Chapter Fifteen: Sun Yaozu's Rebirth Causes Him to Collapse...
"Xiang Dong, Yao Yao, time to eat."
"Yes, I'll be right there."
Su Xiangdong was about to make a move when his aunt shouted, interrupting him. His wife got up from his arms and quickly opened the door to leave.
Under the nightlight, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes seemed to hold a pool of water. The corners of her eyes were tinged with a faint red, and her face was full of spring-like beauty.
Auntie smiled as she went to serve the food. Her nephew and his wife had such a good relationship. She'd been here for over a month and had never seen them argue or bicker. Before, after her morning sickness subsided, her nephew's wife had a great appetite and suddenly craved chicken legs in the middle of the night. Xiang Dong went out late at night to find a chicken, killed it, and cooked it for her right there.
She'd lived for almost sixty years and had never seen a husband dote on his wife like this. She'd also heard that the Sun family next door were causing trouble, claiming that Shu Yao was pregnant before she married him.
Pshaw! Have you ever seen a man treat a woman carrying another man's child this well? This is clearly love for his wife, and he loves her even more because of the child.
Shu Yao isn't afraid to admit that her relationship with Su Xiangdong is actually quite ambiguous. Their interactions are sometimes very affectionate, and his gaze towards her is full of love and tenderness. Given this, no one would suspect the truth of their relationship.
He used a hospital diagnosis report to exempt her from working the night shift. Now she only needs to work the morning and afternoon shifts, without having to stay up late at night.
It's the weekend, and he should be home. But a shipment arrived at the station, and he went to watch the unloading. His wife was called away by his aunt, and he took several deep breaths alone in the house to suppress his intense physical urges.
They ate dinner in the outer room that evening, and he sat down opposite his wife. He handed her a pancake, and although they didn't speak, the subtle charm in their eyes made it clear to everyone that they were not a couple in name only.
The next day, on her early shift, she carried a bag containing her recently favorite radish. She had cut the raw radish into strips and was dipping it in a sauce her aunt had made for her; she'd recently become obsessed with this flavor.
"Shuyao, I can see your belly now." Sister Xu's gaze fell on her belly. "Oh my, you're radiating maternal glow, and you're becoming more and more gentle."
Shu Yao smiled but didn't say anything, unconsciously touching her face. It's said that a father's love brings peace to a mother, and a mother's peace brings peace to her child. Su Xiangdong takes such good care of her; she has no worries at all. She comes home to a ready-made meal, and someone does her needlework. She doesn't have to worry about anything; how could she not be gentle?
After work in the afternoon, she rode her bike home and saw familiar faces in the yard. Her aunt and her youngest son were sitting on a stone bench in the yard, with her youngest son holding a baby less than a year old in his arms.
"Mom, please help me take care of the baby. We really can't manage on our own, how can we go to work with the baby in our arms?"
"If I hadn't had the surgery, I'd probably be close to death by now. You said you didn't have money to treat me, and now that I'm better, you want to make me your slave? Third brother, how can you have such a shameless attitude?"
"No, Mother, why are you saying such hurtful things?"
"I may be harsh with my words, but do you think your actions are any better?" Auntie San was now reckless; she could watch as her son, whom she could have saved but chose not to, leaving her to die, she would simply pretend nothing had happened.
"Go quickly. I carried you for ten months, gave birth to you, and raised you. I have done nothing wrong to you."
"Mother," the third son finally had some sense of shame, knowing that he was in the wrong for not paying for his mother's medical treatment. But when he spoke, he still tried to justify himself.
“We’ve only been married a short time, you know. All the money in the house is in his mother’s hands. She says there’s no money, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
"Third son," the woman said earnestly. "Listen to your wife. You're unwilling to pay for my treatment. I don't blame you. Really. But can you please stop listening to your wife in everything? When she says she has no money for my treatment, you just throw your hands up and leave me to die. Now that I'm better, she says she wants me to take care of the child, and you come to me with him? How can you have the nerve?"
My aunt wasn't one to back down either. Ever since she recovered completely after the surgery, she'd become even angrier. It turned out the illness really was as the doctor had said—that surgery would bring her back to normal. Two hundred yuan—she almost lost her life because of it. How could she not be resentful?
The third son was mercilessly berated by his mother, and his face flushed with shame. His wife had indeed asked him to bring the baby today, and he figured his mother, no longer needing to help his cousin with the child, would just watch him too. He hadn't expected his mother to give him such a harsh dressing-down, leaving him no room for embarrassment whatsoever.
The third son, thoroughly embarrassed by his rebuke, slunk away with his child. He brushed past Shu Yao at the door without exchanging a word. He took the child home and immediately started arguing with his wife as soon as he entered.
"If your mother won't help take care of the children, don't come to me for old age."
"Ha," the third brother sneered. "My mother was sick before, but that's just life, old age, sickness, and death. Did she expect anything from you?"
