Chapter 21 There are some things she can't tell anyone...
Fu Ci, who said he would rest for a few days, has already been resting at home for half a month.
At first, things were fine; Tang Mingli didn't feel that her life was affected in any way.
Although he wasn't working, his daily routine remained as regular as ever.
In the morning, or more accurately, in the morning.
When she woke up in the morning, he was already up.
Morning exercise and calligraphy practice fill my mornings to the brim.
She took a nap at noon, while he read alone in the study.
Economics, philosophy, history—all sorts of subjects, none of which were her type.
In the evenings, the couple can occasionally take a short walk together, which is good for their health and can also enhance their relationship.
In short, Tang Mingli was very satisfied in the initial period.
Who can say that this kind of life isn't like being in paradise?
But after a while, it just didn't feel right.
Of course, she can still sleep in late, and no one will disturb her during her lunch break.
The problem arose after she woke up from her nap at noon. Fu Ci, who was usually quietly reading in the study, would pull her along and watch her practice calligraphy.
After a few days, Tang Mingli became somewhat resistant.
She's been writing in a calligraphy practice book every day for the past few days, and she's developed a physical aversion to it.
Could Fu Ci have thought she loved practicing calligraphy?
That was truly a beautiful misunderstanding.
She used to practice calligraphy occasionally simply to cultivate a hobby that wasn't too tiring; she didn't intend to become a calligrapher.
Fu Ci suddenly became strict with her, which went against his original intention.
Today, her reluctance to practice calligraphy reached its peak. Even though she was already sitting at her desk, she was trying to procrastinate and even resorted to playing the victim.
Fu Ci really wanted to refuse, but he started to soften his heart.
He was also mentally prepared that his wife might not be able to stick with the tedious task of practicing calligraphy for long.
But seeing her writing that day, which deviated from the calligraphy model, was a real blow, which is why I made her practice so hard.
Seeing that her husband's attitude seemed less resolute, Tang Mingli seemed encouraged and said with a hint of coquetry, "I really don't have the talent for this. Let's accept reality."
"But don't you really enjoy practicing calligraphy?"
Thinking of his wife's chicken-claw-like handwriting, Fu Ci gritted his teeth and tried to harden his heart.
It's not that I dislike her handwriting because it's ugly.
Considering his wife's upbringing, Fu Ci assumed that her poor handwriting was due to a lack of opportunities to practice calligraphy as a child.
Then I remembered what she had told me a long time ago: that her handwriting wasn't pretty—it was the honest truth, not just polite talk. She genuinely wanted to improve her handwriting.
That's why he wanted to take advantage of his free time to tutor her properly.
Tang Mingli hadn't expected Fu Ci to misunderstand so deeply, actually thinking that she was genuinely happy, and quickly shook her head: "I just like to occasionally practice calligraphy by looking at the model."
This is also a way for her to relax, but that's all; it's far from being a proper training session.
“But your handwriting is really…” Fu Ci almost blurted out that it was too ugly, but quickly changed his words: “It really needs to be practiced.”
Realizing that Fu Ci was truly serious, Tang Mingli also abandoned her petty thoughts of solving the problem through underhanded means and felt it was necessary to have a proper conversation with him.
She hoped he would understand that no matter how ugly her handwriting was, she didn't want to be forced to practice until it was beautiful.
She doesn't like being forced, even by her husband.
Therefore, this matter must have a result.
If he's the kind of person who insists on her being a certain way and can't accept her obvious flaws, then she might change her mindset towards their relationship.
But actually, she kind of likes their current situation.
Thinking of this, she felt no regret whatsoever.
Tang Mingli was unusually serious as she told Fu Ci, "Practicing calligraphy is just an occasional hobby of mine, but don't you think your demands on me these days have been so strict that it's as if you want me to become a calligrapher? This makes me feel a lot of pressure."
Fu Ci hadn't expected things to turn out this way, and for a moment he felt both guilty and bewildered.
It was his oversight.
Because he had always demanded this of himself since childhood, he naturally expected the same of his wife.
Fortunately, Fu Ci is someone who realizes his mistakes and is willing to correct them.
"I'm sorry, I made this decision on my own. I should have asked for your opinion first."
Fu Ci's attitude relieved Tang Mingli.
Fortunately, he's not that kind of person.
With the matter resolved, Tang Mingli was finally free from being forced to practice calligraphy. Feeling that it was already dawn, she happily said, "Then I'll go downstairs to keep Grandma company."
"Um."
Watching his wife skip and hop down the stairs with joy, Fu Ci suddenly realized that the phrase his wife often said was right.
Being happy is indeed the most important thing in life.
She's happy; what does it matter if her handwriting is good or bad?
Although my wife's handwriting isn't very good, her hands are beautiful when she writes.
Under Tang Mingli's subtle influence, he also learned to see one side of the problem.
Fu Ci was unaware that after Tang Mingli happily skipped out of the room, there was actually a moment when she felt very sad.
She looked down at her perfectly good right hand.
Why is my handwriting so ugly even though this hand has never been injured?
There are some things she can't tell anyone.
Actually, when she first started learning to read, her handwriting was very neat and beautiful, and she was often praised by her teacher in class because of it.
But because of this, it aroused the jealousy of the devil.
