Chapter 9: Exposing the Scheming Green Tea Widow Sister-in-Law in Public

Fu Tingzhou and Li Zhi returned to the hospital room.

Suddenly, Li Zhi spoke up. “Commander Fu, you’re finally on leave, you should go home and spend time with your family. I don’t need someone to take care of me here. I can manage myself. My mom will come stay with me tonight.”

If he stayed to take care of her, she feared she wouldn’t be able to resist using him—as a tool for revenge.

If she ended up hurting an innocent person, how would she be any different from the people she despised?

Fu Tingzhou replied, “My family’s all in the capital. I wasn’t planning to go back this time.”

He was twenty-eight, and since last year, every time he returned home he’d be set up on blind dates. So when he took short leaves, he avoided going home altogether.

Li Zhi asked, “Oh. How many days off do you have left?”

“Three,” Fu Tingzhou answered. “Do you want me to leave? Are you worried about your reputation?”

A man and woman alone in a room—it would be the woman who got gossiped about.

Li Zhi was trying to break off her engagement and would soon be single. If any rumors started, he was willing to take responsibility.

He’d take her under his wing, protect her for the rest of her life, never let anyone hurt her, never let her cry.

But she seemed unwilling to be associated with him.

His eyes lowered slightly, thick lashes hiding the dimness beneath them. A strange sense of loss and sourness welled up in his chest.

In his twenty-eight years of life, he had never felt this way before.

He seemed to have fallen for his comrade’s fiancée.

Li Zhi said, “No, whatever people say has nothing to do with me. I’m just worried about your reputation. You haven’t been promoted yet. If rumors about you being involved with a woman spread, it might affect your career. I don’t want to drag you down. You don’t have to come tomorrow. As for the medical bills—Lu’s family has already paid them.”

Li Yongge had gone to pay the hospital fees and found out Fu Tingzhou had already advanced 300 yuan.

She was planning to be discharged in a couple of days.

There wasn’t much left to handle.

When Fu Tingzhou heard that, his eyes flickered—the dimness faded, and a soft starlight seemed to appear in them.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly, his fingertips curled, and the heaviness and bitterness in his chest dissolved, like early spring snow melting silently into warmth.

“I don’t have much to do these few days anyway. Let me take care of you. When your test results come back—if you need to stay longer—I’ll be out of leave by then and can hire a nurse to look after you, okay?”

Li Zhi felt a burning gaze on her. Instinctively, she looked up, only to realize he had been staring at her the whole time.

Fu Tingzhou didn’t pressure her, simply waited patiently for her answer.

His eyes were so warm it made her heart tremble. She quickly looked away, lowering her gaze, a flush creeping up her pale cheeks.

Li Zhi found herself strange. Back in school, it wasn’t like no one had chased her—many boys had tried to date her—but she never liked any of them.

Fu Tingzhou was very different from those boys at school.

He was handsome, more mature, and far more charming. He lacked the impulsiveness and greenness of youth. His charisma was like aged wine—deep and refined.

He had gentlemanly manners and clear boundaries. Though distant and reserved, he made people want to get close. To fall, willingly.

If she didn’t have memories from her past life, maybe she would’ve fallen for him, too.

But loving someone meant getting wounded all over, even dying for it. She didn’t have it in her to love anymore.

Li Zhi shifted her gaze, gripping the bed sheet. She asked softly again, “Don’t you want to spend time with your friends?”

Fu Tingzhou looked calm, but inwardly, her continued attempts to push him away made him feel even more bitter.

Still, he tried again. “My friends are all busy…”

He hadn’t finished his sentence when an excited voice cut in.

“Old Fu, so this is where you are! I went to your place twice and couldn’t find you. I stopped by downstairs to see Huanhuan, and Lu Yanzhi told me you were here. We were supposed to drink ourselves silly at your and Yanzhi’s wedding, and you never even showed up!”

“There was a situation on the road. I couldn’t make it. This is a hospital, keep your voice down,” Fu Tingzhou said, used to his friend being talkative—though today he seemed even louder.

Li Zhi shook her head lightly. “It’s fine.”

“My god! Where did this little fairy come from? She’s stunning! Wait… she looks familiar. I remember now—you’re Lu Yanzhi’s bride, right?”

That remark made both Fu Tingzhou and Li Zhi stare at him.

Zhou Yufeng gave Fu Tingzhou a questioning look: Did I get that wrong?

Li Zhi replied, “I’m breaking off the engagement. I’ll have nothing to do with him going forward.”

Zhou Yufeng: “Oh. You’re really calling it off? You sure? Don’t want to reconsider?”

