Liu Jianjun's smile froze instantly. He frowned, his sharp gaze passing over his mother's shoulder and shooting straight at the expressionless woman holding the child in the doorway.
Su Wantang's heart jumped into her throat.
She saw Liu Fen tremble almost imperceptibly when she met her husband's scrutinizing and questioning gaze. The book she treasured, "Fundamentals of Practical Nursing," slipped from her stiff arm and fell to the dusty floor with a "thud."
The tiny spark that had just ignited seemed to be instantly extinguished by a bucket of ice water poured over its head.
In the courtyard, Granny Li's wailing continued, each word like a poisoned steel needle piercing Liu Fen.
“Son, with you away, my life is worse than that of a pig or a dog! Your wife, she… she’s climbed up the social ladder now, with Dr. Su and Director Zhao backing her up, she doesn’t respect an old woman like me at all!”
"I only said a few words to her, telling her not to stay in bed all the time during her postpartum period and to do some work, and she went to Director Zhao to complain, which made me... made me the target of gossip from everyone in the residential compound!"
"And your precious daughter, she's a real troublemaker! She cries every day and howls every night, it's so annoying. I told her to send her to a childless family in the city so she could enjoy a comfortable life, and we could even get some money for your brother to get married. Wasn't that for our family's good? But what about your wife? She actually colluded with outsiders and took back that fifty yuan! That's fifty yuan! Enough to build a house for your brother! She just watched the money fly away, what was she thinking!"
Granny Li beat her chest and stamped her feet, weeping uncontrollably, portraying herself as a tragic figure who had devoted herself to her family but was constantly targeted by her wicked daughter-in-law. The surrounding neighbors, watching the spectacle, pointed and whispered, their gazes a mixture of sympathy, contempt, and, more often, schadenfreude.
Liu Jianjun's face grew increasingly grim, his brow furrowed into a knot. He supported Granny Li, who was still "acting," and stared coldly at Liu Fen at the door, his gaze as if he were looking at an unreasonable and troublesome enemy.
"Liu Fen! You come here right now!" His voice was full of impatience and anger.
Liu Fen stood frozen in place, motionless. Her gaze fell on the dusty copy of "Practical Nursing Fundamentals" on the ground, and her heart turned cold.
She once thought that her husband was her last resort. She had fantasized countless times that when he came back, she would tell him all her grievances and pain, and he would protect her and their daughter like a real man.
But reality gave her the loudest slap in the face.
He didn't even ask what had happened. In his mind, his mother's words were law, and she was forever the sinner who needed to be judged.
"I told you to come here! Are you deaf?!" Liu Jianjun became even angrier when he saw that she didn't move. He took a few steps forward, grabbed her wrist, and squeezed it so hard that it felt like he was going to crush her bones.
The child was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that he burst into tears.
"Crying, crying, crying! All you do is cry! You're such a money-loser!" Granny Li cursed in a shrill voice from the side.
The cries and curses, like needles, pierced the numb Liu Fen. She suddenly raised her head, and a flicker of emotion finally appeared in her lifeless eyes.
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