“Oh, Old Meng, you absolutely mustn’t blame Xiao Ruo. She’s just a young girl who doesn’t know any better. If you have to blame someone, blame me. I was meddling where I wasn’t wanted, insisting on worrying about her marriage.”
“Blame me for being useless, for finding a match that Xiao Ruo wasn’t satisfied with.”
“Actually, blame the fact that I’m just a stepmother. No matter how well I treat Xiao Ruo, she always thinks I’m trying to harm her.”
“My life is truly bitter. I shouldn’t have married into the Meng family back then; that way, Xiao Ruo wouldn’t have grown to resent me so much…”
…
Here she goes again. She was even striking first—filing a complaint to shift the blame before Meng Ruo could say a word to her father.
Standing at the doorway, Meng Ruo watched Li Mei’s performance in silence. In her world, Li Mei was exactly what they called a “drama queen green tea.”
For the past few days, Meng Jun had been away on a business trip to another city, supposedly to learn some new recipes. This was exactly why Li Mei had the nerve to arrange that marriage; with Meng Jun gone, she didn’t have to play the part of the virtuous wife and mother.
Li Mei had also banked on the original Meng Ruo’s submissive nature. She figured the girl would either swallow her resentment and agree to the marriage, or even if she disagreed, she wouldn’t dare say anything. If she agrees, great; if not, forget it—I lose nothing either way, Li Mei had calculated.
But she hadn’t expected Meng Ruo’s reaction to be so explosive, crying and questioning why she was being betrothed to such a man. Caught off guard by the resistance, Li Mei had lost her temper on the spot.
What did she mean by “such a man”? What was wrong with her cousin? Her cousin was more than a match for this brat!
In her fury, Li Mei had dropped the act and made it clear: marriage was the parents’ decision, and she would marry whether she liked it or not.
Furious, Meng Ruo had fled to her room.
The next day, Li Mei intended to pressure her further, but the girl seemed to have undergone a personality shift. No matter what Li Mei said, Meng Ruo remained impervious. She didn’t argue, and she didn’t cry; she just played dumb and gave vague answers. It felt like Li Mei was punching a ball of cotton—a complete waste of effort.
At that point, Li Mei started to feel uneasy. She was afraid the girl was saving up her strength to tattle to Meng Jun, so she decided to strike first to secure the “high ground.”
Li Mei sobbed, peeking out of one eye to observe Meng Ruo’s reaction. Usually, when faced with such a false accusation, Meng Ruo would excitedly try to explain herself to Meng Jun, saying Li Mei was ill-intentioned for trying to marry her off to an idle thug.
As soon as she opens her mouth like that, she’ll just get scolded by Meng Jun, Li Mei thought smugly.
She knew Meng Jun’s personality inside out. He responded to softness, not force. That was why he always sided with her—because she knew how to play the victim and maintain the facade of a devoted mother. Even when she was in the wrong, she made herself appear in the right.
Meng Jun looked at Meng Ruo, who had just walked in, and frowned. “Meng Ruo, what is wrong with you? You’re an adult now; can’t you be a little more obedient? Even Jiye is more sensible than you.”
Jiye was her half-brother, Meng Jiye, named by their father.
“And your Aunt Li has treated you like her own for all these years, pouring her heart out for you. Why are you like a wolf cub that can never be tamed?” Meng Jun continued to scold.
Li Mei had married into the family when Meng Ruo was in high school. Since she was already older then, she never called her “Mother,” sticking to “Aunt Li.”
Looking at the two—one smug, the other furious—Meng Ruo pursed her lips and began her own performance.
“Dad, I’m sorry. I misunderstood Aunt Li. I was ungrateful and failed to appreciate the wonderful marriage she arranged for me.” Meng Ruo lowered her head, looking the picture of deep remorse.
Both Li Mei and Meng Jun were stunned.
Meng Jun: The girl admitted she was wrong so quickly today that I can’t even keep scolding her.
Li Mei: Has she changed? She’s not defending herself? Did she suddenly decide to marry my cousin after all?
