The next day.
Lin Jingwen got up at 4:40 a.m., because she had to work the early shift today. She needed to be at the restaurant by 5:00. Since they sold breakfast, she had to arrive this early, but she could finish by 4:00 in the afternoon.
If she worked the late shift, it would be from 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Back when she lived with her in-laws, whenever she had the early shift, she would get up at 4:00 to prepare the morning soup, put it on the stove to simmer, then chop pickled vegetables and other side dishes.
Before leaving, she would seal the stove so that when her mother-in-law and the others woke up at 6:00, they could drink the soup and eat steamed buns with pickles.
Comparing her current easy life with those exhausting days of being treated like a beast of burden, Lin Jingwen couldn’t bear to think too much about it—it would only make her angry.
Lin Jingwen had apprenticed under Chef Cai. Besides learning daily stir-fry dishes, she focused on mastering dough-based foods. She became skilled at making steamed twisted rolls and buns, and especially at Suzhou-style pastries, which she made beautifully and deliciously.
After finishing the breakfast rush with her master, Lin Jingwen shook her sore arms. Finally, she could eat something, drink some water, and rest for a while. But she couldn’t rest too long—she still had to prepare ingredients for lunch, which was the real workload.
“Here, have a big meat bun,” Chef Cai handed her one.
“Thank you, Master,” Lin Jingwen said, taking a big bite. She tasted the meat immediately and smiled at him: “This meat bun is so fragrant!”
Big meat buns weren’t available every day. Her master cared for her, so he saved one for her. Manager Fang didn’t dare offend the chef, so he turned a blind eye.
But before, Lin Jingwen had never allowed herself to eat it. She always saved it to take home for her adopted son, Li Dongle.
Because she couldn’t have children, in the third year of her marriage, her mother-in-law insisted they adopt her eldest sister-in-law’s youngest son, claiming it would be their own child.
But in reality, it was simply because the sister-in-law couldn’t manage the boy, so she was forced to raise her brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s child.
Li Dongle was a premature baby—weak, sickly, prone to crying, waking easily, and very difficult to care for. Once he was adopted, it became her responsibility day and night. Whenever the child cried or fussed, it was always blamed on her. She not only had to spend money on formula and nutritional supplements, but also had to carry him to work, strapping him on her back while chopping and washing vegetables, since her mother-in-law refused to help. Because the child was often ill, she had to take him to the hospital frequently, while Li Anping never cared or asked. Her wages were spent entirely on the child, leaving her with no money. When she asked Li Anping for money, he not only refused but also accused her of being wasteful. Yet despite all her devotion, the boy remained closer to his biological mother.
Her sister-in-law and mother-in-law often whispered to him behind her back, telling him that his real mother was his aunt, and that Lin Jingwen was only a stepmother. As a result, whenever he got upset, he would shout “Stepmother! Get out!”
Since they all lived together, she couldn’t stop her mother-in-law and sister-in-law from interacting with the child.
At only six and a half years old, how could he tell right from wrong? Of course, he would cling to whoever coaxed him.
Lin Jingwen hoped that when he grew older, he would understand her sacrifices and become close to her. But her experiences in the dream told her otherwise—Li Dongle was nothing but an ungrateful ingrate!
Raising such a thankless stepson was worse than raising a dog. At least if she fed a dog every day, it would wag its tail at her, recognize her as its master, protect her, and even bite bad people for her. But the ungrateful “white-eyed wolf” would only bite her back, stealing away the money she needed for her own health.
“Hey, what’s this? Finally figured it out? You know how to treat yourself better now?” Chef Cai teased when he saw her eating directly.
Lin Jingwen first smiled at her master in a flattering way, then said seriously: “Master, I was foolish before. Now I know I was wrong.”
Hearing this, Chef Cai immediately pulled up a stool, sat beside her, craned his neck to look at her curiously, and asked with concern: “What happened?! Yesterday I heard rumors that you’re getting a divorce and even moved out. Did you find a place to live? If not, don’t settle for less—you can stay at my place for a while.”
He knew his apprentice too well—she was as stubborn as a mule. Unless something huge had happened, she would never bring up divorce.
Touched by her master’s concern, Lin Jingwen felt her nose sting. The cruel words from her husband’s family no longer hurt her—she didn’t care anymore. But when faced with genuine concern, she found it hard to hold back her emotions. In that dream she had lived through, her in-laws, her own family, and relatives all condemned her, even calling her crazy. Only her master had pitied her. In the end, when she divorced and had nowhere to live, he had taken her in, letting her stay at his home.
“Master, I really am going to divorce.”
Suppressing the sourness in her heart, Lin Jingwen calmly explained about Zhou Xinping and how Li Anping was refusing to divorce her, dragging things out.
Since she knew Li Anping wouldn’t divorce her yet—because of the housing allocation—she had no choice but to move out first, to show her determination.
However, she had already taken out the marriage certificate and household registration book, so that when the time came to file for divorce, the scumbag wouldn’t be able to use those documents to control her.
Once she ruined his chances of getting the apartment, and later, when the assistant lecturer opportunity slipped away—well, she wouldn’t even need to intervene there. Although he had initially been appointed as a teaching assistant, he was later dismissed by the professor for incompetence.
Without the apartment allocation and without the assistant lecturer position, even if he were furious, he would have no choice but to divorce her.
After all, Zhou Xinping was waiting to marry him, and they had a biological son together. For the sake of legitimacy, he wouldn’t drag things out forever.
“This bastard, calling himself a university teacher—he’s not even human!” Chef Cai cursed immediately.
Lin Jingwen nodded: “Worse than an animal!”
