Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

And so, shyly and hesitantly, she told her mother what was on her mind.

All of Gou Dan’s mother’s excitement vanished as if doused by a bucket of cold water. She stared at Meizi in disbelief. "You like Changming, not Qingmu?"

Having confessed her feelings, Meizi felt embarrassed, even though it was her own mother. Her ears turned beet red. Hearing her mother’s words, she looked up in confusion and asked, "What about Qingmu? I haven’t seen him in ages."

Her mind had been completely filled with Li Changming lately. Still, she managed not to blurt out, ’Who’s Qingmu?’

Gou Dan’s mother’s lips trembled as she asked, "Then all those times you went to see Juhua..."

Meizi blushed and said, "I was feeling down, so I just wanted to talk to Juhua. She’s not very talkative and doesn’t gossip."

Gou Dan’s mother finally broke down, crying out, "How can you be so foolish! What’s so good about him? His family has nothing but four mud walls. It’s not that I look down on him for being poor—poverty isn’t the issue. It’s that mother of his! You know what she’s like..."

Meizi saw how much her mother looked down on Li Changming and disparaged his mother. ’But just because his mother is a certain way doesn’t mean Changming is like that,’ she thought.

And so, she quietly argued, "Changming is a good person!"

When Gou Dan’s mother heard her daughter defending Li Changming, her heart sank. ’She’s already given her heart to that boy.’

Just a moment ago, she’d wondered if her daughter was just being simple-minded, if this was just a fleeting, foolish idea. She had been about to string together some words to talk her out of it, but it seemed that was a lost cause now.

She cried, "He’s so much older than you! Why have you taken a liking to him? Is it because he saved you, and you feel indebted? You silly girl, you can’t think that way. I’d rather spend more money than let you throw your whole life away on him."

Meizi said frantically, "No, that’s not it! I wasn’t thinking that!"

Tears started to stream down her face, too. Her mother’s reaction terrified her; it was nothing like the "You need to have your own ideas, and only when I know them can I help you" she’d said before. This filled Meizi with fear and shame. ’Should I not have brought this up tonight? Now I’ve just made Mom sad and worried.’

Qin and his mother were also disturbed by the noise and came over to Meizi’s room. Gou Dan tried to come too, but Qin snapped at him and sent him to bed.

After the mother and son heard what Gou Dan’s mother had to say, they too stared at Meizi in disbelief. ’Why does she like Li Changming instead of Qingmu?’

Qin said angrily, "Absolutely not! This is out of the question. Are you stupid? He’s so old! And that mother of his is a troublemaking woman, lazy and greedy. If you really marry into that family, you’ll spend the rest of your days crying."

Meizi’s grandmother shot her son a glare, then lowered her voice and said through gritted teeth, "What are you shouting for? Do you want the whole village to hear?" Turning to Gou Dan’s mother, she said, "And you, calm down. What are you crying for? I’m not dead yet! Can’t we talk this over properly? With all this crying and yelling, look, you’ve scared Meizi into silence. The reason she told you her feelings tonight was to ask for your advice, wasn’t it?"

With that, she sat down beside her granddaughter, took her hand, and began to silently gather her thoughts, preparing to use a lifetime of experience to persuade the girl.

Hearing her grandmother’s words, Meizi’s tears fell even faster.

Qin fell silent after hearing his mother, and Gou Dan’s mother held back her tears. The couple pricked up their ears, listening to the sounds from outside.

In the dark of night, they could still hear people talking loudly outside, punctuated by the distant bark of a dog or two. Occasionally, a child’s cry would suddenly ring out. After they stopped making noise, the surroundings became much quieter. The chirping of insects outside the window was now crystal clear, along with the croaking of frogs in the distance.

The family sat in silence for a moment before they began their assault, taking turns one by one. They covered everything from his family’s finances to his character and looks, from his parents to his siblings, from his age to his capabilities. Each had their own speech, but the goal was the same: to make Meizi see exactly what kind of person this Li Changming she liked was, and to make her ask herself, ’Have you really thought this through?’

Qin said, "Changming... to be fair, he’s not a bad person. But compared to the other young men in the village—like Qingmu, Huai Zi, or Changxing—he’s a bit lacking, whether in looks or character. It’s not that your mother and I look down on him for being poor. But why is his family in such a state? It’s because no one there knows how to plan. His father, Li Laoda, is a good-for-nothing who can’t even control his own wife. His brother, Changling, is a reckless fool. And his mother is famous for being lazy and a gossip. If you marry into that family, what hope do you have of a good life?"

Meizi’s grandmother spoke earnestly, "Meizi, Grandma is old and has seen a lot. Changming is a good boy, I’ll give him that, but his family is a real headache. That Granny Hua is his mother. He can’t do anything about her—he can’t just disown his own mother, can he? But can he just let it be? With a mother-in-law like that around, do you think you’ll ever have a peaceful day? It’s true that you rely on your husband to make a life, but your in-laws are just as important. Otherwise, why would your mother be so picky on your behalf?"

Gou Dan’s mother was the sharpest speaker. Wiping her eyes, she said, "Why even talk about his family? Just look at Juhua’s family. Even when they were poor, they lived an orderly life. Look how much Aunt Zheng dotes on her children. Can Granny Hua even compare? Or look at Changxing’s mother—raising him all by herself, she’s managed to make a decent life without much help from the Old Li Family’s brothers. And the Liu Family, with all those brothers—they’re poor too, but their lives are so much more pleasant. And Huai Zi’s family... Any one of them is more harmonious than his. Forget the families, let’s just compare the men. Qingmu, Huai Zi, Changxing, the Liu brothers—isn’t every single one of them better than Changming? Qingmu and Huai Zi are even scholars! How can anyone else compare to their worldliness?"