Li Chuxia was telling the truth; in both her lives, she had never seen Qin Yang.
In her previous life, the relationship between Lin Jiayi and Qin Yang was bad. They hadn’t even met when Lin Jiayi returned to her parental home after the wedding, and since Qin Yang worked out of town, there was no chance for her to see him.
After the Li Family’s business thrived, her mother-in-law didn’t want her to have contact with those vampires from her parental home. She only sent money home, seeing her family even less frequently throughout the year.
Later on, Lin Jiayi divorced Qin Yang, and Li Chuxia had never met that brother-in-law of hers until she died.
All she had heard was that this man was cold in temperament, lacked human warmth, and was a complete workaholic. He would even neglect coming home for his job.
Seeing that Li Chuxia appeared not to be lying, Sun Lanlan felt relieved and said, “Working is also good, you get rationed grain, a salary every month. Many people dream of marrying someone with a job.”
Li Chuxia glanced sideward, a twinkle in her eyes, and teasingly responded, “Then you should strive to find someone with a job, too.”
Right now, she couldn’t change much, but she could plant a seed, hoping that her good friend wouldn’t get involved with that scumbag in this lifetime.
Sun Lanlan’s face flushed, “Ah, we’re talking about you here, why bring me into this?”
Seeing that Li Chuxia truly didn’t seem troubled, Sun Lanlan felt reassured and unwrapped the paper package she brought.
“This is my wedding gift for you. Considering your sister is around, your mother probably won’t prepare much for your dowry. Keep this cloth and make some clothes out of it.”
It was a piece of red plaid cloth, about four or five yards, just enough to make a coat.
Li Chuxia’s heart warmed.
Today, her mother and Lin Jiayi went to the city to shop for wedding supplies, leaving her to watch the house. Li Chuxia knew clearly that they were shopping for Lin Jiayi.
It was the same in her previous life. The Li Family had provided a bride price of three hundred yuan, not having the money to give more. Besides eighty yuan from the Qin Family, they also gave a piece of cloth.
Her mother talked about matching social status; what attitude the in-laws showed equaled what attitude the parents showed. They bought Lin Jiayi two new outfits, and even the cloth from Sun Lanlan was taken to maintain appearances for Lin Jiayi.
Fingertips gently brushing over the fabric, “Thank you, Lanlan, having a friend like you is my good fortune.”
“What is there to be polite about,” Sun Lanlan nonchalantly waved her hand, “If Qin Yang ever bullies you, just tell me. But he’s not home to bully you anyway. It’s Li Guangyuan, with his strong and rough stature, I really can’t beat him if he bullies you. It’s good that you don’t have to marry him.”
She finished speaking and laughed heartily on her own.
Li Chuxia laughed along with her.
Li Guangyuan did indeed have violent tendencies. At the beginning of their marriage, he seemed quite honest due to her competence. But, as the business grew, he developed a sense of superiority, found women outside, and began to reveal his true nature.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t divorce him at the time; it was just that all the business was registered in Li Guangyuan’s name. If she divorced, she would have to give up a large part of her estate.
All of that was achieved through her hard scheming, and she was unwilling to let it go easily, so she enrolled in a Sanda (Chinese boxing) class.
Domestic violence, was it? She would see who was more formidable, until she beat the man so bad he never dared to lay a hand on her again, even avoiding her upon sight.
Li Chuxia was someone who was ruthless to others but even more so to herself.
After Sun Lanlan left, Lin Chuxia picked up the scissors and began cutting the fabric. She was slimmer and taller than Lin Jiayi, so for many years she could wear Lin Jiayi’s loose clothes; but once she tailored clothes for herself, they certainly wouldn’t fit Lin Jiayi.
The clothes were just cut when the mother and daughter returned, carrying two net bags filled with quite a few items.
Upon entering the room and seeing the fabric on the kang bed, Lin Jiayi immediately asked, “Where did you get that fabric?”
“Lanlan gave it to me, so I could make a new dress,” Chuxia replied.
