Chapter 12: Don’t keep a dog that likes to rub around outside

Song Yiyi felt no fear whatsoever about having “offended a superior.”

She devoured every dish like a gust of wind sweeping away clouds, tossed her chopsticks aside, and strode out. In her mind, even if she were going to die, she’d die a full-bellied ghost.

Over the next few days, to avoid seeing the annoying male and female leads, Song Yiyi left early and came home late. Whenever she returned, there would always be things delivered by Cen Bowen waiting at her door—sometimes even envelopes. Song Yiyi never bothered to look at them, just kicked them aside and went in.

When people in the courtyard asked, she never hid anything:
“Cen Bowen isn’t my boyfriend anymore—we broke up.”
“Why? Because I found out he’s got big eyes and double eyelids. I don’t like that.”
“You didn’t know? Men with big eyes tend to be indecisive and have bad tempers.”
“What do I like? Men with substance—like my brother!”

Everyone already knew about Kang Ying’s hospitalization. The day she’d tried to jump off a building and made a scene at home had spread through the community.

People generally thought Song Yiyi was the most innocent party. After all, at the time, Cen Bowen was still dating her. What decent person would tolerate their boyfriend always having another woman hanging around? What decent woman would keep cozying up to a man who already had a girlfriend?

“Yiyi, want to come have dinner at my place?”
“Yiyi, we’ve got a TV—come watch with us.”
“Yiyi, try this, my aunt brought it back from the countryside.”

Everyone had their own internal scales for judgment. After that incident, Song Yiyi suddenly became friendly with the other military wives in the courtyard.

Once they got to know her, they realized she was cheerful, quick to joke, and not at all the dull, introverted person they’d assumed. She could make them double over with laughter with just one line.

The wives were warm and hospitable, and every time Song Yiyi visited, she would bring something along as a gift.

A few days passed like this.

One morning, Song Yiyi opened her door to find Cen Bowen standing outside. He looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. His usually handsome face was etched with worry.

The moment he saw her, he rushed forward.
“Yiyi! What have you been doing these past two days? I’ve come looking for you so many times, but you’re never home. When your big brother isn’t around, you should wait for me to have a day off before going out—don’t run around by yourself.”

While he spoke, Song Yiyi had already locked the door, pocketed her keys, and given him a feather-light glance.
“Sir, may I ask who you are?”

With that, she walked right past him without pausing.

Cen Bowen caught up in a few quick strides.
“Yiyi, I know you’re still mad at me. That day was my fault, but it was an emergency. I promise it will never happen again!”

Song Yiyi walked quickly, while he bounced around beside her like a monkey.
“No need.” Her tone was cool. “I told you that day—if you left, we’d be done. So now, you’re you, I’m me.”

She thought she’d made herself very clear, but Cen Bowen still stuck by her side.

It was early morning in the courtyard, people coming and going. Occasionally, someone would greet Song Yiyi, and she would respond with a warm smile every time.

One of the wives called out, “Yiyi, come to my place this afternoon. Everyone will be there—we can chat.”
“Sure,” Song Yiyi agreed without hesitation.

After a few days without a phone or computer, she had found her own pastime—listening to the wives gossip. Where there are people, there is drama, and she always came prepared with a handful of sunflower seeds, listening with great relish.

Cen Bowen wanted to explain, but he could never find an opening to speak. Finally, when no one else was talking to her, he hurried to say, “Yiyi, my mother will be here the day after tomorrow.”

He waited for her reaction, but Song Yiyi acted as if she hadn’t heard him at all.

When they were almost at the gate of the compound, Cen Bowen panicked and grabbed her arm.
“Yiyi, can you stop making trouble?”

His voice was full of exhaustion, urgency, and a sense of helplessness. He had been running between the hospital and his unit these days, trying to find time to bring her things, and now she was angry with him—he hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep.

He couldn’t understand why she was suddenly so stubborn. She had always been forgiving and considerate before.

Song Yiyi’s gaze locked on the hand holding her arm, and she regretted not bringing a knife when she went out. The Cen family really did grab people anywhere and everywhere. A paw like this deserved to be chopped off.

“Let go. Are you sure you want to commit indecency in public?”

Her cold tone startled Cen Bowen, and he released her—only to quickly move his body to block her path.

He sighed, rubbing his brow in frustration.
“Yiyi, there’s a limit to how long you can sulk. That day, I don’t think I was wrong. I was saving someone—and even if it hadn’t been Kang Ying, I would still have saved her. You know I’m not the kind of person who would turn cold-blooded. We’re about to get married—you should understand my position.”

Song Yiyi closed her eyes briefly, looking weary.

Hearing such words from Cen Bowen didn’t surprise her at all—this was, after all, a man’s true nature.

“Comrade Cen Bowen, let me officially inform you one last time: we are broken up.”

Her expression was calm, her voice unhurried. She glanced at him and added,
“Comrade Cen Bowen, I’m a clean person. I don’t even keep dogs that like to rub up against others outside. Do you understand? If not, then stop pestering me.”

She brushed past him and walked straight out of the compound.

Cen Bowen stood frozen in place, stunned by her words for a long time before he could even begin to react.

She… was indirectly calling him names?

…

After leaving the compound, Song Yiyi took a bus to the busiest part of the city.
There was only one breakfast shop in the area.

It was the early 1980s, and most people were still hesitant about going into business.
Song Yiyi ordered a bowl of soy milk, a fried dough stick, and an egg.

She sat at a small table by the shop’s entrance, eating while scanning her surroundings.

In the book, the original Song Yiyi had managed to stay in the compound only because she married Cen Bowen.
Now that she had broken things off with him, once Gu Chengze came back, she might have to return to the countryside.

Going back was absolutely out of the question.
She already found the conditions in the city’s compound hard to endure—let alone a rural village.

What’s more, the original’s father already knew about her feelings for the elder brother.
If she went back, she would surely be forced into marriage.

And considering how different her own personality was from the original’s, if anyone became suspicious, that could cause big trouble.

She had to find a way to stay in the city.

After finishing her meal, Song Yiyi strolled along the street, looking at the shops, wondering if she could find an easy, low-effort job to get by.

She walked through two whole streets.
There were places hiring, but the work was either too tiring or too dirty.

Song Yiyi had high standards but low tolerance for hard work.

While nibbling on a piece of pea-flour cake she had just bought, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from behind.

Before she could turn around, someone crashed into her, making her stumble, and the pea cake fell to the ground.

“Wait a minute!” Song Yiyi grabbed the person’s sleeve. “How can you be so impolite—mmph…”

Her vision went black.
In a dizzying blur, someone used their body to push her into a nearby narrow alley.