Chapter 1686 - 1104: Saving Face
Before dawn arrived.
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Yun Guoguo is currently in a recovery phase. It’s impossible for her to be like a normal person her age, but her intelligence is definitely beyond when she was eight or nine years old.
Given her current condition, she’s about the same as a twelve or thirteen-year-old child. Because of this, she’s become more sensitive than before. So at this time, no one really dares to joke with her.
After pondering her words, Yun Doudou looks at her seriously: "Guoguo, getting deceived is something everyone experiences. It’s not just you and me; even Chuxia, Xiaoqiong, Meijun, and Erniu have all experienced it. If you don’t believe me, ask them."
"Yes!"
Several people echoed in unison with Yun Doudou’s words. Yun Guoguo looked at them for a while, then grinned: "So you all are as silly as me, haha..."
"Exactly, everyone has moments of foolishness. That’s how we keep progressing, right..." Chuxia smiled at Yun Guoguo, patiently guiding her, "And the key is to learn from each experience."
"Yes, if someone deceives me, I definitely won’t trust them again next time." Yun Guoguo said as she glanced at her sister, "Doudou, you should do the same in the future. Don’t get fooled again."
Yun Doudou nodded earnestly: "Yes, I want to learn from my sister."
Hearing her sister wanted to learn from her, Yun Guoguo happily laughed. After pondering for a moment, she asked: "Does Hanying often get deceived?"
"Not really, it’s because that person is her best friend, so she always believes in them. However, if that person deceives her again, she definitely won’t fall for it in the future."
"That’s more like it..." After a pause, Yun Guoguo wrinkled her nose, "Looking at it this way, Hanying isn’t as smart as me, huh, what a worry. If she gets married in the future, won’t she be bullied to death?"
"We’ll all be watching out for her, so she won’t."
"Right..." Yun Guoguo immediately stood up, "I’ll go check. If that person dares to bully her, I’ll stand up for her. Anyway, I’m not friends with them. If I hit them, they deserve it!" As soon as she finished speaking, she swiftly breezed out like a whirlwind.
"I’ll go check it out." Liu Meijun hurried after her.
"Meijun is always so understanding..." Luo Xiaoqiong sighed, "We should’ve brought her with us then. It’s really unfair to leave her here. Have you noticed, Meijun talks noticeably less than before."
"Maybe she’s too tired. She worked an overnight shift last night..." Yun Doudou said but couldn’t help sighing, "Seeing her like this now, it’s truly heart-wrenching."
"To eat bitterness is to be superior. Meijun has to support her family, to be the pride of her parents, so it’s destined she’ll have to put in more effort than others.
We can bring her to Capital City, but do you think she can truly feel at ease staying in Capital City? Her parents are too honest, and if she’s not around, what if her grandparents bully her parents again?"
Chuxia looked at the two worrywarts seriously, "She’s different from us, so we can’t arrange things for her based on our principles."
"She’s quite similar to me..." After hesitating a bit, Zhang Erniu continued, "Of course, my conditions are a bit worse, but our grandma supports my parents, and I have a brother who’s also filial, so I don’t have as many responsibilities.
But she’s different. Although her family’s conditions are better than mine, all of her parents’ hopes rest on her. If her development falters even a little, her parents won’t be able to handle it.
A few days ago, when I visited her, she told me her parents are always on edge, afraid that the hospital will fire her. If she follows you to Capital City, even if her parents don’t say it, who knows how much they’ll worry inside."
"Both of you are in City A, so whenever you have time, spend more time with her..." Luo Xiaoqiong said while reaching out to pull Zhang Erniu’s arm, "Is that okay?"
"Of course it’s okay, Meijun is my friend too..." Zhang Erniu looked at Luo Xiaoqiong discontentedly, "You really underestimate me. If a friend’s in a bad mood, of course, I should be there more for them."
Luo Xiaoqiong quickly smiled flatteringly: "Sister-in-law, adults don’t hold grudges against children, it’s all my fault, okay?"
Zhang Erniu’s face turned red to the neck, she looked at her in a teasingly reproachful way, opened her mouth, but no words came out...
"Doudou..." Liu Meijun returned, looking seriously at Yun Doudou, "Can you sit at your mother-in-law’s table later, okay?"
"What’s the matter?" Yun Doudou asked with a puzzled look, "What happened?"
"No, no..." Liu Meijun waved her hands repetitively, "I just noticed that your in-laws are quite restrained. If you sit at your parents’ table, they might feel even more restrained.
Plus, the relatives from Zhou Hanliang’s family might gossip behind our backs about whether Zhou Hanliang is taking a wife or becoming one in the family. The elderly really mind such things."
