Du Dazhi felt he had completely lost face. That morning, he had arrogantly declared that Mu Yuting was unworthy of the Du family, yet now, for the sake of his cousin, he had to beg her not to call off the engagement.
After being rejected by Mu Yuting, his face burned crimson. Fortunately, winter nights fell early, and in the darkness, no one could see his ugly expression.
His pride severely wounded, he still had to grit his teeth and continue.
"Dawei truly loves you. The agreement is already drafted, with apologies and compensation included—just please don’t break off the engagement."
Mu Yuting knew that insincere apologies were useless. She also knew that the compensation from the Du family would be borrowed money, which would eventually have to be repaid. If the engagement wasn’t called off, that debt would ultimately fall on her shoulders, forcing her to pay it back!
In her past life, even the wedding banquet expenses—the only money the Du family spent on taking a daughter-in-law—were borrowed by Du Dawei from his cousin Du Dazhi, to be repaid with the gift money collected from guests. On the day Mu Yuting gave birth, Du Dawei claimed their savings were gone and that he needed to borrow from his cousin again, promising to repay it after the baby’s full-month celebration. In the end, it was Mu Yuting who used her dowry money from her parents to settle the debt.
The Du family’s tradition was to live paycheck to paycheck, spending every last cent each month and borrowing more when it wasn’t enough, then repaying and borrowing again the next month. They were stuck in an endless cycle of borrowing and repaying. Of course, the only person they could borrow from was Du Dazhi, because others, aware of the Du family’s habits, refused to lend them money.
"If you agree, I’ll bring the agreement over right now. Are you at the downtown hospital? Which floor of the inpatient building?"
Mu Yuting spat out a piece of corn cob and said casually, "The conditions for reconciliation haven’t been met, so there’s no rush. Let Du Dawei stay a few more days to clear his head."
Mu’s Mother sat by the hospital bed, watching her daughter eat with a smile. Hearing her on the phone, she mouthed silently: Du Dazhi?
Mu Yuting nodded. Aside from being misguided about her daughter’s marriage, her mother was quite sharp at other times.
"A few more days? You! Can we discuss this further? You were about to get married—why let it come to this?" Du Dazhi barely held back his anger, softening his tone. For his cousin’s sake, he had to endure.
"I’m eating, no time to chat." Mu Yuting hung up directly. She couldn’t be bothered to say another word to anyone from the Du family. These people disgusted her beyond measure.
In her past life, when she divorced, it was this "good cousin" who helped Du Dawei hide their marital assets, leaving Mu Yuting and her child with nothing.
Why should she give these disgusting people any face? Given a second chance at life, she only wanted to live freely, break off the engagement early, and stay far away from these dung beetles. Otherwise, she might get hit by their rolling balls of filth.
Du Dazhi, hung up on, was so angry he wanted to smash his phone. But then he thought—the phone was his, and breaking it would mean buying a new one, which wasn’t worth it. He held back. Instead, he turned around and gave his cousin Du Dawei a thorough scolding, relaying Mu Yuting’s message.
"Stay here a few more days and clear your head!" With those words, Du Dazhi stormed off without looking back.
"Brother, don’t go, brother…"
This time, Du Dazhi left without a backward glance.
Du Dawei had no choice but to remain in detention, facing another unforgettable night.
After dinner, with bedtime still a while away, Mu’s Mother couldn’t help but ask her daughter about her plans.
"Tingting, are you really set on calling off the engagement? Young people's relationships are full of ups and downs..."
"Mom, what love are you talking about?! Du Dawei doesn't love me at all. He's utterly selfish, pretending to care just because he benefits from it. If you were to take back the dowry house and gifts and cut ties with me, he'd run faster than a rocket!"
Mu's Mother choked up, taking a long moment to find her next words.
"Tingting, your injuries can't be delayed much longer, right? If the assessment doesn't reach the minor injury level and it's just a general public security case, the maximum detention is 15 days."
"Yeah, this will be resolved within three days. Mom, don't worry." Given Du Dawei's nature, he wouldn't last three days.
"What if they don't accept your terms?" Mu's Mother sounded concerned.
"They will accept, and they have to. Mom, it's still early, you should go home and rest. I'm much better and don't need anyone staying overnight. The hospital is quite safe. I'll be discharged in a few days."
