"This..."
Wang Xiuying’s fingers trembled as she pointed at the screen of her phone. It took her a long time to utter a complete sentence. "Tell me this isn't real."
Lin Yu pricked up her ears. Sister Shen Xue didn't want to marry Li Jiangyuan anymore? Had she found something out this quickly?
Though Shen Xue’s arm was gripped tight enough to hurt, she explained with patience. "Mom, I saw it with my own eyes. And the video—that can't be fake."
"Li Jiangyuan and I finished the movie a little after three. He left after dropping me off at the hospital, so I hailed a cab and followed him. I watched him go straight to the Third Hospital, just as Little Lin said."
Shen Xue had almost lost him, but recalling Lin Yu’s words, she had decisively headed to the proctology department.
"And then... in room 302 of the proctology ward, I saw Zhao Yue."
On her phone, a video played showing the two of them in a deep, passionate kiss. One could tell just by looking how ravenous they were for each other. Lin Yu recoiled, a chill running down her spine.
"The patient next door said Zhao Yue had played a bit too hard with a man and ended up with a cucumber stuck in his rectum, so he had to come to proctology for surgery."
The patient had described it with such vivid detail that Shen Xue had nearly been sick to her stomach.
When Wang Xiuying heard this, she felt as if the sky were collapsing. She slumped onto the hospital bed, as if every ounce of strength had drained from her body.
So what Lin Yu said was true. After all her careful picking and choosing, she had selected a homosexual for her own daughter!
When Shen Xue had first seen that scene, she had been too shocked to speak. Now, she felt a sense of relief that she had discovered it early. If she had found out only after they were married and had children, her entire life would have been ruined.
She didn't discriminate against homosexuals; everyone had the right to pursue love, after all. But this kind of deception from Li Jiangyuan... who wouldn't be disgusted?
Shen Xue walked over to Lin Yu’s bed, her eyes full of gratitude. "Little Lin, thank you for the warning. Otherwise, I would never have known what kind of person Li Jiangyuan truly is."
Wang Xiuying snapped back to reality and looked toward Lin Yu, offering a solemn apology. "Little Lin, forgive me for not understanding your good intentions earlier. I apologize to you. I’m so sorry."
"And thank you for helping Xiao Xue escape this catastrophe. Otherwise... I don’t know how I could have faced her in the future."
At the thought of having forced her daughter to marry Li Jiangyuan—to bear his children and wait on his parents—Wang Xiuying felt a sharp pain in her chest, and her voice choked with emotion. She had been anxious about Shen Xue’s marriage, but not at the cost of forcing her into a life with a man like that.
Lin Yu understood Auntie Wang’s heart and smiled. "It's good that the truth is out. You don't need to worry, Auntie. Sister Xiao Xue will surely meet a suitable, good man."
Wang Xiuying wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I’m done looking. Being single is just as well for Xiao Xue."
This experience had taught her a lesson: a forced melon is not only bitter, but it can also harm one's own child. Rather than having her daughter suffer a lifetime of misery because of a scoundrel's schemes, it was better for her to stay single. As long as she was still around, she could provide for Xiao Xue.
Shen Xue could hardly believe her ears. Since she turned twenty-four, her mother had been desperate to set her up on blind dates every single day.
Over the past three years, she had been on at least two or three hundred dates. People around them might not say it to her face, but behind her back, they called her an "old maid nobody wants." Shen Xue hadn't cared, but her mother had taken those words to heart, not wanting her daughter to be the subject of gossip.
Yet, her mother had suddenly changed her mind and decided that being single was fine?
Wang Xiuying reached out and took Shen Xue’s hand. "From now on, Mom won't force you anymore. As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters."
She knew better than anyone the hardships of raising a child alone, and she didn't want her daughter to walk the same path.
Shen Xue’s eyes turned red. She nodded, choked with emotion, and wiped the tears from Wang Xiuying’s face. "If I do meet the right person, I will give it serious consideration."
After this incident, the barrier between the two of them vanished instantly.
