The excitement she felt from the promotion had cooled down.

Her heart ached a bit, and her eyes also felt sore.

She sat down on the chair.

On the wall were drawings and menus made by Tiantian and Panpan.

She quickly wiped away her tears.

Tiantian had drawn a big happy face with several little heads and said, “These are the babies of the second aunt and the babies of second uncle.”

She suddenly missed her third sister.

Her third sister was very perceptive and would surely be able to solve her confusion.

When her mother-in-law questioned her, her third sister said, “Sister, if someone isn’t happy about you becoming better, then no matter how sweet their words are, It’s useless. He doesn’t really care about you or see you as one of his own. You don’t need to be upset for him.”

The third sister mentioned that some people easily show sympathy to strangers but are harsh to those close to them.

For instance, her mother-in-law constantly shows pity for others but is picky with her daughter-in-law.

Thinking about this, Lin Xia couldn’t help but apply this to Qian Lisheng.

The close yet distant relationship between spouses…

Indeed, is it like that?

He gets happy when something good happens to him, but when something good happens to her, why is he not happy?

She felt that her relationship with Qian Lisheng was becoming similar to her relationship with her mother-in-law.

It was like a piece of opaque glass had been inserted between them, making it increasingly difficult to see his true feelings.

He still appeared sticky and smirking on the surface, but it gave her a very discordant feeling.

He occasionally gave her the cold shoulder, had mood swings, spoke sarcastically, and was jealous of her good relationship with her sister, as well as her connections with Gu Changming and Director Jiang.

What went wrong?

She suddenly felt very agitated.

Her mother-in-law’s issues with her work were like a tightening curse on her head, allowing them to manipulate her at any time.

If she didn’t listen to her mother-in-law, she was seen as ungrateful.

If she had issues with Qian Lisheng, it was perceived as her being ungrateful for his influence.

He even gave her the cold shoulder when she got a promotion.

Was it because of their different backgrounds?

If she had married a farmer and stayed home to farm, would her mother-in-law and husband have dared to say she was exploiting them?

Would they have criticized her for relying on her in-laws?

No, it’s not like that.

Not everyone is like that.

The third sister married Lu Shaotang, clearly aiming to benefit from the Lu family.

But since the Lu family accepted her, they didn’t feel exploited.

Her in-laws, Lu Shaotang, and brothers and sister-in-laws all treated her very well, as if she were one of their own.

Lin Xia wasn’t the type to stew over things silently.

She preferred to address conflicts directly and resolve them quickly, especially with those she cared about.

She only ignored people like Tong Ailian.

Whether it was with her mother-in-law or Qian Lisheng, she always resolved issues immediately.

If her mother-in-law didn’t see her as family, she just… stopped caring.

Now, with Qian Lisheng… was he also not seeing her as family?

He might outwardly love her but have the same thoughts as his mother internally.

She needed to talk to Qian Lisheng and clarify things.

If he truly didn’t see her as one of his own like his mother did…

The third sister had said, people who don’t solve problems but instead create drama, throw tantrums, or use silent treatment, regardless of gender, aren’t worth loving.

She grabbed her lunchbox and went to find Qian Lisheng.

She didn’t see Qian Lisheng in the cafeteria but did see his apprentice, Chen He.

After asking, she learned that Qian Lisheng had already gone back to the workshop.

Chen He: “Master’s wife, my master… is in a bad mood. Please try to comfort him and don’t argue with him.”

He felt that the normally easygoing man was suddenly in a bad mood, which must mean he was genuinely unhappy.

As his wife, she should understand him.

Lin Xia hurriedly went to the workshop.

Qian Lisheng was hiding in the workshop office, feeling miserable.

He thought he should be able to congratulate his wife’s promotion with ease, but he was struggling.

With his own pride hurt, and with various setbacks such as failing to secure a promotion and failing exams, he found it hard to smile and congratulate his wife.

It felt extremely forced.

He didn’t just feel unable to congratulate her; he even felt that she should share in his setbacks and understand his pain, and draw a line with Jiang Weidong and Gu Changming!

Lin Xia: “Why are you hiding here?”

Qian Lisheng, inwardly groaning, thought, “Why are you forcing me? Can’t you give me some space to be alone and calm down?”

He was feeling suffocated.

He put his hands on his head and said, “Just let me be alone for a while, okay? Don’t bother me.”

Lin Xia, although frustrated, tried to stay patient: “Can’t you stop just being angry? Getting upset doesn’t solve anything. If there’s a problem, we need to talk it out and find a solution.”

Qian Lisheng: “I don’t have a problem. I’m not angry. I just want to be alone for a while.”

Lin Xia: “Is this how you’re ‘being alone’? This is called giving me the cold shoulder. If you wanted to be alone, why couldn’t you just do it earlier? Instead, you stayed at home, vented your frustrations on me, and then say you need space?”