“How about I find a couple of guys to give him a beating? Whether the divorce goes through or not, at least you’ll get some relief!” Chef Cai lowered his voice as he asked.
Chef Cai felt that divorce was a huge matter. Even though Li Anping had someone outside, he was still a university teacher. As long as he could be persuaded to return to his family, it would be fine—after all, what man doesn’t stray?
Besides, life for a divorced woman was hard. Gossip and finger-pointing followed everywhere. Chef Cai worried Lin Jingwen wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
Lin Jingwen herself wanted to give him a good beating, but she whispered back: “Wouldn’t that cause trouble? Could the police catch us? They’ve been cracking down hard lately—it’s not worth risking ourselves over that scumbag.”
“No problem. Wait until it’s dark, throw a sack over him, kick him a few times, and run. How could they catch anyone like that?” Chef Cai spoke with the confidence of someone experienced.
Hearing this, Lin Jingwen’s eyes lit up. She whispered back: “Then I’ll trouble you, Master. Safety first—don’t let that scumbag drag you down.”
Chef Cai patted his chest in assurance: “Don’t worry, impossible!”
After finishing work, Lin Jingwen returned to her rented apartment. She first took a half-hour nap to catch up on sleep, then quickly got to knitting. After working for a while, she cooked herself another bowl of noodles. Once she finished eating, she took the newly knitted pair of gloves, a scarf, and a pair of wool socks and headed out.
Lin Jingwen went to the school staff housing compound and found Director Yang’s home, knocking gently on the door.
Before long, the door opened—it was Director Yang’s wife, Qi Fang.
“Oh, it’s Jingwen! Come in, quickly. Just now, the old lady was talking about you, saying she missed you.”
Qi Fang greeted her warmly with a smile.
“I missed Auntie too, so I came to see her. This is a pair of gloves and a scarf I knitted myself. I’d like to give them to you, Sister Fang—you can wear them alternately.”
Lin Jingwen smiled as she spoke, handing over the scarf and gloves wrapped in newspaper.
“Oh my, thank you! Come inside and warm up, it’s terribly cold outside.”
Qi Fang accepted the items with a smile. When she opened them, her eyes lit up, and her welcome grew even warmer: “Jingwen, you’re so skillful! This scarf is much prettier than the ones I knit myself!”
“I’m glad you like it, Sister Fang,” Lin Jingwen smiled.
“Like it? I love it! How did you knit these patterns? They’re so unique and stylish!”
Qi Fang examined the scarf more closely, her eyes shining with admiration. She kept looking at it, praising it endlessly.
“If you’re interested in learning, Sister Fang, I can teach you sometime,” Lin Jingwen said with a smile.
“Of course!” Qi Fang agreed happily without hesitation.
“Ah, Xiao Lin, you’re here. Sit down and have some tea,” Director Yang came out of the study, smiling as he greeted her.
“Director, Sister Fang, thank you. I’ll have tea in a bit, but first I want to visit Auntie,” Lin Jingwen replied with a smile, heading toward the old lady’s room.
Director Yang’s mother had broken her leg half a year ago and needed to stay in bed to recover. Since both Director Yang and his wife Qi Fang worked, they had hired nannies to care for her. But the old lady disliked them all, saying they weren’t attentive enough and had driven away three nannies in a row. She even quarreled with Director Yang at home, demanding that her daughter-in-law take leave from work to care for her. This nearly caused Qi Fang and Director Yang to divorce.
Old Madam Yang was notorious in the staff housing compound for being a difficult mother-in-law.
Director Yang, being filial, wanted his wife to compromise, but Qi Fang was not the type to endure such treatment—she absolutely refused.
Seeing the family on the verge of breaking apart, Lin Jingwen heard about the situation. In order to secure a housing allocation spot, she volunteered to step in.
At the state-run restaurant, she arranged for someone to cover her shifts—with her master’s support, this was settled. At that time, she was determined to win over Old Madam Yang and, through her, secure the housing allocation.
But once she actually came, Lin Jingwen realized that although Old Madam Yang was demanding and sharp-tongued, she wasn’t nearly as difficult as people outside claimed.
Compared to Zhang Lanxiang, she felt Old Madam Yang was already very good. Though her words carried barbs, she never cursed her to her face like Zhang Lanxiang did.
Even when the old lady complained that her drinking water was sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold, it was nothing compared to Zhang Lanxiang’s unreasonable demands.
In fact, Lin Jingwen found Old Madam Yang to be kind at heart. Whenever she had something tasty, she would save a portion for her. She often encouraged Lin Jingwen to be strong and not let herself be bullied.
The nanny’s wages were also generous—eighty yuan a month, fifteen yuan more than what Lin Jingwen earned at the state-run restaurant.
And when it came to the housing allocation, if not for Old Madam Yang speaking up and insisting that Director Yang secure it for her, the quota would never have fallen to Lin Jingwen.
So, toward Old Madam Yang, Lin Jingwen felt deep gratitude.
“Jingwen, you’re here! Come sit with me and chat. Ever since you stopped coming, I’ve felt so lonely.”
Old Madam Yang’s eyes lit up when she saw Lin Jingwen. She smiled immediately and beckoned her over.
Lin Jingwen sat beside her, smiling as she asked how her health was.
“I’m fine, I can move slowly. But living in an apartment building makes it hard to go downstairs. I’m stuck at home all the time, with no one to talk to,” Old Madam Yang frowned and complained.
“Don’t be fooled by how many people are in the house. They don’t say anything beyond the same few lines all day: ‘Mom, you’re up,’ ‘Mom, are you eating,’ ‘Mom, you’ve finished eating,’ ‘Mom, time to sleep’…”