Lu Chaonan immediately shook his head.
Divorce Lin Shuya?
“Impossible.”
He was a soldier. Whether he wanted to marry or divorce, he had to submit a report to his unit and obtain approval from his superiors. Before returning this time, he had not submitted any such report, so there was no way this divorce could happen.
Besides, Lin Dahai had taught him from a young age that a man had to take responsibility for his actions and keep his word. Back then, he had been the one to propose marriage, promising to take care of Lin Shuya for the rest of his life. He could not simply go back on his word.
Moreover, the people in the village were traditional-minded. According to what Zhao Quande had told him, he had already been away from home for two years, and the villagers had long been gossiping behind Lin Shuya’s back. If they divorced now, how would she continue living in the village afterward? He could not repay kindness with ingratitude and leave Lin Shuya in such a difficult situation.
Li Chunhua was furious. She climbed down from the kang and grabbed the broom standing in the corner, swinging it straight at Lu Chaonan.
“Fine! If you refuse to recognize me as your mother from now on, then I’ll pretend I never gave birth to an ungrateful wretch like you. Get out! Get out of my house!”
The broom came so suddenly that Lu Chaonan was caught off guard the first time it struck.
Before it could come down a second time, he swiftly stepped sideways and dodged.
Ever since he was young, he had never been the type to stand there and take a beating.
He bent down, picked up the luggage at his feet, and headed for the door.
Li Chunhua angrily chased after him.
Only after Lu Chaonan stepped out of the courtyard did she finally stop. One hand braced against the doorframe, while the other gripped the broom as she pointed it at him.
“From now on, you can be the Lin family’s live-in son-in-law. You have nothing to do with the Lu family anymore!”
Lu Chaonan did not take her words seriously and simply replied, “Mom, I’ll come back after you’ve calmed down.”
“If you dare step through my door again, I’ll break your legs!”
The commotion at the Lu family home was loud enough that the neighbors had all poked their heads out to watch.
“Auntie, is Dayuan home? I’m going back to see my wife first. I specifically took leave this time to come home and visit my family, and I have plenty of time off. In a couple of days, I’ll invite him over to my place for a meal so we can catch up.”
“When I came back last time, I originally had a mission scheduled. Brigade Captain Lin passed away suddenly, so I took emergency leave. I didn’t have much time and came and went in a hurry. After returning to my unit, I was immediately sent out on a mission, which lasted for two years and only ended a few days ago.”
“This time, I specifically came back to see my wife. I have half a month of leave.”
As Lu Chaonan made his way along the road, he explained everything about both of his previous returns before anyone even had the chance to ask.
All the way from the Lu family home to the Lin family home, his mouth never stopped moving as he did his best to clear Lin Shuya’s name.
When he arrived at the Lin family’s gate, he immediately noticed the brass lock hanging from it.
No one was home.
Lu Chaonan was puzzled. Where could Lin Shuya have gone if she was not at home?
The courtyard wall was not very high, and climbing over it was effortless for Lu Chaonan.
He first tossed his luggage into the courtyard, then stepped back ten meters. After a running start, he reached up and grabbed the top of the wall with both hands.
With a powerful push from his legs, he quickly pulled himself up and sat on top of the wall.
He then flipped over and landed steadily inside the courtyard.
Picking up his luggage, he brushed the yellow dust off it and headed straight for the west room.
The Lin family courtyard had been built by Lin Dahai. While he was alive, he had lived in the main house, while Lin Shuya lived in the west room.
After he passed away, the main house had remained empty, and Lin Shuya had never moved out of the west room.
Lu Chaonan placed his luggage inside the room, then turned and headed to the kitchen.
The ashes in the stove were cold, so Lin Shuya probably had not eaten lunch at home.
Lu Chaonan could not help muttering to himself. Where had Lin Shuya gone all day?
Meanwhile, the Lin Shuya he was thinking about was on her way back to the village.
After leaving the cinema, she took another stroll through the supply and marketing cooperative. Thinking that she had made a good profit today, she decided to treat herself a little and made a detour to the state run restaurant, where she bought a pound of steamed meat buns.
She hurried to the station and barely caught the last bus back to the village.
The bus rattled along the uneven dirt road, swaying and jolting the entire way.
Lin Shuya felt so sick that she wanted to throw up.
The moment she finally saw the bus stop, she hurriedly got off and stood there dry heaving for quite some time, her face turning pale.
When she finally reached her home, Lin Shuya suddenly noticed smoke rising from the chimney, and her heart skipped a beat.
Someone was inside?
Had a thief broken in?
She quietly approached and examined the brass lock. There were no signs that it had been damaged. Then she looked toward the courtyard wall and noticed what appeared to be footprints on its surface.
Pressing her ear against the gate, she listened carefully and thought she could hear footsteps inside.
Without hesitation, Lin Shuya turned around and headed to find one of the brigade cadres.
She had publicly taken two hundred yuan back from Li Chunhua, and it had undoubtedly made plenty of people jealous. This thief had probably come specifically for that money.
Lin Shuya had not gone very far when she ran into several children from the Lu family.
Lu Chaodong and Wu Lixia had been married for ten years and had three children. Their eldest was a daughter named Lu Jiayuan, who was eight years old. Since the age of six, she had been responsible for looking after her two younger brothers.
This time, she was also walking in front, followed by Lu Jiadong and Lu Jialiang. The last child was Lu Jiaqi, Ye Qing’s son.
The four children stopped at the same time when they saw Lin Shuya.
“Second Aunt, is our Second Uncle home?”
Lin Shuya froze for a moment before realizing that the Second Uncle they were referring to was her husband, Lu Chaonan.
“He’s back?”
Lu Jiayuan nodded. “I heard from my mom that he came back. We haven’t seen Second Uncle in a long time, so we wanted to come and see him.”
Lin Shuya quickly connected the dots.
The person inside her house might not be a thief after all. It was also possible that it was Lu Chaonan.
Instead of using the front gate, he had actually climbed over the wall.
There was definitely something wrong with this man. Climbing over the courtyard wall of a woman living alone, did he have no shame?
At that very moment, Lu Chaonan, who was inside the Lin family home preparing a fire to cook, suddenly sneezed.
It was an especially violent sneeze, leaving his head buzzing afterward.
Who was cursing him?
Several suspicious individuals flashed through his mind.
Before he could figure out who it might be, he heard the sound of someone unlocking the courtyard gate.
Still holding the fire poker, he walked to the kitchen entrance and immediately spotted Lin Shuya.
She looked much thinner than she had two years ago. She had probably been upset by all the rumors circulating in the village.
Lu Chaonan was filled with guilt.
He was just about to say something to Lin Shuya when the four little children behind her interrupted him.
“Second Uncle, you’re back!”
“Second Uncle, I haven’t seen you in such a long time. I missed you.”
…
Before Lu Chaonan could say a word, the children rushed over and surrounded him.
“Second Uncle, did you bring us anything good this time?”
Lu Chaonan never returned home empty-handed.
Because Li Chunhua had lost her temper earlier, he had not even had time to speak with the rest of the family.
Lu Jiayuan had actually been sent out by her mother, specifically to bring her younger brothers over to get things from Lu Chaonan.
Like parents, like children. The Lu family did not think highly of Lin Shuya, and the children did not like her much either.
Lin Shuya had even less interest in their affectionate uncle and nephew reunion.
She merely glanced at Lu Chaonan before walking straight back to the west room.
The hopeful look in Lu Chaonan’s eyes fell flat as he watched Lin Shuya leave.
With four children hanging around him, he could only say helplessly, “There’s candy. Wait here, I’ll go get it for you.”