People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 33

Xia Hanyu’s words successfully shifted everyone’s gaze to Su Zhengtang, who was standing beside Zhu Yuemei.

Zhu Yuemei’s expression changed immediately; she took a couple of steps forward and stared fiercely at Xia Hanyu. “What do you mean by that? Are you saying that my son Zhengtang’s diarrhea back then wasn’t due to illness, but was intentional?”

As she said this, her gaze turned toward Su Yang.

Zhu Yuemei had given birth to four children in her lifetime, and she had high hopes for her youngest son. His grades were even better than Su Yang’s, and both she and Su Zhengtang had thought that it was a sure thing for him to enter high school.

However, on the day of the exam, Su Zhengtang had diarrhea and couldn’t even make it to the exam hall, so of course, the whole matter of taking the exam was dropped.

Over the years, the family had drained their finances to support both Su Zhengtang and Su Yang in school. After Su Zhengtang didn’t get into high school, Su Changshan refused to let him continue his studies. He ignored Zhu Yuemei’s and Su Zhengtang’s pleas and sent him to the county to be an apprentice.

In this day and age, a junior high school graduate could already teach elementary school; with a little money and connections, Su Zhengtang could have secured a stable government job. But Su Changshan was unwilling to spend any money. Zhu Yuemei felt anger welling up inside her at this thought.

Su Changshan was unwilling to spend money on his own son but was more than willing to support that wretched Zhao Chunhua.

Being an apprentice during this time was no easy feat. Not only did they have to serve the master’s family, but they also received no salary. Getting a full meal was a luxury, granted only by the master’s generosity. Su Changshan didn’t care at all for Su Zhengtang!

In just two short years, Su Zhengtang’s hands had become rough. In winter, they cracked open, bleeding profusely.

Zhu Yuemei watched and felt the pain in her heart.

Suddenly realizing that there was another reason her youngest son hadn’t passed the exam, Zhu Yuemei couldn’t hold back any longer.

Su Yang, on the other hand, was unfazed by Xia Hanyu’s words. “Xia Hanyu, if you want a divorce, just go ahead. Why bring up baseless accusations against me? Everyone knows that I was the one who saved you when you fell into the water, along with my uncle. What’s the point of asking about that now? And as for my uncle not passing the exam, everyone knows that it was because my grandmother fed him spoiled food. Are you trying to shift the blame onto me?”

“Who would have thought, Xia Hanyu, that to achieve your goals, you’d resort to such malicious tactics, constantly trying to stir up trouble between me and my uncle? I’ve really misjudged you over the years.”

At that time, schools had a five-two-two system. Not long after entering junior high, Xia Hanyu had fallen into the water on her way home. Coincidentally, Su Zhengtang and Su Yang were passing by. Su Zhengtang could swim, so he immediately jumped into the river and saved her.

Su Yang recognized Xia Hanyu and draped his coat over her.

It was already late autumn, and the weather was cold. The wind felt especially biting. Worried about catching a cold, Su Zhengtang went back to the dorm to change clothes, leaving only Su Yang by Xia Hanyu’s side when she woke up. Xia Hanyu had a stubborn streak; even though Su Yang had explained that someone else had rescued her, she didn’t believe it.

Instead, she felt he was a “little hero,” doing good deeds anonymously and possessing exceptionally noble character.

Because of the rescue, Xia Hanyu grew particularly close to the Su family, gradually developing feelings for the quiet yet responsible Su Zhengtang. In contrast, she considered the more talkative and less attractive Su Yang as just a good friend.

It was Xia Hanyu who pursued Su Zhengtang first. The craziest thing she did was to give him a gift on his birthday in front of everyone and confess her feelings. With her classmates cheering them on, Su Zhengtang agreed to date her.

However, not long into their relationship, she grew tired of Su Zhengtang’s lack of conversation, and not getting into high school was just an excuse she used to break up.

“I told you from the start that I wasn’t the one who rescued you. What’s the point of bringing this up now?”

Su Yang had indeed mentioned this from the beginning, but Xia Hanyu hadn’t taken it seriously; she simply thought that the uncle and nephew were close and that Su Yang wanted to include Su Zhengtang in everything he did.

The times were too far removed, and Xia Hanyu had long forgotten the details.

