Chapter 147: The Elder of Mount Heaven’s Mindset
Chapter 147: Chapter 147: The Elder of Mount Heaven’s Mindset
For a moment, Xu Qingsui was at a loss for words after hearing what Shen Yan said.
It was true. Not even a full day had passed since she first laid eyes on Shen Yan.
But in that short time, she had already run into Liang Xiaoxiao three times, and each time, Liang Xiaoxiao had been hostile, clearly marking her as a rival.
’It was pretty rotten luck, being treated like an enemy for no reason.’
’If this was going to continue, it would be better to fight back than to keep running away.’
’A problem you can’t solve by running away might be easier to handle by facing it head-on.’
After mulling it over, Xu Qingsui relented.
She shot Shen Yan a glare and flung his hand away.
From Xu Qingsui’s expression, Shen Yan knew she had agreed, so he let his hand fall away.
Liang Xiaoxiao was already annoyed, and seeing the two whispering together, she was even more convinced they were showing off their affection to flaunt it in her face.
A nameless rage surged up from within. Throwing her composure to the wind, she charged forward and wedged herself between them, forcing Xu Qingsui and Shen Yan apart.
"I’ve made myself perfectly clear. Unless you give me a convincing reason and our elders formally break off the engagement, I will not agree to it."
"And as long as I don’t agree, you are still my fiancé!"
With that, Liang Xiaoxiao turned to Xu Qingsui and declared, word by word, "As long as we haven’t broken off our engagement, you cannot be with him."
"If you stubbornly insist on being with him, then you’re the other woman—a shameless homewrecker!"
Liang Xiaoxiao’s voice was shrill, and paired with her venomous words, it instantly made Xu Qingsui frown.
’At first, Xu Qingsui had just seen her as a young girl with a romanticized notion of love. She’d thought Xiao Xiao was just struggling to move on and even felt a bit of pity for her.’
’But now that she was spouting such venom, things were no longer so simple. She wasn’t worthy of pity anymore.’
Liang Xiaoxiao’s words infuriated Xu Qingsui. She immediately sidestepped Liang Xiaoxiao, walked over to Shen Yan, and took his arm.
As Liang Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened in disbelief, Xu Qingsui said triumphantly, "I understand the situation perfectly now. Your so-called engagement was nothing more than a casual remark made by your parents once upon a time. That’s it. There were no concrete steps taken afterward."
"You’re not a child anymore. You should know that a casual comment means nothing, let alone determines a lifelong commitment between two people."
"Before, I thought you were just naive and didn’t want to shatter that childlike innocence, so I held my tongue, hoping to give you time to accept things."
"But now it seems there’s no need for that. You aren’t a child. And even if you’re indulging in this fantasy, no one else is obligated to play along with your dream."
Just seeing Xu Qingsui take Shen Yan’s arm had made Liang Xiaoxiao’s blood boil.
And when she heard the rest of Xu Qingsui’s words, it felt as if something sharp was drilling into her ears.
Her mind went blank and her head throbbed, as if something was about to burst out.
Her body began to sway, but that didn’t stop Xu Qingsui from continuing.
"And given that Shen Yan isn’t actually engaged, we have an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. As two normal, independent adults, we can decide on our own romantic relationships."
"So please, watch your words. Don’t call me by those insulting names again, or else... I might just lose my temper and punch you!"
She was just a young girl at heart, after all. As Xu Qingsui finished speaking, she brandished her fist for show, and just that was enough to scare Liang Xiaoxiao several steps back.
Shen Yan, standing to the side, paid no attention to Liang Xiaoxiao’s reaction. Instead, he was practically beaming as he watched Xu Qingsui.
’He hadn’t known Xu Qingsui for long, but he found everything she did incredibly interesting.’
’Asking Xu Qingsui to play along and handle Liang Xiaoxiao might have been a pretense, but his interest in Xu Qingsui couldn’t have been more real.’
"You..."
Liang Xiaoxiao was so choked with anger she was momentarily speechless, but seeing Xu Qingsui standing with Shen Yan, she couldn’t swallow her indignation.
After sputtering for a long moment, she said resentfully, "Since ancient times, marriage has been a matter of the parents’ command and the matchmaker’s word. Since our elders already gave their word, it was a verbal commitment. How can you just decide it doesn’t count?"
Xu Qingsui’s eyes widened. She’d always thought of Liang Xiaoxiao as just a young girl; who would’ve thought she’d hear such old-fashioned talk from her?
’What century are we in? Even she couldn’t bring herself to say something like that.’
"Excuse me, did I hear you right? The parents’ command and the matchmaker’s word? We’re still talking about that? Let me ask, are you the Elder of Mount Heaven? Are your values still stuck back in her era?"
"Don’t you know? Ever since a great leader guided us down a new path, those old ideas were overturned. We now have freedom of marriage!"
Xu Qingsui’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, and after hearing her, the onlookers burst out laughing.
Xu Qingsui’s comments were provocative enough, but combined with the laughter, they made Liang Xiaoxiao’s face turn bright red.
She stared at Xu Qingsui, completely speechless, and could only stomp her foot hard in the end to vent her frustration.
Xu Qingsui raised an eyebrow, looking at her triumphantly, her expression clearly saying, "What can you do about it?"
Shen Yan covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. Seeing that Liang Xiaoxiao was thoroughly defeated, he stepped forward again.
"Liang Xiaoxiao, Qing Sui has made things very clear, and you understand what I mean, too. I hope you won’t be so stubborn about this. Nothing good will come of it; you’ll only get yourself dragged down and sink deeper and deeper."
"Of course, to help you accept this, I’ll contact my family later and have them communicate with your parents. I hope this will help you move on as soon as possible."
"You..."
Shen Yan’s words dealt Liang Xiaoxiao another blow. She stared at him, the words on the tip of her tongue suddenly catching in her throat.
Then, Liang Xiaoxiao’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed, falling stiffly to the ground.
The moment he saw what was happening, the smile vanished from Shen Yan’s face. He strode forward and caught Liang Xiaoxiao as she fainted.
Xu Qingsui frowned slightly. "She’s so overly sensitive. You should hurry and get her to the infirmary! But let me be clear, this can’t be blamed on me."
Shen Yan glanced at Xu Qingsui and nodded. "No one’s blaming you. I’ll take her to the infirmary. You go ahead and look around for a bit. I’ll find you after I get her settled."
Xu Qingsui nodded, watching as Shen Yan carried Liang Xiaoxiao away in his arms.
The onlookers were also taken aback by the sudden turn of events, unsure how to react.
Seeing that both Shen Yan and Liang Xiaoxiao had left, all eyes turned to focus on Xu Qingsui.