Chapter 11 A Bad Premonition

This was the first time Tang Mingli had ever wanted to speak her heart to Tang Mingmei since she came into this world.

"Don't overanalyze others."

This will make my life so tiring.

However, Tang Mingmei interpreted these words as an accusation that she was meddling in other people's business.

Already feeling unbalanced, this made him even more unhappy, and in his impulsiveness, he spoke without any sense of propriety.

"You've taken my good intentions for granted. Since you won't listen to my advice, do whatever you want."

It was meant as a threat, but Tang Mingli genuinely hoped she would do it.

She gently pinched the bridge of her nose, without arguing with Tang Mingmei.

Years of working life taught her a lesson: arguing with people whose values ​​don't align with yours is pointless and only makes you feel exhausted.

Respect others' fate and live your own life well; she shouldn't have offered that extra piece of advice earlier.

However, her silence did not stop Tang Mingmei; in fact, she became more and more agitated as she spoke.

"If it weren't for the fact that I rejected this marriage proposal and forced you to marry into this family, I wouldn't have said a word and would have let you live however you wanted."

She was probably speaking too fast and was a little out of breath, so she had to stop and take a deep breath before continuing: "Look at the kind of life you're living in the Fu family."

Tang Mingli raised her eyebrows.

She lived a comfortable life in the Fu family.

However, Tang Mingmei misunderstood her too deeply, or rather, she was deceiving herself too much. She was convinced that she was not doing well in the Fu family, and she spoke with an air of righteousness.

“The Fu family clearly has the ability to arrange a job for you, but they make you stay at home to help the elderly with housework. Zhang Guihua still has a salary, what do you have? Getting married is not like going to jail, why should they keep you trapped at home and make you a useless person?”

Tang Mingmei was completely projecting herself onto the role.

Tang Mingli's previously relaxed brows furrowed.

That's really going too far.

This accusation is utterly absurd.

She could no longer remain silent. "Your prejudice is too deep."

Everyone has their own ambitions. She just likes to relax and do nothing. How did the Fu family become a trap for her? How is she considered useless?

"My prejudice?" Tang Mingmei sneered. She had lived a whole life and no one was more qualified than her to comment on the Fu family. "They just think they are superior and don't take others seriously."

After two years of living and working together, Tang Mingli had a good idea of ​​what the Fu family was like.

She countered Tang Mingmei's question: "Why are you so sure that the Fu family wants to keep people at home? Why don't you first ask if I have clearly expressed to them that I want to go out and work?"

"This is..." Tang Mingmei wanted to say, "Does this even need asking?" but the words caught in her throat.

She truly didn't know what Tang Mingli was thinking.

No, how could she not think that way?

“I never mentioned to them that they would arrange a job for me, so there’s no such thing as them keeping me confined at home.” Tang Mingli emphasized, word by word, “It’s just that I prefer to stay at home.”

Tang Mingmei shook her head subconsciously, looking incredulous: "How could that be? It's so hard to find a job these days, how could you not want to go to work? It's probably just that you don't want to say it outright."

“It’s me who doesn’t want to go to work.” Faced with her blaming others, Tang Mingli said bluntly, “I will clearly say what I want, instead of keeping nothing clear and secretly hoping that others can guess. We are all ordinary people, and we don’t have the ability to guess what others are thinking.”

These words were like a slap, a loud crack that landed squarely on Tang Mingmei's face.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a word in rebuttal.

Did she explicitly express her desire to have a job to the Fu family in her previous life?

She only mentioned to the Fu family in a veiled way that so-and-so had arranged a job for her, but never explicitly said that she hoped they could arrange a job for her.

So, is it because she never says it outright?

Tang Mingmei was bewildered.

Li Hong was startled by her daughter's sudden assertiveness.

They came here to express their gratitude, so why did their attitude change after just a few words?

If this continued, they would start arguing, so she quickly stepped in to smooth things over while her daughter remained silent.

"Don't blame your sister. She was just worried that you weren't doing well in the Fu family, which is why she said so many things she shouldn't have."

After saying this, Li Hong thought of something and couldn't help but look at her daughter.

During the two years she spent in the countryside, her daughter would always ask Tang Mingli how she was doing at the Tang family home whenever she wrote a letter. Each time, Tang Mingli was afraid of upsetting her daughter, so she didn't dare tell the truth.

Could it be that I didn't tell the truth, causing a misunderstanding?

After all, this marriage was given to Tang Mingli because the daughter didn't want to marry him. It's understandable that the daughter would feel guilty if Tang Mingli didn't live well.

Li Hong thought about it more and more and felt that it made sense, secretly annoyed that her daughter was still too kind.

This marriage is such a good deal, Tang Mingli is clearly getting a great deal, and yet she feels guilty towards her.

Tang Mingli was perfectly clear-headed and naturally did not believe Li Hong's words, but she did not want to argue.

Arguing is exhausting.

His words, though seemingly casual, conveyed a sense of awe and disarray; the ancients were truly remarkable.

She even had a bad feeling.

The two families used to only visit each other once or twice a year, but with Tang Mingmei returning to the city, this beautiful distance may be broken.

In a rather unpleasant atmosphere, it finally came to noon.

This was the first time Tang Mingli had ever been so eager to get into the kitchen.

She put all the wrapped dumplings into the pot to cook.

I was thinking that if there were any leftovers, I would reheat them and eat them as a snack in the afternoon.

But it must be said that all three of them have a big appetite; they managed to finish all the dumplings.

Perhaps it was because the dumplings were so delicious that Tang Mingmei spoke less while eating them; otherwise, the flavor would have been halved.

After finishing the dumplings, Tang Mingli sat with them for another half hour.

