Chapter 56: Devastated Cheng Xue

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Devastated Cheng Xue

As Deng Yuyuan moved, a slightly curled wisp of hair slipped from behind her ear and fell against her cheek. The stark contrast between her dark hair and snow-white skin softened the sharp, striking beauty of her features, adding a touch of gentle and serene domesticity.

Deng Yuyuan leaned lightly against the doorframe, telling barefaced lies without batting an eye every time her soft pink lips parted.

The young woman was already staring blankly, her brain barely able to process a thought. "Then what time does she get back in the afternoon? I can wait for her."

"I don’t know. Sometimes she doesn’t eat at the Knowledge Youth Institute."

The girl’s expression suddenly shifted. "Are you lying to me?"

Deng Yuyuan schooled her expression, wondering, "Is this girl actually that smart?"

"That woman inside holding the baby, that’s Deng Yuyuan, right?" The girl pointed behind her.

By leaning against the frame just now, Deng Yuyuan had inadvertently opened up a wider view into the courtyard, allowing the girl to spot Zhao Erdong taking care of the child.

She remembered Granny Zhang telling her that Deng Yuyuan was the only one living at the Knowledge Youth Institute with a child. Granny Zhang had claimed the woman was somewhat pretty, but nowhere near as stunningly beautiful as she herself was.

Zhao Erdong, who was currently watching the baby, had neat, pleasant features that were slightly inferior to her own. At first glance, she assumed this must be Deng Yuyuan.

"No, she isn’t." Deng Yuyuan, who had just straightened her back, relaxed and slumped her shoulders slightly again. "That’s the woman who helps Deng Yuyuan watch the baby. Her name is Zhao Erdong. If you don’t believe me, call out ’Zhao Erdong’ right now, and she’ll answer."

The girl muttered, "She doesn’t even take care of her own child. She really is lazy."

Suddenly, she raised her voice. "Zhao Erdong!"

Holding the baby, Zhao Erdong immediately looked toward the door and walked briskly outside. "Did you call me? Do we know each other?"

"N-no, we don’t. I’m sorry." The girl stammered slightly. "I came looking for Deng Yuyuan. She... she isn’t here. About what time will she be back?"

Zhao Erdong’s gaze fell on Deng Yuyuan, and the two exchanged a knowing look. In her arms, Tuantuan had already spotted her mother and was squirming impatiently to get to her. The little girl’s nose caught the scent of the cake first, and her big, round eyes darted from her mother straight to the sweet treat.

Deng Yuyuan naturally picked up the baby’s bib and wiped her drool.

Making the excuse that she needed to hand out the cupcakes to the neighbors first, Deng Yuyuan slipped away.

"Deng Yuyuan has a rather active and restless personality, so I really don’t know," Zhao Erdong said. "If you want to wait, I’m afraid you’ll be waiting until dark."

Until dark?! The girl hesitated, looking somewhat incredulous. "Doesn’t the work shift end before sunset? She comes back even later than the end of the shift?"

"Yes, she works even harder than the people on shift." Zhao Erdong agreed, showing a rare moment of genuine sincerity. "So, did you need something?"

Zhao Erdong thought, "If you don’t need anything, hurry up and leave. Can’t you see that Yu Yuan is stuck outside handing out cupcakes and can’t even go home because you’re blocking the way?"

The girl was momentarily caught in a dilemma. Having recently entered society, she lacked life experience and had only mustered the courage to come pick a fight for the sake of the man she liked. After these successive setbacks, her energy was already flagging.

"I came to find Deng Yuyuan because I want her to return Zhang Jiahua’s money. Brother Jiahua works so hard out there all by himself, and Granny Zhang still has to go to work despite her old age. Yet Deng Yuyuan takes his money and idles her days away. She doesn’t work, and she doesn’t even take care of her child. She’s simply too wicked and lazy."

"Who? Whose money? Did Zhang Jiahua send you here?" Zhao Erdong pressed.

The girl shook her head. "Brother Jiahua didn’t tell me. Deng Yuyuan’s wicked deeds are known all throughout the village. I didn’t even need to ask around."

