Xu Qinghuan didn't bother with her, she directly asked Jiang Chengxu, "What do you have to say?"
Jiang Chengxu was an idiot, but even he could sense something was off; he didn't dare to meet Xu Qinghuan's eyes. Yet in his mind, Xu Manman's words kept echoing, "You should know my feelings!"
What could Xu Manman possibly be wrong about?
The only mistake she made was idolizing him too much and relying on him too heavily.
"Qinghuan, she's your sister, she's younger than you..."
Xu Qinghuan let out a laugh, "She's two months younger than me, not two years! The Sima Zhao's trick, everyone knows! Comrade Jiang, I can't believe you're unaware!"
"Of course I know, how could I not, tsk tsk tsk, it's the new age, and yet some still harbor such sleazy desires for both arms around?"
A mocking voice rang out among the crowd, Xu Qinghuan glanced over, seeing a young man around eighteen or nineteen, with a crew cut round face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, somewhat familiar, but she couldn't recall who he was.
"Chen Dewen, shut up, what does this have to do with you? I'll sue you for slander!" Jiang Chengxu was both angry and anxious, his face red and neck thick.
"Tsk tsk! You can do it, but others can't say it..." Chen Dewen was about to retort when his friend dragged him away.
With the facade broken, the onlookers were full of doubt, looking at Xu Manman no longer with understanding and sympathy, but with disdain and contempt, pointing fingers as they spoke. If they weren't lacking evidence, they'd want to drag the couple through the streets.
Jiang Chengxu was both furious and ashamed, and after most of the people had dispersed, he gritted his teeth and said, "Xu Qinghuan, are you satisfied now?"
Lin Xiaolan was almost hopping mad, "Jiang Chengxu, what the hell do you mean by that? How dare you scold Huanhuan?"
"We're all family, can't we just clear up misunderstandings privately? Why do you have to make a scene in public?" Jiang Chengxu angrily said, "Manman is your direct cousin, you grew up under Manman's parents' care. Have you ever thought about how you're ruining her reputation?"
Xu Manman cried quietly at the side, her tears falling like raindrops, her frail shoulders trembling, her grievance overwhelming those watching, causing listeners to shed tears.
Lin Xiaolan almost spat out a mouthful of blood; she wanted to go forward and start a fight with the two of them, but Xu Qinghuan held her back tightly.
Xu Manman cried, "Chengxu bro, don't blame my sister, she cares too much about you, and also, Uncle gave his life for the country, my sister is a martyr's child, my father as her second uncle had the responsibility to raise her."
Xu Qinghuan took a deep breath, said nothing, and threw the engagement watch to Jiang Chengxu, "I'm not joking about calling off the engagement, I need you to take my words seriously, please return the male watch my mom gave your Jiang family."
At the time of the engagement, they signed the marital contract and exchanged two watches as tokens.
The Jiang family gave her a Shen City Brand watch, and Song Wanlin gave Jiang Chengxu a Plum Blossom men's watch.
Jiang Chengxu clutched the female watch tightly, resolutely, "Xu Qinghuan, is this how you intend to handle the situation? After making a mistake, instead of figuring out how to take responsibility, you actually want to solve it by escaping like this?"
He thought Xu Qinghuan was trying a retreat into advance, thinking if she proposed calling off the engagement, he would easily forgive her, coax her back, and then the matter would be smoothed over?
Yet he didn't realize today's grievance towards Manman was so huge!
Lin Xiaolan was enraged, never had she seen such shameless pestering, she was about to rush forward, but Xu Qinghuan grabbed her, "Let's go, don't bother with him!"
Whether it was calling off or keeping the engagement, Jiang Chengxu actually had no say, and she surely didn't want to waste her time on someone like him.
After walking away, Lin Xiaolan finally calmed down a bit, angrily asking, "Huanhuan, if he truly doesn't call off the engagement, what do you plan to do?"
Xu Qinghuan pinched her fingers, "Don't worry, there will be a way."
Someone wishes to call off the engagement even more than her, especially since she has a trump card.
Seeing Xu Qinghuan's resolute silhouette, Jiang Chengxu couldn't help but feel a sense of panic rising in his heart, he was both angry and wanted to chase after her when Xu Manman hugged his arm,
"Chengxu bro, quickly go chase my sister, I'm afraid she'll rashly decide to break off the engagement, if you just coax her, she'll have a change of heart, after all, my sister really likes you."
