Volume One, Chapter Two: The Third-Day Return Visit

“Xiaoyuan, are you listening?” Mrs. Lu waved her hand in front of Jiang Yuan’s face, noticing her distracted eyes.

She wasn’t sure if she liked this daughter-in-law or not, but since she had married into the Lu family, she was now one of them.

“I’m listening, Mom,” Jiang Yuan replied, casting a sideways glance at her husband, whose expression was as cold as ice.

She wondered if he would be willing to accompany her back to her parents’ home later.

“Xiuyi, how about you?” Mrs. Lu asked.

“I understand, Mom,” Lu Xiuyi answered calmly.

He agreed, and Jiang Yuan felt a surge of happiness deep inside. She quietly hooked her little hand around his pinky under the table, all the while observing his face, determined to melt his indifferent demeanor.

But alas, her hopes were dashed; his expression remained unchanged, and he calmly placed his hand on the table.

Losing her initial approach, Jiang Yuan didn’t give up. She gently rested her hand on Lu Xiuyi’s knee, softly stroking it.

She refused to believe this man could maintain such a stoic face forever.

“I’m done eating,” Lu Xiuyi suddenly stood up and looked at Jiang Yuan. “I’ll wait for you inside.”

With that, he walked into the room with a cold detachment.

Jiang Yuan puffed out her cheeks and sighed; the revolution was far from over, and comrades still needed to strive.

“Xiaoyuan, don’t take it personally. Xiuyi’s nature is just like that. You’ll get used to it over time,” Mrs. Lu comforted her.

Her son had been cold since childhood, and after the family’s ordeal, he had grown even more distant.

Accepting Jiang Yuan into the family also meant understanding this.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Jiang Yuan flashed a bright, almost electrifying smile. “I’m confident that Xiuyi will come to accept me.”

“That’s good to hear,” Mrs. Lu said with a faint smile.

As long as her daughter-in-law didn’t mind, that was all that mattered.

After the meal, Jiang Yuan and Lu Xiuyi carried three jin of peach crisps and one jin of white flour, gifts prepared by Mrs. Lu, and headed to Jiang Yuan’s parental home at the east end of the village.

Jiang Yuan hadn’t intended to have any more contact with that family, but she needed to retrieve the hundred yuan her parents earned by ‘selling’ their daughter—that money rightfully belonged to her.

Walking along the road, Jiang Yuan’s short, chubby legs couldn’t keep up with Lu Xiuyi’s long strides. She panted and called out, “Husband, slow down, I can’t keep up.”

Lu Xiuyi lowered his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly in cold detachment, but his pace did slow down.

When Jiang Yuan nearly caught up, he would resume walking, maintaining a distance neither too close nor too far.

“Cousin, are you really walking home on foot this time?” a mocking laugh drifted through the wind.

Jiang Yuan turned to see her cousin Li Qingmei sitting behind the old bicycle, her face gleaming with unmistakable schadenfreude.

Before Jiang Yuan could respond, Li Qingmei laughed to herself and said, “Well, with your figure, cousin, I bet the tire will be flattened before you even get on. Ha ha ha…”

Jiang Yuan glanced down at her barrel-like body. Though it was the truth, still…

Feigning nonchalance, Jiang Yuan shrugged, sighed, and said slowly, “Yeah, better not be skinny like you, cousin. You’re barely two jin, box and all.”

“You—” Li Qingmei, recognizing the curse, angrily tapped Liu Fendou’s back in front of her. “Stop the bike! Don’t you see they’re bullying us right here?”

The sharp tap caused Liu Fendou to wince. He frowned, wondering if this woman was still the gentle girl he once knew.

“Husband, there’s a mad dog barking. I’m scared,” Jiang Yuan tugged at Lu Xiuyi’s sleeve, looking pitiful.

Lu Xiuyi glanced down at the little hand clutching his sleeve but said nothing.

“Jiang Yuan, how dare you insult me? Let me show you what I’ll do to you!” Li Qingmei jumped off the bicycle and stormed toward Jiang Yuan, ready to confront her.

Jiang Yuan smirked; bring it on, she wasn’t afraid.

Straightening her back, she stood firmly before Li Qingmei, towering over her in height and breadth.

Li Qingmei seemed to realize the problem and felt a flicker of embarrassment, but stopping now would cost her face.

“Pfft,” Jiang Yuan scoffed disdainfully and gently pushed forward with her body.

With a loud thud, Li Qingmei was knocked to the ground, landing squarely on her backside, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.

“Qingmei!” Liu Fendou rushed over, concerned, to help her up.

“You only come over now, just watch her bully me,” Li Qingmei yelled at him.

“Are you still hung up on this woman? Regretting it, huh?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Liu Fendou frowned, casting a disdainful glance at the chubby Jiang Yuan.

“My eyes work fine. How could I like her?”

Jiang Yuan: ...

Pfft, and he still dares to look down on her.

“Husband~” Jiang Yuan raised the arm just scratched by Li Qingmei’s nails, looking at her husband for help, silently begging him to beat up this trash man.

“Stop it,” Lu Xiuyi said coldly, emotionless.

He gently lifted her hand off his sleeve and strode forward steadily and firmly.

Jiang Yuan pouted. It was all those two trashy people’s fault; her dear husband wasn’t paying attention to her anymore.

“Husband, wait for me.”

“Hmph,” Li Qingmei snorted coldly behind them, thinking she deserved to be married to such a man.

“Qingmei, get on,” Liu Fendou brought the bicycle to her and put one foot down.

Li Qingmei glanced at the brand-new old bicycle, then looked ahead at the two walking, and a plan formed in her mind.

“Fendou, hurry and catch up,” she ordered as she climbed onto the rear seat.

Liu Fendou, unsure of her intentions, followed her lead and rode beside Jiang Yuan and Lu Xiuyi.

“Cousin, it’s really hot today, huh? Your cousin won’t accompany you,” Li Qingmei said deliberately, making Liu Fendou ride around in front of Jiang Yuan to show off, then rode off.

Jiang Yuan subtly curled her lips and muttered softly, “Hope you get a flat tire halfway.”

The two continued walking.

About one hundred meters from the Jiang family’s home, they unexpectedly encountered two people pushing a bicycle.

Upon closer look—wow, the tire really was flat!

Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “Oh dear, cousin, on such a hot day, pushing such a heavy thing. You must be tired.”

Familiar words echoed in her ears.

Li Qingmei’s face looked like she’d been slapped hard—half black, half purple, quite a sight.

This time, it was Jiang Yuan and Lu Xiuyi who walked away lightly and freely, unburdened and at ease.

Upon arriving at the Jiang family home, Jiang Yuan suddenly realized her eldest aunt Zhang Xiaoyu—Li Qingmei’s mother—was also there.

“Jiang Yuan, where’s your cousin?” Zhang Xiaoyu asked immediately.

Jiang Yuan’s lips twitched. What use was her mother’s question?

Maybe the two had fallen into the stinky ditch again. After all, they even managed to get a flat tire.