Zhou Yueshen was taken aback for a moment, then found himself torn between laughter and exasperation.
He patted his son’s head with his large hand. "Hurry up and eat it before it melts."
Zhou Zedong frowned slightly, his expression uncannily similar to how Zhou Yueshen had looked as a child.
The sight left Director Li and the others standing nearby staring in speechless astonishment.
When Zhou Yueshen had enlisted in the military, he was barely in his teens—just a little older than this boy.
Though this was his sister’s child, there was no denying that the boy’s demeanor bore a striking resemblance to his own at that age.
"I... I’ll eat it later," Zhou Zedong muttered before clutching the candy and darting away.
"How rude!" Zhang Cuimei couldn’t help but complain as she watched Zhou Zedong bump into her daughter and run off without a word.
They were Si Nian’s adoptive parents, yet this adopted son didn’t even bother to greet them.
City children were so much better behaved—they’d politely call out "Hello, Auntie" whether they knew someone or not.
Dressed up like a proper little gentleman, Zhang Cuimei thought with a disdainful glance in Zhou Zedong’s direction before turning back and haughtily pulling her husband toward Si Nian, who stood a short distance away.
"Si Nian, what’s wrong with you? Can’t you see your father and I are here? You didn’t even come over to say hello?"
Zhang Cuimei was in a foul mood. She had assumed her adoptive daughter was living a miserable life, but instead, she’d married into wealth and now resided in such a grand house.
And that cheongsam she was wearing—wasn’t that the same one Zhang Cuimei had admired during her last visit to the tailor’s shop with the other military wives? The one she couldn’t bring herself to buy because it was too expensive?
At the time, she’d thought, "When Sisi gets married, I’ll buy this cheongsam for her to wear at the wedding. She’ll stun everyone."
Who could’ve imagined it would be so costly?
She’d been saving up to buy it later, only to now see it draped over her adoptive daughter’s figure!
Far from the pitiful, sun-beaten, dust-covered wretch she’d envisioned, Si Nian looked radiant, her complexion glowing, her figure elegant—thriving, in fact!
All that guilt she’d felt for forcing the girl to move to the countryside and marry this Zhou fellow—what a waste!
Si Nian was genuinely surprised as well.
In the original novel, after the protagonist left, the Si family had severed all ties with her, acting as if they’d rather never see her again—ashamed that she’d married a country bumpkin.
Who would’ve thought they’d show up today?
What on earth had brought them here?
With a bright smile, she feigned delight. "Uncle, Auntie, you came! I thought you might be too embarrassed to attend my wedding since I married into the countryside. This makes me so happy!"
Her words were lighthearted, but they instantly darkened the expressions of Si’s parents.
Glancing nervously at the reactions of those around them, they grew visibly irritated when they noticed the odd looks directed their way.
"Wh-what nonsense are you spouting? When have we ever looked down on you?"
This idiot—did she never think before speaking?
"Really? Then why didn’t you let Lin Sisi marry him instead of forcing me to take her place?" Si Nian asked innocently.
The onlookers erupted in murmurs.
Pointing fingers.
"So that’s how it is! Lin Sisi was already engaged, but she refused to go through with it because she moved to the city and thought the Zhou family wasn’t good enough for her!"
"Wow, not only did she back out, but she made someone else marry in her stead? How selfish can this family be?"
"Poor Si Nian... Thankfully, she’s kind-hearted and worked hard to take care of the Zhou family. Otherwise, who knows how much worse her life could’ve been."
"Exactly! Before, people said she was so beautiful that she must have married Xiao Zhou with ulterior motives, eyeing his family fortune. Now we know she was forced into it..."
"What kind of monsters would do that?"
"Please don’t say such things. My adoptive parents aren’t like that—they just couldn’t bear to see their own daughter marry beneath her. I understand."
Si Nian quickly defended the Si family.
Unexpectedly, her words only fueled the crowd’s anger.
"If they didn’t want their own daughter to marry into this family, they should’ve returned the 3,000 yuan dowry! You can’t keep the money and refuse to send your daughter—since when does the world work like that?"
"Exactly! Forcing someone else to take their daughter’s place? You don’t owe them anything!"
"Let’s be real—it was their own fault for mixing up the babies back then. What does that have to do with you? Why should you repay their debt? The Lin family raised Lin Sisi, fed her, clothed her, even paid for her education while neglecting their own son. And now she just walks away? Has she ever lifted a finger to help the Lin family after getting rich?"
"Heartless and ungrateful!"
"Like father, like daughter, I suppose!"
The crowd’s accusing fingers were practically jabbing at the Si family’s noses.
Si's Father and Si's Mother were used to being fawned over—when had they ever been publicly shamed like this? And by a bunch of villagers, no less! They were fuming, their faces burning with humiliation.
"You—shut your mouth!" Zhang Cuimei snarled at Si Nian, her glare venomous. If looks could kill, Si Nian would’ve been struck dead on the spot.
This wretched girl couldn’t even talk properly—why couldn’t she just keep quiet?
Si Nian immediately lowered her head, feigning fright, her expression wounded.
The onlookers were even more incensed now.
They already liked Si Nian, and seeing her defend the Si family only to be scolded in return made their blood boil.
"What kind of people are they? How dare they shout at her when she’s speaking up for them?"
"Ruining such a happy occasion—what a disgrace!"
"Si Nian, sweetheart, you really shouldn’t bother defending them. They don’t deserve it!"
"If I were them, I’d be too ashamed to show my face here. I’d rather bash my head against a wall!"
The Si couple’s faces flushed crimson with rage, but they were outnumbered—unable to retort, let alone retaliate. They stood there, trembling, their expressions twisted with fury.
Si Nian watched their reactions, secretly delighted.
She hadn’t initially planned to antagonize the Si family, even if she disliked them.
But their constant condescension had rubbed her the wrong way.
And if they made her unhappy, she’d make sure they were miserable too.
She wasn’t the blunt, straightforward original owner anymore.
Lin Sisi, still dazed from Zhou Zedong’s earlier transformation, finally snapped back to reality and saw her parents’ livid expressions.
The scornful whispers and pointed fingers directed at her left her utterly bewildered.
Ever since she was reborn and returned to the Si family, everything had gone smoothly for her.
But after Si Nian went back to the countryside, everything spiraled out of control.
They’d come here today to humiliate Si Nian, to make her hang her head in shame.
Yet now, it was her own family being publicly disgraced.
Her expression darkened for a moment before she replied with a hurt tone, "Sister, how could you say such things? Our parents had no other choice. As for that money, it's not that we don't want to repay it, but because your parents lost it. Although my parents are grateful for your family raising me for eighteen years, they simply can't produce such a large sum to help you right now. How could you possibly think so poorly of them?"
