RIRW – Chapter 97

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After leaving the coal yard, Zuo Dan put the matter of Wei Jingren aside. Whether this would lead to Wei Jingren and Shao Aijun breaking up was none of her concern. That was just the kind of person she was—if no one provoked her, everything was fine; but if someone did, she would return the favor with interest.

Since Wei Jingren had tried to irk her, she would irk her back, twice as hard. But dealing with such people? She wouldn’t bother handling it herself—what a waste of effort. Besides, if she confronted Wei Jingren in person, that woman would probably take it as a compliment, feeling smug about being noticed. That was not how Zuo Dan operated.

To deal with people like that, you had to find their weak spot.

Take Xu Fengxia, for example—she relied on Grandma Zuo, so Zuo Dan turned them against each other. Or Du Juan—Zuo Dan went straight to her biological children and made them fight her instead.

The facts spoke for themselves—this method was time-saving, effortless, and twice as effective. Sometimes, it even provided a bit of amusement.

Now, dealing with Wei Jingren, she would naturally use the same strategy. Wei Jingren’s only backing was the Shao family, so Zuo Dan decided to have them give her trouble. Let’s see if she would still have the energy to bother others then.

After Zuo Dan left, Shao Aijun’s mother, Madam Shao, was restless, fearing that Zuo Dan might come back, find out who she was, and cause trouble for her.

Not that Madam Shao was afraid of trouble—at her age, who was there to fear? If a fight broke out, she would be more than happy to play along.

But the things Zuo Dan had said were utterly disgraceful. Just as Zuo Dan pointed out, even if a dispute arose, the only ones humiliated would be the Shao family.

If word got out that her son, Shao Aijun, had chosen an unfaithful woman who flirted with other men, and that another young lady had come knocking to confront them—it would be mortifying.

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt. Finally, she locked the door and headed to the coal yard’s union office to find her son.

This had to be resolved—if someone really came to make a scene, there would be no salvaging the situation.

She had three sons. The older two worked in the mines—hard laborers. Only Shao Aijun had more education, and he was her favorite. She wouldn’t allow her precious son to be humiliated like this.

When she arrived at the office, Shao Aijun was busy. Seeing his mother, he quickly stepped out.

“Mom, I’m working. Can’t this wait until I get home? If people see you here, they’ll gossip.”

Madam Shao spat in frustration. “Gossip? If I didn’t come, soon the whole coal yard would be gossiping about you!”

Shao Aijun frowned. “Mom, calm down. What’s going on?”

“It’s that woman you’re seeing! She’s a troublemaker, and her whole family is no good. Do you even know what shameful thing she’s done?” Gritting her teeth, Madam Shao recounted everything.

Then, exasperated, she said, “Why on earth did you pick a girl like that?”

Shao Aijun’s face froze. “That—how… how is that possible? Maybe there’s a misunderstanding?”

He couldn’t believe it. Wei Jingren, who was always timid and introverted, doing something so bold? Going to another man’s fiancée to show off? Impossible.

Madam Shao saw that he still didn’t believe her and angrily jabbed his forehead. “Wake up! The girl came here herself and called out her name! How many people share that name? It can’t be a coincidence.”

“What if someone is trying to frame Jingren?” Shao Aijun still hesitated.

He always saw Wei Jingren as someone who endured everything in silence, afraid of trouble. Sometimes, he even got frustrated with her weakness.

Madam Shao nearly spat blood in anger. How could her son be this stupid? He had always been smart—how did he turn into a fool over a woman?

“This is going to be the death of me! Why would a girl come make a scandalous scene if it wasn’t true? She was crying her heart out—eyes and nose all red! Who would go through all that just to frame her? I don’t care, I won’t accept this daughter-in-law! You need to talk to her and break it off. Our Shao family won’t have a woman like that. And tell her to stop causing trouble—otherwise, she’ll drag our whole family down.”

“But, Mom… shouldn’t I at least ask Jingren about it?” Shao Aijun hesitated.

Madam Shao smacked him on the head. “Ask what? She’ll just deny it! I never liked her from the start. Remember Mid-Autumn Festival? She came to our house empty-handed, not even a mooncake! That shows how little she cares about you. If you insist on being with her, don’t call me your mother!”

With that, the old lady stormed off. She had made up her mind—this girl was no good. She wasn’t even a permanent worker, her family was a burden, she was weak and useless, and now, she wasn’t even decent. Why would they want her as a daughter-in-law?

After she left, Shao Aijun went straight to the kitchen to find Wei Jingren.

Although he didn’t fully believe his mother’s words, he also found it hard to dismiss them. If someone had really come to make a scene, there had to be a reason. He needed to hear it from Wei Jingren herself.

When he found her in the cafeteria, she was washing vegetables.

