Chapter 3

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice, and they saw a tall man, about six feet tall, standing at the entrance of the alley. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He was wearing a dark green military uniform, making him look tall and steady.

It was Lu Jingzhe, the second son of the Lu family, who hadn’t been back in four years.

After saving the person and leaving, Lu Jingzhe went to the department store, bought some things, and changed out of his wet clothes before going home.

He didn’t expect to see the woman he had just rescued from the river at the entrance of the courtyard. He didn’t expect that she was actually his wife, Xia Qingning, whom he hadn’t seen in four years.

He was genuinely surprised when he realized it was Xia Qingning.

His memory of Xia Qingning stopped four years ago. Back then, she was short and thin, with a sallow complexion and sparse hair. She always walked with her head down, lifeless. She was nothing like the fair-skinned, delicate woman in front of him.

He did hold resentment and anger towards this woman who had climbed into his bed and forced him to marry her, making him unable to hold his head up in front of his brother. But when he saw her surrounded by a group of people, being questioned, and looking down with a look of grievance, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.

Under everyone’s surprised gazes, Lu Jingzhe walked towards Xia Qingning, turned to face Zhao Cuilan, and said with a cold face:

“The clothes are mine!”

He reached out and pulled Xia Qingning’s right hand, continuing to say:

“A button fell off here.”

Then he let go of her rolled-up sleeve. Everyone looked over, and sure enough, they saw that a button was missing from the cuff of the clothes.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he reached out again and took a button from the pocket of the clothes Xia Qingning was wearing. It was the one that had fallen off the cuff.

Xia Qingning looked at Lu Jingzhe. She knew that if he had just said the clothes were his and hadn’t provided any substantial evidence, people might think he was covering for her. Now, with this clear evidence, things were clear as day.

“Do you know what crime it is to spread rumors and slander the reputation of a military family member?” Lu Jingzhe looked at Zhao Cuilan, his eyes cold, and said in a deep voice, “If you don’t know, I can take you to the police station to ask.”

Because of his long stay in the strict army, Lu Jingzhe had a natural military bearing of authority. Now, he was asking questions in such a cold tone, and the strong sense of oppression was overwhelming.

Zhao Cuilan was so scared that her face turned white. She had no trace of her previous aggressive attitude.

She didn’t expect Lu Jingzhe to come back suddenly, and she didn’t expect the clothes to actually be his. Hearing that he was going to take her to the police station, she suddenly became flustered.

Even though she looked down on Xia Qingning in her heart, the fact that she was a military family member was undeniable.

“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding.” Zhao Cuilan immediately said with a smile, then turned to Xia Qingning, trying to make amends: “Qingning, you’re really something. The clothes are your husband’s. What’s there to be embarrassed about? Look at this misunderstanding.”

Xia Qingning looked at her coldly. Oh, she really only picked on soft targets. Even at this point, she still blamed her.

Just then, the door to the Lu family’s house suddenly opened, and a woman with short hair and a neat outfit came out. She bent down and looked at the crowd, then said in a very happy voice:

“Oh, it’s Jingzhe back.” Then she shouted to the house, “Xiaoxue, come out, your second brother is back.” After shouting, she walked towards the crowd.

Xia Qingning looked at the smiling woman and couldn’t help but frown slightly.

This was Wang Mingfang, Lu Baichuan’s scheming and opportunistic ex-wife.

After Wang Mingfang divorced Lu Baichuan, she married a director of the Revolutionary Committee and lived a good life. She also had a daughter.

But not long after, her husband was reported by his subordinates for saying the wrong thing. During the investigation, he suddenly died in an accident, and their family’s life fell into decline.

After Lu Jingzhe’s mother, Su Hui, died, she started thinking about remarrying Lu Baichuan.

Wang Mingfang was a master at observing people and seizing opportunities. She knew that Lu Baichuan had a knot in his heart and wouldn’t easily remarry her. So, she used a roundabout tactic.

First, she tried every means to recognize her son, Lu Lidong, whom she had abandoned. Then, she used the excuse of taking care of her granddaughter to live in the Lu family’s house.

To outsiders, she was a rare good ex-wife. Not only did she take care of the entire Lu family, but she also took the initiative to take on the responsibility of caring for her ex-husband’s younger daughter, Lu Xiaoxue. Most importantly, she was very good to the child. She gave her the best food, and she almost always fulfilled her requests. She was even more loving than her own mother.

Only Xia Qingning knew that Wang Mingfang’s kindness and generosity were all for show. The original owner’s tragic fate was almost entirely caused by her.

In order to get her daughter, He Shanshan, into a state-owned factory, she tricked the original owner into sleeping with the workshop director. She exchanged the original owner’s job for He Shanshan’s enviable position. Later, when she learned that the original owner was pregnant, she instigated her to join the army and arranged for her niece to take care of her. In fact, she was using this opportunity to seduce Lu Jingzhe. After squeezing the last bit of value out of the original owner, she revealed the truth about the child’s parentage and forced the original owner to jump into the lake to commit suicide.

Her kindness towards Lu Xiaoxue was entirely for the purpose of establishing her image as a good ex-wife. Under her doting love, Lu Xiaoxue was spoiled. She was competitive, selfish, and hung out with a group of hooligans. Before she turned seventeen, she got pregnant and eventually died in childbirth.

It could be said that Wang Mingfang was a snake wearing a mask of hypocrisy, and a poisonous one at that.

Just like how Zhao Cuilan had just humiliated Xia Qingning in front of everyone, she had clearly heard it, but she closed the door tightly, pretending not to know anything. She didn’t want to offend Zhao Cuilan, and she didn’t want to be accused of not speaking up for the younger generation.

She was really good at playing the game!

Under Xia Qingning’s disgusted gaze, Wang Mingfang had already walked to where they were.

Zhao Cuilan saw Wang Mingfang as a lifeline and quickly explained:

“Aunt Mingfang, you’re here. I was just trying to joke with Qingning, but these young people took it seriously. They even said they were going to the police station. You’re the most reasonable person. Please persuade them.”

“Joking? You’re joking about someone’s reputation?” Before Wang Mingfang could speak, Lu Jingzhe asked sharply, clearly not intending to let the matter go.

“Zhao Cuilan, listen to what you’re saying. You’re a woman too. Can you joke about reputation?” Zhang Qiulian, the women’s director, couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up.

“No, no.” Zhao Cuilan waved her hands repeatedly, “That’s not what I meant.” She didn’t know how to explain, so she could only look at Wang Mingfang with a pleading expression.

As long as it didn’t affect her own interests, Wang Mingfang would always play the good person. She looked at Lu Jingzhe with a smile and said:

“Jingzhe, we’re all neighbors. I think Aunt Cuilan didn’t mean any harm. She just talks without thinking.” Then she turned to Xia Qingning and comforted her, “Our Qingning is the most understanding. You won’t hold a grudge against Aunt Cuilan for this little thing, right?”

According to the original owner’s personality, after hearing Wang Mingfang say this, she would have just swallowed her anger, lowered her head, and said yes. But the one standing here now wasn’t the original owner. Xia Qingning wouldn’t suffer this injustice, and she wouldn’t let Wang Mingfang play the good person.

Xia Qingning raised her head, looked at Wang Mingfang, and said with a look of grievance:

“Does being understanding mean I should suffer? If she had said this about your own daughter, He Shanshan, would you still think it was a small matter? Would you still be generous and not hold a grudge?”

Who doesn’t know how to pretend?