Mu's Mother wanted to ask more, but Mu Yuting urged her to leave, worried about her safety returning home late. Since her daughter decided to end the engagement, she seemed to have suddenly matured, showing strong determination and no longer just following her mother's advice.
"Tingting, then... I'll bring you meals tomorrow. I've taken a few days off to work from home."
"Mom, you can rest properly at home. Don't trouble yourself, I'll eat at the hospital cafeteria."
"Food from the cafeteria can't compare to the nutrition and hygiene of home-cooked meals!" Mu's Mother unconsciously slipped back into her assertive tone.
"Then just make lunch; I'll have breakfast and dinner at the cafeteria." Mu Yuting looked earnestly into her mother's eyes. "I've grown up. Please respect my choices."
Mu's Mother was taken aback, pausing for a few seconds before finally agreeing. She picked up her thermal container and left.
Old traditional notions aren't eradicated overnight; it takes persistent effort and gradual influence. A good start is half the battle, and sincere communication is the first step toward changing outdated beliefs.
Mu Yuting gazed out the window at the quiet night, where snow had begun to fall again. Good—the colder, the better. Freeze out the pests, and we can have a proper New Year!
She propped the pillow behind her back, sitting up in the hospital bed. Her legs were warm under the covers, and her hands were—busy on her phone, searching for business opportunities.
Her phone was a domestic brand. In the era of the iPhone 4, domestic phones offered limited entertainment: logging into QQ, taking photos, listening to music, playing offline mini-games, or reading novels.
All phones came pre-installed with the iReader app, filled with romance novels like "The Domineering CEO Falls in Love With Me" and "The Overbearing Prince and the Witty Princess." Truly a case of "tyranny ruling the world."
Mu Yuting skimmed through a few books—most followed the same formula.
Modern CEO romances: the leads accidentally sleep together without knowing each other's identities, the heroine gets pregnant and disappears, only to return years later with an adorable child, stunning the CEO... who then pursues her relentlessly.
Historical prince romances: the heroine time-travels into an official or wealthy family, rebels against an arranged marriage, runs away, meets an overbearing prince who helps her counteract a love potion (or sleeps with her), and only after falling for him discovers he's her intended fiancé.
Having experienced the diverse literary landscape of later years, Mu Yuting couldn't help but smile at these old-school romances.
She remembered that during this period, Green River had quite a few top-tier authors, and the variety of genres was broader. It seemed that tragic romance novels were the most popular at the time—the kind where the female lead suffers immensely.
For example, titles like, "Want to Fall in Love? The Kind Where He Kills Your Entire Clan and Wipes Out Your Family," or "Ten Lifetimes of Immortal Realm Tragic Love, Shaking the Three Realms and Six Paths," kept readers hooked despite the heartache.
In this era, if a female lead fell in love without a few relatives or friends dying tragically, it wasn’t considered true love! In more extreme cases, the female lead herself would meet a tragic end, while the male lead achieved greatness, built a family, and spent the rest of his life in remembrance.
In later years, this trend of torturing female characters began to fade after a certain fantasy drama became a massive hit. Suddenly, the narrative shifted from tormenting the female lead to putting the male lead through ten lifetimes of suffering. This finally managed to somewhat correct the distorted values that glorified female suffering and obsessive romance tropes.
Later still, stories featuring strong female leads began to rise, promoting gender equality and exploring realistic marital relationships through books and shows. Perspectives on marriage were no longer confined by tradition, and women were no longer bound by moral expectations...
Mu Yuting looked forward to such a future arriving sooner. She decided that once she was discharged from the hospital and returned home, she would create a Green River account and seriously develop this "side hustle."
After all, in her previous life post-divorce, she had also maintained such an account, writing part-time. She already had some foundation in writing.
Starting over with a new account in this life—what should she write?
She would begin with stories about strong female leads. A female protagonist dedicated to her career was the coolest. "Equality" was never just empty words; regardless of gender, everything one wanted had to be earned through one’s own efforts.
She started brainstorming new story ideas, jotting them down in her phone’s notes. No matter what tomorrow brought, at least today she was striving, and she would keep striving.
The cold outside couldn’t affect Mu Yuting in the slightest indoors.
She slept soundly, even having a pleasant dream. In her dream, all women lived freely, no longer subordinate to men or reduced to reproductive tools, but as truly independent and whole individuals.
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