Chapter 220: Chapter 220

"This stone is indeed his." Zhang Qingming shrugged, "But he didn’t give it to you, right?"

Zhang Lianqiao instinctively nodded. Indeed, he didn’t give it to her directly, but then she felt something was off and said, "But this stone was always kept close by Brother Xudong!"

Zhang Qingming nodded, "Right, there was a time Xudong especially liked this stone he picked up from who knows where. He wouldn’t give it to anyone no matter who asked; he kept it close like it was some sort of precious treasure."

Zhang Lianqiao nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

"Back then, we were all young and rebellious, and all of us mischievous. The more he wouldn’t give it to us, the more we wanted to get our hands on it. Later, we teamed up and stole the stone. However, after getting it, it didn’t seem so great, and once Xudong gave up looking for it, we lost interest."

Zhang Qingming said this and looked over at Li Yajiang.

Li Yajiang gave an embarrassed laugh, "Then we came up with a plan to give the stone to someone Xudong hated the most, just to annoy him."

At that time, it was purely out of mischief. They had a hard time stealing the stone, and with Luo Xudong not really looking for it, they were dissatisfied, hence that lousy prank to give it to the person he hated the most. Undoubtedly, that person was the one they or rather Luo Xudong saw every day: Zhang Lianqiao.

At that time, Zhang Lianqiao was a country bumpkin that all the boys particularly disliked. She was several years younger than them and insisted on tagging along whenever they played. Who would want to play with a little girl tagging along? It was not just this that made the boys dislike her.

Zhang Lianqiao used to squat at the entrance of Xudong’s alley every day, and she would follow him, calling Brother Xudong this and Brother Xudong that, which annoyed Luo Xudong. A little girl, he couldn’t hit her, nor could he scold her away, so eventually, he started avoiding her like the plague.

The other boys were the same. Playing wildly throughout the village, yet she could always find them, and no matter how many times they shook her off, she wouldn’t leave.

In their irritation towards Luo Xudong, Li Yajiang came up with the bad idea to give the stone to the country bumpkin. Everyone called her a country bumpkin and said it was Xudong’s token of commitment, and in a few days, he’d marry her.

Back then, Zhang Lianqiao was young and believed it, taking those words as truth.

Luo Xudong was completely unaware of this incident.

Zhang Lianqiao sat stupefied on the ground, listening to Li Yajiang and Zhang Qingming reveal the truth, one sentence at a time. With each revelation, her face grew uglier.

In fact, she knew that those words were not true back then.

Perhaps due to her young age, she believed it then, but as she grew older, she naturally stopped believing it. By the time Luo Xudong had joined the army, she was already a teenage girl, planning with Li Fengzhi on marrying into the city.

She had kept that stone for several years. After understanding that Luo Xudong would never really marry her, she tossed it into a cupboard. But she never expected that Luo Xudong knew nothing about this matter, and that the stone was never intended for her by him!

Zhang Lianqiao always believed that Luo Xudong at least liked her back then. That’s why he entrusted someone to give the stone he cherished the most to her. This was also why she thought of marrying into the Luo Family after Luo Xudong’s glorious return.

Many things are the most beautiful at the beginning, and feelings are the same way. She always believed she was Luo Xudong’s first love, so she actively sought him out, using the stone to trigger his memories. She thought it would work, but she never expected to learn the truth from the past. Updates are released by 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝓷𝓮𝓽

If not for her entanglement with Luo Xudong due to marrying Huo Laosan, if it were just an ordinary day, knowing the truth would only have made her upset for a few days and hate him a bit more. But of all times, she learned it now, and in front of so many people...

Zhang Lianqiao, for the first time, felt so humiliated and ashamed that she wished she could just die.

"You bastards!" Zhang Lianqiao no longer maintained her usual delicate and reserved image, cursing with reddened eyes and a somewhat ferocious expression.

She didn’t argue further. The stone itself as a token was quite far-fetched, more so since it was from before Luo Xudong joined the army. Many parts of the story didn’t hold up. Her strongest move was using it as leverage to force her way, even threatening with death.

But even her plans had to be smart. She wasn’t stupid, after all the dramas between their families; if she ’died’ outside, not only wouldn’t they stop her, they might even enjoy the spectacle. So if she were to ’die’, it should be at his house.

That’s why she was reluctant to leave earlier!

But her plan was ruined by her mother and her third brother. It would have been fine if her brothers had managed to overwhelm Luo Xudong, but they didn’t. Instead, they exposed the truth about the stone. Now, she didn’t have even the slightest excuse!

Not only did she lose her excuse, but she also made a fool of herself. The whole village would know it’s her shameless attempt to steal Beisitian’s man, and she failed at that!

Zhang Lianqiao trembled all over, wanting to leave immediately, but knowing she’d have to marry Huo Laosan when she went back made her feel like throwing up.

However, she was at her wit’s end, unable to think of any way to get into the Luo Family’s door. Leaving now would only earn her a lifetime of mockery. For the sake of her reputation, she should at least say something.

"Brother Xudong, back then, I misunderstood. If it weren’t for these people... I wouldn’t have done such a thing. Since this stone is yours, I’ll give it back to you." Zhang Lianqiao took out the stone and said, face stubborn.

She placed all the blame on Li Yajiang and Zhang Qingming.

As the concerned party, Zhang Lianqiao was already in a daze facing so many gazes. She thought saying this might save her face, oblivious to the fact that trying to redeem oneself with words was still distasteful. No one was foolish here.

Luo Xudong looked down at Zhang Lianqiao’s open palm, where the beautiful stone lay quietly. Yet, his eyes were full of disdain.

"Get out of the way." Luo Xudong frowned slightly. Gazing at Zhang Lianqiao, whose face was glistening with tears, that pretentious look was really off-putting. And the thought of the stone being with her for so many years made him despise it from the bottom of his heart.

Originally, the stone was just something he thought looked nice when he was young. He didn’t even search for it back then, why would he want it now?

The two words Luo Xudong spoke were exceptionally cold. Seeing the undisguised loathing in his eyes, Zhang Lianqiao’s heart turned completely cold!

Her hand began to shake; in fact, her whole body trembled, and the stone slowly slipped through her fingers.

Luo Xudong gave her no further glance and turned away, heading towards his parents and Beisitian.

On the threshing ground lay the moaning Zhang Brothers, along with Zhang Lianqiao who stood in a daze.

Xu Youcai had been there long before; he hadn’t come over, hiding behind the house watching as Luo Xudong severely beat the Zhang Brothers. Seeing him show restraint, he chose not to intervene.

This Zhang Family was indeed quite irksome, always up to some nonsense, disturbing the peace. It was about time someone taught them a good lesson.