Lin Yu smiled. Through her data, she knew they were both good people and shouldn't have been ensnared by the selfish vultures of the Li family.
After composing herself, Wang Xiuying dialed Auntie Zhang’s number. "Old friend, have you seen the video I sent you?"
"What video?" Auntie Zhang replied, opening her phone as she spoke. When she saw the content, her voice began to stutter. "You... you know everything?"
Wang Xiuying had held out hope, but hearing that tone, her face darkened.
"Zhang Wanfang, how exactly did I offend you that you would scheme against my daughter this way? Li Jiangyuan likes men! You were pushing my daughter into a pit of fire!"
Zhang Wanfang stopped pretending and said dismissively, "Xiao Xue doesn't want to get married anyway. What does it matter if he’s with my nephew? You get a grandson, she gets to live her own life—isn't that for the best? You get to be a grandmother without worrying about her being an old maid."
"She can still live a single life. I was only thinking of you when I recommended my nephew; otherwise, there’s a line of people clamoring for a man with his credentials. Don't be ungrateful for a good deed."
Wang Xiufang was incensed by these words, her temper flaring. "You think of this filth as a treasure? Even if my daughter stays single for the rest of her life, she will never marry him! Tell that disgusting animal to get lost!"
After hanging up, Wang Xiufang pulled up the WeChat of Li Jiangyuan’s mother and sent the video over.
Wang Xiuying: Our family doesn't want any part of this animal. The engagement is off!
After sending the message, Wang Xiuying, under the gaze of Shen Xue and Lin Yu, blocked and deleted Li Jiangyuan’s mother. The phone rang almost immediately.
Wang Xiuying hung up directly, then posted a statement on her social media feed announcing the cancellation of the engagement, making it clear to everyone exactly whose fault it was.
Afterward, she turned off her phone. Only after this series of actions did Wang Xiuying finally feel a sense of relief, as if this were the only way to make up for the debt she owed her daughter. Shen Xue broke into the happiest smile she had worn in three years.
Soon, however, her own phone was bombarded with calls, which she simply ignored before turning it off.
Half an hour later, Li Jiangyuan’s parents arrived with him, carrying expensive gifts. Li Jiangyuan had a bright red slap mark on his face—he had clearly just been beaten.
"In-laws, don't misunderstand. Xiao Yuan and Zhao Yue were just playing around; it’s not the relationship you think it is." Li Jiangyuan’s mother pushed him forward, as if prompting him to explain.
Li Jiangyuan hated Shen Xue to the core, but he had to bow his head and fawn. "Xiao Xue, you have to believe me. I only kissed Zhao Yue because I lost a game of truth or dare with friends. They forced me to..."
Shen Xue sneered. "Keep making it up. You know better than anyone why Zhao Yue is in the proctology ward. Who are you putting on an act for?"
Wang Xiuying added, "This marriage is over. We will return the gifts you gave us. Don't bother explaining; we have eyes, and Zhang Wanfang has already confessed everything."
The faces of Li Jiangyuan’s parents shifted through colors like a palette. They hated their son for not being able to keep his pants on; they had been only three months away from their goal, and he had to go and ruin it like this.
Lin Yu, sitting to the side, accepted an apple handed to her by Shen Xue. She chewed away, listening to the drama—a hot piece of gossip like this was rare, and she was enjoying it thoroughly.
The two sides argued for a full hour until their throats were parched. Wang Xiuying refused to budge. Finally, Li Jiangyuan’s mother lost her patience and said coldly, "Fine, then have your daughter return all the money my son has spent on her."
Wang Xiuying laughed in anger. "I’ve seen shameless people, but I’ve never seen any as shameless as you. I haven't even gone after you for damages, and yet you're trying to calculate accounts with me?"
Shen Xue held her back and said, "Fine. We have a record of every cent spent on our dates. I’ll transfer it to you immediately."
She couldn't wait to cut all ties with the Li family. She knew that with Li Jiangyuan being the way he was, there was no point in expecting his parents to have any moral compass.