Chapter 7: The Argument

He gave up on his homework, angrily packed up his pencil case and notebook, and stormed off. Lian Yuqing called out to him, “If you had a better attitude and obediently called me ‘sister-in-law,’ I might consider teaching you.”

Wei Chunsheng turned his head and said, “No need.”

Lian Yuqing rolled her eyes. “As if I even want to teach you.”

Yes, she was petty and narrow-minded—so what? She’d overheard this brat talking bad about her behind her back to Wei Dong too many times.

During dinner, Lian Yuqing shared the incident as a joke with the family. Wei Chunsheng slammed his chopsticks down and left the table.

Lian Yuqing kept eating like nothing happened, completely unaffected.

Respecting the boy’s dignity? No such thing. Without going through some hardships and setbacks, how was he supposed to grow into a man?

Chen Caiqi was more concerned about her son’s studies and said, “Qing’er, you know English, right? Could you teach Chunsheng?”

“Sure, if he comes and asks me, I’ll teach him.”

Chen Caiqi placed a piece of meat into her bowl. “Eat more.”

After a moment, Lian Yuqing said to Wei Dong, “You should eat more too. Training must be exhausting.”

Wei Dong watched as she haphazardly dumped a bunch of food into his bowl. Don’t think he didn’t notice—she even slipped in a piece his mom had picked up.

Tsk, so fussy.

Lian Yuqing did indeed mind eating food other people had touched—after all, it might have their saliva on it. She didn’t care whether Wei Dong could see through her intentions or not.

At the gate stood a girl, craning her neck trying to peek inside. When Lian Yuqing noticed her, the girl reluctantly said, “Is Wei Dong home?”

Lian Yuqing raised an eyebrow. “He’s inside.”

She then looked down and resumed reading. He Xiaoshan stomped her foot impatiently and shouted, “Hey! Can’t you go call him for me?”

Lian Yuqing glanced at her, stood up, grabbed her book, and went inside. He Xiaoshan thought she was going to get Wei Dong—but half an hour passed, and he still hadn’t come out.

The sun was scorching, and He Xiaoshan was drenched in sweat, her face beet red. It finally dawned on her that Lian Yuqing never intended to call him. Furious, she cursed, “Bitch!”

Inside the house, Wei Dong was crouched down, hammering at a corner of a wardrobe. One of its corners had broken, and the door wobbled when opened or closed—Lian Yuqing had asked him to fix it.

He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt. As he hammered, the muscles in his arms bulged, smooth and well-defined. His head was lowered, focused on his work. From her angle, his profile looked sharp and handsome.

The clothes had already been taken out of the wardrobe and were now spread all over the bed.

“You’re putting all the clothes back when you’re done,” she said.

All those clothes were hers—and she was the one who asked him to fix it. She was clearly taking advantage.

Wei Dong didn’t look up. “Sure, since apparently, you don’t have hands.”

Lian Yuqing cursed in her mind, sat on a stool drinking tea, supervising him. After about ten minutes, she remembered the rude girl outside and casually said, “There’s a girl at the gate looking for you.”

As soon as she said it, Wei Dong put down the hammer and got ready to go out. Lian Yuqing blocked his way. “You’re not going.”

Wei Dong didn’t understand her hostility and tried to explain, “Maybe she needs something.”

“What could she possibly need? I’m telling you—she likes you,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Lian Yuqing, stop talking nonsense!” Wei Dong barked. He didn’t even know who was outside, but in the village, reputation mattered. You couldn’t just throw around the word ‘like,’ especially when he was already married.

“Do you realize saying something like that could ruin a girl’s reputation?”

Lian Yuqing sneered. “I only said it to you. Are you going to go blab it around? Besides, if you go out and the two of you are alone, it won’t exactly boost her reputation either.”

Her sarcastic tone was extremely grating. Wei Dong’s face turned cold. “Talk properly.”

Who did he think he was, speaking to her like that? Lian Yuqing grabbed the teapot from the table and hurled it into the corner. Crash—it shattered into pieces.

Still not satisfied, she picked up a teacup and was about to throw it too, but this time, Wei Dong grabbed her wrist tightly.

Lian Yuqing wasn’t afraid. She stared straight at him, defiantly. “If you dare hit me, I’ll go straight to the police station.”

She was like an aggressive fighting rooster, full of bluster. Wei Dong’s face darkened, his jaw clenched. “I’m not going to hit you. Just stop throwing things.”

“Then let go!”

Wei Dong let go, but kept watching her closely until she finally set the teacup back on the table. Lian Yuqing rubbed her wrist. The area where he’d grabbed her had turned red. She snapped, “Brute.”

Who knows what kind of upbringing he had—she bruised at the slightest touch, and his temper was awful. One spark and he’d start throwing things.

Lian Yuqing crossed her arms, voice sharp. “Until we get divorced, I absolutely forbid you from getting involved with other women—I don’t care if it’s your first love or your so-called ‘adopted sister.’”

Wei Dong frowned. “I don’t have a first love, and I don’t have a sister.”

“Hmph.” Lian Yuqing shoved past him, walked to the bed, and tossed the clothes aside to make space to sit down.

Wei Dong crouched back down with the hammer and kept working. He didn’t go outside.

Lian Yuqing cooled off a little.

Meanwhile, He Xiaoshan went home, looked in the mirror, and saw that her face was sunburned and peeling. She had tanned quite a bit. She cursed Lian Yuqing hundreds of times.

At dinner, the Wei family realized Lian Yuqing and Wei Dong had fought.

Wei Dong had just sat down when Lian Yuqing picked up her bowl and walked over to Wei Miaomiao. “Switch seats with me.”

Wei Miaomiao nervously sat next to her big brother, terrified that one wrong move would make her sister-in-law flip the table.

Wei Chunsheng didn’t like sitting near Lian Yuqing. She was a picky eater who only ate the best dishes and never finished her food—it was irritating just to watch.

“You fought with my brother again?” Wei Chunsheng muttered.

Your brother… So you guys are one family now, huh?

Lian Yuqing shot back, “Instead of sticking your nose in my business, maybe try reading more books. You can’t even grasp basic English—I doubt you’ll even get into college.”

Her scolding left Wei Chunsheng red-faced. He growled, “None of your business,” and buried his head in his food.

Lian Yuqing had a bad temper. If she wasn’t happy, no one else could be happy either. For the next couple of days, the Wei family walked on eggshells around her.

One day, Wei Miaomiao came over and whispered, “Sister-in-law.”

“What?”

“You go to the town post office every month, right? Want me to go get it for you?” Wei Miaomiao was hoping to do something to cheer her up.

Post office? Someone was sending her something? Thinking it might be money, Lian Yuqing instantly brightened. “No need. I’ll go myself.”

There happened to be someone from the village heading into town, so Lian Yuqing hitched a ride on their donkey cart. The town was quite far; walking there would’ve killed this pampered lady.

She was the last to get on and had to squeeze in the back.

As soon as she got on, people started glancing at her.

Two women whispered to each other, “Why dress up just to go out? Always trying to seduce men.”

“Exactly. Look at that slutty face, and that skirt—so tight. Clearly trying to show off her body.”