Chapter 209: Did the butterfly fall in love with me at first sight?
Zhao Yangyang naturally knew that her mother-in-law, Old Mrs. Chen, had gone out and made a scene, stirring up hatred. Not only did she ignore it, she also stood by and watched coldly, adopting a policy of appeasement, just waiting to see the old lady shoot herself in the foot.
"Whom Heaven wishes to destroy, it first makes mad."
Zhao Yangyang isn't the kind of foolish wife who tries to clean up her family's messes, only to end up pleasing neither side. Bah! Zhao Yangyang is the kind of person who'd rather die than live a life of dishonor.
He Xiuxiu from next door came over and reminded her, "Zhao Yangyang, what do you think of your mother-in-law? A harmonious family brings prosperity. Your younger sister isn't even married yet!"
“I heard from my family that his comrade’s wife initially didn’t want a man who smoked, so he pretended not to smoke and kept it up until after they got married before telling her that he did…”
"What I mean is that before marriage, no matter what, you have to show your best side to your partner."
Zhao Yangyang didn't care at all: "Sister-in-law Xiuxiu, this is called 'true nature' in our family!"
He Xiuxiu: "???"
“A person with a true personality never needs to hide anything. Besides, this old lady is Chen Ruifeng’s mother. Only his own son has the right to talk about his mother. As a daughter-in-law, I’m not the type to say things that would make people hate me.”
He Xiuxiu sighed, "You've suffered too."
Seeing this, Zhao Yangyang reminded He Xiuxiu, "You and Lin Xiuqin have a very good relationship?"
He Xiuxiu was stunned: "What's wrong?"
Zhao Yangyang: "I met Lin Xiuqin about four or five years ago, probably when I had just moved into the family compound. She was still working as a medical worker at the clinic, and she begged me to bring her to the family compound..."
He Xiuxiu was stunned: "It seems she really wants to marry a military officer! It's been so many years, and she's still so insistent!"
Zhao Yangyang: "You should be careful when you introduce her to someone. She's a bit crazy, I'm afraid she has a mental problem. She seems normal most of the time, but suddenly she goes crazy. I heard from Chen Ruifeng that there are people like that in their village."
“That time, I had just brought Lin Xiuqin to the family compound when she saw people, and she started talking nonsense and incoherently. Afterwards, she said she didn’t know what she had said. I was terrified and didn’t dare to take her home. I poured a bowl of chicken blood on her… I never thought I would see Lin Xiuqin again.”
He Xiuxiu: "Huh???"
Zhao Yangyang: "That day I didn't dare take her home. I went to Commissar Gou's house downstairs. His daughter-in-law, Gao Rong, and Gou Qiang were just getting married. They killed a chicken at home and used their chicken blood. The Gou family should still remember this."
"Just be careful anyway."
He Xiuxiu kindly reminded her to keep an eye on her mother-in-law, and Zhao Yangyang reciprocated by reminding her to pay attention to Lin Xiuqin and telling He Xiuxiu about Lin Xiuqin's past.
He Xiuxiu felt a chill run down her spine after hearing Zhao Yangyang's words. This Lin Xiuqin had been appearing in the family compound for five years? While one could admire her persistence, it also sent a shiver down one's spine.
So He Xiuxiu decided to talk to the Gou family to find out what was going on. She was too embarrassed to chat with the political commissar and his wife, and it was also not appropriate to talk to Gou Qiang, a grown man. So He Xiuxiu chose Gao Rong, who also worked at the textile factory.
"Gao Rong, have you ever heard of Lin Xiuqin?"
Gao Rong: "Lin Xiuqin? Is that Lin Xiuqin?"
"You still remember her? Zhao Yangyang said she splashed chicken blood on her at your house."
Gao Rong: "I think we should splash dog blood."
He Xiuxiu: "???"
Looking at He Xiuxiu's face, Gao Rong hesitated, unsure whether she should say those words. In truth, Gao Rong suspected that Lin Xiuqin's true intentions over the years were actually—
This Lin Xiuqin likes women!
Gao Rong used to think that Lin Xiuqin wanted to marry into the family compound and find a military officer husband, but Lin Xiuqin first met Zhao Yangyang, and then her. She also heard that Xiao Ye knew her.
Therefore, Gao Rong had a startling guess: Lin Xiuqin's target was not the officer himself, but the officer's female family member!
Lin Xiuqin isn't a spy, nor does she want to marry into the family compound. Besides, she always hints that she likes men, which is actually to cover up her true purpose: she, Lin Xiuqin, likes women!
Gao Rong forced herself to speak the truth: "He Xiuxiu, you...you're with Lin Xiuqin, you need to be careful, she might try to sow discord between you and your husband."
“How could that be?” He Xiuxiu shook her head: “She didn’t try to sow discord, and she even begged me to introduce her to someone.”
Gao Rong lowered her voice: "Do you really think she wants you to introduce her to someone? If Lin Xiuqin really wanted to find someone, would she have dragged it out until now? Five years have passed."
He Xiuxiu blinked: "What do you mean?"
Gao Rong: "Lin Xiuqin had hinted to me before that men could have those kinds of feelings for other men... But I later realized that what she meant was that women could have those kinds of feelings for other women as well."
He Xiuxiu was utterly shocked: "???!!!"
"She was just trying to use some things to cover up others. That year, she and I were very close. She often treated me to meals. I was so naive back then. I thought she wanted to use me to introduce her to potential partners, just like you are now."
"Actually... I think she might have liked me back then, but you mustn't tell anyone about this."
