Su Zhi barely opened his eyes, his gaze met with a stark white ceiling.

"Awake?" A clear and gentle voice wafted into Su Zhi's ears.

Su Zhi felt a bit dizzy, yet he subconsciously turned his head to look, seeing a beautiful girl gazing at him with excitement.

It was Lin Shanyue.

Su Zhi was slightly startled. He looked around the room and realized that he was lying in a hospital ward.

He recalled tumbling down a hill by accident. It seemed that was what landed him in the hospital.

Lin Shanyue had reddened eyes. Gently, she grasped Su Zhi's hand, "Zhi, what exactly happened? How did you roll down from the mountain? Fortunately, you're fine."

Aside from a few scrapes on his face and hands, Su Zhi was unharmed. The doctor had examined him thoroughly, confirming no serious injuries.

Lin Shanyue's hand was warm and soft. Su Zhi gave a bitter smile, "I think I just slipped and fell."

"What do you mean you slipped? I reckon you were seeking trouble!" A sharp female voice broke the silence abruptly.

A middle-aged woman with high cheekbones and lean figure stood by the door. She was the one who had just spoken.

She was Lin Shanyue's mother, Zheng Chunlan.

Su Zhi slightly furrowed his eyebrows, but out of politeness, he greeted her, "Aunt Lan."

"Mom, why are you here?" Lin Shanyue asked, her face grim.

The mother-daughter duo clearly didn't have a good relationship.

Zheng Chunlan didn’t respond, but simply pulled out a chair and sat down, speaking in a gloating tone, “Little Zhi, even if all the herbs you planted on your contracted mountain got washed away, there's no need to act like a little girl, bluffing about death. What happens to the money you owe my son, Dafei, if you die?”

The Dafei Zheng Chunlan was referring to was Lin Shan Yue's older brother Lin Shan Fei, a childhood friend of Su Zhi. When Su Zhi didn't have enough money to contract the mountain for herb planting, he borrowed ten thousand from Dafei. This was indeed a fact.

Su Zhi patiently explained, “Aunt Lan, I did not intend to commit suicide. It was an accident. As for Dafei's money, I will return it as soon as possible. You don't need to worry.”

Since the duty of repaying borrowed money is a universally accepted principle, even with Zheng Chunlan's sour tone, Su Zhi wasn’t mad.

Beside them, Lin Shan Yue said irritatedly, “Brother Zhi, just ignore her. My brother has already stated many times that there’s no rush to repay the money, and it isn’t even her money.”

Zheng Chunlan’s face darkened instantly, she shouted loudly, “What do you mean it's not my money? Isn't my son's money my money? You ungrateful brat, why do you always stick up for others? What's wrong with me coming in to urge him?”

Just when it seemed that a quarrel was about to break out between the mother and daughter, a nurse walked in, sternly saying, “What’s all the shouting about? This is a hospital, if you want to fight, go outside.”

“Shan Yue…” Su Zhi shook his head, indicating her not to argue with her mother over this.

Frustrated, Lin Shan Yue turned her head away. Yet she didn't speak again, clearly taking Su Zhi's words to heart.

Zheng Chunlan grew angrier the more she saw her daughter obey Su Zhi. After the nurse left, the room's atmosphere plunged into an awkward silence.

After a while, Lin Shan Yue spoke in a softened tone, “If you’re done talking, you can leave first.”

Zheng Chunlan humphed, “Who said I was done talking? You leave first, I still have matters to discuss with Little Zhi.”

Lin Shan Yue's expression changed slightly. She anxiously glanced at Su Zhi and gritted her teeth, “I’m not leaving. If you have something to say, say it in front of me. It's not like it's a secret.”

“You….” Zheng Chunlan was so angry that her body trembled. How did she end up with such a daughter? She was about to be driven mad.

“Shan Yue, you go out first. Aunt Lan just wants to talk to me. It's fine.” Su Zhi didn't want the mother and daughter to start arguing again, looked over towards Lin Shan Yue, indicating her to calm down.

"Then, I'll go get some hot water for you." Lin Shan-yue picked up the kettle on the table and left.

"Aunt Lan, I will figure out a way to get Da Fei's money," Su Zhi uttered somewhat helplessly again.

Zheng Chun-lan's face was stiff, "I’m not here to discuss Da Fei's money with you, I want to talk about Shan-yue."

Shan-yue? Su Zhi sat up slightly. He knew the forthcoming conversation might be tough.

"Do you know Sun Liang-jun?" Zheng Chun-lan suddenly brought up a name for no apparent reason.

"Yes, he and I as well as Da Fei all graduated from the same high school," said Su Zhi, with a frown. Sun Liang-jun had been notorious during his high school days, essentially being the school bully. Indeed, there had been a few minor conflicts between him and Su Zhi, which only ended when Da Fei stepped in.

However, those were all in the past. After graduating from university, Su Zhi had neither seen nor heard from Sun Liang-jun.

"Do you know that Sun Liang-jun's father, Sun Hong, is currently the deputy mayor of our Wei Zi Town?" Zheng Chun-lan continued.

