Jiang Family, "There's really no issue, Qinghuan is just a young girl, what opinions could she possibly have?"
"We'd like to proceed with the wedding soon, what are your thoughts on that? If no objections, you can propose your dowry requirements now."
Jiang's mother crossed one leg over the other, looking off to the side, "But, I'll say the unpleasant words first—I know you are her uncle and aunt, not her biological parents, raising her means you have a nurturing debt and not a birth debt;
Yet, this has little to do with our family, we won't tolerate any exorbitant demands for dowry."
She didn't plan to have them marry, not even considering giving a single cent for dowry.