Chapter 33 : Angry out of shame

When Su Xieqiu woke up and didn’t see Han Zhenyu, she figured he must have gone to clean up the house they were moving to.  

She began packing their belongings, knowing they had agreed to move out early that morning.  

First, she wrapped their clothes in the bedsheets, then started folding the quilts.  

The original owner of the body she now inhabited had brought two old quilts when she moved to the countryside. Han Zhenyu also had two quilts, but they were even more worn out than hers.  

As she was tying up one of the quilts on the kang, there was a knock at the door.  

“Didn’t you say you were moving out early this morning? Why are you still here? Are you trying to act like freeloaders?” Han Meili’s arrogant voice came from outside.  

“If you don’t want to get beaten, back off,” Su Xieqiu snapped. She hadn’t planned to respond, but seeing Han Meili getting more and more brazen, she decided to educate her.  

“Morning means between seven and nine o’clock. Do you think it’s nine o’clock yet? If not, don’t come here complaining to me. Or I’ll tear your mouth off.”  

Han Meili glared at her through the doorway, fuming but not daring to retaliate. She stomped off to the kitchen in a huff.  

With a disdainful smirk, Su Xieqiu finished packing the house’s belongings and headed to the backyard to use the toilet.  

In the kitchen, Yang Lanhua was cooking over a clay pot, her face sour and unfriendly.  

Ignoring her, Su Xieqiu walked past with her head held high.  

In the backyard, Zhang Qianyun was picking vegetables with a basket. She hesitated when she saw Su Xieqiu. Last night, she and Han Zhenhua had been… quite loud, and the neighbors must have heard.  

In the past, whenever Zhang Qianyun made noise, Su Xieqiu would avoid her the next day, too embarrassed to meet her eyes, as though she were the one being shameless.  

But today, Su Xieqiu’s expression seemed calm, even indifferent. Did she not hear it?  

As Su Xieqiu came out of the bathroom, Zhang Qianyun deliberately stretched, placing a hand on her lower back, and muttered just loudly enough for Su Xieqiu to hear “Oh my, my waist is so sore. Stinky men are really something else.”  

Su Xieqiu froze for a moment, stunned. Was this woman trying to show off?  

Was she flaunting how “powerful” her man was? Or how loudly she could scream?  

How shameless could someone be? Talking about bedroom antics like this, was she expecting compliments on their “skills”?  

Recalling the nasty remarks Zhang Qianyun had made to the original owner in the past, Su Xieqiu’s eyes gleamed with mischief. She smiled and said,  

“Your man only lasted a few minutes, and you were screaming so happily? You really gave him face. If it were me, I’d have kicked him off the bed long ago.”  

Zhang Qianyun flushed with embarrassment and anger. Before she could speak, Su Xieqiu continued, adding fuel to the fire,  

“I think you should get him some tonics. He’s already so weak while he’s young, what’ll happen when he’s older? He won’t last at all. Even if you want to pretend to have a sore back, you might not even get the chance.”  

Infuriated and humiliated, Zhang Qianyun retorted sharply, “That’s still better than being a widow! Your man doesn’t even touch you. If I were you, I’d have jumped into the river by now!”  

Living next door, Zhang Qianyun was well aware that since their marriage, Han Zhenyu and Su Xieqiu had never slept together.  

But Su Xieqiu wasn’t fazed. Instead, she smiled and replied calmly,  

“How do you know I’m a widow? Do you eavesdrop on my family’s private matters every day? I never realized you had such a habit.”  

“Who listens to you? You’re so shameless!” Zhang Qianyun yelled angrily.  

“If you didn’t eavesdrop on us, how do you know I’m a widow?”  

Su Xieqiu smirked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “You’re the one spreading stories about your bed adventures everywhere. Complaining about your back hurting every time you see someone, flaunting your shamelessness to the fullest and yet you call others shameless? That’s truly despicable.”  

“You… You’re the shameless one! Cheap and vile! Who spread anything? You started it first…” Zhang Qianyun stammered, too angry to form a coherent sentence.  

Meanwhile, Han Zhenyu had returned and didn’t see anyone in the main room, but the kang was neatly packed, so he figured Su Xieqiu must be in the backyard.  

He walked over to check, only to hear a heated and rather awkward exchange from afar.  

Sighing, he held his forehead, tempted to turn back, but just then, Han Zhenhua approached. Left with no choice, he coughed and said, “Everything’s cleaned up over there. Let’s go.”  

Su Xieqiu had been in the middle of a spirited argument, but her expression instantly froze when she heard his voice, as though thousands of alpacas were running wild in her head.  

Turning around slowly, she gave an awkward smile. “When did you get back?”  

“Just now,” Han Zhenyu replied evenly. “Let’s go.”  

“Uh… okay.”  

The two of them walked out of the backyard in silence.  

Han Zhenyu picked up four quilts, a large bag, and reached for the other two smaller ones, but Su Xieqiu quickly grabbed them. “Let me take these.”  

Seeing they weren’t heavy, he handed them over.  

With their modest belongings in tow, the couple left the Han family home without looking back.  

As soon as they were gone, Yang Lanhua and Han Meili rushed into the now-vacant house. Though slightly disappointed to find it empty, the family was still overjoyed to have driven out the “plague gods.”  

Only Han Baoguo felt conflicted. Han Zhenyu was his firstborn, and he had been thrilled when he was born. But as time passed, the child grew increasingly distant and disobedient, despite being raised by his grandparents. His wife, Su Xieqiu, was seen as brash and uneducated.  

Compared to his younger children, Han Zhenyu fell short less capable than the second son, less caring than his youngest daughter, and far less bright than the youngest son, who was in high school.  

Ultimately, Han Baoguo thought it was better this way. With them gone, the house would finally be quiet, and life more peaceful.  

On the road, Han Zhenyu and Su Xieqiu encountered several villagers. Some glanced at them and quickly avoided eye contact, wary of Han Zhenyu’s bad reputation.  

Others, however, were curious and approached them.  

“Hey, why are you two carrying so many bags? What’s going on?”  

Han Zhenyu remained expressionless, but Su Xieqiu handled the questions with a bitter smile. “We’ve split from the family.”  

“When did that happen? We didn’t hear about it,” a few inquisitive women asked.  

“Last night,” Su Xieqiu sighed.  

“So, what did your in-laws give you?” one woman asked curiously.  

Shaking her head sadly, Su Xieqiu replied, “Nothing but a few sets of clothes and two tattered quilts. We were kicked out with nothing else.”  

“Nothing at all?” the women murmured in surprise.  

A middle-aged woman frowned and asked, “Then where will you live? How will you manage?”  

“The team leader was kind enough to let us stay temporarily in an empty house at the team headquarters,” Su Xieqiu said gratefully.  

“That place doesn’t even have a kang. How will you survive the winter?”  

“We know it’s not ideal. It’s just temporary. Han Zhenyu plans to borrow money from his uncle and aunt, and we’ll build our own house soon,” she explained.