Lin Fengmian’s gaze flickered between the two of them.
She said bluntly, “Is there something I can’t hear?”
As she spoke, she nudged Jiang Zhixun with her elbow. “Right, Brother Jiang?”
Jiang Zhixun stepped aside.
His face was expressionless, and his tone was calm.
“Men and women should keep their distance. Mind your reputation.”
Lin Fengmian clicked her tongue. “When you came to my house before and ate the food I cooked, you didn’t talk about keeping distance between men and women then, did you?”
Jiang Zhixun and Lin Zhidong were friends, and he had indeed come to their house for meals twice before.
A teasing expression appeared on Lin Fengmian’s face, but her hands nervously clenched together.
“Brother Jiang, you’re not taken with this female comrade, are you? Is that why you’re deliberately keeping your distance from me?”
Jiang Zhixun frowned. “Don’t make wild guesses.”
Lin Fengmian pressed on. “Then why have you suddenly gone so cold toward me? Isn’t it because you’re afraid this comrade might misunderstand?”
Jiang Zhixun didn’t answer her. Instead, he turned to Shen Qingqing and asked, “What do you want to talk about?”
Shen Qingqing understood Jiang Zhixun’s temperament.
He had never been this close with any female comrade.
Nor had he ever spoken to one with such familiarity.
Shen Qingqing didn’t doubt Jiang Zhixun’s character, but they had been apart for three years. Now, she knew nothing about his life.
So she couldn’t understand why this female comrade could speak to Jiang Zhixun in such an intimate tone.
She pressed her lips together.
Telling herself inwardly that none of this had anything to do with her.
All she wanted was a divorce certificate.
Judging by Jiang Zhixun’s behavior, he wouldn’t go to the guesthouse with her, nor would he go somewhere private.
Perhaps he was deliberately keeping his distance, afraid that she had really come to take the child.
Since he was unwilling to cooperate, she had nothing to worry about.
Anyway, once they divorced, the news would spread on its own.
By then, she would already be back in the capital. The storms here wouldn’t affect her.
Suppressing her embarrassment, Shen Qingqing looked at Lin Fengmian, who was blocking the space between them.
She said gently, “Comrade, could you please give us some space to talk?”
Lin Fengmian’s temperament was completely different from Shen Qingqing’s.
In the family compound, she had a nickname—Little Chili Pepper.
Though she was young, just barely twenty, her temper was anything but small. She was fierce and fiery.
Even the battle-hardened aunties who went up against her could only concede defeat.
Lin Fengmian already harbored hostility toward Shen Qingqing, and upon hearing this, she immediately took offense.
She crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “This is the cafeteria—a public place. Why should I leave just because you say so?”
Shen Qingqing frowned slightly and turned her gaze to Jiang Zhixun. “Are you sure you want me to say it here, in front of everyone?”
Jiang Zhixun didn’t know what he was thinking either. By the time he realized it, he had already sat back down in his original seat.
He touched the tip of his nose.
Suppressing the urge to stand up and take her out of the cafeteria.
He looked at Shen Qingqing with an air of composure. “Go ahead. It’s not like it’s anything shameful.”
“That’s right! If you have something to say, say it here. We can all bear witness for you!”
Lin Fengmian hurriedly sat down beside Jiang Zhixun.
A smile hung on her face.
But Shen Qingqing could see the smugness in her eyes.
A long rectangular table divided them into two camps.
Under the weight of others’ scrutinizing gazes, Shen Qingqing felt both humiliated and bitter, as if she were being interrogated.
She was Jiang Zhixun’s wife, yet she didn’t even have the chance to speak with him alone.
This marriage had long lost its meaning.
Although Lin Zhidong and the others had moved to the other side, they were still keeping an eye on Jiang Zhixun and Shen Qingqing’s situation.
The moment he saw his younger sister appear, Lin Zhidong had a bad feeling.
They had just learned that Jiang Zhixun was married, and judging by Xiaomian’s behavior, she probably still knew nothing about it.
