With Lin Xiaoxiao shutting down his last little scheme, Grandpa Lin glared at her furiously.
He looked at her not like a grandfather looking at his granddaughter, but like she was some unforgivable enemy.
Lin Xiaoxiao wasn’t afraid of him. Without a care, she went on exposing his ugly behavior.
“Grandpa, just look at how terrifying you are. In front of all these people, you look like you’re about to eat me alive. How can I trust you to hand over my compensation once we get home?”
Grandpa Lin was so angry that his breathing turned ragged. His face darkened as he barked at the old woman beside him, “Give it to her! Right now! Give it to this troublemaker who cares about money, not family!”
Grandma Lin didn’t dare defy the furious old man. Reluctantly, she pulled a ten-yuan note, two two-yuan notes, and a one-yuan note out of her underwear and handed them to Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao picked them up between the tips of two fingers, looking disgusted, then immediately tossed them to Eldest Brother Lin, who was standing closest to her.
Eldest Brother Lin looked a little disgusted too, but it was money—and compensation for what his Little Sister had suffered—so he swallowed his feelings and tucked it into his pocket.
Lin Xiaoxiao turned around and gave Old Party Secretary Lin a sweet smile.
“Second Grandpa, if I don’t get the eggs, can I come to you to settle things?”
Looking at this clever girl, Old Party Secretary Lin smiled warmly at her.
Then he shot a sidelong glance at Grandpa Lin, whose lips were already trembling with anger, and agreed at once. “All right. Your grandpa won’t keep them from you. If there’s any trouble, Second Grandpa will see that you get justice!”
“Thank you, Second Grandpa. No wonder you’re the Old Party Secretary—you’re so fair!” Lin Xiaoxiao buttered him up.
The compensation had been paid. What remained was an internal matter among the Qiao, Lin, and Lu families.
Even though the Qiao family and the Lin family’s second branch were dissatisfied, Old Party Secretary Lin ordered them to go home and discuss it there instead of making a scene in public.
So he sent everyone off, still hungry for more, and the three families headed to the nearest Lin home to talk.
On the way back,
Mother Lin pulled Lin Xiaoxiao aside. Ever since Lin Xiaoxiao had agreed to the bride swap, Lu Ye’s eyes hadn’t left her. Mother Lin tipped her chin toward him and asked quietly,
“Daughter, are you really going to marry Little Lu?”
“Don’t force yourself. If you don’t want to, I’ll tear the roof off the old Lin family’s house if I have to, but I’ll make sure this marriage is called off.”
“If your grandparents pressure you into dating and getting married again, your dad and I will leave with nothing if that’s what it takes to split from the family!”
Mother Lin had spoken softly, but Lu Ye’s hearing was excellent.
He couldn’t help watching Lin Xiaoxiao nervously, afraid she would change her mind.
Lin Xiaoxiao felt his scorching gaze and looked up to see Lu Ye staring at her with an intensity that was almost oppressive.
Why did she have the feeling that if she changed her mind, he would tie her up and take her home?
He hadn’t seemed this nervous or concerned when he was going to marry Lin Pandi. Back then, he’d been so indifferent, as if he were just carrying out some task.
Was she imagining it?
Lin Xiaoxiao shook off the strange thought, then leaned closer to Mother Lin and said softly,
“Mom, we have to split from the family. If we don’t, you and Dad will keep being squeezed dry by the eldest branch and the third branch. It’ll ruin your health sooner or later!”
Feeling the gaze on her grow even more intense, Lin Xiaoxiao hurriedly added,
“But I’m willing to marry Lu Ye, too!”
The moment she said it, the gaze on her softened like a spring breeze.
She sneaked another look at Lu Ye. The corners of his mouth were actually lifted. This was the first time in either of her two lives that Lin Xiaoxiao had seen him smile.
He already had handsome, sharply defined features, and when he smiled, he seemed to radiate light. Lin Xiaoxiao stared, momentarily entranced.
“If you marry Lu Ye, won’t that be exactly what the eldest branch wants? How are we supposed to split from the family then?” Mother Lin asked, bringing Lin Xiaoxiao back to herself.
Lin Xiaoxiao patted her cheeks, scolding herself for being so lovestruck.
Thinking over Mother Lin’s question, she furrowed her brows, troubled.
Father Lin was the Lin family’s workhorse. If that whole family were willing to let him set up his own household, they would have split up long ago.