“Just because it was given to you, you cut it? Was it really given to you by the Sun Family? It was meant for our family. Why didn’t you consult Mother before acting on your own? Such fine fabric, and you’ve ruined it,” Lin Jiayi accused.
Mother Lin also felt pained seeing the cut fabric, “Your sister is right. Whatever the Sun Family gives to our family, I have to return it someday. It’s all about social obligation. You’re grown up; don’t you understand this principle? Now that the fabric is cut, what am I supposed to return Sun Family’s favor with?”
Lin Chuxia set down her needle and thread, her gaze falling on the net bags in their hands, her voice tinged with regret, “I got it wrong. Lanlan said it was for me, she wanted me to wear the fabric she gave to make a new dress for my marriage. I didn’t think too much about it. But now that I think about it, it’s not right to wear fabric given by someone else for marriage. Mom will surely prepare it for me. Tomorrow I’ll explain to Lanlan. Although the fabric has been cut, it’s not a big issue. I’ll tell her we’ve received the Sun Family’s favor, and as for returning favors, you don’t have to worry, Mom. Since I cut the fabric, whenever the Sun Family needs something, I will go and return the favor.”
Lin Jiayi panicked internally and hid the net bags behind her. The items inside were all hers.
Mother Lin wasn’t thinking about splitting up the items; she was just feeling guilty from Lin Chuxia’s words. What irked her even more was the thought of having to tell Sun Lanlan that the Lin Family had received the favor.
For big events like weddings and funerals, who would send their regards a week in advance? The custom is to give a gift on the wedding day.
She had just followed along with her eldest daughter’s words, but if this wretched girl really went to Sun Lanlan with those words, and the Sun Family didn’t give a dowry, they would be the ones to lose out. She had contributed gifts when the Sun Family’s two sons married.
“Enough, enough, why so much idle talk? It’s already cut, just wear whichever one you want. Our family isn’t so strict about these things. You make it sound like I’m ungrateful. You’re a girl about to get married; why meddle in the family’s social obligations? All you need to do is look after yourself and not disgrace the family.”
As she spoke, Mother Lin passed the net bags to Lin Jiayi, gesturing for her to put them away.
Lin Chuxia acted as if she hadn’t seen their small gestures and picked up her needle and thread to continue making clothes.
Lin Jiayi looked at the fabric with undisguised envy, sneering inwardly: Truly born to be poor – treating a useless piece of fabric like a treasure. She really lucked out in her previous life.
Thinking that in this life Li Guangyuan was hers, and that the other party was to marry that cold-hearted man – all the hardship would fall on her – Lin Jiayi’s eyes brimmed with smugness.
“This color is quite festive. Wearing the new dress at the wedding, Qin Yang will surely like it.” Just wait and see how your warm approach is met with his cold indifference.
Lin Chuxia responded without lifting her head, “I hope he will like it.”
Lin Jiayi: “…”
Shameless!
With a flick of her eyes, “Second Sister, what do you think the Qin Family will give you as a betrothal gift? I heard the Qin Family is quite wealthy, and Qin Yang earns a salary. When they marry a daughter-in-law, they must give something substantial, right? Aren’t Mom and Dad so kind to arrange such a good match for you?”
Lin Chuxia looked up in confusion, “Eldest Sister, did you not wake up this morning, or did you develop amnesia? Wasn’t the Qin Family’s marriage originally arranged for you? You were the one who refuted it and wanted to switch with me. If you really think the Qin Family is better than the Li Family, go talk to Mom and Dad again, and switch the marriage arrangement back. I think the Li Family is quite good.”
Lin Jiayi: “… Who says the Li Family isn’t good? Also, Mom said… from now on, we’re not to mention the issue of switching the marriage arrangements again …”
What if the Li Family heard about this return?
Her mother had put quite a bit of effort to switch the arrangements; she couldn’t let this thoughtless girl ruin things, and she didn’t want Li Guangyuan to have a bad impression of her before they were even married.
Lin Chuxia, watching her sister’s evasive gaze, suddenly came to an understanding about one thing.