"Alright!" Su Shuochi reluctantly put down the receiver and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Mom, Jiaojiao is on the line for you."

"Eldest Brother, let me go first! Sister-in-law, thank you for the down jacket and the leather boots. I really, really love them..."

Su Qinchun was already standing right by the phone, so she immediately launched into a torrent of words.

"Chun Ni, your sister-in-law has to go to school for class soon, so don’t talk for too long."

Gu Jiaojiao was home alone, so she had the phone on speaker. While applying hand cream, she listened to the members of the Su family all trying to talk at once.

A burst of noise came from the other end of the line, followed by a man’s voice. "Divine Doctor Jiao Jiao, this is Song Zijie. Xiao Wu’s down jacket looks great. I want to buy one, too."

"Song Zijie, don’t you worry. You’ll definitely be wearing a down jacket you love before the New Year."

"Heh heh, well, I’d also like to buy a pair of the fur-lined leather boots like Uncle Su’s. Is that possible?"

"Of course. Just give your size to Shu Ci, and we’ll bring them back for you over the New Year holiday."

Gu Jiaojiao readily agreed. As for leather boots, she still had more in her dimensional space.

’And I was just looking to turn them into cash!’

"Jiaojiao, thank you from your third brother. The down jacket you bought me fits perfectly, and I love it."

"I’m glad you like it. How have you been lately?"

"I’ve been doing great. But Yueyue’s been stirring up trouble again. She shamelessly wedged herself into He Aiguo and Dong Yuanyuan’s marriage."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jiaojiao desperately wanted to burst out laughing, but she knew there were a lot of people crowded around the phone on the other end.

Sure enough, Su’s mother’s voice came through the line. "Xiao Wu, why are you bothering Jiaojiao with such unpleasant topics first thing in the morning?"

"Jiaojiao, have you had breakfast? It’s getting late now, you should go eat. And Mom thanks you for the gifts."

"Mom, you’re too kind. As long as you and Dad like them, that’s all that matters. It’s what a daughter-in-law should do. And please, don’t be afraid to wear them out! I’ll buy you more for the New Year."

"Haha... Thank you, Jiaojiao. I love the clothes and boots. In fact, I’m going to wear them today."

"That’s the spirit! I bought them for you to stay warm right now, so please don’t save them for a special occasion."

Gu Jiaojiao still needed to eat breakfast before heading to school, so after exchanging a few more quick words with Mr. Su and Su’s mother, she hung up.

She was in a wonderful mood today, and it wasn’t because the down jackets and boots hadn’t cost her a penny.

Rather, it was their genuine, heartfelt happiness upon receiving the gifts that put her in such a great mood.

In her past life, she had traveled the world and would always pick out expensive gifts to bring home for her father, stepmother, and step-siblings, but their reactions were always lukewarm at best.

Gu Jiaojiao contentedly sipped her yam and millet porridge, which she had set to simmer on the stove before she made the call.

By the time she hung up, it was ready to eat. The thought that she would get to talk to Su Shuochi on the phone again that evening made her mood soar.

Back at the Su family’s home, Su Shuochi heard his wife hang up the phone. He turned to wash up and get ready for bed.

"I’m going to bed. Song Zijie, come pick me up at three this afternoon. We’re going to the factory in the suburbs."

"You got it. I’m going to head home and catch a bit more sleep myself. I’ll swing by the factory around noon and then come get you this afternoon."

"Then I’m off to school for class. I’ll catch up with you guys later, don’t worry," Sheng Shiwu said, full of vigor.

Going a few hours without sleep was nothing to him.

Su Qinchun headed to school for her classes, while Mr. Su and Su’s mother went to continue selling liangpi at their stall.

They had to sell all the liangpi they had prepared for the day so it wouldn’t go to waste. They weren’t planning on setting up their stall that evening.

Su Shuochi slept straight through until two in the afternoon. His parents weren’t home yet, but fortunately, he knew how to cook for himself.

He went into the courtyard to pick some cabbage and green onions, washed them by the hand-pump well, and was about to head inside to cook something tasty.

He sharply sensed a feverish, searing gaze fixed on him. Without even looking up, he knew who it was.

He hurried inside, bolted the living room door behind him, and went to the kitchen. Having lost his appetite for cooking anything special, he just threw together a simple bowl of noodles. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Su Shuochi had guessed right. The searing gaze from a moment ago belonged to their next-door neighbor, Zhou Mei.

She never would have dreamed that the man she had secretly harbored a crush on for so long could now walk with such ease.

He looked more handsome now than ever before, his smooth, fair face defined by cold, sharp features.

His thick brows swept up in a rebellious arch over long, slightly curled lashes. Beneath them, his dark, deep, icy eyes held a look that was wild, untamed, and sensually wicked.

And her?

She, who should have been full-figured, had grown haggard and gaunt since her marriage. Years of exposure to the elements had left her face dark, thin, and covered in wrinkles.

She wasn’t even thirty, yet she looked so old, her face as withered and rough as an old loofah sponge.

Frail and sickly, she was like a withered lotus in an autumn pond. Compared to him, they were worlds apart—one in the heavens, the other on the ground.

Her heart, long since dead, stirred back to life the moment she saw him, and she stared at him with a feverish intensity.

’Too bad he didn’t see me just now. He even locked the door!’

Zhou Mei was torn. Should she go see him? The thought of not seeing him left her feeling unreconciled, but the thought of seeing him made her feel deeply ashamed of her own appearance.

A few days ago, she had gotten into a fight with her husband—or rather, he had beaten her so badly she ended up in the hospital. Only then did her mother finally bring her back to her parents’ home to stay.

’Of course, this is what my mother owes me,’ she thought. ’If she hadn’t forced me to marry that truck driver, how could I have fallen so low?’

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to live a peaceful life; it was that her husband was constantly having affairs, and her wicked mother-in-law insisted on blaming her for it.

They said she was useless, unable to keep her man in line. She was only twenty-four years old and had a respectable job, yet her husband and mother-in-law had tormented her until she was a shadow of her former self.

’I refuse to accept this! Why should I take the blame for his mistakes?’

She couldn’t stand it anymore. She decided to get revenge by living at her work unit under the guise of "furthering her studies," refusing to go home.

’Let them see what it feels like to be buried in housework every day, on top of being constantly berated!’

She was actually happy living at her workplace, but her wicked mother-in-law was miserable. The laundry alone for their large family was overwhelming.

Her mother-in-law goaded her son into coming to her workplace to drag her home. At that point, Zhou Mei snapped. Even after being forced back, she refused to do any housework.

Her wicked mother-in-law was a real piece of work, spreading rumors everywhere that Zhou Mei was shameless, that her heart had gone wild, and that she was neglecting all her household duties.

She seethed with hatred. ’How am I the shameless one?’

’It’s clearly my husband who’s chasing after other women, but that wretched old hag, that wicked mother-in-law of mine, dares to slander me!’

So, her mother-in-law once again goaded her son into beating her. She could only fight back with all her strength, but the result was being beaten so badly she ended up in the hospital.

The whole affair ended with her losing her job—something she’d never imagined could happen. But the most tragic part was that her own mother chewed her out for it.

Back then, all she did was fall in love with a good man and want to marry him.

’What did I do wrong?!’

And for that, her parents had hastily married her off.

Fine, marry me off. But why did it have to be to a scoundrel like that? She’d never known any real hardship growing up, only to be married to a man like him.

She hated it, she hated it so much. She felt the world was terribly unfair to her. Why did she have to live such a miserable life? Why?!

She couldn’t understand why the heavens treated her so cruelly.