Su Nanyue looked up toward the doorway.
Just as she glanced at Jiang Yan, he happened to look back at her.
He stepped forward, ignoring Jiang Che completely, and walked directly toward her. “Why aren’t you wearing more?”
Reaching out, he took his coat from nearby and draped it over her shoulders. “You have a weak constitution, you need to be more careful.”
His movements were natural, and Su Nanyue, accustomed to being cared for, didn’t think much of it.
Meanwhile, Jiang Che stared in shock, his eyes wide.
It wasn’t until Su Wan Ning tugged at his sleeve that he snapped out of it.
Hurriedly, he addressed Jiang Yan, “Brother, I came to see you. I didn’t expect you to be out, so I chatted with Wan Ning and sister-in-law for a bit.”
He inwardly regretted his carelessness. How had his vigilance slipped so much?
He hadn’t even noticed someone entering and wondered if Jiang Yan had overheard his earlier threats to Su Nanyue.
He could only hope not; given how his brother had stood up for Su Nanyue that night, he wouldn’t let it slide if he had.
Jiang Yan regarded him coolly. “Is that so? I heard you say you’d have our parents call the police.”
Cold sweat beaded on Jiang Che’s forehead. He wanted to deny it, but under Jiang Yan’s hawk-like gaze, his throat seemed to clog, and the words of denial wouldn’t come out.
Su Nanyue looked up at Jiang Yan, then shifted her gaze to Su Wan Ning’s grim expression, finally settling on Jiang Che’s fearful, uneasy face.
Her eyes flickered slightly, and she clicked her tongue inwardly.
Rising from the stool, she walked to the corner of the room, opened a bundle on top of a box, and retrieved Wang Xiu Lan’s handwritten confession letter.
Holding the letter, she turned and walked back to Jiang Yan’s side, unfolding it in front of everyone.
With a calm expression, she said, “So it’s about calling the police? Perfect timing—I have something to hand over to the police too. Let’s go together!”
They were standing close enough that everyone could clearly see the confession letter in Su Nanyue’s hand.
After reading the contents and Wang Xiu Lan’s signature and fingerprint, Jiang Che’s face turned pale.
Su Wan Ning’s expression was equally grim. She never imagined Wang Xiu Lan could be so foolish as to sign a confession letter.
Clenching her jaw, she glared fixedly at the letter in Su Nanyue’s hand, itching to snatch it and tear it to shreds.
But she held back, wary of Jiang Yan.
Noticing her reaction, Su Nanyue sneered and leisurely folded the letter before speaking. “I hadn’t planned to bring this out, but you just had to push your luck and disgust me!”
Su Wan Ning, infuriated by her smug expression, nearly snarled, “What do you want?”
In contrast to her rage, Su Nanyue remained composed. “I want you to return everything you took from me—every last item.”
She began counting methodically, “In 1968, you took five hundred yuan from me, plus several ration tickets. I’ll value those tickets at three hundred yuan.”
“In June 1970, you used me to get a teaching position. It’s been exactly three years now. Considering how you’ve worked me like a dog all these years, I’ll charge you for three years.”
“Fifteen yuan a month, for three years, comes to five hundred forty yuan. Add in the monthly grain tickets from the school, and I’ll round it to one thousand.”
She curved her lips into a smile. “So now, you owe me eighteen hundred yuan.”
Hearing her calculations, Su Wan Ning nearly choked on her anger. “Su Nanyue, don’t go too far! I was the one working all these years. Why should I give you all my wages?”
Su Nanyue had long anticipated that Su Wanning wouldn’t agree. She spread her hands, wearing an indifferent expression. “I was merely stating my demands. You’re certainly free to refuse.”
She shook the confession letter in her hand, gently shaking her head with a helpless sigh. “But I have a terrible temper and hate being shortchanged. If I don’t see the money by dinner time, I can’t guarantee where this might end up.”
“Perhaps in the leadership office, or maybe at the police station. Of course, there’s also the possibility it could appear in both places simultaneously.”
Su Wanning’s eyes turned crimson with rage, wishing she could tear Su Nanyue apart.
