Chapter 55

Chapter 55

"The more I listen to Auntie, the more I believe Chen Zeshu and his family are taking advantage of you."

Hong Su was about to object, but Jiang Yiwei stopped her. "Hong Su, why don’t you hear me out first? Think carefully about every word I say."

She knew Hong Su didn’t want to believe them, assuming they were prejudiced against Chen Zeshu, but she also knew what she said was true.

"Wasn't it Chen Zeshu who asked you to be his girlfriend?"

"And after you started working, didn’t you spend most of your salary every month on Chen Zeshu and his family?"

Hong Su’s eyes widened in shock. She had never told Jiang Yiwei these things—how could she know?

If not for He Xiaofeng holding her back, Hong Su’s mother would’ve slapped her then and there. To think she spent most of her hard-earned money on Chen Zeshu’s family! No wonder Chen Zeshu’s mom treated her with such contempt.

Groveling like that—how could they ever respect you?

"Wasn’t it Chen Zeshu who suggested taking the college entrance exam? Wasn’t it him who insisted on choosing science and engineering? You grew up together, went to the same school, the same class—he knew your academic abilities. Knowing full well you weren’t suited for science and engineering, he still pressured you into it. Was that really for your own good?"

You were childhood sweethearts, in a relationship—yet knowing you struggled with science and engineering, he still made you choose it. Did he even care about you at all?

"And wasn’t it Chen Zeshu who proposed studying together? Yet during all those study dates, he never actually helped you. Now that you've failed the exam, he got exactly what he wanted."

The outcome was clear.

"He didn’t want you to get into college."

Chen Zeshu’s aim was for Hong Su to fail. And now that she had, his scheme worked.

"What good does it do him if I didn’t get in?" Failing the exam brought no benefit to Chen Zeshu.

Jiang Yiwei glanced at her knowingly. "Oh, it absolutely does."

"If you don’t get in, you’ll keep working. You’ll have a steady income every month. Chen Zeshu knows your personality inside out—or rather, he has you twisted around his little finger. He tells you to go east, and you wouldn’t dare go west."

Chen Zeshu had Hong Su completely under his thumb, which was why he dared to manipulate her like this.

"If Chen Zeshu plays the victim and complains about how hard his studies are, your soft heart can’t bear to see him struggle. You’ll hand over your money to him, and he won’t have to ask his family for a single cent. After all, there’s someone foolish enough to give it to him."

With Hong Su’s easily manipulated nature, all Chen Zeshu had to do was whine, and she’d dutifully fork over her hard-earned cash.

Hong Su’s face paled, her lips quivering as she stubbornly refused to believe Jiang Yiwei’s words.

Jiang Yiwei looked at her. "And besides funding him, if you don’t get into college, he won’t let you visit his campus. That way, at his university, he can play the field. If he manages to snag someone from a wealthy, influential family—do you really think he’d still want you?"

Chen Zeshu was clearly a gold-digging user.

The kind of man who sucks women dry.

Just the thought of such a man made Jiang Yiwei's skin crawl.

"No, Zeshu isn’t like that. You’ve misunderstood him."

Hong Su still refused to believe Chen Zeshu had been manipulating her.

She was convinced they were biased against him, unwilling to accept that he had been using her all along.

Hearing this, Hong Su’s mother massaged her temples in exasperation. Where did she go wrong raising this girl?

He's openly taking advantage of her, yet she still stubbornly refuses to believe it.

"Come on Hong Su, you know damn well how Chen Zeshu treats you. It's just that you like him so much, you subconsciously refuse to accept that he's manipulating you."

In truth, Hong Su understands Chen Zeshu better than anyone. But because she's so infatuated with him, she chooses not to see and refuses to acknowledge that he's scheming against her—that he's a complete scumbag.

"Hong Su, I've laid it all out for you. Think it over carefully!"

Whether it's her words or her mother's, Hong Su has heard them all. She's just having trouble accepting it right now.

Jiang Yiwei gets where Hong Su is coming from.

