Even if she was innocent, so what? If a girl was too pretty and attracted too much attention, people would say it was her fault.
That was when Wen Jiaojiao began to hate Wen Lili. After the gossip in the village became so unbearable that she could no longer stay there, she went to town to find work, where she eventually met the mayor’s son.
Her beauty had always been her greatest asset, but all her suffering had also stemmed from that same face that attracted so much attention.
When Wen Lili heard her refusal, displeasure immediately appeared on her face.
“Jiaojiao, why won’t you go? My cousin is really handsome! If cousins were allowed to marry these days, I’d want to marry him myself!”
Without even looking up, Wen Jiaojiao replied, “Then go marry him. As long as you don’t tell anyone, no one will know that you’re first cousins. I’ll keep your secret.”
“Uh… What nonsense are you talking about? I was just giving an example!” Wen Lili stomped her foot angrily.
“My cousin is waiting for you in the little woods to the east. Hurry up and go. What’s with that attitude? He just wants to talk to you. Do you really think you’re some big shot?”
As Wen Lili looked at Wen Jiaojiao’s profile, a flash of jealousy appeared in her eyes. It had always been this way since they were children. Men were always chasing after Wen Jiaojiao.
Wen Jiaojiao remained unmoved.
“I’m not going. There’s still so much work to do at home. Tell your cousin to go back.”
“You!”
Wen Lili stomped her foot again. Wen Jiaojiao was usually easy to persuade, so why was she being so stubborn today?
“Wen Jiaojiao, who do you think you are?”
Wen Jiaojiao ignored her completely. After feeding the chickens, she went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.
Seeing that Wen Lili had failed to get what she wanted, she naturally assumed that the girl would leave.
But after Wen Jiaojiao finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen, she suddenly heard noises coming from her room. Her expression immediately changed, and she hurried back.
She saw Wen Lili rummaging through her wardrobe.
Anger surged through her. Wen Jiaojiao rushed forward and snatched away the item Wen Lili had found.
“What are you doing?!”
Wen Lili looked guilty for a moment, but then she remembered what she had just seen and immediately questioned her with righteous indignation.
“Where did you get this military recruitment recommendation letter?”
Disgust filled Wen Jiaojiao’s eyes.
“What does it have to do with you?”
“You went through someone else’s wardrobe without the owner’s permission. Wen Lili, you’re nothing but a thief!”
Wen Lili felt guilty at being called out, and embarrassment quickly turned into anger.
“You’re the thief! Who knows where you stole that recommendation letter from? Give it to me! I’m going to ask Third Aunt about this!”
As she spoke, she lunged forward to snatch it.
Wen Jiaojiao quickly stuffed the letter into the inner pocket of her clothes. Wen Lili immediately reached into her pocket to take it.
The sight of that made Wen Jiaojiao feel disgusted. She shoved Wen Lili away without hesitation.
Caught off guard, Wen Lili fell hard onto the floor.
This infuriated her.
She had always been the one bullying others. Since when had anyone been allowed to bully her?
“Wen Jiaojiao, how dare you push me! I’ll fight you!”
She scrambled to her feet and charged at Wen Jiaojiao with a twisted expression, her long fingernails reaching for Wen Jiaojiao’s face.
Wen Jiaojiao was much stronger than her, and she was also taller.
The moment Wen Lili lunged at her, Wen Jiaojiao kicked her straight in the stomach.
Wen Lili had never experienced such pain before. She immediately doubled over, clutching her stomach.
Taking advantage of her weakened state, Wen Jiaojiao kicked her several more times until she collapsed onto the ground. Only then did Wen Jiaojiao stop.
If Wen Lili had looked up at that moment, she would have seen the murderous fury hidden in Wen Jiaojiao’s eyes.
Wen Jiaojiao desperately restrained her urge to keep beating her. Her entire body trembled from the effort.
Wen Lili had been the source of the tragedy of her previous life. How could she not hate her?
Now that she had been given another chance at life, Wen Lili was still trying to get her hands on that recommendation letter.
Afraid that she might accidentally beat her to death, Wen Jiaojiao turned and ran out.
