Chapter 49 Vibrant and Bright

Shen Xuewei glanced down at the tail that kept patting her leg, said nothing, but peeled another candy and put it in her mouth, then grabbed a handful more into her pocket.

She gave the rest of the bag of candy to her maternal grandmother, asking her to keep it safe for her.

After eating and drinking his fill, Grandpa Chen put down his chopsticks and sat down to listen to Shen Xuewei and Grandma Xi talking.

Just then, a rustling sound came from upstairs.

Grandma Xi cursed, "These damned rats have come out again and are ruining my food."

Shen Xuewei pointed to the corner against the wall, "Didn't Mimi come back? Let Mimi go catch the mice."

The tabby cat that the Chen family keeps is rarely home, only returning every few days.

Shen Xuewei usually doesn't see it when she goes home on weekends.

She actually had a pretty good relationship with cats and dogs since she was little; many small animals liked her and were very affectionate towards her.

Mimi, the tabby cat of the Chen family, is a complete bully outside, and at home, apart from Granny Chen, she is only close to Shen Xuewei.

They were so close that he even caught mice for her.

Shen Xuewei vividly remembers that day when she woke up in bed and saw a bloody rat. A scream almost instantly burst from her throat.

At the same time, she attracted Grandma Xi and Grandpa Chen, which also scared away Mimi, who was squatting on the bed waiting for her praise.

Since that incident, Mimi has rarely come near Shen Xuewei.

Shen Xuewei pushed the stool behind her aside, walked to the corner, and took Mimi out.

Mimi pretended to struggle for a moment, then let her hold her.

Shen Xuewei carried it to the main room, placed it on the ground, and pointed to the place on the second floor where the noise had just come from.

"Mimi, did you hear that sound? There's a mouse in the house. Go and catch it right away."

Mimi was placed on the ground, her limbs went limp and she lay down on the spot, rolling over and meowing in front of her in a spoiled manner.

Shen Xuewei, with a heart as hard as iron, merely patted its belly casually before urging it to catch the mouse.

"Mimi, stop being lazy and hurry up and catch them! If you don't go now, the mice will all run away after they've eaten their fill."

Seeing her so heartless, Mimi rolled over and got up, stretching and giving her a disdainful look, but she was willing to move her feet.

However... it wasn't like Shen Xuewei had imagined—catching mice.

It moved as fast as lightning, appearing in front of Big Yellow who was licking the bowl in the blink of an eye. It stretched out its claws and scratched Big Yellow hard, letting out a sharp cry.

"Meow!"

Big Yellow, caught off guard by this unexpected disaster, burst into tears and howled in grievance.

Under Mimi's pressure, they rushed upstairs to the second floor.

After a loud commotion, Big Yellow came downstairs and appeared in front of everyone, carrying a dead rat in its mouth.

After a series of actions, everyone was dumbfounded.

Only Mimi got the mouse, took it outside to eat, and didn't come home for several days.

Shen Xuewei stayed at home for two days. After receiving three yuan for travel expenses from Grandpa Chen, she returned to school with Wu Yuhong.

After the start of the fifth grade, the county provided subsidies to boarding students in rural primary schools.

Not much, two hundred yuan per person.

However, with these two hundred yuan, the living conditions of many students living on campus were somewhat alleviated.

When the two hundred yuan was distributed, some students decided to take it all and bring it home to their families.

The Chen family did not let Shen Xuewei take back the two hundred yuan; instead, they left it with the homeroom teacher for safekeeping.

Shen Xuewei was not the only student who handed over her subsidy to her homeroom teacher for safekeeping.

The homeroom teacher, Ms. Yan, keeps a small ledger to record the students' receipt of subsidies.

Shen Xuewei would withdraw thirty yuan from Teacher Yan every week. This was the second time she had withdrawn money, meaning she still had one hundred and forty yuan left to keep with him.

The remaining money should be enough to cover her living expenses for about five weeks.

Shen Xuewei's idea for Chen Fangqiu was very good.

Chen Fangqiu brought a few people and guarded Xu Zhiyuan's mother's convenience store for several days in a row.

Whenever someone came to buy something, they would be chased away by a group of people, ruining the shop's business.

Not only that, but she also stared at him with a sinister and malicious gaze every day, which frightened Xu Zhiyuan's mother so much that she couldn't stand it for more than a few days before she called Xu Zhiyuan.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiyuan rushed home that very night.

What he saw was Chen Fangqiu with a few blond-haired youths, guarding his shop with an arrogant and haughty attitude.

He knew his brother-in-law was a scoundrel, but he never expected him to be so shameless as to threaten him with his mother.

However, he actually fell for this trick.

He initially wanted to persist, but his mother was the first to give in to the torment from a few thugs, crying and begging him to divorce Chen Fanglan.

Chen Fanglan was beautiful, and Xu Zhiyuan still harbored feelings for her and wanted to continue living with her. He did not want to divorce her so soon.

However, his mother was terrified and insisted on forcing him to divorce his wife. In the end, he couldn't resist and agreed.

Upon learning this news, Chen's maternal grandfather picked up Chen Fanglan from her relatives' house overnight and personally took her to divorce Xu Zhiyuan.

Xu Zhiyuan wanted to persuade her to stay, but just as he was about to speak, two thugs stood behind his mother with sinister smiles, and Chen Fangqiu was also glaring at him, her fingers cracking.

Under double threats, he had no choice but to comply with the Chen family's wishes and went to the marriage registration office with Chen Fanglan to complete the divorce procedures.

The moment Chen Fanglan received her divorce certificate, she wept with joy.

Having achieved their goal, Chen Fangqiu and the others did not leave Xu Zhiyuan's village.

They followed Xu Zhiyuan and his mother, and when the two opened the door, they rushed in without saying a word and snatched all the dowry that Chen Fanglan had brought with her.

Aside from the clothes Chen Fanglan brought back to the Chen family for her, everything else was sold off by Chen Fangqiu...

Upon learning of this, Grandpa Chen flew into a rage at home, but Chen Fanglan did not react much.

She comforted him, "Dad, it's alright. Anyway, if my younger brother doesn't take those things, I won't be able to get them back. Let him sell them if he wants. It's better than leaving them with the Xu family and letting them benefit."

That's what they said, but Grandpa Chen was still furious.

He said angrily, "That kid, Qiu, is getting worse and worse."

Chen Fanglan also felt that her younger brother was becoming increasingly irresponsible, but he had just helped her out. Although she disapproved of it, she was more grateful to Chen Fangqiu, so she didn't say anything in agreement.

She was overjoyed that she had successfully divorced and would have no further connection with the Xu family or Xu Zhiyuan. She didn't want to say anything that would spoil her mood.

When Shen Xuewei returned from school, she saw Chen Fanglan smiling broadly.

She called out, "Auntie."

Looking at the bright and radiant Chen Fanglan, his eyes were filled with joy.

Her vibrant and cheerful aunt is back!

When Chen Fanglan saw her return, she quickly walked over, cupped her face, and gave her a big kiss.

"From now on, Auntie's favorite will be our Weiwei!"

Shen Xuewei, who was about to turn eight, blushed deeply when kissed like that.