What she remembered was that Su Yang had taken credit for saving her. This left her feeling quite awkward.

Jiang Yutao complained to the system: “So this second female lead relies entirely on her own imagination for her actions?”

The melon-eating system didn’t respond; it was also encountering such a character for the first time and was busy typing furiously on the System Home forum to vent about the bizarre characters in this little world.

Xu Dazui sighed: “You say Zhu Yuemei has had bad luck? After the incident with Su Changshan, she faced the blame from her entire family. Even her two daughters came back to criticize her several times. Zhengping hasn’t spoken to her in days.”

“Bringing a granddaughter-in-law into the family like this—just look at the things she’s saying; every word stirs up conflict between Su Yang and Su Zhengtang. The Su family is bound to fall apart.”

Xu Dazui shook her head.

Aunt Jiang also spoke up: “Exactly, just look at the mess they’ve created.”

Regarding Su Changshan’s incident, there were all kinds of opinions in the village. Some believed Zhu Yuemei shouldn’t have been so ruthless; they thought Zhao Xiaotao should be allowed to pursue Luo Xuemin without interference, and Zhu Yuemei should have defended Su Changshan.

Now, Su Changshan was sent for re-education through labor, but what good did that do her? The whole family blamed her.

Others, like Xu Dazui, felt Zhu Yuemei was justified. At least after Su Changshan and Luo Xuemin were sent away, the scandals in the village had lessened, and it had been days since any men visited Widow Liu house.

Gu Nianwei asked Jiang Yutao for some sunflower seeds; they were truly addictive. Now she found herself wanting to snack on them all the time.

As everyone cracked seeds, Su Zhengtang pulled Zhu Yuemei out of the confrontation between Xia Hanyu and Su Yang, stating, “Your issues shouldn’t involve me.”

Su Zhengtang’s voice was unexpectedly pleasant, deep and resonant like a cello.

Xia Hanyu was taken aback by his attempt to distance himself, nearly in tears.

Suddenly, she recalled in her previous life how, when she argued with Sun Xiaojuan in front of Su Zhengtang, he would subtly lend her support.

It was these discreet gestures that made Xia Hanyu feel Su Zhengtang liked her; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten together with Zhao Yonglan only three years after her marriage to Su Yang.

Moreover, at that time, Zhao Yonglan had pursued him actively. If it weren’t for Zhao Yonglan’s schemes, Su Zhengtang wouldn’t have married her at all!

Xia Hanyu felt a pang in her heart, making her want to cry.

However, she quickly perked up. Su Zhengtang was so eager to distance himself because he didn’t want her to be misunderstood by Su Yang; after all, he had always cared about her. When they were dating, even a small cut would make him worry for a long time.

Only after experiencing a man like Su Yang would she realize that a man who isn’t articulate or romantic can still be wonderful. Their sense of responsibility far surpasses that of men who are all talk.

This man was always so attentive.

Xia Huyu suddenly felt a bit shy, her heart sweetening with emotion.

Her rich inner thoughts were surprising, while Su Zhengtang, who caught her affectionate glance, felt goosebumps all over. Yet, he didn’t quite understand why he felt a sense of secret delight, and as he pondered it further, that feeling vanished without a trace.

Su Yang clearly saw this scene and felt as if a green glow was radiating from the top of his head.

“Xia Huyu!” Su Yang shouted furiously.

Startled from her reverie, Xia Huyu exclaimed, “Why are you shouting so loudly? Even if I remembered the rescue wrong, can you swear you didn’t cheat during Zhengtang’s high school entrance exam?”

This incident was something Su Yang had drunkenly mentioned in their previous life. Long before their high school exams, Su Changshan had declared that only one of them could go to school; whoever had the better grades would be the one.

Su Yang didn’t want to spend his life as a farmer, and he clearly knew he couldn’t compete with Su Zhengtang academically. So he devised a plan to slip some bean powder into Su Zhengtang’s food.

He knew Zhu Yuemei was stingy and would save any unfinished meals for the next time. In summer, food spoiled quickly, and getting diarrhea afterward was just too common.

Su Zhengtang’s diarrhea could only be blamed on Zhu Yuemei’s stinginess and Su Zhengtang’s poor health.

