Chapter 3 – “In life, I belong to Zhou Changdong. In death, I will be with his soul!”

“You can’t say that-in-law!” Wang Guifen refused to agree. “Changdong is like this now, there’s nothing we can do. None of us wanted to see it come to this, but what choice do we have? Yun Yun is only twenty-two. What, do you expect my Yun Yun to waste her whole life like this?”

He Yuling said: “Isn’t it only right that she does? Your sister-in-law spent so much of Changdong’s money over these three years, and now that something has happened to him, she just wants to walk away like nothing happened? There’s no such easy thing in this world!”

Upon hearing that, Wang Guifen understood the game.

Since divorce was already inevitable, she certainly wouldn’t let her daughter leave behind any dirt for others to criticize.

Although she was willing to settle the expenses and living costs from the past three years, that didn’t mean she’d talk about it in such a straightforward way.

She couldn’t outright say they were willing to return everything. If she sounded too agreeable, the divorce would only become more difficult.

She needed to leave the other party with the impression that they were not easy to deal with!

Being a bit difficult would ensure the matter would be resolved more cleanly and on better terms.

It was like bargaining — if you wanted to buy something for fifty yuan when the seller was asking a hundred, you couldn’t just offer fifty. You had to start at twenty or thirty, and work your way up gradually.

Su Luyun didn’t know this trick, but Wang Guifen was an expert at it.

She started by recounting in vivid detail how her daughter had spent the past three years in an empty room, crying alone through the nights.

During those years, other women had husbands to rely on, to lend a hand. But her daughter? She had to change even a light bulb by herself.

The bitterness and hardship — only her daughter truly understood.

From the age of nineteen, she had waited faithfully until twenty-two!

How many precious three-year periods does a woman get in her lifetime?

When Wang Guifen told these stories, she painted the picture so vividly and emotionally that it was as if one could see it play out before their eyes.

However, Zhou Changdong’s mother, Chen Aihong, was no pushover either. She didn’t let her eldest daughter-in-law handle everything alone — but her own thinking wasn’t all that different.

The Zhou Family was willing to let the Su Family take the girl away, but Chen Aihong absolutely didn’t want to see her younger son’s discharged soldier benefits, his bonus, and even his last three years of wages and subsidies split in half!

So there was no way she’d let Wang Guifen speak freely on her own.

She didn’t interrupt Wang Guifen, though. She only spoke after the other had finished.

She said that although Su Luyun had been married into the family for three years, she refused to believe that the girl had suffered any true grievance.

Because after the marriage, Zhou Changdong had handed over his savings from all his years in the military to Su Luyun.

No one knew the exact amount, but shortly after their wedding, Su Luyun had used the money Zhou Changdong left her — under the excuse of conflict with her sisters-in-law — to buy a house and move out to live alone.

Buying that house had cost 1,700 yuan!

Because Zhou Changdong had been on secret missions, he hadn’t sent any money back over the past three years.

But Su Luyun still lived with great dignity and flair.

Others might pinch pennies on clothes and food, but she never skimped on herself. Whether it was clothing, food, housing, or transportation, she lived as well as she could!

The neighbors had all seen it, and of course, it had reached Chen Aihong’s ears.

Chen Aihong, as a mother-in-law, had never interfered. Her thinking was that her three sons were all married — let each family live their own lives. She couldn’t be bothered to meddle.

She, the actual mother-in-law, didn’t bother with her daughter-in-law’s affairs, but the nosy old aunties and grannies from the neighborhood would poke their noses in and scold Su Luyun for being too extravagant — saying that’s not how one should live.

But Su Luyun responded plainly: “Why should I save?”

She had asked Zhou Changdong before: was the money he left her hers to spend freely? He had said yes.

So why shouldn’t she spend it?

Naturally, she earned herself the reputation of being a wasteful woman in the neighborhood!

A stark contrast to her gentle and frugal cousin next door — Zhao Yuzhu!

But let’s not get into that for now.

At present, Wang Guifen and Chen Aihong had already gone back and forth, bargaining in a heated exchange.

The Zhou family had already met beforehand and discussed the matter.

They knew very well — the Su family was determined to get a divorce.

So when Wang Guifen expressed willingness to return half of the money her daughter had spent over the past three years, it was already seen as quite generous.

The Zhou Family had no reason to hold onto someone else’s daughter any longer.

