“Why aren’t you saying anything? I know my family background isn’t good. They all look down on me. In their eyes, I’m not worthy of standing beside you.”
The next second, Shen Huai became serious. Looking at her earnestly, he said, “If we’re talking about whether someone is worthy or not, then I’m the one who isn’t worthy of you. Don’t ever say something like that again.”
“Comrade Lin Shu, please don’t belittle yourself like this anymore. Remember this: the only woman who will ever be my wife in this lifetime is Lin Shu.”
“You really don’t despise me?”
How many men could stand having their careers affected because of their wives?
“A-Shu, I knew about my family’s situation before we got married. I understand exactly what consequences it could bring. So you should understand that when it comes to the two of you, my final choice will always be you, no matter how many times I had to live through it all again.”
The man’s eyes were crystal clear, yet his determination and conviction were so firm that there was no room for argument.
Lin Shu pushed away all the thoughts that had been influencing her.
This was not the time for romance. She could not let herself become muddled by just a few sweet words.
Although, on the surface, she was the one who had married Shen Huai, after their marriage, even when Shen Huai’s rank had reached the level that qualified him for an assigned residence and a place in the military family compound, she had still been unwilling to move there.
She had always felt that there were too many people there, and that the place was dirty and had poor living conditions.
Shen Huai had suggested it once, but she immediately rejected the idea.
Instead, Shen Huai had started studying at the military academy this year and was constantly running back and forth to the Lin family home. Eventually, the people around them even joked that there was practically no difference between him and a man who had married into his wife’s family.
Most men would mind something like that. Shen Huai simply hadn’t realized it yet.
“Isn’t it time to eat? Oh, right. There are a few yóuzhàgāo I bought especially for you.”
Hearing that they had been bought specifically for him, Shen Huai happily took them. He finished the three small, delicate-looking fried pastries in just two bites.
“Slow down. Don’t choke.”
Lin Shu had become remarkably natural at lying these days. She wondered if she had somehow caught it from that old ghost.
When she went downstairs, she discovered that her father and older brother were both there. During this period, the two of them had been so busy at work that they were practically overwhelmed.
Both father and son worked at a research institute, and whenever things got busy, they barely came home.
“Dad! Big Brother!”
Jiang Jie had briefly mentioned something to her husband earlier, but at first, Lin Hui had not believed her.
However, the moment he saw his younger sister, he was stunned by the vitality and bright smile radiating from her.
“Little sister, nothing happened to you recently, did it?”
“Brother, I’m doing great. Sister-in-law, let me help you!”
As she spoke, she ran and skipped toward the kitchen.
Lin Hui looked at Shen Huai.
“Brother-in-law, Little Sister hasn’t been giving you trouble lately, has she? You’ll have to be patient with her.”
“Big Brother, A-Shu is very good. Maybe she’s settled down after getting married. She even bought me some yóuzhàgāo just now.”
Lin Hui: “…”
His brother-in-law was way too easy to please. No wonder their father had chosen him.
“That’s good. She really did put you through a lot before. Her mother passed away when she was young, so we didn’t discipline her much.”
Lin Tianlun sat in his seat and spoke earnestly to Shen Huai.
“Dad, it was only right.”
Lin Tianlun was about to say something else when his daughter-in-law Jiang Jie interrupted them.
“Everyone, wash your hands and come eat!”
Everyone headed toward the dining room.
The Lin family’s old house dated back to the beginning of the twentieth century and had been passed down through the Lin family for generations.
Because the father and son both worked in fields that contributed to the country, the old house had managed to be preserved.
The house was very large a detached villa with each area separately divided and designated for a different purpose.
The living room and dining room were more than a dozen meters apart.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks and began eating. After only a couple of bites, Lin Shu suddenly stood up.
“Dad, Big Brother, Sister-in-law, I know I used to be willful and immature, and I caused the family a lot of trouble. I know I was wrong, and I promise I won’t do those things again. I’m sorry!”
Lin Shu sincerely bowed deeply to her family.
She knew that none of this had anything to do with the original her, but perhaps that old ghost had been sent by Heaven to remind her of something.
She could not pretend that the past five years had never happened.
At the very least, she needed to show her family that she had changed so that her father and brother would gradually lower their guard around her. Otherwise, even if she told them now that the family would eventually be raided and confiscated, neither of them would believe her.
“Xiaoshu, I’m very relieved to see that you’ve grown up. The mistakes of the past are in the past. Now I’ll see how you behave from here on.”
