Chapter 51.2

Thinking of how her son had just told her he wanted to send her back, Mother Gu was seething with anger. She wanted to hit Li Xiaoyue even more now.

The aunt, fearing things would get out of control, held her back tightly.

Li Xiaoyue watched the scene, her expression gradually becoming numb.

She stared straight at Mother Gu.

“What, this little bitch gives birth to a worthless girl and dares to look at me like that?” Mother Gu felt provoked and wanted to hit her even more.

When people are in a rage, they often unlock hidden strength.

Mother Gu was no different.

Despite the aunt being heavier than her, Mother Gu broke free.

She rushed to Li Xiaoyue’s bed, raised her hand, and struck her. The slap was forceful, with no mercy at all. The sound of the slap echoed in the nearly empty hospital room, making everyone’s teeth ache.

This old lady’s heart was truly cruel.

She hit her daughter-in-law as if she were an enemy, showing no restraint.

One of the men in the ward couldn’t stand it anymore. He was about to step forward to stop her when someone came running in from the door. Seeing the scene, the man’s head shook in shock. Together with the aunt, they pulled Mother Gu away.

“Mom, what do you want? Do you want me dead?!”

Li Xiaoyue, a patient still recovering and holding her child, could barely defend herself against Mother Gu. All she could do was protect her daughter, exposing the back of her head and her back.

Mother Gu was vicious.

She didn’t hit her back, she went straight for Li Xiaoyue’s head.

Even the aunt winced at the sight.

“I worked so hard to raise you, and now you say something like this to hurt my feelings?”

Tears welled up in Mother Gu’s eyes, streaming down her face.

Sure enough, Captain Gu was at a loss as to what to do after hearing what his mother said. His original anger was gone, and he was left with a look of helplessness.

“Mom, that’s not what I meant.”

Having raised her son for over 20 years, Mother Gu knew exactly how to manipulate him.

Li Xiaoyue, who was holding her daughter, had an increasingly dull look in her eyes.

It was always like this. Whenever she clashed with Mother Gu, the moment she shed a tear, no matter how serious the issue was, Captain Gu would forgive her.

After all, she was his mother. What could he, a filial son, do?

Of course, he would forgive her.

A hint of mockery curled at the corner of Li Xiaoyue’s mouth.

“What’s going on here? I could hear your argument all the way from the first-floor lobby,” a nurse said from the doorway. “This is a hospital. You’re disturbing everyone. How are the other patients supposed to rest?”

Embarrassment flashed across Captain Gu’s face.

But it was clearly his mother’s fault, so he could only apologize.

“We’re sorry. Don’t worry, we’ll keep it quiet.”

The nurse, unimpressed, huffed and was about to leave when Li Xiaoyue suddenly grabbed the teapot from the cabinet and hurled it at Mother Gu.

With a look of pure fury on her face, Li Xiaoyue gently set her child down, then tackled Mother Gu to the ground, beating her.

No one knew how Li Xiaoyue managed to do it, but her movements were swift, showing no signs of someone who had just given birth. She straddled Mother Gu and slapped her left and right at least two or three dozen times before the older woman could even react.

By the time Mother Gu realized what was happening, her face was swollen, her mouth bleeding.

Mother Gu was completely stunned.

By the time she gathered her senses and wanted to fight back, Li Xiaoyue quickly grabbed the teapot and hit her again.

Everyone in the room was shocked by what they had just witnessed.

The two daughters-in-law in the hospital bed watched the scene unfold, a sense of satisfaction flickering in their eyes.

They had long disliked this old hag.

Mother Gu clearly didn’t treat daughters-in-law as humans, and seeing her like this made the two feel a kind of empathy. They were fortunate, though, as their own mothers-in-law weren’t as malicious. Small disagreements happened from time to time, but this was the first time they’d encountered such a life-or-death struggle.

“Xiaoyue, you…”

Captain Gu lowered his head, meeting Li Xiaoyue’s eyes filled with hatred, and the rest of his words stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

“Stay back!” Li Xiaoyue’s face twisted with malice as she clutched Mother Gu’s disheveled hair in one hand and held the teacup in the other. “If any of you come closer, I’ll bash her to death!”

