Chapter 22

Before Tang Yashan could speak,

Tang Yajun cut in: “I’ll be staying home tonight.”

He immediately echoed, “Right, Yajun’s coming back too. I can’t take her room.

Besides, most of what’s in her room are my mom’s belongings. They can’t be touched.”

Tang Linong found that reasonable and, looking troubled, turned to Liu Yane: “Then just tidy up Yashan’s old room.”

Liu Yane was fuming. Ever since she learned Tang Yashan was coming back, she’d been whispering in Tang Linong’s ear.

Her plan was to put Yashan in Yajun’s room. That way, the siblings would fight over living space, and she could enjoy the show.

Once Yajun lost her room, she wouldn’t be coming back to this house so often to annoy her.

But she hadn’t expected Tang Linong to waver so quickly.

Seeing the stalemate, Tang Yajun pretended to offer a kind suggestion.

“How about letting Yaning move into Mom’s room for now? Anyway, Dad and Mom aren’t living together these days, so it’s convenient. No need to clean out another room.”

Tang Yaning snapped angrily: “Why should I move just because Big Brother came back? That’s my room, I won’t move!”

That was exactly the reaction Tang Yajun wanted. She added fuel with a smile: “Because this is my house.”

“You—!” Tang Yaning shot to her feet, ready to lash out, but the sudden weight of Tang Yashan’s gaze stopped her cold.

“Enough. We’ll do as Yajun says. You move in with your mom for a few nights. Once my room is cleaned up, you can move back.

We’re family. Stop with this ‘your house, my house’ nonsense.”

Tang Linong barked in anger, scolding both sides equally.

Tang Yaning burst into tears.

Liu Yane’s eyes flickered, and she added, “Since Yashan already has a job and will be living at home from now on, he should hand his wages over to the household.”

It was only Yashan’s first day at work—he hadn’t even seen a paycheck yet, and already his stepmother was eyeing it.

Tang Linong was about to nod in agreement when Tang Yajun cut him off.

“Big Brother just started seeing someone—he’s got plenty of expenses. Besides, it’s his first day, there’s no salary yet.

Look at him, he doesn’t even own a decent set of clothes. If my mom knew her son had suffered like this, she’d be heartbroken.”

As she spoke, Yajun dabbed at the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, as if wiping away tears.

Tang Linong thought of his late wife and felt a stab of grief.

He and his first wife had been respectful partners. If not for her early death from illness, he’d never have remarried just for help raising two children.

“Yajun’s right. We didn’t think this through.”

He turned to Yashan: “I’ll have your mom give you twenty yuan for pocket money, and she’ll get some fabric to make you a new outfit.

So, who’s the girl? Bring her home so your parents can meet her.”

Yashan froze, at a loss, and looked uncertainly at Yajun.

“Dad, they’ve only just started seeing each other. If you push too fast, you’ll scare her away,” Yajun quickly explained.

Tang Linong agreed readily. Liu Yane wanted to object, but when her husband shot her a sharp glare, she dared not speak further.

Yajun then pulled out a set of spare toiletries from her storage space for Yashan. The two siblings retired to their own rooms for the night.

Meanwhile, Tang Yaning, who had been forced to move into her mother’s room, kept sobbing nonstop.

Unable to console her, Liu Yane grew irritable and shut the door.

She scolded in a low voice: “Cry, cry, cry! All you know how to do is cry! Why didn’t you speak up just now? Did you see how strong Yajun’s tone was? Learn from her!”

That only made Tang Yaning weep harder.

“You think I didn’t want to? You’re the one who stopped me, and now you blame me?”

Liu Yane shot her a sideways glance: “If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being useless. If you could marry an officer too, do you think your dad would dare treat you this way?

After all, you’re not his real daughter. Don’t expect him to be too good to you. What matters now is holding on to the man you’ve been seeing and settling down soon.”

“I know… he likes me a lot. But I don’t like him.”

“Like? Can ‘like’ feed you?” Liu Yane sneered. “If I hadn’t taken you away back then, you’d still be getting beaten by your drunkard father.

Tang Linong treats us decently enough—at least he hands me his wages. Don’t worry, when you marry, I’ll make sure you have a fine dowry so you can wed in style.”

Tang Yaning asked timidly: “But can it compare with what Brother-in-law’s family can give?”

“You need to broaden your horizons. Don’t fixate on some married man. That husband of Tang Yajun’s—so what if he’s impressive? He’s crippled now, useless.

Yajun’s stuck with a half-dead man for the rest of her life. They might even divorce. Let her enjoy her little glory while she can.”

That finally stopped Tang Yaning’s tears and gave her a glimmer of hope.

Meanwhile, Tang Yashan lay awake in his room, worried about the marriage certificate.

He had scouted around the agricultural institute today—everyone there was burly men. Even the ants seemed male. Finding a bride wasn’t going to be easy.

At dinner, Yajun had gone out of her way to say he was already dating someone, so at least he got pocket money out of it. But in truth, there wasn’t even a shadow of a relationship.

He thought of the strange looks Lu Chongyun sometimes gave him—curious, hesitant, as though she wanted to say something but held back. The more he thought, the more his head ached.

Unable to sleep, he threw on a coat and went out for some air.

Just as he pushed the door open, he saw a dark figure leap down from the wall, heading straight toward his room.

What the—!

Snatching up a stick propped behind the door, Yashan charged.

Before the intruder could escape, he brought the stick down hard.

The man howled for mercy, but Yashan didn’t care. He kept swinging, driving the figure stumbling around the courtyard.

The racket brought the whole family running.

By then, the man’s face was beaten into a swollen pig’s head. He cowered under the stone table in the yard, refusing to come out.

“Speak! What are you doing sneaking into my house? Tell the truth, or I’ll tie you up and march you to the police right now.” Yashan jabbed at him with the stick as he spoke.

From the side, Yajun caught on. She couldn’t see clearly in the dark, but the voice was awfully familiar.

Tang Yaning rushed out of the house and positioned herself behind Yashan.

“Brother, stop! Let him go. If outsiders find out, it’ll ruin Sister’s reputation!”

At that, Yajun’s expression turned cold. What a neat little trick, shifting the blame.

Yashan hadn’t planned on taking it too far, but hearing Yaning say that only made him more determined to get to the bottom of it.