Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

After a good cry, Gou Dan’s mother felt a little better. She pleaded with Yang Family, "Sister-in-law, you have to help me keep this a secret. Otherwise, people will think my Meizi did something scandalous—first promised to Qingmu, then breaking it off for Changming. It’s all my fault. I’m so foolish. I saw she was upset lately and always coming to see Juhua, so I took it upon myself to think, ’Could it be she likes Qingmu?’ That’s why I asked Grandma Huang to approach you. Who knew I’d be so wrong? She might have had the idea in her head, but she never did anything. It’s all my fault for making such a mess."

Yang Family quickly assured her, "Don’t you worry. Am I the type to gossip?" ’That time I had that huge fight with Liu’er’s mother, I never blabbed about Liu’er’s situation,’ she thought. ’I’d be even less likely to talk about Meizi.’

Grandma Huang also comforted Gou Dan’s mother. "Zheng Changhe’s wife is an honest person; she won’t gossip. And you can rest easy about me, too. I’ve lived this long, and I’m no blabbermouth. Meizi is a good girl. We all know that."

Hearing this, Yang Family laughed. "Well said! I can’t say I’m not a little upset. I mean, a perfectly good daughter-in-law suddenly flew the coop. I’m actually jealous of Granny Hua—she didn’t have to lift a finger and still landed such a wonderful daughter-in-law. I’m fond of Meizi, too, you know. Otherwise, I’d be willing to fight Granny Hua for her."

This made both Grandma Huang and Gou Dan’s mother laugh, and Gou Dan’s mother’s mood brightened considerably. She offered many more apologies to Yang Family, humbling herself again and again before finally taking her leave.

While the women were crying and talking, Juhua went back out to search the vegetable patch. Hidden beneath the green vines of the melon plants covering the ground, she found a short, stout, and perfectly ripe melon. Its green rind, similar to a watermelon’s, was already fading to a whitish-yellow and giving off a faint, sweet scent.

They had missed it earlier.

She picked some old cowpeas, planning to steam them with the rice. Young cowpeas were best stir-fried for a crisp bite, but older ones had to be steamed or boiled until tender.

She was busy picking and washing vegetables for a while. When she saw Grandma Huang and Gou Dan’s mother leaving, she cut the melon in two. She began eating one half and handed the other to Yang Family, who had just walked into the kitchen. "Is it called off?" she asked.

Yang Family took the slice, washed her hands, and started eating. "It is," she said. "Sigh. She cried as if her own mother had died. She’s always been such a proud woman, but today, for Meizi’s sake, she was so meek and apologetic with me. Children are a debt you can never repay. All parents under the sun have the same worries."

Juhua said, "I think she’s more resentful than anything. She definitely doesn’t want to marry Meizi off to Brother Changming."

Yang Family gave her an appreciative look. "Exactly. She absolutely despises that Granny Hua. Now she has to marry her daughter to Granny Hua’s son. Do you think she can swallow her pride? She was crying so hard, I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or something else. This melon is perfectly ripe! Where did you find it? Didn’t we search the whole patch this morning?"

Juhua smiled. "It was in a furrow over by the cowpeas, hidden under the vines. I actually kicked it before I saw it."

Yang Family said, "You shouldn’t have picked it. We should have let it mature on the vine for seeds."

"There are others, aren’t there?" Juhua replied. "We’ll just leave one of those instead."

During lunch, Yang Family told Zheng Changhe and Qingmu about Gou Dan’s mother coming to call off the engagement.

Zheng Changhe was so angry he slammed his bowl on the table. "That Li Laoda must have stepped in dog shit! How could he get so lucky? His family’s a mess, and he still ends up with such a fine daughter-in-law."

He was thoroughly displeased that his prospective daughter-in-law had been snatched away.

Qingmu said nothing, just kept his head down and ate.

’I’m not happy about this either,’ he thought. ’Meizi has been coming over to see Juhua for so long, and she never developed feelings for me. Instead, she likes Li Changming, who’s so much older than her. It just doesn’t make any sense.’

If they hadn’t proposed yesterday, he wouldn’t have cared at all about Meizi marrying Li Changming. But to have the proposal accepted and then rejected, all in the space of a single night... He felt like a plow ox that had been paraded around the market, only for no one to make an offer. Or worse, as if someone had bought him only to return him, claiming he wasn’t a good animal.

Juhua watched her brother with concern. ’He didn’t even have feelings for Meizi in the first place,’ she thought. ’Being toyed with like this is just so frustrating.’

’He might be my older brother, but he’s still just a teenager. I hope this doesn’t leave a lasting mark on him.’

But Qingmu was merely unhappy; it wouldn’t leave a lasting mark.

That evening, on his way home from his studies, he ran into Li Changming. Neither was a man of many words. They nodded a brief greeting and went their separate ways.

Seeing Li Changming’s somber expression, Qingmu figured Gou Dan’s mother probably hadn’t told him about the engagement yet. ’Otherwise, he wouldn’t look like that,’ he thought.

After dinner, he saw it was still light out, so he took a book and went to sit by the river. He tried to read, but he couldn’t absorb a single word.

Next to the stone slab where Juhua did the laundry, the willow tree they had planted in the spring had been submerged during the flood. It hadn’t been washed away, but the water had taken its toll. Qingmu had reinforced the soil around it later, and it had managed to survive, but it hadn’t grown much taller. Instead, it had sprouted numerous thin branches that now swayed in the breeze.

Twilight slowly deepened. The wisps of cooking smoke from the village melted into the dimming sky. A few frogs croaked in the distance, but otherwise, all was quiet. A bright moon hung in the sky, its light making the Little Qing River glitter.

Suddenly, he turned to see Juhua approaching quietly and sitting down beside him. He looked at his sister but said nothing.

Juhua leaned against Qingmu, and together they listened to the sounds of the evening, watching the reflection of the moon as it warped and danced on the river’s flowing surface.

It was so quiet she could hear the PLINK of a water droplet hitting the river. It reminded her of a song lyric: "as delicate as an embroidery needle falling to the floor." This sound, however, had its own unique crispness.

After a long moment, Juhua asked softly, "Brother, are you angry that the engagement was called off?"

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)