Her words made the nurse, who had been about to step forward and separate them, freeze in place.

“You old witch, weren’t you so domineering before? Show me your strength now!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Xiaoyue slapped Mother Gu again.

Mother Gu’s head snapped to the side as she glared at Li Xiaoyue in hatred.

A wound had opened on Mother Gu’s forehead, though no blood flowed from it. Her face was swollen grotesquely, and her hair, streaked with gray, hung in disarray, making her look utterly pitiful.

Captain Gu couldn’t bear to watch and tried to reason with her.

“Xiaoyue, calm down…”

“Shut up!”

Li Xiaoyue, her face also marked with red handprints, looked equally miserable.

“You useless coward!” Her eyes bore into Captain Gu as she recalled what Ruan Mingfu had said, and a surge of courage swelled within her. “Your mother has the nerve to blame me for not bearing a son, but the real problem is that she raised a son who’s worthless!”

Captain Gu’s face showed a flash of embarrassment. “Xiaoyue, please, calm down…”

Li Xiaoyue had no interest in his words. Her target was Mother Gu.

Thinking about everything Mother Gu had done to her made her grit her teeth in fury.

“You called me a little bitch. Then what are you, an old bitch?”

Another slap.

“What’s wrong with me giving birth to a daughter? Weren’t you born a daughter yourself?”

“Oh, no, wait. You hate women so much, maybe you’re a hermaphrodite.”

“Try giving me that look again, I dare you!”

…

One slap after another, until Li Xiaoyue’s hand hurt from hitting, and Mother Gu was completely beaten into submission.

Mother Gu felt that if this continued, she might really be killed.

Her face throbbed painfully, and though she tried to resist, Li Xiaoyue, who was sitting on top of her, somehow had the strength to pin her down completely, leaving Mother Gu unable to move.

She wanted someone to save her.

But Captain Gu, shocked by Li Xiaoyue’s fierceness, stood frozen. The others in the room, having long grown tired of Mother Gu’s antics, secretly hoped Li Xiaoyue would hit her a few more times. Why would they intervene?

The nurse, frightened by Li Xiaoyue’s ruthlessness, didn’t dare step in either.

“Hey, you’re bleeding!” The nurse suddenly noticed the bloodstains on Li Xiaoyue’s pants and panicked. “Stop! You need to stop! Doctor, doctor!”

The nurse rushed out, flustered.

The whole ward fell into chaos.

Auntie hurried over, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the bloodstains on the floor.

“Girl, stop. You need to take care of yourself…”

By the time Captain Gu snapped out of his daze, Li Xiaoyue was already being lifted onto a stretcher.

Her face was deathly pale, her forehead covered in a sheen of sweat.

The pain was obvious.

Seeing this, Captain Gu immediately abandoned his mother on the ground and rushed after Li Xiaoyue. Grabbing her hand, his face went ashen. “Xiaoyue, where does it hurt? Tell me…”

Her lips were colorless, and her face grew even paler.

Li Xiaoyue stared at him intently for a moment before finally speaking in a trembling voice, “Mr. Gu, let’s get a divorce.”

Two crystal-clear tears fell from her eyes, disappearing into her hairline.

Captain Gu was in complete disbelief.

“Xiaoyue, Xiaoyue!”

He had so much he wanted to say, but before he could, Li Xiaoyue was wheeled into the operating room. The fury that had consumed Captain Gu evaporated, leaving him deflated. He slumped onto a bench and buried his face in his hands.

In the hospital ward, Mother Gu lay forgotten on the cold floor, unable to get up.

The aunt selectively ignored her and picked up Li Xiaoyue’s child.

The baby was very calm, its round eyes darting about curiously.

The Aunt glanced at the figure of Mother Gu on the floor. “What a sin…”

She took the child back and placed it in front of her daughter-in-law who had just given birth, “Look, how beautiful this child is.”