Qian Lisheng stared at her, puzzled. “What are you talking about, ‘cold shoulder’? Lin Xia, you’re really cultured now. Who taught you this?”

His sister-in-law hadn’t studied much, only had a few pretty photos, nothing substantial.

Was it Jiang Weidong who taught her?

Thinking of this, his face darkened instantly.

And she said she wasn’t close to Jiang Weidong!

Soon, Chen He and others came back and, seeing Lin Xia and Qian Lisheng in a bit of a standoff, quickly tried to mediate.

Chen He: “Master’s wife, please be understanding. Master’s in a bad mood. Try to be more considerate.”

A female fitter, who had a good relationship with Qian Lisheng, added: “Yes, Master Qian works hard every day. As his wife, you should be more considerate and not nag him all the time.”

Lin Xia frowned and turned to her: “Fu Xiumei, I’m discussing things with my husband. What’s it to you?”

Fu Xiumei curled her lip and glanced at Qian Lisheng, saying, “Oh, Qian Shifu is really pitiful.”

He didn’t get promoted to deputy director, and instead of comforting him, his wife is so harshly pressuring him.

Her words made others come over to persuade Lin Xia, advising her not to take it too seriously with Qian Shifu.

After all, Qian Shifu is usually such a good man. Isn’t it normal for him to be in a bad mood today and act out a bit?

Several colleagues from Qian Lisheng’s workshop felt that his not being promoted was a pity and that he was deliberately suppressed.

Those who held a bias against Gu Changming and had hoped for Qian Lisheng’s promotion to improve their own positions were especially critical of Lin Xia.

At this time, several members of the electrical team approached, “Group Leader, why aren’t you going back to the meeting?”

The electrical team mainly consisted of young men, with Lin Xia being the only woman in a technical role.

The other two female colleagues handled tools and document sorting.

They all knew that Qian Lisheng wasn’t promoted and felt bad, but they hadn’t expected him to take it out on his wife.

The young men from the electrical team felt for Lin Xia and were uncomfortable seeing her being treated unfairly.

Experienced and older staff didn’t want to say much to avoid worsening the couple’s relationship.

One impulsive and less tactful young man couldn’t help but say, “Qian Shifu, are you jealous of Lin Shifu being promoted to group leader because you didn’t get the deputy director position?”

This remark struck a nerve with Qian Lisheng, making him feel like a swarm of bees had stung him.

He stood up angrily and shouted, “What nonsense are you all talking about? Get back to work!”

Ignoring Lin Xia, he pushed Fu Xiumei and the others away.

Fu Xiumei shrugged, “It’s not time to start work yet.”

The second workshop director and Gu Changming were accompanying Jiang Weidong, coming to greet the new group leaders and instruct them to cooperate well with Gu Changming.

Seeing the tense atmosphere in the office, the workshop director asked what was going on.

Someone quickly ran over and whispered the situation.

Jiang Weidong’s brows furrowed instantly; this Qian Lisheng… was indeed no better than Tong Guoqiang.

When Jiang Weidong arrived, Qian Lisheng’s heart sank.

He turned to look at Lin Xia.

Lin Xia had already gone back to the meeting with her team members.

Qian Lisheng looked at the tall and handsome Jiang Weidong, who was chatting confidently with the director and Gu Changming.

His earlier anger rapidly cooled down.

He instinctively suspected that Jiang Weidong was aware of his argument with Lin Xia and had deliberately come to add to his troubles, warning him.

It was possible that Jiang Weidong and Lin Xia… might really have something going on.

No, Lin Xia wouldn’t…

Lin Xia thought that her sister-in-law was not good at lying or hiding things; she said whatever was on her mind and couldn’t keep secrets.

She felt that Jiang Weidong might have some interest in her, and he seemed to look at her in a strange way.

She was worried that Jiang Weidong might reveal her own problems and embarrass her in front of all the factory workers.

When Jiang Weidong was speaking to the group leaders, he glanced at Qian Lisheng with a heavy expression but said nothing.

After finishing his speech, he said, “Everyone should cooperate with the work of the two directors and strive to reach a new level of productivity.”

The directors led the applause.

Jiang Weidong then let them get back to work and left.

As he was leaving, he passed by the electrical team, who had already finished their meeting and started their work.

He saw Lin Xia and two colleagues working on repairing the wiring but didn’t disturb them.

After a while, Lin Xia went to the publicity department to call the post office of the Fendou Commune, expecting her sister to call back the next day with news.

But just after finishing the call with her sister, she received a call.

Hanging up the phone, Lin Xia felt heavy-hearted.

She felt that she and Qian Lisheng were truly drifting apart.

Recalling the various ways Qian Lisheng had been sarcastic, suspicious, and distant with her recently, and his behavior today, Lin Xia felt that her sister was right.

When personal interests are not involved, people’s true nature doesn’t show.

He simply couldn’t accept that she was becoming better and better.

Perhaps her relationship with Qian Lisheng had really reached its end.