Chapter 9: Vengeance for My Wife

“I will.” Xie Jinyu’s heart burned with passion. “When I miss you, I’ll write you letters.”

“I’ll write to you too.”

The station staff urged the passengers to board.

Only then did Ye Changzheng release his grip, pick up his bag, and wave reluctantly at Xie Jinyu before boarding the vehicle.

Xie Jinyu waited until the bus carrying Ye Changzheng had driven away before preparing to go to the Xinhua Bookstore to buy paper and pens.

“Zhan Xinyue!”

Zhan Xinyue had just come out of the post office after sending a sweater when she ran into Xie Jinyu.

“Xie Jinyu, where are you headed?”

“I’m going to the Xinhua Bookstore. Want to come along?”

Xie Jinyu invited her.

Since there was still some time before returning to the village, Zhan Xinyue agreed to go to the bookstore with her.

Xie Jinyu picked out a fountain pen, a bottle of ink, and some writing paper.

She also recorded the addresses of various magazines accepting submissions from the bookstore.

“Xie Jinyu, are you going to submit to magazines?”

Xie Jinyu nodded. “Yes. Now that I’m married, raising children will cost a lot. I thought maybe I could try submitting my work. If it gets accepted, the payment could help with household expenses.”

“I’ll give it a try too.”

Zhan Xinyue used her remaining money to buy some writing paper as well.

When they returned to the boarding area, they saw Chen Wanru and Lu Qianjin lying on straw with cotton-padded jackets draped over them, occupying the most advantageous spot on the tractor.

Zhan Xinyue looked at the pale-faced Chen Wanru and then at the battered Lu Qianjin, curiously asking, “Did you two have a fight?”

Chen Wanru grumbled, “Who knows who he offended? Someone tied him up in a sack and beat him up.”

Suddenly, Xie Jinyu recalled the bloodstains on Ye Changzheng’s gloves from that day. She wondered if the assailant might have been Ye Changzheng.

But as the thought crossed her mind, she shook her head.

How could it possibly be Ye Changzheng?

Their relationship wasn’t that close yet.

Ye Changzheng wouldn’t beat Lu Qianjin on her behalf.

Zhan Xinyue changed the subject back to Chen Wanru, teasing, “Chen Wanru, all the educated youths at our point got to enjoy the wedding candies from Xie Jinyu and her husband. When are you and Lu Qianjin going to invite us to your wedding feast?”

At the mention of this, Chen Wanru’s heart filled with resistance.

She had originally hoped that by causing a fuss in the hospital, she might be able to miscarry the child in her womb.

If the child was gone, she could use that as a reason to petition the village party secretary for a chance to return to the city.

But this bastard child clung to her womb as if it had taken root, showing no sign of miscarriage.

Every move Lu Qianjin made caused him to grimace in pain.

“When I’ve recovered, we’ll have the wedding feast!”

Zhan Xinyue clearly saw the disdain in Chen Wanru’s eyes. She said nothing, instead snuggling close to Xie Jinyu for warmth.

Back in Yuejin Village.

The village party secretary had Chen Wanru and Lu Qianjin helped into his own home.

Zhan Xinyue returned to the educated youth point.

Xie Jinyu went back to the cowshed.

Stacks of neatly arranged firewood lined the area in front and behind the cowshed. The “Double Happiness” characters on the windows and wooden doors were still vivid and bright.

Everything seemed unchanged, yet Xie Jinyu knew clearly that Ye Changzheng had left.

She didn’t know when they would see each other again.

Though they had only parted for a short while, Xie Jinyu felt she already missed him.

“Grandma.”

Xie Jinyu pushed aside the lingering sadness, placed the items she bought in the new room, and went to find Yan Hongying.

Yan Hongying was preparing herbal medicine.

“Grandma.”

Yan Hongying looked up at Xie Jinyu and said bluntly, “Xiao Yu, would you be willing to learn medicine from me?”

“Grandma, I would.”

In her previous life, Yan Hongying fell ill not long after Ye Changzheng’s accident.

Xie Jinyu had stayed in the cowshed to care for the ailing Yan Hongying, though Yan Hongying had never blamed her.

Yet Xie Jinyu felt a deep guilt she couldn’t shake.

Her care for Yan Hongying had displeased the Lu family greatly.

Whenever she tried to care for Yan Hongying, Lu Qianjin would lock her inside the house.

That night, with no one to tend to her, Yan Hongying died in a fire.

Her marriage with Lu Qianjin had never been based on affection; from that day on, they were enemies.

Xie Jinyu looked at Yan Hongying’s rosy face and silently admonished herself, Xie Jinyu, don’t dwell on your past life!

You should cherish everything you have before you.

Yuejin Primary School had started its winter break, leaving Xie Jinyu with some free time.

She studied medicine with Yan Hongying while preparing to retake the college entrance exam.

Yan Hongying was deeply pleased to see Xie Jinyu focused on learning medicine.

Young people these days were too restless; few could settle down to study like Xie Jinyu.

Because the cowshed was distant from the educated youth point, Yuejin Primary School, and the villagers’ gathering place, no one knew about Xie Jinyu’s medical studies.

Lu Qianjin had been convalescing for over half a month and was now well enough to demand a lavish wedding feast with Chen Wanru.

Although the village party secretary didn’t particularly like Chen Wanru, Lu Qianjin was his youngest son and had been doted upon since childhood.

Moreover, Chen Wanru was now pregnant, and if Lu Qianjin didn’t marry her, rumors of his promiscuity might arise, which would damage his reputation and could even lead to severe consequences for him.

Though reluctant due to Chen Wanru’s premarital pregnancy and the fact that many villagers had caught them in flagrante delicto, the party secretary grit his teeth and began preparations for their wedding.

Unlike Xie Jinyu and Ye Changzheng, who had simply registered their marriage quietly, Chen Wanru and Lu Qianjin’s wedding was to be a grand affair.

Preparations had started early—chopping firewood, making tofu, slaughtering pigs, and so on.

Chen Wanru even personally wrote an invitation and delivered it to the cowshed.

“Xie Jinyu, Lu Qianjin and I will marry on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Here’s the invitation.”

Perhaps due to her pregnancy, Chen Wanru’s face was now covered with acne and her waist had thickened considerably.

Xie Jinyu thought that given Chen Wanru’s temperament, sending the invitation in person was more like setting a trap.

“Congratulations,” Xie Jinyu said without taking the invitation. She wasn’t foolish enough to walk blindly into a trap set by Chen Wanru.

Seeing Xie Jinyu refuse the invitation, Chen Wanru casually placed it on the table.

“Xie Jinyu, I don’t know who told you what to make you have such a deep misunderstanding of me,” Chen Wanru said with a smile. “We grew up together. Don’t you know what kind of person I am? Here in Yuejin Village, you’re the closest to me. I still hope you can attend my wedding as a member of my family.”

If it weren’t for Xie Jinyu having witnessed Chen Wanru’s repeated schemes firsthand during the lantern festival...

How could she have doubted this childhood best friend?