Some people had lost their conscience, not even able to tolerate a baby this young.

…

Ruan Mingfu and the others had no idea what had transpired after they left the hospital, each returning to their own home.

By evening, night had begun to fall.

Ruan Mingfu and Gu Yilin were in the radish field, pulling radish greens. With just a light tug, they could hear the crisp sound of the leaves snapping. The radish tops at this time of year were so tender they seemed to be bursting with juice.

“Should we pull the big ones or the small ones?”

Gu Yilin stared at the vast radish field before him, momentarily dumbfounded.

“Pull… pull the big ones, I guess…”

Ruan Mingfu wasn’t sure either.

In her previous life, she hadn’t eaten these greens. Now that she could, she didn’t know whether to pull the big or small ones either.

They were both at a loss.

The two exchanged a glance. “You take the big ones, and I’ll take the small ones. Let’s play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever loses has to pull theirs.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

Gu Yilin’s competitive streak was ignited.

This time, she was determined to win.

“Let’s go!”

In the first round, both of them threw rock.

“Doesn’t count. Next round.”

In the next round, Ruan Mingfu threw rock again, while Gu Yilin threw scissors.

Gu Yilin: “…”

Damn it!

It’s one thing to lose to this annoying woman in other things, but losing at rock-paper-scissors too?

So frustrating!

Ruan Mingfu clenched her fists and looked triumphantly at Gu Yilin. “A bet is a bet. Let’s pull up the big ones.”

Damn, even more infuriating!

Gu Yilin wasn’t one to go back on her word.

She acknowledged her loss, rolled up her sleeves, and began pulling out the vegetables. Gu Yilin had a good eye and managed to pull out the largest ones in the field. The radishes were as plump as her palm.

They were also quite long.

Ruan Mingfu cleaned the dirt off the vegetables and then took them to the kitchen.

“Here are the radishes you wanted.”

She had a proud expression, as if waiting for Xie Yanzhao to praise her.

Xie Yanzhao looked at the medium-sized radishes in the basin with some resignation.

If these radishes had grown for another half month, they would be about the size of a human forearm, indicating their full maturity. But now, they have been pulled…

“Great job!”

Ruan Mingfu was even more pleased.

She knew she was right.

Pulling radishes couldn’t be that hard, could it?

Xie Yanzhao looked at her indulgently.

The radishes were this big, but the leaves were still very tender. Xie Yanzhao decided to separate them: the leaves would be stir-fried, and the radishes would be used to stir-fry meat.

The seasonal dish tasted exceptionally good.

Even Ruan Mingfu, with her small appetite, ate an extra half bowl of rice.

Gu Yilin ate even more, having already served herself two bowls and still eating eagerly.

For some unknown reason, Wangcai had been mysteriously absent recently.

If it wasn’t mealtime, you wouldn’t see the dog at all.

Wangcai: It doesn’t run away… It doesn’t run away and still doesn’t know how that crazy woman surnamed Gu will torment it.

After dinner, the sky grew darker, and a cool breeze picked up.

Xie Yanzhao glanced at the drooping grass in the yard. “It should rain soon, go wash up.”

“Okay…”

Ruan Mingfu had just started to stand up when Xie Yanzhao pulled her back.

“Let the guest go first.”

Gu Yilin nodded gracefully.

“That’s right, I’m the guest. I’ll go first.”

Look at how well-mannered people are. Then look at that plastic friend… Gu Yilin shook her head disdainfully.

You get what you pay for.

As Xie Yanzhao said, as soon as Ruan Mingfu came out of the bathroom, it started pouring rain. The large raindrops hit the ground and quickly formed swirling puddles.

The cool wind blew, and Ruan Mingfu shivered.

The lights in the house were mostly off, and Gu Yilin had already gone into the guest room.

Ruan Mingfu was about to go in when Xie Yanzhao blocked her path.

He had already showered and was still damp. His eyes were like ink, and upon closer inspection, it seemed there was a flickering flame within them. As his gaze fell on Ruan Mingfu, the flame grew brighter.

“Where are you going?”