Budding of 73

  Since her daughter was arranged to go to the Lu family by Wen Shi Tong, Xu Yu'e locked herself in the room, occasionally looking at photos, first her daughter's, and later took out a family photo and wiped it with a cloth.

  The eldest daughter Manman is not outstanding in the photo compared to her younger sister, with a furrowed brow, but after a while, she sighs: After all, it's my own daughter.

  At night, without Wen Shixuan sleeping beside her, and without the two daughters. Okay, because the younger daughter has gone to fly high, she can't take care of herself and the younger daughter's future, so she had to let go of the younger daughter. What was left was only Manman, strangely, she actually missed Manman.

  It's really strange to talk about this child, thinking back to when she was born, because she almost died from being tossed around so much, she refused to raise her and had her husband send her to her grandmother in the countryside. When she recovered a bit, her husband insisted on bringing their daughter back home no matter what. No matter how she looked at it, she thought this child looked ugly and cried weakly, unlike other children. To her, it was very worrisome.

  It turned out that she was right, the child had been ill until he was five or six years old. For this child, the couple's savings after marriage were all spent. Also for this reason, her second child, Yuanyuan, did not have the opportunity to be born until much later.

  She dislikes this daughter, but her husband likes this daughter and protects her with his life.

  Quarreling and scolding, every family is the same. Now that the children have grown up, she married a good son-in-law, but her mother made her heart cold.

  If I had been kinder to this child in the past, maybe now I would be living a happy life in my son-in-law's courtyard. Who would have thought that she would marry the son of a minister?

  Alas!

  Regret.

  She could only pin her hopes on her young daughter whom she had doted on since childhood to make a name for herself.

  In the middle of the night, someone knocked on the door.

  Only Wen Shi Tong knows this place.

  Afraid of thieves, he picked up a broom and went to open the door.

  The light flashed on, and at the door stood a little girl.

  "Yuan Yuan?!"

  Suddenly, surprised and delighted, she spun around her little daughter: "You came back to see your mom? Why did you come back in the middle of the night? Ah, right, now you're someone else's adopted daughter, they won't be happy that you came back, will they? Mom doesn't mind, as long as you're doing well, got into Central Academy of Fine Arts and became a big shot, they can't do anything to you. You can come see me anytime."

  She didn't know her mother was so nagging, and every sentence seemed to be thinking of herself. Wen Huan suddenly thought that she should go find her father Wen Shi Xuan instead of running to find Xu Yu E. At least, Wen Shi Xuan wouldn't expect her to make a fortune.

  She's now experienced not just fame and wealth, but even prison cells.

  Life, if you take a wrong step, you may lose even the chance to turn back.

  "What's wrong?" Seeing her little daughter not saying a word, sitting on the sofa, hugging her legs like a stray cat, without any hint of arrogance, Xu Yu'e's heart slowly sank.

  Wen Shitong, who was carrying Wen Huan's luggage, walked in at this moment and said, "Sister-in-law, it's all over."

  "What's going on?" Like a startled grasshopper, Xu Yujiao jumped three feet high.

  "No one wants her as a foster daughter anymore. Ask her yourself what she has done, and she's even been to prison." Seeing one failure after another, Wen Shitong's mood turned sour, and he threw his luggage into the house, clapped his hands, and spoke harshly, "I advise you, hurry up and settle the matters that have been entrusted to you. If you don't handle it well, it won't be a matter of going to prison or not, but a matter of life and death."

  To kill someone, is it worth losing one's own life?

  Xu Yujiao hastily ran back to the sofa, shaking her little daughter vigorously: "What's going on? You tell me. Didn't we agree that you would become a golden branch and jade leaf? It was only when you became a golden branch and jade leaf that Mom could bear to let you go. How did you end up getting into trouble again?"

  "Is that enough?!" she shouted loudly, shaking off her hand. Wen Huan's eyes widened in anger, staring at her, "If I weren't a precious daughter anymore and became like Manman, would you still be my mother?"

  The little girl became like the big girl, and Xu Yuer made a sound of swallowing saliva to calm herself: "Become your sister, it's not bad. I heard your dad say that Manman is making money now, and she married the son of a minister."

  "What if I'm like Mianmian before and can't make a living or marry the son of a minister?"

  "Yuan Yuan?" Dazed and blinking, wondering what was wrong with her little daughter.

  Wasn't it always her and Mianmian against me?

  "Mom, Jie is your daughter, and I am also your daughter." Wen Huan now doesn't know what's wrong with herself, why she would think of using Manman's situation to support her own.

  Maybe, like Manman, working hard every day without giving up, one day you will shine and become rich without needing to resort to trickery.

  "Yu Yu." Xǔ Yùjué thought it through, since her eldest daughter's heart was lost, she had to win back her youngest daughter's heart. Otherwise, what would happen when she grew old? "No matter what, mom is still your mom."

