Chapter 11 Taking the Steering Wheel of Life: Legal Provisions Allow Wives to Enter Their Husbands' Rooms...

Zhou Jinqin always felt that her mother lived like a widow, living a life of widowhood for a husband who was dispensable.

If Dad is a celestial body, then Mom is the one that revolves around him.

The established trajectory is inescapable, and cyclical repetition is the norm. The only change comes from the discussion of whether to turn clockwise or counterclockwise from different perspectives.

In short, a mother cannot live without her father.

For this reason, even if Zhou Jinqin revealed all her personal information, she didn't need to worry that her mother would travel a long way to find her.

But after all, Zhou Jinqin has her mother's blood and inherited her mother's genes. Just as her mother said, she was born of her mother, and nothing can be hidden from her. So it is easy for her to be manipulated.

Mom is sick.

There was no shouting or emotional appeal, but those four dry words were so powerful they almost made one's body ache.

The phone was gripped so tightly that the strain caused the injury on my arm to ache.

Tuantuan jumped onto the bed and squatted down next to Zhou Jinqin. It stretched out its paws and gently patted the back of her hand. It was a very perceptive little cat.

Zhou Jinqin smiled unconsciously, reached out and touched its little head. Tuantuan snuggled up to her chest and rubbed against her. It was just as good at manipulating people's hearts, but the results were completely opposite.

Liang Minghe brought in a cup of brown sugar water. Seeing the two of them, one big and one small, standing close together, he couldn't help but find it adorable: "Look, Tuantuan will feel sorry for you if you bleed."

It seems natural for children to feel sorry for their mothers.

Zhou Jinqin took the brown sugar water from his hand, which was already quite palatable, and took a small sip. Her attitude was as sincere as a good student being punished by the teacher to write a self-criticism: "Yes, I will pay attention in the future. Next time, I will definitely think about my family before making a decision."

“No, you should put yourself first.” Liang Minghe looked at her. “Just like you just said to Liu Xiaoyue, you are yourself first, and then someone else is someone else.”

He stood directly under the light source, the overhead light revealing every detail of his face. The man's usually smiling eyes were now slightly serious, his lips were taut, and he had a strange sense of helplessness about being a good-for-nothing.

"You still retain the bad habits of a doctor."

"Hmm?" Zhou Jinqin suddenly looked up.

He said solemnly, "Be strict with others, but lenient with yourself."

Doctors are the ones who urge patients to eat healthily, and they are also the ones who rave about fried chicken and drinks after surgery.

Zhou Jinqin opened her mouth, unsure how to refute, and realized that she was indeed deeply sinful...

"Um..." she bit her lip and uttered three words with guilt, "I'm sorry."

Liang Minghe chuckled at her honest and obedient appearance: "Why are you so gloomy after receiving the Medal for Bravery?"

It's hard to say whether her mother was really sick, but Zhou Jinqin had no choice but to take the bait.

She admitted, "My mother is sick, and I plan to go back to see her tomorrow. You..."

“I’ll go with you,” Liang Minghe quickly followed up.

Zhou Jinqin stared in surprise, her mouth agape. She hadn't actually intended to make that request.

Liang Minghe calmly replied, "Didn't we agree to deal with each other's parents? When you need me, I have no reason to play the role of a husband who's practically dead."

Yes, she should be honest about her marriage; at least then her marriage won't be a reason for her mother to lose sleep.

The next day was Saturday. The two bought afternoon flights to Shanghai, and it was already dusk when they landed.

Instead of going home immediately, Zhou Jinqin took Liang Minghe to a fish shop near the residential building. Her mother was the owner of the shop. After the family moved to Shanghai, she immediately rented a shop and resumed her old business.

Lu Jianying has been selling fish for thirty years. She never shortchanges anyone and always ensures that her fish is fresh. Naturally, she thrives wherever she goes.

It was almost closing time, and there was only one customer in the shop. Lü Jianying was wearing a thick black apron made of beef tendon. She was holding a grass carp weighing seven or eight pounds in one hand and quickly slicing it diagonally along the fish's grain. Soon, she had cut a plate of even fish slices one to two millimeters thick, which were to be used to make sauerkraut fish.

The customer praised, "Mr. Lü, your knife skills are excellent. Your daughter's surgical skills must have been inherited from you."

Lü Jianying smiled but didn't say anything. She helped the person pack the bag and pay the bill, rounding down the price by three yuan.

After the customer left, Zhou Jinqin walked forward. Lü Jianying pretended not to see her, tidied up the counter, changed her apron, deeply cleaned her hands three times with hand sanitizer, sprayed herself with deodorizer, and then closed the shop and headed home.

It was clear that Lü Jianying resented her, and Liang Minghe didn't even get a kind look from her.

