Chapter 10: I Can Support My Wife

Lin Shan didn’t expect Chen Fengmei, who was always gentle and kind, to suddenly erupt. He was caught off guard and stumbled back, luckily catching himself on the wall.

He stared at the furious Chen Fengmei in astonishment. Was this the stepmother who always claimed to treat Xiangyi better than Huimei?

He suddenly remembered Lin Xiangyi’s question yesterday: did he know how Chen Fengmei and her daughter treated her when he wasn’t around?

At the time, he just thought she was being unreasonable as usual. Now, thinking back, maybe Xiangyi wasn’t making things up?

At that moment, he didn’t know why, but he felt a chill run down his spine. He lost his temper with Chen Fengmei and shouted:

“I favor her? I favor her ass! If I favored her, would I have spent over a thousand yuan last year to buy Lin Huimei a job? Would I have prepared so much dowry for her? What does Xiangyi have? You goddamn bitch, you still say I favor her? Ungrateful! Get out!”

Lin Shan finished speaking, pushed Chen Fengmei aside, and strode away.

Chen Fengmei chased after him, watching as Lin Shan rode away on his bicycle. She was so angry that her chest heaved up and down. Just as she was about to go back inside, she noticed a figure on the second floor. She looked up sharply and saw Lin Xiangyi’s smiling face.

“I thought you were so powerful, but it turns out you’re just like that,” Lin Xiangyi sneered.

Chen Fengmei gritted her teeth in hatred: “Lin Xiangyi, you’re only relying on being his biological daughter! But what does it matter if you’re his biological daughter? You’re going to be married off soon, and I’m the one who’s going to spend the rest of my life with him. Tell me, who will he favor then, you or me?”

Lin Xiangyi snorted and suddenly looked towards the entrance, shouting: “Dad, you’re back?”

Chen Fengmei froze. Lin Shan was back? Did he hear what she said?

She turned her head stiffly, but there was no sign of Lin Shan at the entrance.

She had been tricked by Lin Xiangyi!

“Hahahahahaha!” Lin Xiangyi laughed unrestrainedly and went back inside.

Chen Fengmei: “…” That damn little bitch!

—

“Ah Xiao, what’s the situation with the Lin family?”

After leaving the Lin family, Xie’s mother couldn’t wait to ask.

Xie Qingxiao liked Lin Xiangyi, so he naturally knew some things about her family. He simply told his parents what he knew.

He didn’t know much either. He only knew that Lin Xiangyi’s parents divorced when she was young and that she didn’t get along with her stepmother and stepsister.

There were many rumors about why they didn’t get along. Of course, Xie Qingxiao favored Lin Xiangyi and told his parents the good things about her.

“So, this child is quite pitiful,” Xie’s mother sighed.

Xie’s father nodded in agreement.

Xie’s mother looked at Xie Qingxiao, seeming hesitant to speak.

Xie Qingxiao noticed and frowned: “Mom, just say what you want to say.”

“…Son, I think Xiangyi isn’t a good match for you,” Xie’s mother hesitated, expressing her concerns.

Xie Qingxiao’s brows furrowed so tightly they could kill a fly: “Why not a good match? I think she’s perfect. Mother, are you prejudiced against her because of her stepmother?”

“It’s not because of that,” Xie’s mother quickly said, “I admit that Xiangyi is a good girl. Her family is well-off, she’s beautiful, polite, but… but these are her strengths and also her weaknesses!”

Xie’s mother spoke earnestly: “She seems delicate and fragile, not the type to do chores. She’s really not suitable for you!”

Xie Qingxiao’s personality was such that he would be best suited to marry a practical and hardworking wife, someone who would complement him.

If he married a delicate and fragile woman like Lin Xiangyi, who would take care of the household?

Where would the income come from? How would they live?

Moreover, Lin Xiangyi seemed very assertive, just like Xie Qingxiao. They were both quite self-centered. If they disagreed and had conflicts, who would listen to whom?

What if both of them had fiery tempers? Wouldn’t they argue every day?

Would their lives be bearable if they were constantly fighting?

For Xie Qingxiao’s sake and for Lin Xiangyi’s future, they weren’t suitable to be husband and wife.

Xie Qingxiao, hearing the reason, didn’t take it seriously: “I’m not marrying her to do chores! Don’t worry, I can support my wife! I won’t let her suffer with me.”

“I have something to do, so I won’t go back with you. You and Dad go back first. I’m leaving.”

He said this and rode away on his bicycle.

Xie’s mother wanted to call out to him but it was too late. She complained: “This child, why is he so stubborn?”

“If he listened to reason, he wouldn’t be Xie Qingxiao,” Xie’s father said, “So what do we do now?”

Xie’s mother: “What do we do? Let him marry her. We’ve already proposed, what else can we do? He’s so stubborn, if we don’t let him marry the woman he likes, maybe he’ll really be a bachelor for life.”

“It’s just pitiful for Xiangyi,” Xie’s mother sighed, “To marry such a rascal!”

Xie’s father: “…” Is Xie Qingxiao your son or is Lin Xiangyi your daughter? How can you badmouth your own son like that?

“Forget it, forget it,” Xie’s father said, “At least we’re still able to work. We can help out a little.”

Xie’s mother nodded. Her two daughters and one son were all very easygoing. Her two daughters were married and living happily. Her eldest son had a stable job in the county, married a woman who also had a job, had children, and settled down in the city.

Only Xie Qingxiao, her youngest son, was troublesome.

But what could she do about it? It was all their fault for being too easygoing when they were young!

They had to pay the debt in their old age. It was what they deserved!

“We’re already here, why don’t we go tell our eldest son about Ah Xiao’s marriage? We can also go see our granddaughter,” Xie’s mother said.

Xie’s father nodded: “Let’s go. After seeing them, we should go back. We borrowed the village head’s bicycle, so we should return it to them as soon as possible.”

They only had one bicycle, the one Xie Qingxiao was riding. Today, the three of them came to the Lin family, so they borrowed one from the village head.

Bicycles were still very expensive nowadays. Most families wouldn’t lend them out.

Xie’s mother was about to sit in the back seat. She also wanted to go back quickly. There was still a lot of work to do at home.

“Uncle Xie? Aunt Xie?”

A surprised voice sounded beside them.

Xie’s father and Xie’s mother turned their heads and saw their neighbor, Lu’s son, riding a bicycle with a young woman behind him. They stopped a few steps away.

“Dingyuan?” Xie’s mother was surprised to see Lu Dingyuan: “What are you doing here? This is?”

Xie’s mother looked at the young woman on Lu Dingyuan’s back seat and was surprised to see a slap mark on her face and a smell of medicine on her body.

Could it be… that she was beaten by Lu Dingyuan?