Regardless, Zhao Xiaoyan is indeed a good person, just a little too good, always trying to reconcile all conflicts.
Little did they know, some things are irreconcilable.
Seeing this, Wang Lili smiled and immediately picked up her cloth bag. "Let's go now. First, let's go to the male educated youth dormitory and call Liu Hu so he can help us too."
The three arrived at the entrance of the male educated youth dormitory.
Wang Lili shouted directly inside, "Liu Hu! Come out here!"
Liu Hu was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) recovering from his injuries when he heard her voice. He poked his head out impatiently, his face darkening. "What are you shouting for? Can't you see I'm injured?"
"Come with me to the new house to pack your things." Wang Lili stood at the door, her tone firm. "We're getting married this weekend, and the house isn't even ready yet. As the husband, you can't just ignore everything, can you?"
"I'm injured, I'm not going!" Liu Hu rolled over, turning his back to the door. "Go clean up your own mess, don't bother me!"
Wang Lili sneered, raising her voice a few decibels so that the other educated youths in the dormitory could hear her, "You don't have to go, but you have to bring a few people with you. I can't be the only woman cleaning the new house, carrying furniture and wiping windows, can I? If word gets out, people will think that you, Liu Hu, have become a hands-off husband after getting married, and don't even have a shred of manly responsibility. If all else fails, I'll have to go to Captain Zhang and see what he has to say."
Upon hearing the words "Captain Zhang," Liu Hu froze, no longer daring to pretend he was deaf and dumb.
He knew that Zhang Qiang was watching this matter closely, and if Wang Lili really went to Zhang Qiang to complain, he would definitely be in trouble.
He was seething with anger. He suddenly sat up in bed and shouted at the other educated youths in the dormitory, "You guys, come with me! Go help her tidy up the room!"
The educated youth looked at each other, but none of them dared to refute.
The group quickly put down their work and followed Liu Hu out of the dormitory.
The group soon arrived at the back of the forest farm, at what was supposed to be the new house.
It was a dilapidated mud-brick house, with several roof tiles missing, cracks all over the walls, and no glass in the windows, just a piece of plastic sheeting nailed on to block the wind.
Pushing open the door, I found the room filled with clutter, covered in thick dust that allowed footprints to be left, and cobwebs growing in the corners.
"This is the new house?" Zhao Xiaoyan couldn't help but mutter to herself, her eyes full of surprise.
This house is even more dilapidated than the dormitory for educated youth sent to the countryside.
Wang Lili's face also looked a little pale, but she quickly regained her composure, picked up the broom in the corner, and said, "No matter how dilapidated it is, it's still our home. We can clean it up and move in. Everyone, please work hard and make sure it's clean today."
Liu Hu leaned against the door frame, his face pale, looking completely indifferent.
The educated youth dared not slack off, so they picked up brooms and rags and began cleaning.
Xu Xinghe and Zhao Xiaoyan also found a rag and helped wipe the table and windows.
The sounds of brooms and rags rubbing against tables mingled together in the new house, but no one spoke, and the atmosphere was inexplicably somber.
It didn't look like they were cleaning up a newlywed couple's home at all; it looked more like they were two sworn enemies.
Liu Hu leaned against the door frame, but his gaze wasn't on the educated youth cleaning; instead, it was fixed on Xu Xinghe.
She wore a faded coarse cloth shirt with the cuffs rolled up, revealing her slender wrists. She wiped the table with brisk movements, and her profile looked exceptionally bright in the sunlight.
This is what you call a woman with looks and personality, with eyes that shine like thorns—far better than a bland, tasteless woman like Wang Lili who cries at the slightest provocation.
If I could date Xu Xinghe, I'd be willing to carry saplings for a few more days.
He became more and more engrossed in watching, his eyes practically overflowing with greed.
Xu Xinghe had long noticed the scorching and disgusting gaze. At first, she tried to endure it, but Liu Hu's eyes became increasingly blatant, like insects sticking to her body, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
She stopped what she was doing, rolled her eyes coldly at Liu Hu, then pulled Zhao Xiaoyan, who was wiping the window, over and whispered, "Xiaoyan, let's go to the inner room to tidy up. We'll leave this to them."
Zhao Xiaoyan also noticed that Liu Hu was acting strangely. She nodded quickly and followed Xu Xinghe into the inner room, closing the door behind her.
Out of sight, out of mind; staying away from Liu Hu will make me feel better.
Wang Lili swept the broom to the doorway and happened to see Liu Hu staring blankly at the door of the inner room. She had also seen Xu Xinghe pulling Zhao Xiaoyan away earlier and instantly understood what was going on.
A surge of anger welled up inside her. She threw the broom on the ground and yelled at Liu Hu, "Liu Hu! What are you looking at! You're my man now, and we're about to get married. How dare you stare at other women! Let me tell you, if I find out you're flirting with other women, I'll make sure you regret it!"
Liu Hu was brought back to his senses by her shout, and gave a mocking smile, "You really think you're my wife? Even my own mother can't control me, and you, a country bumpkin, dare to try and tell me what to do?"
"I can't control you?" Wang Lili trembled with anger. "Fine, if you're not afraid, go ahead and seduce other people! I'll just call the police and tell them you not only raped me but also cheated on me after our marriage! Then we'll see if you want to go to jail or live a good life with me!"
"That's all you can do to threaten me!" Liu Hu was furious. He took a step forward to shove Wang Lili, but the movement aggravated his shoulder injury, causing him to gasp in pain. He could only angrily pull his hand back and kick away the mop next to him. "I'm injured! I can't work! If you want to become a widow right after getting married, then make me do all the work!"
The mop slammed against the wall with a thud, sending dust swirling down.
The educated youths who were cleaning around stopped what they were doing, lowered their heads, and dared not speak.
These two are arguing like this right before they're getting married; their future days will probably be even more difficult.
Wang Lili felt both angry and aggrieved seeing Liu Hu acting like a rogue.
She knew Liu Hu was deliberately using his injury as an excuse, but she really couldn't do anything about it.
If you push the other party too far, they might really start making a scene without any regard for consequences, and in the end, you'll be the one who suffers.
Calling the police might threaten Liu Hu, but if things really escalated to that point, his reputation would be completely ruined.
She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. After a long silence, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, bent down to pick up the mop that had been kicked away, and said, "Fine, I'll clean it up myself. You just sit here and don't make a mess."
Seeing her give in, Liu Hu smiled smugly, found a clean stool, sat down, crossed his legs, and acted like a big shot. "That's more like it. Wouldn't it have been easier if you had done it this way earlier?"
Wang Lili ignored him and silently mopped the floor, tears welling up in her eyes, but she held them back.
Hearing the commotion outside, Xu Xinghe, who was inside the room, sighed softly.
She peeked through the crack in the door and saw Wang Lili's aggrieved back, her heart filled with complicated emotions.
Wang Lili's compromise is only temporary. As long as Liu Hu doesn't change his nature, their conflict will inevitably erupt again sooner or later.
At that point, things might not end so well.
Forget it, what does that have to do with me?
Anyway, by then, she and Jiang Linchuan would have already completed their mission and left.
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