If only she’d known this wretched woman would be so difficult to deal with, she should have thrown her to the wolves in the mountains after getting the money.
“Mom~” Da Bao’s milky voice came from the kang behind them.
Su Nanyue turned to see him opening his eyes and sitting up on the kang.
Ignoring Jiang Che and Su Wanning’s murderous glares, she turned and walked toward the kang.
She pulled the quilt higher over Da Bao, bending down to speak softly, “Did we wake you?”
Da Bao nodded obediently.
“Why is Auntie here?” he whispered.
Looking at Su Wanning standing behind Su Nanyue, he grew worried. After hesitating, he finally asked, “Mom, is she trying to make you abandon me and little brother again?”
He had overheard Su Wanning telling his mother that Grandma and Grandpa didn’t like Mom because of him and his brother.
That’s why Mom was growing increasingly distant from them.
Yet when she spoke to him and his brother alone, she would say bad things about Mom.
He hadn’t understood before, so he secretly went to ask the old men in the cowshed.
One elderly man told him there were two types of bad people: those who were openly bad, and those who were secretly bad.
Everyone could recognize the openly bad ones, but many couldn’t see through the secretly bad ones and would be deceived by them.
Like Grandma and Grandpa were openly bad, while Auntie was secretly bad.
Afraid that Su Nanyue might be swayed by Su Wanning again, he reached out from under the quilt, grasping Su Nanyue’s hand, rubbing his small face gently against her palm.
“My brother and I will be very, very good. I’ll grow up quickly and earn lots of money for you to spend. So please don’t listen to her. Don’t abandon us, okay?”
Though Da Bao spoke quietly, Jiang Yan’s exceptional hearing caught every word clearly.
He lifted his gaze, his sharp eyes coldly sweeping over Su Wanning.
Su Wanning felt the hairs on her neck stand up, as if some wild beast had fixed its gaze on her.
She straightened her back, her voice trembling slightly. “Brother, why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden?”
Jiang Che, who hadn’t heard Da Bao’s words, looked pitifully at Jiang Yan. “Brother, I’m your real brother. Are you really going to let an outsider like Su Nanyue bully me like this?”
Su Nanyue paid them no mind, gently stroking Da Bao’s face. “Didn’t I promise you? I’ll always stay with you and Xiao Bao.”
As she spoke, she kept her ears perked, waiting to hear Jiang Yan’s choice.
If Jiang Yan agreed with Jiang Che, she would file for divorce immediately.
As for whether he got promoted or not—what did that have to do with her?
If this was how he behaved while they were still married, how could she expect him to treat the children well after divorce?
Unaware that he was currently facing a crucial test, Jiang Yan stared coldly at Jiang Che. Truth be told, he didn’t have much affection for this younger brother.
It wasn’t just that he had no affection for Jiang Che; he felt no emotional connection to anyone in that household.
“She’s not some outsider—she’s my wife.”
He glanced at Su Nanyue, who was accompanying Da Bao, his gaze warming slightly though his tone remained detached. “Besides, weren’t you the ones who asked her what she wanted?”
Jiang Che seethed inwardly but didn’t dare lose his temper with Jiang Yan. Swallowing his anger, he said, “But her demands are excessive. My monthly salary is modest—I simply can’t afford it.”
Su Wanning, having composed herself, chimed in, “That’s right, Elder Brother. While you were in the military these past years, I was the one taking care of the household.”
“Every bit of my salary went toward family expenses—I’ve no savings to speak of.”
Of course, she wasn’t actually penniless. In truth, she’d barely spent anything on the family over the years, as all household costs were covered by the money Jiang Yan sent home.
As for her and Jiang Che’s salaries, she had tucked every bit away.
In her view, however, that money was reserved for her son’s education and future marriage.
Naturally, she was unwilling to part with it.
Su Nanyue arched an eyebrow and turned to face Su Wanning.
“Whether your salary was spent on the family or not—you know the truth. Save your tall tales for others; don’t fool yourself along the way.”
She scoffed lightly. “Besides, this money is what you owe me. Playing the poor, pitiful card with Jiang Yan won’t change a thing.”