He used to be a political instructor, skilled in handling emotional disputes, and quite experienced in relationship mediation.

Lu Yanzhi had wronged her, sure—but saving a life was like building a seven-story pagoda of virtue.

If Lu Yanzhi sincerely apologized and they truly loved each other, wasn’t it worth giving him another chance?

“No need to reconsider. I’ve thought it through. The engagement must end.”

“There’s really no room for turning back? You two looked so good together. He often got snacks and goodies from you in the mail at the base—we single dogs were all dying of envy.”

“I’ve already called the base’s political officer and explained everything.”

Zhou Yufeng opened his mouth to say more, but Fu Tingzhou dragged him out. At the door, he turned to Li Zhi and said, “I’m just going out to talk with him for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

Li Zhi nodded. “…Oh, okay!”

She felt weird. Why was he reporting his whereabouts to her like they were… dating?

At the end of the hallway—

“Old Fu, what did you pull me out for?”

“You don’t know the full story, so don’t comment. You shouldn’t speak on Lu Yanzhi’s behalf in front of Li Zhi.”

“Then tell me the full story. What’s going on? I’m completely in the dark here.”

He and Lu Yanzhi were both company commanders, often attending the same meetings and discussing training schedules—they got along well.

He was even closer with Fu Tingzhou since his father had been Fu’s father’s bodyguard and was now a chief of staff in a military district.

Fu Tingzhou said, “There’s more than one reason for the breakup. I can’t tell you details without the parties’ consent. I can only say—they’re not right for each other.”

“Tch, I get it. She’s gorgeous, radiant when she smiles, like a delicate flower—looks fragile and soft but has this stubborn strength that makes you want to protect her. Even I’m tempted. If Yanzhi misses out, he’ll regret it for sure.”

Fu Tingzhou lifted his gaze, cold eyes sweeping over him. “Put away your wandering thoughts. She’d never look at you.”

“Jeez, don’t be so serious—I was just saying,” Zhou Yufeng laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “So, how’d you end up hitting her with your car? Tell me the story.”

…

Meanwhile, Lin Xuewei appeared in Li Zhi’s hospital room with her daughter—and a fresh fruit basket.

“What are you doing here? You’re not welcome.”

Li Zhi knew she was up to no good again, so she didn’t even bother being polite.

“We came to apologize. Sorry for ruining your wedding.” Lin Xuewei pushed her daughter forward. “Huanhuan, apologize to Auntie Li.”

Cheng Huan mumbled a dry “Sorry” with a sullen expression on her pale, post-illness face.

“I don’t accept it.”

Lin Xuewei’s fake smile froze.

Cheng Huan, after all, was just a child and couldn’t keep calm. She glared at Li Zhi and screamed, “Bad woman! You stole my daddy! I don’t want to say sorry! I hate you, I hate you!”

Lin Xuewei grabbed her daughter’s hand and scolded in a low voice, “Huanhuan! Did you forget what Mommy told you?”

“But Mommy, I just hate her! I want Daddy Lu to be my dad, and I won’t let her steal him!”

Li Zhi spoke gently, “Huanhuan, how about we make a deal? If you tell the truth—why you wouldn’t eat, why you took cold showers, why you fainted at the wedding—I’ll let you have your Daddy Lu. I won’t fight with you for him.”

Lin Xuewei’s expression shifted. “Huanhuan, don’t say anything.”

She reached out to cover her daughter’s mouth.

Li Zhi yanked her arm back and dragged her away.

Cheng Huan didn’t see what happened behind her.

Li Zhi continued coaxing, “Huanhuan, don’t listen to your mommy. Don’t you want a daddy? If you do, just tell the truth. If you don’t, I’ll marry your Daddy Lu, and then you’ll never have a daddy.”

Covering Lin Xuewei’s mouth to keep her quiet, Li Zhi said, “Mmph… Let me go!”

But the idea of having a dad made Cheng Huan happy, and she blurted out the truth:

“Mommy didn’t let me eat. She made me take cold showers. She said if I fainted at the wedding, I’d get a daddy, and I wouldn’t have to envy other kids who have daddies.”

She had just turned six this year and was now in kindergarten. Her classmates often said things like:

“My daddy brought me to school today.”

“My daddy bought me a pretty dress.”

“My daddy took me to the zoo…”

And they asked her why her daddy never came.

She lied and said her daddy was amazing, a military officer, who bought her lots of treats.

So she really, really wanted a dad.

And it was that bad woman named Li who had stolen her Daddy Lu.

Li Zhi released Lin Xuewei and looked toward the door—where several people were now standing.