Su Yang had never believed in karma. He had carried out his scheme so secretly that even the ricin powder was purchased by a random child at the health station, leaving no trace back to him.

He didn’t know how Xia Huyu found out about it, but he couldn’t admit to it. If he did, not only Zhu Yuemei but even his parents would not let him off easily.

In a big family, everyone had their own little thoughts, but harming others for personal gain was not tolerated in any household.

Although Su Yang was the eldest grandson of the Su family, his parents had more children besides him. If he could harm his uncle today, he could just as easily harm his siblings or parents tomorrow!

Su Yang raised his hand and swore, “I, Su Yang, swear to heaven that if I cheated during my uncle’s exam, may I be struck by lightning and die a miserable death.”

Xia Huyu was instantly at a loss.

She had never been particularly smart; she only got into middle school because the admission scores were low and money could buy a spot. Her father had bribed the school for her to attend high school.

In two years of high school and two years of middle school, she had spent her time dating instead of studying. In her previous life, if she had been even a bit smarter, she wouldn’t have let Su Yang waste over ten years of her life.

Su Yang had long realized her foolishness and found her clueless expression amusing. He couldn’t understand why Su Zhengtang liked a woman like Xia Huyu, who seemed to have no value beyond her appearance.

“I don’t care! I just won’t live with you anymore; I’m going to the commune to file for divorce!” Xia Huyu declared. She and Su Yang had gotten their marriage certificate right after graduation, and in her previous life, she had regretted her foolishness countless times.

Jiang Yutao watched the argument between Xia Huyu and Su Yang, utterly speechless. Was this really her fighting spirit? She was barely impressive. Su Yang’s few words had completely extinguished her fire.

No wonder in her past life, Xia Huyu had made such foolish decisions—abandoning her struggling husband to elope with a young man, only to be scammed and return to her ex-husband, even causing the death of her own child.

It was just too stupid. Zhao Yonglan, standing beside her, had at least fifty points more intelligence. Jiang Yutao had never imagined she would find Zhao Yonglan smart one day.

This world was truly magical.

Thinking of the rewards that were still to come, Jiang Yutao expressionlessly clapped her hands. The crisp sound of her clapping caught everyone’s attention.

Gu Nianwei pressed Jiang Yutao’s hand down: “What are you doing?”

Jiang Yutao blinked and said nonsense: “A fly flew in front of me, buzzing in my ear. It was annoying, so I clapped.”

Her explanation was perfectly reasonable; flies were indeed plentiful in summer, and even with autumn approaching, there were still many around.

With that, no one doubted her.

Sun Xiaojuan stepped in to ease the situation: “Alright, Huyu, stop making things difficult for Su Yang. We’ve already talked to him about how he embarrassed your family yesterday. He knows he was wrong. When you go back to your parents’ house in three days, I’ll go with you to apologize properly.”

Before Xia Huyu could respond, Sun Xiaojuan turned a stern gaze on Su Yang: “Look at the mess you’ve made! If I were Huyu, I’d be causing a scene too. Apologize to her right now.”

Su Yang had a spoiled, masculine personality, but he listened to Sun Xiaojuan because, unlike the rest of his family who doted on him, she never indulged him. When he made mistakes, she would actually discipline him.

Su Yang was subdued by Sun Xiaojuan and listened to her intently.

When Sun Xiaojuan told him to apologize to Xia Huyu, he lowered his head, even if reluctantly: “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”

Seeing this, Xia Huyu became even angrier. It was the same in her past life; no matter how much they argued, once Sun Xiaojuan intervened, Su Yang would unconditionally side with her.

Sun Xiaojuan’s words felt like an imperial edict; whatever she said, Su Yang would follow.

In their power struggles, she lost nine out of ten times. Because she often clashed with her mother-in-law, her reputation in Liushu Ditch was terrible. In the end, no one believed her; when she claimed Su Yang had affairs, Sun Xiaojuan would say she was just making things up.

No one believed her, just like now.

When she said Su Yang had cheated during Su Zhengtang’s exam, everyone sided with Sun Xiaojuan.

The onlookers murmured, “So that’s how it is. Honestly, Xiaojuan, your Su Yang handled things poorly yesterday. A son-in-law goes to the house, and how can he not face difficulties? They raised their daughter with such effort; how can he just take her without letting her parents express their feelings?”