“Dad, don’t worry. I won’t disappoint you.”
Lin Shu’s face was filled with determination.
This time, she was going to protect the lives of her entire family. She would also make sure that the family prospered and that their lives became better and better.
“Looks like Shen Huai has had quite an influence on you. You won’t bully him anymore, will you?”
Lin Shu protested unhappily, “Dad, just look at me and Shen Huai.”
She poked Shen Huai’s arm. It was thick and solid.
There was simply no way she could bully him.
“If anything, he’s the one who bullies me. With this little body of mine, do you think I can beat him? Besides, I’ve already decided to live a good life with him. I won’t do those things anymore. You and everyone else in the family can keep an eye on me.”
Lin Tianlun happily poured himself a cup of liquor.
“That’s good. From now on, our family should live together peacefully. That way, your mother can rest easy watching over us from heaven.”
At the mention of her mother, Lin Shu’s eyes became even more determined.
She believed that the bracelet her mother had left her was proof that her mother was watching over and protecting her from heaven.
After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
Lin Shu quietly slipped into the study and looked at the foreign books filling the room.
They gave her a headache just looking at them. These were precisely the kinds of books that absolutely had to be destroyed. She could not let anyone find them and use them as evidence against the family.
After thinking about it for a while, Lin Shu came up with a brilliant idea.
She could simply burn them like joss paper!
As for what excuse she would give…
Lin Shu had already thought of one.
The next day.
The moment Jiang Jie got up, she smelled something strange, as though something somewhere was on fire.
She hurriedly ran to the backyard and saw her sister-in-law crouching on the ground with her hair disheveled, crying.
“Little sister, what happened?”
When Lin Shu saw her sister-in-law, she immediately threw herself into her arms and sobbed.
“Sister-in-law, I dreamed about Mom. I miss her so much.”
Hearing this, Jiang Jie breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that after making such a grand declaration the day before, her sister-in-law would suddenly revert to her old self the very next day.
“Okay, okay… But if you miss Mom, why are you burning these books?”
“Mom said she’s so lonely and bored up in heaven, so she asked me to burn some books for her to read.”
Jiang Jie knew that her mother-in-law had loved reading when she was alive. Half the books in the study had belonged to her.
Her mother-in-law had passed away while Jiang Jie and Lin Hui were still dating.
At the time, her father-in-law had burned a large amount of joss paper for her, even burning more than a dozen sacks of paper, saying that she would need plenty of things to read in heaven too.
“Then burn them. I’ll go make breakfast first, and I’ll come keep you company while you burn them later.”
“Sister-in-law, go ahead and get busy. You don’t need to worry about me.”
After her sister-in-law left, Lin Shu knelt on the grass and secretly cursed Shen Huai for being such a beast. He had been completely out of control last night.
“What are you people at the Lin family doing?! Are you burning joss paper? You people really haven’t taken the campaign against the Four Olds seriously, have you? You’re deliberately going against the rules! Open the door right now!!”
Lin Shu had never expected that merely burning a pile of books would somehow be discovered by Auntie Wang from the neighborhood committee.
Oh no!
She looked at the books scattered on the ground.
Auntie Wang was one of the neighborhood’s most active Red Armband members. Whenever a new policy was announced, she was always the first to put it into practice.
Jiang Jie hurriedly ran into the backyard.
“Little sister, quickly! Use the rake to cover that pile with the dried leaves, then throw a few newspapers in there.”
Lin Shu quickly took the newspapers. She put all the remaining books into her space and covered the half-burned books with leaves and newspapers.
“Auntie Wang, I’m burning rotten leaves to make fertilizer. Why don’t you believe me? That smell is from a few old newspapers. Look for yourself. Why would I lie to you?”
Auntie Wang stood with her hands behind her back. The red armband on her arm stood out especially sharply against her dark navy-blue jacket.
Still suspicious, she walked over to take a look.
Sure enough, all she saw were rotten leaves and newspapers.
“I’ll give you people the benefit of the doubt. Your family probably doesn’t have the nerve to do something like that! From now on, I’ll make unannounced visits to inspect your home. If you’re at home, you’d better open the door immediately!”
Jiang Jie readily agreed.
“Yes! Why don’t you have a cup of tea before you leave?”
Her sister-in-law’s voice gradually faded into the distance.
Lin Shu collapsed onto the ground, completely drained.
She had almost caused a disaster while trying to do something good.
What was she going to do now?
Her brother’s letters absolutely could not withstand an inspection by the Red Armbands!