"Auntie Li, why are you chasing after her?" Xu Haiyang appeared puzzled.
Weren’t they supposed to catch her together?
Unable to break free, Shen Mianmian instead calmed down; she couldn’t panic, or else she would really be doomed this time.
"Haiyang, you’ve come at just the right time," the matchmaker Madam Li panted heavily, pointing at Shen Mianmian as she complained, "Let me tell you, it was this damn girl who messed up your engagement with Erni."
"What does she, a young girl, have to do with it?" Xu Haiyang looked surprised, "Isn’t she Erni’s neighbor?"
"It was her who gossiped in front of Erni’s mother, saying all sorts of bad things about your family, which led Erni to call off the engagement with you. She’s sabotaging my business. If I don’t give her a good lesson today, my name isn’t Li."
Madam Li rolled up her sleeves with a fierce expression, the damn girl, even daring to bite her; even if it was all an act today, she had to get even.
"Did you really say that?" Xu Haiyang turned to Shen Mianmian, but showed no intention of getting angry, "I don’t seem to know you, do I? How do you know about my family matters?"
Now that things had come to this, Shen Mianmian became even more composed; she pursed her lips, "I heard it from someone else."
She had prepared for the worst in her heart; if she really missed the exam today and got expelled from school, then she would figure out a way to make money and go to another school to repeat her third year of junior high.
Xu Haiyang looked down and laughed contemptuously, "My family is well off, and there are people who are jealous of our good life; they like to spread rumors behind our backs. None of this is true."
"Why are you explaining to a little brat?" Madam Li made a move to strike, "Let me deal with her first, the little wretch, for daring to bite me."
"Auntie, let it go, she’s just a child."
Xu Haiyang quickly protected Shen Mianmian—no way he would let the matchmaker strike someone in his presence, as his appearance would then have only half the intended impact.
"Big nephew, what’s wrong with you? She ruined your marriage arrangement, why are you still defending her?"
Madam Li feigned anger.
Still, the way Xu Haiyang was protecting Shen Mianmian, even she, an old woman, felt touched by the sight. If she were twenty years younger and found herself in such a situation, her affection would surely have been stirred.
This time for sure! Things would likely work out quite well.
"My engagement with Erni was a matter of us not being fated for each other; it’s no one else’s fault," Xu Haiyang was magnanimous, seemingly not taking the matter to heart at all.
"It’s because you’re too kind-hearted that people dare to spread rumors behind your back."
Madam Li sighed, looking somewhat appeased.
"Auntie Li, let’s treat this as doing me a favor, and don’t make it hard on the young girl," Xu Haiyang said.
Madam Li pretended to hesitate for a moment, then sighed as if it were against her will.
"If it weren’t for you today, I would never let her off the hook no matter what."
The implication was that she wasn’t going to pursue the matter further. Google seaʀᴄh 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵
Shen Mianmian breathed a sigh of relief; she didn’t care why Madam Li wasn’t going to pursue it, she just wanted to hurry to her exam.
"Thank you, Auntie. Come to my house for a meal when you have time."
Xu Haiyang smiled and bid farewell to Auntie Li, appearing very understanding, with a sunny smile that perfectly matched the image of a first-love boyfriend in the hearts of girls.
If she didn’t know Xu Haiyang’s true character, and the various experiences Xiaocui had in her past life, she would have been blinded by his facade.
It was precisely because of such an appearance that Gu Jianbin had initially caught her eye, leading to her being so miserably deceived later on.