Sun Xiaojuan smiled brightly: “That makes sense, that makes sense. We talked about Su Yang yesterday, and he knows he was wrong.”

Others chimed in, “Xiaojuan, you need to teach your daughter-in-law properly. She has quite the temper. It’s one thing to get upset, but making a scene outside is just embarrassing!”

Sun Xiaojuan’s smile never faded: “My in-laws warned me before we got married that Huyu has a strong personality and can be willful, so I should be more understanding. After all, she was spoiled by her parents. We were all like that before marriage, and she’ll grow out of it.”

With that, Sun Xiaojuan downplayed Xia Huyu’s desire for divorce as just a reaction to being upset about yesterday’s events, claiming that everything Huyu said was meant to slander Su Yang, who hadn’t done anything wrong.

“It’s early in the morning; everyone should disperse. The autumn harvest is coming in a couple of days, so let’s not mess things up then.” Sun Xiaojuan kindly urged the onlookers to leave, but as she turned to close the door, her expression fell.

The look directed at Xia Huyu was filled with venom.

Jiang Yutao and the others returned to the youth station. She linked arms with Gu Nianwei: “Sun Xiaojuan is really impressive. Did you hear how eloquently she spoke? Xia Huyu’s future is going to be tough.”

Li Yunying chimed in, “She insisted on getting married. If she hadn’t gone over yesterday, would any of this have happened? Her parents must be heartbroken. They tried so hard to save face for her, and she just stomped all over it.”

“Plus, she’s letting her in-laws look down on her.” Li Yunying viewed marriage as a negotiation between families. If the girl’s family was strong and supportive, her life with her in-laws would likely be better. If not, she’d probably struggle.

Of course, there were also cases like Xia Huyu, who squandered a good situation. Her family was willing to support her, but she tossed their reputation aside. Once or twice might be forgivable, but over time, who would still stand up for her?

Everyone agreed with Li Yunying’s point.

Jiang Yutao felt a pang of realization: “If I ever get married, I’ll be sure to look closely. If my mother-in-law is domineering, I’ll bail. Why should I put myself through that?”

Gu Nianwei smiled approvingly at Jiang Youtao: “Exactly! That’s how I feel too.” After her stepmother incident, Gu Nianwei was completely over the idea of marriage, but she still wanted to date.

Ideally, she wanted relationships that didn’t involve any moral or legal complications.

Li Yunying, however, thought differently: “I’m never getting married. Being single makes me happy.”

Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei exchanged glances and thought of Wang Shanxi: “Let’s make a bet. If you ever go back on your words today, you owe us ten bucks each. How about that?”

Li Yunying felt she could never lose this bet: “Sure, but if you both get married and I’m still single, you owe me ten bucks.”

Ten bucks was a small amount for Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei, so they agreed and decided to write the terms down when they got home and sign it. Zhang Huihui chimed in, insisting on being a witness.

Only Zhao Yonglan looked sullen.

Jiang Yutao noticed and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

After their previous fight, Zhao Yonglan’s relationship with Jiang Yutao had improved significantly. She was grateful and spoke more cautiously, with fewer sarcastic remarks than before.

In the past few days, their interactions had been relatively pleasant.

Zhao Yonglan hesitated for a moment and said, “If Su Zhengtang really was drugged by Su Yang and couldn’t pass high school, that would be so pitiful.”

Thinking of how Zhao Yonglan was meant to be with Su Zhengtang before Xia Huyu’s rebirth, Jiang Yutao scrutinized her closely.

Zhao Yonglan felt uncomfortable under her gaze. Zhang Huihui, who knew her well, walked over and said, “This question seems off. Wouldn’t you usually say something smug about it?”

“Come on, tell me what’s going on between you and Su Zhengtang. What’s your relationship now?”

Everyone grew interested, surrounding Zhao Yonglan and teasing her until her face turned bright red.

Meanwhile, at the Su family, Xia Huyu was experiencing a thunderbolt of news: she had just learned that the village party secretary, Su Yang’s grandfather, and Su Zhengtang’s biological father, had been sent to a farm for engaging in an affair!

This was something that hadn’t happened in the previous life!!!

The entire Su family echoed with Xia Huyu’s scream.