The morning chill seeped up along the rim of the enamel washbasin, freezing her right down to her fingertips.
Lin Wanshu was washing up at the courtyard tap. Her mouth was filled with toothpaste foam, and her eyelids were still heavy with sleep.
“Oh my, Xiaoxia, you really are a diligent girl, accompanying me out to buy groceries this early in the morning.”
At the courtyard entrance, Zhang Rong’s mother walked in leading a young woman, her voice pitched just loud enough for the entire courtyard to hear.
The girl was holding a mesh bag filled with green vegetables, while her other hand was looped snugly through Mother Zhang’s arm, her face wearing a thoroughly flattering smile.
“It’s only right, Auntie. Zhang Rong-ge isn’t feeling well, so it’s only natural that I do a bit more.”
Lin Wanshu spat out the foam in her mouth, her movements slowing down as she wiped her face with a towel.
“You just have a kind heart,” Mother Zhang sighed, her voice laced with a mix of grievance and vanity. “Unlike some families. They might look high and mighty, but they act completely overbearing.”
“My son is just too honest, which is why he gets bullied like this. He dates someone, and her military brother goes and beats people up without a shred of reason.”
“They just have their noses in the air, thinking a regular worker like us isn’t good enough. If he isn’t good enough, they could have just said so directly. Instead, they beat my son so badly he can’t even get out of bed. What kind of way is that to behave?”
The girl named Xiaoxia quickly chimed in, “Exactly, Auntie. That’s just too unreasonable. Zhang Rong-ge is such a nice person; that family is being a total bully.”
“My point exactly.” Mother Zhang’s voice raised another octave, her gaze intentionally darting over toward Lin Wanshu. “Some people just love cozying up to families like that, and who knows what they’re after. Small, ordinary households like ours certainly can’t afford to climb those high social ladders.”
Lin Wanshu tossed her towel back into the basin, sending splashes of water flying high. She turned around and stared blankly at the two of them.
Choking on her words under the gaze, Mother Zhang pulled the girl’s hand and sullenly slunk back into her own house.
……
One after another, the people in the courtyard headed off to work at the factory.
After finishing her breakfast, Lin Wanshu sat on a small stool outside her door, flipping through a thick medical textbook. But she couldn’t register a single word.
The door curtain at Zhang Rong’s house kept being lifted. One moment, the girl came out carrying a basin of dirty water to dump. A moment later, she brought out Zhang Rong’s clothes to hang up to dry, her movements practiced and familiar, like a young wife who had been running the household for years.
Lin Wanshu couldn’t summon a single ounce of sympathy for Zhang Rong. Especially his mother’s sharp, biting tongue—it was impossible to like her.
To please Zhang Rong’s parents, Liu Fan had bought no shortage of good things for their household; whether it was food or daily necessities, she hadn’t left anything out. Yet their family thought it was perfectly fine to treat her like a wife who was throwing herself at them, and now they were even turning around and throwing dirt on her name.
She truly didn’t know what kind of spell Liu Fan was under to have fallen for Zhang Rong! Right now, Liu Fan was probably throwing a fit at home, fighting with her grandfather and brother on his account. Meanwhile, he was here living it up, taking sick leave to play out a tragic romance full of tender affection with another girl at home.
With acting skills like that, it was a real shame he wasn’t in the military performing arts troupe!
With a sharp thud, she slammed her book shut, stood up, and marched straight toward the Zhang residence.
Among neighbors, there wasn’t much room for formality, so she simply lifted the door curtain and stepped inside.
The lighting inside the room was a bit dim, carrying a scent that was a mix of medicinal oil and leftovers. Zhang Rong was leaning back on the sofa, while the girl sat right next to him on a small stool, her head lowered as she peeled an apple for him.
“Zhang Rong-ge, don’t move. The doctor said you need to rest your ribs.”
“Sigh, it’s all because I got beaten up by that old brute.” Zhang Rong whined and groaned, looking half-dead.
An old brute? Zhang Rong actually had the nerve to call Liu Yuning an old brute?
Lin Wanshu crossed her arms and stood right there inside the door.
Catching sight of her, Zhang Rong was taken aback at first. But then a smug look crept onto his face, and he deliberately leaned his body a bit closer toward Xiaoxia.
