Shen Huaichuan dropped the person off at their doorstep and then returned, not seeing Zhou Qiqi in the living room.
He took off his mostly soaked coat, wiped the sweat from his hair, and went inside.
At a glance, Zhou Qiqi was seen lying on her side on the bed, facing inward, her back looking somewhat frail.
"Qiqi?"
He hurried to the bedside, knelt down, and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Have you caught a cold?"
As he spoke, he reached out to touch her forehead.
Zhou Qiqi shook her head, took his hand, and said in a muffled voice.
"I don't feel uncomfortable, it's just that I feel like I have too many emotions all at once, and my heart feels a little blocked."
She paused, looked up at him, and her voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
"Huaichuan, was I... too heartless just now? I made that decision without discussing it with you..."
Shen Huaichuan's heart softened instantly, and he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her into his arms.
His chin rested on the top of her head, his voice low but incredibly firm.
"Nonsense. I already said it outside: you are my lover, your decision is my decision, and I respect all your thoughts. That's not just empty talk."
He tightened his arms around her and patted her gently as if coaxing a child. "Don't overthink it. In our family, you're the one in charge."
Zhou Qiqi's tense body slowly relaxed in his arms.
She buried her face in his clothes, which smelled slightly of rain, and listened to his steady heartbeat.
For some reason, after hearing him say that she was his lover, an unprecedented sense of security enveloped her, and the inexplicable pain in her heart just now disappeared.
However, under the same rainy sky, the atmosphere at Commissar Lei's home was completely different.
Shen Huaichuan, who had just brought the two people back, tried his best to hold an umbrella for them, but it was too big and there was a wind blowing, so Zhou Shuhua and Political Commissar Lei were still mostly soaked.
As the two walked home, water dripped from their trouser legs onto the floor, their hair was plastered to their foreheads, and their complexions were worse than each other's.
Zhou Shuhua, in particular, had bluish-purple lips and a somewhat vacant look in her eyes.
In the living room, Lei Ming and their youngest daughter, Lei Yuhua, were waiting anxiously.
Upon entering and seeing the two of them in this state, they were both startled and quickly went to greet them.
"Dad! Mom! Why are you all soaked? Quickly wipe yourselves off!"
Lei Yuhua quickly brought over a towel, while Lei Ming brought back a bunch of things from outside.
Political Commissar Lei sighed heavily, "Don't mention it, Qiqi... she hasn't forgiven your mother."
He simply repeated Zhou Qiqi's words, especially the sentence, "From now on, you and I are strangers."
"What?!"
Lei Yuhua's voice suddenly rose in pitch.
"How could she do this?! Mom has been thinking about this ever since she was discharged from the hospital, dragging me all over the department stores to buy all these nice things!"
She pointed to the imported malted milk powder and high-end pastry boxes on the table, which Shen Huaichuan had returned untouched and were still damp from the rain.
"Mom wrote and tore up the apology at home countless times! Wasn't that humble enough? Why won't Zhou Qiqi forgive me?! Mom is Brother Shen's teacher's wife, after all! Look how angry she made Mom!"
"Yu Hua! Shut up!"
Zhou Shuhua suddenly raised her head, her voice hoarse but unusually stern.
"I was wrong! A huge mistake! Whether they forgive me or not is their business! It's none of your place to point fingers!"
She was emotionally agitated when a familiar, sharp pain suddenly shot through her chest, causing her to arch her back instantly, her face turning deathly pale as she gasped for breath.
"Auntie!"
Lei Ming's expression changed, and he immediately rushed into the inner room to get the medicine.
A flurry of activity erupted in the living room. Lei Yuhua, startled, fell silent and helped her father assist her mother to sit down on the sofa.
Lei Ming frantically poured water and fed her medicine. After a while, Zhou Shuhua's breathing gradually calmed down, but she leaned weakly against the sofa with her eyes closed and tear stains at the corners of her eyes.
Looking at her mother like this, Lei Yuhua felt both heartache and resentment, and couldn't help but mutter under her breath:
"What's so great about her... She's just spoiled by Brother Shen, isn't she? She spends money recklessly and has such a bad temper... Modern women should be self-reliant. I think she's just a freeloader..."
"Lei Yuhua!"
Political Commissar Lei slammed his hand on the coffee table, his voice stern and frightening.
"Are you ever going to shut up?! How other people live their lives and whose money they spend is their business! Who are you to gossip about it? I think you're just too possessive of other people's money! If you keep talking nonsense, go back to your own home!"
Lei Yuhua trembled at her father's shout, and seeing her mother's pained expression with her eyes tightly closed, she ultimately dared not argue back.
She just pursed her lips in resentment, swallowing back the even harsher words that followed, and muttered under her breath, "...That's just how it is."
She despises women who are incompetent, rely on men for survival, have terrible tempers, and act arrogantly because of their husbands.
Political Commissar Lei looked at his wife and daughter, feeling utterly exhausted.
He waved his hand, his voice softening slightly:
"Alright, that's enough. Yuhua and Leiming, you've both worked so hard staying at the hospital these past few days. You should both go back to work tomorrow. I'll stay here with you."
Seeing her mother's distraught and lifeless state, Lei Yuhua felt distressed.
She hesitated for a moment, then pulled her father aside and said:
“Dad, it’s not good for Mom to stay cooped up at home all the time. She used to be so energetic and outgoing in her women’s work, and now… the contrast is too much for her. How about this, I have to go to the city’s cultural troupe tomorrow to coordinate the costumes for the year-end performance. There’s a lot to do and it’s quite complicated. How about Mom comes with me? It’ll be a good way for her to relax and help me out. If she’s busy, maybe she won’t have time to think about those upsetting things.”
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