The spicy sauce shot up Juhua’s nose, making her eyes red from the sting. She took the water Qingmu handed her, gulped down two mouthfuls, and caught her breath. Only then did she begin to feel a little better.

She looked up and saw everyone staring at her strangely, which made her a bit embarrassed. She also noticed Liu Sanshun’s dejected expression and figured he would misunderstand if she didn’t explain.

So, she looked at Zhang Huai and Qingmu and said with a laugh, "Life in our village is getting better and better, and everyone wants to marry their daughters to our men. But one by one, you all say you don’t want to get married right now. At first, it was just my brother and Huai Zi saying it, and now Sanshun is too. What if Li Changxing and the others also say they don’t want to get married someday? Goodness! Wouldn’t all those families with daughters be terribly disappointed?"

She had actually wanted to add a teasing remark like, "All the handsome men are refusing to marry; they’re going to shatter hearts all over the place," but then she caught herself. ’This isn’t my past life. I have to be careful what I say here.’ So she kept the thought to herself.

After hearing her words, everyone thought about it, realized she was right, and burst out laughing.

Li Changyun said with a grin, "I never said that. It’s perfect if you all don’t want to get married. I can take my time and choose. Otherwise, with Huai Zi and Qingmu in the running, the girls might not even look my way."

Jinxiang shot her brother down, "Even if they don’t get married now, don’t think you’ll get anyone good. There’s still Changyu, and he’s way better than you."

Li Changyun looked quiet and refined, but he was actually quite humorous. He laughed. "Surely not all the girls will fall for Changyu, will they? Besides, here in Qingnan Village, I’m a regular Prince Charming in my own right. I refuse to believe no one will take an interest in me."

During the New Year’s Eve dinner that evening, he had heard Li Changyu boastfully call himself a "Prince Charming," so he was immediately putting the phrase to use.

Li Changyu quickly clapped him on the shoulder. "Don’t you worry, I don’t want to get married right now either. I’m younger than all of you. It’s better to let everyone come take a look at the Li family’s ’Prince Charming’ second son. The Li family’s third son is going to wait a few more years. Just try not to get dazzled by all the choices."

At this, the whole group roared with laughter.

Liu Xiaomei laughed. "This really is a problem. No wonder Juhua found it so funny."

Juhua nodded, adding that the matchmakers were going to lose a few clients and would surely complain endlessly.

’Are these guys just joking around,’ she wondered, ’or do they all really feel this way?’

’But Qingmu has already started thinking about it. If he takes a liking to Liu Yunlan, they’ll get engaged first, even if they don’t get married right away.’

She looked over at Qingmu in the crowd. Seeing her brother’s gaze happen to sweep over to her, she gave him a mischievous wink.

’On the second day of the New Year, I’m going to help my brother check out my future sister-in-law,’ she thought. ’We’ll make our move quietly, behind the scenes. Once Qingmu is engaged, we’ll see if you all are still saying the same thing. Let’s see what you do when all the good girls have been spoken for.’

When Qingmu saw Juhua wink at him, he understood what she meant, and his face couldn’t help but turn a little red.

Zhang Huai watched in surprise as Juhua winked at Qingmu, wondering what the two siblings were up to.

His suspicious gaze met Juhua’s eyes. She suddenly had a thought: ’Isn’t he refusing to marry for my sake?’ Her heart traitorously began to beat faster. Seeing that he was still sizing her up, she shot him a fierce glare.

However, the glare didn’t have its intended effect. She had been laughing so hard that tears had formed, making her eyes watery. As a result, the look seemed to be a mix of delight and pique, making it look as if she were giving Huai Zi a flirtatious glance.

Zhang Huai was instantly dumbstruck. His heart pounded like a drum, but he still remembered that there were many other people in the room. He couldn’t just stare foolishly at Juhua like Liu Sanshun had done earlier, so he quickly lowered his head.

The moment Zhang Huai lowered his head, Li Changyu saw the deep affection and joy that flashed in his eyes, and his own heart sank.

Then he looked at Juhua and saw her shy expression. To cover it up, she reached into a jar for a piece of crispy rice, haphazardly smeared a huge dollop of sauce on it, and was about to pop it in her mouth when Liu Xiaomei grabbed her hand. Liu Xiaomei chided, "You were just coughing like that, and now you’re eating that much sauce again? Use a little less!"

As if waking from a dream, Juhua hurriedly scraped the large dollop of sauce back into the jar. She smiled at Liu Xiaomei and said, "It’s your fault for making it so delicious! It’s so fragrant and appetizing." With that, she finally popped the crispy rice into her mouth and began to chew, not daring to turn her head to look in his direction.

Li Changyu stared blankly. He hadn’t even made up his mind yet, but it already seemed that Huai Zi and Juhua had mutual feelings for each other. ’So what does that make me?’

’But I have to figure out how deep my feelings for Juhua really are, or I’ll never be able to let this go. Besides, Juhua is still so young. How could she have already set her heart on Huai Zi? I’ve barely spent any time with her. If I were around her more, who knows what could happen in the future?’