“Oh, look who it is—isn’t this our top-tier scholar, Lin? What brings you to our run-down little shack?”
Lin Wanshu ignored him, her gaze locking onto the girl.
The girl felt a bit uncomfortable under her scrutiny, but she stood up, adopting the posture of the lady of the house. “Who are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for him.” Lin Wanshu pointed at Zhang Rong on the sofa.
Zhang Rong pondered for half a minute before suddenly grabbing Xiaoxia’s hand, pulling her down to sit beside him, and casting a provocative look at Lin Wanshu.
“If you have something to say, say it. Can’t you see I have a guest?”
Lin Wanshu let out a cold sneer. She just stood there in silence, sizing Zhang Rong up from head to toe. Her gaze didn’t look like she was assessing a human being; it felt more like she was inspecting a biological specimen.
Zhang Rong felt his skin crawl under her stare, and he barked with false bravado, “What are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen an injured person before?”
“I have,” Lin Wanshu finally spoke, her voice flat and even. “I see that your complexion looks great, your face is flushed with health, and your voice is loud and clear. You don’t look like someone with a rib injury who can’t get out of bed at all.”
“You!” Zhang Rong’s face instantly flushed the color of pig’s liver.
Lin Wanshu took two steps forward, her gaze shifting back and forth between him and the girl, Xiaoxia.
“Liu Fan has thrown countless tantrums at home for your sake. Yet here you are, keeping a mistress hidden away in your gilded cage while letting Liu Fan take the fall for being ‘materialistic and snobbish.’ Zhang Rong, you really are something.”
“Who I am with is none of your business! And it’s none of Liu Fan’s business either!” Zhang Rong bellowed, his neck stiffening. “It’s her family that looks down on me, and it’s her brother who initiated the violence! What, they’re allowed to have their noses in the air, but I’m not allowed to find someone else?”
“And you, Lin Wanshu—if you love studying so much, go study your books! Day in and day out, you always wedge yourself right between me and Liu Fan. If you hadn’t been meddling from the start, she and I might have been married long ago!”
“If we’re placing blame, it’s entirely on you!”
Lin Wanshu was almost driven to laughter by his sheer audacity. What was this creature saying? Blaming her for ruining his plans? Every time they went to a hotel, she had tagged along precisely to stop him from taking Liu Fan’s pants off.
“Zhang Rong, you sure talk big! A guy like you doesn’t even deserve to marry Liu Fan. I say her brother did the right thing by beating you!”
Stung by Lin Wanshu’s words, Zhang Rong refused to back down. “Yes, yes, yes, Liu Fan is a precious young miss from a wealthy family, alright?”
“Since she’s so high and mighty, she can go be a fairy for all I care. This granddaddy is done putting up with it! I have plenty of people who want me!”
As he spoke, as if to prove his point and completely infuriate Lin Wanshu, he suddenly turned around, wrapped his arm tightly around Xiaoxia’s neck, and planted a kiss squarely on the girl’s mouth.
“Mmph…”
The girl Xiaoxia’s eyes widened into perfect circles, but very quickly, her hands expertly looped around Zhang Rong’s neck.
Hiss~
Lin Wanshu felt her understanding of shamelessness reach a whole new level.
“What garbage!”
She needed to get over to the Liu residence right this instant and tell Liu Fan that Zhang Rong was a hard pass!
Ptui!
She turned around and walked out of the Zhang family’s house. But the commotion inside only grew louder.
“Zhang Rong-ge, you’re still injured.”
“It doesn’t matter, it’s just a minor injury.”
“The door is still open, your neighbor hasn’t gone far yet.”
“Who cares about her? She watches every day, she’s like a log.”
Lin Wanshu’s footsteps froze right at the doorway.
Zhang Rong called her a log?
Fuming with rage, she turned right back around and flipped the curtain to step back inside.
Xiaoxia’s clothes were already mostly hanging open. Zhang Rong’s hands were roaming everywhere. Catching sight of Lin Wanshu returning out of the corner of his eye, he grew even more excited. With a rough tug, he tossed Xiaoxia’s clothes to one side and carried her off into the inner room.
He didn’t even bother to close the door.