When Mother Xu saw her come back alone so early in the morning, she craned her neck to look behind her and realized Lu Xiuyuan wasn’t there.
She asked worriedly,
“Xiaxia, what happened? Why are you here by yourself? Where’s Xiuyuan? Did you throw a tantrum with him again?”
“It’s not easy for him being out there serving in the army. Don’t quarrel with him every time you come home it’s very bad for family harmony.”
After speaking, she coughed twice.
Xu Zhixia looked at her mother and didn’t move for a long time.
The night she died in her previous life, they had gone back together. When the knife was thrust toward them, it was her mother who suddenly stepped in front of her, pushing her away and holding those men back.
In her past life, she hadn’t even realized how long it had been since she had truly looked at her mother.
Now her mother’s health had already deteriorated. It was all because Xu Zhixia had been too immersed in her own emotions.
Seeing her daughter silent, just staring blankly, Mother Xu began to panic.
“What’s wrong, child? Did Xiuyuan bully you? I’ll take you to find your father.”
She reached to pull her inside, but Xu Zhixia grabbed her arm and hugged her tightly instead.
Burying her head in her mother’s shoulder, she said,
“It’s nothing. I just missed you a little.”
Her voice was muffled and thick with emotion. She didn’t dare lift her head, afraid she would burst into tears if she did.
At this moment, her mother still thought her father was a good man.
Little did she know, all the storms in this life were brought by him.
Not only had he cheated on her, he had brazenly brought his mistress’s daughter to live under her nose.
Making her busy herself taking care of them.
In the end, he even drove the mother and daughter out of the house.
Mother Xu was easy to comfort and believed her words.
She gently patted her back.
“You silly child. We see each other every few days, and you’re still like this—just like a little kid.”
“I’ll make your favorite zhajiang noodles later.”
Xu Zhixia nodded, her voice choking slightly.
“Okay.”
She felt her face grow cold. When she touched it, she realized she had been crying.
Mother Xu quickly pulled her inside. If someone saw her crying outside, who knew what rumors might spread?
Once inside, she began kneading dough and casually asked,
“Yesterday Jingya came back from your place crying, saying you treated her like a maid and made her clean your bathroom, then sent her home after she finished. Is that true?”
Xu Zhixia hadn’t expected that woman to dare complain.
In front of her mother, she admitted directly,
“Yes, I did. Mom, will you blame me?”
Mother Xu glanced at her daughter and noticed she was dressed cleanly today, her face fresh and bare.
This was much better.
Lowering her head, she began chopping onions.
“You’re my daughter. Why would I blame you?”
“Was she in your way over there? You should focus on having a baby with Xiuyuan that’s the proper thing. Why let her run to your house and stir up trouble?”
Listening to her mother’s nagging, Xu Zhixia felt an indescribable warmth in her heart. It had been like this in her previous life too.
Back then, she had always found her mother’s chatter annoying.
But it was precisely this person.
No matter what happened, she always stood behind her, believing in her unconditionally.
A sharp light flashed in Xu Zhixia’s eyes. In this life, she would protect her mother.
Just as the noodles went into the pot, Bai Jingya came downstairs, yawning.
“Aunt Xu, let me help you cook.”
When she saw Xu Zhixia standing in the kitchen, she jumped in shock. Then she noticed her red eyes.
Clearly she had just been crying.
Under what circumstances would someone leave her husband and run back to her parents’ house to cry?
She must have quarreled with Lu Xiuyuan.
Her eyes darted around, and from the corner of her vision she saw Xu Linye coming down the stairs.
She smiled at Xu Zhixia.
“Xiao Xia, you’re here.”
Xu Zhixia curled her lips slightly, watching her act.
“What do you mean ‘you’re here’? This is my home. Anyone who didn’t know better would think it’s yours. You should say ‘you’re back.’ If your parents didn’t teach you manners, I will.”
Bai Jingya’s face turned pale instantly, tears welling in her eyes.
“Xiao Xia, that’s not what I meant.”
For some reason, she felt Xu Zhixia looked much prettier today. Without that inappropriate makeup, she appeared pure and delicate.
Which made her even more irritating.
As Bai Jingya spoke, she stepped back and bumped straight into Xu Linye.
Xu Linye flushed red and hurriedly steadied her, then turned to his sister angrily.
“What’s wrong with you now? So willful and unreasonable. Do you know what people are saying about you outside?”
Xu Zhixia looked at her brother.
“What’s it to you? Are you my real brother or hers? Why are you protecting her? It’s not like she’s even interested in you.”
Xu Linye felt humiliated in front of the girl he liked.
He stepped forward and raised his hand.
As if about to strike her.
“You!”
The moment Xu Zhixia saw his movement, she reacted instinctively, grabbing his wrist and slapping him back.
This time, Xu Linye’s face turned the color of liver.
“Damn it, I’ll beat you to death today!”
He tried to use force.
A booming voice came from upstairs.
“What are you doing?”
Xu Zhixia flung her brother’s hand away and looked calmly at her scumbag father.
What a picture of a righteous gentleman he made.
Mother Xu quickly turned off the stove. The two children had started fighting so fast she hadn’t even reacted.
How had things escalated to this point?
Bai Jingya spoke weakly,
“Uncle Lin, it’s all my fault for saying the wrong thing. Maybe I should move out, so I won’t annoy anyone.”
Xu Linye immediately grabbed her wrist.
“Why should you leave? If anyone should leave, it’s her. She’s already married why does she keep coming back to her parents’ home?”
Mother Xu couldn’t believe her son would speak to his sister like that.
She went over and smacked him on the head.
“What nonsense are you talking about? This has always been her home.”
Seeing her daughter like this, she knew she must have suffered grievances. She took her daughter’s hand and led her to the dining table.
“The zhajiang noodles are ready. Eat more later.”
Father Xu’s eyes darkened, growing increasingly dissatisfied with his daughter.
After sitting down at the table, he couldn’t help questioning her.
“Jingya just said one wrong sentence. What are you making such a fuss about?”
Xu Zhixia looked at her father quietly.
She only knew Bai Jingya was the daughter of his former sweetheart. She didn’t know whether she was actually his illegitimate child.
If she wanted to find out the truth, she would need Lu Xiuyuan’s help.
She needed to uncover their relationship as quickly as possible.
Seeing her silent made Xu Shuisheng even angrier.
He felt his daughter had been spoiled by her mother into having no manners at all.
Nothing like Bai Jingya’s delicacy and thoughtfulness.
Clearly, his wife didn’t know how to educate children.
He said coldly,
“Who’s backing you now? Lu Xiuyuan?”
If not for considering his son-in-law’s status, he would have whipped her today.
Xu Zhixia clicked her tongue.
“So what if my own husband backs me?”
Father Xu frowned.
“Aren’t you making a fuss about divorcing him?”
“I heard it’s because you were being ambiguous with another man.”
He had heard from Jingya yesterday that the couple’s conflict had escalated to the point of divorce.
Divorcing for another man if that got out, people would point fingers at their backs.
He felt embarrassed just thinking about it.
Losing such a good son-in-law had its pros and cons.
The advantage was that he wouldn’t have to be so cautious anymore maybe he could even bring Bai Xiuhua over later.
The disadvantage was losing a powerful ally and a good reputation.
Mother Xu, upon hearing about the divorce, perked up immediately, completely ignoring the “another man” part.
She remembered her daughter running back early in the morning.
“You child, something this big why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Xu Zhixia held her mother’s hand and glanced at Bai Jingya.
“Don’t worry. If I divorce, wouldn’t that make certain people happy? She wants me to divorce so I won’t.”