Chapter 64: The Little Follower

As soon as those words were spoken, the expressions of everyone behind Meng Jia changed—not just Fang, but even Li Xiyue’s face darkened.

Was this girl out of her mind?

She was standing right inside the Li family’s house, speaking in front of the whole family, and brazenly criticizing them like this? Listen to what she was implying—wasn’t she suggesting that the Li family was bullying their new daughter-in-law?

Before Fang or Tang Xin could respond, Li Xiyue erupted like a firecracker. She stepped forward, pointed directly at Meng Jia’s nose, and started scolding, “What’s wrong with you, girl from the city? Are you here to sow discord in our family? Are you saying my sister-in-law isn’t treated well, that my parents and brother mistreat her?”

Meng Jia was stunned, finally realizing she had made a mistake. She had only been thinking about comforting her friend, soothing Tang Xin’s wounded heart, so the two could reconcile. Then, perhaps, Tang Xin would share some of the nice things she’d received.

Truth be told, life had been unbearably hard lately. Meng Jia, who had always been a pampered follower in her previous life, had never suffered before.

After coming to the countryside, thanks to Tang Xin’s subsidies and Lu Lixin’s help, Meng Jia’s days had been quite pleasant. But in the past month, Lu Lixin stopped helping her, Tang Xin stopped sharing her good things, and even took away Meng Jia’s last tin of powdered milk. Hungry and sleepless, Meng Jia had tasted hardship for the first time.

So, in a moment of carelessness, she made this foolish mistake.

Before she could try to remedy the situation, Tang Xin looked at her, bewildered, and said, “Are we really that close? Why are you coming over here and saying all this out of nowhere?”

She added, “If you really care about me, why don’t you return the hundred yuan you owe me first? Talking about ‘emotional support’ is useless—real money is the only thing that matters.”

Meng Jia barely had time to force out a shocked smile and sneer at Tang Xin’s crude words before the triple blow came:

“You didn’t come the other day, but you show up today. Oh, I get it. You must’ve heard I received a big package and want to take advantage of me again, right?”

Her intentions exposed, Meng Jia hadn’t even begun to act indignant when Li Xiyue rushed in from outside.

Her face was grim as she pointed at Meng Jia and cursed, “No wonder, no wonder! I knew something was off—why did you, city girl, suddenly drop by? Clearly, you’re up to no good, trying to accuse us of mistreating my sister-in-law. In fact, you’re the one with malicious intentions. I’ll tell you, my brother and sister-in-law are the best people in the world. As long as I’m here, no one will shamelessly come and try to take advantage!”

Only she, Li Xiyue, was entitled to any benefits, and she swore to stand guard over her sister-in-law’s treasured possessions!

Her sister-in-law was a cultured, elegant woman, and Li Xiyue believed that only her previous gentleness had allowed her to be bullied. Now, Li Xiyue’s heart brimmed with heroic resolve.

“You came from the city, but how can you be so shameless?”

Having grown up in the countryside, Li Xiyue had seen her share of village quarrels, and when it came to fighting back, she was no amateur.

Tang Xin, having eaten most of her bowl of egg custard, decided to rest her tongue, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and said, “Xiyue, we all belong to the same team—you should show a little mercy. Even if it’s true, you shouldn’t say it to someone’s face.”

Li Xiyue’s eyes darted, and she replied, “Alright, I’ll listen to my sister-in-law.”

Then, turning to Meng Jia, she asked, “Comrade Meng, when will you return the hundred yuan you owe my sister-in-law?”

Meng Jia was on the verge of exploding, clutching her chest as if a heart attack was imminent. “You—you’re going too far!”

Her eyes reddened, lips trembling as she pleaded, “Grandma Li, look at them, they’re bullying me.”

She sobbed, then turned to Tang Xin, “I know you once thought Xiyue liked Lu Lixin, and that’s why you had issues with her, but I’ve explained it to you—that was just a misunderstanding. Tang Xin, we grew up together and came to the countryside together. After all these years, don’t you trust me?”

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Li Xiyue was dumbstruck, even forgetting to retort;

Yes, she had once liked Comrade Lu, but after he rejected her, she’d backed off. How could this shameless city girl spout such nonsense in front of everyone?

Tang Xin was stunned, almost having forgotten about this matter herself. She quickly realized this was a problem.

If word got out, her sister-in-law’s reputation would be ruined.

To defend the family, Tang Xin acted swiftly and declared, “Meng Jia, what nonsense are you spouting? It’s you who likes Lu Lixin, so why are you trying to blame my sister-in-law?”

Meng Jia was shocked—how did Tang Xin know?

Tang Xin continued, “I know you fancy Lu Lixin, which is why you target me. But I’m now married to Brother Li Sheng. You should just focus on Comrade Lu and stop coming here to disrupt our family’s harmony. What are your intentions in slandering my sister-in-law?”

Whether it was shifting blame or being unreasonable, Tang Xin knew she had to define the situation today.

Otherwise, if Li Xiyue’s reputation was ruined, things would only get worse.

Meng Jia’s tears hung in the balance; she hadn’t expected Tang Xin to say all that.

Worse, Tang Xin had hit her true motive, and Meng Jia knew she couldn’t let Tang Xin say any more. If Lu Lixin found out, she’d lose any chance of marrying him.

She was about to say something to salvage the situation, when Tang Xin pressed on, “I know you want to say I’m making things up, that it’s all nonsense, right? Well, do you dare swear to the heavens that you have no feelings for Comrade Lu, and will never marry him?”

Meng Jia didn’t dare, stammering, “Tang—Tang Xin, how could you—how could you think that? I—”

“Whatever I think, it doesn’t matter. I love Brother Li Sheng now, and I’m already part of the Li family. What you do with Comrade Lu is none of my concern. You don’t have to hide your feelings from me.”

With that, Meng Jia had no way to keep harping on Li Xiyue’s issue.

She didn’t want to keep up the smiling facade, so she stared at Tang Xin, resentful, and said, “I’ve always treated you sincerely, never poorly. Why must you slander me this way?”

Wasn’t it just acting? As if Tang Xin couldn’t do the same.

So Tang Xin adopted a pitiful demeanor, looking helpless as she replied, “What have I slandered you for? Isn’t it the truth? Oh, fine, I’ll say I was wrong. The truth is, Comrade Meng doesn’t like Comrade Lu—not at all. Is that good enough?”