Chapter 88: Testing His Commitment
Chapter 88: Testing His Commitment
Jiang Xia glanced at Zhou Zhou and gently patted her little head. "Zhou Zhou, tell Auntie Tian how you got this toy plane."
Tian Caihua had come to the old house upon hearing that a car had arrived, presumably with Jiang Xia's relatives or friends.
Zhou Zhou looked at Tian Caihua and whispered, "Yan Sister gave it to me."
Jiang Xia then turned to Tian Caihua, her tone calm but firm, "Did you hear that, Sister-in-law? This is a gift from my friend to Zhou Zhou."
Tian Caihua's face darkened, and she grew unhappy. She felt that Jiang Xia was favoring Zhou Zhou and not respecting her. Why couldn't her friend give something to her son too?
She couldn't help but say, "This plane is clearly a toy for boys. How can Zhou Zhou, a little girl, play with it? Besides, Zhou Zhou, don't you have dolls to play with? Zhou Zhou, why don't you give the toy plane to your brother?"
Zhou Zhou clutched the toy plane, feeling helpless. She liked it and didn't want to give it away, but she didn't know how to refuse and was about to agree.
Jiang Xia, seeing her hesitation and fear, said, "Zhou Zhou, do you like this toy plane? Do you want to give it away? If you like it and don't want to give it away, you don't have to. Auntie won't be mad at you because it's your thing, and you have the right to decide. Just like if you like something of your brother's and ask for it, he can choose not to give it to you because it's his. Sister-in-law, don't you agree?"
Tian Caihua was almost fuming. Jiang Xia was clearly teaching Zhou Zhou not to give the toy away, but she couldn't deny it without teaching Zhou Zhou to constantly ask for things from her son.
Tian Caihua said sarcastically, "Right, Zhou Zhou, if you want to give it away, you can. If you don't, you don't have to. It's your thing."
Zhou Zhou hesitated for a moment and then said, "Auntie, I've never played with a toy plane before. I won't give it away."
"Good, you like it! Zhou Zhou is growing up and becoming more capable. Having a little auntie like me is different, isn't it? After all, you've been closer to me in just a few days than you were to Auntie in the years she raised you!"
Tian Caihua threw this sarcastic remark and stormed out of the yard, heading angrily towards the dock.
She was furious! What an ungrateful little brat. Did she forget who raised her? Zhou Zhou used to eat her food, wear her sons' clothes, and use their backpacks, and now she had forgotten all of that!
And Jiang Xia, how could she be such a biased little auntie?
Before, whenever her brother-in-law brought things home, her sons always got to pick first, and only then would Zhou Zhou get anything.
Now, everything was just for Zhou Zhou!
This morning, she saw Zhou Zhou drinking milk. Last time, her son said Zhou Zhou was eating an ice cream and even gave one to the great-grandmother's grandson, which her brother-in-law had bought.
The couple even bought Zhou Zhou a new desk, backpack, and clothes, and her sons got nothing.
Marrying Jiang Xia had made her brother-in-law biased too!
And just now, Zhou Zhou was eating candy—those expensive White Rabbit candies. Her son had wanted some, but she couldn't afford them.
Tian Caihua paused in her steps: There were still many White Rabbit candies, cookies, milk powder, malted milk, and canned goods on the table.
Ah! How could she have stormed out in a fit of anger?
She had already missed out on the toy plane. Could Jiang Xia really be so heartless as to not give her son any of the candies and milk powder?
What a loss!
After the split, her son had nothing, and the money they earned from fishing didn't even match what Zhou Chenglei made in one trip.
Tian Caihua felt more and more that the split had been a bad deal!
Zhou Zhou timidly said, "Auntie Tian seems upset."
Jiang Xia gently replied, "As long as you haven't done anything wrong, you don't need to worry about whether others are happy or not."
"It’s not that she’s wrong, it’s that she’s unhappy. Just let her be."
Zhou Zhou seemed to understand, but not entirely.
Jiang Xia didn’t elaborate. She wasn’t skilled at teaching children, but she knew that girls needed to learn how to say no.
Jiang Xia continued to open the three large bags given to her by her mother. One bag was filled with new clothes, most of which were for her, with a set for Zhou’s father and mother, and two sets for Zhou Chenglei. She took out the sets for Zhou’s parents.
The second bag contained baby formula, cookies, candies, and toys, including two teddy bears and four toy cars. It was clear that her mother had prepared something for each of the six Zhou children.
Jiang Xia gave one of the teddy bears to Zhou Zhou and kept the other for Zhou Chenglei’s older brother’s daughter.
Her mother was a thoughtful person who always took care of everyone in the family.
Jiang Xia wouldn’t withhold the toy cars just because she disliked Tian Caihua. Zhou Chengxin was a good kid, and the brothers still called her "Auntie" affectionately.
She set the toy cars aside, planning to give them to the boys when they came to play.
The last bag was filled with sanitary pads, towels, shampoo, skincare products, and cosmetics—enough to last her a year!
She also found a thick envelope, which contained three stacks of crisp new hundred-yuan bills wrapped in red paper. Each stack was a thousand yuan, totaling three thousand yuan. Could this be the dowry Zhou Chenglei gave her? She’d ask him when he returned.
Jiang Xia organized everything, told Zhou Zhou to help himself to snacks, and then went to cook dinner.
After dinner, as Jiang Xia came out of the shower, she saw Zhou Chenglei cleaning the bicycle. The bike, which had been caked in mud, was now spotless.
Jiang Xia couldn’t help but ask, "Why do you always clean the bike after using it?"
Today, it was understandable because it was really dirty. But last time, it wasn’t covered in mud, and he still cleaned it.
Zhou Chenglei pushed the bike into the storage room and glanced at her. "This is your dowry. If I don’t take good care of it, will it last a lifetime?"
Jiang Xia: "..."
Alright! He had her again!
She would see if he really could keep the bike clean and well-maintained for a lifetime.
At that moment, Jiang Xia didn’t believe it.
She couldn’t have imagined that decades later, when she was sixty and he was nearly seventy, the small fishing village would become a famous tourist destination. She would still be sitting on the back of the well-preserved bicycle, with him riding her along the coastal road, reminiscing about the present.
Jiang Xia didn’t pay him any mind and returned to her room to translate.
After putting away the bike, Zhou Chenglei went to take a shower. When he came back with a bowl of milk, he saw Jiang Xia diligently writing at her desk under the warm yellow light.
Her focused back was beautiful.
He walked quietly to her side, set down the bowl of milk, and picked up a book from the Jiang family to read.
Jiang Xia had read this book thoroughly, leaving many notes and reflections on each page.
The two of them—one writing on paper and the other flipping through pages—created a peaceful and beautiful scene.
Zhou Chenglei read quickly, with the ability to skim and remember everything. Besides, it was just a love novel, requiring no deep thought, so he read even faster. The only thing that made him pause was the heartfelt notes Jiang Xia had left in the book. When he reached the last page, he saw a line of strong, powerful handwriting and a signature that made his body stiffen.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