That person ruined her right hand; the pain of broken finger bones was an indelible scar from her short life in her previous existence.
After that incident, she could no longer write beautiful characters.
She can no longer do what she was most proud of in her eight years of life.
Everyone knew she had been hurt, but no one stood up to seek justice for the eight-year-old.
Human society can be cruel at times.
No one would offend a prince for a blade of grass.
Forget it, there's no need to think about things from the past life.
Tang Mingli shook off the unpleasant memories of her past life and walked downstairs with light steps.
I wonder if Aunt Guihua cooked anything delicious today. Yesterday she said she wanted to make lianggao (a type of cold rice cake).
When I got downstairs, Zhang Guihua was indeed making cold rice cakes in the kitchen.
Tang Mingli was filled with anticipation.
As the weather gets warmer, there's nothing better than enjoying these cool pastries.
However, before she could even eat the cold rice cake, she received a call from Li Baohua.
Li Baohua sounded very frustrated on the other end of the phone, and he wanted to ask her to come out for a chat.
Tang Mingli glanced at the time: 2:36.
Although it's not officially summer yet, this is indeed the hottest time of day.
She really wanted to refuse, but Li Baohua on the other end of the phone was acting very strangely.
She eventually agreed, and the two arranged to meet at a Russian restaurant.
A Russian restaurant where you can even get ice cream—thinking about it that way, this trip isn't so bad after all.
After briefly explaining the situation to Fu Ci, Tang Mingli went out.
Half an hour later, I met Li Baohua, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, at the only Russian restaurant in the city.
She's still so cute, with round cheeks that make you want to pinch them.
When Li Baohua saw her, he hugged her as if she were a long-lost relative.
Tang Mingli was a little overwhelmed by this enthusiasm and was about to push her away rudely when she heard her sobbing, "Do you know how miserable I've been lately? I'm really miserable."
Hearing that she was in a terrible situation, Tang Mingli softened and instead of pushing her away, she gently patted her back.
"What happened? Tell me about it."
"Waaaaah, do you know what? My brother broke up with his blind date."
"What does this have to do with you?"
"Yes, if he does this, who will dare to act as a matchmaker for our family in the future? Isn't this cutting off my escape route?"
Tang Mingli: ...
It's really hard to refute, but it's not as dire as it seems.
Tang Mingli felt relieved and gently pushed the person away.
"Let's go inside and talk."
“Okay.” Li Baohua also felt it was inconvenient to complain outside, so she took Tang Mingli’s hand and went into the restaurant.
The two ordered two servings of food and drinks, along with two glasses of fruit juice. After eating and drinking, they started chatting freely.
Li Baohua: "Do you know what? I never imagined my brother was such a scumbag."
The story of a scumbag.
Tang Mingli got excited and said, "Tell me properly how much of a jerk you are."
"He was fickle and, after meeting a beautiful young woman who had returned to the city from his previous arranged marriage, he dumped her."
"That educated youth was very pretty, wasn't she?"
At that time, relationships between men and women were still relatively simple. Unless someone was exceptionally beautiful, they wouldn't be willing to risk being criticized by others by simply breaking off the engagement.
Li Baohua had never met the person and couldn't say how beautiful she was. She only heard from her older brother and parents that the person was an only child, had a formal job, and was beautiful.
She sighed and told Tang Mingli what was truly making her uncomfortable.
"The biggest problem now is that my brother wants to break off the engagement, but the girl's family is not very willing. They have come to my house to make a scene several times. This has caused the neighbors to point fingers at my family, and I am too ashamed to face anyone."
Tang Mingli understood that it's impossible to write the same surname with the same stroke.
Especially since they live under the same roof, how could they not be implicated?
Given Li Baohua's optimistic personality, she must have been tormented to the point of desperation to call me in the middle of the day and ask me to come out and confide in her.
Tang Mingli understood, but couldn't offer any good solutions; she could only try her best to be a good listener.
"Honestly, I don't understand what the woman is thinking either. If she wants to break off the engagement, she should just break it off. Why would she be reluctant? Don't let my good looks fool you, my brother is actually really just average-looking, like a pig's head."
When the words "pig's head handle" came out, Tang Mingli almost laughed, but thankfully she gritted her teeth and held it in.
Li Baohua is so adorable; she really doesn't hold back at all when it comes to her own brother.
"Oh, by the way, the name of the woman my brother cheated on me with is quite similar to yours."
"Like me?" Well, Tang Mingli no longer needed to try to hold back her laughter. She thought coldly, "It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?"
"Hmm, that person's name is Tang Mingmei. Do you think she looks like you?"
Tang Mingli couldn't answer.
Good heavens, this world really is a huge makeshift operation.
It turned out to be Tang Mingmei.
Or is it just that they share the same name, happen to be only children, and happen to have just returned to the city?
Tang Mingli herself couldn't even continue making assumptions.
There aren't that many coincidences in this world.
She had only just resolved her employment issues, and now her marriage is already a problem.
Tang Mingli had lost all interest in gossiping and even lost her appetite for the ice cream in her cup.
He pulled Li Baohua's hand and said seriously, "Tell me about your scumbag older brother."
It would be best to provide detailed information, including when you started going on blind dates, and how you got bored with your ex and broke off the engagement to find a new partner.
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