After finishing the meal, Xu Ying quietly got up and prepared to head home.
Seeing her leave, Huo Chen immediately offered, “I’ll walk you back.”
But Xu Ying quickly waved him off, her tone light but firm, “No need. You all should eat while it’s still hot—it won’t taste as good once it’s cold. I can get back by myself.”
Despite her refusal, Huo Chen glanced up at the darkening sky, made his decision, and silently followed her.
Xu Ying could only sigh, resigned, and the two of them walked back—one slightly ahead of the other.
But before they got far, an unwelcome voice pierced the calm air.
“Xu Ying, is it because of him that you’re dumping me?” Dong Wenzhong’s tone was soaked in jealousy, his expression like someone who had caught a lover red-handed.
Xu Ying halted, frowning deeply. Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Where did this stinky rat crawl out from again? Such a nuisance.”
Her words hit Dong Wenzhong like a slap. His face twisted with fury. “Xu Ying! You weren’t like this before. What happened to you? Why are you acting like such a shrew?!”
A scoff escaped Xu Ying’s lips as she arched a brow. “So now calling a few rats out for what they are makes me a shrew?”
She looked at him with blatant disgust. “And what are you? A freeloader? You say you want to be with me, build a future together—yet every day, all you do is lie and freeload off my meals.”
Dong Wenzhong turned red, choked on his words, and finally barked, “Xu Ying, how could you say that? I never lied! You were the one who gave me the food!”
“Oh~” Xu Ying drew out her voice deliberately, her tone dripping with mockery.
Dong Wenzhong flinched. This was her signature move lately—stretching out her words before a verbal lashing. He braced himself.
“Xu Ying,” he tried to recover, “I didn’t do it because I was hungry or anything… Even if I made mistakes before, I’ll fix them now. But do you even know who that Huo Chen guy is? He’s dangerous—he can kill with one strike! What if you provoke him? He might beat you!”
At that moment, Huo Chen, who had been standing quietly to the side, looked at Xu Ying with his deep, dark eyes, warm and protective. “I won’t hit you.”
Xu Ying gave a slight nod in response, as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
Dong Wenzhong’s jaw clenched. Watching their easy rapport made his insides twist. Was it because Xu Ying no longer followed him around like a lovesick puppy? Or because she’d grown more radiant and self-assured lately?
The woman standing before him now wasn’t someone to be looked down on. The change in her made him, for the first time, start to truly see her—and resent her for slipping away.
She’s the woman I didn’t want before, he thought. Now that I’ve come around, she should still be mine.
But now she’s playing with the wolf cub?
His face darkened.
“Xu Ying, I heard you’re going to work at a state-owned hotel. Is that true?” Sun Yunjuan suddenly popped up, eyes gleaming like gold coins at the sight of Xu Ying.
Xu Ying blinked at her. “Yeah. Why?”
Sun Yunjuan clapped her hands in fake delight. “Oh, no reason! I’m just so happy for you.”
Xu Ying barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If she hadn’t seen right through this woman’s calculations, she might’ve believed the act.
“Thanks,” she said coolly, already tired of the performance.
Dong Wenzhong suddenly lit up, face shifting again like a palette of mixed emotions. “Xu Ying, you’re really going to work at a state-owned hotel? Then—can you help me get a job too?”
Xu Ying almost choked on the sour plum she’d popped into her mouth. She stared at him in disbelief. “What did you say?”
Dong Wenzhong, undeterred, repeated shamelessly, “Can you get me a job too?”
Xu Ying let out a cold laugh. “Wow. You really have no shame, do you? You think jobs fall from the sky just because you open your mouth?”
“What, and how did you get a job then?” he sneered, unwilling to accept her dismissal.
“With my excellent cooking skills, thank you very much.” She wasn’t even interested in entertaining his idiocy any longer.
“Tch, bragging again,” Dong Wenzhong muttered under his breath.
Xu Ying didn’t even dignify that with a response. She turned to Huo Chen with a small nod, silently asking him to keep walking with her.
