The young master was Han Yi, also known as Zhou Xiaomai’s incompatible ex-husband.
The woman was Huo Shuqi, the fiancée who resolutely broke off the engagement when Han Yi was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Putting aside Han Yi’s despicable nature, the two of them standing together looked like a perfect match—a talented man and a beautiful woman.
“Xiaomai, don’t be stubborn. You could have parted ways with Brother Yi amicably. After all, a He-li sounds much better than being divorced when word gets out. If you hadn’t clung to him so desperately, Brother Yi wouldn’t have had to divorce you.”
“Cluck cluck cluck cluck, are you a chicken?”
Huo Shuqi had originally intended to mock Zhou Xiaomai. If Zhou Xiaomai hadn’t stubbornly refused to leave the Han family, she wouldn’t have been criticized for heartlessly breaking off the engagement when Han Yi fell ill, only to come crawling back once he recovered.
Although she had managed to win Han Yi over again, his parents no longer held her in the same high regard as before.
Seeing Huo Shuqi’s unpleasant expression, Zhou Xiaomai continued with a cold sneer:
“It’s best to lock you two despicable people together forever, so you won’t go out and harm others in the future!”
Han Yi still felt some guilt toward Zhou Xiaomai, but being publicly pointed at and insulted made that brief sense of guilt vanish.
Han Yi’s face darkened. “Zhou Xiaomai, stop spewing such filthy language!”
Zhou Xiaomai snorted. “What did I say wrong? Aren’t you despicable? This little bitch broke off the engagement when she found out you had a contagious, deadly disease, and then came back crying once you recovered. You forgot the pain once the wound healed and can still cozy up to her like lovebirds. Tell me, isn’t that despicable?”
Han Yi wondered if he was hallucinating.
Zhou Xiaomai was illiterate—one of the reasons he looked down on her the most.
But Zhou Xiaomai would never have cursed like this, nor had he ever seen her raise her voice.
In front of him, Zhou Xiaomai had always been timid and submissive, lowering herself like a servant.
She seemed more like a maid than a wife.
“Was your previous obedient and virtuous demeanor all an act?”
That was the only explanation.
Now that Zhou Xiaomai could no longer cling to the Han family, she had stopped pretending.
In reality, Zhou Xiaomai had always been this uncouth country shrew!
Zhou Xiaomai didn’t care what Han Yi thought of her. After all, she had already gotten the money, and she had no intention of pretending anymore.
“Think whatever you want. Just pretend you don’t know me when you see me in the future, so you don’t ruin my appetite!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Huo Shuqi actually took out a handkerchief and began wiping away tears, looking utterly wronged.
“If my parents hadn’t pressured me back then, even threatening to die, I would never have agreed to break off the engagement with Brother Yi. But I can’t blame my parents either—they only wanted what was best for me. One can only say, ‘pitiful are the hearts of parents.’ Xiaomai, I understand your resentment now, but when you married Brother Yi back then, he was in such a daze that he couldn’t refuse. No matter how you slander or insult me, I’ll endure it. I only ask that you don’t tarnish Brother Yi’s reputation like this.”
Tea!
Such tea!
In the apocalypse, how many heroic women had fallen victim to such little green teas!
Listen to Huo Shuqi’s words—she shifted the blame for breaking off the engagement onto her parents, invoked “pitiful are the hearts of parents” to absolve them, and then portrayed herself as the selfless one.
She didn’t mind suffering, but she couldn’t bear to see Han Yi attacked.
Her words stirred sympathy among the people in the bank’s main hall.
These kinds of tricks were something Zhou Xiaomai might never learn in her lifetime.
“However you choose to deceive, as long as Han Yi believes it, that’s your skill!”
Huo Shuqi never expected Zhou Xiaomai’s tongue to suddenly become so sharp.
She had met Zhou Xiaomai twice before at the Han residence, and each time Zhou Xiaomai had kept her head bowed in self-abasement, lacking even the courage to look at her.
The one who ended up losing out was always Zhou Xiaomai.
“Brother Yi and I grew up together, with a childhood betrothal. What kind of person I am, Brother Yi understands better than anyone.”
These words held no sway over Zhou Xiaomai, but they were quite effective on Han Yi.
Although he had been disappointed by the broken engagement, upon second thought, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
What parent would willingly marry their daughter to a man on the brink of death?
He had always believed in Huo Shuqi’s affection for him, after all, they had grown up together.
During his illness, Huo Shuqi had said she missed him dearly, but her parents restricted her movements, preventing them from meeting.
Han Yi frowned. “Zhou Xiaomai, don’t waste your efforts trying to sow discord. It will only make me despise you more.”
“Who cares!”
Zhou Xiaomai curled her lip and turned to ask the shopkeeper, who had been lost in watching the drama: “Is my money ready?”
The shopkeeper snapped back to attention. “Oh, yes, yes. Young lady, please count it.”
The amount was clearly exact. On two trays, one held five-tael small ingots, while the other tray was lined with rows of one-tael broken silver—ten pieces per row, exactly ten rows.
After weighing it once more, it was a complete two hundred taels.
Unable to store the two hundred taels in her Spatial Dimension in front of everyone, Zhou Xiaomai asked the shopkeeper for an old cloth and wrapped the silver inside.
Han Yi immediately knew where this two hundred taels had come from. He reminded her:
“Take this money and live well. Don’t give it all to your natal family. That family of yours only cares about money; they won’t look after your well-being in the future.”
As angry as Han Yi was, this woman’s life had been ruined by an absurd chongxi marriage.
Previously, he refused to show concern for Zhou Xiaomai because he didn’t want to give her false hope.
In truth, what kind of people Zhou Xiaomai’s natal family were, his mother had long since told him.
Otherwise, whenever the Zhou family came to visit, no one would be available to receive them, not even allowing them through the main gate.
Getting involved with such relatives would only lead to endless freeloading in the future, a constant annoyance.
Zhou Xiaomai hoisted the heavy silver onto her back and, as she passed Han Yi, cursed:
“You!”
Han Yi was left speechless with anger.
However, being well-versed in the classics of sages, he was not one to argue, nor could he bring himself to utter vulgar words.
As she passed Huo Shuqi, Zhou Xiaomai deliberately bumped into her with force.
“Move aside. Even dogs know not to block the way. Are you worse than a dog?”
Huo Shuqi flushed red to the neck, secretly grinding her teeth in fury.
What right did a divorced country bumpkin have to swagger before her?
Then, Huo Shuqi turned to Han Yi. “Brother Yi, Xiaomai seems like a completely different person. Could it really be, as you said, that her previous meekness was all an act? If so, her scheming is far too deep. Just thinking about it frightens me.”
Han Yi’s expression was inscrutable, lost in thought.
Huo Shuqi tugged at his sleeve. “Brother Yi, what are you thinking?”
Han Yi turned to go exchange for silver, merely lowering his voice to remind Huo Shuqi: “If we ever cross paths with her again in the future, just avoid her. After all, we belong to different worlds from her.”
One is a country bumpkin.
One was a young lady from a wealthy family.
Huo Shuqi certainly knew that given their respective statuses, it was unlikely they would meet unless she deliberately sought out Zhou Xiaomai.
But today, she had lost face in front of Zhou Xiaomai, and it just didn’t sit right with her.