Chapter 11: Don't be so hard on yourself
Zhou Lin snapped back to reality. Looking at Xiaoxi? Her mother thought she was pregnant!
He was suddenly overwhelmed. It was all his fault for talking too much. How was he going to explain it to his mother now?
He quickly stopped his mother: "Mom! Mom! Don't go! Xiaoxi...she's fine, she's doing fine! She...she's...her emotions are still unstable. If you go, what if you upset her again..."
He hesitated and tried every possible way to prevaricate. He must not let his mother know that he had no child, and he certainly couldn't let her run to the tailor shop now. With Su Hexi's current temper, what if he let the cat out of the bag or made his mother angry?
Or what if his mother said something that caused the relationship between him and Su Hexi, which had just eased, to plummet to freezing point again?
Although Wang Huixian was worried, she was also a little scared when she heard her son say that and remembered how aggressive Su Hexi had been before. She had no choice but to shove the basket of eggs at Zhou Lin: "Then... then you give these eggs to her. Make sure she eats more! It's important to nourish her body! Then I... I'll go back first."
Zhou Lin finally persuaded his mother to leave. He was carrying the heavy basket of eggs, but his heart felt heavier than the eggs.
Su Hexi's mother must know that she is not pregnant, but how should he tell her? Or he should try to ease the relationship with Su Hexi and let her get pregnant with his child, so that their family can become more complete.
Although Wang Huixian had left, she was still worried. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. She turned a corner and quietly went to the place where her son lived, hoping to secretly check on her daughter-in-law.
She didn't dare go in directly, so she found a corner across the street and stood there, pretending to wait for someone, but her eyes kept glancing at the small dormitory.
There happened to be a few gossipy women chatting nearby, their voices neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Wang Huixian to hear.
"...I really don't know what Zhou Lin's wife is capable of. She has bewitched him to the point where he still wants her no matter what he does. Tsk tsk..."
"No, right? Zhou Lin wants a divorce, and they're separated. I heard the wife was beaten to a pulp because she was caught cheating! And Zhou Lin caught her red-handed!"
"Not only that! It seems she's pregnant with a bastard!"
"Is this true? Oh my! Is Zhou Lin really... a reincarnated turtle?"
"Who said it wasn't? Poor Zhou Lin, such a good person..."
Those obscene words were like poisonous needles, piercing into Wang Huixian's ears one by one, making her whole body cold and her blood seemed to freeze!
Su Hexi cheated on someone? And she got pregnant with a bastard?
It turns out…it turns out that it wasn't a blessing to escape the robbery at all! It turns out that the daughter-in-law really did such a shameful and immoral thing! It turns out that the person the Su family forced upon her was really a disaster! A shameless and harmful person!
Just now, her son stopped her from seeing her. It wasn't because he was emotionally unstable, but because he was afraid that she would know about this ugly thing!
Wang Huixian felt dizzy, as if her heart was being gripped by an icy hand. The pain was so severe that she could barely breathe! How could her honest and hardworking eldest son end up like this? He had sacrificed his entire life just to repay the Su family's favor!
She returned to the village in a state of despair, as if her soul had been taken away. Her youngest son Zhou Zhisheng and daughter Zhou Lanyin happened to be at home. Seeing her pale face and absent-minded appearance, they quickly surrounded her and asked what had happened.
Wang Huixian looked at her two children and could no longer hold back her tears. She slapped her thigh and cried, "My poor Rinko! What sin did our Zhou family commit? Marrying such an unlucky person! What a sinner!"
She cried and poured out all the rumors she had heard and her own guesses, adding fuel to the fire and crying.
Zhou Lanyin was anxious. "What happened to my brother? What did my sister-in-law do? Mom, stop crying and tell me!"
"...She cheated on me! She got pregnant with some bastard's child! And she was beaten to a pulp! Your eldest brother hid it from me and protected her! I told you from the beginning that the capitalist girl was unacceptable! Your father insisted on repaying his kindness! Look what's going on now! The whole village... no, the whole city is almost aware of your eldest brother's cuckoldry! Where can he put his face? Where can we, the Zhou family, put our face? Are you two going to talk about getting married in the future?"
Zhou Zhisheng and Zhou Lanyin were both shocked after hearing this!
Zhou Zhisheng knew his brother wasn't doing well lately, but he hadn't expected his sister-in-law to be so absurd! He was so angry that his face turned blue, and his fists clenched so hard that they made a clattering sound. "How dare she! I'm going to find her!"
Zhou Lanyin was furious and ashamed, tears welling up in her eyes. As a woman, her reputation was paramount. If her sister-in-law had done something so shameful, how could she hold her head up high in the village? She grabbed her second brother, who was about to rush out, and cried to her mother, "Mom! We can't let this woman bring harm to our eldest brother anymore! We have to make him divorce her! He has to!"
The small farmyard was suddenly filled with an atmosphere of anger, shame and despair.
Wang Huixian's crying was like a stone thrown into calm water, which aroused the curiosity of neighbors and they gathered around to ask questions.
In the evening, Zhou Lin cooked Su Hexi's favorite millet porridge, and specially fried a plate of vegetables with less oil and salt. Finally, he did not forget to peel a boiled egg for her and put it on the porridge.
He walked to the door of the tailor shop carrying the thermos, rubbed his hands on his trouser legs out of habit, and then knocked on the door gently.
Su Hexi opened the door and saw the thermos in his hand. There was no expression on her face. She stepped aside to let him in. She didn't say thank you, nor did she refuse.
This has become an unspoken practice between them.
"Please sit down." Su Hexi's voice was flat and without any ups and downs. She took out the bowls and chopsticks to share the food.
Zhou Lin sat down on the edge of the bed, still keeping a distance. He watched Su Hexi eat quietly, and the fatigue in his heart seemed to dissipate, and a heavy, sour satisfaction surged up.
"Xiaoxi," he called her name, always with a sense of caution, "From now on...if you have anything to worry about, or...or anything that's for my own good, for the safety of both of us, just tell me directly, okay?"
Su Hexi paused in scooping porridge and raised her eyes. There was a hint of pure confusion in her black and white eyes, as if she didn't understand why he suddenly said this.
Zhou Lin felt a little embarrassed by her gaze, but he still insisted on finishing his words, his tone even carrying a subtle pleading: "I'll listen to you. Really. You... don't use that method again, don't hurt yourself so much..."
Su Hexi's face was filled with confusion. What had she done? Hurt herself? Torture herself? She frowned slightly, completely confused by what Zhou Lin was saying.
She was too lazy to delve into it, too lazy to explain, she just felt that he was a little baffling. So she withdrew her gaze and continued to drink her porridge. After a while, she responded indifferently:
"oh."
That single word blocked all of Zhou Lin's unfinished words and filled him with worry. He stared at her indifferent profile, his heart aching as if something were blocking it. He opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
After waiting silently for her to finish eating, Zhou Lin cleaned up the dishes, picked up the empty thermos and left, closing the door gently.
When Zhou Lin returned to his dormitory building, he saw a figure squatting at the door. When he got closer, he saw that it was his brother Zhou Zhisheng.
"Zhisheng, why are you here?" Zhou Lin was a little surprised and walked forward quickly.
Zhou Zhisheng stood up and looked at Zhou Lin, who looked exhausted but still carrying a thermos bucket. His brows knitted into knots. "Brother, who did you deliver the meal to?"
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