  Wen Huan, having gone through all this, couldn't help but feel that Yu'e's words lacked sincerity. Nevertheless, regardless of what she thought, Yang Le'er had entrusted her with a task: "Mom, didn't Haixue ask us before why the Wen family's jade pendant, which has been passed down from our ancestors, is missing in our household?"

  "This matter, you have to ask your dad." Xǔ Yùe answered, not foolish, and counter-questioned, "What's wrong with this jade pendant? Is it that without this piece of jade, they won't take you as their adopted daughter?"

  Furrowing her brow and biting her lip, she suddenly sat up: "Mother said that if we can't find the jade pendant from our family, we'll all be killed." But Xu Yu'e only asked: "What if it's found?"

  Xu Yujiao's eyes flashed with a hint of unyielding determination, and Wen Huan suddenly felt the chill in her sister's heart: why did her sister say she didn't want such a mother anymore.

  ……

  "Bang."

  Duyou, who had a wet towel thrown at his face, opened his drunken eyes: "Wife, is it early summer?"

  They were just sent home in a car arranged by the mayor.

  "Someone's big leader told you to drink and you deliberately used drinking as an excuse, didn't you?" Chu Xia pouted, very dissatisfied with her husband's behavior.

  "It's early summer." Seeing his wife get angry, Du Yu sat up, pulled the corner of her clothes and said pitifully, "I didn't know what to do, had no choice but to pretend to be drunk."

  Besides, he had already sensed what was going on, and with his wife by Manman's side, it was impossible for him not to have noticed.

  "You said that Manman is Mayor Lu's daughter? I heard that Mayor Lu used to have a daughter, otherwise Wen Mingzhu wouldn't have gone to recognize Madam Lu as her adoptive mother and ended up being dealt with by Master Jun." Du Yusi lit a cigarette and discussed this major issue with his wife.

  It's indeed a big problem for them as a couple. If Manman were the mayor's daughter, how would they interact with her in the future?

  When her husband intentionally mentioned something similar, Chuxia seemed to twist uncomfortably: "What's wrong with Mianmian being Mayor Lu's daughter?"

  On his wife's face that looked very angry, Du Yu squinted and sized her up for a moment before sighing: "You're not happy?"

  "You're not happy, how can I be?" Chū Xià seemed to hum out two mouthfuls of air, not only unhappy but also very uncomfortable. "You said that after Màn Màn married Jiǎng Dà Shào, the place where Màn Màn lives now, even if I want to go see her, I have to go through three trials and six investigations. If she really becomes the mayor's daughter-in-law, then we...".

  "Early summer, you and she were very close, don't worry." Du Yu interrupted his wife's excited words, comforting her.

  "What's wrong? Two completely different circles. And that Lord Jun, to be honest, I found him extremely annoying at first glance. You didn't see the way he looked at us when we gave him 500 yuan in the car, as if he saw right through us. He's not like Comrade Jiang Da." Comrade Chun Xia said with a hum, referring to Lord Jun.

  "Young master is not a pampered and indulgent young lord, he's an honest man." Du Yu originally meant to comfort his wife, but now it feels like he's comforting himself.

  "You'd say that yourself. Apart from being honest?" Early summer blinked her eyelashes, taking a deep breath, and was really afraid that Manman would drift further away from herself. "Apart from being honest, I don't see what ideas he has that will keep Manman with us in the future."

  Comrade Jun Ye is very intimidating.

  Chiang Da Shao is affable and approachable, without distinction of social circles or high and low status, able to make friends with anyone.

  Mr. Yao's temperament is gentle, but his circle and Jun Ye are the same, possibly raised from a young age, people outside the circle are polite, and another meaning of politeness is to keep people at arm's length with a cold attitude.

  Perhaps they should be grateful that before meeting Jun Ye, Manman had already met Jiang Dashao and was engaged to him for life.

  "Did you tell Manman?" Du Yu asked with a worried and melancholic expression, wiping his brow with his hand.

  No matter what, this thing should be decided by Mengmeng herself.

  They can't help Mengmeng make decisions.

  But no matter what decisions Mengmeng makes, what they covet is never Mengmeng's status or position, but rather their fate with Mengmeng.

  "You and I both know what kind of person Manman is, transparent, how could you not know?" Chuxia said this, taking a deep breath for her best friend, "Manman is pretending to be blind. She has to consider not just us, but also her dad."

  In Wanwan's heart, Father Wen Shixuan will always be the first.

  ……

  Husband didn't return to school tonight. After taking a bath together, one of them lay on the desk writing, while the other opened the TV with their hair still wet.

  My father-in-law forced me to drink two cups of wine. Fortunately, I can hold my liquor and didn't get drunk like Du Yu.

