Chapter 8

Li Guifen’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Did she see that right?

The person walking in hand-in-hand with Jun’an—was that Jiang Manyue?

And Jun’an looked so happy? They looked close, almost affectionate?

Before she could say anything, Lu Jun’an cheerfully called out to her and continued holding Jiang Manyue’s hand as they walked into the main hall.

Li Guifen: Did the sun rise from the west today or what?

Just then, Lu Qingyou returned home from the county and his afternoon shift. Seeing Li Guifen frozen in the courtyard, he gave her a strange look.

“What are you standing there for?”

Li Guifen snapped out of it and pointed toward the hall. “Just now, Manyue came back with Jun’an holding hands. He looked really happy. Just led her into the hall like that.”

Lu Qingyou glanced inside and saw Jiang Manyue and Lu Jun’an laughing and chatting. The two of them did look genuinely cheerful.

Though a bit surprised, Lu Qingyou was rather glad to see this. Even though they had sent a telegram to Lu Lin about getting a divorce, for now, they were still family.

If Jiang Manyue was kind to Jun’an, then at least until the divorce was finalized, Jun’an’s days would be better.

“Alright, stop overthinking it. If Manyue’s good to Jun’an, that’s a good thing. Hurry up and eat, I’m starving.”

With that, Lu Qingyou washed the mud off his hands at the well and headed into the hall first.

When Jiang Manyue saw him, she politely greeted, “Dad.”
Lu Qingyou responded with a simple “Mm,” acknowledging her.

Li Guifen was the last to enter, carrying an enamel basin filled with steaming hot porridge.

Jiang Manyue glanced over the dishes on the table: a plate of stir-fried amaranth, a plate of stir-fried celtuce, a bowl of pickled vegetables, a small basket of steamed buns, and the porridge Li Guifen just brought in.

Not only was there no meat, but even the two vegetable dishes looked oily and unappetizing. Jiang Manyue instantly lost her appetite.

The Lu family didn’t have strict dining etiquette. Lu Qingyou served himself first, not bothering with anyone else, and started wolfing down his food.

Li Guifen served a small bowl of porridge to Jun’an, split a bun in half and gave him one piece. Then she served herself a bowl and began eating with the other half-bun.

Jiang Manyue was the last to get food, only taking a small half-bowl. She wasn’t really hungry—just wanted to go through the motions.

The moment she tasted the food Li Guifen made, Jiang Manyue finally understood why the original Jiang Manyue always went to her parents’ house to eat or made her own meals. There were very few memories of her ever eating with the Lu elders.

Her mother-in-law’s cooking was awful.

Jiang Manyue couldn’t bring herself to eat. She finished her porridge in a few quick sips and got up to clear her dishes.

It wasn’t that she was picky—it was just that she had never eaten food this bad before.

Even the notoriously bad cafeteria food from her school days was a notch better than this!

After she left the table, Li Guifen couldn’t help but mutter, “Look at her! What kind of daughter-in-law eats like that? Just two bites and she’s done—what, is our food not good enough for her?”

Lu Qingyou didn’t bother responding. He just wanted to fill his belly and get a nap in—he still had work in the afternoon.

Seeing that he didn’t engage, Li Guifen kept quiet and focused on eating, though she continued to harbor resentment toward Jiang Manyue in her heart.

Once the meal was done, Li Guifen cleaned the table and carried the dishes to the well to wash.

Just as she was about to start scrubbing, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Li Guifen rushed over and saw that it was Xu Mei, the wife of Jin Laosi, with her son Jin Chuanhu in tow.

Looking closer, she noticed Chuanhu’s eyes were red—like he had just been crying. What was this about?

Li Guifen blinked, unable to figure out why they were here. Their two families didn’t usually interact.

Xu Mei gave an apologetic smile. “Aunt Guifen, I brought Chuanhu here so he could apologize to Jun’an. My boy said some hurtful things, and I’ve already scolded him. He promised he won’t bully Jun’an again.”

Li Guifen hadn’t known Jin Chuanhu had been bullying Jun’an. Just as she was about to ask, she heard Jiang Manyue’s voice behind her.

“Wait a second, Aunt Xu, I’ll go call Jun’an out.”

The moment Jiang Manyue spoke, Li Guifen realized this whole situation must’ve involved her somehow.

Sure enough, Jiang Manyue soon brought Jun’an out and stood confidently beside him.

“Chuanhu, Jun’an’s here—you can apologize now,” Jiang Manyue said gently.

Jin Chuanhu sniffled and spoke with a pitiful tone, “Lu Jun’an, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you a parentless stray. I promise I won’t bully you or take your stuff anymore. If I do, my mom can whip my butt raw!”

Li Guifen’s expression darkened as she listened, but since they had come to apologize, she decided to hold it in for now.

Encouraged by Jiang Manyue, Lu Jun’an responded bravely, “Okay. But if you ever say stuff like that or take my things again, I’ll tell your mom!”

Jin Chuanhu nodded furiously. The two boys quickly made peace.

Seeing Li Guifen’s face drop, Xu Mei felt even more embarrassed. She offered more apologies before taking Chuanhu and leaving.

As soon as they were gone, Li Guifen turned to ask about the bullying.

“Chuanhu and the others took my stuff. I didn’t let them, so he called me a parentless stray. Then Auntie came and chased them away. She even took me to see Aunt Xu,” Jun’an recounted honestly.

“And then she brought me to her family’s house. Big brother Jiang Hong and Jiang Cheng played with me. It was really fun! They said they’d take me to the river later to catch grasshoppers!”

Hearing that Jiang Manyue stood up for Jun’an and brought him to play with her nephews, Li Guifen couldn’t help but glance at her in surprise.

“What are you looking at me for, Mom?” Jiang Manyue said. “I am Jun’an’s aunt, after all. He was being bullied out there, and I just happened to see it—how could I ignore it?”

Li Guifen didn’t know how to respond. She even felt a little guilty. Had she misjudged Jiang Manyue?

The woman had stood up for Jun’an and taken him to play with her own family—she hadn’t even bragged about it to Guifen or Lu Qingyou. She just quietly did it for Jun’an’s sake.

Thinking back to her grumbling at the lunch table, Li Guifen felt a bit ashamed. And considering she’d just asked Lu Qingyou to telegram Lu Lin to come back for a divorce… she was starting to feel very uneasy.

Right at that moment, the mailman knocked on the gate again.

“Is this Lu Qingyou’s home? There’s a telegram from the Yunzhou Military Region, sent by Comrade Lu Lin.”

Jiang Manyue stepped forward, ready to receive it, but before she could, Li Guifen suddenly rushed over and snatched the envelope right out of the mailman’s hand.