Lin Anyu surprisingly took the initiative to speak up and plead for Chen Yang. This scene left Chen Yuanchao stunned on the spot. Liu Shufang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but still held her husband tightly, afraid that he would get any closer to their son.
Chen Yang raised his head with mixed feelings and looked at Lin Anyu on the bed. Lin Anyu stared intently at Chen Yang, her eyes red. Although she spoke up to plead for Chen Yang, she just didn't want the Chen family elders to die without an heir because of her. She hated Chen Yang, but not the two elders of the Chen family. If possible, she even considered killing Chen Yang herself.
In this era, women valued their chastity highly. Lin Anyu couldn't understand how she, at only 18 years old, could be defiled by an ignorant and shameless scoundrel. What had happened tonight had caused quite a stir. She estimated that by tomorrow morning, all the villagers in Niujiawan would know about this. How could Lin Anyu possibly live with herself after this?
She had made up her mind: tomorrow, when no one was looking, she would find a dry well, jump in, and end it all. So what if they killed Chen Yang? That wouldn't change the fact that she wasn't innocent.
"Uncle, tell Chen Yang to get lost! I don't want to see him again!"
Lin Anyu's beautiful face was devoid of any vitality. Upon hearing this, Chen Yuanchao sighed heavily and put down the wood-chopping knife he had raised. He looked at Chen Yang, about to speak—but Chen Yang took the initiative, remaining kneeling but straightening his upper body.
"An Yu, if you don't mind... marry me. I will treat you well for the rest of my life and make you happy for the rest of your life!"
Chen Yang said this from the bottom of his heart. It contained both guilt over the past decades and lingering feelings for Lin Anyu. He also admitted that there was a hidden agenda behind that statement: Lin Anyu was really beautiful. Her features were flawless, her skin was as white as snow, and her figure was curvaceous. Even without makeup, she was still more beautiful than female celebrities of later generations. If he could really marry Lin Anyu, Chen Yang felt that his life would be complete.
However, Lin Anyu gave a bitter laugh. "Marry me? Ha! Why should I marry you? Give me happiness? Because of you?"
"I promise! I will raise the 200 yuan dowry as soon as possible, and marry you properly so that everyone knows that you are the one I, Chen Yang, married in a grand and glorious way!"
(Catatan: Dibenarkan "Chen Yangfeng" menjadi "Chen Yang" karena nama tokoh utama adalah Chen Yang)
Chen Yang's expression was serious, and he couldn't fake it at all. Upon hearing his words, Lin Anyu's expression momentarily faltered. If it were someone else, Lin Anyu might consider it. After all, if she lost her innocence, even if she remarried, she would be gossiped about and unable to hold her head high in her husband's family for the rest of her life. No woman would want to accept this fate. But the person who said this was Chen Yang—a lazy bum who lived off his parents. How credible were his words?
"Hmph, why should I believe you?" Lin Anyu chuckled, her gaze towards Chen Yang filled with pity.
"Give me a week! I will definitely save up 200 yuan within a week!"
As he spoke, Chen Yang stood up. He straightened his chest and continued in a strong voice: "If I can't do it, I won't need any of you to lift a finger. I'll find a cliff and jump off myself. I won't drag you down with me!"
"My son, you...you've gone mad?" Liu Shufang was so angry that she came up and punched Chen Yang on the head. She thought Chen Yang had gone mad. How could anyone possibly earn 200 yuan in a week? That's 200 yuan!
Chen Yuanchao frowned deeply, his grip on the wood-chopping knife tightening. He knew Chen Yang wanted to earn 200 yuan, but didn't expect him to utter the nonsense that he could earn it in a week. It seemed this brat was still spouting nonsense. In that instant, disappointment enveloped Chen Yuanchao.
Looking at Chen Yang, Lin Anyu's eyes showed less hatred but more disgust. "I don't need your boastful promises. Just live your life well and don't let your uncle and aunt down." This passage contained the greatest goodness of Lin Anyu—that's all for the person who hurt her the most.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely earn 200 yuan within a week." Chen Yang didn't want to push Lin Anyu too far, so he changed his mind and said: "When I earn 200 yuan, you can marry me, or you can not. I won't force you. But I have one condition!"
"You still dare to make demands?" Chen Yuanchao raised his foot, about to kick Chen Yang, but Liu Shufang stopped him.
Chen Yang remained unfazed and continued: "My condition is simple: if I earn 200 yuan in a week, you, Lin Anyu, must live a good life! If you're willing, I'm always ready to marry you, but I'll never force you!"
After saying that, Chen Yang turned around without hesitation, walked out of the room amidst his parents' astonished gazes, and disappeared into the night.
Chen Yuanchao was stunned for a moment, unsure whether he should chase after Chen Yang. Don't say it or not—although his son was a scoundrel, at least his last few words were somewhat human, very responsible. Liu Shufang thought the same way. She looked at Lin Anyu, wondering how she had reacted after her son said those words.
However, when Liu Shufang looked over, she saw Lin Anyu with her head down, staring at the quilt covering her legs, remaining motionless for a long time.
"An Yu, we're going out first. You...you don't want to distrust Chen Yang just this once?" Liu Shufang tentatively spoke.
Lin Anyu remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, saying noncommittally: "I want to wait for my sister to come back." After saying this, she collapsed onto the bed and never said another word.
Liu Shufang breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Lin Anyu's words. Lin Anrou wouldn't be back for another two days. In the next couple of days, Liu Shufang planned to do some more ideological work with Lin Anyu. If all went well, tonight's events might be resolved by turning a major issue into a minor one.
"Let's go, let's not disturb An Yu's rest."
"Okay, An Yu, get some rest. If you need anything in the future, just let me know."
Chen Yuanchao and Liu Shufang carefully left the room.
...
The words had been spoken. The next step was to take action. As Chen Yang emerged from his house, his mind was filled with thoughts of hunting to make money. But this needed to be done step by step. He didn't have a hunting rifle right now, so he had to think of other ways to hunt.
Thinking about this... Chen Yang looked at the chicken coop in the yard. This chicken coop had been abandoned a long time ago—after all, the Chen family couldn't afford the costs of raising chickens. Now, the chicken coop was left unused and was lined with a layer of weeds.
Chen Yang crawled into the chicken coop and found a slingshot among a pile of weeds. A long time ago, when Chen Yang was bored, he would go up the mountain with the young people in the village to hunt pheasants and wild birds with slingshots. Later, when he lost interest, the slingshot was thrown into the chicken coop. Fortunately, Chen Yang was quite skilled at using a slingshot.
Under the cover of night, he picked up his slingshot, left the courtyard, and ran towards the back mountain.