Jiang Rou fixed her gaze on him, unwilling to believe he would lie. “Other than changing tires, do you have any other work?”
The man shook his head in resignation, not even bothering to defend himself.
Seeing that he couldn’t even be bothered to lie, her heart slowly sank. “So that means you don’t want to be with me?”
Sensing her mood shift, Shen Chengdong quickly stepped forward, clasped her hand, and explained: “I just haven’t prepared myself mentally yet.”
“?” Jiang Rou was baffled. They were only going home to talk—what kind of mental preparation did that require? Could he really be hiding something from her?
“What’s going on with you? I can’t figure out what you’re thinking at all.”
She decided to cut through the guessing game—this way of relating was unbearable.
Faced with her questioning, the man gripped her hand tightly and finally made up his mind. “Come on, let’s go home and talk.”
No matter what, he would never divorce her. He would never give the Tang family their chance.
Jiang Rou let him lead her back. Once the door was shut, he sat on the edge of the bed while she took the stool. They stared at each other for a long time.
“You go first. I’ll listen.”
“Whatever you say, I won’t agree.”
They spoke in unison, both startled into silence.
Jiang Rou, exasperated, burst out: “You’ve been acting so strange lately—what’s wrong with you?”
After a long pause, the man asked the one question that weighed most heavily on him: “Do you regret marrying me?”
He didn’t live in the city, wasn’t a decorated soldier, hadn’t grown up alongside her—but he still couldn’t let go.
Seeing the loneliness in his eyes, Jiang Rou felt an unexpected pang of tenderness. Her tone softened. “Of course I don’t regret it. Do you?”
Without hesitation, he replied, “No. I want to spend my whole life with you.”
A lifetime was long. Jiang Rou’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Then why ask if I regret it?”
To guard against any unforeseen twists, Shen Chengdong swept her into his arms, seating her before him, struggling to rein in the surge of emotion. “Jiang Qiuyu told me Tang Ce was someone you once dated. Now that he’s back, it seems he hasn’t given up on you. I’m afraid you’ll choose him again.”
His voice was low, and that last line carried a hook, heavy with grievance. Jiang Rou froze—she hadn’t expected his recent odd behavior to stem from this.
“I never dated him. Don’t listen to Jiang Qiuyu’s nonsense.” She looped her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead to his, her gaze tender and lingering. “And besides, in my heart, you’re better than anyone.”
Shen Chengdong’s emotions rose and plunged like a roller coaster. Suddenly, he cupped the back of her head with one hand and kissed her fiercely, as if he could fuse her into his very bones. That night, he was not his usual reckless self. Remembering the truck drivers’ crude remarks earlier in the day, he blushed as he tended to her with care—until dawn broke.
By noon the next day, Jiang Rou skipped the canteen meal and left the machine factory early, heading to the small house Jiang Qiuyu rented.
At that moment, Jiang Qiuyu was in the courtyard doing laundry—not only her own clothes, but Zhong Fang’s as well. Married life was chaotic, far from the sweetness she had imagined. Zhong Fang, pampered since childhood, knew nothing of housework and refused to lift a finger. She could only work harder, hoping one day the Zhong family would accept her and hire a maid.
Jiang Rou knocked on the wooden door. From across the low courtyard wall, she could see her. “Jiang Qiuyu, come out for a moment.”
To be seen at her most wretched by the person she despised most—this jolted Jiang Qiuyu back to memories of her past life. Panicked, she wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to go. She had no choice but to rise and open the door. “Come inside if you want to talk.”
Jiang Rou wasn’t that foolish. She stayed put.
Seeing her unmoved, Jiang Qiuyu locked the door and turned back. “Fine then. I was just heading to the market for groceries. We can talk as we walk.”
Her frantic thoughts had settled. She could guess why Jiang Rou had come. And remembering that she was the reborn one, the one in control, her guilt faded.
Jiang Rou marveled at her shamelessness as they walked toward the alley’s end, keeping a safe distance.
Deliberately slowing her pace, Jiang Qiuyu teased: “Why are you staying so far away? Afraid I’ll eat you alive?”
Jiang Rou slowed as well, answering bluntly: “I’m afraid if you miscarry, you’ll pin it on me.”
“…” Jiang Qiuyu’s face flushed and paled in turns—because that was exactly what she had planned.
As they neared the fork in the road, Jiang Rou suddenly stopped.
Jiang Qiuyu halted too.
