Chapter 10

It was rare for a major incident to happen in the village, and as soon as the news spread, busybodies rushed out to see what was going on.
As Sang Ran ran toward the scene, she could hear the villagers discussing:
"Oh dear, I knew that little ruffian wouldn’t be up to any good."
"Isn’t Sang Ran supposed to marry him tomorrow? And here he is, picking a fight today. I bet Sang Ran is crying in her room after hearing the news."
As soon as the words were spoken, a girl dashed past them. The speaker chuckled awkwardly and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Ah, young people are just hot-headed, she must be running off to cry."
Instantly proven wrong, no one laughed at him. Instead, they nodded along, saying, "Yeah, I always said Zhu Chang’an isn't a good husband candidate. My daughter-in-law insisted he'd be good to his wife, but look at this, whoever heard of a groom getting into a fight the day before his wedding? If I were his father-in-law, I'd be furious!"
Sang Ran paid no attention to these voices as she ran from her uncle's courtyard to the village entrance in just three minutes, hearing similar remarks all along the way.
Perhaps no one expected Sang Ran, who was about to get married, to dare rush straight to the scene of the fight.
At that moment, a crowd had gathered at the village entrance, the noise particularly loud. Many were trying to mediate, hoping to stop the brawl.
Breathless, Sang Ran pushed her way to the edge of the crowd and began shoving through the onlookers.
Those who had been enjoying the spectacle were initially annoyed at being jostled, but upon seeing it was Sang Ran, they all stepped aside willingly, reassuring her, "Sang Ran, don't be scared. Young folks fight all the time, they're already being pulled apart. It won't escalate."
Sang Ran nodded dismissively, her eyes immediately locking onto Zhu Chang’an, who was grappling fiercely with a tall, fierce-looking young man.
Besides him, several of Zhu Chang’an's brothers, whom Sang Ran had met before, were also embroiled in the fight. The scene was chaotic, with older villagers attempting to intervene but unsure where to start, only able to shout, "Stop fighting! Can't you talk things out properly?"
"Fuck! I'm gonna beat the shit out of you, you bastard!" Zhu Chang’an roared furiously, throwing punch after punch at the young man he had pinned down.
"Ah!" the victim screamed in pain, his expression growing more twisted, but he was too restrained to mount an effective counterattack. He bellowed, red-faced and veins bulging, "Zhu Chang’an, you coward! You dare do it but won't own up to it, you son of a bitch! You cuckolded me, I'll kill you!"
Cuckolded?
The onlookers widened their eyes in shock, then subtly glanced at the Sang family members who had arrived one after another, as well as Sang Ran, who stood near the center of the fray.
The Sang family members all wore grim expressions but kept their mouths shut, saying nothing.
Meanwhile, others were outraged, muttering that Zhu Chang’an was a troublemaker not worth marrying, had he really gotten someone else pregnant before even officially tying the knot?
"What a sin!" an older woman lamented sympathetically, her heart going out to Sang Ran.
Of course, Zhu Chang’an and his side denied it. He grew even angrier, cursing and hitting harder, as if deeply offended. "I wouldn't touch your woman if you paid me! She's as dark as coal, nowhere near as good-looking as my fiancée!"
"Exactly! Chang'an would never be interested in your woman!" Zhu Chang'an's brother snarled, his face twisted in fury as he wrestled with the opponent, yet his raspy voice responded without missing a beat.
But no one believed his retort.
Sang Ran narrowed her eyes but kept her gaze fixed on the brawling group. The situation was still under control, and Zhu Chang'an even had the upper hand.
It probably wasn’t the incident from the original plot that would leave Zhu Chang'an with a limp.
Since there was no real danger, Sang Ran had no intention of intervening.
But no sooner had she thought this than she saw one of the fighters suddenly break free from his own side’s restraint. Roaring, he charged at Zhu Chang'an, shouting, "You still dare deny it? My sister is pregnant with your child, and you have the nerve to marry someone else."
The young man lunged forward, shoving Zhu Chang'an, who had been overpowering the tall man, to the side.
The tall man finally broke free. Having been suppressed for so long, he was enraged and, in a fit of anger, pulled out a dagger the size of a fruit knife from his calf!
The tall man sneered, his eyes bloodshot as he charged forward. "Zhu Chang'an, go to hell!"
"Whoa, "
"A knife! He has a knife!"
"Boss, watch out!!"
As soon as the knife appeared, the onlookers, who had been casually watching the commotion, all took a step back in fear, warning their own people to be careful.
"Damn it!" Sang Ran cursed under her breath, her face darkening as she rushed forward.
So it really was this time, though she didn’t understand why it was happening so much later than in the plot.
Zhu Chang'an twisted his body to dodge the attack, his arm getting grazed. But as he turned, he saw Sang Ran charging toward him. His heart nearly stopped, and his eyes widened in horror. Scrambling to his feet, he yelled frantically, "Get away!"
Sang Ran ignored him, heading straight for the tall man.
The tall man, having missed his first strike, grinned viciously and shifted his target, brandishing the knife. "All of you, go to hell!"
"Sang Ran! Zhao Tian, you bastard, how dare you?!" Zhu Chang'an roared in fury and panic, trying to rush over to block the attack.
But at that moment, the slender girl, who was about to collide with the tall man, twisted her body to evade the stab. Then, she grabbed the man’s thick arm.
It was clear to everyone that the tall man, who had been charging fiercely just moments before, suddenly froze. His eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, as if someone had hit the pause button, leaving him in a dazed state.
