Suspicion breeds ghosts
Li Guorong stopped what she was doing, put down her bag, and moved with the lightness of a cat, step by step, toward the bed. She stopped and looked warily toward the living room doorway.
Someone seemed to be moving towards them from the doorway. "Brother-in-law, isn't this drink delicious? I spent the whole afternoon making it."
Lin Shaocheng replied, "It's very delicious and unique, unlike the salty milk tea I had in Inner Mongolia."
Li Guorong felt relieved, walked a few steps to the bed, grabbed the letter on the bed, the curtain at the door was lifted, and she quickly grasped the letter with both hands and put it behind her back.
Li Guolan lifted the curtain. Her younger sister had her hands behind her back, an unnatural smile on her face, just like when she made a mistake as a child. Li Guolan lowered the curtain first, glanced back, and saw Lin Shaocheng still savoring his milk tea. Feeling a little relieved, she quickened her pace and asked, "What are you hiding?"
In this day and age, older sisters, especially in this era, almost always have a motherly relationship with their younger siblings. If the younger sibling does something wrong, the older sister can tell at a glance.
Li Guorong clenched her fists and shook her head, "No."
Li Guolan pursed her lips, Li Guorong shuddered, and the letter in his hand floated down. Li Guolan nimbly snatched the letter from the ground.
Li Guorong pressed himself against his sister and whispered, "I haven't seen it yet, give it to me."
Li Guolan held up the letter, which had a strong, powdery scent of roses, lily of the valley, and musk. Under the dim light, she could see roses printed on the paper with gold trim. Most striking was a large red lip at the end of the letter.
Li Guorong snatched the letter, skimmed through it, and flew into a rage. He opened his mouth and stretched out his legs, ready to go out and have a word with Lin Shaocheng.
Li Guolan hugged Li Guorong, covered her younger sister's mouth, and whispered in her ear, "To catch a thief red-handed, to catch an adulterer in the act, what are you doing?"
Li Guorong calmed down a bit. Li Guolan took the letter, thinking it contained some explosive content, like how they did it too well and made love at night. But it turned out to be just kissing and hugging behind the library.
Li Guolan laughed out loud, "You're making a fuss over something as trivial as this?"
Li Guorong's face turned ashen. This was infidelity in their relationship, and she couldn't help but confront Lin Shaocheng about it.
Li Guolan continued, "Back in our family, your husband is the most outstanding man. In Beijing, who else dotes on their wife like that? How could a man like that not attract other men's attention? If you argue with him now, he'll give in once or twice, and he'll give in ten or eight times."
Li Guorong was indignant. The sound of washing dishes could be heard outside. "Fine then, let him go on dates with other people. I'll earn money while he goes on dates?"
Li Guolan put her hand to her mouth to make a shushing sound, "He didn't catch you in bed, and it's not like it's a love letter your brother-in-law wrote to someone else. You can't even let others admire him? You shrew, you'll wear down your brother-in-law's feelings for you sooner or later."
Li Guorong said in a low voice, "Then what should I do? Just let me do nothing."
Li Guolan had seen many such cases of male prostitution and female theft in the village. Her brother-in-law didn't smell of perfume, so she guessed he hadn't crossed any lines. Now that her younger sister was making a fuss, it would make her seem too jealous. That couldn't be allowed. "Be gentle with your brother-in-law, keep his heart firmly in your hands, and don't let him wash your clothes all the time. Check for lipstick stains and perfume smells."
Li Guorong's chest heaved violently. This was Lin Shaocheng's fault, so why did she have to humble herself in the end? But she really hadn't caught any evidence, and now that things had escalated, she was at a disadvantage.
Li Guorong stood up, and Li Guolan grabbed his hand, saying, "Where are you going?"
Li Guorong shook off his older sister's hand, "What else can I do? Go wash the clothes."
In the large courtyard outside, Lin Shaocheng wiped Li Guorong's tricycle with a wet towel and then oiled the chain with engine oil. For a moment, Li Guorong's face contorted. In her previous life, Ye Fan was disabled and unable to have sex. He also secretly read erotic books. Afterwards, she made a big scene and threw them away. When the female neighbor looked for Ye Fan, she also said some very unpleasant things to Ye Fan and ordered him not to associate with women.
She had to endure this after meeting Lin Shaocheng. If it were Ye Fan, she would have made a huge scene long ago. Why did Lin Shaocheng buy her a bag today? Did he do something to wrong her? Thinking of this, she felt a surge of anger.
Li Guolan appeared quietly behind Li Guorong, asking, "What do you want to do?"
Lin Shaocheng stood up and turned around. "What's wrong?"
Li Guorong's expression changed instantly. He grabbed Lin Shaocheng's coat and pushed him into the house, saying, "Go take a shower and change your clothes. I'll clean you up."
Lin Shaocheng held up his two oily hands and said, "I can wash them myself. You must be tired after a long day."
Li Guorong chuckled, "I'm not tired at all. Let's go soak in the public bathhouse. The smell of engine oil makes me feel a bit nauseous."
Hearing this, Lin Shaocheng quickly went inside, washed his hands with soap until they were completely odorless, and changed out of his dusty clothes. "Don't wash them, I'll wash them when I get back."
Lin Shaocheng rode his bicycle to the bathhouse. Although he felt he didn't smell of engine oil after washing his hands, his wife was still not satisfied and insisted on cleaning them.
The instant the door closed, Li Guorong pounced on Lin Shaocheng's clothes like a wolf spotting its prey. There was no lipstick stain on the collar; it was buried deep inside the clothes, mixed with a faint bitter smell of grass. She put down the clothes, feeling relieved that nothing had happened.