  Jiang Yan quietly walked up behind his wife like a scout, with both hands on her shoulders, looking at what she was writing.

  "Drunk." Manman spat out two words as her husband walked behind her.

  "Is there?" Comrade Jiang Yan's sneak attack failed, and he raised his hand to sniff it hard.

  "Go and make a cup of tea for him." Manman, as a daughter-in-law, remembered her responsibilities as a wife, although she had learned them from the soap operas.

  After the husband finishes drinking, the wife has to rush up a cup of tea to sober him up. If the husband is drunk and being stubborn, then it's time for the rod to serve him.

  While his wife went into the kitchen to make tea, Comrade Jiang Yun opened the notebook his daughter-in-law had placed on the table. It read: date + activities + expenses.

  It was originally a household expense record.

  It really depressed him. In his beautiful fantasy, his wife was writing love letters or keeping a diary for him.

  The little daughter-in-law walked in with a tray of wine and tea, saying: "Drink up. I put two plums in your cup, be careful not to swallow the pit."

  It's rare that one evening, Jiang Dazhuang didn't think about being intimate with his wife, and instead sat quietly beside her watching her calculate the family's income and expenses.

  "Have you checked the money on my bank card?" Jiang asked his wife, mainly because he saw that there was no contribution from him in her income and expenses statement, which made him highly vigilant.

  He, Jiang Dashao, would never be a man who relies on his wife for financial support.

  The little daughter-in-law raised the corner of her eyebrow, and with a crescent moon-like smile, she gazed at him languidly: "Didn't you say back then that you would eat my soft rice?"

  "That's---" Jiang Dashao recalled what he said to his wife on their first outing that month, and scratched his hair anxiously. "That was just a scare tactic for them, you don't want them to entangle me with that kind of gaze, do you?"

  My husband is handsome, and if he were rich, he would be surrounded by a swarm of bees.

  "Never mind." After thinking it over and over again, Manman chose to magnanimously forget.

  "Add my money too!" Jiang Dashao said, hastily snatching the pen from his wife to add his own savings.

  "Don't be in a hurry!" argued with her husband over money matters, as she was very particular about it.

  "You don't spend my money, I won't spend yours." Jiang Dashao was being stubborn, hugging his laptop and refusing to let go.

  Looking at her husband like this, he really looks like a little kid. Mengmeng can't imagine that if their child is born, can her husband help take care of the baby? It won't be one big and one small fighting together, with her standing in the middle rolling her eyes.

  "Alright, to be honest, the money I'm making now is just enough for our family of two. As for your money, Ah Yan, I plan to save it and use it as an education fund for our child."

  Jiang Dashao blinked: "Does raising a child need so much money?"

  "Of course, you need to. These several hundred thousand are not enough." Manman patted her husband's face, calling him "good boy", and also made a note of the expenses on the laptop, "Now just the cost of milk powder is already a significant amount. You and I both need to work hard to make money."

  "Wife." Holding his wife's hand, Jiang Dashao carefully stroked the thick calluses on her delicate fingers, feeling a pang of heartache. "Listen to me, I have more than just these tens of thousands. If you want money, I can find a way. Can't you stop working so hard?"

  She snapped her fingers on her husband's forehead and pretended to be angry: "Is it just you at home? Male chauvinism. Can't women earn money to support the family?"

  "There's no woman like you. Which woman wouldn't want to stay at home, eating and drinking, sleeping, not having to earn money or work, as long as her husband obediently sends the money over?" said Jiang Dashao.

  "A woman like this, you wouldn't dare marry either." Mianmian's one sentence was a sharp jab.

  "It's you, and it's different." Looking seriously into his wife's eyes, Comrade Jiang Yan expressed his deep feelings to her. "Of course, I don't want you to just stay at home as a housewife, I support your own career. But I really think you're working too hard. I heard from Chunxia that you've not only taken on this project, but also decorating and the paintings you promised to do for others."

  "I've paid for it, you're not at home, the house is clean and almost doesn't need to be swept, at most I cook for my dad and Xiaxia." said Manman.

  "No way!" Jiang Dashao said firmly, "I'll talk to your senior brother Du Yu about this tomorrow, you can only do one thing."

  Her husband's handsome face was stern, his thick eyebrows were like towering mountains, and the dense tone of voice had an oppressive momentum that was a bit intimidating.

  "I've done it with all my might."

  "Do you think I'm the only one who's angry?" Jiang Da Shao said sternly tonight, "You were hospitalized last time, and Lu Shangshu said you had a bit of anemia, so he told me that's why you fainted quickly. If you do this again, how can I explain it to your family?"

  When she heard her husband mention Jun Ye, Manman's delicate eyebrows furrowed into a small knot, and she lowered her head to stare at the corner of the wall.

  The wife's performance tonight, as a husband, I have taken it all in.