A nearby older woman snapped at her, “Are you washing gold or what? Hurry up! You’re handling each leaf like it’s treasure. I need to cook this now!”

Wei Jingren wiped away her tears while hastily placing the vegetables in the basket. Another worker, unable to stand it any longer, pushed her aside and took over.

“If we wait for you, we won’t eat till next year.”

Shao Aijun saw the scene and walked over to pull Wei Jingren outside.

The others watched them leave but didn’t say anything, only curling their lips slightly. If it weren’t for the fact that Shao Aijun worked at the union and had some minor authority, they wouldn’t have been happy letting Wei Jingren drag them down.

The two of them walked to the big tree behind the cafeteria. Shao Aijun took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears. “Stop crying. If you didn’t do well, then you didn’t do well. What’s there to cry about?”

“I know I’m useless and holding you back, but I really tried. I’ve never done this kind of work before.” Wei Jingren took the handkerchief and wiped her tears, her voice nasal from crying.

Seeing her like this, Shao Aijun felt uncomfortable too. When he first met Wei Jingren, she was a formal employee at a transportation company, working in an office. She dressed beautifully, looking like a refined lady. And back then, she really was—a cadre’s daughter. But now… it was indeed unfair to her.

“Just endure it for now. I’ll talk to Xu Dapeng and see if I can put in a word for you.”

Hearing Shao Aijun mention Xu Dapeng, Wei Jingren’s expression changed slightly. She shook her head. “Forget it. I don’t want to cause trouble for you.”

“What are you talking about? If I don’t care about you, who will?” Shao Aijun said, annoyed, thinking she was too timid.

Then he recalled what his mother had told him earlier. He frowned and asked, “Do you still see me as an outsider? Is that why you’re being so distant?”

Wei Jingren looked up at him. “Why would you think that?”

Shao Aijun hesitated before saying, “My mother just came to see me. She said someone went to our house to stir up trouble—a young woman. She claimed you went to confront her, saying you were interested in her fiancé. She got so mad that she wanted to go to our house and make a scene.”

Wei Jingren’s face changed drastically, turning completely pale.

Seeing her reaction, Shao Aijun’s heart sank. He felt uneasy. “Is what she said true? Did you really go find her and say those things?”

“No, I didn’t! She misunderstood! How could I do something like that?” Wei Jingren shook her head frantically, tears falling again.

“But you did go see her?” Shao Aijun’s face darkened. No matter how much he liked Wei Jingren, he couldn’t tolerate her having feelings for another man and making a fool out of him.

Seeing that he was upset, Wei Jingren cried even harder. “I really didn’t! That person is my younger brother. We may not be related by blood, but in my heart, he is my brother. I just wanted to explain things to them, to make them understand my feelings. I never thought they would misunderstand.”

“What exactly did you say that led to this misunderstanding? If you two are just siblings, how could this kind of misunderstanding happen?” Shao Aijun was getting more and more unhappy.

“My younger brother isn’t my biological brother. He’s my father’s previous wife’s son. When I came to their house, my mother changed my name to match his—his name has the character ‘Ming’ in it, so she changed mine to ‘Jingren.’ His fiancée probably wasn’t happy when she found out.”

“That’s all?” Shao Aijun found it hard to believe.

Wei Jingren nodded frantically. “That’s really all.”

Since the other woman was an outsider, Shao Aijun naturally trusted Wei Jingren more. Though he still had some doubts, he didn’t press further. “Don’t go looking for trouble with them anymore. Otherwise, they’ll come to our house again, and my mom won’t be happy. Also, about your name… I think you should change it. After hearing your explanation, I feel weird calling you that.” Every time he said her name, it reminded him of another man. If they were real siblings, it would be fine, but they weren’t related by blood, which made it uncomfortable.

Wei Jingren hesitated. Remembering the heartless words Shen Yiming had said over the phone, she held back her tears and nodded.

After work, she went home and asked Du Juan for the household registration book, preparing to change her name.

Hearing this sudden request, Du Juan asked in surprise, “Why do you suddenly want to change your name?”

“I just feel like changing it. I only changed it back then to match Yiming’s name anyway.” Wei Jingren forced herself to suppress her emotions.

Hearing Shen Yiming’s name, Du Juan immediately became unhappy. “Why are you bringing him up? Just hearing his name annoys me.”

Wei Jingren couldn’t help but retort, “Then why did you change my name back then? You wanted people to think we were a family, didn’t you? But later, you treated Yiming badly and made him leave home. If he hadn’t left, we would still be a family. He and I were the closest people to each other.”

She often thought that if she had grown up with Yiming, she would have treated him well, saved food for him, and he would have appreciated her, been close to her. But her mother never gave her that chance. When she was still young and unaware, Yiming had already left home.

