After she finished washing up, Wen Li finally noticed the note Xu Zhouye had left for her, explaining where he had gone.
The note was pressed beneath a brand-new jar of snow cream.
Ever since the day she married Xu Zhouye, every time he came home on leave, Wen Li would receive a gift from him.
Sometimes it was snow cream.
Sometimes it was a dress.
Once, he even spent a large sum of money to buy her imported sanitary pads when he returned from the capital.
He was usually such a flamboyant person, yet when he handed her those things, he would stammer through an explanation—saying he saw his friends buying them for their wives, so he followed suit.
He even emphasized that he had no other intentions.
From the day they married, Xu Zhouye had treated her very well.
Yet she was afraid it was all just an illusion—like flowers reflected in a mirror or the moon on water. Once she threw herself into it completely, everything might change.
Having grown up lacking love, Wen Li was deeply conflicted inside. She longed to be loved, yet feared being hurt because of it.
Compared with others, she always lacked confidence.
Holding the snow cream now, Wen Li felt both happy and regretful.
She should have been braver.
Qingqing didn’t know what his mother was thinking. He tugged at Wen Li’s hand, trying to pull her toward the kitchen.
He kept muttering, “Daddy… boil eggs.”
Xu’s mother explained, “A-Ye boiled eggs for you. He said you’ve lost weight and even asked whether we weren’t feeding you enough.”
Speaking of this, Xu’s mother didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
In her heart, she cursed softly, That brat—only knows how to worry about his wife!
But then she thought again—her son was already twenty-five before he finally got married. He rarely came home on leave, and at such a vigorous age, it was only natural that all his thoughts were glued to his wife.
Wen Li felt embarrassed under her mother-in-law’s gaze and quickly changed the subject. “I’m going back to my parents’ place for a bit.”
“You go by yourself. Don’t take Qingqing,” Xu’s mother said, her expression cooling.
She clearly had no desire to associate with the Wen family.
Wen Li knew why. Originally, her mother-in-law hadn’t wanted her as a daughter-in-law.
She also disapproved of how the Wen family favored their adopted daughter.
Even after becoming relatives by marriage, Xu’s mother’s attitude toward the Wen family remained lukewarm.
Over the years, Xu’s mother had never once visited the Wen family, while Wen Li’s biological mother had come several times to curry favor with her.
Each time, she was coldly ignored. Later, she even believed Wen Li had been sowing discord behind her back and cursed her plenty in private.
Thinking of those so-called relatives—and then thinking of her previous life, after her death, when everyone sided with Wen Tiantian—Wen Li’s last trace of longing for familial affection had long since disappeared.
If not to reclaim what rightfully belonged to her, she would never step into the Wen family home again!
Wen Li had a jade pendant. When she was young, someone had given it to her, saying they were returning to their own world and gifting the pendant to someone fated.
On the day the Wen family took her back, Wen Tiantian said she wanted to exchange “meeting gifts.”
Without Wen Li’s consent, she used an old dress to “trade” for the jade pendant.
When Wen Li refused, the Wen family accused her of being petty and narrow-minded.
Wen’s mother threatened Wen Li, warning her not to snatch the jade pendant back from Wen Tiantian, or else she would be sent back to the countryside to be disciplined.
Wen Li was frightened and could only swallow her grievance.
But now, she had to get the jade pendant back.
In her previous life, Wen Tiantian monopolized the pendant and activated the spatial dimension. With that advantage, she became more confident and greedier for what she wanted.
She wanted to marry Xu Zhouye and become the Xu family’s daughter-in-law!
Knowing Wen Tiantian’s intentions, Wen’s mother主动 approached Wen Li and demanded that she divorce Xu Zhouye.
Such an absurd demand—Wen Li could never agree.
Unexpectedly, Wen Tiantian was utterly deranged. She locked Wen Li in a room with a strange man and arranged for people to “catch them in the act.”
She intended to ruin Wen Li’s reputation and force Xu Zhouye to divorce her.
What drove Wen Li into despair was that her own biological mother was also an accomplice.
She said, “Tiantian just wants to marry Xu Zhouye. Be sensible and give in to her.”
She said, “After you divorce, the family will still support you. Because of you, Tiantian has been unhappy all these years—this is what you owe her.”
She said, “Don’t worry about the child. Tiantian will treat him well. Rather than letting someone else be his stepmother, it’s better to let Tiantian get what she wants.”