“Xiao Rou, we’re sisters. I just think Shen Chengdong isn’t good enough for you. Tang Ce’s conditions are far better. People should always aim higher—why can’t you see that?”
Jiang Rou glanced at the water stains on her clothes and the messy strands of hair, finding it all bitterly ironic. “So this ‘aiming higher’ you talk about—does it mean scrubbing a man’s filthy socks?”
Then she added coldly: “I came today to warn you. If you dare to meddle in my relationship with Shen Chengdong again, I’ll tell the Zhong family about your fake pregnancy.”
At once, Jiang Qiuyu’s face drained of color. Her lips trembled. “Wh-what are you saying? I’m not faking a pregnancy.”
In truth, Jiang Rou had only been guessing—but to her surprise, she’d hit the mark. Seeing her warning had struck home, she turned and walked out of the alley without another word.
Jiang Qiuyu remained frozen in shock and panic. By the time she came to her senses, Jiang Rou had already left the alley. A vicious thought surged up, and she immediately chased after her. At the bus stop, she spotted Jiang Rou again. Seizing the moment, she rushed forward to entangle her. “Xiao Rou, can’t you forgive me? I really didn’t mean any harm.”
Jiang Rou, waiting by the roadside, was startled by the sudden attack. Instinctively, she stepped back to keep her distance—but Jiang Qiuyu pressed in relentlessly.
In that split second, Jiang Rou understood her intent: Jiang Qiuyu meant to stage a fall, to pin the fake pregnancy on her.
Passersby scattered, bewildered looks on their faces.
Thinking quickly, Jiang Rou realized that as long as she didn’t touch Jiang Qiuyu, the scheme would fail. Without noticing, she backed toward the street—where a horse-drawn carriage was ambling closer.
Jiang Qiuyu hadn’t seen it. Frustrated that her plan wasn’t working, she lunged again.
Luckily, Jiang Rou dodged just in time. But Jiang Qiuyu wasn’t so fortunate—her reckless leap sent her straight into the road.
By cruel coincidence, the carriage passed at that moment. The startled horse neighed, rearing its hooves high—one came crashing down on her lower leg.
Gasps erupted from the crowd. Jiang Qiuyu felt a searing pain shoot from her calf through her body. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed unconscious.
Jiang Rou stood frozen, stunned by the scene.
“Miss, do you know her? Hurry, get her to a hospital! That kick was no light blow—she might not make it!”
“Quick, quick, help! Get her onto the carriage!”
The driver, an old man, was pale with fright and stammered apologies.
Jiang Rou forced herself to stay calm, climbed onto the carriage, and even took down the contact details of several witnesses—afraid Jiang Qiuyu might wake and try to frame her again.
Just then, Zhong Fang strolled back with his hands in his pockets. Seeing the crowd gathered at the bus stop, he wandered closer, curious to see what had happened.
Jiang Rou’s sharp eyes spotted him and quickly waved. “Jiang Qiuyu’s had an accident—come here, fast!”
Zhong Fang froze, realizing only then that the commotion was his own family’s.
Remembering that Jiang Qiuyu was carrying his child, he shoved through the crowd and rushed to the carriage. “What happened to her? Who did this?!”
“Get on first—we’ll explain on the way.”
Soon, the old driver whipped the reins, and the carriage sped toward the hospital. Zhong Fang stared at the unconscious Jiang Qiuyu, praying the baby was unharmed.
“Let me be clear—I didn’t touch her. She threw herself at me.” Jiang Rou recounted the entire incident, then added in defense of the driver: “The carriage wasn’t moving fast. She suddenly lunged out, startled the horse, and that’s why it kicked her. There were plenty of witnesses.”
Zhong Fang pressed his lips together, silent, his eyes fixed on Jiang Qiuyu’s belly as if he could bore a hole through it.
Before long, the carriage reached the hospital. With the help of medical staff, Jiang Qiuyu was carried into the emergency room.
The old driver, pale and shaken, didn’t dare leave and sat waiting in the corridor. Zhong Fang hovered near the doctors, insisting: “Qiuyu is pregnant—you must save the child.”
The doctors were too busy to respond, so he stood by, watching anxiously. Jiang Rou went to the hospital’s communications office to call her parents.
Hearing that Jiang Qiuyu was hurt, Chen Aihe felt deeply unsettled. After all, there were more than ten years of ties—such feelings couldn’t be cast aside so easily.
