Shen Qingqing walked out of the residential compound feeling refreshed, a faint smile lingering on her lips.
Her mood had significantly improved, and even her overall deanor seed to brighten.
She looked radiant, even more beautiful than before.
Anyone unaware of the situation might think her good spirits were because of a loving relationship with Jiang Zhixun.
Shen Qingqing didn’t know whether Lin Fengmian would complain to their superiors, but even if she did, she couldn’t care less.
What’s done is done; there’s no need for regret.
If she kept bottling it all inside, she might end up with other issues!
Upstairs, Lin Fengmian cradled her aching arm, unable to cry even though she desperately wanted to.
Shen Qingqing had gone completely mad.
She dared to storm into soone else’s ho and hit soone—what kind of so-called intellectual was this?
Even the unruliest villagers weren’t as brazen as her!
If it weren’t for Shen Qingqing having sothing on her, she would absolutely escalate this.
But now, she couldn’t complain to anyone about her grievances.
She was forced to swallow her injustice in silence.
Gritting her teeth, Lin Fengmian thought bitterly that Shen Qingqing had better not let her find any leverage over her.
Otherwise, she’d make sure to repay today’s humiliation double!
Xiao Bao didn’t see Shen Qingqing hit anyone, but he heard Lin Fengmian’s curses loud and clear.
He thought he was the one being scolded and cried inconsolably.
Lin Fengmian, already irritated, snapped, "Crying, crying, you only know how to cry! You always side with others; all three of you in that family are ingrates!"
Xiao Bao sat on the floor, his little body shivering from the cold.
Lin Fengmian yanked him upright, roughly dusting off his pants while continuing to rant angrily.
Zhou Xiaoi returned earlier than expected and heard the child’s sobs as soon as she reached downstairs.
She hurriedly quickened her pace up to the apartnt.
The front door was ajar, and the scene that greeted her instantly enraged her.
"Lin Fengmian, is this how you take care of the child when we’re not ho?"
"Hitting and scolding—how could you betray the trust my husband and I placed in you?"
Lin Fengmian froze for two seconds before realizing how her actions had been misunderstood by Zhou Xiaoi.
She wanted to explain, but Zhou Xiaoi had already taken the child from her arms.
Cradling Xiao Bao and soothing him, she shot Lin Fengmian a furious glare, as if she were so irredeemable villain.
Lin Fengmian, already feeling wronged, couldn’t hold back her tears as her sister-in-law confronted her like this.
"If you don’t trust , then take care of your own kid!"
Lin Fengmian was known for her temper, and in the past, Zhou Xiaoi had always turned a blind eye.
As long as she took decent care of the child, Zhou Xiaoi let it slide.
But now, Lin Fengmian’s behavior had crossed the line, even venting her bad temper on Xiao Bao.
As a mother, Zhou Xiaoi couldn’t tolerate it anymore!
With a cold sneer, she said, "Wait until your brother is on leave—we’ll send you back to the village. Don’t bother coming back next year, and as for finding you a match, we won’t lift a finger. Lin Fengmian, you’re on your own."
"This isn’t just your ho! What gives you the right to kick out?"
Lin Fengmian stuck out her neck defiantly, refusing to back down.
Zhou Xiaoi had always thought of her sister-in-law as her own family, since she was her husband’s biological sister.
She believed family mbers should support one another.
To make Lin Fengmian feel more comfortable and not like an outsider, Zhou Xiaoi had always gone out of her way for her.
Whenever there was good food or drink, she saved a portion for her sister-in-law.
She often took Lin Fengmian to the county to buy clothes, snacks, and face cream...
Anything Lin Fengmian might need in daily life, Zhou Xiaoi provided without hesitation.
When Lin Fengmian had her period, if there were at ration coupons at ho, Zhou Xiaoi made sure not to hoard them, ensuring her sister-in-law didn’t feel deprived while living with them.
But despite all her efforts, Lin Fengmian constantly caused trouble for her.
If she wasn’t arguing with one person, she was getting into conflicts with another.
Every few days, Zhou Xiaoi had to apologize on her behalf. Over ti, she and Lin Zhidong had nearly used up all their goodwill in the neighborhood.
