“Xiaohuan, hurry and go buy some vinegar. Once we mix up a cold dish, we can eat!”
“Okay, Mom~” Tang Huan answered sweetly toward the kitchen stove.
She closed the book in her hands and returned it to the house, then jogged to the kitchen to grab the vinegar bottle before heading out the courtyard gate.
This whole area was filled with small western-style courtyard homes, each packed close together. The grain and oil shop was nearby—if Tang Huan walked quickly, she could get there in five minutes.
Halfway there, she ran into their neighbor, Aunt Wu. Seeing Tang Huan dressed fashionably, disdain flashed through Aunt Wu’s eyes, though she still asked with a smile, “Zeyu’s wife, where are you off to?”
“I’m going to buy vinegar.” Tang Huan forced a polite smile and quickly walked away.
This Aunt Wu didn’t get along very well with her mother-in-law, and every time she spoke, she liked to make people uncomfortable. Tang Huan disliked her, but she wasn’t good with words and could never win an argument. Once she got back with the vinegar, she was definitely going to complain to her mother-in-law—her mother-in-law was incredibly fierce in a fight!
Technically, Aunt Wu wasn’t wrong to call her that. She really was Meng Zeyu’s wife.
But Meng Zeyu had died the day after they got married.
The neighbors all called her Tang Huan, but only Aunt Wu insisted on calling her “Zeyu’s wife,” as if afraid she might forget the pain.
To be precise, Tang Huan wasn’t originally from this world. She had transmigrated here.
In her previous life, she had been terminally ill. Out of her twenty-one years alive, she had spent more than half lying in a hospital bed, and most of the rest in a wheelchair. By the time she arrived here, Meng Zeyu was already dead. The original owner of the body had tried to run away, only to trip over the doorstep and die from the fall.
Perhaps heaven pitied how miserable her last life had been, because this time it gave her a good home. Although her husband had passed away, her parents-in-law doted on her and treated her like their own daughter.
The month she’d spent here had been the easiest time she could remember. No more physical pain, people who loved her, and the freedom to do whatever she wanted.
A bottle of vinegar cost seven cents. The dark brown aged vinegar had an especially rich aroma. Tang Huan even lifted the bottle to sniff it.
The sour smell immediately made her mouth water. Thinking about her mother-in-law’s cooking, she unconsciously quickened her pace.
Carrying the vinegar bottle, she turned into the alley and noticed a vehicle parked outside from far away—a military-green jeep. It looked like a military vehicle?
Quite a few neighbors stood nearby peeking toward their house. These days, very few people could afford a car, and even fewer could ride in a military one!
Seeing Tang Huan return, someone hurriedly called out, “Tang Huan, hurry home and take a look—Meng Zeyan’s back!”
Meng Zeyan… her eldest brother-in-law whom she had never met?
Her mother-in-law had said he’d been serving in the military far away for many years and hadn’t returned home once during that time. When Meng Zeyu died, the family had written to him, but due to various circumstances, he hadn’t been able to come back.
Tang Huan slowed her steps slightly. She wasn’t very good at interacting with people. Even with her parents-in-law, she’d only become more comfortable after spending a long time with them.
By the time she reached the gate, she quietly took a deep breath and walked into the courtyard holding the vinegar bottle.
Meng Zeyu’s older brother was her older brother too. There was nothing to be afraid of… right?
“Zeyan…” Xing Cui was hugging her eldest son in the courtyard, crying her eyes out. Meng Zeyan had been gone for eight years. In those eight years, they’d only kept in touch through a few letters. Sometimes she dreamed he’d gotten into an accident, and she’d wake up with her pillow soaked in tears.
Meng Zeyan held his mother, his own eyes slightly red as well.
Home was still the same home, but things and people had changed.
He had countless questions. How had Zeyu died? Why had he gone to work right after getting married? Didn’t he have a week-long marriage leave?
But now wasn’t the time to ask those things.
Meng Zeyan stood facing the front gate, so the moment Tang Huan entered, he noticed her. His scrutinizing gaze landed on her.