Zhao Erdong understood immediately. "So it was Granny Zhang who told you. And then you just marched straight to the Knowledge Youth Institute without talking to anyone else in the village?

"Ah, you probably only asked the villagers for directions, but didn’t ask them if what Granny Zhang said was actually true."

The girl’s face flushed red. "Granny Zhang is just an honest and simple-minded farmer. Why would she intentionally lie to me? Deng Yuyuan even schemed to put her own mother-in-law in prison! Your Knowledge Youth Institute can’t just rely on numbers to bully the old and young of the Zhang Family."

"Keep shouting. Say it louder so everyone can hear you," Zhao Erdong warned. "Then I’ll just call the police and have you arrested for spreading malicious rumors."

Now feeling angry herself, the girl plopped down onto the steps. "Then I’ll wait right here until Deng Yuyuan comes back, and I’ll demand a clear answer from her!"

Zhao Erdong looked at her with pity. Having finished passing out the cupcakes, Deng Yuyuan returned, and the girl even shifted her bottom on the steps to make room for Deng Yuyuan to go inside.

"What’s wrong?" Deng Yuyuan asked in a low voice.

"She’s looking for the wicked and lazy Deng Yuyuan, and she’s going to wait until she comes home," Zhao Erdong replied.

Deng Yuyuan shrugged. There was nothing to be done; she would just have to let the girl wait.

About an hour later, an anxious Zhang Jiahua came looking for her.

The girl looked up with a wronged expression. She was just about to complain when she was met with Zhang Jiahua’s fury. "Who told you to come to the Knowledge Youth Institute? Why are you disturbing other people’s peaceful lives for no reason?"

"Why am I doing this?" The girl wiped away a tear. "Consider it my good intentions being met with ingratitude! I came here to stand up for you. You scrimp and save at work every day to send money home, and what about that woman? She gluttonizes and idles her days away, constantly using the child as an excuse to demand living expenses from you!"

As her voice rose, the neighbors peeked their heads out. They immediately recognized their old acquaintance, Zhang Jiahua, and then noticed the girl was still holding the cupcake Deng Yuyuan had handed out. BAH! What a pair of ungrateful wretches.

"Who told you that? Deng Yuyuan hasn’t spent my money, and I haven’t even given her any child support yet," Zhang Jiahua gritted out through his teeth.

His tone was exhausted and helpless. "Cheng Xue, I’m not someone worthy of your affection, and my family isn’t as good as it appears to you. Deng Yuyuan... she isn’t as terrible as you imagine. I’m the one who’s in the wrong."

"Then how is that child living so comfortably? The clothes she wears and the toys she plays with are practically the same as a child from town!" Cheng Xue protested stubbornly. Tuantuan was living almost as well as her own little nephew.

"And do you think, on my current salary, I could afford to raise a child like that?" Zhang Jiahua asked her.

All of her doubts were suddenly answered in that moment. It was true—even if Deng Yuyuan took all of Zhang Jiahua’s wages, it wouldn’t be enough to raise a child with such meticulous care.

"Our Yuanyuan does us proud. The things she forages from the mountains are more plentiful and of better quality than what even the able-bodied men bring back. Plus, she has a kind heart and always helps when she sees someone injured. Good deeds are rewarded," a neighbor auntie said, rolling her eyes at Cheng Xue. "You’re holding a cupcake made by Yuanyuan, yet you have the nerve to spew such foul garbage."

Cupcakes? The image of that exquisite, gently smiling face flashed through Cheng Xue’s mind. "Isn’t your wife just a somewhat pretty village woman?"

"What’s wrong with village women? Are you looking down on us?" the auntie shot back before he could answer.

"Somewhat pretty? She must be a thousand times more than just ’somewhat.’" Recalling Deng Yuyuan, Zhang Jiahua felt a profound sense of loss and guilt. During his days working at his unit, he had started studying again and encountered new ways of thinking. Only now did he understand how out of line he had been in the past.

What was even worse was that he was still living numbly in this quagmire.

Cheng Xue looked as if she had been struck by lightning. Her eyes grew red, and she shoved the cupcake into her mouth in one bite.