Chapter 7: Most Afraid of Sister Crying

“Fine, it’s up to you! Then just grow vegetables and raise chickens!”

Xie Yunshu smiled tightly, her lowered eyes falling on Li Fenlan’s hands—hands worn rough from constantly washing clothes and doing needlework. Her mother’s hands were terribly cracked, especially at the fingertips, wrapped in tape and hurting worse whenever they touched water.

Even so, Li Fenlan never dared to take a day off. Washing a big basin of clothes took half a day, earning just a few cents, yet she still insisted on giving her three hundred yuan…

What’s a man worth? Not half as much as mom.

“I’ll cook later! Mom, you know my cooking is really good. When I sell boxed meals, I’ll definitely make a fortune!” Xie Yunshu took the spoon from Li Fenlan’s hands, pushing down the moisture in her eyes, trying to sound cheerful. “We’re rich now! From now on, every meal will have meat!”

“You little spendthrift girl!”

Li Fenlan laughed and scolded her, but seeing her daughter wasn’t as affected by Lu Zhixing as she feared, she felt a lot better. “You keep that money, your brother and I don’t want it! Life is long — don’t think making a business is so easy!”

She still worried — could selling boxed meals really work? That 8,000 yuan was her daughter’s hope for the future, and she refused to let it be wasted.

But Xie Yunshu didn’t care. Eight thousand yuan was indeed a big sum these days, but a good life was still far off. People can’t just live off the mountain forever, right?

As the two talked, the door opened and Xie Mingcheng came home from school, carrying a cloth bag.

The eighteen-year-old boy was already quite tall. He looked somewhat like Xie Yunshu, with fair skin, slightly upturned phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips. The siblings were both good-looking; otherwise, the matchmaker wouldn’t have introduced Xie Yunshu — from such a family — to Lu Zhixing.

Girls have an advantage with looks, but a man’s heart can’t be won by beauty alone.

Seeing Xie Yunshu home, Xie Mingcheng was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit with surprise: “Sister, why are you home?”

He glanced around the room instinctively, not seeing Lu Zhixing, and asked, “You came by yourself?”

Li Fenlan only learned about Lu Zhixing locking Xie Yunshu in the hospital on the last day and hadn’t told her son. The siblings were very close, and if Mingcheng knew his sister was being bullied, he would definitely have confronted Lu Zhixing.

But he was a senior in high school now. If he made a big fuss, what about his studies?

Both mother and son loved her deeply. Li Fenlan had cried herself red-eyed at home, and before she could go look for her daughter, Xie Yunshu had already returned.

Xie Yunshu didn’t answer his question but looked at her brother with tearful eyes. In her dream, Mingcheng went to Lu Zhixing’s workplace many times, even hitting Zhou Xinyue, and despite passing the college entrance exam, the promising young man could only end up carrying steel bars on a construction site.

Her brother was handsome and smart but dragged down by her!

Xie Mingcheng put down his bag, seeing his sister’s reddened eyes and the look on her face as if she might cry, and was instantly scared: “Sister, what’s wrong? Don’t cry…”

Since childhood, he feared his sister’s tears. Whenever Xie Yunshu cried, even her fiercest temper would soften like a tame donkey. When their father died and his sixteen-year-old sister dropped out to work in a factory, he protested at home and refused to go to school.

Xie Yunshu beat him hard, but he refused to give in, holding his head high to follow others to work. To him, he was the only man in the family, no matter how young, he had to shoulder that responsibility.

Later, his sister cried silently, staring straight at him while tears fell.

Xie Mingcheng was terrified and didn’t say a word, obediently taking his bag to school. But from that day on, he vowed to study hard and succeed! With their father gone, he would support his sister!

Though still young and immature, at school he was a cold, serious top student; in front of his sister, he was still just a boy.

“Sis, did Lu Zhixing bully you? I knew he’s no good!” Xie Mingcheng clenched his fists and stood up, his eyes flashing with anger. “I’m going to find him right now and get this sorted!”

No matter how capable Lu Zhixing was, it wouldn’t matter if he treated his sister badly. Mingcheng disliked him from the start, always looking down on people, as if his sister marrying him was some great favor.

He rarely visited his sister’s home. He went once during summer vacation and saw that after work, his sister still had to wash his clothes and cook for him! That guy always acted indifferent, which just made him angry!

Xie Yunshu quickly grabbed him: “Don’t go!”

“Sis, you still defend him!” Xie Mingcheng grit his teeth and said angrily, “What’s so good about him? His eyeballs must be on the top of his head!”

Before, he wouldn’t dare say such things. Whenever he was dissatisfied with Lu Zhixing, their mother would scold him, telling him that since his sister married Lu Zhixing, they had to treat him well so she could have a good life.

But now that his sister was crying, he not only wanted to curse Lu Zhixing, he wanted to beat him up too!

Xie Yunshu had long lost love for Lu Zhixing and didn’t want to hide it from Mingcheng. She sat him down seriously and said, “Mingcheng, I’m planning to divorce Lu Zhixing…”

Divorce? She treated Lu Zhixing so well — sometimes he was even jealous — now she was divorcing? What the hell did that bastard do to hurt her?

Mingcheng, full of rage, almost shouted a curse but was silenced by Xie Yunshu’s glare.

“This isn’t your business! I’m living at home from now on. Just focus on your studies. Don’t go looking for trouble with Lu Zhixing!” Xie Yunshu had thought it through. Rather than hiding it from Mingcheng, it was better to be upfront.

Hai City was small, and Lu Zhixing was someone with status and connections. This kind of thing couldn’t be kept secret. If Mingcheng heard from others first, who knew what version he’d get. This life, she absolutely wouldn’t allow Mingcheng to ruin his future.

Thinking of what happened in her dream, Xie Yunshu’s expression turned serious: “Mingcheng, if you don’t listen to me, don’t call me sister anymore! Other than your college entrance exam, don’t worry about anything else. I’ll handle whatever happens between me and Lu Zhixing! I won’t let myself suffer, that’s for sure!”

Mingcheng wanted to say more, but under her stern look, he backed down. He finally said, “Then I’ll deal with him after I get into university!”

“Deal with it after you get into university!”

Xie Yunshu rolled her eyes. “Go wash up and eat. Show me your test papers later.”

Mingcheng smiled clearly and handsomely: “Sis, no need to check. All full marks.”