  Du Yu suddenly realized that his wife didn't make a sound or change her expression, and tonight she completely treated Mayor Lu as an ordinary leader. Isn't this obviously just an act?

  Before getting on the car, Big Uncle patted his shoulder and greeted him first, reminding: My dad and I both know that, don't force her, let her think slowly by herself.

  Mayor Lu didn't dare say it all at once. Mr. Lu was very cautious with every step, fearing that if he said it, she would not accept it and instead completely rejected them.

  He had also told his wife to go with the flow, but it was clear that she didn't agree. She was rushing to make money as if there was something urgent.

  "You tell me, like this time you took on the project, with a contract worth hundreds of thousands, where do you plan to spend it? It's fine if you don't spend it at home, I just want to know what you're working so hard for. We're husband and wife, we should discuss things openly, money is absolutely not an issue!"

  At the end of the day, Jiang Dashao's tone was really harsh.

  It's getting harder to keep this from you, people are already looking for a house. Yan Yun let out a soft sigh: "A Yan, you won't blame me, right? I didn't spend the money on our home. Of course, next time I earn some money, it will definitely be spent on our home. It's just that this sum of money, I think, should first be used for my dad."

  It's indeed Wen Shi Xuan. In this world, only he can make his wife risk her life for him.

  "Does he know?" Jiang Dashao's face was cold. If Wen Shixuan had asked her for money, Jiang Dashao would not have let this person off the hook either, no matter what relationship he had with his wife.

  "How could my dad possibly know? If he knew, he wouldn't want it." Mianmian said with great force.

  Also, Wen Shi Xuan's way of doing things is completely different from other people in the Wen family.

  "He doesn't want it, but you're forcing it on him?"

  "I lied to him and said it was rented, with a very low monthly rent, I believe he will accept."

  "I will tell him the truth."

  "Ayin!" Yuet Nga's eyes blazed with anger, "I came to Beijing for this very wish, to earn a lot of money and give my dad a comfortable house. What's wrong with that?"

  "But you don't have to be so anxious!" As he said this, his large hands wrapped around her and held her tightly. "I know I'm only third in your heart, but you should also consider the feelings of this third person."

  A sudden loud roar echoed in her ears, and she was startled, as if struck by lightning: Ah, what's the hurry?

  It's as if I don't know, but somehow I seem to have a vague idea about something.

  Something was always about to pounce on her like a stormy sea.

  This hurricane, for her, is good or bad, will shatter it, or will roll her into another whirlpool.

  "Vine?" Looking at her motionless in his arms, he pinched her chin, and under the lamplight, her face was a bit pale. Frightened, he hastily said, "Alright, I won't say anything, I won't say anything at all. If you don't have enough money to buy him a house, you can ask me first, and then slowly earn the money back, okay?"

  After a while, his eyes moved behind his glasses: "Good."

  Compromised~

  He let out a deep breath, holding her in his lap, embracing her slender waist, and pressing his face against hers, savoring the warmth of her breath: "Man Man, no matter what, I am your husband, standing from your perspective, thinking for you."

  "I know, Ah Yan." She rested her head on his chest, wanting to close her eyes and think of nothing, just going with the flow as he had said.

  But can she tolerate it?

  ……

  The day they went to see the house, her husband was not there, he had returned to his unit, and Chū Xià accompanied her. Because they wanted to deceive Wēn Shìxuān into thinking it was a rental house, they actually bought a second-hand house that the owner had just renovated and was eager to sell.

  Wen Shi Xuan heard her say that it was a friend's house rented to her at a cheap price, and without any suspicion, agreed to move.

  On the day of the move, Du Yu drove a small truck over.

  Two men moved luggage, Manman and Chuxia respectively guarded the items on the car and in the house.

  Just then, Xu Yuye and Wen Huan hailed a taxi to find Wen Shixuan. The taxi stopped on the opposite side of the road, where they saw Wen Shixuan moving house. The mother-daughter pair held still, sitting in the car and observing carefully.

  When Du Yu's small truck started moving, Xu Yujiao let the taxi follow behind the small truck, being careful not to arouse suspicion from the cars in front.

  Manman found a new house for her father, of course it should be closer to her own address.

  So Li Wenxiu's original residence was not far from here.

  A small truck turned into a large courtyard after driving for a while.

  Xu Yujiao stuck her head out of the car window, looking around at the new home her husband had just moved into, and found that the environment in this neighborhood was not much worse than Wen Shi Tong's house.

  "Mom, let's move back and live with Dad." Wen Huan thought that in order to get close to Wen Shi Xuan, she must spend time with him day and night to find a breakthrough.

  Xu Yujiao thought this was a good idea. Having arrived here, Wen Shitong wanted to intimidate the mother and daughter, and besides, they could come back every day to ask their husbands for living expenses.

