I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 96: It's really not that great

Because of Aunt Yuan's sudden arrival, Zhou Lei postponed buying the tickets, planning to send Yuan Juan, his mother, and daughter back to their hometown after his mother-in-law left.

To ensure his mother-in-law ate well during her stay, he borrowed meat coupons, stamps, and snack coupons from several of his comrades.

The day after Aunt Yuan arrived, Yuan Juan took her around the place.

Aunt Yuan was like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden for the first time, thinking that everything in the courtyard was wonderful!

"I wish I could live here like your mother-in-law," Aunt Yuan clicked her tongue. "Your mother-in-law is a fool. She didn't want to live a good life, so she insisted on going to the countryside."

Yuan Juan took her hand and pouted, saying, "It's not that she doesn't want to live a good life, it's that she doesn't want me to live a good life! If it weren't for her instigation, Zhou Lei definitely wouldn't have been willing to send me back to his hometown."

"The son-in-law looks like a filial son; he'll definitely listen to what his mother says."

At this point, Aunt Yuan's eyes flickered. "If only her mother went back, that would be great. After you give birth, I can come and take care of you and help you with the baby. No mother-in-law can take as good care of you as your own mother."

Yuan Juan was of course willing, "but I'm afraid she won't leave."

"No rush, we'll take it slow, we'll find a way eventually. Tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow, I'll bring up the bride price with my son-in-law. I'll play the good cop, saying it's a task your dad and grandparents gave you, or else they'll take you back home. You'll play the bad cop, siding with your son-in-law..."

The mother and daughter sat in a secluded spot, whispering and discussing how to ask for a bride price.

"...Where does Yuan Xiu live? Take me there to see her." After discussing how to ask for the bride price, Aunt Yuan wanted to meet Yuan Xiu.

Yuan Juan shook her head. "Don't go. That Yuan Xiu is heartless and doesn't even care about her grandparents. If you go, you'll just get angry for nothing."

"That's because your grandparents live far away. She figured they couldn't come. If they could, do you think she'd even acknowledge them? If she didn't, she'd be drowned in spit! I'm an elder, after all. Logically, she should have brought gifts to see me since she knew I was coming. If I go to see her now, does she dare to kick me out? I don't believe she'd be that arrogant!"

Yuan Juan also wanted her aunt to stand up for her; she couldn't let Yuan Xiu always get the upper hand. "Let's go!"

"Walk!"

……

Yuan Xiu stood at the door, watching her aunt's performance with a blank expression.

"...Since you left, your grandparents have been missing you so much that they've fallen ill. No matter how angry you are, you should write a letter back to them."

"Your uncle lost his job and his family is struggling financially, but you're doing well..."

"Whether I'm doing well or not is none of your business! How dare you come here and act like an elder? Are you forgetful? Or are you suffering from dementia?"

Yuan Xiu crossed her arms and coldly cursed, "You and Yuan Xinmin schemed against my marriage, and your daughter followed suit. She tried to scheme against me several times but failed. Everyone in the compound and the entire army knows that Yuan Juan is notoriously ruthless. You should all avoid me when you see me, but you insist on coming up to me. Are you tired of being criticized back home? Or do you enjoy being criticized? Is that why you've done so many wicked things?"

Aunt Yuan was speechless. She stared blankly at Yuan Juan for a moment, "She...she..."

Why does Yuan Xiu seem like a completely different person?

Yuan Juan didn't expect Yuan Xiu to even scold her mother. No matter what, her mother was an elder, and she was a junior. Even if she was dissatisfied, she shouldn't have said it out loud.

"Yuan Xiu, don't go too far. My mother came to see you out of kindness..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yuan Xiu raised her hand.

She instinctively shrank back.

Aunt Yuan immediately stepped in front of Yuan Juan, angrily shouting, "What are you doing? You want to hit someone?!"

Yuan Xiu withdrew her hand and said to Yuan Juan, who was hiding behind Yuan Xiaoshen, "Have you forgotten what I told you last time? I haven't even bothered you with the matter of you scheming against me this time, but you've come looking for trouble first. It seems you think the previous slap was too light. I don't mind giving you two more slaps. Believe me or not, after I hit you, your man will have to come and apologize for you."

Yuan Juan gritted her teeth in hatred, but she had to admit that Yuan Xiu was telling the truth.

Zhou Lei knew that she was the one who spread those rumors, and he already felt sorry for Yuan Xiu and her husband. If Yuan Xiu brought this up again...

Aunt Yuan: "What? Last time? She hit you last time?"

Yuan Xiu raised an eyebrow and asked Yuan Juan, "Didn't you tell your mother?"

