Eleven, so what if I’m a hopeless admirer?

Wang Luo frowned as he reached out to help his aunt up.

Seeing this, Aunt Wang became even more agitated. She knelt on the ground and refused to get up. “Wang Luo, your fiancée is simply outrageous. I’m still an elder, her grandaunt after all, but she doesn’t show me any respect at all.”

Wang Luo tugged at Aunt Wang several times, but couldn’t get her up. On top of that, he had just quarreled with Su Wan and accidentally hit Jiang Mochen. He was feeling terribly irritable, so his tone grew harsh.

“Aunt, please get up first. Su Wan is not my fiancée anymore. We’re not married, and I intend to break off our engagement.”

At these words, Aunt Wang, who had been weeping loudly, suddenly froze.

“Not... What? You want to break off your engagement?!”

“...Is it because Su Wan behaved improperly?”

Wang Luo’s face darkened immediately. With him around, how could Su Wan possibly be interested in anyone else? Wasn’t his aunt accusing Su Wan of being unfaithful?

“No! That’s not it.” Wang Luo glanced at the crowd. “Su Wan and I were engaged as children by our elders when we didn’t know any better.”

“There are no feelings between us. The girl I love is named Chen Wanjun.”

At that, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.

The old woman from before exclaimed, “So the rumors were true. You’re dumping Su Wan for a city girl.”

She’d never gotten along with Aunt Wang, and now, seizing the opportunity, she mocked, “Your nephew’s breaking off the engagement with her, yet you’re here throwing your weight around as the grandaunt!”

“What a nerve.”

Someone nearby joined in, “I’ve heard the same. Su Wan was so heartbroken she tried to kill herself by hitting her head against a wall. Tsk, tsk, poor Su Wan!”

Someone else, not in the know, asked what had happened. The gossiper replied, “I heard Su Wan fainted for quite a while. Wang Luo stood right there and didn’t even help her up. In the end, she had to get up herself.”

“When was that?”

“Just a few days ago, the morning Su Wan saved Young Master Jiang.”

“My, she really has had it rough. Still, Su Wan must be tough—she’d just bashed her head and still managed to jump in the water to save someone.”

“Exactly! Folks are saying it was her final burst of energy before dying, that she’d built up enough good karma and was about to pass on! Old Master Su was so frightened, he rushed her to the hospital on his bicycle.”

...

As the gossip became more and more exaggerated, everyone grew increasingly animated.

Standing off to the side, Su Wan wished the ground would swallow her up. The one who’d tried to kill herself by banging her head was the original Su Wan—not her!

Meanwhile, Wang Luo was still righteously declaring his love for Chen Wanjun. “My love for Wanjun is pure, like a drop of crystal-clear water, untouched by any impurity, transparent and beautiful.”

Someone asked, “And what about Su Wan?”

“I have no feelings for Su Wan whatsoever. Our engagement is nothing but an empty shell.”

“Only when two hearts truly understand one another can love be genuine and free. I can’t fathom Su Wan’s heart, and she doesn’t understand me. Clearly, there is no love between us.”

Su Wan thought to herself, Does he have no sense of embarrassment?

Wang Luo was the type who would say with a wronged expression, “Surely, I’m not the only man in the world to care for two women at once?”

Just as Su Wan’s discomfort reached its peak, a cold voice sounded in her mind. [Why are you just standing there? Have you forgotten your role?]

Su Wan froze, anxiety rising in her chest as she whispered back, “What is it?”

[As the supporting female character, you’ve just been rejected in front of everyone by the male lead. Shouldn’t you react, cooperate with him, and play your part?]

Damn it, is this really necessary?

After Wang Luo’s passionate speech, everyone turned their eyes to Su Wan.

The system began a countdown.

Sweat broke out on Su Wan’s forehead. Should she act devastated and faint? No, no—Su Chen and Grandpa weren’t around. If she fainted, who would carry her home?

As the countdown was about to end, Su Wan suddenly shouted, ran over, and grabbed Wang Luo’s other leg.

“I scrimped and saved, gave you all my money—how can you be so heartless as to abandon me?” She sobbed dramatically, her performance so exaggerated it was almost comical.

But the villagers didn’t care; they watched with relish, expressing their sympathy for Su Wan.

There were also some who had been thoroughly brainwashed by Wang Luo and accused Su Wan of being unreasonable, insisting on being an obstacle to his true love.

Wang Luo, ever magnanimous, held his forehead in pain. “I’m sorry. Whatever I owe you, I’ll repay double.”

Su Wan, in the middle of her theatrical display, faltered. Wait—there’s a silver lining to this?

At that moment, the system’s voice chimed in. [Congratulations, host. Mission accomplished. Plot completion: plus four percent.]

In the next instant, Su Wan sprang up from the ground.

She wiped her tears with deliberate flair. “Don’t forget—everyone here is a witness.”

Hehehe, being a lovesick puppy isn’t so bad after all. Call me if you ever need an act like this again!

As Su Wan wrapped up her performance with a flourish, Aunt Wang was left dumbstruck.

She had never intended for Su Wan and Wang Luo to break off their engagement.

If they did, all the land and goods she’d taken from the Su family over the years would have to be returned. The Su family had plenty of land, and Old Master Su didn’t farm it himself. She’d occupied a large piece, growing vegetables and crops, and the harvests had been good.

If they really wanted it back, her family wouldn’t just lose the chance to sell grain—they probably wouldn’t even have enough vegetables to eat.

Besides, Su Wan was meek, and even Old Master Su always treated her with courtesy. If Wang Luo brought back a city girl with a strong personality, what place would she have in the Wang family?

With her sister-in-law’s temperament, she’d probably not even get a cup of hot tea when she went home.

Aunt Wang felt as if something vital had been ripped from her chest. Distracted, she asked Wang Luo, “Wanjun... sounds like a nice girl. What do her family do?”

Wang Luo replied proudly, “Both her parents are factory workers. They own three apartments in the city. She has two elder brothers—one’s a doctor, and the other is studying abroad.”

Aunt Wang fell silent. Her own son was already twenty-six, and because of his lame leg, he still hadn’t married.

When Wang Luo and Su Wan got engaged, Aunt Wang had lost sleep for three nights, but seeing how easy it was to manipulate Su Wan, and her plain looks and plump figure, she’d resigned herself.

Now Wang Luo had found someone with even better family conditions than Su Wan—someone who, by all accounts, was also good-looking. How could she feel at ease?

They both had sons, but why was her sister-in-law blessed with a son like Wang Luo?

Thinking of her own idle, good-for-nothing son, Aunt Wang’s heart burned with jealousy.

Damn it, she couldn’t let Su Wan and Wang Luo break off their engagement!