"There are plenty of fish in the sea. Once you meet a few more men, you'll realize what a loser Chen Zeshu really is."

She's just seen too little of what's out there.

If she broadens her horizons, she’ll see just how awful what a dirtbag Chen Zeshu really is.

"What about you? If you retake the gaokao this year, don't rely on Chen Zeshu for review. Study on your own or attend a prep class. Even if you don’t get into university, you could at least get into a vocational school!"

"And even if you don’t take the exam, you’re a permanent employee at the textile factory with a decent monthly salary."

"You're also good-looking, and your family’s circumstances aren't bad. Why worry about finding a better partner?"

Hong Su has a lot going for her—she could definitely find someone far better than Chen Zeshu.

After Jiang Yiwei's long speech, Hong's mother and He Xiaofeng nodded vigorously in agreement.

With Hong Su's qualities, why would she worry about finding someone better than Chen Zeshu?

Hong Su turned deathly pale, frozen in shock, as if her soul had departed from her body. Whether Jiang Yiwei's words could bring her back to reality and restore her senses remained uncertain.

With nothing more to say, Jiang Yiwei decided it was time to leave—giving Hong Su space to reflect.

"Mother-in-law, Xiao Feng and I should be heading back now."

Mrs. Hong hesitated, as though she wanted to say something, before finally saying, "Let me walk you out."

She accompanied Jiang Yiwei and the others to the door.

Jiang Yiwei and He Xiaofeng made their way back along the same path. At that moment, a light snow began to fall, shimmering beautifully in the glow of the streetlights.

"Yiwei, do you think Hong Su will take our words to heart?"

Reflecting on how completely Hong Su refused to believe that Chen Zeshu was manipulating her, He Xiaofeng felt a mix of anger and pity.

She had given her heart only to face betrayal in return.

If she were Hong Su, she wouldn’t want to believe the person she loved was deceiving her either.

Yiwei’s words were harsh, but undeniably true.

"I'm not sure. I can only hope Hong Su regains her clarity."

Jiang Yiwei wasn't certain whether Hong Su had truly heard her. All she could hope was that Hong Su would finally see clearly—recognize Chen Zeshu for who he really is, and understand that he is not the right man for her.

"Hong Su has always been so level-headed and perceptive. How could she lose all sense of judgment when it comes to Chen Zeshu?"

He Xiaofeng really couldn’t wrap her head around it—Hong Su, who loved Chen Zeshu, was nothing like the Hong Su she knew.

"Exactly, completely changed, turned into an idiot."

Love is blind.

Love clouds your vision easily, and Hong Su loved Chen Zeshu so deeply that she refused to see his bad side.

"I hope Hong Su can see through that jerk Chen Zeshu’s true colors soon."

He Xiaofeng hoped Hong Su would finally see through Chen Zeshu’s real nature, not fall for his tricks, and not end up completely broken.

When they reached the bus stop, Jiang Yiwei’s bus hadn’t come yet, but Jiang Yiwei shooed her away.

At first, He Xiaofeng wanted to wait with Jiang Yiwei, but Jiang Yiwei insisted she leave, so He Xiaofeng left.

The moment He Xiaofeng walked away, the bus arrived.

The night bus was pretty empty, and there happened to be a seat free, so Jiang Yiwei sat down.

Leaning against the window, watching the snowflakes outside, Jiang Yiwei felt a little down.

On her day off work, Jiang Yiwei didn’t wake up as early as usual because she’d mostly wrapped up her work.

The finished clothes were picked up one by one—only Zhou Jieni hadn’t picked hers up yet. But Jiang Yiwei wasn’t worried since she had already received half the payment.

So, for once, Jiang Yiwei could burrow under the blankets on this cold winter morning.

But suddenly, the yard erupted in noise.

"Third brother!"

"Xue Yu, my son! You’re back!"

Xu Qi’s wailing dragged Jiang Yiwei out of bed.