Being stared at like that made Tang Huan stop walking. She gave him a small nod, hesitated for two seconds, then carried the vinegar toward the kitchen, not wanting to disturb the reunion between mother and son.
Her eldest brother-in-law didn’t look much like Meng Zeyu.
Meng Zeyu had been the honest, somewhat dull type, with upright features and large eyes under thick brows—he resembled their mother more.
Meng Zeyan’s features were sharper and more sculpted. He was taller too, probably around six-foot-three. He looked like a gentle person, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
Meng Zeyan had roughly guessed her identity. She should be Meng Zeyu’s wife.
Before getting married, Meng Zeyu had written to him saying he was going to marry. The letter hadn’t described the bride much, only saying that she seemed pretty good.
Watching his younger brother’s widow walk into the kitchen, Meng Zeyan frowned slightly and lowered his head to ask his mother, “Mom, is my sister-in-law even an adult yet?”
Xing Cui had just about finished crying and was wiping her tears with a handkerchief. Hearing that question immediately upset her.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Could she marry Zeyu if she were underage?” After saying that, her expression turned bitter. “Zeyu ruined her life… she became a widow right after getting married.”
Beautiful, gentle, and good-natured—it was Zeyu who lacked the fortune to keep her.
Seeing that Xing Cui was about to cry again, Meng Zeyan helped her sit on a small stool nearby and softly changed the subject to himself.
“I’ve been transferred to the military district here. I’ll report in a few days. From now on, I can come back often and spend time with you.”
“Really?” Xing Cui could hardly believe it. She’d already prepared herself for Meng Zeyan to settle down in another province, yet now he’d suddenly transferred back without a word?
“Really.” Meng Zeyan sat beside his mother and reassured her with a faint smile.
He’d never been able to make up his mind before. It wasn’t until he received news of Meng Zeyu’s death that he finally decided to come back. With his younger brother gone, it was his responsibility to return and care for their parents. All these years, Zeyu had been the one fulfilling filial duties. As the older brother, he’d failed them.
Overjoyed, Xing Cui quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and hurried toward the kitchen.
“Put your things away and come eat. Mom’s going to cook two more dishes.”
Tang Huan was in the kitchen cutting vegetables. She didn’t know how to cook, and her knife skills were terrible. The potato “shreds” she cut looked more like potato sticks, and she’d nearly sliced her fingernail off in the process.
Xing Cui jumped in fright when she saw the way Tang Huan was holding the knife.
“Xiaohuan, put the knife down right now!”
Turning around and seeing her mother-in-law, Tang Huan sheepishly set the knife aside and looked embarrassed at her handiwork.
“Mom, I cut them too thick…”
“It’s fine. I’ll just make diced potatoes instead. You don’t need to help—go play outside.”
Xing Cui truly adored Tang Huan. Such a petite and lovely little girl, fair-skinned, sweet-voiced, and soft-tempered. Back when she gave birth to her second child, she’d hoped for a daughter, but ended up with another son instead.
After finally raising him to adulthood, he died saving someone else, leaving behind his newlywed wife and elderly parents. After Meng Zeyu’s death, the old couple treated Tang Huan like their daughter and poured all their love for their lost son onto her. Otherwise, they never would have endured the grief.
Tang Huan knew that her “help” only caused trouble, so she obediently left the kitchen and went back to her room to continue reading the high school textbook she’d taken out earlier.
The original owner of the body had graduated from high school but failed the college entrance exams. In Tang Huan’s previous world, she’d also graduated from high school—not because she failed the exams, but because her physical condition made further schooling impossible. Even during high school, the time she could actually attend classes had been limited.
She wanted to study the high school material again and try taking the college entrance exam next year.
She wanted to fulfill a dream.
After putting his belongings away and changing clothes, Meng Zeyan walked into the courtyard.
Their courtyard was large. Half of it had been turned into a vegetable garden by Xing Cui, while the other half held a grape trellis made from bamboo poles. Under the trellis sat a table and several stools year-round, where the family usually drank tea and ate meals.
Tang Huan was sitting beneath the grape trellis reading, so focused that she didn’t notice someone approaching.
Only when someone sat down across from her did she finally look up.