Wang Hao reminded Liu Chunlan:
"Mom, hurry up and tidy the house. Most importantly, keep an eye on Dad. Don't let him come out until he's completely sober, understand?
"My mother-in-law and brother-in-law are visiting suddenly. We must leave a good impression and not let them notice any problems.
"Otherwise, my marriage might really be over."
Liu Chunlan was full of resentment:
"Are they out of their minds? Why aren't they staying at home during the New Year instead of coming to someone else's house?
"It's freezing cold, and I still have to entertain them. Why should I?"
Wang Hao didn't know either. He hadn't expected them to come so suddenly.
He was completely unprepared. Remembering how Lin Jiajun had asked all sorts of questions when he and Lin Wanyi returned from her family's home, he felt uneasy.
But since they were already here, he had to host them properly for now.
He started the car. Lin Wanyi was visibly excited.
She even brought Keke along in the car.
"Keke, Grandma and Uncle are coming to see us. You'll get to meet them soon, are you happy?"
Wang Keke looked out the window expectantly and nodded vigorously:
"I can't wait! I've never met Grandma and Uncle before."
Wang Hao took the opportunity to say, "Baby, when you see Grandma and Uncle later, you must say nice things to make them happy, okay?"
Wang Keke raised her smiling face:
"I know, Daddy."
There was ice on the road, so the car drove very slowly. Lin Wanyi was extremely anxious and kept asking Li Suhua over the phone:
"Mom, are you cold? Did you wear enough clothes? Find a shop with heating and wait inside. We'll be there very soon."
Li Suhua was genuinely cold. Winter in the north was covered in snow everywhere. She and Lin Jiajun stood there blowing on their hands.
But she was happy inside, knowing she would see her daughter soon.
How could she not be happy?
Lin Jiajun found a supermarket with the heating on and let Li Suhua go inside:
"It's warm inside, and we can buy something for my sister while we're at it.
"Let's buy some toys and milk for the kid. It's the New Year; we can't show up empty-handed."
Li Suhua knew this, of course, but just as she picked up a doll, she heard a mother and daughter chatting nearby.
"Mom, you don't know this, but that woman in our village who married here from out of town hasn't been back to her parents' home for eight whole years.
"I heard she went back once before the New Year this year, but only because her father died. And surprisingly, she came back here just a few days later for the New Year.
"I really don't understand why she didn't finish the New Year at her parents' house. At least she could have kept her mother company, right?"
The mother educated her daughter while picking out items:
"You don't know as much as I do. Do you think she didn't want to go back? I heard her daughter was held back by her mother-in-law.
"How could she not come back? Otherwise, why would she make a fuss? She's been causing a scene every single day of the New Year.
"Today she even stopped her sister-in-law from going home.
"That's why they say never marry far away. Never marry far away.
"I advised you back then, and now you see for yourself if I was right. There's not a single benefit to marrying far away.
"She must be hiding at home crying right now. Everyone gets to visit their parents on the second day of the New Year, except her."
As the two chatted and walked further away, Li Suhua's heart sank to the bottom and couldn't rise again.
Lin Jiajun heard it too, and he clenched his fists:
"Mom, are they talking about my sister? Is it really her?
"I'll ask her clearly when we see her later. If this is true, I will absolutely not let Wang Hao get away with it, and I will definitely take her back home."
When Lin Wanyi arrived, she immediately threw herself into Li Suhua's arms.
Large tears fell continuously.
She wanted to say something but couldn't utter a word.
In the end, there was only silent weeping.
Li Suhua's nose tingled, and unable to hold back, she hugged Lin Wanyi tightly:
"If you can't come back, we'll come see you.
"Wanyi, Mom is so worried about you."
Wang Hao hurriedly wrapped a scarf around Li Suhua and put a hat on her:
"Mom, it's too cold here. Your health isn't good, so you must stay warm."
Li Suhua's body felt much warmer, but her heart remained icy cold.
The words of that mother and daughter lingered in her mind and wouldn't fade. She wasn't sure if they meant Lin Wanyi.
But from Lin Wanyi's tears, she could feel that she was unhappy, not happy at all.
Lin Jiajun picked up Wang Keke:
"Keke, I am your uncle, and she is your grandma. Hurry up and call her Grandma. If Grandma is happy, she'll give you a red envelope."
Wang Keke obediently called out twice:
"Hello Grandma, hello Uncle."
Lin Jiajun was so delighted that he stuffed two red envelopes into Wang Keke's hands:
"Keep them. These are red envelopes from Grandma and Uncle."
Lin Wanyi kept crying and crying. Wang Hao quickly said:
"Let's go home first.
"Honey, it's too cold outside. Let Mom and Jiajun get in the car so we can go home."
Lin Wanyi finally stopped her tears. She held onto Li Suhua's hand the whole time, afraid this was just a dream.
A dream that would turn into nothing once she woke up.
On the way, Wang Keke was especially lively. She pointed at the snow on the roadside and told Li Suhua:
"Grandma, have you ever seen such heavy snow? Mommy said she rarely saw snow when she was little.
"It snows every day here, and it's so, so cold."
Li Suhua held her in her arms, just as she used to hold Lin Wanyi back in the day.
Her face was full of heartache.
Lin Wanyi was someone who hated the cold so much, yet she ended up marrying into such a freezing place.
Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel sorrowful and shed tears again.
Seeing her cry, Lin Wanyi's eyes also grew red.
Finally, Li Suhua held back her tears and said:
"When your father was alive, he always said he wanted to come visit, but he never had the time.
"Wanyi, I came to see you for him."
In Lin Wanyi's ears, her father's words echoed once more:
"Do not marry far away. You will regret it, you definitely will."
She truly regretted it, but she had already paid with several years of her youth.
Back at the house, Liu Chunlan suddenly slammed the broom hard onto the floor, muttering to herself:
"Seriously, is this family crazy? Why aren't they staying at their own home during the New Year instead of running to someone else's house?"
She was displeased. She didn't want to entertain Lin Wanyi's family; she looked down on them from the bottom of her heart.
She made a phone call to Wang Meijuan:
"Juan'er, don't you think this family is abnormal? Who travels this far during the New Year?
"Wang Hao even told me to clean up the house and wait for them to return. What does that mean? Doesn't it mean he expects me to serve them?
"Why should I? A bunch of outsiders, why should I serve them?
"I won't do it. I don't want to do it at all."
Wang Meijuan had just finished washing a pile of dishes. Remembering how Lin Wanyi had chased her back home, she was also full of anger, so she fanned the flames for Liu Chunlan:
"Exactly, why should you serve a family of outsiders? Mom, don't take them too seriously. Just do whatever you want to do.
"You don't need to give them too many friendly looks, or else they'll think you're easy to bully.
"You need to put on your mother-in-law airs, you know?"
Receiving Wang Meijuan's support, Liu Chunlan immediately straightened her back and kicked the broom away.
"Yes, Juan'er, you're right. Why should I serve them?
"It should be that family of outsiders serving me!"
