Tian Yu's unwavering defense of Qin Yi, even calling him "Qin Yi Ge," grated on Xiu Qiang, her fiancé. It was an unpleasant sound to his ears.
Tian Yu was taken aback by Xiu Qiang's question, unsure how to respond.
"Hmph!"
Xiu Qiang's displeasure intensified. He rose from his seat again, huffing, "Tian Yu, you are my fiancée. You're still defending a stranger like this in front of me. Do you even have any respect for me?"
"I, I..."
Tian Yu also stood up, her face flushed. "Xiu Qiang, stop trying to frame me! Qin Yi Ge is our neighbor; we grew up together. I've always treated him like a brother, not like you think!"
"Still calling him so intimately? Do you believe I..."
Xiu Qiang stepped closer to Tian Yu in anger, kicking over a stool by his feet.
Seeing his demeanor, Tian Yu seemed to recall being hit by him the previous day. She instinctively took two steps back in fear.
Qin Yi, seeing Xiu Qiang's aggressive posture and intent to harm Tian Yu, rushed forward and stood in front of her.
This action of Qin Yi's poured fuel on Xiu Qiang's fire, pushing him to the brink of rage.
Just as Xiu Qiang raised his hand to point at Qin Yi, intending to say something, Qin Yi spoke first, "Tian Yu has decided not to marry you. Your engagement is off!"
"???"
"!!!"
"..."
As soon as Qin Yi uttered these words, everyone present, except for himself, froze in surprise.
Including Tian Yu!
Xiu Qiang stared directly at Qin Yi and said, "What did you say?"
He then looked at Tian Yu and asked, "You want to cancel our engagement?"
"I, I..."
Tian Yu stammered, at a loss.
Immediately, she reached out and tugged Qin Yi's arm, saying urgently, "Qin Yi Ge, don't say another word!!!"
When Xiu Qiang hit her yesterday, she had indeed thought about not marrying him.
But Xiu Qiang was a troublemaker with money and connections. If provoked, he was capable of anything.
Moreover, Tian Guangjun had already accepted 300,000 yuan in betrothal gifts, which had been used to pay off Tian Er Hao's usurious loans.
If she were to cancel the wedding now, and they demanded the betrothal gifts back, her family would have no way to repay them.
"Qin Yi, what are you talking about? When did Xiao Yu say she wouldn't marry?"
Tian Guangjun regained his senses and reprimanded, "Xiao Yu and Xiu Qiang's engagement was decided long ago by both sides. What business is it of yours? If you keep spouting nonsense here, do you believe I won't slap you?"
"Xiu Qiang, calm down. Don't listen to his nonsense!"
After scolding Qin Yi, he immediately turned to Xiu Qiang in a fawning manner.
"You, an ex-convict, who do you think you are, meddling in our family affairs!"
Tian Er Hao chimed in with curses, "You don't want my sister to marry Brother Xiu Qiang, is it because you like my sister?"
"Let me tell you, stop dreaming, you toad wanting to eat swan meat! My sister belongs to Brother Xiu Qiang!"
Qin Yi found their words both amusing and exasperating.
He was helping Tian Yu simply because he didn't want her to marry a scumbag and ruin her life.
"Xiao Yi, don't be foolish..."
Zheng Shufen also walked over to Qin Yi and advised him to stop talking.
Qin Yi ignored their reactions. He fixed his gaze on Xiu Qiang and continued, "I'm not joking. Xiao Yu doesn't want to marry you. Your wedding is off. You can leave!"
"Ha, haha..."
Xiu Qiang suddenly burst into laughter, amused.
After laughing for several seconds, he stopped and asked, "You say Xiao Yu won't marry, so she won't marry? You say the wedding is canceled, so it's canceled? Who are you? Who do you think you are?"
Qin Yi grinned and deliberately said, "If you're asking, then I'll tell you, I think I'm your father!"
"..."
Xiu Qiang's body and expression froze.
The next moment, he angrily raised his hand, about to slap Qin Yi.
"Xiao Yi..."
"Qin Yi Ge!!!"
Zheng Shufen, Wang Guiying, and Tian Yu cried out in unison, their hearts leaping into their throats.
Tian Guangjun and Tian Er Hao, however, wore cold smiles, wishing Xiu Qiang would slap Qin Yi to death.
They had long been annoyed with Qin Yi. His words just now were completely overstepping their bounds, and he didn't know his place!
Xiu Qiang taking action to teach Qin Yi a lesson was exactly what they wanted.
But to their immediate surprise, before Xiu Qiang's palm could land on Qin Yi's face, Qin Yi's hand struck Xiu Qiang's face first.
*Slap.*
With a crisp sound, Xiu Qiang flew backward.
He spun several times in the air before landing several meters away on the ground.
Xiu Qiang lay on the ground, one side of his face rapidly swelling. He spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood and teeth!
This was Qin Yi holding back. Otherwise, he could have killed Xiu Qiang with a single slap.
Tian Guangjun, Tian Er Hao, and the others stared blankly at the scene, their eyes wide.
A moment later, they snapped back to reality. Tian Guangjun and Tian Er Hao both rushed forward.
"Xiu Qiang, are you alright..."
"Brother-in-law, are you okay???"
The two helped Xiu Qiang up from the ground, looking at his swollen face and knocked-out teeth with shock and anger.
Tian Er Hao turned back, ready to curse at Qin Yi.
This time, Qin Yi gave him a look, and Tian Er Hao stopped speaking. He swallowed the words that were already on his tongue.
Qin Yi's slap had sent Xiu Qiang flying so far that it had almost scared him to death.
Tian Guangjun supported Xiu Qiang and also cast a fearful glance at Qin Yi. He looked angry and wanted to say something, but ultimately, he uttered not a single word.
Xiu Qiang was so angry that smoke was almost coming out of his ears. But feeling the burning pain on his face, he no longer dared to confront Qin Yi.
He pushed away Tian Guangjun and Tian Er Hao's support, spat out a bloody mouthful onto the ground, and gritted his teeth at Qin Yi, "You, you just wait for me!"
With that, he turned and walked out without hesitation.
Outside, he got on his motorcycle and quickly rode away.
"We're finished, we're finished..." Wang Guiying said anxiously, "He's definitely gone to get reinforcements!"
"Xiao Yi, Shufen, hurry up and leave. When Xiu Qiang brings people back, you won't be able to get away!"
"Yes, Qin Yi Ge and Aunt Zheng, you should leave quickly!" Tian Yu added, also in a hurry.
Xiu Qiang was a notorious thug with a large gang of followers.
Furthermore, Tian Yu knew that his followers were no easy bunch; fighting and brawling were practically everyday occurrences for them!
Xiu Qiang had been slapped by Qin Yi, and without doing anything else, he had ridden off on his motorcycle, undoubtedly to gather reinforcements!
If Qin Yi and Zheng Shufen didn't leave quickly, they would be in trouble when Xiu Qiang returned with his men.
Zheng Shufen felt a pang of worry and unease upon hearing their words.
But when she looked at Qin Yi, he stood there with a calm expression, as if nothing had happened!