Chapter 20 How interesting, is this woman coveting her husband?
Qin Suisui's words were anything but polite; she was genuinely angry. As a teacher, Xue Jiao was not expected to "burn herself to light up others," but at least she shouldn't have said such things behind people's backs, especially letting the children hear it.
Even children from normal families would feel upset hearing such words, let alone Zan Zan. Zan Zan is already a sensitive child, and hearing such words could easily trigger psychological problems and affect her future development.
Moreover, since birth, Zanzan has been taken in and cared for by Pei Jiuyan, Chi Donglin, and Song Yunlai. To them, Zanzan is no different from their own child.
Although she wasn't Zan Zan's biological mother, since she came here, the little guy had given her unreserved and blatant favoritism, which was undoubtedly warm and heartwarming for Qin Sui Sui, who was now alone with a broken family.
A child's love is anything but weak; it is the purest of all. And she was fortunate enough to possess this pure love, so naturally she must repay it a thousandfold, a hundredfold.
Moreover, she had a feeling that Xue Jiao's "malice" towards Zan Zan might stem from Pei Jiu Yan. Xue Jiao had told Zan Zan to call her "Mom" and said Zan Zan was a burden, affecting Pei Jiu Yan's chances of finding a partner. Most unmarried teachers wouldn't say such things; in this era, a woman's reputation is extremely important, and any misunderstanding could affect her for life.
Most importantly, the moment she met Xue Jiao's gaze, she could clearly sense the jealousy and hostility in her eyes. Qin Suisui wasn't oblivious; she understood that this jealousy and hostility stemmed from ulterior motives towards a certain man. She and Xue Jiao had no prior connection; the only man they knew in common was Pei Jiuyan.
How interesting, is this woman coveting her husband?
Having figured this out, Qin Suisui unconsciously crossed her arms, her gaze towards Xue Jiao filled with scrutiny and suspicion. Even if she didn't have any deep love for Pei Jiuyan, since they were already married, he was her husband, hers, and no one else could covet him.
She prided herself on never being a gentle, kind, innocent girl. On the contrary, before her family's misfortune, she was extremely arrogant and domineering. Her male classmate in middle school, in an attempt to please a female classmate, deliberately confessed his feelings to her in public to tease her. She directly gave him the middle finger and publicly berated him.
Later, when she was shopping with a friend, she was approached by a thug. She didn't hold back and took out some diuretic powder, making the thug have diarrhea in the street, losing all face...
She didn't learn medicine properly from her grandmother, but instead learned a lot of "poison-making" skills. If anyone dared to mess with her, she would pull out all kinds of medicinal powders if she was unhappy... Therefore, her grandmother jokingly called her "Little Poisoner".
It was only because of the trouble that happened at home that she awakened from the original book and worried about causing trouble for Pei Jiuyan that she toned down her personality a little. However, this does not mean that her personality has changed.
Xue Jiao naturally felt Qin Suisui's scrutinizing gaze. She was initially a little guilty, but this scrutinizing look inexplicably angered her. What right did this woman have to look at her like that? She had known Pei Jiuyan since he was transferred here four years ago. Her sister-in-law had said that Pei Jiuyan was the best man in their military region—handsome, capable, and responsible. He was a perfect match for her, except for the burden of their child. That was why her brother had never mentioned their relationship to Pei Jiuyan.
Now, someone else has intercepted her halfway through. What kind of person is this woman? How long have she known Pei Jiuyan? Why would she marry him?
Moreover, judging from this woman's flamboyant attire and provocative appearance, she's clearly not a docile person. Given the special nature of Pei Jiuyan's work, can this woman be expected to be content and dutiful in managing his affairs?
Sometimes, people don't need to say much; they can understand each other just through their eyes.
Qin Suisui naturally saw the renewed hostility in Xue Jiao's eyes. She smiled nonchalantly, waved at Xue Jiao, and left with a thought-provoking remark: "Teacher Jiao, remember to keep your stance straight." Whether it was her stance as a teacher towards Zan Zan or towards Pei Jiu Yan.
"besides,"
Qin Suisui stretched out her hand to her: "Your son Xue Ziming broke my son Zanzan's tin frog. It was a gift I brought back from Guangzhou. It cost one yuan. Please compensate me for it!"
Seeing Qin Suisui's outstretched hand, Xue Jiao's face turned ashen with anger. She had seen it when the children surrounded Zan Zan, scolding him for being a liar. It was indeed her nephew Xue Ziming who had broken the little frog. She had no way to refute it, so she could only angrily take out a dollar from her pocket and slap it into Qin Suisui's hand.
