Lu Jinse reminded her father with concern, "Dad, why don't you check your blood pressure?"
Lu Jianliang replied indignantly, "Check it? Why would I check it? My blood pressure is fine! What exactly is going on? Why are you so fickle? The news of your marriage is already out; how am I supposed to explain this to everyone? It’s going to make a laughingstock out of us."
Lu Jinse consoled him, "Dad, just because there was talk of marriage doesn't mean I’m married yet, right? Anything can happen. There’s no need to explain anything. If they want to laugh, let them laugh. I’m not a child anymore; I know what I want and what I don’t."
She spoke with casual indifference. She had long been mentally prepared for this, knowing her father would surely stand in her way.
Lu Jianliang’s brows tightened. "Yes, you’ve grown up, and now you’ve grown wings. But have you thought about the hardship of being sent to the countryside if you don't marry? Do you know why I was so anxious to marry you off in the first place?"
This was all for her own good.
Lu Jinse said with ironclad resolve, "Even going to the countryside is better than marrying Xu Yueshan."
"What?!"
Lu Jianliang’s eyes widened. "You’d rather go to the countryside to farm than marry Yueshan? Girl, have you lost your mind? Didn't you like Yueshan before?"
He realized the severity of the situation.
Lu Jinse took a sip of hot water, feeling the warmth travel down to her stomach. "Dad, I never once told you that I liked Xu Yueshan."
People in this era were subtle, and she was no different; any affection had been hidden deep inside.
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
Lu Jianliang tapped his knuckles agitatedly against the coffee table. "You may not have said you liked him out loud, but I could tell! I’m your father—do you think I don't know you?!"
Lu Jinse blinked. "Dad, you might have misunderstood. I just didn't dislike him. If there was any affection, it was more like that for a brother."
She was determined to break things off with Xu Yueshan, so naturally, she had to find excuses by any means necessary.
*Affection like a brother?*
Lu Jianliang deflated like a punctured ball. He leaned back against the sofa, his eyes searching. "Girl, you're still not telling the whole truth."
Seeing that her father was unconvinced, Lu Jinse added, "Living with the Xu family for this period made me realize one thing: our personalities are not suited for a lifetime together. I’ve already told Xu Yueshan we’re breaking up."
She laid it out plainly but refrained from mentioning the ambiguity between Xu Yueshan and Huang Yushuang. For one, she didn't want to make her father worry, and for another, she lacked concrete proof.
"What? You broke up?"
Lu Jianliang’s back stiffened. He sat up straight and slammed his large hand onto the coffee table with a loud *thud*.
"Child, how could you propose a breakup without asking for my opinion? Isn’t this decision too rash?! Do you not respect me at all?!"
The sound of his hand on the table drew Lu Lili out. She stood at the doorway, watching them curiously, the gossip clear in her eyes. Lu Jinse glanced at her upon hearing the door but turned back to keep persuading her father.
"Dad, please don't get worked up. Didn't you say you wouldn't get angry? If you're going to get angry, I wouldn't have told you."
Lu Jianliang leaned back into the sofa again. "You are such an infuriating child. Even if you didn't have the wedding, everyone knows you are an engaged couple. You even moved into the Xu family home—it was a done deal! How can you be so impulsive and just break up? Is a little bickering between a young couple worth this? How will you find a partner in the future?"
He was worried she wouldn't be able to get married.
Lu Jinse stood up to pour a glass of hot water and handed it to her father. "Don't worry, I won't have trouble finding a partner. Besides, Xu Yueshan and I didn't even argue. It was a peaceful breakup."
Lu Jianliang took the cup, placed it *thud* back onto the coffee table, and said angrily, "A peaceful breakup makes it even harder to understand! Nothing happened, yet you broke up? If that isn't being willful, what is?"
"Old Lu, don't get angry. Let's talk this through calmly."
Xiao Guifang came over with a broom and sat beside Lu Jinse, asking with a look of concern, "Jinse, let me ask you—is it because Huang Yushuang and her child are living with the Xu family, and you had a falling out with Yueshan over that?"
*Huh?*
Lu Jinse blinked. Could the aunt have guessed correctly?
"Yes," she nodded. "It has something to do with it."
Things had reached this point; Lu Jinse didn't want to hide it anymore. Judging by her father's reaction, she wouldn't be able to get around it without revealing something.
"It really is because of that?" Xiao Guifang’s brow relaxed. "Look, I said there had to be a reason for the breakup. But Jinse, didn't the Xu family say they would help Huang Yushuang find a job and a place to live? Once they find them, they will move out."
"Aunt, I know all that."
In her previous life, she had thought the same thing: once Huang Yushuang found a job, they would move out. But the result? Those parasites lived in the Xu house for thirty years! Even after she died, that woman remained, showing every intention of taking over the nest.
Xiao Guifang didn't understand. "Jinse, since you know that, why can't you get past it? The Xu family has such good conditions. Yueshan is not only talented and handsome but also gentle and educated. He's a deputy factory manager while still so young, and his parents are state employees with great benefits."
She praised the Xu family to the high heavens.
Lu Jinse explained, "Aunt, you only see the surface. Huang Yushuang and her child are just the catalyst for the conflict. The main issue is that Xu Yueshan and I are fundamentally incompatible. He doesn't stand by my side when it matters, and whenever there’s a conflict at home, he blames me. He’s like this before marriage; it will only get worse after. No matter how good his conditions are, I don't want a man who favors outsiders over his own."
Lu Jinse drained the water in her glass.
Lu Jianliang leaned forward anxiously. "Girl, what exactly happened? How did Xu Yueshan bully you?"
"That’s right, Sis. What bad thing did Xu Yueshan do?" Lu Lili, who was still watching from the doorway, jumped in like a cat that had caught the scent of fish.
Lu Jinse ignored her—she was always such a meddler. She recounted the events of the afternoon to her father and gave a final summary.
"Dad, I jumped into the river to save the child, and they all swarmed around the kid. Not a single person cared if I was cold. In Xu Yueshan’s eyes, there were only those two. Aunt Gao even asked me for the child’s medical fees, and Xu Yueshan didn't speak up for me once. My heart has gone completely cold."
Lu Jianliang frowned at her words, silent, lost in thought. Seeing his silence, Xiao Guifang remained quiet too.
Lu Jinse only heard Lu Lili say indignantly, "The Xu family is too unreasonable! How can they blame you, Sister? It was clearly the child who grabbed the bracelet and fell into the river—what does that have to do with you? You jumped in to save him and were freezing, and she had the nerve to ask for medical fees? That’s outrageous! The mother-in-law is too biased! Sister, breaking up was the right decision! You absolutely cannot marry into a family like that! I support you!"
*Hm?*
Lu Jinse finally turned to look at Lu Lili. Why was she acting so unusually?
She remembered in her previous life, when she told her family about this, Lu Lili had been sarcastic, calling her stingy and saying she should have just given the bracelet to Xiaoyue since he wanted to play with it. *“He would have given it back once he was done playing, and now look, you’ve offended everyone in the Xu family over something so small. That child is the savior of your mother-in-law, and you even managed to offend her.”*
Lu Lili used to say she was as narrow-minded as a needle and that there were plenty of women who would love to marry Xu Yueshan if she didn't want to. *“If you don't marry him, someone else will! Don't be ungrateful!”*
How had Lu Lili’s attitude undergone a 180-degree turn over the same incident? Lu Jinse couldn't figure it out.
She heard her father chide Lili with a dark face. "Children, keep quiet. What do you know? This is a marriage arranged by the elders—how can one just go back on their word like that?"