Zhou Chunhua forced a smile, picked up her shopping basket, and walked almost the entire residential area.
In every situation she encountered, she never "coincidentally" conveyed her meaning.
Most of the older women, like Grandma Zhang, told her not to take it so seriously, saying that all women go through this.
Some also urged her to rise up and fight back.
They also said that's how it is between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law: whoever wins is the mother-in-law, and whoever loses is the daughter-in-law.
Anyway, she didn't say anything. From beginning to end, she was a young married woman from afar who was bullied by her mother-in-law.
As soon as Zhou Chunhua left the family compound, she received a call from Gu Yao.
Gu Yao said he needed to talk to her about something, adding that it was difficult to explain over the phone and that they needed to meet in person to discuss it, and asked where she was.
Strangely, she said she could take a taxi, but Gu Yao insisted on driving to pick her up, saying it would save more time.
Thinking about it, she agreed to meet Gu Yao at the bus stop ahead.
To Zhou Chunhua's surprise, Gu Yao arrived in less than five minutes at the bus stop.
Once in the car, she hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
In her opinion, Gu Yao hadn't contacted her for so many days, and now he was in such a hurry, so he must have encountered some trouble.
What happened to your hand?
"ah?"
"Your hand."
She only realized what was happening when she noticed Gu Yao's gaze falling on her hands.
"It's nothing. It's just a bruise, it'll be fine in a few days."
"He hit you?" Gu Yao suddenly asked.
"No! How could that be! When Lawyer Gu reminded me last time, I immediately went to learn Sanda (Chinese kickboxing). During the past two weeks my mother-in-law has been hospitalized, I've also quietly been learning for the same amount of time. I'm already being kind by not abusing him. Oh, right!"
Zhou Chunhua thought to herself, "Speaking of this, I really have to thank you! If you hadn't reminded me to prepare for domestic violence in advance, I might be the one getting beaten up today."
At noon, Liao Nanxing actually raised his fist at her.
If she hadn't been prepared, she would have been the one to suffer today.
Gu Yao, who had been looking nervous, inexplicably broke into a smile.
It was as if... as if it wasn't her who hit Liao Nanxing, but him.
Especially that irrepressible pride, which left her bewildered.
"Attorney Gu, why are you in such a hurry to see me? Is something wrong?" Zhou Chunhua steered the conversation back on track.
"Here's the thing, I found the house your husband bought for the other woman."
"Where is it?" she asked anxiously.
Gu Yao's car suddenly stopped.
She looked out the windshield...
She had never been here before, but the neighborhood looked very upscale.
Instead of an elderly man sitting in the security room at the gate, there was a tall, handsome young man in a suit.
When the barrier was raised, the young man, who had been standing with his feet apart, immediately stood with his feet together.
Only after Gu Yao's car passed did he stand up with his feet apart again.
It gives people a sense of ritual.
After driving for another ten minutes or so, a European-style building appeared in the distance.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, making the four-story detached building look absolutely stunning.
Two words flashed through her mind—villa.
She had seen it in a short mobile drama; it was the standard for domineering CEOs.
Where is this?
Gu Yao turned the steering wheel and continued to slowly drive uphill along the road.
"Mountains, waters, clouds, streams, and ravines. In Jiang City, it's considered a pretty good villa area, with prices around 30,000 yuan per square meter."
Hearing this, Zhou Chunhua was already itching to get her teeth clenched.
When she married Liao Nanxing, he was just an unknown teacher.
The house we live in is the same one we live in now, built through collective fundraising.
Three bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms.
To save space, the kitchen is open-plan and connected to the dining room.
Despite having three bedrooms, each room is actually quite small.
The largest bedroom is just a wardrobe and a large bed. There's not enough space left to fit two bedside tables; you can only fit one.
The bathroom attached to the master bedroom was barely fitted with a wooden tub for sitting and showering, a toilet, and a sink.
The second bedroom was even smaller, with only a 1.5-meter single bed and a wardrobe, leaving no room to spare.
The same goes for the study; the bookshelves are all built into the wall. The bed that was added, strictly speaking, is more like a mattress.
When the building was built, it was a walk-up building. The elevator was installed a few years ago when the old community was being renovated, and the residents contributed some of the money to install it.
That house was not only cold in winter and warm in summer, but its soundproofing was so bad it made you question your existence.
There's also the symphony of the sewers; if you're a light sleeper, you won't be able to sleep through the second half of the night.
When I was younger, my sleep quality was okay, so I didn't have any problems.
But ever since Nini was born, mothers who take care of their own children know that they can't sleep soundly when their child is around.
They would instantly wake up at the slightest sound from the children.
Over time, I became unable to tolerate any noise while sleeping.
By then, Liao Nanxing's work had started to improve, so she suggested moving to a better house.
But Liao Nanxing said that his work was just starting to improve, and Nini was still young, so there would be many expenses in the future.
Then I promised her that once her salary increased, I would take out a loan to buy her a bigger house.
After that, he kept raising his salary, but he always said he didn't have time to choose a house, or that there weren't any good houses available.
So she stopped mentioning it, and he acted as if nothing had happened.
Looking back now, all these years, his love has only ever been lip service.
The car slowed down, and a small European-style villa, almost identical to those along the road, was right next to us.
A young girl in a gray suit opened the car door for her.
Then he said, "Mrs. Gu, this way please."
Zhou Chunhua, who had only taken one step, stood frozen in the car.
"I'll do it." Gu Yao stood by the car door, just like last time, and braced his hand against the top of the door frame.
After regaining her senses, Zhou Chunhua quickly got out of the car.
The little girl smiled and said to her, "Mrs. Gu and Mr. Gu are such a loving couple, it's truly enviable."
Just as Zhou Chunhua was wondering how to respond, Gu Yao naturally took her hand and said, "Aren't you envious of Lao Liao buying a small house for his wife?"
"Come on, let's go inside and take a look. If you like it, I'll buy you one too."
Gu Yao's sincere gaze and gentle words made her cheeks involuntarily flush.
In his daze, he even put his arm around her waist and led her into the small building.
The saleswoman was very eloquent, constantly referring to Gu as "Mrs. Gu," which made Gu feel incredibly awkward.
It was all thanks to Gu Yao; otherwise, that girl would have seen right through her at a glance.
Gu Yao led her and the little girl around, going up and down the stairs.
I listened very attentively the whole way.
If it weren't for Gu Yao asking, "Who lives in the building next door?"
She almost thought Gu Yao was really here to buy a house today.
"The owner of the apartment next door is Ms. Su. Her husband loves her very much and said it was a birthday gift for her."
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