Wang Guifen also sensed the Zhou Family’s stance.

But she wanted her daughter to leave with a good reputation. She didn’t want anyone to say her daughter had taken advantage of the Zhou family — that would only invite gossip and criticism!

So, once she confirmed that the Zhou family had no intention of forcing her daughter to stay, she straightforwardly said: “Yun Yun has indeed spent quite a bit of Changdong’s money over the past three years. Since that’s the case, we of the Su Family won’t take advantage of him either. We’ll calculate all the expenses from these three years and return the full amount based on the original balance in Changdong’s savings book — not a cent more, not a cent less!”

Upon hearing this, even the neighbors outside, who had gathered to eavesdrop on the commotion between the two families, were left speechless.

Of course, a few still muttered under their breath.

But inside, both families had reached a unanimous decision.

During this entire negotiation, no one asked Su Luyun’s opinion. Only after everything had been settled did they all turn to look at her.

Wang Guifen said: “Yun Yun, go bring out the three thousand yuan that Changdong’s comrade brought back, along with the savings book he gave you. Take them out and tally everything. Once it’s all confirmed, Mama will take you home.”

The money would be delivered later — that had just been agreed upon.

The Zhou family members all looked at Su Luyun. Everyone knew she must be eager to leave as soon as possible.

According to the original plot, the paper-thin character really was just like that — but not in the selfless, generous way her mother claimed. Not only did she refuse to return the money spent over the past three years, she even wanted to take a bite out of the three thousand yuan Zhou Changdong’s comrade had brought back.

Was her youth not worth anything? After three years wasted in vain, who could she go after for compensation?

So returning money? Out of the question.

Asking for compensation? That was more like it.

In the end, the original owner got her wish, but the Zhou family had no fondness for her at all.

Later, after being swindled out of both money and love, she returned to see her ex-husband not only recovered but thriving with his own successful business. She tried to reconcile, but no one in the Zhou family agreed!

That was the original cannon fodder plot — but now, the real person had taken over!

And right then, everyone saw this “green tea” girl’s eyes redden, and she suddenly threw herself onto Zhou Changdong, clutching him tightly as she cried out: “I’m not leaving! I’m not leaving! I won’t divorce Changdong! None of you can force me to leave! In life, I belong to Changdong. In death, I’ll be with his soul!”

“……”

Her passionate declaration of undying love left not just Wang Guifen stunned, but also Zhou Quansheng, Chen Aihong, Zhou Changping, Zhou Changan, and the two sisters-in-law, He Yuling and Lin Fang — all of them were completely shocked!

They couldn’t believe she would say something so devoted and unwavering!

Wang Guifen was the first to react. She grabbed her daughter’s arm and said: “You silly girl, are you out of your mind? What nonsense are you saying…”

She never expected her daughter to actually mean it!

There was no need to keep pretending anymore!

Everything had already been agreed upon. By returning the money spent over the past three years to this unfortunate yet unrelated son-in-law, neither the Zhou family nor the neighbors could say a single bad word!

Yet now this girl was declaring that she was Changdong’s in life and in death?

Wang Guifen was scared stiff by her daughter!

“What do you mean nonsense!” Su Luyun cut her mother off.

In front of her own mother, her in-laws, and everyone else, this pitiful young wife clung to her unconscious husband and cried out: “Since I married Changdong, I became his. This is my home! Where else could I go?”

Her tone was filled with emotion, grief, and absolute determination!

Wang Guifen was frantic and tried to pull her away. “You silly girl, you’re still young, you don’t understand. Come pack up and go home with Mom. I’ll explain everything to you slowly!”

She never expected her daughter to turn into such a love-struck fool!

That wasn’t like her at all — she was the kind to turn her back on people in a heartbeat! Wasn’t that her true personality?

If her son-in-law had been okay — even if he’d been crippled or missing a limb — she wouldn’t have cared and would have accepted it. But now he was a vegetative state!

How could her daughter possibly stay? She still had her own life to live!

“Mom, you don’t need to persuade me. I said I’m not going back!” Su Luyun refused to let go of Zhou Changdong. “This is my home. I’m not going anywhere. I will stay by Changdong’s side. I will stay with my husband!”

As she spoke, she cried, and her pitiful yet resolute appearance tugged at the hearts of all who saw her and brought tears to the eyes of those who heard her.