The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

At those words, Gu Jiaojiao stopped. She was so close that another step would have put her right up against Li Hongmei.

The sunset glow illuminated Gu Jiaojiao’s face, casting it in shifting light and shadow, but her voice cut through the air with immense force.

”Li Hongmei, you’d better remember your words. The only one I love is my man. If you ever try to drag me and Yun Zhiqing into the same mess again, you won’t be as lucky as you were today.”

She hadn’t actually intended to throw Li Hongmei into the river; she was just trying to scare her. Seeing that the other woman was finally afraid, Gu Jiaojiao left, satisfied.

Only after Gu Jiaojiao had left did Li Hongmei collapse onto the ground.

”She’s crazy.”

’Gu Jiaojiao really wanted to kill me just now, didn’t she?!’

’That psycho.’

For the first time, fear rose up in Li Hongmei’s heart. For the first time, she felt the oppressive weight of death drawing near.

Gu Jiaojiao had only taken two steps when she suddenly froze.

Li Hongmei’s heart clenched again.

But Gu Jiaojiao didn’t turn around. Instead, her next words came out in a low tone.

”Li Hongmei, you only ever saw Yun Hao as your ticket back to the city. You can’t possibly believe you actually love him, can you?”

”You’re not crying for him. You’re crying because you’ve probably lost your chance to use him to get back to the city.”

”Besides, it’s not like Yun Hao is your only option. Xu Wenwan, Yun Hao, and Hu Ziqiang all grew up together. Xu Wenwan’s former adoptive parents were very influential, and so are Yun Hao’s parents. Do you really think Hu Ziqiang’s parents are any different?”

”Who knows? Maybe he can get you back to the city too!”

With that, Gu Jiaojiao strode away.

Li Hongmei was completely stunned. She lowered her head, mulling over Gu Jiaojiao’s words.

’That makes sense!’

’It wasn’t like she actually loved Yun Hao, so why was she crying over his marriage?’

’She could find other opportunities. Even if it wasn’t Hu Ziqiang, it could be another educated youth—maybe even one from a different brigade. There was no need to put all her eggs in one basket.’

With that thought, Li Hongmei stopped crying.

She stood up, brushed the dust off her bottom, and she was back to being the same old resilient Li Hongmei.

But just as she stood up and was about to head back, she saw Hu Ziqiang standing not far away, a grim look on his face as he scanned the area.

Hu Ziqiang’s expression was grim, his eyes darting around as if searching for something.

Li Hongmei suddenly felt touched.

’She hadn’t expected Hu Ziqiang to like her so much. She had run off heartbroken over Yun Hao, yet this fool was worried about her safety and had chased after her.’

’He knew she had another man in her heart, yet he was still so worried about her. In that moment, Li Hongmei was truly moved.’

She lowered her head shyly, a glint flashing in her eyes.

’If I can’t get the one I want, I should just settle for someone who wants me!’

’Hu Ziqiang grew up with Yun Hao, so his family background can’t be bad either.’

In that moment, Li Hongmei forced herself to find Hu Ziqiang’s plain, almost ugly, face appealing.

’Maybe this is fate.’

As for Hu Ziqiang...

Under the condemning stares of all the other educated youths, he had been forced to chase after her. He originally thought Li Hongmei would be somewhere nearby, but then he saw her running far into the distance.

His stomach was growling, and he was dying to go back inside and eat. But seeing Li Hongmei run off, he knew he couldn’t just let her go. So, swallowing his frustration and hunger, he had chased after her. In his mind, he had already cursed Li Hongmei from head to toe several times over.

’This damn woman, what’s wrong with her? Running this far out... Is she insane?!’

’I’m starving to death! I’ve decided. This time, I’m going to make it crystal clear to Li Hongmei that I don’t like her.’