As a result, she always felt that she was a head shorter than Qin Suisui!
With only one class left, and since the daycare wouldn't be holding a proper class, Qin Suisui registered him, then had Zan Zan say goodbye to his new friends and took him home.
Zan Zan was very happy. Today, he not only made many new friends, but also got picked up from school by his mother for the first time. Although his fathers would pick him up and drop him off when they weren't on missions, it wasn't the same as other children being picked up by their mothers. He really wanted his mother to pick him up too, and today his wish finally came true!
Seeing Qin Suisui frowning, Zanzan asked, puzzled, "Mom, why are you unhappy? Did Teacher Jiaojiao bully you?"
Qin Suisui gently squeezed his little hand: "No, Mommy is just thinking about what to get for Zan Zan."
Zan Zan pointed to herself with some confusion: "Huh? Me? I don't lack anything!"
Qin Suisui went to the daycare today and saw the difference between those children and Zanzan, and then she understood why Zanzan was ostracized by the other children. Although people generally dress simply and plainly these days, the other children at least had neatly trimmed hair and clean, presentable clothes.
As for Zan Zan, she was practically left to her own devices. Pei Jiuyan and Song Yunlai were busy with work, and men don't tend to pay much attention to these details. Aunt Tang would help take care of her sometimes, but she also had her own job and couldn't be attentive to everything.
Qin Suisui felt a little guilty. She had been there for several days, and if she hadn't gone to the daycare today, she probably wouldn't have noticed this.
That night, Zan Zan slept next to Qin Sui Sui. The little guy, a soft little bundle, nestled in Qin Sui Sui's arms, his two little hands tightly holding her arm, looking exceptionally affectionate. Her heart melted involuntarily. She secretly resolved to be even better to him, to make up for all the maternal love he had missed in the first three years of his life.
Xue Jiao, who lives in the neighboring family compound, had a sleepless night.
She's 26 years old this year. Most women her age are already married, but because of her superior family and personal circumstances, she's still single. Later, her brother and sister-in-law got worried and found out that she had fallen for Pei Jiuyan. Ever since Pei Jiuyan transferred here four years ago, she'd been in love with him at first sight, and since then, she'd looked at other men like they were toads.
Besides, there's a saying, "A woman three years older than her husband is like holding a gold brick," so she felt that she and Pei Jiuyan were a perfect match!
Her parents died early, and she was raised by her older brother and sister-in-law, who doted on her. Pei Jiuyan was indeed outstanding, but he had a child with him, and she was going to be a stepmother before she even got married, which her brother and sister-in-law somewhat opposed.
But Xue Jiao was determined to marry Pei Jiuyan, or she would never get married! Her brother, Xue Shan, had no choice but to agree to help her plan slowly. Although Pei Jiuyan was at the same level as him and much younger, Pei Jiuyan was too aloof and arrogant, and they were responsible for different things, so they rarely saw each other and had almost no relationship.
After much deliberation, Xue Shan decided to arrange for his younger sister to work at a daycare center. The main reason was that Pei Jiuyan seemed determined to raise Zan Zan, and since his sister wanted to marry into the family, starting with Zan Zan wasn't a bad idea.
I never expected that Pei Jiuyan would get married so quietly after Jiaojiao had only been working for three months!
Xue Shan was also somewhat annoyed, even harboring resentment towards Pei Jiuyan. They were of the same rank, from the same division, and Xue Shan was much older than Pei Jiuyan. Even if the wedding wasn't a big affair, shouldn't he at least have informed all of them? Not even a word—did he look down on them? Pei Jiuyan was indeed still the same as when he first arrived, relying on his skills and abilities to look down on others!
He misunderstood Pei Jiuyan. Pei Jiuyan's marriage information had already been circulated within the unit in a small circle through a document a couple of days ago. However, Pei Jiuyan was also involved in the confidential research of the top-secret warship, so his personal information, including his spouse's information, was destined not to be widely disclosed.
However, if one were to inquire, it would be possible to find out that Pei Jiuyan already has a fiancée, as he has used this reason to reject others more than once. It's just that the Xue family is too arrogant. They believe that in the entire military region and even Qiongzhou Island, only their sister is worthy of Pei Jiuyan.
As time went on, even she herself began to believe it. Thus, Xue Jiao and her sister-in-law started finding fault with Pei Jiuyan at home. For example, he was too aloof, and every time he picked up Zan Zan from daycare, he didn't seem to care much about Xue Jiao. For example, Pei Jiuyan was good in every way, except for having a burden on him, and not even his own child...