  Having learned where Wen Shixuan lived, Xu Yuer decided on the spot to take her daughter back home to pack their bags before coming over.

  Wen Shi Xuan and they were completely unaware of being followed, busy with moving along the way.

  Tingwen Shi Xuan and Du Yu finished moving their things, Manman and Chuxia tidied up the house, and the four of them sat in the bright new living room, sipping tea and chatting about all sorts of fun things.

  "Uncle, this TV wasn't newly bought. The previous owner didn't want it when they moved back to their hometown and sold it to us instead. Don't look down on it. Consider it a gift from me and Du Yu for your housewarming." Chuxia pointed at the 46-inch LCD TV hanging in the middle of the living room.

  "This thing, a Sharp brand, even if it's second-hand, would cost several thousand. Wen Shixuan felt uneasy and said: 'You guys are so close to Manman, you came to help me move, I haven't thanked you yet. You're giving me gifts, how can I accept that? Just deduct it from my salary.'"

  Du Yu and Chu Xia looked at each other with a smile in their eyes: Look at Meng Meng's dad, he's so honest that it's heart-wrenching.

  "Dad, they're giving it to you, just accept it." Manman caught her best friend's pleading gaze and tactfully said to her father, "In the early summer, this is what they call an investment. They're being good to you so that I'll stay at their company and work hard to make money for them."

  "Ah, so it's still my daughter who has become an official, are you trying to bribe me?" Wen Shixuan said with a raised eyebrow.

  Unexpectedly, honest Wen Shixuan suddenly came up with a joke, which made everyone else laugh.

  Early summer smiled and cried, suddenly thinking of Wen Shi Xuan's heart: if Manman followed Mayor Lu, what would Wen Shi Xuan do. With the kind of extreme daughter Wen Huan and the kind of extreme wife Xu Yu'e, can they bring happiness to Wen Shi Xuan's later years?

  Just then, Cao Cao arrived, and the doorbell rang. Du Yu went to open the door.

  The door opened wide, and at the entrance stood Xu Yu'e and Wen Huan, both carrying luggage bags.

  "You're Du Yu, right? I know you're Manman's friend. Manman has given you a lot of trouble." Xu Yujiao walked in, ignoring the stunned Du Yu, and put down her luggage as if she were the mistress of this new home, taking a stroll around the living room.

  The more I look, the more satisfied I am. The place where Wen Shi Tong lives is in a good location, but it's almost an unrenovated house. It can't compare to the one found by Wei Wen's dad, which is renovated with top-notch comfort.

  It's settled then, I'll just come back and live here.

  Looking at the trend of this mother and daughter, they are going to rely on it again. Knowing that Manman is not good at speaking, Chuxia rushed out and said to Wen Shi Xuan: "Uncle, don't forget how they abandoned you and Manman back then."

  "Hey. Where did I abandon my husband and Mianmian?" Xǔ Yù'è walked up to Chū Xià, speaking with conviction, "It was they who didn't want us, they left on their own."

  That's true, Wen Shixuan moved out of the house he didn't want to live in. Manman was married and moved out.

  At the beginning of summer, she gritted her teeth and slammed a punch on the table, rushing towards Wen Huan who was hiding behind: "Think about what you did to your sister Manman and Uncle before, do you have the face to come back to this house?"

  Xu Yujiao frowned, thinking that her eldest daughter's friendship was really careless. The woman she had befriended was like a thorn in her side, always targeting her, and no outsider would dare speak to someone else's family member like that.

  "Mom." Unexpectedly, Wen Huan stopped Xu Yujiao from going to quarrel with Chunxia and walked in front of Wen Shixuan with her head down. "Dad, it's my fault. You can scold or beat me as you like. But please don't abandon me and mom. Mom and I really have no home to return to now."

  The little daughter who has always been proud suddenly speaks in a low and humble tone.

  After all, it was his own daughter. The slightly bitter tone in her voice and the four words "having no home to return to" made Wen Shixuan unable to bear being ruthless, but he couldn't let down his eldest daughter who had found him a place to live, so he looked at Manman instead.

  In her heart, Manman thought: That night, Junye said that Wen Huan was bailed out. Even if Wen Huan wasn't bailed out, because she's a minor and the bad things were all done by Lei Wenbin, Wen Huan's most serious crime would be impersonating as the niece of the Lu family, but it wouldn't hold up in court, at most the police station would detain her for a few days, and it would be hard to even leave a record on file.

  But judging from your temperament, to be honest, being able to get Wen Huan released so quickly, Comrade Jiang Yan has already guessed that this move of yours is intentional.

  But Manman didn't know that she had a strong sense of rejection towards Junye and didn't want to know.

  Manman could only think: Who bailed out her sister? Since they bailed her out, why did they drive her sister away and make her homeless?