Li Guolan pulled back the curtain and came in. "I told you, your brother-in-law is so honest, there won't be any problems. You're too suspicious, and you need to change your temper."
Li Guorong felt relieved. She shouldn't have doubted Lin Shaocheng so much. She picked up her clothes and said, "Sister, I'm going to do the laundry."
The suit hanging on the coat rack by the door made her stop in her tracks. A strand of blackish-brown hair on her left shoulder stood out against the orange suit like a scar running across her skin.
The clothes in Li Guorong's hands fell to the ground. She reached out her right hand and pinched a strand of hair. It was a new perm for her and her older sister. She was wearing the clothes today. The length and stiffness of the hair showed that it was not a man's.
Li Guolan walked over, saw the hair and the stunned look on her younger sister's face, and casually tossed the hair aside, saying, "It's just a hair, what's the big deal?"
Li Guorong squatted down on the ground, still trying to pick it up, "What are you doing? This is evidence."
Li Guolan shouted, "Li Guorong, do you have to say your brother-in-law cheated on you? You're unhappy because you can't find fault with him, right?"
Li Guorong stopped what he was doing, stood up, and said, "I'm your own sister. Why aren't you on my side? Why are you on Lin Shaocheng's side? I'm the one who brought you to Beijing, and I'm the one who gave you a meal."
Li Guolan raised her hand high, staring intently into Li Guorong's eyes filled with resentment, then withdrew her hand. "Do whatever you want. It's better if Lin Shaocheng doesn't want you then. You're not good enough for him at all."
Li Guolan sneered and turned back to her room. Li Guorong sat still on the bed, wondering if she was really not good enough for Lin Shaocheng and could only be good enough for someone like Ye Fan.
Li Guorong stood up and went to the mirror. She was taller and fairer than in her previous life, and her clothes were neat and efficient. Except for her education level, which was not as high as Lin Shaocheng's, she was not a good match for him in any way. In fact, she earned more money than Lin Shaocheng now.
The slightly heavy footsteps made Li Guorong's heart skip a beat. She looked around, picked up the clothes that had fallen on the ground and put them in a basin, wiped away the tears that had flowed because of her eldest sister's stern criticism, looked in the mirror and adjusted her expression to a smile.
Lin Shaocheng entered the house carrying a bag of oranges. The oranges were all large and orange-yellow in color. You could smell the unique aroma of oranges from afar, making people's mouths water. "Wife, look what this is."
Li Guorong said angrily, "It's just an orange, what's so special about it?"
These oranges were sent by another factory to their families. They brought a lot, so they were given to Li Xiangxi, who then gave some to Lin Shaocheng. The oranges in the store weren't this juicy; they were all leftovers from the autumn and winter sales.
Li Guorong loved oranges, and Lin Shaocheng had to beg Li Xiangxi for a long time before he could get them. Li Xiangxi originally wanted to give them all to Zhao Wanyin.
Li Guorong lay on the bed with his back to Lin Shaocheng. Just looking at his face reminded him of that strand of hair and that letter with the lipstick stain.
Lin Shaocheng was a little confused as to why Li Guorong was angry. He peeled an orange, and the sweet and sour aroma of the orange filled the room. He then placed a clean orange segment on Li Guorong's lips.
Li Guorong opened his eyes, waved away orange segments, and angrily said, "Didn't I say I wouldn't eat it? Can't you understand human language?"
Lin Shaocheng's eyes were full of worry. "Guorong, what's wrong?"
Li Guorong covered his ears and said, "Get out of here, don't bother me."
Lin Shaocheng placed the oranges on the table and went to another empty room alone.
Li Guolan listened from her bedroom doorway. She was relieved that no one was arguing. She turned off the light and prepared to sleep. She couldn't understand why her younger sister didn't appreciate such a good person.
Night had fallen. Li Guorong stared intently at the rooftop with her eyes wide open. She told Lin Shaocheng to get out, and he actually did. Didn't he know how to care for her? Shouldn't he hold her tightly like in an idol drama? If she hadn't been reborn, wouldn't Lin Shaocheng have had a more cultured wife with better family background?
Thinking of this, tears streamed down Li Guorong's face and soaked her pillow. This pillow was a cotton pillow that Lin Shaocheng had specially made for her because she couldn't get used to buckwheat hull pillows. Li Guorong pulled out the pillow and threw it on the ground.
As dawn broke, the smell of fried spices woke Li Guorong. She struggled to open her slightly swollen eyes. Since her rebirth, she had been sleeping very well, but yesterday was the first time she had experienced insomnia.
Li Guorong got up and went into the kitchen. Li Guolan was preparing for the evening's business. When she entered, her older sister ignored her and silently continued with her work. "Where's Lin Shaocheng?"
Li Guolan said, "Others go to work early, but you sleep until noon like me, that's no way to live."
Li Guorong's expression changed. Thinking of the letter on the pink stationery about meeting in the library woods, her once calm heart boiled like oil in a pan, and she slammed the door and left.
Li Guolan shouted loudly from the kitchen door, "Where are you going? We're still setting up the stall tonight."
Li Guorong ran incredibly fast, covering several streets before arriving at the entrance of Lin Shaocheng's workplace. There was the same security guard again, who shouted, "You need to register. Are you a family member of Lin Shaocheng?"
Li Guorong shoved the security guard aside and rushed to the warehouse door. Finding no one there, he ran to the dormitory and banged on the door loudly. Li Jiaoniang, who was eating at home, came out and her eyes darkened. "What are you banging for? Engineer Lin is off today. He's probably at the library, the one on the north side."
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