“But now…”
Lin Xiyun sorted through the memories in her head.
Nothing matched.
Lin Xuanxuan was still in Dahe Village. When her mother had visited the Lu family last winter, she’d even praised her. Judging from that, her character setting hadn’t changed.
But in the original novel, Lin Xiyun had saved Zhao Jinlan, who had sprained her ankle while passing through Dahe Village on the way to visit relatives. Zhao Jinlan then arranged for her to go to the army to meet Lu Yanbei through an arranged marriage.
Originally, Lin Xiyun had intended to explain the misunderstanding.
But after seeing Lu Yanbei in person, she’d fallen for his looks. Using Zhao Jinlan’s letter as leverage, she’d shamelessly clung to him until she finally married him.
Lu Yanbei had clearly been cold and indifferent toward her.
She couldn’t remember exactly how old they were in the novel, but it definitely wasn’t now.
There was no way they could have met so early.
Everything was different.
Everything had gone off the rails.
The more Lin Xiyun thought about it, the worse her head hurt.
Forget it.
Whatever happened, happened.
The present mattered most.
“Heh. They want to make me the cannon-fodder supporting character? Excuse me—I’m Heaven’s favorite daughter!”
She rolled up her sleeve, revealing the Mei Hua brand wristwatch on her wrist.
Glancing at the time, she muttered in confusion,
“It’s already eleven at noon. The Lu family should be home for lunch by now. Why is the courtyard so quiet?”
Just then, the door slowly cracked open.
A little head with braided pigtails peeked inside, timid eyes cautiously watching Lin Xiyun.
“Er Ya?”
Lin Xiyun recognized the girl immediately.
She was the second daughter of Lu Yanbei’s second older brother.
The eldest brother, Lu Jiandong, had a son and a daughter.
The second brother, Lu Gongxi, had two daughters.
The third sister, Lu Linan, had married but wasn’t pregnant yet.
The youngest brother, Lu Yezhong, had just graduated from high school and was unemployed.
Lin Xiyun gently beckoned the little girl over and asked weakly but calmly,
“What is it?”
Tiny Er Ya carried a bowl in both hands.
Whatever was inside, she held it with extreme care, licking her lips every now and then as she stared at it.
“Fourth Aunt, Grandma told Mom before she left to make you steamed egg custard. She said to bring it to you when you woke up.”
Her eyes drifted longingly toward the bowl again as she quietly added,
“There are two whole eggs in it.”
The Lu family hadn’t split into separate households despite having many members. Zhao Jinlan controlled all the family finances.
The eldest branch lived relatively comfortably.
Lu Jiandong had learned carpentry and earned money from it.
His wife, Zhang Lijuan, was a city native and worked as a temporary employee at a textile mill.
She had also given birth to the only grandson of the Lu family’s youngest generation.
Zhao Jinlan adored him beyond words.
Compared to them, Li Zhaodi had a much harder life.
She had no job and stayed home doing all the housework.
After giving birth to two daughters, she cursed them every day for being “money-losing girls.”
Whenever there was good food, she stuffed it into her own mouth.
She was determined to have a third child.
Da Ya and Er Ya always looked as though they’d never had enough to eat.
Even their names showed the difference.
Zhang Lijuan’s daughter was named Lu Minxiu and was already attending school.
Meanwhile, the two girls from the second branch stayed home helping their mother with chores and were still simply called “Da Ya” and “Er Ya.”
But Lin Xiyun wasn’t about to play the saint.
Even their own parents didn’t care much about them.
As an aunt, sticking her nose into their family affairs wouldn’t earn her any gratitude.
Besides…
She still hadn’t settled the score over Er Ya secretly drinking the original owner’s malted milk.
Eggs were precious in this era.
For Zhao Jinlan to part with two of them was already unusually generous.
Keeping her expression unchanged, Lin Xiyun accepted the bowl.
She looked down.
Then smiled.
Two eggs?
This tiny portion?
She carefully examined Er Ya’s mouth.
It was clean, only a little dry from dehydration.
It didn’t look like she’d stolen any.
Understood.
The Lu family had another thief.
Setting the bowl aside, Lin Xiyun raised her voice toward the courtyard.
“Da Ya! I need to speak with your mother.”
“Got it.”
Though clearly annoyed, Da Ya still answered before heading toward the kitchen to fetch her mother.