When he saw her sit down beside Jiang Zhixun and face Shen Qingqing with such a cocky posture, Lin Zhidong was mortified.
He wished he could crawl into a hole in the ground.
The couple was trying to talk—why did she have to barge in!
Forgetting his meal, he hurried over and yanked Lin Fengmian up.
“Your sister-in-law is sick today and took leave from the art troupe. Go home quickly and help her watch the kids. I’ll grab the lunchbox and be right back.”
After finishing his mission, Lin Zhidong had gone home once.
Because of her period, his wife’s back ached terribly, and she could only rest in bed.
His younger sister had to take care of the child and do the housework—it was exhausting.
To give them both a breather, he had come to the cafeteria to pick up food and bring it home.
He had originally planned to eat with them at home, but something came up and he was called to the leader’s office.
That delay had brought him to now.
Lin Fengmian had finally gotten a chance to see Jiang Zhixun, so she naturally didn’t want to leave.
She hooked her toes firmly around the table leg.
“I came to help you watch the kids. It’s not like I sold myself to you—can’t I even have some personal time?”
In front of everyone, Lin Zhidong couldn’t forcibly drag her away.
He let out an exasperated sigh. “You girl, why are you so lacking in tact? Can’t you see that Comrade Shen and Old Jiang have something to discuss?”
Lin Fengmian pouted in displeasure. “How am I lacking in tact? I’m not covering her mouth, and I’m not stopping her from talking to Brother Jiang.”
As she spoke, her peripheral gaze landed on Shen Qingqing.
The more she looked, the more irritated she felt.
She looked delicate and coy, dressed in fashionable clothes, clearly the type who only knew how to enjoy life.
Her eyes were still red and swollen—anyone seeing her would think that she and Brother Jiang had been bullying her.
He cursed inwardly, What an act.
Lin Zhidong’s scalp went numb. If they stayed any longer, Xiaomian was definitely going to make a scene.
He tugged at her arm again.
Still couldn’t budge her.
He asked, exasperated, “When a married couple is talking, what makes you think you get a say?”
Lin Fengmian instinctively wanted to talk back, but the word “couple” froze her in place.
Her eyes went wide, her face full of disbelief.
Her foot, hooked around the table leg, loosened its grip, and with a gentle tug from Lin Zhidong, she stumbled a step forward.
Lin Fengmian’s mind was a tangled mess.
She muttered to herself, “How could Brother Jiang be married? He never mentioned his wife, and he hasn’t been home in three years. How could they be a couple…”
Lin Zhidong felt even more embarrassed.
“That’s their private business. Why do you need to pry into it?”
He apologized to Shen Qingqing, “Comrade Shen, my sister is just a bit dense—she says and does things without thinking. If she offended you, please forgive her this once.”
Shen Qingqing didn’t want to stir up more trouble.
She didn’t want to bother with it either.
Anyway, once they got divorced, none of this would have anything to do with her.
She tilted her chin toward Jiang Zhixun. “He didn’t explain clearly. That’s what caused the misunderstanding.”
“So it’s my fault?”
Shen Qingqing pressed her lips together. “Isn’t it?”
Jiang Zhixun looked at her with a half-smile. “What, am I supposed to slap your name, Shen Qingqing, on my forehead everywhere I go?”
The mockery in his words wasn’t lost on Shen Qingqing—she wasn’t stupid.
Having been humiliated by him several times in a row, she didn’t want to take it anymore.
“As a married man, isn’t it your responsibility to let people know you’re already taken?”
Jiang Zhixun let out a light snort.
It was as if Shen Qingqing’s scolding had left him speechless.
Or as if he hadn’t taken her words to heart at all.
Looking at them, they didn’t seem like a normal married couple at all.
Jiang Zhixun swept his gaze around and saw that everyone nearby was straining their ears, listening in on their conversation.
Shen Qingqing’s face was calm, but her eyes were filled with humiliation.
The irritation in his chest surged up again.
He stood up and grabbed Shen Qingqing’s wrist. “Come with me.”