Chapter 34

(Both charts have been blown up, I have no choice but to fight! There are still two more updates, I need recommendations, rewards, collections, and all kinds of support! I want to counter-attack!)

---

Although it was already deep into the night, the Lin family courtyard was still brightly lit.

The few remaining old servants were busy packing and loading the cart. Although the family had fallen on hard times, there were still many boxes and bundles to move when the whole family had to relocate.

Inside the house, the Lin family girl was crying in the arms of the old lady. The old lady gently stroked her daughter's black hair, tears streaming down her face as she said, "Qing'er, it's not too late to regret. They have done us a favor, but we can repay them in other ways. It's not worth it, not worth it at all..."

"Mother..." Lin Qing'er's tears flowed, sobbing, "Don't say anymore, I'm afraid I'll regret it..."

"Poor child," the old lady sighed deeply, "If I had known this would happen, I would never have agreed to the marriage with the Zhao family. What a sin, what a sin!"

"Mother..." Lin Rongxing, who had just entered, looked gloomy and said, "Wang Xian has come..."

"Hmph, I don't want to see him!" the old lady said angrily, "This scoundrel who has ruined my daughter's life!"

"Mother, he is still..." Lin Rongxing was at a loss, "We should at least put on a show."

"I won't put on a show. If you want to, you go. We don't want to see him tonight!" The old lady's hatred flared up at the mention of "Wang Xian."

"Mother, I'll go." Lin Qing'er wiped her tears and sat up.

"Ah, poor child..." The old lady could only sigh.

---

Wang Xian sat in the Lin family living room, dazed.

The moment he rushed out of the house, he didn't think much. Running down the deserted street, he had no time to think. His mind was focused on one thing: to see Lin Qing'er as soon as possible.

Only now did he begin to sort out his feelings. It turned out that in the face of losing a good girl who was willing to marry him, all those so-called male dignity, material foundation, and mental preparation were as light as a feather.

How ridiculous, he had to miss and lose her, feel the unbearable weight, before he could weigh the importance of things...

Was he, at his core, just like that capricious lady, a sentimental and cheap person?

"Ah, cheap people are sentimental..." Wang Xian rubbed his face helplessly.

"Who are you talking about?" A cold snort came from behind the curtain, and a white figure turned angrily to leave.

"I'm talking about myself." Wang Xian sprang up from the chair, took two steps, and grabbed Lin Qing'er's slender wrist, saying, "Don't go!"

"Let go!" Lin Qing'er tried to shake free but couldn't, "If you don't let go, I'll call for help!"

"Just listen to me for two sentences, just two." Wang Xian didn't let go, speaking in a low voice, "First, you know I was hit on the head, so my memory is bad. Later, I finally remembered that you promised to marry me..."

"..." Lin Qing'er couldn't pull her hand away, so she let him hold it, but still turned her back to him, saying coldly, "Unfortunately, I also said it's too late."

"You didn't fulfill your duty to remind me..." Wang Xian said softly.

Lin Qing'er suddenly turned around, glaring at him, "Scoundrel!"

"This time, I'm begging you, stay and marry me, okay?" Wang Xian looked at her red-rimmed eyes, speaking humbly.

"Ha ha..." Lin Qing'er actually laughed, "I'm already engaged. My family is going to Suzhou tomorrow and won't come back."

Wang Xian's voice trembled, "Can't you stay..."

Seeing him like this, Lin Qing'er's smile grew even wider, "Do you think this is a child's game? My family has already received the engagement gift. Breaking the engagement would lead to a lawsuit."

"..." Wang Xian heard the sound of his heart breaking and gradually let go of her hand.

Seeing him like this, Lin Qing'er also fell silent, her smile fading.

The two were silent for a while. Wang Xian lowered his head and said softly, "I just wanted to wait until I was a little more worthy of you before proposing..." He took a deep look at the girl, who was like a white chrysanthemum, and then turned and left, dispirited...

Watching his back, Lin Qing'er several times wanted to speak but held back, and finally sighed.

"Was it a bit too much?" Lin Rongxing appeared beside his sister.

"It's all what the old lady taught me..." Lin Qing'er bit her lip, saying, "Besides, he made me suffer so much, I can't let him off easily!"

"Ah, women and small people are hard to deal with," Lin Rongxing shook his head. He had regained his scholar status and seemed to have regained his vitality, "If you keep them at a distance, they complain; if you get close, they become disrespectful..."

"Brother..." Lin Qing'er pouted, "You can stay a bachelor for life!"

"As long as Mother agrees..." Lin Rongxing smiled bitterly, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going out to check on him. He looks like he's lost his soul, I don't want anything to happen to him..."

"You were just saying you wanted to teach him a lesson," Lin Rongxing held her back, "Don't worry, men aren't like women. They don't cry and wail when they get dumped. They just get drunk..."

---

Lin Rongxing was right. Wang Xian walked dispiritedly down the quiet street.

As he walked, he suddenly heard the sound of music and laughter. Looking up, he saw a two-story building with red lanterns and bright lights.