Yuan Juan: What's the point of talking about getting slapped? It's embarrassing to talk about it!

Seeing her daughter's expression, Aunt Yuan knew that Yuan Xiu was telling the truth. She rolled up her sleeves and said, "Fine! You dare to mess with my daughter, you'll see..."

Before she could finish speaking, the half-open door was pulled open from the inside, and Jiang Zhou stood inside: "What do you want to do?"

His gaze was icy, and his expressionless face exuded an imposing aura.

Aunt Yuan immediately put her hand down. She had seen Jiang Zhou's photo but didn't recognize him right away. It was only after Yuan Juan reminded her from behind that she realized who he was.

She dared to take advantage of Yuan Xiu, but she wouldn't dare to do that to Jiang Zhou.

In terms of the impersonation incident, Jiang Zhou was the victim, but Yuan Xiu was not.

A thief will naturally feel guilty when facing the victim.

She dared to tell the young soldier on duty at the gate that Jiang Zhou was her nephew-in-law, but in front of Jiang Zhou, she didn't dare to call him nephew-in-law.

"Um..."

Jiang Zhou: "Get lost!"

Aunt Yuan: "..."

Yuan Juan pulled her mother away.

Yuan Xiu turned her head to look at Jiang Zhou: "You should have said that word sooner."

Jiang Zhou: "Didn't you want to see them perform?"

Yuan Xiu chuckled. "That's right, how was the performance?"

Jiang Zhou shook his head: "It's really... not very good."

He reached out and closed the door. "Back in our hometown, she must have bullied you a lot, right?"

Yuan Xiu was taken aback. "You mean Yuan Juan's mother?"

"Yes, I should say their whole family."

Yuan Xiu: "You were bullied, weren't you? I was just naive before. People bullied me, and I didn't even know it. I thought they were good people. Now that I think about it..."

She smiled and said, "I'm so stupid I want to slap my past self."

Seeing her say that, Jiang Zhou put his arm around her thin shoulders: "It's not that you're stupid, it's that you're too kind. You're fine as you are now. If anyone bullies you, just slap them across the face!"

Yuan Xiu laughed: "What if I hit someone I shouldn't have?"

Jiang Zhou raised an eyebrow: "Who shouldn't have been hit?"

"For example, elders who are publicly recognized."

"You mean Yuan Juan's mother? If she dares to lay a hand on you, I suggest you run far away." Jiang Zhou said seriously, "I'm afraid you can't beat her. You're pregnant now, safety first."

It's not that I shouldn't fight, it's that I'm afraid she can't win. Yuan Xiu smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll run faster then."

"We've found some help, so we'll fight back..."

"good……"

……

"Is that brat possessed by a ghost? Why is her temper so different from before!"

After walking quite a distance, Aunt Yuan pulled Yuan Juan to a stop, and the two sat down by the flower bed by the roadside.

Aunt Yuan muttered under her breath, "If your grandparents saw this, they'd be terrified!"

Yuan Juan: "I told you she was heartless and didn't believe me, but now you see."

"How could I have imagined this?" Aunt Yuan rubbed her leg; she had almost twisted her ankle in her haste.

"That brat wasn't just faking it all along!"

Yuan Juan nodded: "That's possible! Otherwise, how could she have found out so quickly that I replaced her? And how could she have packed her things and chased after us to the army base so quickly? She must have been wary of our family all along! Only Grandpa and Grandma still think she's a good person."

"What? You don't understand."

Aunt Yuan said, "Your grandparents are good to her because they want to keep her at home to serve them. When your grandparents found out that you impersonated her, they said a few words to your father in private. As far as they are concerned, if Yuan Xiu hadn't secretly come over and ruined your father's job, do you think they would have paid any attention to her? If they really cared about her, I wouldn't have come here without bringing Yuan Xiu anything."

"Didn't your grandparents ask you to pass on a message to Yuan Xiu this time?"

"Let her write a letter and ask me to come over and talk to Yuan Xiu, suggesting that you two support each other or something." Aunt Yuan pouted. "It's no use! Your grandparents are wasting their time! That brat is clearly trying to cut ties with the family! And that Jiang Zhou..."

Just thinking about Jiang Zhou's look and cold words made Aunt Yuan's heart tremble. She swallowed hard. "...I didn't realize how fierce he looked in the photos. I'm afraid he'll hit someone. Do you think he hits Yuan Xiu at home?"

Yuan Juan: "...How would I know? Even if we hit her, would Yuan Xiu be able to tell me?"

Aunt Yuan: "He'd definitely hit you! He's the kind of man who would beat his wife! Thank goodness you didn't marry him!"