  "Sister!" Seeing her father's expectant gaze, Wen Huan knew that the decision was in Manman's hands and rushed over to kneel before her.

  "Don't kneel." Manman had already lifted one foot to press down on Wen Huan's knee before she could make the gesture, "I said it early, I'm not your sister, I can't be your sister. I'm just the daughter of a grocery store owner, you don't want to be the daughter of a grocery store owner, go live in a big house, you don't have to live here with us."

  Upon hearing this, Xu Yu'e exclaimed: "Man Man, your sister has already apologized with her head bowed, isn't it unreasonable for you to still be like this?"

  Manman simply cast a calm gaze at Xu Yuyao: "Yuan's mistakes were all caused by you."

  Wen Shixuan and Wen Huan were both stunned at the same time.

  Xu Yujiao's face turned red, white, green and black all mixed together: "What did you say? How could her mistake be my fault?"

  "Dad, even if I don't let them in to live with us, you won't be able to resist their pleading. But if they do come to live here, I won't come back again." Having said what she wanted to say, Manman got up and picked up her bag.

  To her, everything is someone else's business. The house was bought for Father, it's Father's, and Father makes the decisions. But she can choose whether or not to avoid this mother-daughter pair.

  As she walked out with her best friend, Chūxia didn't forget to glare fiercely at this mother-daughter pair.

  The door creaked open, and Wen Shixuan's mind woke up. He rushed out of the door to chase after his eldest daughter: "Mengmeng, Mengmeng——"

  Hearing her father rush down the stairs, Wen Huan closed her eyes and clenched her fists tightly.

  "It's just marrying the son of a minister, why so arrogant?" Xǔ Yù'é swung her arm and shouted, then turned to her younger daughter, "Yuān Yuān, you won't lose to her."

  The door burst open, and Wen Shixuan rushed back in like a whirlwind. His face red with rage, he bellowed at his stubborn wife: "Mengmeng was right! You're the one who wronged Yuanyuan. What do you have to say to her now? Go fetch water for me!"

  "Carrying water buckets?" Yu'e was completely stunned in the face of her husband, who had never lost his temper with her but whom she often lost hers with.

  "You get me a bucket of water for tonight, and if I find out you're slacking off, you'll be kicked out of this house immediately!" Wen Shixuan was resolute this time, turning to his younger daughter, "You just told your sister that you were wrong, so since you know you're wrong, go with your mom to fetch water."

  "What's going on here? Have you gone mad?" Xǔ Yù'é shouted with her hands clutching her hair.

  "I'm not crazy, you get out or I'll throw you out right now!" Wen Shixuan said, opening the door wide and gesturing for them to leave.

  For him, his eldest daughter's departure almost tore his heart in two.

  Wen Yuan glanced at her furious father and quietly lowered her head, walking towards the bathroom.

  "Yuan Yuan?" Xu Yu'e was shocked, her strong little daughter had actually given in.

  "And you?"

  Wen Shi Xuan's thunderous two words shocked Xu Yu E and she rushed towards the bathroom.

  The angry roars of Warm Daddy upstairs were heard by both Mengmeng and Chuchu in the courtyard downstairs.

  Early summer smiled and said to her best friend: "Your dad, it's time for him to show some fatherly dignity, he can't be bullied by this mother-daughter duo."

  Manman nodded: As long as her father can hold his head up and get some air, she'll provide for several houses if that's what he wants.

  At night, Wen Shi Xuan went into his room and closed the door to sleep.

  Xu Yujiao and Wen Huan stood in the living room, each carrying two buckets of water.

  "Your dad is really heartless, it's all because of what you've been taught." Xǔ Yù'é was filled with anger.

  "Never mind, mom." Wen Huan felt that even carrying water buckets was much better than living in the house provided by Wen Shixiong or Yang Le'er's home. At least she didn't have to look at other people's faces all day. Wen Shixiong scolded her, but his eyes had hers.

  After holding on for almost ten hours, Xu Yujiao's two arms were already numb and felt like they were about to break off. Hearing no sound from her husband in the room, she secretly thought of putting down the water bucket.

  "What are you doing? Want to stay out for another night?" Her husband's eyes seemed to be able to see through the door, and he suddenly appeared in front of her when she was about to drop the water bucket, glaring at her with a fierce expression.

  "I was wrong, husband!"

  "You're wrong, just keep carrying me."

  Xu Yujiao's face was as if she had entered hell.

  "Dad."

  Kan Hui was obediently carrying a water bucket, looking like a little girl who had intentionally repented. Wen Shi Xuan put on the face of a strict father: "What's going on? Want to learn from your mom how to beg for mercy? Dad has made up his mind today and can't spoil you anymore."

  "No, I mean to say, Haoyue sister seems to be inquiring about the jade pendant at our house all day, Dad you'd better be careful."

