After confirming that Gu Shaoxuan had really left, Nan Jin contentedly placed the fifteen hundred yuan into her custom-made safe.
Very few people used cash in later generations, and her safe was only used to store important documents.
It was a pity that those documents had now become a pile of useless scrap paper.
At noon, Yuan Zheng brought her lunch—bamboo silk chicken soup, carefully skimmed of its surface oil.
“Divorce finalized?” His voice was calm, as if he already knew the answer.
Nan Jin, in a good mood, smiled and nodded. “Yes, thank you, Uncle. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have managed so smoothly.”
“Oh, right. Now that I’m divorced from Gu Shaoxuan, it’s not really appropriate to call you ‘Uncle’ anymore.”
Yuan Zheng didn’t look up as he poured the soup and handed it to her. “He said he’ll remarry you in six months. Aren’t you considering it?”
Nan Jin only replied indifferently, “Do you believe that?”
Yuan Zheng didn’t answer, instead gazing at her intently. “You’ve changed a lot.”
Nan Jin took the soup and said calmly, “After walking through the gates of hell, one should grow up.”
Yuan Zheng fell silent, quietly watching her eat.
After finishing her meal, Nan Jin said, “I’m being discharged this afternoon. You don’t need to bring me dinner tonight.”
Yuan Zheng picked up the lunchbox to wash it. “I was planning to visit my sister anyway. I’ll take you back.”
Nan Jin wanted to refuse but then reconsidered. Yuan Limei had just suffered a major loss, and seeing her return would likely provoke trouble.
Going back with Yuan Zheng would save a lot of hassle.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of Yuan Limei and the others, but since she was about to leave anyway, it was better not to stir up trouble.
“Thank you!”
He didn’t respond, simply washing the lunchbox and returning.
Nan Jin changed back into her own clothes and also replaced her sanitary pad with a fresh one.
She wasn’t quite used to the sanitary belts of this era. Since she had access to the mall, why should she suffer?
The clothes she had been wearing were a gray dacron outfit, faded from washing.
Once she left for G City, she would change into more comfortable clothes.
Yuan Zheng settled her hospital bill. Since Gu Shaoxuan had already paid that morning, no additional payment was needed.
Stepping out of the hospital, Nan Jin instinctively raised a hand to shield her eyes from the bright midday sun.
It felt like she hadn’t seen sunlight in days.
Yuan Zheng wheeled over a 28-inch bicycle, placed her clothes on the back seat as a cushion, and said, “Hop on.”
Nan Jin sat down and asked curiously, “Where did you get the bicycle?”
From what he’d said earlier, he hadn’t been to the Gu family yet. Surely he hadn’t bought a bicycle here?
She remembered that buying such items still required ration tickets at this time—not an easy thing to obtain.
But then again, considering his status, it made sense.
“Borrowed it from a friend.”
Nan Jin didn’t press further, gripping the seat frame tightly as they set off.
Yuan Zheng rode steadily, sticking to smooth roads whenever possible. When they passed a fruit shop, he stopped.
“Wait here a moment.”
Soon, he emerged with a bag of apples and continued cycling toward the Gu residence.
What annoyed her was that as soon as they arrived at the Gu family’s doorstep, Liang Yourou and Gu Qingya appeared out of nowhere, carrying numerous shopping bags.
Their faces turned cold at the sight of her, especially Gu Qingya’s.
But with Yuan Zheng present, she didn’t dare make a scene.
“Uncle, why are you with her?”
Yuan Zheng glanced at her and said calmly, “I came to see my elder sister. She happened to be coming back to pack her things, and we met on the way. Is that not allowed?”
Gu Qingya shrank her neck slightly and whispered, “Uncle, I didn’t mean it that way.”
She then turned her head and glared fiercely at Nan Jin.
However, Nan Jin didn’t mind at all. A glare wouldn’t make her lose a piece of flesh.
She pushed the door open and walked inside, noticing Yuan Limei sitting on the sofa on the first floor, resting her head on one hand as she looked up.
“Auntie,” Nan Jin greeted her indifferently. “I’m here to pack my things. I’ll leave right away.”
With that, she headed upstairs.
Yuan Limei was so angry she wanted to lose her temper again, but when she saw Yuan Zheng following behind, she suppressed her rage.
“This child, she’s already acting like a stranger right after the divorce,” she said with feigned helplessness. “Xiao Zheng, you’re here? Come in and sit. I’ll ask your brother-in-law to bring back some groceries when he returns tonight. Stay for dinner.”
“Elder sister, I came to see you. I’ll be leaving early the day after tomorrow.”
Yuan Zheng walked over and set down the bag of apples he was carrying.
When Liang Yourou heard that Nan Jin had returned to pack her things, she hurriedly followed her upstairs.
Not wanting to be left out, Gu Qingya also dashed upstairs after them.
Yuan Zheng glanced sideways at them before turning back to chat casually with Yuan Limei.
When Nan Jin returned to her room, she quickly realized that her belongings had been disturbed.
The clothes in the closet were tossed into disarray, clearly someone had been searching for something.
Pursing her lips tightly, she crouched by the door, lifted the right side of the door panel, and shifted it aside.
Doors at that time were often made of two panels, supported by sockets at the top and bottom, making them easy to remove.
After propping the door panel against the wall, she stood on her tiptoes and reached into the upper door socket, retrieving a jade pendant.
Liang Yourou, who had just arrived upstairs, happened to see her holding the pendant.
She stared in astonishment at Nan Jin. No wonder she hadn’t been able to find it anywhere—this wretched woman had hidden it above the door socket.
It was all because she had been reborn, carrying memories from the future, that she had forgotten how people back then often hid things in door sockets or mouse holes.
She fixed her gaze on the jade pendant in Nan Jin’s hand. From her angle, she could only make out half of its auspicious cloud shape.
But knowing its shape would make things much easier.
“Nan Zhu, what are you doing? Are you planning to take our door with you too?” Gu Qingya took two steps forward and shoved her, suppressing a low growl. “You wretched woman, how dare you come back! I’ll kill you!”
Despite her frail condition, Nan Jin subtly sidestepped as Gu Qingya lunged at her.
Gu Qingya’s hands met empty air, and she stumbled forward, barely managing to steady herself. She turned back, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she glared at Nan Jin.
“You wretched woman, how dare you dodge? You poisonous viper, I’ll kill you today!”
The thought of possibly having scars on her stomach fueled her rage, and she lunged at Nan Jin again, clawing at her face.
From her stance, it seemed she genuinely intended to disfigure Nan Jin.
Nan Jin’s expression shifted, and she quickly moved toward the door.
“Sister-in-law, help me stop her!”
Seeing this, Gu Qingya chased after her viciously. “You poisonous viper, you should’ve expected this when you hit me with that thermos!”
“I refuse to believe that even if I beat you, Uncle would actually send me to jail over a venomous woman like you!”
“You’re divorced from my brother now, and you have no connection left with my uncle either.”
“You wretched woman, how dare you swindle fifteen hundred yuan from my family? Go to hell!”
Gu Qingya was the daughter of the family. Although her mother favored sons over daughters, she still treated her quite well.
Especially her father, who had always doted on his daughter, and her two older brothers spoiled her too, which had long fostered her willful and spoiled temperament.
On top of that, she had been scalded by Nan Jin and might end up with scars, and the family had lost fifteen hundred yuan because of Nan Jin.
Fifteen hundred yuan! If her mother had agreed to give her that money as a secret dowry stash, she could have held her head high when marrying into her husband’s family.
Such a large sum of money—why should it end up in the hands of that venomous woman, Nan Zhu?