Chapter 4 (3)
Before the Lunar New Year, the amount of materials suddenly increased, and Di Liren was extremely busy, often coming home late. Yu Jia thought this was a good thing, as he was not at home much and would sleep as soon as he came home, allowing her to safely get through the "tough period" of plastic surgery.
Give him a surprise at the end.
However, after a few days, Yu Jia felt a sense of loss. Li Ren completely treated her as "nothing"—he didn't notice any of her changes, and he rarely seemed to look directly at her face. It was as if she was just a symbol, a mark, a representation of his wife, like a mannequin in a shop window. In his eyes, she was just there to do the laundry, cook, and nag endlessly. Beyond that, there were no other functions, no other surprises.
Even her colleagues noticed the change. Her immediate superior, Director Zhang, joked, "Sister Yu, you seem to be in a good mood lately." Yu Jia said, "Not really." Director Zhang replies, "I'm in a good mood. A happy event brings joy." Yu Jia says, "There's no such thing as a happy event." Director Zhang whispers, "Is your husband getting another promotion? It's all over the place."
Yu Jia's unit and Liren are considered a large system.
Another promotion? How could she not know? Li Ren kept it a secret? She shouldn't have told him. Perhaps it was true. The organization had its own rules, which must be followed. Rumors always managed to get out. Yu Jia smiled and said, "I didn't know anything about that. Director, you're so well-informed."
Hearing her husband was getting another promotion, Yu Jia felt a mixture of joy and sorrow, even struggling to sleep during her lunch break. A promotion was great, of course; that was Liren's vision. However, any more promotions would only widen the gap between husband and wife... Liren was like a roc soaring into the sky, while she, fallen to the ground, remained treading on the ground... crawling... She wanted to "advance," but where was the path?
She could only focus on the word "virtuous".
Having been a woman, a wife, and a daughter-in-law for so many years, Yu Jia is well aware of a "truth": at home, women must show weakness.
Showing weakness is not weakness. Often the weak can defeat the strong.
For example, now that Liren is home late, she'll always leave food on the table, two bowls, two pairs of chopsticks. It's a perfect ritual. While her daughter eats, she waits for Liren to come back and eat together. Liren asks, "Didn't I tell you to eat first?" Yu Jia replies, "No, I'm not hungry." This evening meal wasn't necessary anyway. She's trying to lose weight, ready to make a splash back home.
Out of the blue, Bai Yuankai called Yu Jia, inviting her to film a song. Yu Jia declined. With her return home approaching, she was busy preparing gifts for everyone. Furthermore, her face hadn't recovered yet—no one knew when it would, as it depended on her individual health.
Beauty seems to have become much more beautiful.
"Where are you spending New Year's?" Yu Jia casually asked. Only after he'd said it did he realize he'd made a mistake. Yu Shuang had mentioned that Xiaobai's parents were abroad. Thinking further, he realized, oh, he'd had a lot of girlfriends. Loneliness wasn't a problem.
"If one person is full, the whole family will not be hungry." Bai Yuankai said.
Yu Jia didn't ask any more questions. The two of them discussed forming a music club. Yuan Kai mentioned learning the "Chi Su" from Yan Yun Ting. His fellow music lovers were enthusiastic. Yu Jia was tempted to join, but after some thought, he decided to wait until after the New Year.
Yuan Kai sent a few short videos of him singing; his movements and voice were quite charming. "We'll be back on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Come join us," Yu Jia texted. She considered him a wonderful younger brother.
If you spend too much time at your husband's house, your parents' side will have to take a back seat. Yu Jia urged her younger brother, Yu Yi, to come home early to keep her company. Daughters are like water once they're married, there's nothing you can do about it. Sons should be more filial. Yu Yi asked about his sister's doctoral exams. Yu Jia mentioned it to Li Ren, but there was no response. She could only say, "Your brother-in-law knows. There's still time. He'll ask again after the New Year. You should also work hard on your own."
Yu Yi asked Yu Rui if she would be returning to Yingzi for the Lunar New Year. Yu Jia knew her brother still missed Rui, but since she already had a boyfriend, there was no point in dwelling on her feelings. She told her brother openly, "You need to find someone who stays with you, not someone who chases you around." Her brother's marriage wasn't just about himself; it also affected their parents.
Yu Jia knew his parents were snobs. From the first day Li Ren arrived in the big city, they asked their son-in-law to take good care of their brother-in-law. One of the most important things they asked was to help him find a friend. In parentheses, a girlfriend. And in parentheses, preferably one with a house.
They think their son is outstanding and worthy of a woman with a house.
"It doesn't matter if she's older," Yu Jia's father warned. A girl three years older than her father is a treasure. Li Ren parroted the words to Yu Jia, laughing. Yu Jia's face turned green with anger, but she didn't react. No matter how bad her father was, he was still on her side. Scolding him would only hurt her reputation.