She was going to have a completely new life this time. There was no need to ruin her own future just to vent her anger for a moment.
Wen Jiaojiao ran all the way to the entrance of the village and crouched beside a pile of rubbish. She searched through it and found an old oil-paper wrapper that was still relatively clean.
She wrapped the recommendation letter inside it, intending to hide it for now and retrieve it when she went to the train station.
Just as she was about to bury it, a thought suddenly occurred to her.
Wen Lili was the darling of the Wen family. Now that she had beaten her, there was no doubt that the family would hold a public family meeting to condemn her.
And if she had beaten Wen Lili too badly, how would she still be able to join the army?
It looked like she had to move her plans forward.
She might have to leave today.
Wen Jiaojiao took the letter back out, put it on her person, and ran home.
The moment she entered the house, Li Chunhua’s large broom came swinging at her.
“You’re trying to get yourself killed! How could you beat your cousin like that? You cause trouble for me every single day!”
Wen Jiaojiao had not been prepared and took the blow squarely across her back. The broom hurt badly enough that she could not help groaning.
“She came into my room to steal my things! Was I supposed to just let her?”
She dodged to the side after saying this.
Li Chunhua did not listen to her explanation at all. After striking her once, she stopped and planted her hands on her hips.
“And you still have the nerve to talk back! Your second uncle and aunt won’t let you off today. Let’s see what you’re going to do!”
“You’re nothing but a money-losing daughter! Your second aunt will definitely use this opportunity to make our family pay compensation. What kind of sin did I commit to end up with a useless daughter like you?!”
Li Chunhua’s loud voice drew the attention of the neighbors, who poked their heads out to see what was happening.
It did not take long for everyone to understand what had happened.
The way the neighbors looked at Wen Jiaojiao immediately changed.
She was already considered too flashy because of her beauty, and the older women and young wives in the village had never had a particularly good opinion of her.
Now she had another stain against her reputation.
She was so young, yet so vicious that she had beaten her own cousin like that.
Who would dare marry a woman like her in the future?
The neighbors pointed and whispered about Wen Jiaojiao. Li Chunhua joined in, criticizing her daughter together with everyone else.
After listening for a long while, Wen Shi finally became irritated and went inside.
He hated the gossiping women in the neighborhood more than anything. Just hearing them made him annoyed.
Wen Lili had been the one who stole something first, so Wen Jiaojiao had every right to hit her.
Of course, he also blamed his own daughter. A couple of hits to vent her anger would have been enough. Why did she have to beat Wen Lili until she was lying on the ground unable to move?
She really was a money-losing daughter!
Wen Jiaojiao ignored the sarcasm and criticism outside and calmly began packing her clothes.
She pulled the five yuan she had secretly saved from between the bricks and tucked it into the most concealed inner pocket of her clothing.
The money was only enough for a train ticket.
Given the current situation, she had to leave today.
After taking the money, she slipped into Li Chunhua and Old Third Wen’s room to retrieve her household registration page.
She had suffered because of this in her previous life.
The couple had held onto her household registration documents and secretly registered her marriage to the mayor’s son without her consent.
Whenever she thought about those miserable years, murderous fury filled Wen Jiaojiao’s eyes.
Not this time.
She would never give them another opportunity.
Outside, Li Chunhua continued criticizing her daughter for a long time.
But her daughter never came out, and the neighbors gradually dispersed.
Once the voices outside had disappeared, Wen Jiaojiao finally came out and casually said, “Mom, you said at breakfast that you were going to the market the day after tomorrow. I’ll go ask Old Li if there’s still room on his tricycle.”
Li Chunhua had just finished scolding her daughter. Hearing that Wen Jiaojiao was still concerned about this matter, she was momentarily stunned.
But before she could say anything, Wen Jiaojiao had already walked out.
All Li Chunhua could do was shout after her,
“Come back quickly! Don’t be late for cooking lunch!”
The moment she mentioned cooking, Li Chunhua suddenly slapped her thigh.
She had completely forgotten that there were steamed buns cooking on the stove.
She had spent so much time outside criticizing her daughter with the neighbors that she had lost track of time.
The buns should have been done by now.