Chapter 171: A Secret Swap, Beating Them at Their Own Game

Chapter 171: Chapter 171: A Secret Swap, Beating Them at Their Own Game

When they got to the train station, Guo Dongmei looked at Hua Yusen with a scornful sneer.

"Heh, you’re dreaming," Guo Dongmei said. "If our Guo Family doesn’t agree, do you think you can actually break off the engagement? And for what? To defy me for some powerless little home-wrecker? When have I, Guo Dongmei, ever been taken for such a fool? I won’t let you dissolve this engagement so easily."

Hua Yusen frowned, then looked at Guo Dongmei and said in a low voice, "Frankly, I don’t care. Dragging this out for years and years won’t affect me. I just hope you can afford to wait. And I hope that second young master of the Li family is willing to wait too."

"Heh, Li Gongming won’t care about any of that!" Guo Dongmei sneered. "Not all men are as heartless and disloyal as you!"

"Ha!" Hua Yusen scoffed. "What a joke. If a man actually cares about a woman, how could he not care about something like this? If you’re telling yourself Li Gongming doesn’t mind, it can only mean one of two things. One, Li Gongming doesn’t love you—he just wants to use you. Or two, he’s just messing with you. You’re not even worth using to him."

"You... Hua Yusen!" Guo Dongmei’s eyes narrowed. "You’re still so detestable. I originally thought that even if we had no feelings for each other, you’d at least respect me because of our families’ connection. But you didn’t. Faithless, disloyal, and ungrateful—what kind of man are you!"

Hua Yusen looked at Guo Dongmei’s resentful expression and actually smiled. "Guo Dongmei, don’t you feel any shame saying things like that? Oh, right. Since you’re capable of doing what you did, of course you wouldn’t feel ashamed. My mistake for assuming. I admit I have feelings for Zhao Nuanyue, but you’ve also admitted to your private affair with Li Gongming. We’re two of a kind; neither of us owes the other anything. So go ahead and act all high and mighty, calling me a philanderer who chases after every woman he sees. Because when you’re cursing me, you’re also cursing your own wanton and promiscuous self."

"I’ve never been as shameless as you," Guo Dongmei retorted. "Li Gongming and I are innocent!"

"I don’t care about your innocence. I’m just curious, what exactly do you mean by ’innocent’? That you haven’t slept together yet?" Hua Yusen sneered. "I, Hua Yusen, admit that I have feelings for someone else, and I feel guilty about it. But you’re having an affair with Li Gongming—you admitted it yourself—and you still want to cling to our engagement. Don’t you think that makes you even more shameless? If you’re going to act like a whore, don’t ask for a monument to your virtue. That’s just a place for people to spit and dogs to piss."

Back in the village, Hua Yusen couldn’t get into a huge fight with Guo Dongmei, as it would have caused even more trouble for Zhao Nuanyue. But here at the train station, he didn’t have as many reservations.

Guo Dongmei raised her hand to slap Hua Yusen, roaring, "Hua Yusen, you’re shameless!"

"And you’re promiscuous. We’re two of a kind, so let’s not point fingers." Hua Yusen took two steps back and mocked her with a laugh. "You came all this way and did nothing, which I find very suspicious. The Guo Family never lifts a finger unless there’s profit in it; they wouldn’t make such a useless trip!"

"Heh, I just came to see you. If you’d had a change of heart, I would’ve broken off the engagement," Guo Dongmei said with a half-smile. "It was that simple. But I’m not one to take a loss. I want you and that Zhao Nuanyue to have your reputations ruined in Nianqiao Village. That will restore my peace of mind."

Hua Yusen listened without a word, staring coldly at Guo Dongmei. He didn’t believe a thing she said!

He had been up all night, lying in ambush near the Dragon King Temple, and had overheard Guo Dongmei’s conversation with Wang Yuan. For this woman to now be using such words to rattle him... if he hadn’t known the truth, he might indeed have been affected.

"You’ve achieved your goal. You can go now." With that, Hua Yusen turned and left the train station. Having cursed out Guo Dongmei, he finally felt a sense of relief, as if he’d gotten a huge weight off his chest.

"Hey, how about buying a ticket for me?" Guo Dongmei called out to Hua Yusen’s back with a playful laugh, deliberately trying to get under his skin. Since he was annoyed, she decided to annoy him even more.

Hua Yusen left the train station and gave the letter he had written to his parents directly to another colleague, asking him to pass it on to Chen Lei.

As Guo Dongmei boarded the train and watched it slowly pick up speed, the trees on either side receding into the distance, she reflected that her mission had failed. Or rather, not a complete failure—just a partial one.

’Hopefully, that Wang Yuan can complete the mission.’

’As long as he takes that medicine, Gu Qingyu’s health will inevitably decline. Even if he doesn’t die, he won’t be able to work or be reinstated. Then he’ll no longer be a threat to the Li family.’

’Her goal would be achieved!’

Hua Yusen didn’t rush back to Nianqiao Village. Instead, he went to find Zhou Jianmin and Zhou Jian Country to get an update on the situation in the county seat. Only after learning that Zhao Liqiang was making some small moves, but nothing that would affect the overall situation, did he feel at ease enough to leave the county seat and head for Nianqiao Village.

The previous night, Zhao Nuanyue had also been watching Guo Dongmei and Wang Yuan.

Although she had already guessed that Wang Yuan might agree to help Guo Dongmei, hearing it confirmed still broke Zhao Nuanyue’s heart.

That day, Wang Yuan was flustered and guilt-ridden. She made several mistakes while working, and at one point, she nearly fell into the river.

"Wang Yuan, what’s wrong with you?" Li Qiong asked, curious. "If you’re not feeling well, why don’t you clean the fish? I’ll cast the nets!"

"Okay, I am a little dizzy today," Wang Yuan replied. "Fine, you cast the nets. I’ll sit and sort the fish."

Li Qiong swapped places with Wang Yuan, but Wang Yuan worked very slowly, sometimes just staring into space.

Seeing Wang Yuan in this state, Li Qiong didn’t know what to say. After casting the nets, she squatted down to help her sort the fish.

After they turned in their quota for the evening, Li Qiong told Wang Yuan not to cook and to just rest.

When Hua Yusen returned, they were in the middle of dinner. Luckily, Zhao Nuanyue had saved some for him, so he didn’t have to go hungry.

Seeing the meticulous way Zhao Nuanyue cared for Hua Yusen, and the way Hua Yusen looked at Zhao Nuanyue, no one would believe there was nothing going on between them.

However, since neither Zhao Nuanyue nor Hua Yusen had admitted it openly, the others could only watch, keep their thoughts to themselves, and say nothing.

In the middle of the night, Hua Yusen and Zhao Nuanyue went to the backyard to discuss what to do next with Gu Qingyu.

"Elder Gu, last night I personally heard and saw Guo Dongmei give Wang Yuan a bottle of medicine, just as Nuanyue said she would," Hua Yusen said. "It’s a drug that causes weakness but isn’t immediately fatal. Now that we know, how should we handle it?"

Gu Qingyu was silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "First, we’ll pull a switch. We’ll swap out the bottle of poison Wang Yuan is carrying. Then, we’ll create an opportunity for her to make her move. I’ll play along and drink the fake poison. Then, after three to five months, I’ll start pretending to be weak, letting them think their plan succeeded."