Volume One, Chapter 12: Sincerity or Strategy?

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Huang Zhiyao was completely mesmerized!

From an objective standpoint, Chen Yang was undoubtedly a handsome man among handsome men.

His height, posture, and facial features were all impeccable.

If the trend of idolizing fresh-faced young men had existed in that era, he would have outshone every one of them.

To put it this way, if this guy hadn’t been so mischievous and had maintained a good reputation, the Chen family’s doorsteps would have been trampled flat by suitors.

Now it seemed he had corrected those bad habits. According to Chen Ying, he was even selling goods at the county’s state-run grand hotel.

Most importantly, this guy truly cared for her. If he could keep this up, he wouldn’t be a bad choice at all!

At this moment, Huang Zhiyao’s resolve had been completely shattered by Chen Yang.

“Don’t worry, Chen Yang. As long as you live a good life, I definitely won’t divorce you.”

This was her promise to Chen Yang, and she was the type to keep her word.

“Of course, you still have to give me lots of sons, hehe.”

After receiving Huang Zhiyao’s promise, Chen Yang’s mood lifted even more.

He began teasing Huang Zhiqing, saying that whether or not they had sons wasn’t important; what mattered was enjoying the process.

Damn, he had been completely drunk that day, and then he was reborn—there was no real sense of experience.

If he could, Chen Yang really wanted to try out the outdoor battles that Li Cheng had mentioned.

“Who wants to have sons with you? How shameless!”

Huang Zhiyao blushed and lowered her head again, teased by Chen Yang.

Her reaction made Chen Yang sigh with admiration: this era was truly better—once you’d slept together, it was for life.

“Yang’er, Yang’er, can you be a little quieter? I heard Huang Zhiqing crying from far away—be mindful of the noise!”

Just as the two of them were sweetly exchanging words, Li Cheng’s boisterous voice came over.

He almost drove Chen Yang mad—what was he thinking? Didn’t he have any sense of discretion?

With that attitude, how could he expect Chen Yang to help him get rich? Forget it!

Chen Yang was about to stand up and give him a good scolding but was stopped by Huang Zhiyao.

“We’ve been out this long already. If we don’t go back soon, the roommates will start gossiping about me.”

So Li Cheng, who had come running over, got kicked twice and stood there dumbfounded, not knowing where he had gone wrong.

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After sending Huang Zhiyao back to the dormitory entrance, Chen Yang smiled and said, “Zhiyao, tomorrow I’ll bring people over to formally propose marriage. Get ready, I promise it’ll be impressive.”

“Okay, I’m waiting for you!”

Huang Zhiyao still wore that obedient look, leaving Li Cheng stunned.

“Yang’er really is Yang’er. I have to learn from him sometime.”

“Alright then, see you tomorrow!”

After giving Li Cheng another kick, the two of them grabbed their lunch boxes and rode off on their bicycles.

Watching them leave, Huang Zhiyao turned and returned to the dormitory.

“Tsk tsk tsk, your face is glowing with happiness. Tell us, what did you and Chen Yang do just now?”

Song Qian and the other four girls in the dormitory immediately surrounded Huang Zhiyao when she returned.

All five could tell that Huang Zhiyao was in an extremely good mood, completely free of the previous gloom and even suicidal thoughts.

Could it be that Chen Yang had truly nourished her heart? Which young girl didn’t have a crush?

So everyone grew curious and eager to know what had happened.

“Oh, what else could we have done? Just ate by the river and chatted a bit. I’m starting to feel that the people in Wangchuan Town misunderstand Chen Yang.”

Huang Zhiyao said, somewhat puzzled.

She really had heard plenty of bad things about Chen Yang from the villagers.

Rumors of drinking, gambling, womanizing, smoking, scamming, and stealing—they said he did it all.

But after spending these two days with him, she realized it was nothing like that.

He was calm, capable, responsible, and dependable. Compared to him, those other educated youths were insignificant.

Such a person couldn’t possibly have done so many dirty things.

As the saying goes, hearing isn’t believing, seeing is.

Therefore, Huang Zhiyao chose to trust what she had seen.

“Zhiyao, why do you say that? Have you discovered something?”

Song Qian and the others, full of gossip, sat cross-legged on the kang bed, waiting for Huang Zhiyao to share.

“Do you know where Chen Yang got the money to buy me those things?”

“Where else could it be? He must have emptied Uncle Chen’s family savings. I just don’t understand—Uncle Chen, Aunt Chen, and Sister Chen Ying are all so nice, how come Chen Yang is so rebellious?”

Another girl educated youth, Zhang Na, chimed in.

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“No, Chen Yang didn’t ask for a single penny from his family. He earned that money selling things. And you know what? I already told him that we could get married first but hold off on registering the marriage because I want to try taking the college entrance exam.”

Chen Yang didn’t hesitate at all; he immediately agreed. His confidence—that he wasn’t afraid she would leave if she got into college—was truly stunning.

Thinking back to Chen Yang’s commanding demeanor, Huang Zhiyao was still thrilled.

“Zhiyao, are you stupid? Men’s words are like lies! If you have a ceremony, you become part of the Chen family. Do you think Chen Yang will let you take the college entrance exam and then leave him?

Once you’re married and have been intimate, it’s only natural to have children. Then what college entrance exam?

This is just a clever ploy—once the deed is done, it’s done!”

Song Qian quickly shared her thoughts upon hearing this.

The other girls all wholeheartedly agreed—old habits die hard. Chen Yang’s current act was just for show.

Chen Ying was his biological sister; of course, she would side with her own brother.

So what she said wasn’t really trustworthy.

A best friend is a best friend, but it can’t beat family ties.

Hearing Song Qian’s words, Huang Zhiyao’s resolve wavered.

It made sense—what if she got pregnant? Could she really have an abortion?

If that happened, how could she still take the college entrance exam?

But recalling Chen Yang’s expression just now, he didn’t seem to be lying.

So who was right? She began to feel conflicted.

“Chen Yang said there will be a grand proposal tomorrow, and the whole village knows about it. Let’s see what he does then.

At that time, all the answers will be revealed.

But Zhiyao, I still advise you to prepare yourself mentally. Don’t think too highly of him. After all, old habits die hard.”

“Achoo, achoo!”

Chen Yang, sitting on the back of the bicycle, suddenly started sneezing violently.

“Damn it, who’s cursing me behind my back?”

…