"Eh, isn’t that Widow Xie’s son? I heard he’s about to get married, so why is he here slandering Boss Mo?"
"About to get married? But I’ve seen him loitering around Boss Mo’s shop entrance several times! Could it be that this man has some crooked thoughts?"
As Xie Zhiyuan listened to everyone’s gossip, the smug look on his face vanished, and when he heard someone mention his impending marriage, he felt even more uneasy. Ever since he had seen Mo Sanniang and the man before him being affectionate, he had been so angry that he didn’t eat for two days.
Later, he couldn’t hold back his anger and came to loiter around the cloth shop entrance several times, but saw Ma Xiaoqian’s cousins, and for fear they would tell Ma Xiaoqian, he didn’t go inside. He didn’t expect that today, without running into anyone from the Ma Family, he would instead be recognized by some neighbors.
Mo Sanniang, with tears in her eyes, looked at the man who stood in front of her defending her and realized that this usually reticent and restrained bookworm actually had a bold and assertive side. On the other side, the man she had been devotedly in love with for many years, Xie Zhiyuan, not only abandoned her first but insulted her afterwards, and was now here to tarnish her reputation.
Mo Sanniang wished she could gouge out her own eyes; what kind of love potion had she drunk to have been deceived by this hypocritical man for so many years!
She had foolishly believed his vows of eternal love and waited in vain, missing out on her prime years.
How infuriating, pitiful, and hateful!
Lin Yuan, standing at the door, couldn’t help but inwardly applaud Meng Liangdong! Mr. Meng, after all, hadn’t become foolish from all his studying and could step up boldly when he saw the woman he liked being bullied. Truly, he was a revelation!
But Xie Zhiyuan, this scum who didn’t even care to save face, seemed to have no intention of leaving. He stood there, pointing at Meng Liangdong with hatred, and said, "Meng Liangdong, stop stirring up trouble! Don’t think I don’t know that it’s you who Mo Sanniang has fallen for! Humph, you scum, snatching other people’s fates, I, I am irreconcilable with you!"
Having said that, he suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh and looked towards Mo Sanniang, who was shielded by Meng Liangdong, his words laced with scorn, "I was wondering why you couldn’t wait for me anymore, turns out you’ve hooked up with a wealthy boss. Ha, Mo Sanniang, you do have an eye for things, willing to demean yourself for Silver. Didn’t you always say you liked men like me who are educated and cultured? Why the change of heart now? Tsk tsk, what a pity."
"Xie Zhiyuan, stop slinging mud! I, I have nothing with Mr. Meng!" Mo Sanniang was both angry and hateful, surprised that this man would concoct a story about her having feelings for Meng Liangdong just to slander her! What did this have to do with anything?
"You can slander me if you want, but Mr. Meng is upright and honorable, not someone that can be idly maligned by you!"
Xie Zhiyuan laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke, pointing at the clearly blushing Meng Liangdong and mocking him, "Upright and honorable? Ha, Mo Sanniang, are you a fool? Come on, everyone look, look, if there really was nothing guilty going on, why would this Mr. Meng be blushing ? Ah? Why don’t you speak up? Weren’t you just zealously defending your woman? Why is it that when it comes to you, you are suddenly silent? Feeling guilty? Admitting it?"
Faced with Xie Zhiyuan’s relentless attack, Meng Liangdong’s mind was full of what he had said about Mo Sanniang fancying him; could it really be true? Could Mo Sanniang also feel the same way?
"Xie Zhiyuan, don’t be !" Mo Sanniang saw that Meng Liangdong remained silent and thought that this honest man didn’t know how to retort, never realizing it was because Xie Zhiyuan had struck a nerve.
Lin Yuan saw Meng Liangdong not speaking but merely bowing his head, feeling anxious and frustrated. He had been so eloquent just moments ago, so why was it that now, when it was time for him to show his manliness, he had wilted?