The Woman Who Accepted Her Fate Chapter 14: Elope
Peng Jiafu once again met Zousao. Following his initial plan, he told Zousao, "My nephew"s wife, I think the wedding should be set in October! I will now proceed to make preparations to help the Ji family to build a new house. From your side, immediately hire people to start making preparations to get all the wedding necessities. We should not delay the plan. The earliest time it will take to finish building a brand new house is around 2 to 3 months. Since like this, the Ji family should temporarily move to my place. At any rate, we are a family. When the house is built finished, they will move back. So, are we good to go?"
Zousao did not think that Peng Jiafu would be so impatient. She smiled and asked, "Isn"t this a bit too hasty?"
Peng Jiafu was confident in his well thought-out plan, "It"s still good. Now, as long as there"s money, it won"t be a problem to immediately marry. I"m sorry I have to trouble you to pay them another visit. If everything is fine, we can immediately begin the preparation."
Zousao had no choice but to enter the thatch cottage again. On this day, Xiaomei wasn"t home.
Zousao"s cheerful voice was like the sound of flowing water in the stream, "Uncle, aunt, this time I"m here to give all of you a good news! Your good and happy days are approaching! Boss Peng has already said that he will immediately help your family build a new house! Your family can temporary live at his home since all of you are a family! For the wedding date, he wished to hold it on 18th October. There is still a month to prepare the wedding supplies so we shouldn’t tight on time!"
"Why is it so fast?" Xiaodi, who was not mentally prepared was surprised.
"It isn"t that fast, your brother and Fengying aren"t young anymore. They should marry as soon as possible or Fengying has to attend the wedding with a big belly. Won"t this be unsightly! Besides, one month should be enough to make all your preparations!" Zousao laughed heartily.
Even though Xiaodi was still young, she certainly and clearly understood Zousao"s words. There were a number of cases of couples in Junior High School. Also, since she frequently went to Yonggang"s home to watch tv, so regarding things which minors were advised not to watch and know, she knew a bit.
Xiaodi didn"t continue to ask. Since everything was for her brother"s happiness, she thought: It"s best to go along with Peng Jiafu"s arrangement since, in the end, nothing would change. Her parents understood in their hearts that Boss Peng was anxious and wanted to avoid himself from thinking too much. Her parents, of course, agreed that the marriage should be done as soon as possible!
In this little village, the two families" marriage was like a bomb, causing a huge commotion. Anybody could picture this topic of discussion by the village as this was an extremely rare and unprecedented event which none had heard of. Many obstinate people believed that the news was unrealistic.
Regarding this explosive news, to outsiders, they were only spectators and was only a topic of idle conversation during their leisure time. This news was irrelevant and of no concern to them. However, to a certain person, it was like a bolt from the blue! He couldn"t believe and was also unwilling to accept the news to be true! This person was Ji family"s neighbor, Xiang Yonggang.
He didn"t know from when he had already been deeply in love with that little girl. He would think of ways to protect her and take care of her. His only wish when he grew up is to marry her and make her his wife and to also be together with her for his entire lifetime.
Though the two did not make any mutual promises with each other, their hearts were already linked as one and they mutually understood each other. They had already accepted the other"s feelings! Hence Yonggang was unable to believe that Xiaodi would dump him and marry somebody who was as old as her father!
Yonggang ran to the thatch cottage and his heart was filled with suspicious and anger. He angrily grabbed Xiaodi"s hand and dragged her to a quite location outside her house to question her, "Xiaodi, I heard that you are marrying Peng Jiafu? Is this true? I don"t believe it!"
Xiaodi lowered her head and dared not look into Yonggang"s eyes. She felt that the person she let down the most was him as he was the one who since young had cared for her and protected her. She had also fantasized that when she grew up, she would be his woman and he would cherish her during his whole lifetime. However, she did not have any choice as she could not abandon and disregard her parents and brother"s happiness.
She murmured, "Brother Yonggang, I"m sorry! It is true. I know you are doing well in your studies, during your days in university, you will meet girls who are many times better than me. Please forget about me!"
"No, I won"t allow you to marry that notorious scoundrel!" The always warm and gentle Yonggang suddenly exploded with rage. Both his hands swiftly held on to Xiaodi"s shoulders, "Why? Why are you marrying that b.a.s.t.a.r.d? Is it because of his money? I can also and will earn a lot of money! Xiaodi, you"re mine! You’re not allowed to marry someone else! If not, How can you expect me to continue living? I don"t care, I just want to be with you!"
"Brother Yonggang, it isn"t the same as what you"re thinking. If I don"t marry him, my brother and sister Fengying will not be together. You also know my family"s situation. If I don"t agree, my parents and brother will not be able to live in happiness! I cannot for my own happiness disregard theirs! You know how nice my brother treated me and how important he is to me!" The more Xiaodi talked, the more helpless she felt.
"So am I not important in your heart? In the end, do you even like me? Are you that willing to dump me to go and marry that old man? What about me? You tell me! What am I supposed to do?" Yonggang felt like he could not contain his anger as he shook Xiaodi.
Xiaodi was overwhelmed with grief. Her heart was in turmoil and her mind was in chaos. Her mouth continuously said, "I"m sorry! I"m sorry!"
On seeing how pained she looked, Yonggang felt despair. He pulled her into his embrace and sorrowfully plead, "Xiaodi, don"t leave me. I can"t live without you! Should we run away from here and settle at someplace far away? Over there we can earn money by ourselves to survive. As long as you are with me, I can do anything and is not scared of anything! Come with me, ok? Tonight let"s leave this place, alright?"
"But, next year will be your university entrance exam. You"re your parents" hope and pride. They have always been longing for you to be admitted into a good university to bring honor to your family. At that time, you can go to the city to find a better girl. This is then the best plan for your future!" Xiaodi"s had already long understood the difference between them two.
Even if Yonggang did not manage to pa.s.s the university entrance exam, his parents might not allow him to marry her. Her family condition was terrible, who would be willing to carry this heavy burden for his whole life? To Xiaodi, her future was bleak! Hence for her to be able to have this current ending was already the best. She at least could bring hope to her brother and parents.
"I don"t care about going to a good university. If you are not in my life, what"s the point of my hard work? What I want is only you, except for you there are no better girls! Xiaodi, you know how I feel towards you. There"s nothing I want except for you leaving with me. We will live out own life together, alright?" Yonggang looked at Xiaodi with eyes burning with antic.i.p.ation, causing her body to go weak.
Seeing that Xiaodi did not respond, he urgently said, "Tonight 11 pm, I will be waiting outside your house. If you don"t come out, I won"t leave!" Xiaodi"s heart started to waver as she slightly nodded her head. She also wanted to be with her childhood sweetheart and blissfully live their life.
Yonggang released his grip on her. Since she had already promised him, this shows that she still loved him. Hence he felt relieved and satisfied from that. Before he turned and leave, he reminded one last time, "Remember, tonight 11 pm. See you!"