Even from this distance, Li Mingjun could almost smell the sweet fragrance emanating from the woman.
Based on his extensive experience with women, this one was undoubtedly a rare gem among gems!
At this moment, Li Mingjun couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy toward Zhou Yueshen.
That rough, older man who didn’t even know how to dress himself—what right did he have to have such a delicate and beautiful wife?
Thinking of his own advantages, Li Mingjun lifted his chin and strode forward, carrying the pork.
He had been searching for an excuse to visit the Zhou Family, and just his luck—Zhou Yueshen was distributing pork to everyone and asked someone to bring a portion back for Si Nian.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Mingjun offered to help, claiming he had business nearby. Since everyone knew he was the brother-in-law of Zhou Yueshen’s sister, no one questioned him, and they handed the meat over without hesitation.
"Little sister-in-law, I’ve brought you some pork!" he called out loudly.
Si Nian’s lips twitched at the sight of him.
She had thought her harsh words at noon would have been enough to make him retreat.
But it seemed shamelessness knew no bounds—even after that, this lecherous man dared to show up again.
And of all times, he chose when Zhou Yueshen wasn’t home.
How audacious!
Si Nian set Yaoyao down and abruptly stood up.
Li Mingjun’s eyes immediately lit up, his gaze greedily tracing the woman’s alluring curves.
However, his lecherous expression quickly froze.
Si Nian had untied the iron chain restraining the massive Tibetan mastiff and was now leading the dog toward him.
Li Mingjun gulped, stumbling backward several steps.
His face twisted as if he’d swallowed a fly. "Little sister-in-law, wh-what are you doing? I—I just came to deliver the meat! Zhou Yueshen asked me to, really! I don’t have any other intentions!"
Si Nian stopped in her tracks, her slender fingers gently stroking the mastiff’s head. The dog, sensing something, fixed its fierce eyes on the man at the gate, ready to pounce at the slightest movement.
"Did I say you had other intentions?" Si Nian withdrew her hand and glanced at him with a light, mocking tone.
Li Mingjun choked on his words.
His hasty explanation only made him seem guiltier.
As the enormous mastiff bared its teeth at him, Li Mingjun’s legs nearly gave out. "N-no, of course not! I’ll just leave the meat here. I have things to do—I’ll be going now!"
Without daring another glance at the beauty, he turned and scrambled into his car in disgrace.
Si Nian picked up the pork and went inside, wondering how to subtly tell Zhou Yueshen that Li Mingjun was not someone they should keep around.
Since she hadn’t been here long, she hadn’t felt comfortable speaking up about Aunt Liu earlier. As a newcomer, accusing a woman Zhou Yueshen had known for decades of being untrustworthy might not earn her much credibility.
But neither of them could stay.
She wasn’t sure how to handle the situation with Aunt Liu either.
Just as she was pondering this, the very next day, they received a call from the police station summoning them.
At first, she thought it was to settle the matter, but upon asking, she learned that Aunt Liu had already been released—bailed out by none other than Zhou Yueshen’s younger sister, Zhou Tingting.
Using Zhou Yueshen’s name, she had secured Aunt Liu’s release. The police, seeing her identification as a member of the Zhou Family, assumed the parties had reconciled privately and didn’t question it.
It wasn’t until Zhou Yueshen’s friend returned and learned of the incident that they hurriedly contacted the Zhou Family.
The Zhou household had a telephone, and by the time Zhou Yueshen received the call, Aunt Liu was already back.
Si Nian had planned to discuss the matter with Zhou Yueshen when he returned, but before she could, the very people they needed to deal with showed up at their doorstep—bold and unrepentant.
"Tingting, it’s her! That vixen framed me for stealing and ruined the relationship between our families! You have to put a stop to this, or the Zhou Family’s fortune will end up in someone else’s hands!"
Si Nian turned to see Aunt Liu, limping with a cane and looking utterly disheveled, standing beside a woman in a fitted skirt, high heels, and a leather handbag.
The woman appeared to be in her late twenties, her sharp eyes brimming with calculation—clearly someone who held grudges.
