Half an hour later, Xu Changxia got off a pedicab at the entrance of an alley, pulling her suitcase along.
She gazed at the familiar street scene before her, at this narrow lane she had walked for over a decade, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
A little past eight in the morning was the time when neighbors were busy heading to work. The family next door to the Xus came out to buy breakfast and, seeing Xu Changxia standing alone at the intersection with her suitcase, exclaimed in surprise, “Xiaxia! Why are you back?”
Everyone in the neighborhood knew that Xu Changxia had gotten engaged to Jiang Yao the day before.
Xu Changxia and her mother, Xu Fangfei, had lived in her uncle Xu Cheng’s home for over a decade. Suddenly, a childhood betrothal had emerged, and the other family’s parents were quite influential officials, which had made the Xu family unbearably smug and boastful.
Unexpectedly, early in the morning, Xu Changxia had returned alone with her suitcase, looking disheveled and downcast—a sight that was hard not to speculate about.
“The Jiang family arranged for the bride’s return visit today, but Jiang Yao had an urgent matter in the army at the last minute, so I came back alone first,” Xu Changxia replied politely with a smile.
The neighbor said nothing more.
As soon as Xu Changxia entered the alley, several longtime neighbors immediately huddled together, whispering, “Maybe they found out she had a boyfriend before?”
“Exactly! She dated that young man for almost a year. Who knows what might have happened? Maybe Jiang Yao discovered it last night…”
“Let me tell you, the prettier a girl is, the more restless she tends to be, and with no father to discipline her…”
Xu Changxia heard it all. These neighbors had always loved gossiping about her behind her back.
But she couldn’t control what others said.
Silently, she dragged her suitcase to the gate of the Xu family’s courtyard and knocked.
“Who is it?” came the voice of her aunt, Zhou Yun, from inside.
“Auntie, it’s me,” Xu Changxia replied.
Silence fell instantly inside.
Half a minute later, her uncle Xu Cheng opened the main gate, looking her up and down in astonishment. “Why are you back?”
Then he glanced behind her and lowered his voice to ask, “Where’s Jiang Yao? Why did you come back alone?”
“Let’s talk inside,” Xu Changxia replied.
“Right, right!” Xu Cheng reached out and yanked her suitcase inside. “Hurry up and come in!”
A few minutes later, Xu Cheng and Zhou Yun, along with Xu Fangfei, were all seated in the main hall.
Xu Cheng’s expression was grim. Zhou Yun sat beside him, sighing incessantly. “What are we going to do? It was agreed that this engagement was as good as marriage, and now they’ve just sent Xiaxia back alone like this.”
“What a disgrace!” Hearing Zhou Yun’s lament, Xu Cheng immediately pointed at Xu Changxia and scolded her.
Beside them, Xu Fangfei nervously wiped her hands on her apron and whispered, “Brother, something like this happened—Xiaxia didn’t want it either…”
“Second Sister, how can you still defend her at a time like this? First, think about how to explain this to the Jiang family! Whether this marriage can still go through or not!” Zhou Yun frowned.
“We’ve already spent the 2,888 yuan betrothal gift they sent earlier on the engagement banquet! If they force us to return the money, what are we going to do? I don’t have a single cent!”
Hearing this, Xu Cheng’s face darkened even more.
Xu Cheng was the director of a small printing factory, earning about forty-something yuan a month. Two thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight yuan was equivalent to six years of his income without eating or drinking!
He slammed the table abruptly. “Did she never see a man in her past life? Dating on her own at sixteen or seventeen! And making it known to everyone! Who else is to blame but her!”
Xu Fangfei trembled in fear, not daring to utter a word, her eyes red as she looked toward Xu Changxia beside her.
Xu Changxia glanced at Zhou Yun.
Nearly three thousand yuan—Zhou Yun wanted to keep it all for herself. Her heart was truly black.
“Aunt, everything for the engagement banquet was arranged by the Jiang family. For the cigarettes, alcohol, and banquet expenses, our Xu family didn’t spend a single cent. Where did the three thousand yuan go?” she asked expressionlessly.
“Listen to what this child is saying!” Zhou Yun’s face flushed, and she immediately stiffened her neck. “Every single item in your dowry costs money! Your mom and I went shopping for all these things together!”
Xu Changxia knew exactly how Zhou Yun had pocketed that money.
Items that should have cost only six or seven hundred yuan, she insisted had cost three thousand. With Xu Fangfei’s timid nature, even if she knew she’d been cheated, she wouldn’t be able to say anything about it.
In her past life, Xu Changxia thought she had finally escaped the pit of fire, so she didn’t bother arguing with Zhou Yun about the money afterward.
But now was different from before.
She stood up, walked over to the suitcase, took out everything inside, and laid it out on the Eight Immortals table in the main hall. “Aside from the six new quilts and some pots, pans, and dishes that I couldn’t bring back, Aunt, why don’t you tell me, item by item, how much each of these things cost?”
“Those who don’t manage a household don’t know the cost of firewood and rice! Xiaoyun, tell her how much all these are worth!” Xu Cheng said coldly.
Then he added, “Truly an ungrateful little wolf! All these years of caring for you were wasted!”
“Xiaxia, hurry up and apologize to your uncle and aunt!” Xu Fangfei, standing nearby, was moved to tears again by Xu Cheng’s words. She walked over to Xu Changxia, tugged at the corner of her clothes, and whispered coaxingly.
Xu Changxia knew that even though Zhou Yun treated her poorly, Xu Cheng had, to some extent, given her and her mother a place to stay and had supported her education through high school. He had done her a kindness.
She didn’t want the money back. She just wanted to reclaim justice and dignity for herself and Xu Fangfei.
She glanced at Zhou Yun again and said, “Don’t worry. If Jiang Yao really doesn’t want to go through with this marriage, I’ll repay the 2,880 yuan myself. You won’t have to spend a single cent. Consider it the cost of my mom and me living here all these years.”
“But this engagement account must be settled clearly!”