He obliged, and the two resumed their way, leaving Dong Wenzhong behind—at least for a moment.
But the man was relentless. He chased after them, shamelessly pleading, “Xu Ying, come on, just help me out. I’ll earn money and spend it all on you!”
Xu Ying glanced at him, her tone as cold as steel. “Sorry. I can’t even find one for myself, much less for someone else.”
Why would she give such a hard-earned opportunity to an outsider like him? If she ever did get another opening, it’d go to her own family, not some mooch who used to string her along.
Her patience finally snapped. If Huo Chen hadn’t been there, she might’ve slapped Dong Wenzhong then and there.
Instead, she brushed him off and stormed into the yard.
Huo Chen didn’t leave until he saw her safely inside. Then, he turned back. His gaze landed on Dong Wenzhong, still loitering in the distance.
His eyes went dark.
The next morning, as Xu Ying sat down to breakfast, she heard the latest gossip.
“Dong Wenzhong got beaten up last night.”
A grin bloomed across her face. “Serves him right!”
Xu’s mother chuckled as well. “He deserved it, that lazy bum. I’ve never seen a man so thick-skinned in my life. Doesn’t want to work, just wants to freeload. Do you know he fainted in the fields again yesterday? His bones are even more delicate than Comrade Chen ”
Xu Ying laughed so hard she nearly choked on her porridge.
Later that day, Xu’s eldest daughter-in-law walked up to her, speaking timidly, “Little sister, can I borrow your bicycle?”
Xu Ying waved her hand generously. “Go ahead. We’re all family. No need to be so polite. You didn’t hesitate to give me your dowry cabinet back then either, remember?”
Xu’s mother, ready to scold her, paused mid-breath. When she heard her daughter’s sharp retort, she deflated like a punctured balloon.
She turned to the eldest daughter-in-law. “Didn’t you hear what your little sister said? Take the bike. And remember how good she’s been to you.”
The sister-in-law nodded quickly and began preparing to visit her parents’ home, taking little Shitou and Huzi with her. “Mom, I’ll be back this afternoon. Won’t delay little sister’s work tomorrow.”
Xu’s mother nodded, then thought of the leftover wild boar meat at home. It was getting old and tough.
Yesterday, Xu Ying had cooked for the Huo family, and Huo Chen had gifted them two hares and a pheasant in return. Feeling generous, Xu’s mother declared, “You can’t go empty-handed. Take a pound or two of that wild boar meat to your parents’ place.”
The eldest daughter-in-law’s eyes reddened. “Mom, there’s no need. Little sister already gave me some fabric. My brother’s getting married—I’ll take the red cloth to him.”
Xu’s mother scolded, “When I tell you to take it, take it! Enough with the talking.”
Quickly, she ran inside to pack up the meat.
Shitou climbed into the cart and looked at Xu Ying with puppy eyes. “Auntie , I’ll be back soon. Don’t miss me too much!”
“Miss, miss Hu too!” Huzi piped up.
Xu Ying burst into laughter. “Alright, come back early. Don’t forget your Auntie !”
The two boys nodded seriously.
As they rode off, Xu’s mother shook her head, mumbling to herself, “Daughter, I know you’ve got money. But you can’t be throwing it around like this. That red fabric you bought—it’s rare. And you just gave it away. If they don’t appreciate you, I’ll flay them myself.”
“Mom, you don’t know my sister-in-law like I do. She’ll treat me better now. That’s the kind of person she is.”
Indeed, her sister-in-law was someone who responded to kindness with kindness. But in this world, being too kind often meant getting bullied.
Xu Ying’s gaze turned cold as her thoughts drifted to her past life—when her sister-in-law had been trampled by ungrateful relatives.
Her hand clenched into a fist.
Don’t worry… We’ll deal with them. One by one.
Sister-in-law . Xu rode her bicycle back with her two sons. Shitou was very excited as he sat in the cart