Her biological clock was already making her yawn repeatedly, and she wondered when those two would finally leave. Would they wait until her grandparents came back?

The thought of this possibility made Tang Mingli feel as if she had eaten a bitter melon.

Li Hong didn't miss her repeated yawns and asked with a smile, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Tang Mingli answered very honestly, "I slept quite well."

How could someone not sleep well when they have a warm and comfortable bed all to themselves?

But given her contorted demeanor, how could Li Hong and Tang Mingmei possibly believe her?

Tang Mingmei, in particular, suddenly brightened up her previously gloomy eyes.

In her previous life, she slept alone in that small room on the second floor for several years, never getting a good night's sleep. She wondered if Tang Mingli would experience the same in this life.

This was too private a matter for her to ask, no matter how curious she was, so she just opened her mouth.

However, Li Hong, fearing that she might say something else that would strain their relationship, spoke up first: "It's getting late, let's head back now. When our in-laws return, please convey our gratitude to them."

Hearing that they were finally going back, Tang Mingli instantly came to life. This time, her smile was genuine.

"Okay, I will definitely pass it on."

"Then we're leaving." Li Hong pulled her daughter toward the door.

No matter how unwilling Tang Mingmei was, she couldn't bring herself to say that she didn't want to leave.

Tang Mingli saw them off at the door with a big smile.

If it weren't for the rain outside, she would have been more polite and walked a few more steps with you.

Watching the two figures with their umbrellas disappear into the distance, Tang Mingli closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief.

Yay, time for a nap!

-

On the other side, Li Hong pushed her daughter out of the family compound.

Once outside, he can't stand it for even a moment and starts lecturing.

"What's wrong with you? You came here today to thank your cousin, so why did you say those inappropriate things?"

"What did I say that I shouldn't have said?" Tang Mingmei asked impatiently.

I came here today to see how badly Tang Mingli was doing, but after meeting her in person, she didn't seem to be doing as badly as her parents had described in their letter.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but blame her mother: "Every time I ask you how Tang Mingli is doing at the Fu family, you are always vague, otherwise I wouldn't have rushed over here."

She knew she wasn't in good shape right now; she was darker, thinner, and more haggard than before she went to the countryside. But she had a good foundation, and compared to the other educated youth who went to the countryside with her, she was definitely more attractive.

However, after seeing Tang Mingli, she still felt somewhat annoyed.

If I let it rest for a few more days, it will at least get a bit whiter, so I won't be completely outshone by Tang Mingli.

Li Hongzhen felt wronged by her daughter's words; she had only said that because she was afraid of upsetting her daughter.

Did you make a mistake?

Li Hong couldn't bring herself to scold him, so she could only patiently reason with him: "Mingli is already married, so don't worry about how she's doing. Now that you're back in the city, let's focus on making our own lives better."

Tang Mingmei naturally understood this principle, but she just couldn't control herself.

She could not forget what her neighbors in the tenement building had said about her and Tang Mingli in her previous life.

Mingming had always been better at school than Tang Mingli, prettier, and more outgoing. Before Mingming got married, everyone praised her. Why is it that just because she got married, they've reduced her to nothing?

Her life was ruined in her previous life, and she is determined to make something of herself in this one.

Tang Mingmei took a deep breath and said to her mother, "Let's go to the department store."

"what are you looking for?"

I want to buy a jar of face cream.

There's also something called a face mask. In her previous life, Fu Ci's mother gave it to her, and it seemed to work quite well, making the skin quickly regain its moisture.

Li Hong wanted to say that there was still half a can left at home, but seeing her daughter's smudged face, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Buy it if you want, it's just a jar of face cream, it's not like I can't afford it.

-

Tang Mingli slept longer than ever during her afternoon nap today, and woke up after 4 p.m.

It's true that entertaining guests is exhausting.

Grandpa Fu and Grandma Fu haven't returned yet, so she's home alone, but she doesn't feel bored.

In high spirits, she poured herself a glass of juice and went back to her study on the second floor.

After a good night's sleep, she was in a great mood. She thought that she hadn't practiced her calligraphy for so many days while Fu Ci was away on a business trip. If she didn't practice soon, she would become rusty. She was afraid that Fu Ci would laugh at her when he came back.

So I dug out that calligraphy practice book that I hadn't touched in a long time, intending to pick it up again.

But as soon as I picked up my pen, I heard a noise downstairs.

I glanced at my watch and realized that I had spent more than half an hour just on preparations.

At this time, my mother-in-law has already come home from get off work.

She put down her pen, smiled, and went downstairs.

Sure enough, it was Fu's mother who made the noise downstairs.

As soon as Fu's mother saw Tang Mingli, she smiled and pointed to the bunch of bananas on the dining table, asking, "Are we having guests today?"

No wonder Mrs. Fu was so certain; her family would never buy this kind of fruit.

"Yes, my aunt and cousin are here." After a pause, he explained their purpose: "They came specifically to thank us."

Although she didn't think so.

It seemed more like they came to see if she was doing well in the Fu family, or more accurately, to see how badly she was doing in the Fu family.

"Your cousin has already returned to the city?" Mrs. Fu was somewhat surprised and asked, "Is she alright?"

Tang Mingli scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I don't think it's a good idea."

It's not nice to say that about someone, but it certainly seems that way.

A person's most beautiful years are cruelly cut short, leaving them with a deep sense of resentment.

Hearing that things weren't going well, Fu's mother didn't continue, since there was nothing she could do to help.

Looking at the empty living room, Fu's mother asked again, "Grandpa and Grandma haven't come back yet?"

Tang Mingli shook her head.

Fu's mother looked puzzled: "They should have been back by now. Could something have happened to Aunt's family?"

Despite her doubts, she rolled up her sleeves and went into the kitchen.