Meng Ruo wiped her eyes with feigned tears and explained, “Like you said, Dad, Aunt Li is so good to me. The marriage she arranged must be excellent. Even though her cousin is an idle loiterer who doesn’t have a real job at thirty, and even though he’s been to jail for brawling, he surely has other virtues. Like his face full of pockmarks, or how he’s short and fat.”
Meng Jun: “…”
Li Mei: “…”
Before they could recover from the shock, Meng Ruo continued, “Aunt Li said that marriage is decided by parental command and matchmaker’s words—that I have to marry whether I like it or not. I felt that since marriage is such a major life event, I had to wait for you to come home and let you, the head of the household, make the decision. But Aunt Li said that she calls the shots in this house and that there’s no need to trouble you with such things.”
Hearing that Li Mei “called the shots,” Meng Jun’s face darkened instantly. “Did you really say those things?”
Li Mei had said them, yes, but why did they sound so different coming from Meng Ruo? It made it sound like she had zero respect for Meng Jun. When she said those things, she just wanted to assert authority to force the girl to agree; she never meant she actually ruled the house.
“Old Meng, let me explain,” Li Mei said awkwardly, clutching Meng Jun’s sleeve.
Meng Jun’s face remained grim as he questioned, “That cousin of yours has pockmarks, is short and fat, has no job at thirty, and has been to prison?”
“This…” Li Mei couldn’t squeeze out a single word for a long time.
Every word was true. The main question was: how did Meng Ruo know all these details?
Meng Jun wasn’t stupid. Seeing Li Mei’s hesitance, he guessed most of the truth.
“Weren’t you going to explain?” Meng Jun shouted, his voice suddenly rising. “Explain yourself!”
Li Mei trembled, realizing Meng Jun was truly enraged this time. She was about to try her old trick—playing the victim and crying for forgiveness. It usually worked; Meng Jun’s heart always softened when she cried.
But before she could let out a sob, she heard Meng Ruo start crying piteously.
“Wooo—” Meng Ruo wiped her eyes, pretending to plead for Li Mei. “Dad, don’t blame Aunt Li. If you have to blame someone, blame me. It’s all my fault for making you two fight. If I’d known you’d argue because of me, I would have just agreed to the marriage.”
Li Mei looked at her with total bewilderment. How did this brat become so silver-tongued today? Wasn’t she always clumsy with words?
Meng Jun, meanwhile, looked at Meng Ruo with heartache.
“Look how sensible Xiao Ruo is, then look at yourself! Are you even behaving like an elder? Trying to marry my daughter off to a piece of trash like that—do you think I’m dead?” Meng Jun roared at Li Mei.
Seeing Meng Jun flip his stance in an instant, Meng Ruo had an epiphany.
Oh, so my cheap father is a sucker for this act. No wonder Li Mei had him wrapped around her finger for years. If it was just “green tea” tactics, she could play that game too.
“Old Meng, I…” Li Mei hesitated. “I didn’t know he was like that.”
“You didn’t know? You didn’t know what?” Meng Jun barked. “You didn’t know your cousin was an ex-convict, or you didn’t know he was pockmarked, fat, and ugly?”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Li Mei didn’t dare say another word.
“Fine, fine. Let this matter end here,” Meng Jun waved his hand impatiently. “If you ever bring up that cousin again, don’t blame me for being heartless.”
Li Mei nodded dejectedly and stayed silent.
That’s it? Meng Ruo’s expression cooled.
Li Mei had tried to sell her off to a man like that, and all Meng Jun did was yell a few times before letting it slide?
In the end, Meng Jun still favored Li Mei. After all, she had given him a precious son. He was overlooking the “monk” for the sake of the “Buddha.”
Meng Jun’s lukewarm reaction only deepened her resolve to leave this house as soon as possible. Why stay in a home like this until New Year’s?
The atmosphere in the house was tense when the closed door was suddenly pushed open again.
“Mom, I’m dying of heat! Give me money, I want an ice pop!” Meng Jiye shouted at Li Mei before even registering the situation in the room.
Seeing Meng Jiye, Li Mei felt like she’d found her savior. Meng Jun’s precious son was indeed her lifeline.
