Complaint
Li Yutao remained quietly there without moving.
Xu Tangmian knew that Li Yutao had classes during the time when Zhi Meizi's stepfather was causing trouble, and that she must have heard about her situation and come to find her, or perhaps to convey some message from the school. So she didn't think much of it and went straight across the river to find her.
When she reached her side, Li Yutao didn't look at her. Instead, she stared blankly at the figure on the opposite bank of the river who hadn't followed but hadn't left either. She called out loudly, "Don't you have anything to say to me?"
Song Weidong pursed his lips, stared at her for a long while, then turned and left without saying a word.
Li Yutao's gaze gradually turned cold, her jaw muscles bulging with anger. After a long while, she turned to Xu Tangmian and spoke in a businesslike tone:
"The principal wants you to rest at home this week and take care of your personal issues. If no one causes trouble when you go to school next Monday, you can resume your teaching duties."
"Really?" This was good news for her. Xu Tangmian smiled and said, "Thank you, Xiao Tao. It's kind of you to make this special trip."
"You're very happy now, aren't you?" Li Yutao said with a forced smile.
Xu Tangmian keenly sensed that her attitude was off, but she didn't know what to say, so she could only give an awkward laugh and agree with her: "It's alright, I'm not that happy... I would be happier if I could get back to school as soon as possible."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Yutao interrupted him: "Go back to Beiping as soon as possible? Didn't you say the principal had already agreed to the letter of introduction? Why are you going to find Song Weidong?"
"Looking for Song..." Xu Tangmian glanced back at the figure that had disappeared on the other side of the river, then suddenly realized, "You heard everything, right?"
“I didn’t go to him.” Xu Tangmian quickly explained, afraid that she would misunderstand: “He heard the villagers talking about what happened today, so he came over to comfort me. Then he probably heard from you about me needing a letter of introduction, so he mentioned it to me.”
"You really are addicted to using connections, aren't you?" Seeing her walking with Song Weidong, Li Yutao felt a surge of anger at being betrayed by her friend. She lost her temper and said without any restraint, "Teacher Geng mentioned in the office that you gave gifts to the principal. I thought you had changed your ways. Teacher Xu, is it really that hard to accomplish something on your own?"
This hat was too big for Xu Tangmian to bear. As the first female friend she made here, Xu Tangmian regarded Li Yutao as her "eldest daughter," but she never expected that Li Yutao would say such things to her for a man.
If she were just an ordinary friend, Xu Tangmian would have cut off all contact with her and turned away. But she was Li Yutao, so Xu Tangmian suppressed her anger and explained herself:
“First of all, I did not ask Song Weidong to issue a letter of introduction for me at the brigade headquarters; he offered it on his own initiative. Secondly, I admit that I wanted to take a shortcut when I gave him the gift, but I have been working diligently ever since.”
"Finally, accomplishing something on your own is truly remarkable, and also incredibly difficult," she said meaningfully.
“I know your family background must be quite impressive, and a letter of introduction is just a phone call away for you. You probably think that everything you do goes incredibly smoothly, and that all the rules are flexible for you, so you look down on those who get things done through connections.”
“But your family background already puts you in a privileged position.” Xu Tangmian confronted her with an air of experience: “Don’t think you’re so great. What can you accomplish by abandoning the identity of ‘Li Yutao’ and your family background and living independently here?”
Li Yutao was a little confused. No one had ever said such a thing to her before, and she had never given anyone gifts or treated them to meals. She replied blankly, "I... I've always relied on myself. I've never told anyone about my identity. Why are you so condescending in criticizing me?"
Xu Tangmian wasn't angry. Li Yutao looked exactly the same as when she first transmigrated.
She never told anyone about her identity, because the people she associated with were all uncles and elders who had watched her grow up; she didn't need to give anyone gifts or pull strings, because the rules were made for her, and she had always worked normally according to the established procedures.
How can someone who has been enjoying the benefits of their privileges since birth know that the seemingly ordinary things they enjoy might be what ordinary people strive for their entire lives, unless they fall to the bottom?
She understood, but Li Yutao might never understand in her lifetime.
Xu Tangmian calmly replied, "I wasn't criticizing you; I was just responding to your criticism of me. Actually, you've seen plenty of people using connections, haven't you?"
"Given your family background, even without using connections, you've undoubtedly received countless gifts and favors. Since you can accept others engaging in this kind of worldly social interaction, why are you mocking me alone?"
"Don't say I didn't ask Song Weidong for help. Even if I did, shouldn't I have done so? If I had had this resource earlier, how much trouble would I have had during this time?"
"Do you disapprove of me getting in through connections, or do you disapprove of my close relationship with Song Weidong? This is very important to me, thank you."
"I just can't stand you getting close to him!" Li Yutao said bluntly. "It's just a letter of introduction. If it's really important to you, I can make a call for you."
“You’re already married, and Brother Yu is handsome and treats you well. Even if you don’t care about the gossip, you should still be careful. To put it another way, if you insist on finding a man… there are so many men in the world, why Song Weidong! You know perfectly well that I like him.”
Xu Tangmian sighed, tapped her forehead, and said with exasperation, "Are you stupid? I already have Yu Chunsheng, why would I go looking for him? He's not as good-looking as Yu Chunsheng, and he's older. Only you would be interested in him."
"Don't talk about him like that," Li Yutao said, displeased. "He's been able to dedicate himself to grassroots work for over a decade and maintain his celibacy. Could you do that?"