Soon after, the girl lifted her cold, pretty face and delivered a fierce kick, shouting, "Get lost!"
"Thud, " The familiar sound of a body hitting the ground echoed.
For a moment, the scene fell into silence.
Sang Ran’s sudden outburst left everyone stunned.
Was this really the same delicate, fragile girl they knew?
Even Zhu Chang'an, who had rushed over to shield her from the knife out of fear that she might get stabbed, didn’t know how to react. His features contorted into an expression that was half-crying, half-laughing, and he stood frozen in place.
Sang Ran’s eyes shifted, realizing she might have overdone it. But she had been provoked, she had already resolved one incident, only to find that this was the real crisis that would leave Zhu Chang'an with a limp. She hadn’t held back.
After kicking the man, she noticed everyone’s stunned expressions and quickly reined in her momentum. She threw herself at Zhu Chang'an, who was closest to her, and burst into loud sobs. "That scared me to death! He actually pulled a knife! If something happened to you, what would I do? Waaah"
"Right! The knife!"
"Quick, restrain him!" The village chief’s voice suddenly rang out.
The stunned crowd snapped back to their senses and saw that the burly man who had been holding the knife was now lying on the ground, unable to get up. He was curled up, clutching his stomach, and the knife had long since slipped from his hand, falling to the side.
The other groups involved in the brawl also stopped due to this sudden turn of events. Zhu Chang'an's brothers looked at the state of the burly man, exchanging glances, all feeling a sense of familiarity.
At that moment, following orders, everyone stepped forward to restrain the troublemakers. The strong young villagers of the village, two to a person, quickly stabilized the situation.
Zhu Chang'an looked down at the girl clinging to him and crying. Her usually lively and playful big eyes were now red and swollen, with tears clinging to her long lashes. Her fair little face was flushed, and her lips were pursed in extreme distress.
All the confusion in his heart was pushed aside as he instinctively comforted her, "It's alright, it's alright."
As he spoke, the cut on his lip from the fight, still bleeding, stung sharply. He hissed in pain, his face contorting.
Sang Ran, still shaken and growing angrier, turned and shouted at the village chief who was overseeing the arrests, "Uncle, send them all to the police station!"
The village chief responded with a grim expression, "Don't worry, they're definitely going to the station!"
The restrained young men glared fiercely in their direction, and the leader sneered, "Zhu Chang'an, you coward, just wait! How dare you cuckold me!"
Zhu Chang'an's face changed, and he retorted furiously, "I already told you I'm not interested in your woman! Don't frame me!"
He then hurriedly lowered his head to explain to Sang Ran, "Sang Ran, I really didn't do anything. I've been keeping to myself, at most just playing cards and smoking. Lately, I haven't even been playing cards, and the money" He trailed off mid-sentence, as if remembering something, "Where's my bicycle?"
A pale, skinny young man quickly replied, "Brother, it's right here! It's fine, no problem!"
Everyone's gaze followed to where a black bicycle, unnoticed until now, had been hidden in the grass. It was smaller than the typical crossbar bicycles of the time, with a clean body. Aside from a few blades of grass stuck to it, the paint gleamed, making it a rather handsome bicycle.
After the slightly thrilling events they had just witnessed, and hearing Zhu Chang'an's words, many people looked on with strange expressions. Had they really misunderstood this troublemaker?
But that couldn't be right, he was accused of getting someone else's wife pregnant, which could land him a charge of hooliganism!
Unaware of the onlookers' scrutiny, Zhu Chang'an focused entirely on the bicycle, eager to show it off. He let go of Sang Ran and ran over, wincing occasionally as he moved, likely aggravating his injuries.
He personally pushed the bicycle over to Sang Ran, eagerly explaining, "Sang Ran, I only got tangled up with these lunatics because I was bringing you this bike."
The so-called lunatics were furious and about to retort.
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed from a distance, shouting, "Brother Zhao! Your wife ran off with Li Shu from East Alley!!! And she took everything from your house!!!"
Zhao Tian froze, turning to look as a young man came speeding over on a bicycle, his face full of panic and his voice booming, appearing rather foolish as he completely disregarded the embarrassment of exposing such a shameful matter in front of everyone.
At that moment, Zhao Tian didn’t even notice this detail; his attention was entirely focused on one thing. He roared anxiously, "Li Shu? What the hell are you saying? Wasn’t it Zhu Chang’an? Everyone knows she always dressed up and flirted with him before!"
"No!" The young man had already arrived, handing over the bicycle urgently. "Brother Zhao, hurry back! Your mother fainted from anger and has been taken to the hospital. Ah, the house is completely emptied"
Halfway through, the young man noticed the scene around them and asked in surprise, "Brother, what’s going on here? Why are you all holding my Brother Zhao?"
The village chief: “...”
Zhao Tian: “...”
Unable to bear the shock, and already injured, Zhao Tian felt as if his head was buzzing with pain. Suddenly, his legs gave way, and he fainted.
The entire scene fell silent once again.
Who would have thought that such a vicious knife fight would turn out to be a misunderstanding?
Sang Ran also fell silent.
No wonder there was no follow-up in the plot, no mention of revenge or anything about a pregnant woman. So it was all just a misunderstanding?
Only Zhu Chang’an burst into loud, unrestrained laughter at this moment, completely disregarding the wound at the corner of his mouth, exuding arrogance and triumph: "Hahaha, that idiot! He couldn’t even get it right. Now look at him, his wife’s gone, his mother’s in the hospital, and he’s headed to jail. Hilarious! Hahaha"