So in recent years, when Yu Jia returned to her parents' home, her temper changed from good to bad. They bullied Li Ren and went to him for everything, which indirectly bullied her.
This caused her relationship with Li Ren to become distant, and their marriage fate was greatly damaged.
It wasn't until they boarded the train back home that Di Liren seemed to notice something was amiss with Yu Jia. Holding a thermos, he approached from the other end of the train. Seat D was his, and Yu Jia occupied Seat F. Sisi had already gone home with her uncle, Yu Yi. Liren stood, his gaze fixed on Yu Jia's face for a few seconds, as if he were inspecting some work.
Yu Jia immediately straightened her back. Women dress up to please themselves, so at least her efforts were not in vain.
She waited for his praise.
"This hairstyle suits you very well." Li Ren pointed.
And then it was gone.
The praise ends here.
Couldn't he see that her skin had improved, her wrinkles were fewer, her cheeks smaller? Sure, her hairstyle had changed slightly, but that was the icing on the cake, not the brocade itself. Was he being careless? Or did he simply not care about her? Was it that for a man at this age, the appearance of the woman around him was irrelevant?
Just one person will do?
Yu Jia felt a little frustrated. But she could only try to reason with herself. Li Ren was meticulous in some areas, but when it came to women, he was probably just a bit of a slob. That was fine, it saved her from chasing him around. However, since arriving in the big city, they hadn't even had sex once.
In the big city, Di Liren was just a member of his unit, determined to serve the people. But when he returned home for the New Year, he was a big celebrity, surrounded by the masses. He always spent New Year's Eve and the first day of the New Year at home.
The Di family had treated Li Ren like a living dragon. Even Li Ren's parents were elevated to prominence, acting like they held sway wherever they went. Yu Jia didn't like it, but she had to respect it. She had to know her place.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Yi drove to pick her up at her parents' home. The two cities weren't far apart, but time was tight, so they could only have lunch. Yu Jia's parents made this lunch extraordinarily grand, and all the relatives who visited the house came, filling the house like a large market.
Everyone was there to see Li Ren. Some also brought petitions, various grievances to redress. Yu Jia shouted, "Work is work, rest is rest. Come down and talk later!" With a roar like a tiger and a whale, the man quickly retreated in fear.
Yu Jia and Sisi could not avoid benefiting from Li Ren's influence.
Relatives praised Sisi for her intelligence and beauty. Sisi, however, was pragmatic and said, "My nose isn't pretty." A female relative immediately disagreed, saying, "No, no, no, it means she's blessed, rich, and a good wife."
Yu Jia was the center of everyone's admiration. They noticed something different about her face, but they simply summed it up in two words: youthful. The older ones, tracing back to the source of her praise, said, "Ever since she was little, I knew she was noble. Her horoscope is auspicious, with a metal and water element, indicating great wealth and prosperity. She'll be even more blessed in her later years than Fan Bingbing." Yu Jia, embarrassed by the praise, said, "What kind of wealth? I'm just an ordinary person, serving the people." Although Bugui said this, she felt a surge of joy in her heart.
The money and the injections paid off. When old colleagues gathered for a group photo, she was the most photogenic. They all praised her: "Different, just different!" They said it was the temperament cultivated in the big city. You get it? Elegance!
However, when you look at a mountain from the front, you see a peak. Li Ren's sister and mother saw Yu Jia's "change" from another angle.
"Really good," Liren's sister said, "There's no smile at all." At this point, she corrected herself, "No, there's a little bit, like Mona Lisa's smile, she smiles, but it's like she's not smiling."
Liren's mother lay on the sofa, tapping her inner thigh with a small leather hammer. She said quietly, "Didn't Sisi say during the photo shoot that her mother was only smiling with her face but not her heart?"
"We are not close."
"It doesn't matter to us. Just treat it as a fart. We can hear it, but we can't see it. Your brother is the one who suffers. He comes home every day to see this fake smile. How can he not get stye?" Liren's mother said openly in front of her daughter. "There's no future. The national policy has been relaxed. Why don't you try harder? You have a big butt, but it's useless!"
"Is it you, brother, who doesn't want one?" Liren's sister, who had been living outside, knew how hard life was. She sympathized with her sister-in-law. She personally didn't want a second child. Her in-laws were pressing.
"Don't mention it." Liren's mother put down the small leather hammer and stretched out her hand to rub her solar plexus. "It hurts when I lift it, and I fart a lot." During the New Year, she was obsessed with farts, and she couldn't stop talking about farts. Her daughter couldn't help but scold her, "Mom, stop talking about farts, I can almost smell it!"
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