He Xiuxiu was so shocked that her jaw almost dropped to the ground. She had never heard of such a thing in her life in the small countryside. Oh, no, she had heard of people in the countryside marrying their sons to men, which is called sworn brothers.
But I've never heard of a woman liking another woman.
Gao Rong: "Don't be silly. I was just like you back then. It's something I only realized later. Otherwise, we're not related, and she didn't want to marry into the family compound, yet she still invited me to dinner and tried to make me happy... all for... Sigh, Gou Qiang and I are really in the same boat!"
Gou Qiang and Gao Rong, this couple, held hands and looked at each other with tears in their eyes when they went to sleep at night. One was loved by a "woman", and the other was loved by a "man". No wonder they could sleep in the same bed.
Gao Rong guessed that Lin Xiuqin might have liked her back then, but she just didn't understand her subtext; Gou Qiang also vaguely felt that Jiang Changtian might like her, otherwise why would Xiao Ye react so strongly?
Whenever the couple thought about this, they would hug each other and cry. This world is just too terrible!
After talking with Gao Rong, He Xiuxiu floated upstairs like a lost soul. If she had talked with Zhao Yangyang and heard about the ghost stories in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, she would have thought it was nonsense; but after talking with Gao Rong, it was like a bolt from the blue, suddenly dispelling all the fog.
Yes, why is Lin Xiuqin so nice to her? Is Lin Xiuqin really approaching her to set her up on blind dates?
Lin Xiuqin is only after her own interests!
While feeling terrified, He Xiuxiu also felt a surge of excitement, much like hearing that "someone has a crush on me," which meant that she had a certain charm.
However, the person who secretly loves you is "unspeakable".
After being shocked, He Xiuxiu immediately went to find Zhao Yangyang and told her about it. Zhao Yangyang was stunned.
He Xiuxiu: "You thought she was talking nonsense at the time, but maybe you were really in love."
Zhao Yangyang's lips twitched: "This...this...this Lin Xiuqin likes women?"
"That might be the case."
Zhao Yangyang was too shocked to recall what happened back then. When did Lin Xiuqin start talking nonsense? From the moment she met Qin Xiangxiang, could it be that she was lusting after Qin Xiangxiang's beauty?
Just like Lu Bu drooling when he saw Diao Chan, just like Jia Baoyu being obsessed with Lin Daiyu, saying "I have seen this sister before", that's why Lin Xiuqin talked so much nonsense.
The more Zhao Yangyang thought about it, the more convinced she became! What kind of ghost possessed her? It turned out she had fallen in love.
My God! That's incredible.
Even when her husband, Chen Ruifeng, came home and argued with his mother, saying, "Mom, stop going out and causing trouble! How many enemies are you going to make for your son?"
"Can't you watch your mouth a little?!"
...
Zhao Yangyang, oblivious to the laughter of her husband and mother-in-law, stood there lost in thought about Lin Xiuqin. This... this... she had misunderstood her back then.
Grandma Chen couldn't win an argument with her son, so she tried to take it out on her daughter-in-law, Zhao Yangyang, but her daughter-in-law didn't respond at all.
Seeing her husband and mother-in-law looking at her, Zhao Yangyang quickly said, "Stop arguing, we all listen to our mother-in-law in our family."
Zhao Yangyang kept in mind the strategy in the first chapter of the Ancient Prose Anthology, "Duke Zheng Defeats Duan at Yan". Duke Zheng dealt with his younger brother Gongshu Duan by indulging his crazy and arrogant scheme.
“No matter what your mother-in-law says or does, Chen Ruifeng, just remember this: she does it all for your own good and for Xiaomei’s good.”
Chen Ruifeng: "???!!!"
Chen Ruifeng was absolutely furious!
Upon hearing her daughter-in-law say something that warmed her heart, Old Mrs. Chen immediately glared angrily at her own son: "Chen Ruifeng, you think you're all grown up now? You dare to look down on your old mother!"
"A dog doesn't mind that its mother is ugly, but what about you? Are you even less than a dog in terms of being a human?"
...
Grandma Chen and Chen Ruifeng started arguing. Zhao Yangyang not only didn't add fuel to the fire, but also sided with the old lady, which further aggravated Chen Ruifeng's temples. He felt like his head was about to explode.
At night, Chen Ruifeng felt extremely exhausted.
"Yangyang, as my daughter-in-law, can you try to persuade your mother-in-law more at home? She's causing trouble for everyone and making things difficult for me. Everyone around here is my comrade-in-arms! They're all my brothers-in-arms! If she offends everyone, what am I supposed to do?"
Zhao Yangyang: "Mom is getting old, so they should be understanding. You should also be understanding of your mother-in-law."
"Consideration? I'd be lucky if they didn't secretly trip me up!"
Chen Ruifeng rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Chen Ruifeng didn't sleep well that night, and neither did Zhao Yangyang. In her dream, she suddenly dreamed of the day she brought Lin Xiuqin home to the family compound.
Lin Xiuqin transformed into a butterfly and, like a moth drawn to a flame, flew into that person's arms.
The next day, Zhao Yangyang was awakened by a nightmare. She felt she should do something, so she couldn't help herself. Just like in Maupassant's "The Necklace," she should let the protagonist know the belated truth.
Zhao Yangyang washed her face, looked at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and thought of herself as a warrior facing bloodshed.
Zhao Yangyang went downstairs to find Qin Xiangxiang, paying special attention to Zhong Li in the middle apartment, as she didn't want this tragic story to become common knowledge.
"Director Qin, there's something I need to tell you, about Lin Xiuqin from back then..."
Qin Xiangxiang was completely dumbfounded: "Fall in love with me at first sight?"
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