  "What jade pendant?"

  In the darkness, a look of panic flashed across Wen Shixuan's face, which was seen by both Xu Yu'e and Wen Huan.

  "You really did accept the treasure without telling me, didn't you?" Xǔ Yù'é shouted at him. "Do you have a conscience? I've been married to you for so long, borne you sons and daughters, and you're secretly hiding property from me?"

  "Don't spout nonsense, that jade pendant was... " Wen Shixuan swallowed hard and changed his tone, "was smashed to pieces by me."

  Broken?

  The mother and daughter exchanged a glance of doubt in their eyes.

  "It was ruined by me, so you don't have to look for it anymore." After saying that, Wen Shi Xuan escaped into the room.

  "Alright." Seeing her husband's expression, Xu Yujiao was even more convinced that as long as she found the jade pendant, their daughter would continue to live a life of luxury. She said, "Mom will go through your dad's boxes and definitely find it, don't worry."

  "Mom." Wen Yuanchu thought for a moment, considering her father's temperament. If something valuable was left at home, Xu Yuer would have found it by now. "Do you think Dad might have given the thing to someone to keep for him?"

  "Who did you say it was? Manman?"

  It's possible that they might be there, but searching for them in the place where they are living now is almost impossible. They went once before and didn't find anything, did they?

  "Didn't you say someone asked you to find a jade pendant? Tell them it's in Manman's hands, and let them go ask Manman themselves."

  The problem is that Yang Le'er and Wen Shitong are now reluctant to take action themselves, fearing that once they start, it will be hard to extricate themselves.

  Seeing her little daughter not making a sound for half a day, Xu Yu'e thought: "What do they want your father's jade pendant for? It's really a valuable thing, in that case, it can't fall into their hands, we'll find it ourselves."

  Wen Yu's heart was tangled, her eyelids twitching: Yang Le'er wanted to find that jade pendant because she wanted to know if Nang Nang was in the Wen family. If it was confirmed that Nang Nang was in Wen Shi Xuan's hands, next, Yang Le'er would confirm that Nang Nang was Man Man and then kill her. Every day, when she was at Yang Le'er's house, she could hear Yang Le'er shouting about wanting to kill Nang Nang.

  Yang Le'er is a madman, why doesn't anyone catch Yang Le'er?

  Wang Hai said: The Yang family loves Yang Le'er very much, and no one dares to bully Yang Le'er easily.

  But she felt that Mayor Lu and the cold-blooded man would never let Yang Le'er go if they knew what Yang Le'er wanted to do to Manman.

  Thinking of this, perhaps she should go find that jade pendant, not because of Yang Le'er's threat.

  As soon as I opened my eyes, it was clear.

  ……

  Today, I helped my father move house for a day, feeling a bit tired, walking while massaging my shoulders. After getting off at the bus station, before returning to my husband's barracks, I had to pass by the gates of Jiang's and Lu's houses.

  Jiang's mother always took a ride, she was not afraid of meeting, and when she met, she pretended not to see her easily. On the other hand, this Lu family is quite strange, sometimes Mrs. Lu and Lu Huan, the second son of the Lu family, would come out without taking a ride, and the mother and son would walk slowly together, making it difficult for her to avoid them when they came face to face.

  It's said that Comrade Junye kept Lu Jia'er's phone number in her mobile phone, but she never had the chance to call him.

  Lu Jia's two younger brothers, she had no intention of getting close to them.

  Is it a narrow road with the Lu family recently? Just walking up a slope, I met the second young master of the Lu family and another boy of similar age wearing glasses.

  Those two boys also saw her.

  "Hey, is this your sister Manman?" Yao Zibao finally figured it out, thanks to his older brother, because his older brother owed him a favor that day and didn't reject Wen Huan's trash on the spot.

  "Speak softly, she doesn't know." Lu Huan covered his mouth and whispered.

  "Why don't you speak?" Yao Zibao stared at him and asked.

  "My dad and brother are worried about her, thinking that she has always had a good relationship with her adoptive father, and are afraid that she won't be able to accept reality all of a sudden."

  "Oh, so you're afraid of being rejected." Yao Zibao raised his glasses and looked at Manman who was walking over.

  Mengmeng is generally a bit ugly, her figure is general, her face is general. Yao Zibao suddenly realized why his own brother had once called Mengmeng an ugly girl.

  "What's wrong?" Lu Huan raised an eyebrow and looked at him coldly.

  Dare you say his sister is not beautiful? Even if they grew up together as brothers, they would still have to admit it.

  "No, your sister is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, even your future wife can't compare to her." Yao Zibao sweet-talked himself out of a crisis.

  The Lu family is really strange, nothing compares to their own family. Take Jun Ye for example, his fiancée is the most beautiful woman in the army, but his heart only hangs on his sister.