“My dear son, why are you home so suddenly?” Li Mei smiled and hugged the boy, quickly pulling out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
Meng Jiye ignored her and held out his hand. “I want an ice pop. Money, now.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll get it for you.” Li Mei got up with a smile and grabbed a handful of small bills from a drawer.
Meng Jiye glanced at the bunch of small change and shook his head angrily. “Not enough! I have to treat my ‘little brothers’ to ice pops too.”
Meng Jun watched his son with a constant smile. Hearing that his son had “followers,” his eyes crinkled into slits. “Oho, my boy, you’ve started taking in followers already?”
Meng Jiye nodded proudly. “I’m the boss now. Xiao Long, Xiao Peng, and the others are all my followers. They’re thirsty, so as the boss, I naturally have to treat them.”
“Just get them a ten-cent ice bag. Why do you have to get ice pops?” Li Mei was happy her son was a leader, but she felt the sting of the cost.
Meng Jun glanced at Li Mei with disdain. “This is why they say women have long hair but short sight. What do you know? If you’re the boss, you have to look the part. Fretting over a few cents—what kind of boss is that?”
With Meng Jun’s backing, Meng Jiye gave Li Mei a matching look of contempt.
“My son is impressive! A leader already; he’ll definitely do great things when he grows up.” Meng Jun rubbed Meng Jiye’s head with pride. “Your mother is just a narrow-minded woman who’s stingy with money. Dad will give it to you.”
With that, Meng Jun pulled two two-yuan bills from his wallet and gave them to the boy.
Meng Jiye didn’t bother saying thank you or anything polite; he grabbed the money and ran. Li Mei chased after him, shouting, “Oh, you little ancestor, slow down! Don’t trip!”
Meng Jiye was six years old. Since he was born, Li Mei and Meng Jun hadn’t been able to bring themselves to scold or hit him. He got whatever he wanted, resulting in his current lawless personality. Crucially, neither parent saw anything wrong with it. They thought their precious son was the best in the world, bragging to everyone about how smart and capable he was.
Meng Ruo watched the three of them with a cold sneer in her heart.
After watching his son for a bit, Meng Jun’s mood improved significantly, and the unpleasantness of the argument with Li Mei evaporated.
“Dad, I have something to tell you,” Meng Ruo said, interrupting the family’s harmony.
“I went on a blind date at noon. An older colleague introduced him. We met for lunch, but since marriage is a major decision, I felt you should be the one to decide. He said he would come to visit in a couple of days.” Meng Ruo explained the situation succinctly.
Li Mei, listening nearby, looked surprised again. When did this girl get so bold that she’s looking for her own partners?
Meng Jun nodded with satisfaction. He disliked girls who were too independent; Meng Ruo letting the parents decide on all matters, large and small, was exactly to his liking.
“Fine. You are indeed at the age to marry. If this one doesn’t work out, I’ll have your Aunt Li look for other suitable candidates.” Meng Jun agreed readily.
“Have me look?” Li Mei let out a cold, unceremonious laugh. “I’d hate to work hard finding someone only for you to complain that they aren’t to your liking. Disliking them is a small matter; I just don’t want to be labeled as a ‘stepmother mistreating her stepdaughter’ again.”
Her words were sharp and full of hidden barbs. Meng Ruo didn’t care; she couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.
“Enough, enough,” Meng Jun scolded impatiently. “You should talk a bit less too.”
Meng Ruo gave Li Mei a fleeting glance and prepared to return to her room when another knock sounded at the door.
“Who is it now?” Li Mei grumbled as she walked toward the entrance. “Coming, coming! Stop knocking. What is it with this day?”
Li Mei’s suppressed anger had nowhere to go, so she took it out on the person outside.
The moment the door opened, a voice rang out.
“Excuse me, is this Li Mei’s house?”
It was a girl.
As Li Mei processed who the girl was, she froze in place.
Hearing the voice, Meng Jun also walked to the door. Looking at the girl standing there, he asked, “Who are you? What are you doing at my house?”
“My name is Zheng Wan.” A smile appeared on the girl’s dark-complexioned face.