Zhou Jinqin felt a little guilty, but Liang Minghe didn't seem to care and still smiled, saying, "Let's go home."

Zhou Jinqin's house is located in the suburbs outside the outer ring road, not close to the subway, and there are only two bus lines in front of the house.

This area consists of resettlement housing built after the demolition of houses from the city center. It's mostly inhabited by elderly people. Firecrackers can be heard frequently in the community, which means someone has passed away.

Aside from family members crying and elderly people of the same age panicking, most people are used to taking it in stride. After all, they've reached this age and their lives are considered fulfilling, so they're not surprised. The next morning, well-informed people will come to collect the tin foil ash (tin foil folded into ingots for burning as offerings, which can be recycled and reused), and the family won't feel it's unlucky.

Everyone was used to it, but Zhou Jinqin, a doctor who should be used to life and death, couldn't adapt. Of course, this was something that could be overcome. What she found even more unacceptable was the elderly couple living on the first floor of the same building.

The elderly couple, around seventy or eighty years old, are not very mobile and cannot participate in activities like other seniors. They can't walk far, but they need to come out for some fresh air and sunshine every day, so you can always see them sitting on a red wooden bench at the entrance of their building.

The unit doors were already narrow, and with one on the left and one on the right, they looked like two door gods.

They're fine with sitting down, but they always seem to scrutinize every guest they pass by, trying to glean something from even the tightly bound trash.

In the hot summer, the couple changed the time for airing out their rooms to early morning and evening, which happened to be the best times.

Zhou Jinqin tugged at Liang Minghe's clothes and whispered, "Let's go quickly."

But it was no use; people always had to pass through that narrow gap.

The old man said, "It's Xiao Zhou. I haven't seen you for quite a few days. Are you away on a business trip?"

Afraid that he would ask too many questions, Zhou Jinqin simply went along with him and said, "Yes."

"Oh, you're away on a business trip." The old man glanced at Liang Minghe beside her and continued to ask, "Is this your boyfriend? I don't think I've ever seen you bring him home before. What does he do for a living?"

The couple were both in poor health, but they had exceptionally sharp eyes; they could even see through the packaging what Liang Ming was carrying.

Zhou Jinqin nudged Liang Minghe's back, telling him to go first, intending to stay and deal with the situation herself.

But Liang Minghe clearly didn't think so. He patted her back reassuringly, then smiled at the old man and said, "Grandpa, I'm not Xiaoqin's boyfriend, but her legal partner."

"As for work," he said, pointing to the chair under the old man's bottom, as if he were talking to a person, "I'm a firefighter, and people like you have to be eliminated."

The old man puffed up his beard and glared, and finally he quieted down.

Seeing this, Zhou Jinqin quickly pushed Liang Minghe upstairs, where they saw Lü Jianying standing at the corner of the stairs waiting for them.

She tentatively called out "Mom," and Liang Minghe echoed her. Lü Jianying pursed her lips, ignored him, and went home, suppressing her anger.

Before entering the house, Zhou Jinqin gave another warning: "My mom has a bad temper, so please just ignore what she says. Just bear with it for now, and I'll make it up to you when I get back, okay?"

Looking into her pleading eyes, Liang Minghe saw her like a rabbit at the end of its rope, looking utterly pitiful.

He nodded and reassured her, "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile."

Looking into his smiling eyes, Zhou Jinqin felt a little more at ease. She pushed open the door, turned around, and continued to instruct, "Okay, then you stand behind me. I'll handle anything that happens."

As soon as she finished speaking, Liang Minghe grabbed her, turned around, and pulled her into his arms.

The man then let out a muffled groan of pain as something heavy struck his back.

Glug glug—

It was her dad's ashtray.

Zhou Jinqin's eyes widened suddenly. She tried to break free from Liang Minghe's hand to look, but she couldn't resist his strength and was still held tightly by him.

He was still laughing, his breath damp against her ear: "It doesn't hurt at all."

Seeing the two being so intimate only fueled Lu Jianying's anger. She opened the door and slammed it shut, yelling, "Get in here!"

Of course, this was said to Zhou Jinqin, who never took Liang Minghe seriously from the beginning.

Zhou Jinqin hesitated, and Liang Minghe patted her shoulder: "Go ahead, I'll wait for you outside."

Her father was not home for some reason, but at least for now she didn't have to worry about leaving Liang Minghe to deal with things alone. Zhou Jinqin felt a little relieved and nodded: "I'll be out soon."

Lu Jianying's voice trembled with anger: "Are you deliberately hiring someone to act and provoke me? Look at that person, can they be serious? They're all dressed up and grinning, they might just mess with you to death."