By the time Jiang Rou returned to the emergency room, the diagnosis was out: the patient’s lower leg was fractured and required surgery.
Zhong Fang immediately asked, panicked: “And her baby? Is the child alright?”
One of the emergency doctors from the obstetrics department answered sternly: “There is no baby. The patient isn’t pregnant.”
“This is impossible!” Zhong Fang stood as if struck by lightning. “Doctor, please check again. She has a medical certificate—how could she not be pregnant?”
The doctor, growing impatient, replied curtly: “My diagnosis is correct. If you don’t believe me, take her to another hospital.”
Right now, surgery was the priority. As her husband, Zhong Fang had to sign the consent form.
After some time to process, Zhong Fang finally realized that Jiang Qiuyu had been deceiving him all along. Rage surged—he wanted nothing more than to strangle her—and he delayed signing the consent form. Only after repeated urging from the doctors did he finally put his name down.
Once she was wheeled into surgery, Zhong Fang turned to the old driver, speaking weakly: “This wasn’t your fault. In fact, I should thank you. You can go now.”
The old man murmured his thanks several times before daring to leave.
Jiang Rou told Zhong Fang to handle the hospital admission paperwork, but he snapped instead: “Did your whole family conspire to trick me? Jiang Qiuyu really is something—she even pulled this stunt!”
Jiang Rou frowned. “My parents and I knew nothing about this. As the saying goes, flies don’t bite an uncracked egg. If you had kept yourself clean, you wouldn’t have been fooled.”
“…” He was struck speechless, finally falling silent.
Half an hour passed, the surgery still unfinished, when Chen Aihe and Jiang Deshan rushed in, anxious.
Seeing Zhong Fang’s dark expression and refusal to speak, Chen Aihe pulled Jiang Rou aside and whispered: “What happened? Did they fight, and that’s how she got hurt?”
Since it was too complicated to explain over the phone, Jiang Rou hadn’t told them why Jiang Qiuyu was kicked by the horse. Now she recounted the whole story, including Jiang Qiuyu’s scheming and fake pregnancy.
Chen Aihe was furious. “How could she do such a thing? And what right does she have to say those things to Chengdong? What kind of twisted mind is that?!”
Fearing her anger might harm her health, Jiang Deshan tried to pat her back, but she brushed his hand away. “Stay away from me. Just seeing you irritates me right now.” With that, she grabbed Jiang Rou’s hand. “Let’s go home. She can do whatever she wants—I won’t care anymore!”
Jiang Rou had wanted to leave anyway, so she followed her mother. But Zhong Fang quickly blocked them. “If you leave, what happens to her? I’m going to divorce her!”
Chen Aihe shot him a glare. “Divorce or not, right now you’re still her husband. Whether you like it or not, you’re responsible for her care. Move aside!”
Startled by her sharp tone, Zhong Fang instinctively stepped back, not daring to stop them again.
Jiang Deshan glanced at the operating room, torn. In the end, he chose to stay—he needed to see with his own eyes that Jiang Qiuyu survived before he could feel at ease.
On the way home, Chen Aihe was still fuming. She scolded bitterly, “I never thought she’d grow more and more like her birth mother. Back then, her mother also married into our family with a belly already showing. Because of that, your grandpa gave your eldest uncle a severe beating and, from the bottom of his heart, never acknowledged that daughter-in-law.”
Jiang Rou was stunned—she never imagined her honest and good-natured uncle could have fathered a child out of wedlock.
“Your father agreed to adopt Qiuyu as a way of repaying your uncle’s kindness. At that time, your grandpa was away from home for years, and if not for your uncle, the two of them wouldn’t have survived.”
Jiang Rou listened quietly, saying nothing.
That evening, Jiang Deshan came home looking exhausted. Seeing the cold stove and empty pots, he pressed his lips together and splashed cold water on his face. Then he called out toward the neighbor’s house: “Shi Lan, where’s your mom?”
Shi Lan was tutoring her child when she heard his voice. Remembering her mother-in-law’s instructions, she quickly replied, “My mom’s at Auntie’s place. She said she’ll stay there for a few days.”
“Why’d she run off there?” Jiang Deshan frowned deeply, hands clasped behind his back as he walked inside. He wanted to go find her, but didn’t dare—because when the Chen sisters joined forces, they were fiercer than tigresses, and he couldn’t risk provoking them.
A week passed.
At last, Jiang Deshan couldn’t hold back. He carried two jars of preserves to Chen Ailan’s house. There he found Chen Aihe enjoying good food and drink, looking plumper than before. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart.