Even in her previous life, the family hadn’t split until Grandpa Lin had been worn down to death. For now, Lin Xiaoxiao really didn’t have a good solution.
But she had to split the family up. In her previous life, her parents had worked themselves to death, succumbing to illnesses brought on by overwork in their sixties. Now that she’d been reborn, she had to change all of that.
With determination in her eyes, Lin Xiaoxiao patted Mother Lin’s hand.
“Mom, I’ll figure something out. Don’t worry. I’ll get you, Dad, and my brothers out of the old Lin family and make sure we live well!”
Lu Ye looked at Lin Xiaoxiao’s determined expression and the faint worry between her brows. He wanted to smooth it away.
She should be happy and carefree, not troubled by these petty matters.
Splitting the family up? Lu Ye turned the thought over in his mind and came up with a plan. Whatever she wanted, he would help her get it.
Back at the old Lin family home, once the door was closed, the first to speak up was Mother Qiao.
“Breaking off the engagement is one thing, but the bride swap is out of the question! My Jianguo will not marry Lin Pandi!”
Eldest Aunt Lin wasn’t about to let that pass.
“What, now that your son’s got the lofty title of Brigade Leader, he can’t even keep his word? The ink’s barely dry, and you’re already taking it back!”
“Your son was the one who proposed the bride swap. Besides, he ruined my daughter’s chastity. Is he trying to take advantage of her and then refuse to take responsibility?”
Brigade Leader Qiao slammed his hand on the table.
“Eldest Uncle Lin’s wife! Watch what you say. You need evidence, and you need to have a conscience!”
“What do you mean, my Jianguo ruined your daughter’s chastity? Do you have any proof? My son tried to save someone out of kindness and ended up with a stain on his own reputation. Doesn’t your conscience hurt when you say things like that?”
The table slap startled Eldest Aunt Lin, and for a moment she didn’t dare talk back.
Lin Pandi gritted her teeth, cursing Eldest Aunt Lin for being useless.
She had plotted for so long, even going so far as to ruin her own reputation. She had to marry Qiao Jianguo.
At the thought, Lin Pandi’s eyes reddened, and she knelt before Brigade Leader Qiao, looking ready to cry.
“Brigade Leader, how can you go back on your word like this? Everyone in the brigade knows we’ve lost our chastity and have to swap brides. If you do this now, aren’t you forcing me to die?”
“You’re the Brigade Leader. Please, have mercy and leave me a way to live!”
Brigade Leader Qiao’s expression darkened, and he disliked Lin Pandi even more.
It wasn’t enough that she’d schemed against her own cousin just to marry his son. Now she was using the threat of death to pressure him too.
He didn’t want to bring a daughter-in-law like her home at all now.
He glared at his son, who was hiding behind his mother and pretending to be dead, then barked, “Jianguo! Tell me! Did you touch her inappropriately or not? If you didn’t, I’ll take this all the way to the commune before I let certain people get their way!”
But Qiao Jianguo only shifted his eyes guiltily and didn’t answer.
He had indeed touched Lin Pandi in the water—but he’d thought he was touching Lin Xiaoxiao.
As he thought this, Qiao Jianguo even looked over at Lin Xiaoxiao, who was in Mother Lin’s arms while her mother dried her hair.
He couldn’t believe Lin Xiaoxiao would really give up such a good fiancé. What she’d said earlier had just been an impulsive outburst in the heat of the moment.
If she would just swallow her pride and speak up for him, he would take back what he’d said about the bride swap and stay engaged to her!
Lin Xiaoxiao had been married to Qiao Jianguo for thirty years. She could tell at a glance what he was thinking.
His look made her want to vomit. She didn’t mince words.
“Why are you looking at me? Look at that guilty face of yours. Lin Pandi may be awful, but you’re no good yourself!”
“Do you think I’d still speak up for a sleazy man like you? Qiao Jianguo, you’re disgusting!”
Qiao Jianguo’s eyes widened, and his face turned liver-red. Humiliated and furious, he jumped to his feet and pointed at Lin Xiaoxiao, cursing her out.
“Lin Xiaoxiao! Don’t act so high and mighty! Do you think I want to marry a slut who’s been touched by some wild man?”
Lu Ye’s expression turned cold. He sprang up like a leopard, seized Qiao Jianguo by the collar, and lifted him into the air like a little chick.
“Try saying one more word!”