In her early twenties, Li Yixun would readily accept any excuse from Chen Nian during arguments.
But in her thirties, Li Yixun wasn’t so easily swayed.
She had always vaguely sensed problems in her marriage, as if she’d inadvertently stumbled upon a clichéd romance novel—”unrequited love turns into reality” or “forced marriage.” The difference was that her love was open; they’d even dated for several years before marriage. Although Li Yixun had felt Chen Nian wasn’t particularly passionate about the relationship then, compared to his absence after marriage, he seemed incredibly enthusiastic during their courtship.
Because it was Chen Nian, she kept lowering her standards in the marriage, living in a daze. This time, even her final line was crossed. She couldn’t understand how a marriage could continue without trust. Not to mention Chen Nian’s concealment of their family’s “illegitimate child”—Li Yixun didn’t know how many other things he was hiding from her.
After their argument that day, Chen Nian was forced to move to another room.
Li Yixun didn’t care why he didn’t go to another room; their current marital home was a large single-level apartment with a master bedroom, other functional rooms, and two secondary bedrooms, so he wouldn’t be without a place to sleep.
Chen Nian clearly realized she was genuinely angry this time. Although he had disappeared early that morning, he left wrapped yellow roses on the dining table along with a handwritten apology card.
“I’m sorry, I really spoke without thinking because of jealousy, not because I don’t trust you. Social engagements are unavoidable, but I’ll try to minimize them. Assistant Jin has been transferred, and I won’t be using female assistants anymore.”
Li Yixun almost laughed at Chen Nian’s ability to pinpoint the problem. Was this something that could be solved by simply not using female assistants? She wasn’t so petty as to chase away every female mosquito around him. As a woman herself, she knew the difficulties women faced in the workplace, and she wouldn’t force him to only use male employees just because of jealousy.
Angry at Chen Nian’s ability to twist the facts, even the beautiful bouquet of roses seemed unappealing. She had no interest in pruning the flowers or arranging them in a vase, so she left them there, changed her clothes, and drove to her parents’ house.
Li Yixun arrived relatively early, around ten o’clock; her mother hadn’t returned from grocery shopping yet.
As she changed her shoes, she observed the situation in the living room. Her father was sprawled on the sofa, scrolling through videos and laughing mindlessly, while her sister-in-law was quietly scolding her child, apparently for not being able to do his homework. Her little nephew was crying his eyes out, making her frown.
After changing her shoes, she went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water before slowly returning to the living room to call out, “Dad.”
Only then did the three people in the living room notice her arrival.
“Big Sister.”
His sister-in-law nudged his nephew, and he tearfully called out, “Auntie…”
Li Yixun suspected he was about to get snot in his mouth, and disdainfully handed him a tissue. “Wipe it yourself.”
His sister-in-law was also quite embarrassed, explaining to this not-so-close older sister, “His sister went to tutoring classes, so I made him do his homework. It’s a mess; even I, with no education, can see he’s doing it wrong.”
Li Yixun didn’t respond. She wasn’t close to this family, and even if she were, she wouldn’t want to interfere in how others disciplined their children.
Hearing the commotion, her father put down his phone, glanced at them, and casually said, “Anyway, Xunxun, you’re free today, why don’t you tutor Zile with her homework? You’re the only college graduate in our family.”
Li Yixun felt a surge of anger. She wondered if she’d been too lenient with her father lately, and couldn’t help but retort sarcastically, “Dad, you haven’t forgotten how I got into college, have you?”
“Besides, my sister-in-law only dropped out of vocational school; she’s not illiterate. How could she not understand third-grade homework?”
Li’s father and sister-in-law exchanged glances. He hadn’t expected Li Yixun to suddenly erupt over such a small matter, and instantly felt embarrassed. He could only shut up and continue scrolling through his short videos on his phone.
Even her little nephew sensed the tense atmosphere and nervously stared at his aunt.
“Lele, do your homework yourself… Mom suddenly remembered there were still clothes to hang up, I’ll go hang them up.” Her sister-in-law, not wanting to cause trouble, made an excuse to leave.
The little nephew, noticing his mother had left, quickly forgot the earlier awkwardness and became cheerful again, fiddling with this and that on the table, refusing to do his homework.
“Li Zile,” Li Yixun couldn’t help but tap the table, reminding the playful boy.
The little nephew glanced at her timidly. Being watched by his stern aunt made it impossible to play without pressure, so he reluctantly picked up his pen again and slowly read the questions and started doing his homework.
Li Yixun finally softened for the child, and after a moment, said, “If you don’t understand, come ask me.”
When Li’s mother arrived home, she saw this harmonious scene of “aunt and nephew being kind and filial.” She was overjoyed, thinking that her daughter had finally begun to cherish family ties as she grew older, and her attitude had softened. She happily called her daughter-in-law to help her cook.
When all the dishes were ready and everyone was about to sit down to eat, Li’s mother said everyone should wait a little longer.
“Why? The food’ll get cold… Grandma, I’m hungry!” The youngest, Li Zile, wailed.
Li Yixun, however, glanced sharply at her mother and, sure enough, saw that expectant smile on her face.
It must be her good son-in-law, Chen Nian, coming.
Li Yixun hadn’t told Chen Nian she was coming to her parents’ house today. Her mother must have just contacted Chen Nian, and since he was local and wanted to apologize after their argument, he agreed to come.
