Chapter 359 I Think You’re the Ones Climbing High

Chapter 359: I Thought *You* Were the Ones Out of *Your* League

Mother Hao’s smile froze, not expecting Jiang Yu to outright reject her proposal of "marriage."

"Don’t you need to ask Fei Yan for her opinion? Our Zhijun is a great match. She might not have felt that way before, but that doesn’t mean she won’t change her mind now."

She had always believed that others were the ones unworthy of Hao Zhijun—never that he wasn’t good enough.

Jiang Yu shook her head. "I don’t need to ask Fei Yan because I know her well. If she had liked him, she wouldn’t have refused his confession back then."

Hao’s father snorted, lifting his chin arrogantly and looking down his nose at Jiang Yu.

"Then tell me, what exactly about our family’s conditions dissatisfies you? If it weren’t for my son taking a liking to He Feiyan, I’d say you’d be the ones punching above your weight!"

Jiang Yu: '...'

She let out a disbelieving laugh. "You’re absolutely right, Uncle. Our family isn’t good enough for yours, so go find a daughter-in-law who’s worthy of Hao Zhijun."

Hao’s father was furious. He stood up with a huff and shot Zhijun a glare.

"Did you hear that? They think you’re beneath them. Let’s go!"

But Hao Zhijun, unwilling to give up after finally coming this far, pleaded,

"Jiang Yu-jie, could you call Fei Yan out? Just hear me out."

Jiang Yu shut him down. "Sorry, but I respect Fei Yan’s wishes. She doesn’t want any contact with your family—not even dating, let alone marriage."

Hao Zhijun couldn’t accept it. "What exactly does she find lacking in me?"

Jiang Yu gave him a once-over and said, "If you really want an answer, I’d say she finds nothing about you appealing—from top to bottom."

Hao Zhijun: '...'

Having lived this long without facing much adversity, He Feiyan was the first real rejection he’d ever faced.

Girls had always thrown themselves at him—never had he met one who found him lacking.

"Fei Yan! He Feiyan! Can you come out and just hear me out? I like you! I think we’re well-matched! Please reconsider—if you miss this chance, you’ll regret it!"

Jiang Yu was momentarily speechless, wondering what planet he lived on.

Then, in her periphery, she spotted Jiang Ningning standing at the south room’s doorway.

She figured Jiang Ningning must have heard about the Hao family’s visit and come to see for herself.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Yu let a slow smirk curl her lips.

"Hao Zhijun, you can yell all you want, but my Fei Yan will never agree. Let me reiterate—she doesn’t like you. What I find strange, though, is how you were just dating Jiang Ningning, yet today you’re acting as if you’re deeply devoted to Fei Yan. A man who wavers and can’t make up his mind isn’t exactly a selling point."

Hao Zhijun hurriedly defended himself. "It was Jiang Ningning who latched onto me! I’m just too soft-hearted—she played the victim and deceived me into dating her, but it was only that! I never once thought of marrying her!"

As Jiang Yu watched Jiang Ningning walk in, she chuckled.

"Weren’t you discussing marriage with her not long ago? Now you claim you never intended to marry her—that’s a pretty flimsy excuse!"

Desperate to sever ties with Jiang Ningning, Hao Zhijun looked ready to swear on his life.

"She lied to me! She said if she didn’t marry soon, her father and stepmother would sell her off to some creepy old widower! I only agreed out of pity. I swear, if Fei Yan is willing to date me, I’ll cut Jiang Ningning off for good!"

Old Mrs. Hao added, "That's right, Jiang Yu. I've never liked that Jiang Ningning. She looks delicate and weak, but in reality, she's cunning and scheming. She even dared to snatch Fei Yan's spot—just think what kind of person she is! I could never let someone like her into our family."

Jiang Ningning bit her lip until it bled but still refused to let go. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

This was the man she had set her heart on—just a short while ago, they had been all lovey-dovey, yet today he threw her away like garbage.

