Li Jiaming, wearing transparent glasses, raised his frames upon hearing this and smiled gently. "Tingting, what are you talking about? How could I ever hit you? Don't talk nonsense."
After speaking, he smiled as he looked at Zhou Yueshen, whose stern and severe face made him somewhat apprehensive. He explained, "Brother-in-law, Tingting has still been a bit out of her mind these past few days because of the food poisoning from the braised meat. I need to take her back for a check-up now."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tingting's face changed in alarm. She hurriedly pulled at her clothes, saying, "No, no, I'm not out of my mind. He hits me. I'm covered in bruises. Let me show you."
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Jiaming wrapped an arm around her neck and said with a tone of helplessness, "Tingting, you're talking nonsense again. How could I possibly hit you? Even if you're angry, there should be a limit. And we're in public—taking your clothes off, what kind of behavior is that?"
His voice was gentle, the same gentle, gentlemanly manner that had won Zhou Tingting over all those years ago.
For that, she had even severed ties with Zhou Yueshen.
But she never imagined that one day, hearing this voice would make her scalp crawl.
Zhou Tingting's loud shouts and screams disturbed the people around.
Everyone gathered, asking curiously, "What's going on? Such a commotion."
"Isn't that Tingting and her husband?"
People still had an impression of Zhou Tingting and her husband.
Though not a favorable one. Zhou Tingting was a proud person and had offended many.
Most people in the village didn't care much for her.
But considering she had been orphaned since childhood, they hadn't made much of it.
Later, she made quite a scene in her determination to marry into the city.
People aspire to city life; they couldn't say much about that.
What angered them was when Zhou Tingting brought members of the Li family to Xingfu Village to cause trouble for Si Nian and the children.
That was practically a slap in the face for their Xingfu Village.
Naturally, they found her detestable.
They felt Zhou Tingting had forgotten her roots after marrying a city man.
Now here she was again, wailing and screaming like a shrew, which was even more displeasing.
Who knows what kind of trouble she's stirring up now.
Seeing people arrive, Zhou Tingting seemed to have found reinforcements: "Aunt Wang, Aunt Li, please save me! Li Jiaming is going to hit me!"
"Waaah... he's a beast. He's seeing other women outside, forcing me to divorce at home, and he hits me too."
Zhou Tingting cried with real tears and a runny nose, putting on quite a convincing act.
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, instinctively looking at Li Jiaming.
Li Jiaming was dressed in a shirt, suit pants, and black leather shoes, his hair neatly combed. With his glasses, he looked every bit the intellectual, very good-natured.
Thinking back to Zhou Tingting's fiery temper, people were still rather skeptical.
Li Jiaming explained, "Aunties, Tingting has been suffering from food poisoning recently. The doctor said she has persecution delusions, always talking nonsense. She's been arguing with me these past few days too. If I really wanted a divorce, why would I have come all this way to find her today?"
Hearing this, everyone thought it made sense.
They nodded and turned to advise Zhou Tingting.
"That's right, Tingting. Although the things you did before weren't great, you're still one of us from Xingfu Village. We do want you to live well. Your husband seems like such a good man, how could he possibly be abusive?"
"Couples fight and make up all the time, it's nothing strange. Go on back home."
"He came all this way to find you. Stop making a scene; you're not a child anymore."
Zhou Tingting was so angry she was breathing rapidly, her chest heaving.
She felt her whole brain buzzing.
She'd been deceived.
Everyone had been deceived.
Li Jiaming was not like this at all.
A flash of impatience crossed Li Jiaming's eyes. He reached out, grabbed Zhou Tingting, and started pulling her away. Zhou Tingting struggled but couldn't break free. She immediately turned her head to plead for help from Zhou Yueshen.
"Brother, believe me! He's going to lock me up! Save me!"
At the entrance of the Zhou family courtyard, Zhou Yueshen's expression was cold, his brow indifferent.
Not only him, but everyone outside—the children, all the people Zhou Tingting once knew—were all looking at her with cold, detached expressions.
As if she were throwing an unreasonable tantrum.
Seeing all this, a sudden clarity struck Zhou Tingting's mind.
No one would pay her any mind, let alone save her.
Her own elder brother wasn't willing, so those villagers certainly wouldn't speak up for her either.
Thinking of the inhumane days that awaited her,
Zhou Tingting's vision went dark.
Zhou Yueshen asked one final question, "Zhou Tingting, I'm asking you one last time. Do you want a divorce or not?"
Zhou Tingting was stunned, instinctively shaking her head.
Zhou Yueshen turned away. "Then go. Don't come back again."
A triumphant smile had just begun to form on Li Jiaming's lips when he heard Zhou Yueshen's icy voice continue, "But you are, after all, a member of the Zhou family. If anyone dares lay a finger on you again, I will make sure they repay it tenfold."
Li Jiaming's smile froze, his face suddenly turning ugly.
Zhou Tingting was also stunned.
Coming to her senses, tears streamed down her face.
So... so her brother hadn't failed to see everything after all.
But... she really didn't want a divorce. She couldn't bear the life and the gossip that would follow, and she couldn't bear to lose her child either.
Zhou Tingting bit her lip, her eyes red.
At this moment, she truly understood that the only ones who could truly be good to her were her blood relatives, her family.
She had been wrong.
She shouldn't have done so many heartless, ungrateful things in the past just to please the Li family.
Zhou Tingting fell to her knees with a thud.
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, her eyes filled with remorse. "Big brother, sister-in-law... thank you."
...
Si Nian withdrew her gaze and glanced at Zhou Yueshen.
After all, she was his own sister. He certainly didn't want to see Zhou Tingting end up like this.
If Zhou Tingting truly wanted a divorce, Zhou Yueshen would definitely help her secure a relatively favorable outcome.
At the very least, the Li family wouldn't dare lay hands on her again.
What was truly astonishing was that, even after all this, Zhou Tingting's first thought was still her unwillingness to divorce.
What kind of mindset could make someone, even after being beaten, still refuse to leave a marriage?
Si Nian saw in this a terrifying aspect of the ideological constraints of this era.
But... those who are pitiable often have their own blameworthy aspects.
At least, in the end, Zhou Tingting had come to her senses.