"Meijun, you’re so considerate..." Yun Doudou suddenly realized and slapped her forehead, "I really overlooked this. Okay, I’ll listen to you. When we head out later, I’ll sit at my mother-in-law’s table."
"As long as you don’t find me annoying..." Liu Meijun laughed shyly, "My family is just ordinary, so we tend to pay more attention to these things."
"Don’t worry, you’ll definitely find a great and perfect partner..." Luo Xiaoqiong put an arm around her shoulder and shook her vigorously, "With a kind heart like yours, even someone with top-notch conditions wouldn’t dare to be arrogant, or I’ll be the first to deal with him."
Liu Meijun laughed at her: "Alright, my peace and happiness will rely on you then."
"What are you thinking about?" Luo Xiaoqiong poked the daydreaming Chuxia, "Why do I always see you distracted? What are you pondering? Thinking about the Division Commander?"
"Get lost..." Chuxia rolled her eyes at her, "I’m thinking about my big brother. Oh, I mean Lin Chudong, and I wonder how things are going for him over at Sister Chuyue’s place.
He promised to call me once he got over there, but I waited all last night and didn’t hear from him. I guess things aren’t going smoothly, sigh..."
"Are you regretting not bringing him along?" Luo Xiaoqiong immediately understood Chuxia’s dilemma, "You really think you’re all-powerful and want to cover for anyone with problems in the family?"
"No, it’s just that sometimes I overthink things. Actually, my husband’s family is very understanding and accommodating. The more I worry, the more I’m not being fair to them.
My big brother isn’t the kind to be lazy. In the end, it would only be a matter of him staying at my place temporarily. He can definitely earn enough to support himself and Shuanshuan.
No way..." Chuxia suddenly stood up, "I need to discuss with my parents and head to Sister Chuyue’s place first thing in the morning. If my brother really has issues there, I’ll bring him back with me."
"Are you serious?" Luo Xiaoqiong grabbed her, "You haven’t got a fever, have you?"
"Annoying!" Chuxia glared at her, "Back in our hometown, you know as well as I do who was good to me and who wasn’t. If it were someone else, you’d see if I cared."
"True..." Luo Xiaoqiong let go of her hand, "Alright, go ahead then. If things don’t work out, I’ll go with you tomorrow. Anyone who dares bully you will have to deal with my fists first!"
"Oh, please..." Chuxia scoffed at her, "With the little strength you have now, your fists are more like a bread hammer."
"Annoying, you’re the one who said I’d slim down gradually, and now you’re making fun of me!"
"I’m not making fun of you, I’m giving you a well-meaning reminder." Chuxia reached out to ruffle her hair, "So you don’t rush in without thinking and end up getting hurt."
...
As the event officially began, Yun Doudou did indeed sit with Zhou Hanliang’s parents, holding the child, which finally made the tense Father Zhou and Mother Zhou sit up straight.
They were well aware of what the relatives might have been thinking before. To say that their hearts weren’t a bit sour would be a lie. Now, their daughter-in-law’s actions clearly slapped those people in the face. If they kept acting downcast, it would be letting her down.
Because of the daughter-in-law, they became even more displeased with Li Yuxiang. This girl always has her eye on more, yet sits here shamelessly, quite an eyesore indeed.
Thinking this, Mother Zhou glared at her daughter. If it weren’t for her daughter, Li Yuxiang wouldn’t have been able to come!
Zhou Hanying, puzzled by her mother’s glare, felt a bit anxious inside. Had she done something wrong? She quietly glanced over herself and then at others’ actions... Nothing seemed out of place?!
Later, she realized her mother’s gaze kept drifting toward Li Yuxiang, and finally understood. But it was too late now to send Li Yuxiang away, leaving Zhou Hanying to silently sigh, realizing she’d really need to learn to say "no" more often!
When Zhou Hanying made requests, the word "no" circled her tongue several times but never came out, leaving her feeling caught in the middle.
Li Yuxiang was complaining about not being seated at a table with more promising young men, her mother was blaming her for bringing Li Yuxiang over, and likely her sister-in-law was annoyed as well... What on earth had she done!
"This child, bold and handsome, is really good-looking." A Zhou family relative complimented Huhu, who was cradled in Yun Doudou’s arms, unable to resist praise, "He’ll definitely grow up to be a top military officer like his father!"
"That’s right, when the father is capable, the son won’t fall short," another relative chimed in quickly, "and surely the rank won’t be lower than his father’s!"
"Yes, yes, we’ll be able to bask in his glow!"
"Then you better treat the child well, or why would you deserve his favor?"
"I’ll do that just by being the kid’s second uncle!"
"Bah! What’s so great about being the second uncle?"
"..."
This lively atmosphere had nothing to do with her, making Li Yuxiang bitterly glance at Yun Doudou, subconsciously clenching her fist... (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) and vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)