Regarding Jiang Qiuyu, Chen Ailan was full of resentment. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with your precious niece?”
Ignoring the sarcasm, Jiang Deshan explained, “I’m a man—it’s inconvenient for me to be there all the time. Zhong Fang’s sister and Han Laosan’s wife are keeping her company.”
“Oh, so she’s popular after all. How’s she doing? Has she crippled herself after all those wicked deeds?”
Jiang Deshan sighed helplessly. “Not crippled, but at least a month of recovery.”
Chen Aihe shot him a glance and finally spoke: “I know—you still don’t want to believe that Qiuyu’s character is rotten. After all, she’s your brother’s blood, and you’ve raised her for over ten years. It’s normal that you can’t let go. But remember this: Xiao Rou is also your daughter. Between them, you can only choose one.”
“Can’t we just persuade them to get along peacefully?” Jiang Deshan muttered irritably, pulling out a dry tobacco pipe and clenching it between his teeth without lighting it.
Chen Aihe saw this and grew furious. “Tell me—Xiao Rou’s life was going perfectly well, so why did Qiuyu have to stir up trouble in front of Chengdong? What kind of motive is that? If Chengdong were the suspicious type, how would Xiao Rou’s marriage survive? Enough—I don’t want to waste words with you! If it comes to it, we’ll divorce! I’ll take Xiao Rou, you take Jiang Qiuyu—one daughter each, nice and simple.”
At those words, Jiang Deshan removed the pipe from his mouth, shaken to the core. “We’re too old for divorce! I won’t do it! Xiao Rou is my daughter too—how could I not love her?”
“I don’t see how you dote on her. Other than buying her clothes and jewelry, what else have you done?”
In truth, at this time, a father who willingly bought things for his daughter was already considered quite good. Chen Aihe used to think so too, but after everything that had happened, she felt deeply disappointed.
Their conversation ended on a sour note.
To make up for what she felt was neglect toward her daughter, Chen Aihe dragged Jiang Rou back to the department store for a spree.
With Jiang Deshan’s wages in hand, she felt a kind of vengeful thrill in spending. In no time, Jiang Rou had picked up a pair of sandals and two brassieres. Spotting a newly stocked skirt she liked, Chen Aihe ignored her daughter’s protests and bought it anyway. On top of that, she treated herself to two new outfits. Back home, she urged Jiang Rou to try on the skirt to check the fit—if it was off, she could adjust it with the sewing machine.
When Jiang Rou stepped out in the skirt, Chen Aihe praised her again and again: “Beautiful! Tomorrow, wear this to work.”
But Chen Ailan, watching from the side, noticed something amiss. “Xiao Rou, your hips look a bit bigger than before. The skirt seems tight in the back.”
Jiang Rou blushed with embarrassment, refusing to believe her hips had grown. “Auntie, it doesn’t feel tight at all—you must be mistaken.”
Knowing how young girls hated hearing such things, Chen Ailan feigned confusion. “Maybe I was wrong. The room’s too dim—I probably didn’t see clearly.”
In the days that followed, the Jiang household was like a stage for a “chasing-wife crematorium” drama.
Jiang Deshan showed up at Chen Aihe’s place every day, pestering her endlessly. Jiang Rou quietly watched the spectacle, while keeping herself busy with daily lessons at Zhao Jie’s. So much so that they both completely forgot about the doctor’s appointment scheduled ten days later.
One day, Shen Chengdong wheeled home a bicycle that looked about seventy percent new. Jiang Rou stared at it curiously—where had it come from?
“I built it myself. The parts weren’t easy to collect, so it took me until now. What do you think? Looks decent, right?” His eyes shone with expectation, and when he saw his wife’s astonished expression, his heart swelled with satisfaction.
“You’re amazing! I never imagined you could assemble a bicycle!”
For a moment, Jiang Rou thought—if he could build one every half month, wouldn’t they make a fortune in a year? But she quickly pushed the thought aside.
Shen Chengdong patted the back seat with a grin. “From now on, I can take you to and from work. Come on, try it out—I’ll take you for a ride in the park.”
Jiang Rou climbed on, wrapping one arm around his waist. The ride was steady, no different from a regular bicycle. Shielding her eyes from the blazing sun, she teased, “When you learn to fix cars, will you build one for me too?”
Shen Chengdong pondered seriously—and decided it wasn’t impossible.