Chapter 12
That Dead Green Tea
She was coming over to advise her now only to pretend to be a good person, while in her heart, she wished nothing more than for Su Wanqing to marry Lu Shiyan quickly so she could take her place.
Su Wanqing smiled and spoke unhurriedly, “Xiulian, you actually make sense. Lin Wenwen is a youth after all, his family background is better than mine, and he’s not bad-looking. How about… I just marry him instead?”
The smile on Li Xiulian’s face instantly froze.
“Ah?” She let out two dry laughs. “This… this…”
Looking at Li Xiulian’s panicked and flustered state, Su Wanqing was laughing like crazy on the inside, but she kept a completely deadpan expression on her face. “Didn’t you just tell me to think it through? I thought about it, and you’re right. Lu Shiyan has a bad family background, and following him means suffering. It’s still better to be with Lin Wenwen, someone we know inside out.”
Li Xiulian’s face turned pale, and her lips twitched. “Wanqing, I didn’t mean it like that, I just… I just…”
“Just what?” Su Wanqing tilted her head, deliberately teasing her. “Aren’t you doing this for my own good? I think what you said makes total sense. I’ll go find Lin Wenwen right now and tell him I’m not marrying Lu Shiyan anymore, that I’ll still marry him.”
With that, she made a move to walk outside.
Anxious, Li Xiulian quickly reached out to pull her back, her tone completely changing, “Wanqing! Don’t be impulsive!”
Su Wanqing turned her head to look at her, the picture of innocence. “I’m not being impulsive, I think you’re absolutely right.”
The smile on Li Xiulian’s face looked worse than crying. She stammered, “That… Wanqing, I was just speaking casually. For your own matters, you should still make your own decisions. I… I have something to do, I’ll leave first!”
Having said that, she turned around and ran, fleeing faster than a rabbit, terrified that Su Wanqing would actually go find Lin Wenwen.
Watching her retreating figure, Su Wanqing rolled her eyes hard and muttered to herself, Phooey, that dead green tea, pretending to be a good person.
She turned back around and continued fixing herself up in front of the mirror.
The original owner’s baseline was truly excellent. Her skin was fair and her features were delicate, but she usually didn’t like to dress up, utterly wasting such a beautiful canvas.
She found the tin of rouge, dipped a tiny bit on her finger, and gently blended it across her cheeks. Instantly, her complexion gained a healthy glow.
Then she found some lard, smeared it onto her lips, and pursed them gently. Her lips immediately became moist and shiny, exuding a playful charm.
Re-combing her hair, she braided it into two thick plaits and tied them tightly with red yarn. They hung over her chest, swaying back and forth, looking exceptionally lively.
She changed into a clean white shirt and slipped a floral blouse over it, intentionally leaving the top two buttons undone to reveal a small patch of fair skin on her neckāunintentional yet seductive.
The girl in the mirror had curving eyes, ruby lips, pearly teeth, and skin with a natural blush, looking living and breathing like a radiant, gorgeous beauty right out of a movie star poster.
Su Wanqing nodded in satisfaction, stuffed the necessary documents into her pocket, and happily headed out the door.
By the time she walked to the threshing ground, the sun was already high up in the sky.
The people working in the fields were taking a midday break, gathering in small groups under the shade of the trees, talking and laughing.
The moment Su Wanqing appeared, the originally buzzing voices instantly fell silent.
She was wearing her white shirt with the floral blouse unbuttoned, her braids hanging over her chest, rouge blended on her face, and her lips shiny. As she walked, her braids swayed left and right, making her exceptionally eye-catching.
Under the sunlight, her face was so fair it seemed to glow, and everyone’s eyes locked straight onto her.
The men stared blankly at her, their pupils frozen in place.
One young fellow, holding a cornbread bun in his hand and about to put it into his mouth, stopped his hand mid-air upon seeing her, forgetting to eat, his mouth left wide open.