"I can't do it," Xu Tangmian said honestly.
After their argument, the two actually resolved their differences. Li Yutao suddenly relaxed and looked at her best friend directly, asking, "You really don't have those feelings for him, do you?"
"No."
"If I were to tell a little white lie to get him to give up his celibacy without ruining your reputation, would you mind?"
"Not only do I not mind, but I will also send you both my sincere blessings," Xu Tangmian said jokingly.
"Then I'll go." Without saying another word, Li Yutao turned and left.
"Aren't you going to come over for a meal?" Xu Tangmian called out with a smile. The next second, she glanced at the empty bottle in her hand and slapped her thigh: "Oh no!"
——
When Yu Chunsheng returned home, he saw that his wife was already lying in bed.
There wasn't a single dish on the table.
"What do you want to eat tonight? I'll cook now," he asked.
Hearing his voice, Xu Tangmian jumped out of bed and said weakly, "Come in first, I have something to tell you."
Yu Chunsheng sat down on the edge of the bed. His hands were still cold from washing them, so he mischievously reached under the bed and placed them on her thighs to warm them, for which he received another loud slap.
After Xu Tangmian finished speaking, the man by the bed fell silent.
She felt a little panicked; after losing her job, she always felt inexplicably inferior to men. Although her experiences in bed with men were quite good, she often felt down and frustrated at work.
Yu Chunsheng is only 22 years old. He liked to be intimate with her even before he had sex. Now that he has, there will inevitably be more sex in the future. If she still had her job, she could still refuse him with a clear conscience.
But now she seems to be living under someone else's roof, having to ask him for money for everything from food and clothing to shelter and transportation. Not to mention that she can't go anywhere without a job and a letter of introduction, even if Song Weidong did give her one, what about the train tickets and meals? They all cost money.
If her grandfather is willing to acknowledge her, that's fine; if not, she'll have to find a job in Beiping.
Before, she only considered sex as something that both of them enjoyed; she could do it when she wanted and not do it when she didn't. But now that she had stopped working, she felt like she was selling herself, as if she would lose the freedom to refuse him sex.
We'll have to see if she can go back to work in a week. If Yu Chunsheng has a conscience, a month or two might be fine, but after a while, he'll inevitably get annoyed and might just tell her that since she's not working anyway, she might as well have a child and stay home to take care of it.
Xu Tangmian was very irritable, and seeing that Yu Chunsheng hadn't said anything made her even more irritable.
She kicked him twice through the blanket, grumbling, "What were you thinking? You didn't say a word."
Yu Chunsheng looked up at her, his eyes revealing no emotion. He suddenly reached into the blankets, found her hand, and took it in his hand, saying in a low voice, "Didn't I only tell you to rest for a week? Then consider it a vacation. You can do something else at home."
These words didn't make her happy at all. Xu Tangmian asked sullenly, "What are you doing?"
"Feed the chickens, sweep the yard, it's not hard, is it?" Yu Chunsheng frowned slightly, tilted his head as if he didn't quite understand, as if he was asking her or talking to himself.
Who cares about that... Xu Tangmian said sullenly, "What if I haven't returned to work in a week? What if I lose this job completely?"
After hearing her words, Yu Chunsheng raised his head slightly as if he was really thinking. After a moment, he replied, "When I injured my hand before, you took care of me for more than a month without complaint. This time, I'll give you two months."
"If you really don't have a job, I can support you to stay at home for more than two months. Two months later... it seems like it will be Chinese New Year again. After the New Year, you can try to go out and look for a job. You are educated and quick-witted, so it won't be hard for you to find a job."
That's alright, but Xu Tangmian had probably never felt so dejected before. She was momentarily stunned and didn't know what to say. She just blurted out whatever came to mind and asked him, "Don't you think that just because I don't have a job, I should stay at home, be a wife and mother, and have a child?"
"Huh?" Yu Chunsheng was genuinely confused this time. He frowned and asked her, "You want to stay home and take care of the child?" As if afraid of upsetting her, he quickly added, "Okay... fine! It's fine too. If you want to have a child, then have one. I should be able to afford it if I try my best."
“Who wants to have a baby!” Xu Tangmian’s face flushed red. “I’m just asking if you have this thought! I’m not planning to have a baby right now, and I don’t want to stay at home all the time.”
“Okay!” Yu Chunsheng agreed readily. “I don’t want one right now either.” But as if afraid she would misunderstand, he quickly added, “I just don’t want children, I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”
"What a scoundrel!" Xu Tangmian kicked him again. "Go cook!"
While eating, Xu Tangmian thought of Zhi Meizi again.
Now that I'm on vacation, this would have been the perfect time to help Zhi with her studies in the past. But now, my work has been a complete mess thanks to her stepfather, and I don't even know how she is doing.
She wanted to go to her house again, not for Zhi Meizi's sake, but for her own return to work in a week.
If she doesn't deal with Liu Peng properly, even if the school gives her a chance to return to work next week, he'll ruin it sooner or later. He's like a knife hanging over her head.
But if she goes to his house, she has to bring Yu Chunsheng with her, otherwise it would be very dangerous for her to face such a scumbag.
As for what she said to Yu Chunsheng… he had just returned to work and needed to take at least half a day off. She had gotten herself into this mess because of meddling in Zhi's affairs, and now that she wasn't working, did she really expect Yu Chunsheng to take time off to help her deal with this?
Xu Tangmian was a little embarrassed to speak.
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