By the time they met again, Yiming had grown up and resented their family.

Du Juan hadn’t expected her daughter to blame her because of Shen Yiming. Her anger flared. “So now you’re blaming your mother for an outsider? Everything I did was for you! If he had stayed, your father would never have truly accepted you. You would have always been treated like an outsider in this house. But after he left, your life got so much better. You had everything you wanted.”

Wei Jingren cried, “I don’t care! I would rather Yiming had stayed!”

“You’re driving me crazy!” Du Juan was furious, feeling dizzy with rage. She thought she had suffered enough, giving birth to three children who all treated her like an enemy. What had she done all this for?

“Get out! I don’t want to see you!” Du Juan shouted, pointing at the door.

Wei Jingren grabbed the household registration book and left. She didn’t want to see her mother either; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to stop blaming her. She blamed her for ruining her happiness.

If her mother hadn’t forced Yiming to leave, she would be the one standing by his side now. That girl named Zuo Dan wouldn’t have a place in his life.

Zuo Dan was sitting in the yard, eating fruit.

Grandmother was in the kitchen making flatbreads. After hearing yesterday that Dandan and Shen Yiming had gone out for lamb soup with flatbread, she insisted that she could make it better. So she bought some meat and started making the dish herself.

Touched by grandmother’s love, Zuo Dan happily waited outside for the food.

When Shen Yiming returned, she was already halfway through her fruit. He parked the bicycle, walked over, and took a bite of the pear in her hand. “Sweet.”

Zuo Dan pouted. “I just bought those. They’re fresh. There are more inside, why do you have to eat mine?”

“Yours is the sweetest.” Shen Yiming grinned contentedly.

Zuo Dan huffed, annoyed that he was stealing her food. “You little rascal.”

“Yiming, come help in the kitchen!” Grandma’s stern voice came from inside. Shen Yiming’s ears twitched—she sounded a little unhappy.

He whispered, “Is Grandma in a bad mood today?”

Zuo Dan shoved the remaining pear into his mouth, patted her hands, and said, “How could that be? She’s happy! Otherwise, would she go through all this trouble to make us good food?”

“Yiming! Are you coming or not? Stop bothering Dandan and get in here!” Grandma shouted again.

Shen Yiming quickly answered, “Coming, coming!” He hastily finished the pear, tossed the core into the flower bed, and stole a quick kiss from Zuo Dan before rushing into the kitchen.

The moment he stepped inside, Grandma held up a ruler. “It’s been years since I last punished you.”

Shen Yiming: “…”

“I have to teach you a lesson today. Naughty boy, you won’t behave unless I do. Bullying others—if I catch you once, I’ll punish you once.”

Then, she smacked his palm several times, leaving red marks.

“Grandma, what did I do wrong?” Shen Yiming felt wronged. When he was younger, he had done some mischievous things, and he accepted the punishments that came with them. But now, he had been behaving himself and hardly played pranks on anyone.

His grandma snorted, pointed at her neck, then gestured outside. “Who else could have done this if not you? I told you to behave, and yet look at what you’ve done. She’s such a good girl, and you still have the nerve to bully her.”

Shen Yiming’s face turned bright red. He lowered his head and stayed silent, letting his grandma scold him.

Seeing that he was sincerely admitting his mistake, Grandma decided not to hit him anymore. “You’re already at the age to get married. You should have some dignity. If I find out you’re misbehaving again, you’ll go kneel before your mom and grandpa, and I’ll teach you a lesson right in front of them.”

“Yes, Grandma,” Shen Yiming sighed deeply.

Hearing noises from the kitchen, Zuo Dan walked over. Seeing Shen Yiming looking so pitiful, she asked, “Shen Yiming, what did you do this time? How could you make Grandma angry? She’s old now—you should be making her happy. You ungrateful thing, Grandma treats you so well, and yet you still bully her.”

Shen Yiming: “…” Who’s bullying whom here?

Grandma chuckled, “Dandan is the sensible one. It’s nothing, really. He was just being mischievous, so I had to teach him a lesson.”

Hearing that, Zuo Dan grinned. “Grandma, do you need my help? You shouldn’t tire yourself out.” She had been wanting to beat up Shen Yiming for a while now.

“No need, I’ve already disciplined him. Now I’m making him do some chores for me. You go rest—there’ll be good food later.”

She wasn’t about to let Yiming and Dandan be alone together anymore. Young people were full of energy, and things could easily get out of hand. It wasn’t a big deal for the boy, but a girl mustn’t suffer any losses. Even though Yiming was her grandson, she couldn’t allow him to take advantage of a girl. As long as they weren’t married yet, she wouldn’t let Dandan be wronged. And especially since Dandan was such a good girl—she had to protect her even more.