"Didn't you already see my marriage certificate with Liang Minghe?" Zhou Jinqin couldn't shake her old habit of giving her mother a heads-up before leaving, "You don't even know him, how do you know what kind of person he is?"

"If I don't understand him, how could I not understand you?" Lü Jianying sneered. "What correct decisions have you made since you were a child? Every single time, I've been there for you, otherwise, how could you have had such a smooth life?"

"Look at what you've become without me! You have no job, and the man you dated is all looks and no substance. You deserve all this suffering because you don't know what's good for you!"

"Mom, is it me who can't live without you, or you who can't live without me?" Zhou Jinqin looked up at her, her tone gentle and her emotions calm.

But it was a powerful counterattack. Lü Jianying was speechless. She had lived her whole life for her parents, brothers, husband, and children, and had lost herself early on. Only the slight desire for control suppressed by her genes could bring her a little morbid pleasure.

“I’m twenty-eight years old this year, I’m no longer a child, and I want to take the helm of my own life.” Zhou Jinqin opened the door and walked out, giving her mother a deep look before leaving, “Even if I go astray.”

She walked up to Liang Minghe, lowered her head, and gently tugged at his sleeve, her voice muffled: "Let's go."

"Okay." Liang Minghe nodded, then picked up the gift he had brought. "Wait two minutes, I'll give it to your mother."

Before Zhou Jinqin could react, he picked up the bags and walked into the house.

Lu Jianying was stunned when she saw him. Before she could even think of getting angry, the other person came up to her with a smile and called her "Mom".

"Who's your mother?" Lu Jianying glared at him.

Liang Minghe has always been thick-skinned, so he wasn't angry. As usual, he smiled and said, "Before leaving, I still can't help but explain myself. Actually, I'm not as good-looking as you say."

The old house wasn't well soundproofed, so Lü Jianying deliberately said many things to him.

He didn't use fancy words to show off, but simply retorted with Lü Jianying's original words: "You don't know me, but you certainly know your daughter."

Liang Minghe glanced at the awards displayed on the wall and in the cabinet and said, "She is excellent. As long as she sets her sights on something, she will do very well. I think even if she changes jobs, she will just shine in a different field. You must know this better than I do."

“Similarly, I don’t think she has bad taste in choosing a husband.” He then took out a bank card and placed it on the table. “We are now settled in Shenzhen, and it is inconvenient for us to take care of each other from so far away. Please bear with us.”

"Why did it take so long?" Seeing him walk out of the room with a normal expression, Zhou Jinqin breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Liang Ming and Hu Zuan said, "There's an ornament inside that's packaged separately. I was worried your parents might not understand, so I told them beforehand."

Zhou Jinqin was skeptical, but she didn't ask any more questions. She simply said, "Okay, let's go then."

Lu Jianying stood inside the door, her gaze complex, and said nothing to try and persuade her to stay.

After leaving, the two went straight back to the hotel. They had booked two rooms, which were opposite each other.

But now, with a standard definition room number card in hand, Zhou Jinqin followed Liang Minghe to his door.

Liang Minghe didn't press the doorknob. He turned his head, lowered his voice, and chuckled mischievously, "Miss Zhou, I remember this is my room."

Zhou Jinqin stared at him stubbornly, disregarding any sense of shame, and boldly declared, "The law stipulates that a wife can enter her husband's room."

A note from the author:

----------------------

Thank you everyone for the nutrient solution! [cat emoji]

The two of them quickly realized their identities, so why did Xiaoqin go to Liang Minghe's room? [doge emoji]

Here's a copy of "The Siblings' Fake Bones" for you. Feel free to add it to your favorites if you're interested! [pleading emoji]

Pre-order "Own Things":

When Chu Tong was sixteen, her parents suddenly brought home a boy who was the same age as her and asked her to call him "brother".

From then on, he shared half of his money and half of his love. Chu Tong harbored resentment and always bossed him around.

She was domineering and wouldn't allow Liang Muqing to set foot in her room, yet she swaggered into his room and tried to intimidate him.

She was domineering, slapping Liang Muqing's face and warning him that everything in this house, including him, belonged to her, and he had to obey her unconditionally.

Having suffered the loss of being dependent on others, Liang Muqing remained neither humble nor arrogant, neither ashamed nor angry, and willingly accepted her oppression.

It wasn't until after the college entrance exam that Chu Tong realized that she was actually the real outsider in this family.

She tried to escape, but Liang Muqing, who suddenly burst into the room, grabbed her ankle: "Why are you running?"

Chu Tong retorted angrily, "You must be very happy now, right? The whole house actually belongs to you. It turns out I'm the one who's just being a clown!"

Liang Muqing wiped away the tears on her eyelashes with her fingertips and coaxed her, "What are you afraid of? Didn't you say that I belong to you? And now the whole family still belongs to you."