Su Yan was furious seeing her boyfriend being ignored.
She grabbed Zhao Gang and strutted into the room, deliberately speaking loudly: “Ah, Gangzi, don’t take it personally. Your brother-in-law isn’t feeling well; it’s normal for his mood to be a bit off. We healthy people need to be more understanding.”
Su Ci’s eyes cooled instantly.
She could speak, but her long-term “meal ticket”? Absolutely not.
Su Ci sat up, a faint smile playing on her lips as she looked at Su Yan. “Little sister, you really shouldn’t talk like that. Your brother-in-law is in a great mood. But you, bringing a stranger to my home and shouting around—it shows a real lack of manners.”
“I’m being kind, coming to check on you!” Su Yan tossed two packs of peach biscuits onto the table. “I was worried you’d be starving, not even a bite to eat. But now I see, your brother-in-law may be disabled, but the allowance he gives you isn’t small. You even get dresses fit for a rich girl.”
Her words were dripping with insinuation: Su Ci was a spendthrift, living off Lu Si’s hard-earned money.
Su Ci didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she nodded along. “Yes, the allowance isn’t small. I have no choice—Old Lu insisted on shoving the passbook into my hands so I could spend freely. If I don’t, he gets mad. Isn’t that strange?”
As she spoke, her hand casually pointed to the fruit plate on the table. “Hubby, I want an orange.”
It was a rare fruit these days—a Guang Gan.
Thick skin, hard to peel, juicy inside.
Su Yan sneered, waiting for the show.
Everyone in the compound knew how bad-tempered Lu Si was.
Su Ci actually dared to give him orders in front of outsiders?
Surely Lu Si would throw the orange in her face!
Yet, in the next second, a scene unfolded that made Su Yan and Zhao Gang question reality.
Lu Si, though frowning and looking sour, put down the small hammer in his hand, picked up a large orange, skillfully peeled off the thick skin, carefully removed all the white pith, split off a segment, and held it to Su Ci’s lips.
“Open your mouth,” Lu Si said in his deep voice.
Su Ci bit into it, juice spilling.
“Sweet?” Lu Si asked. Though his tone had a hint of reluctant formality, to an outsider it looked utterly indulgent.
“Sweet!” Su Ci’s eyes curved into crescent moons. “The oranges you peel are always the sweetest.”
Su Yan felt like her eyes were bleeding.
Why?
Why could Su Ci marry a disabled man and live in such comfort?
Why did the supposedly violent Lu Si obey her every whim?
Zhao Gang was dumbfounded too.
At home, he was used to being waited on hand and foot. If Su Yan had tried to boss him around like that, he would have lost his temper immediately.
But the aura from this disabled soldier was too strong—he didn’t dare.
“Sis, you’re really being unreasonable,” Su Yan couldn’t help but say bitterly. “Your brother-in-law has difficulty walking, and you still make him wait on you? At our home, the women wait on the men. Gangzi works hard every day; I even bring him foot baths!”
She was trying to show loyalty to Zhao Gang while also stepping on Su Ci.
Su Ci swallowed her orange, elegantly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and looked at Su Yan with a condescending gaze:
“That’s your bad luck. Or maybe you just have poor taste in men.”
She stood, walked to Lu Si’s side, naturally resting her hand on his shoulder, looking down at Su Yan and Zhao Gang:
“My Lu may have a leg injury, but he used to be a hero protecting the country, and now he’s a good husband who cares for his wife. He won’t let me do hard work—that’s him caring for me. Not like some people, who haven’t even married yet, and already act like housekeepers, bringing foot baths around like it’s some kind of privilege.”
“You!” Su Yan’s face flushed with anger. “Su Ci, don’t be ungrateful! You may look glamorous now, but when Lu Si gets old, bedridden, unable to move, I’ll see what you do! Then you’ll be a widow living a miserable life! Unlike me—Gangzi is healthy, and in the future, we…”
“Slap!”
A crisp sound cut off Su Yan’s rant.
Not a slap—but the enamel cup in Lu Si’s hand slammed heavily on the table.
The temperature in the room instantly dropped to freezing.