Someone next to him nudged him, “Hey, what are you looking at? The bun is getting cold.”
Only then did the young man snap back to reality. His face flushed bright red, and he quickly lowered his head, though he couldn’t resist secretly lifting his eyes to steal another glance at Su Wanqing.
The men who had wives weren’t as lucky.
One wife, seeing her own man staring with his eyes practically glued to her, reached out and gave his arm a vicious pinch.
“Ouch! What did you pinch me for?” The man cried out in pain.
“What are you looking at? Your eyeballs are about to drop out!” The wife scolded crossly.
The man argued stubbornly, “I, I wasn’t looking…”
“Not looking? If you weren’t looking, where were your eyes wandering?” The wife glared at him, her tone growing fiercer.
The man quickly lowered his head, still muttering quietly under his breath, “What’s wrong with looking, it’s not like she’ll lose a piece of meat…”
The wife glared at him fiercely, then turned her head to look at Su Wanqing, letting out a cold snort, “Dressing up like that, who knows who she’s showing it to, just like a seductive vixen.”
Another wife chimed in, “Exactly, exactly. She’s a person who’s about to get her marriage certificate registered, yet she’s still so improper. Who knows what Lu Shiyan is thinking.”
“Lu Shiyan, that guy living in the cowshed, is a perfect match for this shameless slut! Just wait and see, he’ll have a hard time dealing with her in the future.”
The unmarried young bachelors huddled together, but their eyes kept darting toward Su Wanqing.
“My goodness, why is Su Wanqing so beautiful today?”
“You couldn’t tell normally, but with this dressing up, she looks like a completely different person.”
“What’s the use of being beautiful, she’s still about to marry Lu Shiyan anyway.”
“That kid Lu Shiyan really has incredible luck…”
There were also people who couldn’t stand it, puckering their lips to speak sour words.
“Dressing up like that, isn’t she just trying to seduce people? Seductive and unnatural, she doesn’t look like a proper girl at first glance.”
“Exactly, exactly, which proper girl acts like her? Her face is painted like she’s performing in an opera.”
“What did she smear on her lips? It’s all oily and shiny, she’s not even disgusted by it.”
“She’s about to get married soon, shouldn’t she dress up a bit? You guys are just jealous.”
“Phooey! Me, jealous of her? What is there to be jealous of someone marrying into the black five categories?”
As Su Wanqing walked past them, she heard every single one of those sour words without missing a syllable.
Instead of getting angry, she smiled, turning her head to look at the female youths who were speaking sourly, her tone playful, “Big sisters, are you talking about me?”
Those female youths hadn’t expected her to suddenly stop and start a conversation, and they were instantly stunned, looking at each other.
Su Wanqing sized them up from head to toe, intentionally letting out a sigh, “I understand you all, really. Seeing someone else look beautiful while you don’t look good yourself makes you feel unbalanced inside. Speaking a few sour words is very normal. I don’t blame you.”
“You!”
One female youth’s face flushed crimson, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say, stomping her foot in pure anger.
Su Wanqing waved her hand at them, saying with a beaming smile, “Alright, you all keep chatting, I have to go to the brigade headquarters to get the certificate issued. Getting registered today, I’m happy, so I won’t hold a grudge against you.”
With that, she swayed her waist and walked away with light, brisk steps.
Those female youths stood rooted to the spot, trembling all over with rage.
“What kind of person is this!”
“Too shameless!”
“What is she proud of? Marrying into the black five categories, what is there to be proud of?”
Even as Su Wanqing walked far away, she could still hear the cursing from behind, but she didn’t care in the slightest, her mood incredibly wonderful.
Just a few steps further out, she bumped into Lu Shiyan.
He had changed into a clean blue cloth jacket, his hair combed neatly, holding two pieces of paper in his hand. Seeing her, he immediately trotted over to meet her, his tone completely filled with indulgence, “Is it hot? Didn’t I say I would go pick you up? Why did you come by yourself.”
