This was the second day after Xia Ying married into the Zhou family. Since they had already accepted Zhou Qingbai as their son-in-law, they couldn’t cause any more trouble at a time like this, or the gossip from outsiders wouldn’t sound good.
Seeing that Zhou Zheng had agreed, Xia Weiming gave Zhou Qingbai a deep look and left with Yan Lirong.
Zhou Qingbai and Xia Ying walked them out together.
“Alright, no need to see us off.” At the doorway, Yan Lirong stopped and took Xia Ying’s hand. “Don’t send us any further. You’re married now, so live your life well from now on.” As she spoke, she looked at Zhou Qingbai, took his hand as well, and then placed Xia Ying’s hand in his. Choking up, she said, “You two must live well together. Discuss things when they come up, don’t argue, and be good to each other…”
In her previous life, when she died, her mother had already passed away several years earlier.
And until her final moments, her mother had regretted not risking everything to make her leave the Zhou family when the incident with Zhou Yiming happened. It was because of this lingering regret that her mother, who originally had excellent health, quickly declined as Xia Ying’s life in the Zhou family worsened.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have passed away so young.
In this life, she must live a prosperous and thriving life. At the same time… Xia Ying lowered her already teary eyes and reached out with her other hand to tightly grasp Yan Lirong’s. At the same time, she must also keep a close watch on her parents’ home. Since this incident couldn’t be stirred up now, she would have to see if her father would cause any other trouble. If he did, she must discover it in time and persuade her mother to divorce him!
“Mom, don’t worry. Yingying and I will be fine,” Zhou Qingbai assured her with a smile.
“No need to say anything else. We’ll talk properly when you return home on the third day,” Xia Weiming said impatiently, not wanting to watch them like this. After tossing out these words, he flicked his sleeve and left.
Yan Lirong hurriedly followed.
In the past, although Xia Ying rarely worked in the fields while living at home, she handled all the household chores. Now that she was married, all the housework fell on Yan Lirong, who would have plenty to keep her busy.
Only when Yan Lirong’s figure had completely disappeared did Xia Ying reach up to wipe her tears. Out of habit, she tried to use her right hand, but as she moved, she realized it was being held by someone.
Xia Ying looked over.
Zhou Qingbai followed her gaze and then abruptly let go of her hand, rushing into the courtyard with somewhat flustered steps. After taking two steps, he seemed to remember something and turned back to Xia Ying, saying, “Stay outside for now. Come in after ten minutes.”
As he spoke, he casually locked the courtyard gate from the inside.
What was he going to do?
Xia Ying could only step forward and press her ear against the wooden gate of the small courtyard.
The gate was quite far from the main house, so she could only faintly hear Xiang Meilan’s curses and screams, Zhou Zheng’s shouts, and Zhou Yiming’s angry yells. Finally… it seemed like a stool was slammed heavily onto the floor, followed by Zhou Qingbai saying something intermittently, and then everything fell completely silent.
It all happened so quickly that the neighbors who had come out upon hearing the noise to inquire hadn’t even had a chance to speak to Xia Ying, the new bride, before the Zhou family’s gate opened and Zhou Qingbai emerged.
The aunt from the east side asked, “Qingbai, what happened at your place?”
The grandmother from the west side looked at Zhou Qingbai with pity. “Qingbai, did that Xiang woman do something again?”
Zhou Qingbai smiled and said, “It’s nothing, don’t worry.” As he spoke, he took Xia Ying’s hand right in front of the two women. “My wife just married over, and we haven’t even started sorting out her dowry yet. We’ll go back and take care of that first, then I’ll have my wife come chat with you later.”
The aunt and grandmother nodded with smiles, agreeing happily.
But once the Zhou family’s gate closed again, the two exchanged glances and felt something was off.
“Wife? I remember Qingbai’s wife was the second daughter of the Jiao family in our village, wasn’t she?”
“Exactly! That pretty girl just now—wasn’t she the wife Xiang Meilan found for her son? I think she’s the eldest daughter of Xia Weixin, the village head of Xiajia Village!”
“Then how…”
“Could it be we got it wrong? Actually, this eldest daughter of the Xia family is Qingbai’s wife, and the second daughter of the Jiao family in our village is Yiming’s wife?”