Seeing Hao Zhijun about to speak again, Jiang Ningning let out a furious scream and lunged at him, grabbing his head and whaling on him.

Jiang Yu reacted immediately, backing up a good distance to avoid getting caught in the chaos.

In her rage, Jiang Ningning overpowered even Hao Zhijun, a grown man.

He was pinned beneath her as she laid into him.

Mrs. Hao screeched, "What are you doing? Let go of my son!"

She rushed to help but was knocked to the ground before she could even touch Jiang Ningning.

To Jiang Yu's surprise, Mr. Hao didn’t lift a finger—instead, he tried to sneak away.

After finishing her assault, Jiang Ningning jerked her messy hair back and spat at Hao Zhijun, glaring down at him.

"I'm not good enough for you? Have you ever looked in the mirror to see what kind of trash you are? Aside from that baby face, what else have you got going for you? I never mocked you for being spineless, yet you dare to diss my family? What a joke!"

Jiang Ningning wiped the tears from her face fiercely, then stomped on him one last time before taking off.

Only after she was gone did Mrs. Hao dare to get up from the ground and check on her son.

She shot Jiang Yu a dirty look. "How can you be so heartless? You just stood there and watched my son get beaten without lifting a finger!"

Jiang Yu crossed her arms and glanced at Mr. Hao.

"Your own husband didn't even try to help—why would I? Someone like your son, who plays with people’s hearts, deserves every bit of it!"

Mrs. Hao helped Hao Zhijun up while cussing up a storm at Mr. Hao.

Mr. Hao defended himself, "I'm too old to be fighting with a woman—how’s that gonna look?"

The Hao family left amid a storm of yelling.

Jiang Yu looked around to see if anything was broken—fortunately, Jiang Ningning had only beaten Hao Zhijun and hadn't broken anything.

"Fei Yan, come out."

He Feiyan emerged from the room and made a face.

"Are they all gone?"

"Gone."

He Feiyan sighed. "Thank god they're gone. I almost couldn't hold back—if Jiang Ningning hadn't done it, I would've come out and beaten him myself."

Jiang Yu chuckled. "I didn’t expect her to show up either."

She certainly hadn’t imagined that the once meek and delicate woman would have such fire in her.

After that day, the rumors targeting Hao Zhijun and He Feiyan suddenly took a sharp turn—now, the blame fell solely on Hao Zhijun.

Now people were saying the Hao family looked down on others, sneering at Jiang Ningning’s family background.

At other times, it was said that Hao Zhijun was a womanizer back in school, playing the field and stepping out on multiple women.

Later, he was anonymously reported, leading the school to cancel his teaching placement.

Not even rural schools, much less city ones, would hire a teacher with such poor character.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ningning also turned down her chance to teach at Funan Commune Primary School.

What surprised Jiang Yu was... she chose to marry—at least this way, she could stay in the city.

Her choice of husband shocked Jiang Yu most—it turned out to be Tong Fang.

He Feiyan was at a loss for words. "She's so young, yet she's willing to become a stepmother? What could she be thinking?"

Jiang Yu asked, "How old is she this year?"

"Nineteen."

Jiang Yu went quiet. At that age, she had so many other options.

"Everyone makes different choices. The age gap between her and Tong Fang isn’t that big—it’s still better than marrying the man Lin Yue introduced to her."

He Feiyan asked in surprise, "Who did her stepmother introduce?"

Jiang Yu paused before answering, "Supposedly a cousin from her maternal family—a man with a violent temper who beats his wife. Now that Lin Yue is pregnant, Deputy Section Chief Jiang gives in to all her demands and actually agreed to marry Jiang Ningning off to him."

Over this, Jiang Mingrui and Jiang Chenghuai blew up at their father, but it still didn’t change his mind.

Determined as she was, Jiang Ningning simply found a partner on her own.

Coincidentally, the match Tong Fang’s in-laws had arranged for him fell through, so Jiang Ningning set her sights on him instead.