Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 492: Chapter 257: Why Do You Like Me? (2)

But the Liu Family and her own were quite close, and Sanshun was a good person, so going to console him was understandable. Juhua had been cautious, however, and knew to ask her brother to come along instead of rushing over by herself.

And so, Qingmu and Juhua went with Liu Xiaomei to the Liu Family’s home.

When Liu Sanshun and Juhua saw each other, he felt both happy and a little dejected, knowing that the situation was likely beyond saving.

Juhua wasn’t shy in the least. She walked right over, put her feet in their foot warmer, and made herself comfortable. When Liu Sanshun saw this, he quickly handed her a small brazier for her hands.

She took it and thanked him. Liu Sanshun then fell silent.

Juhua looked at the boy, who was usually so lively and cheerful, and sighed inwardly. ’Counseling a teenager is no easy task!’ She cleared her throat and asked, ”Sanshun, didn’t you have something you wanted to say to me?”

Liu Sanshun had been nervously trying to figure out what to say. Hearing Juhua’s question, he snapped his head up, looked her straight in the eye, and asked earnestly, ”Juhua, Huai Zi didn’t even want to marry you before. Why do you still want to marry him?”

Juhua was taken aback. She thought for a good while before asking in return, ”Sanshun, why do you like me?”

Liu Sanshun had never expected Juhua to ask him something like that so directly. He was instantly flustered, his face flushing crimson. He stammered for a long time without managing to form a complete sentence.

But Juhua just chuckled. ”You must be thinking: ’Juhua might be a bit ugly, but she’s gentle, virtuous, and capable. A wife like that would definitely make for a good life, and good looks don’t put food on the table.’ Am I right?”

Liu Sanshun was completely astonished—it was as if he’d told her his thoughts himself.

Seeing his expression, Juhua knew she’d hit the mark. She smiled and said, ”Sanshun, I don’t know when you started thinking this way, or why. But have you ever considered that many girls in our village are ’gentle, virtuous, and capable’? Are none of them worthy of your affection?”

Liu Sanshun hurriedly shook his head. ”What does their capability have to do with me!”

Juhua then asked, ”Then let me ask you this: if a matchmaker had come to propose a marriage to you on my behalf three years ago, would you have agreed to marry me? Think hard about how you felt back then, not how you feel now.”

Liu Sanshun thought to himself, ’Three years ago? Would I have married Juhua?’

’Back then, I barely knew Juhua. I just knew she was that ugly girl, though she was also very hardworking, quiet, and well-behaved. But... so what if she was? I couldn’t just marry her for that. There are lots of hardworking and virtuous girls in the village.’

Suddenly, his mind reeled—’Isn’t that exactly what Huai Zi said back then!’ His face turned deathly pale, stunned by this realization. He was sure it wasn’t that he looked down on Juhua for being ugly, but he knew he definitely would not have agreed to the marriage back then. As for why? How could he possibly give a reason? Wasn’t he just as uninterested in any of the other girls now?

He found the conclusion he’d reached completely unacceptable. If he accepted it, it would be the same as admitting Huai Zi was right. He was silent for a long moment before replying softly, ”I probably wouldn’t have agreed—I didn’t know you well back then. But Juhua, didn’t Huai Zi grow up with you? He should have started liking you a long time ago.”

Juhua shook her head and asked again, ”What about now? Besides me, you’ve met plenty of other girls in the village. Why haven’t you come to like any of them? Many of them are capable, many are gentle, and quite a few are good-looking.”

Liu Sanshun was stumped again. He found it so strange; Juhua’s questions always left him speechless. The poor boy, how could he possibly understand the difference between love and a typical arranged marriage?

When there are no feelings involved, one naturally chooses based on character, looks, family wealth—all the tangible qualities. Juhua had a flaw on her face, so people subconsciously passed her over. But if you truly like someone, these criteria don’t matter as much. For those with true foresight, looks and wealth aren’t even part of the equation.

Of course, there were always farsighted people who didn’t prioritize looks and wealth, even for a typical match—people like the second son’s mother-in-law from the family at Xiatang Market, and Huai Zi’s mother.

That was why someone from the Yang Family had once told He that with Juhua’s looks, she had to find a man who genuinely liked her for who she was. Even if Huai Zi didn’t mind her appearance, it wouldn’t be a good match if he didn’t truly like her.

Liu Sanshun’s head was spinning from Juhua’s reasoning.

Juhua didn’t want to confuse him further. She smiled and said, ”Sanshun, you’ve only seen me a few times. I don’t think you really know my personality. It’s not necessarily wrong to think that marrying me would lead to a good life, but there are many virtuous and capable girls in this village, and you haven’t taken a good look at them. Sanshun, there’s someone who secretly likes you, you know. You just haven’t realized it.”

Liu Sanshun was shocked. He stammered, ”Who... who likes me?”

Juhua smiled, deliberately acting mysterious. ”Oh, I can’t say. If you weren’t willing to marry her, wouldn’t that be a huge embarrassment for her? Besides, I only noticed this from the sidelines. If I made a big deal of telling you, wouldn’t that make me a gossip? My point, Sanshun, is that you shouldn’t focus all your attention on me. You should look at other people. Why get so fixated on one person?”

Liu Sanshun was hurt by her words. He asked resentfully, ”Then why don’t you go say that to Huai Zi?”

Juhua faltered for a second, then said decisively, ”Because I like Huai Zi! I’ve liked him for a long time. Don’t you want to take a good look at the girl who likes you? She’s not a bit worse than me; if anything, she’s better.”

Liu Sanshun fell silent.

Juhua smiled faintly. ”Listening to me talk, it’s almost like I’m trying to be your matchmaker. To be honest, I don’t want to meddle in this at all. I’m just reminding you not to miss out on a good marriage, only to end up with nothing to show for it. It’s like when we’re looking for mushrooms on the mountain; when you find a patch, you have to grab them fast. But if you can’t get to that patch, you might as well look somewhere else. You’ll always find another one.”

She felt that talking like this was exhausting. She sighed and said, ”Let’s go eat some fish, Sanshun. Mei and my brother have probably finished grilling them by now.”

Liu Sanshun nodded, forced a smile at Juhua, and got up to head to the kitchen first.