Li Yixun herself rarely went back to her parents’ house, let alone invite Chen Nian. When she got married, her parents demanded a two-million-yuan dowry, an act that felt like selling their daughter, which infuriated and disgusted her. So, right after the wedding, she made it clear to Chen Nian that her relationship with her parents was terrible, that she would handle things herself, and that he should have less contact with her family and not be taken advantage of.
She and Chen Nian rarely saw each other; he seldom even visited his own mother, let alone her parents.
Ten minutes later, Chen Nian arrived belatedly with a pile of gifts.
After washing his hands, he naturally sat down in the empty seat next to Li Yixun, and the group began their meal.
“Oh, Chen Nian, you too, bringing gifts to your own home, so polite,” Li’s father politely declined, but his face clearly showed an undisguised smile of satisfaction.
“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Chen Nian replied with a professional smile.
“Want some?” Li’s father tried to pour Chen Nian a drink, but Chen Nian smiled and waved his hand, declining, “Dad, I can’t drink… I’m driving, and I have things to do this afternoon.”
“Oh, just a little, it’s alright, let Xunxun drive your car home.” Li’s father was the type who loved to urge others to drink at the table; he’d been like that when he was young, and now that he was old, he hadn’t shaken off the habit.
Li Yixun glanced at them, then silently continued eating, shoveling rice into her bowl.
Serves him right for coming and being pressured to drink, she thought to herself.
“No, Dad, I have clients visiting this afternoon,” Chen Nian said, still nonchalant, but with a hint of assertiveness in his smile.
Li’s mother chimed in, “That’s right, Chen Nian has important business to attend to.”
She paused, then looked at Li Yixun and Chen Nian separately, “Besides, Nian and Xunxun should probably drink less. They’ve been married for so many years; it’s about time they had a child.”
Chen Nian’s smile froze. He hadn’t expected even his not-so-familiar mother-in-law to start pressuring them to have children. He and Li Yixun had no plans for that at the moment.
“Okay, we’ll consider it.”
Li Yixun frowned; she hated this topic. “Mom, please stop. We’ll figure it out ourselves.”
The couple didn’t give Li’s mother a satisfactory answer, but since she’d brought it up, she wouldn’t give up easily, continuing her relentless pursuit. “You’re both over thirty. In a few years, Xunxun will be considered an elderly mother, which won’t be good for the baby or her recovery.”
“Mom knows that late marriage and late childbirth are popular among young people these days. Look at you two, you weren’t exactly young when you got married. Are you really going to wait until you’re too old to have a child?”
“Look, Xunxun’s niece is already in middle school, and you two don’t even have your first child yet. How can that be?”
Just as Chen Nian was about to use a perfunctory approach to deal with his mother-in-law’s incessant nagging, Li Yixun slammed her chopsticks down with a loud “bang.”
Everyone at the table involuntarily turned their attention to her.
Li Yixun lifted her eyelids to look back at her mother, uttering words that were casual yet incredibly cruel, “Mom, are you forgetful? Have you already forgotten why I got married?”
“You don’t actually think it was for love, do you?… It’s because of your first child, you say? Otherwise, where would you find a son-in-law willing to pay two million in dowry?”
Even Li Zile, the youngest at the table, was startled by the sudden shift in the atmosphere. He put down his chopsticks, bewildered, and tugged at his mother’s sleeve for reassurance.
Chen Nian, clearly unprepared for Li Yixun’s emotional outburst, anxiously reached for her hand to try to comfort her, but she quickly pulled away.
Li’s mother was so angry at her mother’s disobedient words that she didn’t know what to say. This was a double-edged sword; her mother’s words had pierced her heart, but also deeply wounded her own.
“Sorry, I ruined everyone’s lunch.” Li Yixun apologized, but her face showed no remorse. “I hope it doesn’t spoil everyone’s mood. I’ll be going now.”
Li Yixun decisively grabbed her bag and left. Chen Nian quickly put down her chopsticks and followed.
Stepping out of the lobby, she felt the biting wind. Li Yixun walked against the wind, head down, feeling her face stiffen.
She heard Chen Nian’s hurried footsteps beside her. After catching up, he finally slowed down and called softly, “Li Yixun.”
“Hmm.” Li Yixun felt her voice was also freezing, sounding slightly hoarse.
“The right to have children is in your hands. Others can only gossip. You don’t need to say things that hurt others and yourself.”
Li Yixun stopped at his words. Chen Nian, also puzzled, stopped as well, turning his head to meet her gaze.
Perhaps it was the strong wind and cold outside, but her face was an unhealthy pale, her eyes red-rimmed. In the biting wind, she was beautiful yet fragile, like a porcelain doll easily broken in the wind. [Add WeChat: nf6055] Latest and most complete, real-time updates, permanently free.
“But I’m right, didn’t I? You only married me because I was pregnant?”
“Did you marry me because you loved me?” Li Yixun gave a bitter laugh, her voice chilling.
Chen Nian awkwardly avoided her gaze, not answering the question, but instead suggesting, “It’s too cold, let’s go back.”
Upon hearing this, the last trace of a smile vanished from Li Yixun’s face, and she silently turned and continued walking towards the parking area outside the residential area.