Yuan Juan: "..."

"Hey, what are you two doing sitting here?" A neighbor from the same building passed by and saw the two of them sitting outside chatting in the cold weather, so she asked.

"Auntie, you don't look well. What's wrong?"

Aunt Yuan wiped her face. "What's wrong with my complexion?"

"A bit pale."

"That's from being scared!" Aunt Yuan said firmly.

Neighbor: "Huh? What scared you?"

Seeing that someone was paying attention to her, Aunt Yuan began her performance. She sighed deeply, "It's all because of my niece, Yuan Xiu. I said I finally managed to come all this way, so I should at least go and see her. But when I got there, I didn't even get inside, and I got yelled at. Just thinking about it makes me feel terrible!"

"Her parents passed away early. Over the years, in my heart, she's the same as my Juan'er..."

She babbled on about what she thought were good things for Yuan Xiu over the years, oblivious to the neighbor's dismissive expression.

"Tell me, how can someone be like this? She gets married and then abandons her own family."

Neighbor: "Oh, right? Maybe you're overthinking it. We know Xiao Yuan very well. She's not the kind of person who's 'ungrateful.' Xiao Yuan's thinking is very progressive! She's an outstanding military family member and a role model for us to learn from. That was said by our leader. I think you should reflect on yourselves after this happened."

After saying this, the neighbor picked up his vegetable basket and left.

On the way back, I saw an acquaintance and started chatting: "Let me tell you, Yuan Juan's mother is hilarious... She looked us up and down, assuming we didn't know what they were up to, and even said that Xiao Yuan wouldn't let her in. If it were me, I'd give her a good spanking! Shameless!"

"You actually talk to them? I avoid them like the plague."

"If you don't talk, how will we have a good laugh?"

"Oh dear, why didn't I think of that..."

Now let's talk about Aunt Yuan.

She said those words with the intention of complaining and asking everyone to criticize Yuan Xiu, after all, elders are the most important people in the world.

Yuan Xiu is ruthless and heartless; if she were in their hometown, she would be the subject of everyone's spitting and ridicule.

After all, they both apologized and didn't actually steal her man. Her uncle even lost his job because of this, so it's even.

Who knew that people here don't play by the rules? All her hard work and complaints turned out to be her fault.

What is she reflecting on?

Her husband has lost his job, and this isn't enough!

"Is she out of her mind? Or did she just not understand what I meant?"

Aunt Yuan asked her daughter.

Yuan Juan's face was gloomy: "How should I know? Ever since that class she attended, and she spoke up there, she's become incredibly popular in the compound. Even the leaders are praising her. It's so inexplicable!"

What good things could Yuan Xiu possibly say?

They all seemed to have been brainwashed.

"Then why don't you say anything? If you did, you'd definitely say it better than her!"

Aunt Yuan had blind confidence in her own daughter.

Yuan Juan felt a pang in her heart. "...In order to stay and wait for you, I used some tricks to avoid going."

How could she possibly admit that she only attended that class because of her? She'll never admit it!

"Mom, please don't provoke Yuan Xiu anymore, and don't speak ill of Yuan Xiu in front of other people in the compound. It's no use if you say anything. People already have a bad opinion of me because of my impersonation. The more you say, the more they will think we are in the wrong."

Aunt Yuan nodded: "Alright, I won't say anything. The most important thing now is to ask your in-laws for the bride price and to keep you here. Yuan Xiu, we'll deal with her eventually."

……

Yuan Xiu was indeed dealt with that night.

Jiang Zhou carefully rolled off her, panting, and asked, "Are you uncomfortable?"

Yuan Xiu's throat was parched. "Water."

Jiang Zhou, shirtless, got up, poured her a glass of warm water, helped her sit up, and served her the water.

Yuan Xiu took a few sips before catching her breath. Her face flushed. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? Are you feeling unwell?"

She's not even four months pregnant yet, and he's already bothering her. All he's doing is making himself feel worse and giving him a temporary thrill.

Jiang Zhou finished the rest of the water in his cup. "If you listen to me, I won't feel bad anymore."

Yuan Xiu's ears turned red. "Dream on!"

You filthy scoundrel!

"Where did you learn all this?"

There are so many varieties.

Some of my sisters-in-law have been married for years and have never even kissed me.

Don't ask Yuan Xiu how she knew; married women can have quite a variety of topics when they get together.

These days, for some conservative gay men and women, kissing is considered indecent, and going to bed before dark is considered a mistake.

Jiangzhou, however, had no such reservations.

Jiang Zhou: "In the book."

Yuan Xiu: ...So you read quite a wide variety of books.