Jiang Yiwei’s face twisted with resentment—her one shot at sleeping in was gone.

No way she could sleep with that racket outside, even if she tried.

She had no choice but to get up. When she stepped into the living room, she saw Jiang Yuexin and Jiang Weilin craning their necks by the door crack, trying to peek outside.

Jiang Yiwei edged closer, but Jiang Yuexin gave her a dirty look. "Back off."

Jiang Yuexin didn’t want to be anywhere near Jiang Yiwei.

"Like I want to? Either open the door more or keep it like this."

Since the gap was small to keep the cold air out, if Jiang Yuexin didn’t want Jiang Yiwei close, she’d have to open the door wider.

Jiang Yuexin widened the opening, so naturally, Jiang Yiwei wouldn’t have to stand close anymore.

Jiang Yuexin had always sneered at Jiang Yiwei—she’d rather freeze than stand next to her, so she really did push the door wider.

Jiang Weilin, stuck between them, suddenly felt the cold air hit his face. He yanked his scarf over his face and shot Jiang Yuexin a glare.

When Jiang Yiwei stepped outside, she bundled her scarf around her face, shielding herself from the chill.

Jiang Yuexin, however, wasn’t wearing a scarf and just had to tough out the cold.

Jiang Xueyu.

Jiang Yiwei arched her brows, still two or three steps away from Jiang Xueyu, when she noticed a woman in a red floral-patterned quilted jacket with a thick black braid, cradling a tightly wrapped baby. Her eyes flicked to the assortment of bags at their feet.

"Xue Yu skipped last year, but he’s back for New Year’s this time," Jiang Weilin assumed Jiang Xueyu had returned for the holiday.

But Jiang Yiwei shot back, "What if he’s not?"

Other educated youth might’ve come back for the holiday, but Jiang Xueyu? Doubt it.

"Isn’t Xue Yu an educated youth? Plenty come back to the city for New Year’s, like Sister Li Ling did last time."

Since Jiang Xueyu was an educated youth, Jiang Weilin naturally assumed he’d come back for the festival.

"We’ll know soon enough either way." Whether Jiang Xueyu was there for the New Year or something else would become clear soon.

A sly glint flashed in Jiang Yiwei’s eyes.

She’d nearly forgotten Jiang Xueyu even existed.

The Jiangs were pretty lucky overall—despite having many kids, hardly any got shipped off to the countryside as educated youth. Apart from Jiang Liling, only Jiang Xueyu got sent down. No one else got sent away.

Jiang Xueyu had been sent down in ’75, but he’d never come back since and rarely wrote to Jiang Erjie and the others.

His silence and absence boiled down to pure resentment toward Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi.

Jiang Erjie worked in logistics at a Beijing hospital, while Xu Qi was a nurse—that’s how they ended up together.

Jiang Xuehua was Jiang Erjie’s eldest son. Dead set against sending him to the countryside, Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi had pulled strings early on. He landed a job at an aluminum factory and was said to be a team leader by now.

Same with Jiang Xueqi—he got a factory job just as fast.

Jiang Xueyu was the odd one out.

It wasn’t like Jiang Erjie hadn’t tried to do the same for him. But someone had ratted him out for taking bribes, and Jiang Erjie had to pull out all the stops to clear his name. He couldn’t risk pulling strings for Jiang Xueyu too.

Then came a fresh mobilization drive. With the clock ticking, Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi feared drawing suspicion if they tried to find Jiang Xueyu work. They had no choice but to send him down instead.

Jiang Xueyu never saw himself ending up as an educated youth. He figured he’d stay in the city like his brothers and get a factory job.

When he found out he was being sent to the countryside, he begged Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi to find him a way to stay.

But neither could help. It wasn’t safe to do anything then. The couple tried to comfort him, promising they’d find a way to bring him back later and that they’d send money every month.

He never expected them to say no.

They were all their sons—why did his older brothers get to stay, while he had to go?

From that moment on, he carried a deep bitterness.