A few touts were squatting at the door, trying to attract customers. Seeing him approach, they all came over, saying, "Sir, our girls have been waiting for you. Come in and have a drink to warm up, and listen to our girls sing for you..."

"I don't have any money," Wang Xian realized he had walked to the entrance of a brothel.

"Maybe next time, don't let our girls wait too long..." The touts lost their enthusiasm and squatted back down. But a thin man remained standing, asking, "Bro, what's wrong with you?"

"Why are you working as a pimp?" Wang Xian recognized Shuai Hui and asked, "Won't your father beat you to death?"

"What can I do? I have to make a living somehow," Shuai Hui shrugged, "Besides, I'm not a pimp. I'm just helping to attract customers."

"Ah." Wang Xian, seeing he wasn't wearing a green hat, nodded and said, "Buy me a drink."

"Ah..." Shuai Hui touched his chest, feeling the few coins he had earned from customers, and said with a pained expression, "Okay."

Outside the brothel, there was a small food stall that provided snacks for the customers. There were a few tables and chairs where customers could eat.

The two sat down, and Shuai Hui ordered a few small dishes like pickled决明, crispy snails, and salted fish, and poured a pot of wine, drinking with Wang Xian to drown his sorrows.

"Bro, what's wrong with you?"

"Once, I had a sincere love in front of me, but I didn't cherish it. When I lost it, I regretted it deeply..." Wang Xian drank like water, his eyes blurred, "The most painful thing in the world is this. If God could give me another chance, I would definitely not miss her..." The lines from "The Great Sage" that he had repeated so many times, each time making him laugh, why did they now cut like a knife, piercing his heart?

"Unfortunately, there's no such thing as a regret pill in this world," Shuai Hui said with a sigh, "If I had known I would be like this, I would have agreed to be a son-in-law long ago. In the face of life, what's the point of face?"

"You're right, what's the point of face..." Wang Xian drank another cup, "Besides, what face do people like us have?"

"Bro, you have it now. You're a government official," Shuai Hui held his cup, "You have to report for duty tomorrow. Let's stop here for today."

"Government official, my ass. They still treat me like a grandson," Wang Xian spat, "Do we, as small people, have to be stepped on all our lives?"

"Of course not!" Although Shuai Hui was lowly, his ambitions were high, "The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a cowherd and a beggar, but he still established the Ming Dynasty. He stepped on all those who bullied and looked down on him!" He patted Wang Xian's shoulder heavily, "Bro, you have the most potential among us! Work hard, step on those who bully you, and make those who look down on you slap themselves!"

"Right!" Wang Xian's eyes widened, slapping the table and shouting, "Yes, I will work hard, step on those who look down on us, and slap those bastards hard!"

"Right, slap them from front to back! Kick them until they look like pigs!" Shuai Hui laughed heartily.

Watching the two young men lost in their fantasies, the old man running the stall shook his head. Ah, youth is good. After a few more years of hardship, they won't even dare to say such harsh words...

The two forgot the time and the cost of the drinks, leaning on each other and drinking wildly... until they both fell asleep on the table.

When the street was noisy again, they rubbed their eyes and sat up, seeing the old man starting to sell breakfast.

Wang Xian suddenly jumped up and ran off like a streak.

Shuai Hui also wanted to slip away but was caught by the old man, who grabbed his collar, "Pay up!"

Looking at the table full of empty bottles, Shuai Hui's eyes widened. How much would this cost?

"Fifty coins," the old man said sternly.

"Ah..." Shuai Hui searched his pockets and found only a dozen coins. He put on a pleading face, "I'll wash dishes to pay the debt."

"Half a month."

"Too long, at most seven days."

"Ten days, minimum!"

"..." After a long argument, they finally agreed on seven days.

"By the way, where is my brother in such a hurry? He's not the type to run out without paying," Shuai Hui asked while washing dishes.

"I think he's heading to the dock," the old man sighed, "What's the point? There's no such thing as a regret pill in this world."

"Ah." Shuai Hui also sighed and sang a tune, "What is love in this world..."

---

Wang Xian ran to the dock, his head heavy and his feet unsteady from the hangover. He grabbed a passerby and panted, "The Lin family's boat..."

"It left a while ago." He had asked the right person.

"..." Hearing this, Wang Xian started running, following the river for several miles out of the city. How could he catch up with the Lin family's boat? Finally, he tripped and fell by the river, and something in his pocket fell out and rolled into the water.

Wang Xian tried to save it, but it was too late. He saw a paper bag floating on the river, already torn, scattering dried chrysanthemum petals. The petals, soaked in the clear river water, bloomed again, floating eastward...

It was the chrysanthemum tea he had dried himself...

Wang Xian let out a long cry, turned over, and lay by the river, his body buried in the grass...

It wasn't until midday that he returned home, covered in mud, barefoot, and limping, and knocked on the door.

The one who opened the door was a slender, white-dressed girl, like a chrysanthemum. She bit her lip, lifted her face, and said softly, "You're back..."

---

The page turns, and the ad begins.

The page turns, and the ad ends.