“Possibly. If that’s the case, then that Xiang Meilan actually did something decent for once!”
“Exactly… Qingbai, that boy, still has some luck after all.”
·
Xia Ying didn’t hear these words, but Zhou Qingbai holding her hand in front of the neighbors and calling her his wife was essentially announcing her identity to the outside world. She couldn’t hide in the house forever—once she stepped out, she would have to face it.
She wasn’t afraid of people pointing fingers, gossiping about how she went from being Zhou Yiming’s wife to Zhou Qingbai’s wife. A few words wouldn’t hurt her. Just enduring some talk, but never having to live the life she did in her past life—in the end, she was coming out way ahead.
Come to think of it, even with her foresight, things turning out this well was all thanks to Zhou Qingbai.
Xia Ying felt her palms sweating, even though Zhou Qingbai’s hand was dry.
Enveloped in his large hand, she somehow felt her heartbeat grow a little erratic. She hesitated again and again but ultimately didn’t pull her hand away.
When they reached the entrance of the main house, Zhou Qingbai let go of her hand first and said, “You go back to the room first. I’ll go help you move your things.”
Xia Ying’s dowry was the most impressive within ten villages. Not only did it include a bicycle and a sewing machine, but also a small black-and-white television. These were actually supposed to be the betrothal gifts prepared by the groom’s family, but in Xia Ying’s case, her uncle and aunt added the bicycle and television, her father bought the sewing machine, and her mother had several large chests made for her.
Moving all these things alone would take Zhou Qingbai a while, so Xia Ying said, “I’ll help.”
Before Zhou Qingbai could respond, Xiang Meilan, who had been sitting on the floor inside the doorway, suddenly jumped up. Startled, Xia Ying looked over and saw not only shattered pieces of a large bowl beside her but also a stool that had been smashed to pieces.
Recalling the sounds she had heard earlier, Xia Ying knew this was probably Zhou Qingbai’s doing.
It was indeed Zhou Qingbai. When he came in earlier to demand Xia Ying’s dowry, Xiang Meilan naturally refused to hand it over. But as soon as Zhou Qingbai’s face darkened and he smashed the bowl and stool, before he could even utter a threat, Xiang Meilan was so frightened she cowered on the ground. After he delivered his harsh words, Xiang Meilan naturally didn’t dare make a sound, and Zhou Yiming was even less likely to speak up. The only one, Zhou Zheng, was furious and wanted to argue, but he was afraid Zhou Qingbai might actually go through with crippling Zhou Yiming and Xiang Meilan, so he kept quiet.
Now, as Xiang Meilan jumped up, it wasn’t toward Xia Ying and Zhou Qingbai but into the East Wing Room. She quickly dragged Jiao Qinqin out by the arm. “Come on! You cheap little thing! I’m going to ask your parents how they raised such a cheap daughter!”
Xiang Meilan was also a bully who picked on the weak but feared the strong. At this moment, she vented all her anger toward Zhou Qingbai and Xia Ying onto Jiao Qinqin, using such force that when Jiao Qinqin was dragged out, bloodstained scratches were left on her fair arms.
“Brother Yiming, Brother Yiming, say something! Say something!” Jiao Qinqin cried out.
Zhou Yiming had long been speechless.
Xia Ying had actually gone with Zhou Qingbai.
The Xia family had accepted it just like that and left without another word.
His mind was in complete chaos now; how could he possibly hear Jiao Qinqin’s wailing?
Zhou Zheng was also furious. Seeing that Xiang Meilan was struggling to hold onto Jiao Qinqin, he angrily rushed into the kitchen, dragged Zhou Xiaocao out, and kicked her: “Are you a bead on an abacus? Can’t you see what’s happening? Hurry up and help your mother, hold her down for me!” As a grown man, it wasn’t appropriate for him to grab Jiao Qinqin himself.
Zhou Xiaocao climbed up from the ground, wiped her tears, and went to the other side to pull Jiao Qinqin’s hand.
Zhou Qingbai sneered coldly and paid no attention, only saying to Xia Ying, “Zhou Yiming is in the house. Don’t come over!”
Seeing his insistence, Xia Ying returned to the West Wing Room first.