Life in the brigade was brutal, backbreaking work day after day. Every setback just stoked his anger more.

No amount of care packages could chip away at Jiang Xueyu’s grudge.

He didn’t even come back for New Year every year.

He never even wrote home about getting married or having kids in the brigade.

Occasionally, he’d send a short letter.

Jiang Xueyu wasn’t a fool—he knew if he didn’t write at all, his parents wouldn’t send him money.

Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi, along with Jiang Xuehua and Jiang Xueqi, all had jobs, so they sent Jiang Xueyu thirty bucks and ration coupons each time.

Since they couldn’t get Jiang Xueyu back to the city, Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi felt guilty. They hoped sending more money would mean less suffering for him.

No one knew who Jiang Erjie had pissed off, but every year someone reported him for taking bribes.

To avoid leaving any evidence, Jiang Erjie didn’t dare accept gifts from anyone, nor could he pull strings to get jobs for Jiang Xueyu or Jiang Ningning. That’s why Jiang Ningning schemed to pawn off the countryside duty on Jiang Liling.

“Third Brother, who are they?” Jiang Honghong tilted her head, looking at the woman standing behind Jiang Xueyu.

When Jiang Ningning saw the woman behind Jiang Xueyu, her gaze darkened.

Her third brother was such a total idiot—should’ve just come back alone. Why bring Huang Cuizhu?

“Xueyu, who is she?”

Xu Qi looked at the woman and the child in her arms—both brought by Jiang Xueyu—and a sinking feeling hit her.

“Cuizhu, come meet Mom,” Jiang Xueyu waved them over, signaling for Huang Cuizhu to come greet Xu Qi.

Huang Cuizhu, who had been expressionless the whole time, walked up beside Jiang Xueyu and said to a shell-shocked Xu Qi:

“Mom, I’m Cuizhu, Xueyu’s wife.

The child in my arms is your granddaughter, Jiang Ying. She’s just over a year old.”

Each sentence hit like a grenade, stunning everyone speechless.

Xu Qi passed out cold.

“Mom!”

Everyone scrambled, shouting as they carried Xu Qi back to her room.

Jiang Yuexin and Jiang Weilin looked like they’d seen a ghost, unable to recover for a long time.

Jiang Xueyu got married in the countryside—but didn’t say a word? Now he suddenly shows up with a wife and daughter? A total bombshell.

Jiang Yiwei had been keeping an eye on the drama outside the whole time.

Seeing Xu Qi faint, Huang Cuizhu didn’t bat an eye. Calmly picking up a bag and holding the child, she followed them inside.

No wonder she could make Jiang Ningning’s life hell.

With Huang Cuizhu and Jiang Liling around, and nothing tying her to Qu Zhenxin anymore, Jiang Ningning probably wouldn’t focus on her.

Compared to Jiang Liling, Jiang Yiwei couldn’t stand Jiang Ningning.

Because sometimes, the way Jiang Ningning looked at her was calculating—it was impossible to know when she’d stab you in the back.

Jiang Liling, on the other hand, paid back favors and settled scores—if you left her alone, she’d stay out of your way.

A venomous snake that could strike at any moment, a tiger nursing hatred and bent on revenge—the tigers can’t hide, but snakes stay hidden.

Jiang Yiwei tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear and turned to go back to her room.

That evening, while Jiang Yiwei and the others were eating, Jiang Ningning suddenly came over and told them to go to Granny Hu’s house after finishing their meal—Granny Hu wanted to talk.

“Ning Ning, go back and tell your grandma we’ll come after we finish eating and cleaning up.”

“Alright, I’ll go back now, Third Uncle.”

As Jiang Ningning left, her gaze swept across everyone before lingering on Jiang Yiwei for a few seconds.

After she was gone, Jiang Sanjie lost his appetite and set down his chopsticks.

Every time Granny Hu summoned everyone to her room, it never meant good news.

Jiang Sanjie rubbed the bridge of his nose. He’d only just gotten back today.