Sotis Zhou Xiaoi invited neighbors over to chat, but if Lin Fengmian was around, no one wanted to co.
Even so, Lin Fengmian showed no signs of changing her ways.
When Shen Qingqing ca to visit, she escalated her behavior even further.
If not for Lin Zhidong’s strong camaraderie with his comrades, and the fact that Jiang Zhixun was too proud to make a fuss, they probably wouldn’t have been willing to share a al with them again.
Zhou Xiaoi rocked her son gently in her arms, trying to console him.
"This might not be solely my ho, but it sure as hell isn’t yours."
"You..."
Lin Fengmian’s hands trembled as she pointed at Zhou Xiaoi, at a loss for words.
Zhou Xiaoi swatted her hand away. "Didn’t your elders teach you not to point fingers at people?"
After being humiliated twice in a row, Lin Fengmian broke into sobs.
"You don’t even ask what happened before accusing of everything! You start scolding the mont you walk in, and now you’re telling I can’t co back? What kind of sister-in-law are you?"
On any other day, Zhou Xiaoi might have sympathized and let it go.
But after everything that had happened recently, she was just too exhausted.
Her son’s pitiful cries were like a knife to her heart, and all the frustrations she had repressed exploded at once.
She didn’t want to clean up Lin Fengmian’s sses anymore.
Sending her back to the village was the only solution!
"Lin Fengmian, you’re already twenty years old. You should know what’s acceptable and what’s not. If you can’t even have basic manners, I’m sorry, but I won’t let your brother find you a match. I don’t want you ruining soone else’s life."
Marriage was Lin Fengmian’s top priority, and the fact that the suitors she had her eye on—Jiang Zhixun and Chen Shaojie—rejected her was a constant source of anguish.
The night before, as she lay in bed, Lin Fengmian had resolved that if Jiang Zhixun and Chen Shaojie didn’t want her, she’d simply choose soone else.
She was prettier than many others and didn’t believe she couldn’t find a good man!
But now Zhou Xiaoi was threatening to sabotage her chances, and it was unbearable.
"Lin Zhidong is my brother. He’s the one finding a husband. What right do you have to interfere?"
Lin Fengmian was livid, her words dripping with resentnt.
Xiao Bao was terrified, clinging to Zhou Xiaoi’s shoulder and crying incessantly.
For a mother, her child was her greatest weakness.
Zhou Xiaoi had completely run out of patience. "We’re husband and wife; why shouldn’t I have a say?"
"I-I’ll make my brother divorce you!"
"Sure, go ahead! Let’s see him try!"
Downstairs, Lin Zhidong had already heard the commotion and rushed back in a panic.
At the doorway, hearing the word "divorce," he nearly fell to his knees.
He had worked so hard to court Zhou Xiaoi back then. She was highly sought after, with admirers that included doctors and teachers...
All respectable n.
He had gone through so much just to marry her. Divorce? That would destroy him!
"Lin Fengmian, apologize to your sister-in-law!"
Lin Fengmian refused. "You’ve forgotten your own sister just because you have a wife. I’ll never forgive you!"
With that, she ran back to her room sobbing.
Zhou Xiaoi rolled her eyes. This sa old act, every single ti.
This ti, she wasn’t budging!
She carried her son and started walking out.
"Wife, where are you going?" Lin Zhidong hurried after her.
"We’re getting divorced. What does it matter where I go?"
Lin Zhidong’s scalp tingled, and he quickly scooped up his son. "Divorce? Over my dead body!"
Zhou Xiaoi let out a huff and turned to leave.
Lin Zhidong rushed back inside to grab a al box and said to the people in the room, "You’d better reflect on your behavior and apologize to your sister-in-law when I co back."
With that, he ran after Zhou Xiaoi down the stairs.
Lin Fengmian pressed on the spot where Shen Qingqing had hit her, tears streaming down her face.
Her arm hurt so much, her movents were stiff, yet no one had even noticed. Worse, they scolded her instead.
The more Lin Fengmian thought about it, the angrier she beca.
Finally, she resolved that this year, she would stay in the residential compound for the New Year to find a suitor.
She wasn’t going back to the village with them.
After all, if she returned with them after the New Year, they might leave her behind in the countryside for good!
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