Tian Rou first took Wang Xiufen home, and then returned to the Tian family home.
As soon as I entered, Jiang Cheng was holding his son, Tian Huaiqian, rocking him to sleep.
The setting sun shone through the window, blurring the face of Jiangcheng and giving it a warm, sacred glow.
Hearing the voice, he turned to look at Tian Rou, who then heard a deep, pleasant male voice say, "You're back?"
Tian Rou nodded, washed her hands in a basin inside the house, dried them, and then took the child.
Jiang Cheng asked, "Why so early today?"
Tian Rou held the child and rocked him a few times, then leaned in and kissed him. Seeing Tian Huaiqian's big eyes wide open, his black pupils as big and round as soaked lychee seeds, she smiled.
Seeing that Tian Huaiqian wouldn't want to sleep anytime soon, she quickly took two steps, handed the baby to the nanny guarding the door, and then turned to look at Jiang Cheng.
She murmured, "Don't you know why I came back so early today?"
Jiang Cheng noticed her strange tone and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with you now?"
"What's wrong with me?" Tian Rou was both amused and annoyed. "You should know that your mother caused a huge scene at the bubble tea shop today, making me lose my job, right?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng lowered his eyes, looking slightly flustered: "I can't control what my mother does, you should go and resolve this with her."
"No need to solve it. Now that we've lost our jobs, let's just stay home and wait to die." Tian Rou shrugged and plopped down on the bed.
As soon as she sat down, fatigue washed over her like a tidal wave, and she realized that her whole body ached as if she had been beaten up.
"Lost your job? That's impossible!" Jiang Cheng strode forward, looking down at Tian Rou beside the bed. "What did my mother say?"
"Your mother? Do you think your mother can interfere with your sister's decisions?" Tian Rou scoffed.
She was backlit, facing Jiang Cheng, whose face was completely in shadow, his expression indistinct.
Tian Rou was too lazy to waste words with him and said bluntly, "You went to your mother to tattle on me, you're really being too clever for your own good."
Both she and Jiang Bai knew perfectly well that Wang Xiufen couldn't possibly have suddenly known that Tian Rou had become the manager of the milk tea shop, nor could she have known the shop's location so clearly, and that she could have thrown a tantrum at such a convenient time.
If Jiang Cheng hadn't been backstabbing him, Jiang Bai would have wasted his two lives.
Tian Rou is a smart woman; she understands better than Jiang Bai what Wang Xiufen's incident today represents.
Tian Rou hadn't expected things to be so unstable in the backyard. Jiang Bai's decision to send her home also had this implication. Tian Rou knew that if she couldn't properly resolve Jiang Cheng's ulterior motives, she would never have the right to go back.
Jiang Cheng's expression changed, and he smiled awkwardly: "Women should stay at home to take care of their husbands and children. I should have been the store manager in the past."
"You only dare to complain to me. Go ahead and complain to Jiang Bai. Do you dare?" Tian Rou laughed sarcastically.
Then, she shook her head, answering her own question: "You don't dare, because you know it's useless even if you post it; Jiang Bai doesn't want to pay any attention to you."
Her words struck Jiang Cheng squarely at his sore spot. Jiang Cheng paced around the room like a trapped beast: "I don't understand. She's my own sister. Why is she treating me like this?"
Tian Rou shook her head helplessly: "Jiang Cheng, you need to know that she is just your sister, not your mother. Even if she were your mother, she would not have an obligation to support a good-for-nothing like you."
Jiang Cheng glared at them angrily.
"You're so old now, you even have a son, and you still want me to help you get closer to your sister? Can you shoulder even the slightest responsibility for the family?" Tian Rou said coldly in a low voice, "You can't carry anything, you can't lift a finger, you're a complete failure, yet you get angry when I call you a good-for-nothing?"
"If you're not trash, then what are you, garbage?"
Jiang Cheng's fingers trembled as he pointed at Tian Rou: "You weren't like this before. Now you've finally shown your true colors."
Tian Rou rubbed her temples, stood up, and said, "Jiang Cheng, I didn't want to argue with you before. As your wife and the mother of your child, I don't mind raising a good-for-nothing like you, but the condition is that you can't hold me back."
“You need to understand that after we get married, we will be a community of shared interests. Your mother is getting old and can’t protect you for the rest of her life.”
"If you're smart, you'd better come and curry favor with me. Otherwise, do you think a married man can find someone better than me?"
She laid the truth bare before Jiang Cheng, who shook his head in disbelief: "How could you have become like this?"
"I've always been like this." Tian Rou smiled indifferently. She has nine older brothers, and as a girl, she has received the care and protection of her whole family. This cannot be explained by the fact that she is a rare gender.
She said, "If we can make it work, then we will. You stay home and take good care of the children for me, and I'll work hard outside. You'll always benefit from my efforts."
"If we can't continue like this, let's get a divorce. Anyway, we've already had our son, so you're no longer of any use to us."
Jiang Cheng was so frightened by these cruel words that he sat down on the ground.
He couldn't help but look up, staring intently at Tian Rou: "You're with me just to have a child?"
Tian Rou shrugged: "You're the prettiest person in the surrounding area."
Jiang Cheng pursued her passionately back then and was willing to spend money—of course, she later found out that it was all Jiang Bai's money. She thought that she was getting old and would have to get married anyway, so she might as well find a handsome man, otherwise she might become depressed if she had an ugly child.
So they chose Jiangcheng.
When she became pregnant, she even considered giving birth to the child alone. However, she couldn't withstand the questioning from her parents and brother and revealed her identity as Jiang Cheng, which forced her to get married.
The biggest advantage Jiangcheng has for her is that she has a good older sister.
Jiang Cheng stood up and grabbed Tian Rou's sleeve: "You're lying, I don't believe you, you really like me."
Tian Rou tried to shake it off, but couldn't.
Jiang Cheng said, "You want a divorce now, is it because you have another man outside?"
Tian Rou sighed: "No, don't be so suspicious."
Jiang Cheng sobbed, "I was wrong, I'll never cause trouble again, please don't divorce me, okay?"
Tian Rou touched his face: "Keep an eye on your mother, and don't say anything unnecessary to her anymore, otherwise it won't be so easy to get through next time."
Jiang Cheng nodded.
After everything was resolved, Tian Rou returned to the milk tea shop and explained the process to Jiang Bai in detail.
Jiang Bai stared at Tian Rou incredulously for a long while.
Her method was indeed correct; the only one who could completely control Wang Xiufen was her son, Jiang Cheng.
However—Tian Rou's way of thinking is exactly the same as a man's; her conversation with Jiang Cheng is practically a gender-swapped version of an ordinary family.
Jiang Bai couldn't help but want to give a thumbs up, thinking to himself: Tian Rou, this sister-in-law, has an extraordinary mind, she seems more like a time traveler than she does.
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