"I honestly had no idea about that, Aunt Lan. If you have something to say, just say it," responded Su Zhi, shaking his head. He did not understand why Zheng Chun-lan was bringing up Sun Liang-jun and his father.

Zheng Chun-lan glanced at him, "I don’t care whether you really didn’t know or pretended you didn’t. A few days ago, Sun Hong sent a matchmaker to my house, hoping that I would marry Shan-yue off to his family."

Su Zhi was stunned. He did not expect this. He and Lin Shan-yue had been childhood friends and had a mutual affection for each other. So no matter how much he despised Zheng Chun-lan, he had tolerated her for the sake of Da Fei and Shan-yue.

Seeing Su Zhi silent, Zheng Chun-lan continued, "The Sun family is quite well-off in the town, and I am quite satisfied. So, I am seriously considering accepting this proposal. I hope you stop pursuing my Shan-yue and at an appropriate time, you break up with her."

It was then that Su Zhi slowly lifted his head. There was a hint of anger in his eyes, but he still forced himself to calm down, "Aunt Lan, do you know what kind of person Sun Liang-jun is?"

In the past, Sun Liang-jun had impregnated a girl in school and then drove her to commit suicide by jumping off a building. This scandal was widely known in Wei Zi School. Su Zhi would strongly discourage anyone from associating with such scum, even more so when it's someone as close to him as Shan-yue.

Wasn't Zheng Chun-lan pushing Shan-yue into a fire pit?

Zheng Chunlan's face stiffened momentarily, but she swiftly regained her composure. "Who hasn't made a few mistakes in their life? Sun Liangjun is currently working in the Hongguang District, he's a fine young man."

Of course, Zheng Chunlan had previously inquired into Sun Liangjun's character. However, what mattered more to her was the considerable wealth of the Sun family. In comparison to their wealth, his slight lack of integrity seemed insignificant.

A coldness crept into Su Zhi's heart. He was utterly disappointed in Zheng Chunlan. Had it not been for Lin Shanyue's feelings, he would have cursed her out right then.

A change in Su Zhi's demeanor went unnoticed by Zheng Chunlan as she solemnly said, "Xiao Zhi, I know you and Shanyue share a deep relationship. But even so, you need to consider Shanyue’s wellbeing. Look at you, right after graduating from college, you came back to this place to farm these herbs. Now, not only have you got nothing to show for it, you're also deep in debt, without even a plot of land to your name. If I were to let Shanyue marry you, she would have to share your hardships. Can't you see that? It's better if you let her go."

Su Zhi shook his head resolutely, "Aunt Lan, if Shanyue no longer loves me, I'll let her go. Otherwise, I won't."

Give Shanyue over to that scumbag? Only a fool would do such a thing!

Zheng Chunlan's expression became extremely ugly. Despite all her hard work and sweet talk, he retorted defiantly, "How could you be so selfish?"

"The one who’s selfish knows perfectly well!" Su Zhi simply looked at Zheng Chunlan and muttered, wasn't she just using her daughter's happiness to exchange for money? Of course, he didn't fully voice this thought.

The realization that Su Zhi had seen through her intentions made Zheng Chunlan angrier, not embarrassed. "In any case, Shanyue must marry into the Sun family. Even if you refuse to break up, it means nothing. I am her mother, and she doesn't get a say in this. You, a destitute man, can't even dream of marrying my daughter!"

With a placid expression, Su Zhi retorted, "What era do you think this is? If Shanyue doesn't agree, what good would your consent serve? If it turns into a scandal, you'll be the one who’s embarrassed."

Tensions rose and their conversation deteriorated, making further communication impossible. At this moment, Lin Shanyue walked in from outside with a kettle of hot water.

"Come on, going home with me." Zheng Chunlan took hold of Lin Shanyue's arm and started to pull her outside.

"I'm not going. You go first." Lin Shanyue coldly pulled her hand back.

"Lin Shanyue, aren't you ashamed to stay here and take care of him alone? The villagers will laugh their heads off!" Zheng Chunlan reached out to pull Lin Shanyue again.

"What should I be ashamed of? If they enjoy gossip, let them." Lin Shanyue refused to let Zheng Chunlan grab her hand and had no intention of going back with her. She wanted to stay and take care of Su Zhi.

After a while of shoving between the mother and daughter, Zheng Chunlan completely lost her decorum and began to weep, sobbing pitifully, "Lin Shan Yue, if you refuse to return home with me, I'm going to die just to show you."

Lin Shan Yue could only look at Zheng Chunlan coldly.

Quietly, Su Zhi let out a sigh, "Shan Yue, I'm fine now. You can go home with Aunt Lan first."

In fact, had it not been for Zheng Chunlan's excessively heartless words just now, Su Zhi would have asked Shan Yue to leave earlier.

With tear-filled eyes, Lin Shan Yue knew that her staying would only place Su Zhi in a difficult position. She picked up her bag, whispered a few words to Su Zhi, then turned to leave. Zheng Chunlan immediately wiped her tears away and looked at Su Zhi, the victorious expression clear on her face. She quickly followed and left.