Chapter 9 Why am I so miserable?

With Jiang Peiyu’s dramatic outburst, a crowd quickly gathered—many had been eating lunch at home but rushed out upon hearing the commotion to see what was going on. In no time, more and more people stood around watching, whispering to each other curiously.

Several of them were quite familiar with the Xia family and knew exactly what had been happening lately. Among them was Zhao Hong, the wife of Wu Junsheng, the deputy director at the same factory where Xia Zhihao worked. Zhao Hong had always disliked the Xia family.

Xia Zhihao and Wu Junsheng were well-known rivals at the factory, constantly vying for power and undermining each other. Neither wanted to see the other succeed. Naturally, Zhao Hong wouldn’t miss the chance to witness a scandal involving her husband’s competitor.

Her eyes lit up as a barely noticeable smirk appeared on her lips. She quickly stepped forward and eagerly pushed through the crowd to the front.

“Xiao Yu, what happened? Get up, stop crying—look at your little face, all red from crying…” she said warmly.

“If something’s wrong, tell your auntie—I’ll stand up for you…”

Jiang Peiyu, seeing the opportunity for backup, pinched her thigh hard and squeezed out a couple of tears as she looked at Zhao Hong.

“Aunt Zhao, I’m so miserable… The parents who raised me for more than twenty years kicked me out just because I’m not their biological daughter.”

“I had no choice but to return to my birth parents in the countryside. Life there is hard, but they treat me well…”

“But… but she…” Peiyu pointed to Xia Lizhu and acted like she was too heartbroken to continue speaking, instantly piquing everyone’s curiosity.

Another woman walked up. “Girl, don’t be afraid. Just tell us what happened, we’ll help you.”

“Yes, yes! This is your Aunt Wu, she’s with the Women’s Federation. Tell her—she’ll take care of it.”

Seeing the situation spiraling, Xia Lizhu began crying uncontrollably and leaned hard on Chen Hui’s shoulder.

Watching her daughter sob, Chen Hui pointed at Jiang Peiyu and snapped,
“Jiang Peiyu, that’s enough! Get lost! This isn’t the place for you to make a scene!”

“I’ll leave the moment you return our money!” Jiang Peiyu shot back. “You think I want to come here? Our family is so broke we can’t even afford food!”

Standing to the side, Jiang Yanwen was amazed by his little sister’s acting. She didn’t even need to rehearse.

“Xiao Yu, what’s going on? Tell your aunties.”

“Yeah, come on, tell us.”

“Right, we’re listening…”

Everyone was dying to know what had really happened.

“Aunties and uncles, you have no idea… Before their real daughter came home, the Xia family had her engaged to some 30-year-old man who already has two kids…”

“Why? Because he’s in the military and earns over 200 yuan a month!”

“My parents disagreed, but she threw a tantrum and starved herself until they gave in.”

“She even took 600 yuan as a bride price…”

The moment she said that, the crowd exploded.

“What? A 600 yuan bride price?”

“That’s outrageous! Even in the city, we don’t give more than 400–500!”

“Old Zhang’s daughter just got married for 360!”

“My brother’s daughter is a college grad, and she only got 400!”

“With the way she looks—fat, dark, and short—how is she worth 600 yuan?”

As everyone began criticizing Xia Lizhu, Jiang Peiyu continued,
“Uncles and aunties, you don’t even know the worst part…”

“Tell us, girl, tell us!”

“Yes, we’re here for you. Don’t be afraid!”

“The Women’s Federation Director is here—they won’t dare touch you.”

“Thank you, everyone… Well, after finding out she was their real daughter, she came to the countryside to claim her family…”

“I wouldn’t blame her for not recognizing my parents, but not only did she steal the bride price…”

“She also took the 500 yuan my family had saved up—left not a single cent!”

Jiang Peiyu was on a roll now, completely immersed in the role. She almost admired her own acting skills—she should’ve been an actress.

“Who does that? Is that even human behavior?”

“Look how fat she is—my daughter-in-law’s six months pregnant and still smaller than her!”

“Good grief! I saw her the other day with the factory director’s son!”

“Yeah, they’re engaged, right?”

“They were—probably to the original girl. This one’s obviously from the countryside—just look at her peasant face!”

Seeing that everyone believed her, Jiang Peiyu pushed harder.

“Uncles and aunties, that was money my parents saved for decades!”

“It was supposed to help my second brother get married. They raised her for twenty-something years…”

“Just look at her size—fatter than a New Year’s pig. Clearly they doted on her and never made her do any chores.”

“Who could be so ungrateful? She stole all our money, ran off to the city…”

“Now the groom’s family is asking us to pay it back. If we don’t, they’ll make me marry that old man and take care of his kids!”

“Boohoo! Why is my life so bitter? If they don’t return the money today, I’ll bash my head here and die!”

The more Jiang Peiyu talked, the more dramatic she became, slapping her thighs loudly for effect.

“That Xia family girl always looked so quiet and well-behaved. Who would’ve thought someone so young could be like this…”

“Yeah, you really can’t tell. Raised for over twenty years, and turns out worse than raising a dog…”

“If it were me, I’d go straight to the police…”

“Country folks work hard all year and barely earn anything, and she just stole it all…”

“…”

The crowd was all talking at once. Hearing what was being said, Xia Lizhu panicked.

“No, it’s not true! She’s lying! I didn’t steal anything, I swear!”

“If you didn’t steal it, would they come all the way here to make a scene?”

“Exactly. Just look at her, you can tell she took it…”

“Yeah, I think so too…”

“…”

Seeing that no one believed her, Xia Lizhu began crying, big teardrops streaming down her face. Others might have been fooled, but Jiang Peiyu knew right away she was faking it.

“Miss Xia, you’re the daughter of a factory director now. I know us ordinary folks can’t fight people like you. Fine, I’ll just go die then…”

Saying that, Jiang Peiyu stood up from the ground and ran straight toward the courtyard wall.

Fortunately, Zhao Hong and Aunt Wu were quick to react and pulled her back just in time. Even Jiang Yanwen, who knew his little sister was acting, couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety.

“Xiao Yu, don’t do anything stupid…”

“Yeah, yeah, if you die, you’d just be giving them what they want…”

Then someone in the crowd shouted,
“I say just call the police! Let the cops investigate. Whether she stole or not, they’ll find out.”

“Yes, yes, call the police.”

“Girl, report it!”

“Yeah, let the police handle it. They’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“…”