Even a Straight Man Has to Become a Fulang Chapter 16

Chapter 16: An Affair

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“What have you done yourself, and now you come asking us?”

 

“Speaking this in front of so many people makes me feel utterly ashamed!”

 

“How could we have given birth to such a shameless Ger? We should have drowned you in a barrel when you were little!”

 

When Jiang Changxin stepped outside, he immediately heard the shouting of Father and Mother Ye.

 

Cheng Zhao frowned and said, “The Ye family really is something else. How could they publicly humiliate their own Ger like this? If they have something to say, they should go home and speak properly.”

 

Jiang Changxin let out a faint chuckle, a fully derisive one. In his memory, the Ye family in his past life had always been like this: Fang Niulao was obsessed with face, so even if he lacked real substance, he could never bear to lose face. But with his meager savings, he had no real substance at all. In Fang Niulao’s eyes, Ye Ning wasn’t truly his own, so there was no need to speak behind closed doors.

 

Now, with Ye Ning having broken off the engagement with the Zhou family, Father and Mother Ye scolding him publicly was nothing more than a way to save face. They wanted to subtly tell the whole village that it wasn’t their fault—they had no choice in the broken engagement—and that the shame should fall on Ye Ning alone.

 

Cheng Zhao couldn’t stand it any longer. Angrily, he stepped forward, but Jiang Changxin raised a hand to stop him. “No rush.”

 

Cheng Zhao didn’t understand what his Master meant by “no rush” and looked at him suspiciously. Jiang Changxin, however, was thoroughly entertained, watching from afar as Ye Ning was surrounded by the crowd.

 

The crowd buzzed with excitement. Some had come for noodles, others were just passing by, but now everyone had become spectators.

 

Ye Ning stood calmly among the crowd. He was the most composed of them all. “Father, Mother, if you do not explain what has happened, I am busy here at my stall. I suggest the two of you leave first.”

 

“You… you…” Father Ye pointed at him. “I can’t even say such shameful things!”

 

Mother Ye pressed her hand to her face. “And you still ask us! We were trying to spare you the last shred of dignity. Now I’ll tell you the truth! Your noodle stall, outwardly for eating noodles, actually is a place for getting cozy with outside men. Old Liu even said he saw it with his own eyes—he saw you drag a man into the noodle stall, close the door, and stay inside for a long while! Oh, my—how could I live! How could I give birth to such a creature!”

 

As she spoke, she pointed at Old Liu. Old Liu had been the one a few days ago who tried to eat for free and was scolded away by Ye Ning. Now he, too, was in the crowd, watching the spectacle.

 

Being pointed at, Old Liu felt a little guilty for some reason. His tiny green-bean-like eyes darted back and forth as he tried to lower his head and leave. But the crowd was too dense, front and back pressing in on him, and he couldn’t get away.

 

Ye Ning only glanced at him, already forming a plan in his mind. “Father, Mother, you’ve heard just a few idle words from someone else and have not listened to your own son’s defense, yet you’ve immediately decided I’m at fault. Compared to your own family, it seems you trust outsiders more.”

 

“What… what do you mean by that?” Mother Ye was stunned. They had never wanted to ask Ye Ning the truth; deep down, they hadn’t considered it. Now she forced herself to say, “Old Liu saw it with his own eyes. His two eyes saw everything clearly. How could it be false?”

 

Zhang Zhiyuan squeezed forward, recognizing Old Liu, and said, “Auntie, don’t worry. I know this Liu! The other day he came to the noodle stall, wanted to eat without paying, and Ye Ning didn’t allow it. That’s probably why he’s held a grudge and now spread these baseless lies.”

 

“What… what lies?” Old Liu snapped. “I didn’t lie! We’re all elders of Ning Ger—how could we lie? Besides, you scholar, you’re not even from this village. Why do you always poke your nose into other people’s business?”

 

Old Liu grinned, a rather lecherous smile. “You follow Ning Ger around all day, calling him Ning Ger this and Ning Ger that, staying by the noodle stall. The man he shut himself in with yesterday? It could have been you! I just didn’t see clearly at the time. Heh… now that I look, your builds are extremely similar!”

 

Zhang Zhiyuan’s face immediately flushed. “How can you make up such nonsense! You can’t damage my reputation, and Ning Ger hasn’t even married yet! How dare you speak such filthy words!”

 

“Hahaha—” Old Liu laughed. “Getting worked up only proves you have something to hide!”

 

Zhang Zhiyuan was so angry he didn’t know how to respond. He studied the classics, practiced the virtuous script—he had never encountered such reckless, frivolous slander.

 

Ye Ning stepped forward two paces and blocked Zhang Zhiyuan, shaking his head. Zhang Zhiyuan, frustrated, still took a deep breath and stepped back two paces.

 

Ye Ning fixed his gaze on Old Liu. “Since you claim to have seen it with your own eyes, fine. I’ll confront you personally.”

 

Old Liu stuck out his neck and puffed out his chest. “Fine… we’ll confront!”

 

Ye Ning asked, “You said yesterday I shut myself in the noodle stall with a man. Pray tell, what exactly happened, and at what hour?”

 

“J-just… just…” Old Liu’s eyes darted wildly. He had made all of this up, so how could he possibly give an exact time? He had never thought that far ahead, and now he scrambled to fabricate something, saying, “Morning! Yes, morning!”