She even said, “Relax. He won’t touch you. It’s just an act. Mom will let you out later—don’t make a fuss.”
At that time, Wen Li was already in the late stages of pregnancy. If Wen’s mother hadn’t pretended to be ill, Wen Li would never have returned.
That chaos directly triggered her labor out of anger.
Yet Wen’s mother believed she was faking it.
Only when things truly went wrong did she send Wen Li to the hospital. By then, it was too late—the doctor said she was in obstructed labor.
Only then did Wen’s mother feel afraid.
Even so, she still chose to side with Wen Tiantian, lying to others and saying Wen Li had secretly met a man, which caused her premature labor.
Such a huge bucket of filth was dumped on Wen Li. The man involved was even hidden away by Wen Tiantian in the spatial dimension, leaving Wen Li to be pointed at and gossiped about for a long time.
Some people said Qingqing was pitiful, saddled with an irresponsible mother.
Others said Xu Zhouye was unlucky, having married a shameless woman.
Thankfully, Xu Zhouye was not deceived. He investigated the truth and restored her innocence.
Thinking of all that, Wen Li couldn’t wait to go to the army camp to find Xu Zhouye.
This time, she would not back down again!
She also didn’t want her child to have any contact with those people, lest he see something ugly and be psychologically affected.
She said to Xu’s mother, “Mom, I’ll trouble you to look after Qingqing today. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done—it won’t take long.”
Xu’s mother glanced at Wen Li several times, feeling that something about her seemed strange today.
But she couldn’t quite put her finger on what.
She knew the Wen family was biased—either treating Wen Li like she was invisible, or ordering her around, constantly demanding that she give way to the adopted daughter.
They said the adopted daughter was living under someone else’s roof, sensitive by nature, and needed tolerance and love from others.
They also said that since they had brought Wen Li back from the countryside, if she were sensible, she should learn to be content.
There were many other absurd things, all of which Xu’s mother had quietly asked people to look into.
Although Wen Li was a member of the Wen family, she was excluded and suppressed by them—truly pitiful.
Xu’s mother guessed that Wen Li had always endured it, either out of longing for familial affection or fear of being sent back to the countryside.
Or perhaps both.
Xu’s mother sighed inwardly. Wen Li was considerate, never overstepping boundaries, neither in actions nor in words. Such a well-behaved child—how could the Wen family not cherish her?
She was their biological daughter, after all!
Feelings could be nurtured. If one had the heart for it, what did those years of separation matter?
If Wen Li suffered grievances after returning to her parents’ home, her son would surely feel distressed.
With his dog-tempered personality and sharp tongue, who knew what he might do if he found out Wen Li was being bullied?
Back when they had just married, he had spoken up for Wen Li so fiercely that her father-in-law couldn’t even lift his head!
Xu’s mother asked, “Can you make it back before lunch? Qingqing likes the food you cook.”
Wen Li checked the time. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Wen Li was widely acknowledged as a well-behaved girl and a good daughter-in-law. Over the past few years, she had kept the household in perfect order and borne a child for the Xu family. Gradually, Xu’s mother came to truly accept her.
A mother knows her son best. Over the years, Xu’s mother could see clearly—her son truly liked Wen Li.
That brat was usually sharp-tongued, yet completely incapable of sweet talk. No wonder his wife didn’t feel close to him.
Out of affection for what her son loved, Xu’s mother didn’t want Wen Li to be bullied. It would be better for her to come home early.
If she stayed at the Wen family’s place, she might not even get a hot meal.
Qingqing was still a little toddler, very attached to his mother. He blinked his round, watery eyes and said, “Want Mommy.”
He hadn’t seen his mother all night!
Qingqing said, “Don’t like… stinky Daddy!”
In the little boy’s heart, ever since Daddy came home, Mommy had suddenly spent much less time with him.
Now Mommy was going out again, so naturally, he blamed Daddy.
Wen Li pinched her son’s chubby little cheek. “Perfect—Mommy will take you to join the army. You father and son can bond properly!”
Xu’s mother looked delighted.
Joining the army camp was great—no need for A-Ye to stay alone at the garrison without family around.
And maybe they could even have a few more children—then the household would be lively!
“Really? You’re going to join the army?”
Wen Li answered firmly, “Yes. I’m going.”