In this era, no one dared to frankly speak of feelings, love.
Jiang Chengxu's feet were fixed firmly on the ground, he could not cater to Xu Qinghuan's temperament; they had a lifetime ahead if they got married, was he to constantly indulge, coax, and tolerate her whims?
"Let's go, get the doctor to bandage your wound first." Jiang Chengxu put the female watch into his pocket.
Xu Manman took a look, "Chengxu bro, can I see my sister's watch? I've never seen what the watch looks like."
Her tone carried unspeakable melancholy.
Jiang Chengxu's heart softened instantly, thinking of how the watch had adorned Xu Qinghuan's wrist for nearly a year, yet Xu Manman hadn't even glanced at it once.
"Did your sister not let you see it usually?" Jiang Chengxu couldn't help but ask.
"After all, it's a valuable item, an engagement token, how could I comfortably ask my sister?" Xu Manman sensibly replied.
Jiang Chengxu handed the watch to her, "Take your time looking, I'll have to return it to your sister later."
He would tell Xu Qinghuan what's right and wrong, teach her to discern between the important issues, but he would not call off the engagement.
"Yes, it should be returned to my sister."
Xu Manman's eyes flashed with a dark glint, she couldn't wait any longer—without resolution, she would have to go to the countryside.
Xu Manman holding the watch, stumbled, tripping a step, clutching Jiang Chengxu tightly with her other hand, while the watch flew out.
Even though it was an all-steel watch, the timepiece harshly hit the stone wall three meters away; Xu Manman rushed over to pick it up, only to find the dial had cracked like a flower.
"It's all my fault, all my fault, I'm the one to blame, Chengxu bro, let me compensate the watch for you! I will plead with my mom, even if I have to kneel and beg, I will surely have my mom give me money and tickets to repay you for this watch." Xu Manman pitifully held the watch.
Looking at the dial that seemed it would shatter at any moment, Jiang Chengxu's face darkened; the watch was broken. For now, he certainly wouldn't be able to return the watch to Xu Qinghuan.
Manman didn't do it on purpose, as long as they explained it well, Qinghuan should understand.
It's not something unsolvable.
"Chengxu bro, hit me, hit me hard!" Xu Manman grabbed Jiang Chengxu's wrist and moved it towards her face.
Jiang Chengxu clenched his fist tightly, frozen, "Manman, don't be agitated, it wasn't intentional."
"But, it's a watch, 120 yuan, plus a watch coupon. Chengxu bro, I will definitely plead with my mom to have her give me money to repay you!"
A hundred twenty yuan was hard to save, watch coupons even harder; in this era, weddings were about the Three Turns and One Sound, one of which was a watch.
Without a coupon, having money to go to the department store's supply and marketing cooperative wouldn't guarantee a purchase.
Some families would go to great lengths to obtain tickets from the black market, where a coupon's price almost matched the watch's price.
It was absurd to think.
The Jiang family had gone through great effort to secure this watch.
Saying Jiang Chengxu wasn't pained would be a lie, but seeing Xu Manman being so self-blaming, her eyes filled with guilt, admiration, and a hint of light directed at him, he couldn't say a single word of reproach.
"No problem, I'll see if I can find a way to repair it."
"Chengxu bro, scold me, scold me a few times, I'll feel better." Xu Manman leaned towards Jiang Chengxu,
"Chengxu bro, I'm really too upset, how can I be so stupid, can't do anything right, can't even hold a watch, I'm truly stupid, such a precious thing, much more than my life, even if I fall to death, I shouldn't have let the watch get damaged."
"Don't say silly things, a watch, no matter how precious, isn't more precious than a person." Jiang Chengxu thought of her childhood experiences, probably never having seen what a watch looked like, he couldn't bear her guilt.
"Mm, only in Chengxu bro's eyes, am I more precious than a watch, right!" She lifted her head from Jiang Chengxu's shoulder, faking a smile.
Seeing this smile, eyes full of admiration and gratitude towards him, Jiang Chengxu felt a surge of pride welling up, "Your sister would also not blame you!"
After all, all these years, Xu Qinghuan occupied the place in Xu Manman's life, enjoying the Xu family's love.
"Really?" Xu Manman, relieved, smiled radiantly.