 

Ye Ning smiled. “Yesterday morning I went fishing and catching shrimp. The noodle stall hadn’t even opened in the morning, and I wasn’t at the stall at all.”

 

The crowd murmured in astonishment, letting out exclamations of surprise. Old Liu hurriedly tried to argue, “I… I misremembered! It wasn’t morning, it was… it was noon!”

 

“I remember now, yes, it was noon! Around that time I was planning to return home for lunch and happened to pass by your noodle stall!” Old Liu, afraid others wouldn’t believe him, waved his hands and gestured wildly as he described the scene: “Oh! I was just passing the small bridge, glanced over here from afar, and lo! Ning Ger was leading a strong, well-built man into the noodle stall and slammed the door shut! That man, all muscle, you tell me, what could they have been up to?”

 

Ye Ning smiled again. “Just now you said the man’s build looked exactly like my cousin’s. How so? My cousin’s build counts as strong and muscular?”

 

Old Liu realized too late that he had overtalked. His loose tongue had betrayed him—once words started slipping, they slid uncontrollably, and the more he spoke, the worse it became.

 

The crowd murmured again in disbelief, noting the contradictions in Old Liu’s story. Naturally, his credibility took a massive hit.

 

Old Liu strained his neck and said, “I… I only said the build was like Zhang Sanlang’s. I never said it was Zhang Sanlang.”

 

Ye Ning’s tone remained calm, but carried an imposing, pressing authority. “One moment it’s morning, the next it’s noon. One moment it’s my cousin, the next it’s not. Are you sure now that you won’t change your story again?”

 

Under the gaze of so many eyes, Old Liu felt his back tingle for the first time—intimidated by someone much younger than himself. He grit his teeth and declared, “I’ve thought it over! I won’t change it!”

 

Ye Ning nodded slowly. “Very well. Then it’s time for me, Ye Ning, to speak. Yesterday at noon, my noodle stall hadn’t yet attracted this many villagers. The stall was empty, except for the matriarch of the Jiang family, who came at noon for a bowl of noodles.”

 

Ye Ning’s words were indisputable. A bowl cost two coins—far too expensive for most villagers of Qingtian Village—so no one came to the stall until the Jiang matriarch visited at noon. Seeing her there, passing villagers flocked to try it out.

 

Ye Ning continued, “At noon yesterday, only the Jiang matriarch came. In the afternoon, the stall became busy, and I had to prepare the broth and noodles for all the customers myself. I was at the stall the entire time, and there are plenty of witnesses. Pray tell, where did this man come from who supposedly was alone with me?”

 

“You… you…” Old Liu panicked.

 

Zhang Zhiyuan stepped forward. “Correct. I even kept records—the details are all here. If anyone doubts, feel free to check for yourselves.”

 

Ye Ning didn’t give Old Liu a chance to wriggle out. “I run this noodle stall honestly, earning my money through honest hard work. Unlike some people, who use their two-faced tongues to spread baseless lies to hurt others.”

 

“Lies! All lies!” Old Liu shouted, pointing at Ye Ning and starting to throw a tantrum.

 

Ye Ning let out a cold smile. Though his appearance was soft, his posture like a delicate willow, the smile on his lips was icy, chilling to the bone. “If you insist on slandering me, right ahead is the Jiang family’s house. We can go knock on their door and ask the matriarch ourselves.”

 

Old Liu glanced at the Jiang family gate, said nothing, and, despite his usual slippery mouth, turned and tried to push through the crowd to run.

 

“Ah! He’s colliding with people!”

 

“Old Liu’s running!”

 

“So it really was his fabrication…”

 

Seeing Old Liu attempting to flee, Jiang Changxin raised an eyebrow, and the corner of his robe fluttered with a soft rustle. A stone on the ground suddenly flew, unseen by anyone, and struck Old Liu precisely on the bend of his knee.

 

“Ah—” Old Liu screamed, his left leg tripping his right, and he fell hard to the ground, biting into a mouthful of dirt.

 

Zhang Zhiyuan pushed through the crowd and grabbed Old Liu’s clothes, holding him firmly. “Explain yourself! You insulted someone without cause and now you think you can just run?”

 

Old Liu shook off his grasp and tried to run again. Though Zhang Zhiyuan was young, Old Liu was a strong, seasoned farm laborer—not someone a scholar could easily restrain.

 

Ye Ning’s eyes flicked, and an idea seemed to form. He said loudly, “Everyone here is a fellow villager. Qingtian Village is small; we see each other everywhere. Today, everyone has seen what happened. Uncle Liu, do you know what it means that you can’t run from karma? If you don’t clarify things today, it won’t just be your face that’s lost—you’ll shame the village elders as well.”

 

The villagers, moved by Ye Ning’s words, nodded in agreement. “Indeed, Old Liu is an adult, and yet he behaves like this!”

 

“How can he falsely accuse a young one like that?”

 

“He’s really bringing shame to us.”

 

Ye Ning looked down at Old Liu with a friendly smile, but his elevated stance and delicate posture made Old Liu’s legs weak, leaving him unable to run.

 

Old Liu, gritting his teeth, resignedly said, “I… I’ll tell the truth! It was Zhou Dalang, Zhou Dahu, who told me to spread rumors that Ning Ger had ‘an affair’ I’m just a tenant of the Zhou family, I had no choice but to obey my landlord!”

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