After returning to the rental apartment, Song Hongmei suddenly clutched her chest and said she felt unwell.
Song Xuezhi was startled and quickly took out medication from her bag. “Mom, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just an old problem—you know that.” Song Hongmei took the medicine with warm water and sighed. “I was just really upset today. That Zhou Weidong is truly not a good man.”
Song Xuezhi lowered her head in guilt. “Sorry, Mom…”
She thought of the dream of the future—her mother eventually dying from a heart attack caused by cancer. Zhou Weidong’s “nephew” had a heart condition, and so did her mother.
Silently, she made a vow: she would earn enough money in the future to take her mother abroad for treatment.
“Why are you apologizing to me?” Song Hongmei said with a helpless smile.
“Oh right, how is your brother doing now?”
“He’s still the same. His marriage is what worries me. At this rate, he can’t find a partner at all. I even mentioned to your father about transferring him into a formal position, but guess what? He refused!” Thinking about it made her angry.
“If it really doesn’t work this time, just take back the job you gave to Zhao Di…”
Song Xuezhi shook her head.
Once something had been given away, how could it be so easily taken back?
Besides, when she transferred her job to Yang Zhaodi, she had already received 600 yuan and some ration coupons in return.
That night, after borrowing a stove from the neighbor downstairs, they cooked a simple meal and ate together in the cramped room.
But as she tasted familiar home-cooked food, tears welled up in Song Xuezhi’s eyes.
She missed home.
Seeing her emotions, Song Hongmei kept putting food in her bowl. “Eat more. Once you divorce Zhou Weidong, come back to Su City. There’s nothing good about staying here in the north. I’ll introduce you to someone better…”
The priority was for her to live nearby, preferably in Su City, so the family could support her if she was bullied.
But Song Xuezhi shook her head. “Mom, I don’t plan to go back.”
“What? Then where are you going to stay?!” The chopsticks almost fell from Song Hongmei’s hand.
“There’s no space at home. I’ve already found a job here, so I can settle down,” she said with a bitter smile.
“There’s no space? You and Zhaodi can squeeze together…”
Still, hearing that she had a job made her mother slightly calmer.
However, since it wasn’t a formal position and she was still so close to Zhou Weidong, she still didn’t approve.
It would be better to go back and get married instead.
But Song Xuezhi didn’t want marriage at all, and that created conflict between them.
Her mother said she had only taken leave and could stay at most five days. She originally wanted to take her daughter back, but now she could only focus on dealing with the cancellation of the engagement.
When she saw Zhou Weidong, she was definitely going to confront him. Did he really think her daughter had no one behind her?
That night, neither of them slept well.
The next morning, Song Xuezhi went to work early.
Her mother woke up even earlier and wanted to make breakfast, but she refused. “It’s okay, Mom. The cafeteria provides three meals a day.”
Hearing that, her mother felt slightly relieved and even wanted to visit her workplace.
They took the bus back again, and at the military base area, after her daughter went inside to get her food, she was given two corn pancakes and a cup of freshly ground soy milk.
When the cook saw her mother, he generously added two more pancakes.
Seeing her daughter had stable work, her mother felt a bit relieved—but also heartbroken.
Back home, she had worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, a respectable job. But here, she was only doing exhausting service work at a restaurant.
In those days, jobs had different ranks.
Working at a supply and marketing cooperative was far better than being a restaurant waitress.
It was all Zhou Weidong’s fault—he claimed he had helped her get a job in the cultural troupe, but in reality, he tricked her into coming here just to work like a servant for his sister’s family!
Thinking about this made her chest hurt again.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon when Song Xuezhi came to find her mother, she saw her sitting at the entrance of a residential compound, cracking sunflower seeds and enthusiastically gossiping with military wives.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, she went over and said softly, “Mom, we should go back.”
Only then did her mother reluctantly say goodbye to the group and leave with her daughter.
“What did you talk about with them?” she asked.
“About Zhou Weidong!” her mother huffed. “His reputation isn’t bad. At first, some people even defended him. One old lady even said a man like him won’t lack women willing to marry him. I spit on that!”
“He’s got that useless sister dragging him down—just wait and see. After you leave him, no one will want him!”
Silently, Song Xuezhi thought: his sister would definitely be willing.
They might as well be locked together and stop harming others.
Counting the days, it seemed like it would soon be the time when Zhou Yuwei’s true identity would be revealed.
In her prophetic dream, she only learned after her death that Zhou Yuwei’s biological parents were someone else entirely.
But in reality, Zhou Yuwei had already reunited with her powerful real parents long ago—it was just hidden from everyone for some reason.
And Zhou Weidong definitely knew about it.
Suddenly, Song Xuezhi felt a strange anticipation—and curiosity.
What would Zhou Weidong’s reaction be when he found out Zhou Yuwei was not his biological sister?