Chapter 63: Chapter 63: This Is Just Too Ugly

Su Qing was lost in thought, pondering these few mysteries, completely unaware that someone was walking toward her.

"Su Qing!" The newcomer’s voice held a hint of feigned surprise and deliberate gentleness, making Su Qing shiver involuntarily.

’Ugh, who’s being so dramatic!’

Su Qing snapped her head up and couldn’t help but narrow her eyes.

’Well, what do you know. Liang Fushan!’

Ordinarily, Su Qing shouldn’t have recognized Liang Fushan, so she just narrowed her eyes, gave him a detached glance, and said, "Who are you? I don’t know you. Please step aside. You’re blocking my path."

Liang Fushan kept beaming, flashing a smile he considered handsome. "Hello, Su Qing," he said. "My name is Liang Fushan, from the neighboring Fengshui Village. You may not know me, but I know who you are. I didn’t expect to run into you here today. I’m very happy to meet you."

Su Qing frowned at his words. "I really don’t know you, and I have no interest in getting to know you. Please step aside."

The sight of Liang Fushan involuntarily brought back the memory of him and Tan Qingjuan, and a wave of disgust washed over her. She just wanted to get as far away from this man as possible; he felt utterly repulsive to her.

With that said, Su Qing tried to walk around him. It was getting dark, and she needed to hurry down the mountain.

"Hey, Su Qing." Liang Fushan was surprised to find his words had failed to move her. ’That’s odd,’ he thought. He was handsome. Ever since he was young, countless girls in the village had crushed on him, both openly and secretly, and he was well aware of it. Usually, all he had to do was flash a smile and say a few flirtatious words, and the girls would be completely swept off their feet.

’Why isn’t it working on Su Qing today?’

Liang Fushan quickly blocked her path again, his eyes filled with a look of deep affection as he smiled at her.

Liang Fushan’s deliberately intense gaze made Su Qing’s skin crawl. Before the apocalypse, she had read plenty of novels and watched enough TV to have seen all sorts of handsome men. Leaving aside the fact that Liang Fushan wasn’t her type at all, she could easily tell the difference between a look of genuine emotion and a calculated act.

"What is wrong with you? Didn’t you hear me tell you to get out of my way?" Su Qing glared at him.

Liang Fushan was stunned again. ’Was my look of profound affection completely wasted on her? Or is this Su Qing just that clueless? Did she not understand what I was trying to convey? Do I have to spell it out for her?’

"AHEM." Liang Fushan cleared his throat. "Su Qing, the truth is, I noticed you a long time ago. I just never had a chance to meet you. Since we’ve finally met today, I want to tell you that I really like you. Will you... will you be my girlfriend? I’ll be good to you."

Su Qing mentally rolled her eyes at his words, letting out a dry chuckle. "I see now. You really do have something wrong with you."

"No, I like you! How does that mean there’s something wrong with me?" Liang Fushan found it incredible. Shouldn’t a normal girl blush bright red when he confessed his feelings? Why was Su Qing insulting him instead?

"What do you like about me? My looks? You’ve got to be kidding." Su Qing sneered. "You haven’t failed to notice the scar on my left cheek, have you?"

Liang Fushan pressed his lips together. Of course, he wasn’t interested in her looks. In fact, Su Qing was probably the plainest girl he had ever met. It wasn’t just her money either. He knew she’d gotten a good sum after separating from the Old Su Family, but his Liang Family wasn’t short on cash. What he was after wasn’t just Su Qing’s money, but her connections.

Liang Fushan had always wanted to become a worker in the county town. For some time now, he’d been trying to buy his way into a job there, but after searching for so long, he hadn’t found anyone willing to sell a position. Even when he heard about factories hiring, he didn’t stand a chance. His education was poor—the hiring processes required exams, and since he’d hated studying since he was a child, he could barely even recognize his own name. For him, taking an exam was a classic case of ’it’s the taking part that counts.’

But then he’d heard that the sister-in-law of the food processing plant’s deputy director was especially fond of Su Qing, treating her like her own daughter. This was what excited Liang Fushan. If he could marry Su Qing, he would have a connection to the deputy director. If he could get Su Qing to put in a few good words for him, wouldn’t getting a job as a factory worker be a piece of cake?

That was why he had casually pretended to ask Tan Qingjuan about Su Qing the other day. He had hoped to learn more about her through Tan Qingjuan, since she was the only person he knew in all of Lihua Village.

But who would have known that Tan Qingjuan wasn’t familiar with Su Qing either and knew nothing about her situation. In the end, with no other choice, Liang Fushan could only look for opportunities to wander around Baihua Mountain. After all, now that Su Qing was living on her own, she would have to come up the mountain to gather firewood and pick wild vegetables, right?

Sure enough, today he had finally caught her.

Hearing her question, Liang Fushan quickly forced a smile. "Su Qing, I’m not the kind of person who judges by appearances. I really do like you."

"Then what do you like about me? My personality?" Su Qing raised an eyebrow at him. "You’ve got to be kidding me. We don’t even know each other. What could you possibly know about my personality? A three-year-old wouldn’t fall for that line. Please, stop acting like a lunatic in front of me."

With that, Su Qing ignored him completely, turned around, and started down the mountain.

Liang Fushan took a few steps to follow, but seeing that she was truly giving him the cold shoulder, he shouted at her retreating back, "Su Qing, I really like you! I really, really do! You’ll see how determined I am!"

Su Qing rolled her eyes at his words. ’What a psycho.’

Su Qing figured that if she just ignored Liang Fushan, the matter would be over. After all, their paths never crossed, so there was no reason to waste any thought on the man.

But who would have thought that less than two days later, there was a knock on her courtyard gate.

Su Qing opened the gate and saw a middle-aged woman she didn’t recognize. She wasn’t from Lihua Village.

"Excuse me, is this Su Qing’s home?" The woman was startled when she saw Su Qing’s face but still managed a smile as she asked.

"Yes," Su Qing nodded. "May I help you with something, ma’am?"

The woman beamed. "Yes, there is something. I’m looking for Su Qing."

"That’s me," Su Qing said flatly.

"Oh, so you’re Su Qing." The woman paused, stunned by Su Qing’s words. The Liang Family had paid her three yuan to come to Lihua Village and propose a match for their second son. She had assumed the girl must be some great beauty. But who would have thought... Forget not being pretty, why did she have such a huge scar on her face?

’This is just too unsightly!’