The more she talked about it, the more her children heard it, which led to Zan Zan being isolated and ostracized at the daycare.
Pei Jiuyan and his two companions are all grown men and wouldn't care about these children's squabbles. Besides, they're busy with work, sometimes at sea for days or even months at a time, so they can't really offer any help. Aunt Tang isn't family, and Zanzan has been sensible since childhood, so he wouldn't bother her with his little troubles.
So much so that if Qin Suisui hadn't run into him, Zanzan would have suffered countless grievances over the years.
Zan Zan slept soundly beside her, but Qin Sui Sui couldn't fall asleep. As the only child in the family, she had little experience interacting with children and didn't know how to treat them well. She tried to recall how her parents had treated her when she was little, and finally drifted off to sleep.
The next day was the weekend, and Qin Suisui got up very early, ran to the cafeteria to get two bowls of seafood noodles, and then woke the little guy up.
Zan Zan, still half asleep, slurped up her noodles and looked at Qin Sui Sui, who was pouring cold water into the kettle, with some confusion: "Mom, are we going to a very far place today? Why do we need to bring a kettle?"
"It's the weekend today, Mom will take you to the department store in town to buy things!"
"Wow! Really?" Zan Zan's sleepy eyes lit up immediately. He had been wanting to go to the department store with his mother for a long time!
Qin Suisui smiled as she filled two military water bottles. She had previously only thought the stream water tasted good, without anything particularly special about it. But after discovering yesterday that stream water could promote plant growth, she started replacing all the drinking water in her home with it. If it could promote plant growth, then it must be somewhat beneficial to the human body, right?
After telling Sister Tang that they didn't need to prepare lunch for them, the mother and son rode their bikes to town.
Qin Suisui originally wanted to take Zanzan to the department store in the city, where there was a wider variety of goods, but it would probably take two hours to cycle there from the city, which was too far. It would only take half an hour to cycle from the town. She also didn't want to apply for a car; it was too much trouble. Given her current situation, it was best not to trouble others if possible.
The two left early and arrived in town at 8:30. Qin Suisui led Zan Zan straight to the clothing section of the department store.
There were actually quite a few types of children's clothing available in that era, but perhaps because Qiongtan Island was remote, the town's department store wasn't very big, and the variety of clothes inside wasn't extensive. Fortunately, most of them were made of pure cotton, and Qin Suisui, who was used to seeing nice things, was still very picky about the material of the clothes.
She glanced around and saw that most of the boys' vests were striped or solid colors, along with collared shirts. So she got two of each for Zan Zan, and also bought a pair of overalls, a pair of long pants, and three pairs of shorts. Summers are long and hot on Qiongtan Island, so shorts are the coolest option. Plus, children's clothes get dirty easily, so buying several pairs would make it easier to change clothes.
After buying the clothes, I ran to the children's shoe section next door and picked out two pairs of plastic sandals and a pair of white sneakers for Zan Zan.
Passing by the toy section, she remembered the little frog with the broken leg, and grabbed all the spinning tops, building blocks, and tangrams she saw. She also bought a rubber band gun and a glass marble set, which she had seen the children in the compound play with. It was just a pity that they didn't have the tin frog here; she'd have to wait until she saw it again to buy it.
Zan Zan's eyes are dazzled! Mom not only brought him to the department store, but also bought him so many clothes, shoes, and tons of toys—he can't play with them all! He wishes he had more hands!
Qin Suisui still felt it wasn't enough, so she took Zanzan straight to the food section to buy him malted milk powder and children's milk powder. She had about ten bottles of malted milk powder in her space, some of which she had "borrowed" from Yang Jiankang's house, and the rest she had bought at Yangcheng Department Store. However, they weren't in the package she brought, so she had to find an excuse to take them out.
The food section was on the first floor. When Qin Suisui and Zanzan were carrying large and small bags downstairs to buy malted milk powder, they happened to run into Xue Jiao and her sister-in-law Yang Rucui.
Not wanting to cause trouble, Qin Suisui politely nodded to the two of them. However, Xue Jiao, after a night of internal struggle, was unwilling to let her off easily. Seeing the large bags of clothes Qin Suisui was carrying, and remembering the dress she wore yesterday, she couldn't help but sneer, "Such petty bourgeois behavior! I wonder if Pei Jiuyan's salary is enough for her to squander!"
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