He knew Jiang Xueyu had returned—and brought his wife and daughter with him.

Truthfully, Jiang Sanjie had been quite happy when Jiang Xueyu was admitted to technical school. But now, the biggest issue was that Jiang Xueyu had married a village girl and had a child there.

Given his mother’s temperament and Second Aunt’s usual way of doing things, they would definitely disapprove.

“Sanjie, maybe we shouldn’t go. This is their problem—it has nothing to do with us.”

“Nothing we say will help.”

Jiang Xueyu had married a country wife; whatever happened next was for Jiang Erjie and Xu Qi, as his parents, to handle. Why should they get involved? Even if they went, what could they possibly say?

It’s a lose-lose situation—they might even end up offending someone.

“Mom’s got a point, Dad,” Huang Manjun also felt it best not to get involved.

“You know how Grandma is. If I tell her we’re staying out of this, she’ll march over and chew us all out.”

After all, Jiang Sanjie was Granny Hu’s own son, and he knew his mother well.

Since Granny Hu had called them over, if they told her they weren’t getting involved, she wouldn’t let them off easily.

“Why not go? It’ll be a show worth watching,” Jiang Yuexin wanted to see the spectacle.

Such an entertaining scene involving Jiang Ningning’s family—Jiang Yuexin didn’t want to miss it.

Rare for her, Jiang Yiwei inwardly agreed with Jiang Yuexin. She also wanted to see what would happen.

“Dad, Mom, you’re Grandma’s youngest son and daughter-in-law. With Uncle and Aunt above you, just keep your heads down and mouths shut.”

In the end, this was none of their business. As Zhang Cuifen said, anything they said would only make it worse.

But don’t forget—Jiang Sanjie was the third son. His two older brothers would speak first if needed.

Jiang Sanjie hesitated for a while before picking up his chopsticks again.

“When you go over later, keep quiet and just listen.”

They were all juniors. The adults could barely handle Jiang Xueyu and Huang Cuizhu’s situation—it was better if the younger ones stayed silent.

Jiang Yiwei and the others nodded along.

After finishing the meal and tidying up the house, everyone except Jiang Weilin and Jiang Xiaohua went to Granny Hu’s place.

“This is so unfair! Why do *we* have to stay behind?” Jiang Weilin felt it was utterly unjust.

He had been excited to go along, but Jiang Sanjie told him he was too young and made him stay put to look after Jiang Xiaohua, without even asking if he agreed.

Jiang Xiaohua, being young herself, wasn’t interested in the adults’ business and just wanted to play with Jiang Weilin.

Jiang Honghong also got stuck at home—same excuse: being too young, she had to stay behind and watch the kids.

That made her furious—she let out a string of curses.

Looking at her five-year-old nephew, Jiang Honghong pulled out two candies to lure him into watching his younger siblings. With candy on offer, he naturally agreed.

So Jiang Honghong slipped away to spy outside Granny Hu’s room.

Granny Hu’s house was usually only bustling around New Year’s.

But today, it was dead silent—you could hear everyone breathing.

Jiang Yiwei sat on a long bench, scanning the room and reading faces.

Except for Granny Hu, Jiang Erjie, and Xu Qi—who looked grim—the rest seemed fine, some even showing hints of excitement.

Huang Cuizhu and Jiang Xueyu pretended not to notice the tension and focused on comforting Jiang Ying. The little girl sensed the hostility and clung tightly to Huang Cuizhu.

Her eyes glistened with tears, filled with fear.

Suddenly, Jiang Ying met a pair of eyes—warm and kind, offering comfort. The kindness in them calmed her a little.

Children are emotionally sensitive, and surrounded by such hostility, Jiang Ying naturally felt scared.

In the novel, apart from Jiang Honghong, Jiang Erjie, Xu Qi, Jiang Ningning, and even brothers Jiang Xuehua and Jiang Xueqi all dislike the mother and daughter. When Huang Cuizhu and Jiang Xueyu aren’t around, their children often bully Jiang Ying.