Lu Yunshan’s mother was so angry that she couldn’t stop complaining.
“The Shen family and our family were never well matched to begin with. If it weren’t for your grandfather, how could someone like Shen Jiaojiao possibly be worthy of our son?”
Lu Yunshan’s father was unhappy as well. “Wasn’t it your father who insisted on this? I said from the beginning that we shouldn’t agree to it. But now that we’ve already married her into the family, it’s too late to regret it!”
They didn’t bother lowering their voices when they said these things. The conversation in the living room clearly reached Shen Jiaojiao’s ears, but she didn’t have the energy to care about any of it now. She had buried herself under the covers and was sobbing her heart out, desperate to vent all the grievances she was feeling.
She hated everyone.
She hated Lu Yunshan for dragging her into this mess. She hated Shen Qingqing from her previous life for never once telling her that her husband was impotent. If it weren’t for that, she never would have married Lu Yunshan in this life.
She also hated herself. She had calculated everything so carefully, only to end up in such a miserable situation. What was the difference between marrying a man like this and becoming a widow? She could only look at him, not make use of him!
Meanwhile, Shen Qingqing watched as the sun sank below the horizon and the entire island fell into darkness. Judging by the time, it should be about right.
Of course she knew Shen Jiaojiao was getting married today. But since Shen Jiaojiao hadn’t invited her, Shen Qingqing naturally wasn’t going to invite herself.
She was simply curious. By now, Shen Jiaojiao had probably discovered Lu Yunshan’s problem.
She wondered what kind of expression she’d had when she learned the truth.
But even if she’d discovered it now, it was useless. After all, the two of them had already obtained their marriage certificate.
There was no getting out of it easily.
Shen Jiaojiao had been the one who insisted on swapping husbands with her. Even if she regretted it now, it was too late.
Shen Qingqing looked at the moon through the window, feeling exceptionally refreshed.
But this was only the beginning.
She wondered whether Shen Jiaojiao would completely break down when she eventually discovered that her husband was also gay.
Thinking about how, in her previous life, she had swallowed all her humiliation and told everyone that she was the one who couldn’t have children, Shen Qingqing felt a wave of bitterness.
Because of that, she had suffered no shortage of bullying from Lu Yunshan’s family and endured endless gossip from outsiders calling her a barren woman.
Yet she had silently endured it all to protect Lu Yunshan’s dignity as a man.
And what had she gotten in return?
It was laughable.
Lu Yunshan had put on such a convincing act in public that everyone believed he was deeply devoted to her and had steadfastly refused to divorce her.
Yet when people insulted her for being unable to bear children, he had never once stood up for her.
Not even a single word.
Everyone had told her that a woman was supposed to take care of everything for her husband and give everything she had to the family.
So she had willingly shouldered all the pressure.
As long as Lu Yunshan said a few sweet words to her, she would give him everything she had without reservation.
How ridiculous.
He had been willing to pretend in front of her for more than a decade just to make her take the blame.
And what was even more hateful was that she had actually believed him.
She had truly believed that Lu Yunshan loved her, and that his inability to perform as a man made him feel guilty toward her.
But after experiencing her previous life, she finally understood.
She had been the biggest fool of all.
In this life, she would live for herself.
The next morning, in the Lu family’s living room.
Shen Jiaojiao still hadn’t come out.
Lu Yunshan’s parents were sitting together on the sofa, their faces grim. They had been waiting for quite some time, but there was still no sign of Shen Jiaojiao.
Lu Yunshan’s mother glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and finally couldn’t suppress her anger any longer.
“Look at this! Just look at this! What family’s daughter-in-law is this lazy? It’s already past nine and she’s still not out of bed. We’re all sitting here waiting for her! She’s a newlywed daughter-in-law, yet she can’t even be bothered to make breakfast!”
Lu Yunshan’s father said nothing.
But the tea in his enamel mug had already been refilled several times, and his expression had gradually become impatient as well.
Normally, when a new bride married into her husband’s family, she was expected to get up early the next morning and prepare breakfast for everyone.
In those days, people placed great importance on diligence and filial piety.
Especially in the countryside, if someone’s daughter-in-law was still in bed after nine o’clock and made the entire family wait for her to get up, it wouldn’t just be the daughter-in-law herself who was criticized. Her family would also be ridiculed behind their backs.
Yet how unlucky was the Lu family?
There were so many good girls who wanted to marry into their family, but they had somehow ended up marrying a woman who didn’t know how to behave.
Shen Jiaojiao had spent the entire night miserable and hadn’t slept well. She hadn’t finally drifted into a deep sleep until the early hours of the morning, which was why she didn’t wake up until almost ten.
Dragging her exhausted body out of the bedroom, Shen Jiaojiao immediately saw Lu Yunshan’s parents sitting there with grim expressions.
The moment she appeared, the dissatisfaction on their faces was practically impossible to conceal.
“Oh, so you finally decided to get up? Do you know what time it is? The sun is already high in the sky! Our Lu family is truly blessed—we’ve married a woman who doesn’t know how to do a single thing around the house.”
Shen Jiaojiao was already feeling wronged.
Being berated by Lu Yunshan’s mother the moment she came out of the room only made her even angrier.
Before she could even respond, Lu Yunshan’s father spoke meaningfully.
“Strictly speaking, as your father-in-law, I shouldn’t interfere in my daughter-in-law’s affairs. But since you’ve married into our family, you should fulfill your responsibilities as a wife. This isn’t the Shen family. You can’t behave as though there are no rules at all.”
Lu Yunshan’s mother immediately chimed in.
“That’s right, Shen Jiaojiao. I originally thought you were a good girl. But then you got into a fight with Yunshan on the very first night after your wedding. Couldn’t you have put whatever it was aside for one night? What terrible luck. And when you were at home, didn’t your mother ever teach you that a new daughter-in-law is supposed to prepare breakfast for her husband’s family the next morning?”
Shen Jiaojiao gave a cold snort and pointed at herself.
“Me? I’ll cook for you?”
She looked them straight in the eye, her voice dripping with contempt.
“Are you even worthy of having me cook for you?”