  "My sister is being bullied." Lu Huan's words pierced the mystery, "Bai Lu Jie doesn't treat my sister like I do, Bai Lu Jie has her own parents and older brother to care for. My brother doesn't care about my sister, what can she do?"

  Yao Zibao took another look at Manman and saw that the shoes on her feet were canvas shoes, from head to toe she was wearing work clothes, and her face looked tired. He sighed: "Didn't you say your husband is not bad? Your sister still has to work hard to support the family?"

  Lu Huan blinked his youthful and handsome eyelashes, seemingly a bit perplexed.

  Creeping past them, just about to brush against each other, suddenly her toes got caught in the brick seam.

  Alas!

  By her side, hastily grasped her with both hands.

  The two of them were startled by the sudden noise, and they could hear each other's loud and clear voices.

  "Did she just fall?"

  "It seems so."

  "What should we do? Should I call your brother or should I call mine?"

  Manman hastily stood firm, took a step back, and stared at them with wide eyes.

  "She seems fine." Just as Yao Zibao was about to make a phone call to her brother, she was glared at by her crescent moon eyes and hung up the phone.

  Patted the dust off his shoes and legs, Yan Yan really didn't want to get entangled with these two young masters, said a word: "Thank you." Then continued walking forward.

  Lu Huan stretched out one hand to pull her over, his throat carrying a hint of stubbornness: "Are you really okay?"

  Looking back, Yue Ya's eyes passed through the lenses and saw that this big boy was looking at her with the same gaze as that night, giving her an inexplicable feeling that made it hard for her to refuse him outright.

  "It's nothing." Gently brushing off his hand, Manman lowered her head and looked ahead.

  Yao Zibao watched Lu Huan's gaze, following Manman's back until she disappeared at the gate of the big yard. It was obvious that Lu Huan liked this sister very much.

  "Haven't you and she just met a few times?"

  "My brother once told me that if it weren't for my sister's misfortune, I wouldn't have been born. I owe her many years of happiness, just like my brother." Lu Huan was quite moved, and only then did he withdraw his gaze.

  Yao Zibao patted his good brother's shoulder with his hand.

  That night, Jun Ye returned home for dinner, and Lu Huan said to her brother: "I met sister today."

  "Where did you meet?" He patted his younger brother's shoulder just like he would with Jun, then walked back to the room to change clothes.

  "I and Bao'er saw her on the way home, she was halfway and almost fell. Brother, do you think she is anemic? I and Bao'er are worried about her." Lu Huan said as he chased after him.

  "Jun Ye's eyes seemed to have broken the ice, and he put his hand back in after taking off his jacket: 'I'll go take a look at her place. If mom asks, tell her I'm going to see a friend.'"

  Having said that, he walked out the door decisively.

  ……

  When her husband is not at home, Manman cooks a bowl of noodles by herself casually.

  Just as I was about to eat noodles, I heard the doorbell ringing ding dong.

  She had no close friends in Beijing except for Xiaxia, and nobody else knew where she lived. It was strange that someone would walk past, push open the door crack, see Junye's cold face, and then quickly shut it as if they didn't know anything.

  Two icy gazes shot over, staring at her hand as if nailed in place, causing the hand that was about to close the door to hang down.

  "My husband is not here." Behind the anti-theft iron door, Manman plucked up the courage to refuse the visitor.

  "I've come looking for you." Comrade Junye said word by word, not allowing her to mishear a single word.

  Helplessly, he opened the iron gate: "Is there something going on at Lu Shang School?"

  Speak quickly and finish, Iceberg is leaving soon. She can't afford to keep Iceberg old master waiting.

  As soon as he entered the door, his icy gaze swept across and saw the bowl of clear noodle soup on the living room table. His eyes immediately chilled a few degrees: "You're having this for dinner?"

  Is she eating noodles? Manman gritted her teeth: "Sorry, I'm just eating this, what's wrong with that?"

  "Last time I spoke with your husband, he mentioned that you have mild anemia."

  "My husband told me I have to pay attention to nutrition." Manman naturally couldn't speak carelessly to people who cared about her.

  She raised an eyebrow, took a big step forward, picked up the bowl of noodle soup and suddenly let out a fierce yell: "You're paying attention to nutrition? Eat this!"

  Her ears were almost blown away by his suddenly amplified voice, and she touched her chest in surprise, staring at him.

  Boom!

  The noodle bowl fell heavily on the table board, and half of the soup splashed out.

  Her icy gaze was like a massive wave crashing over her: "I'm telling you, I know who you're being frugal for. But I have my limits, if you keep this up and one day faint in front of me or I find out, just wait for the consequences!"

  The heart in her chest was pounding, pounding, pounding, as if it were about to fly out, yet at the same time felt heavy and sinking, making her breathing tight.

  Something seems about to emerge.