Chapter 21: The Clumsy Method

Du Haijun had not yet left home, but Du Haibo had already returned!

"Why is my brother-in-law back so soon this time?"

"It’s been ten days. You call that soon?"

Su Yuping rolled her eyes at Weian, causing both Qu Xiurong and Su Jinhe to shake their heads and chuckle.

Weian: "..."

She was just worried that Du Haibo had returned at the wrong time. Weian was speechless; she could no longer find an excuse to keep Su Yuping living at her parents' house.

"I’ve never seen you be so clingy or reluctant to let me leave before, have I?"

Although it was a question, Su Yuping felt happy inside. She was the middle child of the family, with older siblings above her and a younger sister below, so she had learned to fend for herself at a very young age. Her relationship with her siblings hadn't been particularly close, but things had been different lately. Ever since she convinced Weian not to cancel her engagement and head to the countryside, Weian had become visibly closer to her. During the ten days Du Haibo was away on his delivery route, she had been staying in the same room as Weian, rather than living like strangers as they had in the past.

"Oh, my! Some people are really good at flattering themselves. Do you think I’m clinging to you? I’m just fond of my nephew."

This was the first child of the Su family. Weian reached out to touch Su Yuping’s belly, and the little one responded immediately. It was strange; the little guy really seemed to understand her.

Su Yuping swatted Weian’s hand away. "Let him have a moment of peace."

Every time Weian talked to her belly, the baby would kick so hard it hurt. Qu Xiurong also stopped Weian. "Your sister is nearly eight months along; stop teasing her belly so much."

Weian had never been pregnant, so she found it all quite novel and knew nothing of such things. "Does it hurt?"

She had seen pregnant women who suffered from such severe pubic pain that walking became difficult, but she truly didn't know if a baby’s vigorous movement could cause pain.

"It doesn't hurt."

Even if it did, she couldn't tell a young girl like Weian. Su Yuping gritted her teeth and stood up to go pack her clothes.

*Thump! Thump!*

There was a knock at the door. Qu Xiurong went to open it, and the kind smile she had been wearing while chatting with her daughters vanished instantly.

"Oh, it's Old Zhao..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the person at the door collapsed in front of her.

Weian hurried over. "Mom, did you get bumped?"

"Huh? No, no. Quickly, help your Aunt Zhao up. Old Su, go find someone and get her to the hospital immediately!"

Su Jinhe immediately withdrew his hand from helping the woman and headed outside. Meanwhile, Weian and Qu Xiurong struggled to get Zhao Pandi onto the sofa in the living room.

The three women looked at Zhao Pandi in silence. Her face was bruised and purple, her lips were torn and stained with dark blood, her body was filthy, and one of her sleeves had been ripped off.

The Ye family’s reputation had been completely ruined following Ye Aihua’s incident. Ye Aihua’s father, Ye Congsheng, had always been a man of few words, but now he walked with his head down at all times, terrified that someone might notice him. As for Zhao Pandi, she used to offer a fawning smile to everyone she met, but ever since the scandal broke, no one ever responded to her; people would even go out of their way to avoid her if they saw her coming.

"Mom, is Aunt Zhao going to be okay?"

Su Yuping had seen Zhao Pandi get beaten more than once, but this was the first time she had seen her in such a miserable state. She couldn't help but tighten her grip on Weian’s hand.

"She will be. Aunt Zhao just looks like she’s been badly hurt; internally, she should be fine."

Even if there were complications, it wouldn't happen right now. Weian said this aloud, but she was actually nervous; she was worried that the "butterfly effect" might cause Zhao Pandi’s condition to deteriorate prematurely.

"Sigh." Qu Xiurong sighed. "Your Aunt Zhao..." She wanted to say that Zhao Pandi had a hard life, but then she remembered her submissive nature and ultimately just said, "She hasn't had it easy."

Before Weian could speak, Su Yuping curled her lip and snorted, "That’s her own fault."

If someone refuses to stand up for themselves and doesn't fight back after being beaten countless times, who else can they blame?

Weian nodded; she agreed with Su Yuping. No one’s life is perfectly smooth, and few people walk through it without obstacles. If a person only knows how to be submissive in the face of hardship rather than having the courage to confront setbacks, they will be left with nothing but despair and helplessness.

Qu Xiurong shook her head in disapproval. "That’s just her nature. What do you expect her to do?"

When Zhao Pandi was still at her parents' home, she was the quiet, soft-spoken type. As the eldest daughter, she had learned to take care of her younger brothers since she was two or three years old. Not only that, but if her brothers hit her, she wasn't allowed to fight back. After marrying Ye Congsheng, she first gave birth to two daughters, which made her in-laws and her husband dissatisfied, leading to the same beatings she had suffered at her parents' house. She was accustomed to that kind of life and had never even considered resistance.

She said this to her two daughters: "And that man from the Ye family—he’s only brave when he’s at home and bullying his own kin. What do you expect her to do?"

Weian felt a bit of sympathy, but not much. "I’ll go see if the transport has arrived."

As long as the woman didn't die in their house, whether Zhao Pandi lived or died in the end had nothing to do with her. However, just to be safe, this matter couldn't simply be left as it was. So, the moment she saw Su Jinhe returning with a few neighbors, she turned and headed to the public telephone office.

...

"You... you actually called the police?"

Just after Zhao Pandi was admitted to the hospital, the group was met by officers asking about what had happened. Once they finally managed to leave the hospital, Su Yuping immediately asked Weian, completely unable to understand why she had done such a thing.

"If I hadn't called the police, what if Ye Congsheng falsely accused us of beating her and demanded compensation?"

After all, Zhao Pandi had run to their house and remained in a coma. Who knew what the situation would be like once she woke up? Weian had seen cases where people who tried to break up a domestic fight ended up being blamed or beaten themselves.

Qu Xiurong chuckled. "How could that happen?" She suddenly felt worried—had they gone too far in their caution? She used to worry that Weian was too naive and lacked foresight, but now, why did this girl always assume the worst of people? Qu Xiurong and Su Yuping exchanged a look, both seeing the same doubt in each other’s eyes.

Weian didn't care what they thought. "At least I’m at ease now." As for what others thought, it didn't matter at all.

Su Yuping rubbed her forehead. "Fine, whatever, I have a headache." The matter had passed; what else could be done?

"Brother-in-law, are you still going on your delivery runs soon?" Weian asked Du Haibo, who had rushed to the hospital to pick up Su Yuping. The person who delivered the message had been unclear, leading him to believe Su Yuping had gone into premature labor, and his hair was still damp with the sweat of his panic.

"Yes, I leave in three days."

"Could you take some time off and take me to Fucheng?"

She couldn't directly ask about the situation surrounding Du Haijun, so she had to use a clumsy method—finding a reason to keep Du Haibo from going on his route.