"She's already going to annul the marriage, and I still can't say a few words?" Liu Cuixia said angrily.
"Auntie, I'm not just going to, I am here today to annul the marriage." Sheng Ning smiled appropriately ever since she walked in. Her composed and gracious smile didn't change even when Liu Cuixia pointed at her nose and scolded her.
The more Mayor Liu looked at her, the less confident he felt. Initially, he planned to scare her off, just like he did with Shen Luhua. But now, seeing her so calm and confident, he found it difficult to proceed that way.
"Ningning, this annulment is a big deal. Have you considered An'an? If you annul the marriage, it will be hard for her to find another match." Mayor Liu said slyly, intentionally provoking, "You can't ruin your sister's chances just because you can't find a husband yourself."
Sheng Ning felt contempt in her heart; he was indeed a hypocrite, a true villain.
"An'an, is this what you think? If you can't find a husband and come back to us, we won't recognize you." Mayor Liu asked Sheng An gently, with a seemingly kind expression.
Sheng Ning, afraid An'an would be scared, pinched her secretly and whispered, "If you want to live a few more years, you must annul this marriage."
At this critical moment, she could not allow An'an to back down. Even if it meant speaking harshly and making An'an hate her more, she didn't mind.
Sheng An trembled, swallowing the words she was about to say. She didn't want to marry a fool and spend her life with him. She detested Liu Cuixia's meanness and Mayor Liu's hypocrisy even more.
But... but what if they annulled the marriage? Their family's reputation was already bad enough, and if she backed out now, the villagers' gossip alone could drown her.
"An'an, think about how long your life still is! There's always a way out." Sheng Ning felt tight in her chest. Today's events had come too suddenly. She should have talked to An'an earlier. If Liu Cuixia hadn't caused a scene, she wouldn't have rushed here like this.
"An'an, your father is ill and has a limp; marrying into our family is for a better life." Mayor Liu continued to coax.
"I... I want to annul the marriage." Sheng An mustered the courage to lift her head. "I must annul the marriage." The more Mayor Liu talked, the more scared she became of marrying into his family.
Mayor Liu's kind facade vanished, and his face turned ashen. "Annulling the marriage on your own means you must compensate the other party for all their losses."
"What losses? We didn't take a single thing from your family. On the contrary, my mom gave you a hundred eggs!" That was three months' worth of their living expenses, relying on selling the eggs for oil money! She remembered it clearly.
Seeing Mayor Liu's dark face, Sheng Ning couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you talking about? When did I ever receive anything from your family?" he asked arrogantly, "It has always been me helping your family without expecting anything in return, and this is how you repay me?"
Her family couldn't bear the label of being ungrateful. "Uncle Liu, you must be mistaken." Sheng Ning signaled for Sheng An to be quiet, stood up, walked over to Mayor Liu, and bowed deeply. Sincerely, she said, "Uncle Liu, thank you so much for your help. It's indeed wrong of us to annul the marriage. I am willing to compensate for your losses."
"Hmm! Ningning understands." Mayor Liu's face looked much better, and he calculated in his mind. If the marriage had to be annulled, he couldn't suffer a loss. His son might be a fool, but with his position as Mayor, would he fear not being able to find another wife?