When Li Zhaodi entered the room, she hadn’t even wiped her mouth clean.
She casually wiped the water from her hands onto her clothes.
Meeting Lin Xiyun’s cool, unreadable gaze, she looked uncomfortable for a brief moment.
But then she remembered that Lin Xiyun had never cared about such things before.
Her confidence immediately returned.
Concern practically overflowed from her face.
“Oh, Fourth Sister-in-law, thank goodness you’re awake! I’ve been worried sick about you. Is your head feeling better?”
Then she noticed the untouched bowl of egg custard.
A barely noticeable change crossed her expression before she forced another smile.
“Mother reminded me over and over that this egg custard was to help you recover. Why haven’t you eaten it?”
She added,
“I’ve been tending the fire for you this whole time. I haven’t even had lunch yet.”
Lin Xiyun simply leaned against the headboard and watched her perform.
She smiled.
But her eyes remained icy cold.
Li Zhaodi couldn’t help wondering if Lin Xiyun had somehow been possessed.
Normally, after hearing such words, she’d already be touched and insist on sharing half the bowl with her.
The smile on Li Zhaodi’s face gradually became impossible to maintain.
Holding her head weakly, Lin Xiyun suddenly pointed toward Li Zhaodi’s mouth in surprise.
“Second Sister-in-law, if you haven’t eaten lunch… where did the grease around your mouth come from?”
Startled, Li Zhaodi instinctively wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
Lin Xiyun’s eyes widened dramatically.
“Second Sister-in-law… don’t tell me you secretly ate Mother’s meat while everyone else was away?”
“Nonsense! I didn’t steal any meat! It was obviously—”
She immediately clamped a hand over her own mouth.
Looking up, she met Lin Xiyun’s crafty eyes.
Realizing she’d been tricked, she exploded in embarrassment.
“You set me up!”
“If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”
Right in front of her, Lin Xiyun calmly finished every last bite of the single egg in the bowl.
Like a queen giving orders, she handed over the empty bowl.
“Or should I go ask Mother exactly how many eggs she told you to put in my custard?”
Li Zhaodi instantly lost her nerve.
Returning to her usual timid appearance, she glanced at Er Ya beside her and hurriedly found an excuse.
“I… I just saw that Da Ya and Er Ya work so hard but hardly get enough to eat, so I shared a little with my daughters. Fourth Sister-in-law… as their aunt… surely you wouldn’t mind?”
Er Ya’s confused little face immediately showed she wanted to protest.
Before she could speak, her mother pinched her hard on the arm.
The words died in her throat, and she lowered her head pitifully.
They work more and eat less.
So she was mocking Lin Xiyun for working less while eating more?
Unfortunately for Li Zhaodi…
Lin Xiyun wasn’t her mother.
She had no intention of indulging her.
Looking her straight in the eye, she said,
“Second Sister-in-law, your face is shiny with grease while your daughter’s face is covered in dust. Do you really think I’m that easy to fool?”
“I honestly don’t care about one egg. I’m not short of food.”
“But if word gets out that someone in the Lu family has become a thief…”
“…it won’t look very good in front of Father and Mother, will it?”
Watching Li Zhaodi’s face cycle through shades of green and white, Lin Xiyun gave a light snort.
She was going to be living here for a long time.
Some things needed to be made perfectly clear now.
“From now on, keep your hands off my things.”
“And stop hanging around outside my room peeking in unless I give you permission.”
“If I catch you even once…”
“I’ll have a nice talk with Eldest Sister-in-law about splitting up the household.”
“After all…”
“No one wants a thief living under the same roof, do they?”
Li Zhaodi’s expression became a colorful spectacle.
She had never imagined that after taking a blow outside, Lin Xiyun would return like a completely different person.
She was making such a huge fuss over something so trivial.
But…
The threat of dividing the family had struck exactly where it hurt.
If only the eldest and fourth branches split off, it wouldn’t matter much.
The youngest son was still unmarried, and the parents favored him anyway.
But the second branch couldn’t afford it.
How could a family of four survive on nothing but Lu Gongxi’s salary as an elementary school teacher?
She was still counting on her mother-in-law to help take care of another child when she had one.
Stomping her foot resentfully, Li Zhaodi unwillingly muttered,
“…Got it.”
Then she picked up the empty bowl and left.