After all the belongings were moved over, Zhou Qingbai didn’t help with the tidying up. Instead, he instructed Xia Ying, “I need to go out for a while. You stay home and organize things. Remember to lock the door from the inside. If Zhou Yiming comes, don’t open it for him.”
Xia Ying wasn’t afraid of Zhou Yiming, but she was a bit curious about where Zhou Qingbai was going now.
“Where are you going?”
Zhou Qingbai said, “To the Jiao family to watch the commotion. Xiang Meilan is the kind of person who can twist black into white. If I don’t go, who knows how she’ll slander us behind our backs. We can’t just swallow the insult silently and then be pointed at behind our backs!”
As a man, he wasn’t afraid, but Xia Ying was a newlywed bride who had just married into the family. She couldn’t afford to have such a stain on her reputation. This was also why he had cooperated with Xia Weiming earlier. If he had really confronted Xia Weiming today, Xia Ying would undoubtedly be gossiped about by the entire village.
Even if Xia Ying wasn’t as perceptive as Zhou Qingbai, having lived an extra lifetime, she immediately understood what he meant as soon as he said it.
Zhou Qingbai was doing this mostly for her sake.
She felt somewhat uneasy, but more than that, she was moved. However, looking at Zhou Qingbai, she didn’t know what to say for a moment. She remained silent until Zhou Qingbai was about to leave, then hurriedly grabbed him. She took out a key from the necklace around her neck, opened one of the boxes, and pulled out a large Red Envelope.
“Here’s a thousand. Take it for now!”
Zhou Qingbai watched as she lowered her head, but from his height, he could see her ears had already turned red. Unconsciously, he licked his lips, feeling an inexplicable itch in his heart.
This made him disregard everything else. He took the money, turned around, and left.
Only when she heard the sound of the main gate opening outside did Xia Ying let out a sigh of relief. She ran forward, locked the door, and gently patted her chest. That was truly dangerous—she had almost misunderstood.
Thank goodness, thank goodness. Zhou Qingbai was just being professional. He took her money, still remembering their agreement.
·
After Xia Weiming returned home, his younger son Xia Hongkang was eagerly waiting. As soon as he saw him, he rushed over: “Dad, what happened? Why did my sister’s in-laws come to call you? Is my sister okay?”
Xia Weiming reached out and patted his son’s head, his eyes filled with affection. “She’s fine. Your sister is doing just fine.”
Xia Hongkang was ten years old this year. Upon hearing this, he patted his chest like a little adult and said, “That’s good, I was really scared.” Because he had always been close to his sister since childhood, Xia Hongkang’s eyes even turned slightly red as he spoke. “Dad, it’s all your fault. My sister is only eighteen. Why were you in such a hurry to marry her off?”
In the countryside, there were girls who married even younger than eighteen, but those who cherished their daughters might not marry them off until they were twenty-three or twenty-four. Given the Xia family’s circumstances, there was no need to rush their daughter into marriage if money wasn’t an issue.
Yan Lirong shot Xia Weiming a dissatisfied look. She harbored resentment in her heart over her daughter’s early marriage.
Xia Weiming, however, didn’t explain it to his son. This son of his, for some reason, had grown up with an overly kind-hearted nature. If he told him that his sister was married off to pave the way for his future, he would undoubtedly feel even more distressed.
“Your sister has to get married eventually. Now that she’s met a good match, of course we have to act quickly. What if someone else snatches him away?” he said with a chuckle.
Xia Hongkang frowned, displeased. “I really don’t see what’s so great about that Zhou Yiming.”
Yan Lirong wanted to explain, but Xia Weiming immediately shot her a glare and then shooed Xia Hongkang away to play. “Alright, it’s the weekend. Don’t worry about these things. Go have fun!”
After Xia Hongkang left, Xia Weiming’s expression darkened.
“Yingying’s mother, I need to go to town.” As he calmed down on the way, he began to feel uneasy. Earlier at the Zhou family, it seemed he had been fooled by Zhou Qingbai. His mind had been muddled, and he had actually made such a decision.
But the decision had already been made, and he couldn’t go back to the Zhou family to take it back now.
He needed to go ask his second brother and see if he had truly made a mistake. If he had, he would have to find a way to reverse it as soon as possible.