Chapter 116: “Little White?”

The tall Xie Mingcheng tugged at his furious sister’s sleeve. “Sis, let’s go?”

Xie Yunshu swept a cold gaze around the room. Seeing that no one dared move, she turned and headed to the kitchen. She grabbed the eggs and pork Li Taohong had brought and stuffed them into Zhao Baoliang’s hands. “Uncle-in-law, take these back for Fangfang. Don’t leave them here to feed dogs!”

Li Shenggen almost choked to death on the spot. “Unfilial child! Unfilial!”

At his age, he didn’t dare actually fight with Xie Yunshu. He shoved Li Dayong, shouting, “Go! Go stop them! Don’t let them leave with the stuff!”

They had eaten his chicken, smashed bowls, broke chairs—and now even wanted to take the things they brought? Was there no justice left in the world?!

Li Dayong hesitated. He was a typical bully who feared the strong. If everyone had been as submissive as the older sisters, he might’ve dared to step in. But Xie Yunshu looked like a lunatic—what if she really hacked him with a cleaver?

From a distance, Li Dayong turned to Li Fenlan and Li Taohong. “You’re just going to stand there? If our parents get sick from this, you’ll be the ones paying the medical bills!”

Xie Yunshu sneered. “Medical bills? Don’t have that—but I do have a cleaver. Just depends on whether you want it or not. I’m divorced and irritated as hell—dying to chop something. If any of you feel bold, come to my place and start trouble!”

She strode out of the house with long, confident strides. Xie Mingcheng smiled slightly—having a sister like this left him no chance to even step up.

As she passed by Yingzi and Xiaoshuang, Xie Yunshu paused for a moment but said nothing, then kept walking. Ever since divorcing Lu Zhixing, waking up from that ten-year nightmare, she had understood one thing clearly: no one is your savior. If you can’t stand on your own, you’ll just be a cowering turtle, letting others walk all over you.

---

On the way back, Li Taohong was still uneasy. “Yunshu, after today’s mess… how can we ever go back?”

Xie Yunshu looked at her. “Auntie, you still want to go back?”

Li Taohong froze. She had never even considered that she could choose not to. Growing up in a household full of pressure and suppression, she had never had the courage to rebel against her parents. She was a daughter, wasn’t it her duty to obey?

Li Fenlan added softly, “From now on, we sisters shouldn’t go back anymore. Living our own lives well is more important than anything else. They’ve got sons and grandsons—they don’t need us.”

She held her sister’s hand tightly, tears welling up. “Xiaohong, think about Fangfang. We can’t let them grow up like we did.”

Li Taohong looked down at her hunched husband, then whispered, “Alright. We won’t go back.”

And at that moment, Zhao Baoliang’s hunched back seemed to straighten just a little.

At the back of the group, Xie Yunshu walked slowly, a bit regretful—pity about those two big cabbages… wasted on the pigs.

---

The seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

With the pressure of his final year of high school, Xie Mingcheng had already started classes again.

That morning, Xie Yunshu had gone out looking for new ways to make money. But the streets were still quiet just after the New Year, and even the stock exchange office was still closed.

Still, the weather was nice. Grandma Zhang was sunbathing outside the apartment block in a rocking chair. Li Fenlan and Aunt Zhao were sitting on small stools doing laundry in wooden basins, and some kids including Xiaohu were playing nearby.

Li Fenlan, wearing rubber gloves, smiled as she chatted. “Yunshu really is thoughtful—insisted I wear gloves to wash clothes. At my age, who cares about rough hands?”

Aunt Zhao laughed heartily. “Oh, don’t rub it in! Everyone in the building knows you’ve got a good daughter!”

Though modest by nature, Li Fenlan was secretly a little proud. She mumbled shyly, “It’s nothing, really…”

Just as she reached for the soap, sunlight above her suddenly dimmed. A tall man politely asked, “Excuse me, does Xie Yunshu live here?”

Li Fenlan blinked. “You’re looking for my daughter?”

Shen Suye gave a warm smile and handed over some fruit. His voice was gentle and refined: “Auntie, I’m a colleague of Comrade Xie Yunshu. I’ve got some work-related matters to discuss with her.”

Colleague? Work?

Li Fenlan and Aunt Zhao exchanged glances. They were a little confused—wasn’t Yunshu delivering meals to a construction site? Where did this colleague come from? What “work matters”?

---

When Xie Yunshu returned home, she saw Shen Suye sitting on their tiny stool, his tall frame feeding charcoal into the stove. His presence looked utterly out of place in their cramped home.

She rubbed her eyes. Was she hallucinating?

Li Fenlan came out from the inner room with a teacup, smiling. “Xiao Shen, don’t bring anything next time. You’re Yunshu’s friend—no need to be so formal.”

Xiao Shen? Yunshu’s friend?

Xie Yunshu rubbed her ears. Was she hearing things now too?

“Captain Shen?” she asked, eyes wide. Then blinking, she asked curiously, “What are you doing here?”

Shen Suye, sitting awkwardly due to his long legs, answered calmly, “I mentioned the motorized tricycles before the New Year, remember? The machinery factory is retiring a few of them. You can go pick one.”

So that’s what it was. Xie Yunshu immediately perked up. She grabbed her passbook from the room, not even pausing for tea. “Let’s go now!”

Shen Suye glanced at his watch and replied evenly, “It took me a while to find your building, and I waited a bit too. By now, the factory’s probably about to close. We’ll have to wait anyway.”

Li Fenlan offered tea and said warmly, “Then go this afternoon. Yunshu’s free these days. You stay for lunch—there’s still some beef and potatoes at home. I’ll start cooking now!”

Back at the police station, Xie Yunshu had already realized—Shen Suye wasn’t just some security squad leader. From Director Zheng and Lu Jianshe’s expressions, it was clear Shen had serious standing in Haicheng. Possibly even more than the Lu family.

And someone like that… was now sitting in this home, about to eat a simple home-cooked meal?

When she married Lu Zhixing, even at the best of times, he had never once eaten here. In fact, he’d frown just walking through the door.

Deep down, Lu Zhixing always looked down on this place. Xie Yunshu understood that well.

So she quickly stepped in. “Mom, don’t trouble yourself—”

But before she could finish, Shen Suye gently interrupted and smiled at Li Fenlan. “Then I’ll trouble you, Auntie.”