Chapter 102: The Weak 

Cheng Wu's mother couldn't let it go, so she followed from a distance.

Luckily, it was nighttime, cold and freezing, and there wasn't anyone outside in the village.

He went straight to Zhou Qing's house, his mind full of thoughts about asking her for an explanation.

But when he arrived at the gate, Cheng Wu hesitated to knock.

What if...

What if Zhou Qing truly didn’t want to marry him...

With that thought, his raised hand froze in mid-air.

Seeing this, Cheng Wu's mother grew anxious and stormed up to knock on the door for him.

Cheng Wu turned, surprised, "Mother, why are you here?"

Cheng Wu's mother snapped, "If I hadn't come, were you planning to stand here all night?"

Cheng Wu opened his mouth but didn’t say a word.

Inside the courtyard, Zhou Ping was practicing his stances when he heard the noise and ran over.

Upon seeing Cheng Wu, his expression turned cold. "What are you doing here? Isn't the gossip outside bad enough? How does slandering my sister benefit you?"

Confronted by Zhou Ping's barrage of questions, Cheng Wu faltered.

Just as Cheng Wu's mother was about to speak, Cheng Wu tugged at her arm.

Forcing a weak smile, Cheng Wu said, "Ping, I just want to speak with your sister."

Zhou Ping rolled his eyes. "My sister's busy."

"Ping, just one sentence. I’ll leave after that."

At this point, Zhou Qing came out to bring Zhou Huaishan a late-night snack. Hearing the noise by the gate, she walked over.

Seeing Zhou Qing, Cheng Wu felt as if all the blood in his body started boiling.

It was like a drowning man finally getting a breath of air.

"Qing... Sister Qing."

Zhou Qing, however, didn’t seem as annoyed as Zhou Ping, but rather looked puzzled. "Why are you here?"

Zhou Ping stood protectively by Zhou Qing’s side, eyeing Cheng Wu warily.

Cheng Wu took a deep breath, his red eyes closing and opening again. With every ounce of strength, he asked, "Do you not want to marry me?"

The moment he asked, Cheng Wu’s eyes never left Zhou Qing, his heart seemingly frozen in time.

"Mm, I don’t want to," Zhou Qing answered simply and directly.

Cheng Wu felt as if a bolt of lightning had just struck him from the heavens.

"Why? Is it because of that young boss?" His voice trembled uncontrollably.

Zhou Qing calmly replied, "Because I don’t like you."

"You don’t like me? Then why did you agree to sell Spring Festival couplets with me? Why did you keep talking to me while selling the couplets? And didn’t your third uncle say that you’d only marry someone from the village? In the whole village, who could be better than me?"

My third uncle said I’d only marry someone from the village?

Her eye twitched, and she suddenly remembered the time an older woman had tried to introduce her to a potential match while selling couplets.

"First, I invited you to sell couplets because you previously mentioned you wanted to sell calligraphy together. We’re friends, so naturally, I wouldn’t refuse.

Second, I talked to you more during the sales because you kept messing up, handing out the wrong couplets several times.

Third, my third uncle saying I’d only marry someone from the village was just to shut up that older woman.

You’ve overthought things.

I don’t like you and I don’t want to marry you. We can remain friends, but as for marriage, you should look for someone else.

It’s impossible between us. Don’t waste your time on me. There are plenty of good girls out there."

Facing Cheng Wu, Zhou Qing rejected him completely.

When it comes to feelings, if there's no interest, it's best to reject outright.

Leading someone on with ambiguous signals while pretending to care for their feelings is simply stringing them along as a backup.

Zhou Qing could never do such a thing.

After saying her piece, Zhou Qing took Zhou Ping’s hand and headed back inside.

Outside the gate.

Cheng Wu felt as if someone was banging a gong next to his ear, the buzzing noise causing his head to ache.

His mind spun, and as he watched Zhou Qing leave, his heart seized in panic, and suddenly, he coughed up blood.

His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

Cheng Wu’s mother, terrified, rushed to his side, forgetting to scold him.

But Cheng Wu, being a strong young man, was too heavy for her to carry. Helpless, she left him lying in front of Zhou Qing’s house and ran home to fetch Cheng Wu’s father.

Cheng Wu's father carried him back home and hurried to town to find a doctor.

By the time the doctor arrived, Cheng Wu had slowly regained consciousness.

His face was ashen, and he looked like a man on his deathbed.

Cheng Wu’s mother sat beside him, weeping uncontrollably.

After a thorough examination, the doctor shook his head in resignation.

"I can prescribe something to help calm his mind, but heartaches can only be cured by the heart. If he doesn’t resolve this himself, no medicine will help."

Hearing this, Cheng Wu’s mother nearly fainted.

What does that mean?

Does it mean that if Cheng Wu doesn’t marry Zhou Qing, he’ll never recover?

After the doctor left, Cheng Wu’s father rushed off to the county overnight.

When the best clinic in town opened at dawn, Cheng Wu’s father paid a high fee to get a doctor from there.

Unfortunately, that doctor said the same thing.

Heart sickness is hard to cure.

Now Cheng Wu’s parents were in full panic mode.

Cheng Wu refused to eat or drink, lying there, growing weaker by the day. His mother cried rivers of tears, while his father paced the floor, sighing heavily.

"Maybe we should beg the Zhou family again. They can’t just let him die!"

Sobbing, Cheng Wu’s mother suddenly wiped her tears, jumped off the bed, and stormed out, hair disheveled.

"If they refuse, I’ll die in front of their door!"

Cheng Wu’s father, face dark, trembled and let out a deep sigh.

Zhou Qing was watching Zhou Huaishan study when Zhou Ping rushed in, "Big sister, something’s wrong. There are a lot of people gathering outside our house."

Zhou Huaishan immediately seized the chance to drop his book and darted outside.

Zhou Huailin and Zhao were already standing at the gate.

Outside, a crowd of villagers had gathered.

Cheng Wu’s mother, hair wild, knelt in front of their door, crying hysterically. If you didn’t know better, you’d think someone had died.

Seeing Zhou Qing come out, Cheng Wu’s mother immediately wailed, "Qing, I was wrong before. I’m a foolish old woman who says things without thinking. Please, don’t hold it against me."

"Cheng Wu is truly sincere about wanting to marry you. Please, marry him."

"Cheng Wu hasn’t eaten or drunk anything for days now. He’s on the verge of death. You can’t just watch him die."

"Qing, I’m begging you. Marry Cheng Wu. We promise we won’t mistreat you. You and Cheng Wu have been friends since childhood. You can’t let him die for your sake!"

Zhou Qing felt her scalp tingle as she listened.

Neighbors pointed and murmured, their whispers loud and constant.

Before, although some had maliciously spread rumors, the majority believed the Zhou family was in the right.

After all, marriage is about mutual consent.

But now...

Cheng Wu was about to die, and yet you refuse to marry him to save his life? That’s on you.

Almost the entire village believed Zhou Qing should marry Cheng Wu.

After all, if you don’t marry him, he’ll die.

And that’s a life at stake!

It was the typical weakness-is-righteousness mindset.

Moreover, Cheng Wu wasn’t an unworthy match.

Many girls from neighboring villages would love to marry him!