In one sentence, the woman was rendered speechless by his retort. Unable to find fault, she started crying, clutching her child. The third son ignored her, saying, "Cry all you want. It's not about who cries or who's right. You want to take all the benefits? I'm too ashamed to go back to my mother. She gave birth to me and raised me; she owes me nothing."
Shu Yao didn't ask a single question about it, as if she hadn't heard a thing. Her third aunt was very dutiful, and they got along very well. Sometimes the old woman would help Su Juan with needlework, and Su Juan had no objections. The baby hadn't been born yet, so there wasn't much to do at home.
"Yaoyao, come and try on the shoes I made for you."
The aunt made her deep-cut cloth shoes with a thousand-layer sole. Her third aunt's craftsmanship was excellent; the shoes fit perfectly and looked beautiful. "They fit so well! Third aunt, you're so skillful!"
"What's the big deal? This is what I've done my whole life. It's a shame that people think it's all worthless. It's better to have a job where making money is the only real thing."
Shu Yao nodded, deeply agreeing. It really made sense. You can work yourself to death at home and no one will see, but if you work, you have income and therefore a voice. So she absolutely couldn't lose her job, even if it was tough being pregnant.
"ah,"
As the two were talking, they suddenly heard a shout from the Sun family next door. Judging from the voice, it should be Sun Yaozu. Shu Yao looked over, frowned, and cursed under her breath. "Is he crazy? Why is he shouting like that?"
What was he yelling about? Of course, it was utter astonishment and disbelief. Sun Yaozu never expected to be reborn back to his youth, only to find his wife had divorced him. His mother's cooking was like pig swill, and his wife had remarried to Su Xiangdong next door.
"Su Xiangdong was single his whole life. First, he was misdiagnosed and his girlfriend broke up with him. He was heartbroken for many years before finally accepting blind dates, only to meet someone he'd been dating for ten years, whom he also broke off all ties with. This unlucky guy actually married my wife?"
Hearing her son angrily uttering words she couldn't understand, Sun's mother was extremely worried. "Son, what are you talking about? We already knew Su Xiangdong misdiagnosed her. Now that bitch Shu Yao is pregnant with his child, I heard it's twins."
"What?" Sun Yaozu became even more agitated, pacing back and forth in the yard. "No, no. That's not how it is, that's not how it is."
Sun Yaozu was devastated, completely unable to accept it. He quickly flung open the front door and ran out; the neighbor's house was just a few steps away. Because his third aunt was home, the front door was never locked during the day.
He pushed the door open and entered, and his third aunt came out of the house first. "Hey, hey, Sun Yaozu, what are you doing?"
Sun Yaozu reached out and pulled her away, saying, "Go away, I need to find Shu Yao."
Shu Yao is now about five months pregnant, and her belly is quite noticeable, larger than that of a typical singleton pregnancy. Today, she's wearing a loose-fitting Lenin suit, a light gray color that many people couldn't pull off. But her delicate and bright features give her a unique intellectual beauty in this outfit.
"What are you trying to do now?" Weren't we all well-behaved before? Why are you showing up again? Do you want to get beaten up?
Decades later, he saw her youthful face again. He was stunned; had she really been this beautiful when she was young?
Those eyes that I remember as cloudy and droopy now look bright and full. How can her skin be so good? It's fair and rosy, looking so supple and firm, making you want to kiss it. It must feel wonderful to the touch, like bouncy jelly.
“Yaoyao,” he said, looking at her with the eyes of someone who had betrayed her, his voice filled with anguish. “How could you remarry? You are my wife. From the moment you entered the Sun family, we have been one.”
"Shut up." Shu Yao looked at him like he was a lunatic, not wanting to hear another word. What do you mean by "one body"? I'm not bound to you, so how can we be one body?
“We’re divorced a long time ago. If you keep bothering me like this, I’ll sue you for indecent assault.”
Sun Yaozu heard her cold words with his own ears and shook his head in complete disbelief. How could your beautiful lips, as lovely as rose petals, utter such icy words?
"daughter in law,"
"Shut up." Shu Yao interrupted him, turning around angrily to look for a broom. Unable to find a broom, she grabbed a spatula from the kitchen.
"Get out of here right now, or I'll really yell."
His aunt had already reached out to pull him away: "What's wrong with you, man? You've been divorced for so long, why do you keep coming here to bother them? Get out of here right now, or Xiang Dong will beat you to death when he gets back."
Sun Yaozu stumbled as she pushed him, and he was on the verge of tears. He clung tightly to the wall, refusing to leave.
"Wife, wife, Shuyao, how could you divorce me?"
Shu Yao ignored him, thinking she'd just get rid of him. If necessary, she'd have her husband beat him up; he deserved it. But then Sun Yaozu said something that made her eyes widen in shock.
"Shuyao, wife, are you angry with me? Even if you're angry with me, you can't take Shuhua and Shuqing with you and marry someone else."
A note from the author:
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