Without turning his head, he strode towards the courtyard gate.

Liu Yuelan stood there, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Mingyu! Where are you going? Wait for me! We just got married, what will I do if you leave? Are you going to abandon me all alone?"

She couldn't decide whether to pursue him or stay with him.

The scenes described in the book flashed through her mind.

Fang Mingyu should have been obedient to her, so how could he have become so cold and heartless?

It's all Su Qingzhi!

It must have been her who stirred things up!

How could she steal my life when I was perfectly healthy!

Why should she take away the happiness that should have been mine?

But she can't find Su Qingzhi now, so she can't take revenge.

He could only vent all his anger on Chen Xinghua and Liu Chunlin.

She turned around abruptly, glaring at them fiercely.

"You're all so smug, aren't you? Standing here watching me make a fool of myself? Why can someone like Su Qingzhi live such a glamorous life? Why can't I even hold a proper wedding? Did you deliberately orchestrate this today?"

Chen Xinghua is now afraid whenever she sees her.

She grabbed Liu Chunlin's arm, intending to slip away through the side door.

Where are you going?

Liu Yuelan's voice was as sharp as a knife.

"Chen Xinghua! You stop right there! Nobody's leaving until you've cleaned up all this mess!"

Chen Xinghua practically dragged Liu Chunlin out of the room.

Liu Yuelan immediately changed her tactics.

"You want to cut off your own escape route, huh? If you leave now, you can forget about ever setting foot in this military dependents' compound again! Let me tell you, this isn't a place you can come and go as you please!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinghua indeed stopped in her tracks.

"Mom, are you still listening to her?"

Liu Chunlin became anxious, "Why does she treat you like this? Why do you let her dictate everything?"

Chen Xinghua shook her head.

“Chunlin, listen to me… You’ll still have to rely on your sister to take care of you in the future. Your sister has a job at the factory and earns a salary. You need her for everything – school, food, clothes. I can’t help you with anything right now…”

"I don't count on her!"

Liu Chunlin stiffened his neck.

"She can't even be trusted herself. She's always acting like a tyrant and dares to hit you. How could she possibly help me sincerely? I'd rather earn my own living than ask her for a single piece of charity!"

He suddenly flung his hand away, turned around, and ran off.

Chen Xinghua was left all alone in the courtyard, standing forlornly by the table.

She just sighed and continued to clean up the mess.

Seeing Chen Xinghua working with her head down, Liu Yuelan finally felt a little better.

As Liu Chunlin passed by Su Qingzhi's house, he happened to see Liu Chunhe standing at the door of Shen's house.

He quickly ran over and grabbed Liu Chunhe's arm.

What are you doing here? What happened?

Liu Chunhe raised her index finger.

"Shh..."

He warned softly, his voice barely audible.

"Keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you."

Liu Chunlin followed his gaze.

Su Qingzhi was standing smiling next to Shen Cunpu.

The two of them standing together really looked like they had stepped out of a painting.

Su Qingzhi also saw the two siblings at the door.

She understood what had happened at a glance.

It seems something happened to Liu Yuelan; even her child ran away.

She gently patted the back of Shen Cunpu's hand.

Shen Cunpu noticed her hint and immediately understood.

Su Qingzhi then walked a few steps to the courtyard gate.

She happened to see the two siblings hunching over, trying to sneak away.

"stop."

“Su… Sister Su Qingzhi.”

Liu Chunhe called out softly.

Su Qingzhi's sharp gaze swept over the two of them.

"Why aren't you going to Liu Yuelan's wedding? What are you doing hiding here? Standing suspiciously at her door in broad daylight, what are you trying to do?"

"She hit me."

Liu Chunlin was young, and when pressed for answers, he blurted them out immediately.

"She hit my mom and cursed at me. I couldn't stand it, so I ran away..."

Su Qingzhi was taken aback. Wasn't today a joyous occasion?

Why did they resort to violence?

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Would you like to come in and eat? The food is freshly made and still warm."

Liu Chunhe instinctively wanted to refuse, but swallowed the words back.

Liu Chunlin stared at the food on the table in the courtyard, swallowing hard.

He nodded cautiously and said, "Okay... okay, thank you, Sister Su Qingzhi."

Su Qingzhi led the two into the house.

"Come in, don't just stand there like an idiot."

She stepped aside, gesturing for them to go first.

Jiang Yongmei didn't ask any further questions.

They quickly arranged for them to sit down.

She casually pulled out the bench and patted the table.

"Sit here, there's an empty seat next to you. Don't be shy, today is a joyous occasion, it's good luck to eat your fill."

Liu Chunhe looked at the steaming fish on the table.

He swallowed hard, thinking to himself: This meal is much more lavish than the one I had at Liu Yuelan's.

He suddenly realized that Su Qingzhi was actually much better than Liu Yuelan.

She never held a grudge, nor did she take her anger out on him.

In contrast, how did her older sister, Liu Yuelan, treat her?

My cousin Su Qingzhi is much more practical.

Today's meal is the best proof.

Liu Chunlin suddenly stopped eating.

“I think Sister Su Qingzhi is much better than Liu Yuelan. She did scare us before, but that was because we were trying to steal her chickens. But she never looked down on us like Liu Yuelan did, and she never said things like we were ‘orphaned’ or ‘cheap.’”

Liu Chunhe paused, her hand holding the food in her chopsticks.

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