When the food was served, Zuo Dan happily ate while constantly praising Grandma’s cooking.

Shen Yiming, on the other hand, lost his appetite as he watched her chat. From Grandma’s words, it seemed like from now on, he couldn’t get close to Dandan anymore…

The one who smelled the meat could now only eat vegetables… Shen Yiming took a big bite of his flatbread.

That night, to prevent Shen Yiming from doing anything bad, Grandma guarded Zuo Dan’s room like a thief, chatting with her to keep an eye on things. She fought off sleepiness and only returned to her room after hearing Shen Yiming enter his own room and go to bed. Before leaving, she even reminded Zuo Dan to lock her door, saying that there were mice in the house and she mustn’t let them sneak in.

At first, Zuo Dan was puzzled by Grandma’s behavior, but then she slowly realized what was going on.

Grandma was preventing her from being alone with Shen Yiming.

The moment that thought hit her, her face grew hot, and her heart started pounding. She felt incredibly embarrassed. What did Grandma know? Did she hear something? The walls weren’t that thin, were they? Besides, there wasn’t even any noise, right?

Oh no, this was all Shen Yiming’s fault! He had completely embarrassed her. She had lost all face!

Lying in bed, she tossed and turned in frustration. But then she suddenly thought of how Shen Yiming had been scolded today. Her eyes twinkled, and she burst out laughing.

Grandma must have thought Shen Yiming was being dishonest, which was why she punished him.

Hahaha, from now on, Shen Yiming wouldn’t dare misbehave. If anyone was going to be mischievous, it would be her! If Shen Yiming dared to lay a hand on her, he’d get beaten again.

Oh, Grandma was the best! She loved Grandma so much!

Feeling delighted, Zuo Dan hugged her blanket and drifted off to sleep.

In another room, Shen Yiming lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, muttering under his breath, “One Dandan, two Dandans…” Then, hugging his pillow, he imagined it was Zuo Dan.

The next morning, Zuo Dan woke up feeling refreshed. She didn’t feel embarrassed anymore—after all, Shen Yiming had lost more face than she did. He even got beaten! If he could still face people, why should she be shy?

When she stepped out of her room, she saw Shen Yiming already having breakfast.

Seeing her, he greeted her calmly, “Dandan, go wash up and come eat. I took a day off today. Let’s go find some workers to start cleaning up the house.”

“Do you have time? Isn’t it really busy at the end of the year?” Zuo Dan asked as she walked outside.

Shen Yiming took a sip of his porridge and said slowly, “It’s fine. I’ve been going in early these past few days and skipping lunch breaks. I’ve already done all the promotional work. The military district is holding an event, and there are other photographers covering it, so I don’t need to go. I’ll follow up after it’s over.”

After Zuo Dan finished brushing her teeth, Grandma urged her to eat more. Then she turned to Shen Yiming and said, “It’s good to get the house cleaned up early. And you also need to start preparing for the wedding. Getting all the furniture and household items isn’t something that can be done overnight.”

Shen Yiming nodded seriously. “I think so too. We’ll talk about it once the house is ready. Oh, Grandma, I think we should finalize the engagement sooner rather than later. Why don’t we do it before the new year? That way, when Dandan goes back home, she’ll have some company.”

Grandma: “…” This boy really doesn’t let go once he’s set his sights on something.

Zuo Dan rolled her eyes while munching on her flatbread. “Shen Yiming, don’t you think this is too fast?”

“Not at all. The engagement date doesn’t affect our wedding date. We’ve already set it for October 1st. It’s better to handle the engagement early so that after the new year, I can focus on preparing for the wedding. Plus, Song Gang’s parents will be busy after the new year, but they have more free time before it. The timing works out perfectly.” Shen Yiming was completely serious, his tone incredibly sincere.

Zuo Dan didn’t believe a single word, but she had to admit—his reasoning made sense.

Seeing that neither of the women objected, Shen Yiming immediately concluded, “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, I’ll call Uncle Dacheng and confirm everything. Don’t worry, even though it’s short notice, I promise I’ll have everything prepared properly.”

“…” Grandma and Zuo Dan both wanted to smack him.

After breakfast, the two of them went out to find workers to renovate the house.

As Zuo Dan sat on the backseat of the bicycle, Grandma reminded her, “If Shen Yiming misbehaves, come back and tell me.”

Zuo Dan happily agreed and waved goodbye to Grandma.

Once they left the alley and got onto the main road, Zuo Dan started misbehaving instead. Every now and then, she would poke Shen Yiming’s waist or scratch his back.

She even teased, “Comrade Yiming, you better not bully me, or I’ll tell Grandma.”

Shen Yiming remained calm, eyes fixed ahead, and pedaled forcefully. The only thought running through his mind: A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years.