"So, you’re the Lin Family’s daughter who tricked my brother into marriage?"
Before Si Nian could respond, the woman spat out disdainfully, "Let me make this clear—you’re dreaming! As long as I’m alive, you’ll never set foot in the Zhou Family!"
"Your Zhou Family?" Si Nian couldn’t help but laugh. Zhou Yueshen was a decent man, but the people around him were truly insufferable.
No wonder the original owner of this body had gone mad in such an environment—who wouldn’t?
"Of course! Pack your things and get out right now! The Zhou Family doesn’t welcome you!"
Zhou Tingting had already learned from Aunt Liu that the two weren’t even married yet—no certificate, nothing!
And yet, this woman had the audacity to live in the Zhou Family home. What kind of person did that make her?
Clearly, she was just relying on her looks to seduce her brother.
Before even officially entering the family, she was already meddling—kicking out Aunt Liu and ruining relationships!
What would people think of the Zhou Family if word got out?
"The Zhou Family’s affairs are the Zhou Family’s business. I’m marrying Zhou Yueshen, not the Zhou Family. What right do you have to kick me out?" Si Nian’s expression remained calm, her tone steady.
Hearing this, Zhou Tingting flew into a rage. "Aunt Liu was right—you really are a piece of work!"
Si Nian sneered. "You barge in here demanding I leave without a second thought—does that make you any better?"
"You—!" Zhou Tingting’s face flushed with fury.
"Open this door!" She kicked the iron gate violently, the metal clanging loudly, as if she couldn’t wait to storm in and teach this woman a lesson for daring to occupy her family’s home.
Si Nian, with deliberate provocation, flipped her off. "Oh? Weren’t you just ordering me to leave? If this is your house, why do you need an outsider like me to open the door for you?"
Zhou Tingting’s made-up face twisted in anger. Since moving to the city, everyone had treated her with respect—this was the first time someone had dared to look down on her.
"You think you’re so high and mighty? My brother only stayed single because of Yang Yujie! Do you really think he cares about you? You’ve barely been here a few days, and you’re already acting like the lady of the house?"
"Zhou Tingting!" A cold, authoritative voice cut through the air.
"What do you think you’re doing?"
Zhou Tingting jumped, turning to see Zhou Yueshen’s tall figure approaching, his expression dark. Instantly, her demeanor shifted to one of pitiful grievance.
"Brother! That woman bullied me and wouldn’t let me into the house! You have to kick her out!"
Aunt Liu watched gleefully from the side, as if already certain of Si Nian’s impending downfall.
Zhou Tingting was notoriously petty and vindictive—cross her, and there’d be hell to pay!
"So that’s why you were kicking the door?" Zhou Yueshen’s icy gaze bore into her, devoid of any warmth.
"I—she provoked me first!" Zhou Tingting hastily shifted the blame onto Si Nian.
She pointed at Si Nian and said, "She's so malicious! She accused Aunt Liu of stealing and even ruined the relationship between our two families. Now she’s locked me out!"
Thinking of the reason she had come today, Zhou Tingting quickly regained her composure and indignantly lashed out.
"Who told you she didn’t steal?" Zhou Yueshen asked in a deep voice.
"That’s impossible!" Zhou Tingting retorted firmly. "Aunt Liu isn’t that kind of person. She took care of me when I was little!"
She refused to believe Aunt Liu would steal. She wasn’t a fool—why would she trust a stranger over someone she’d known for decades?
Besides, if Aunt Liu had wanted to steal, she would’ve done it long ago. Why now, of all times, when Si Nian was around?
"So you took it upon yourself to bail her out of the police station?" Zhou Yueshen’s tone was eerily calm.
"Of course! Aunt Liu didn’t steal—why should she be locked up? She’s taken care of the kids for so long. Even if she hasn’t done much, she’s put in effort. How could you be so cruel to an old woman, Brother?"
Zhou Tingting was furious. If her friend hadn’t called her, she wouldn’t even have known about this.
She had brought Aunt Liu home the night before. Since Aunt Liu’s injuries were quite severe, she let her rest for two days. Only after hearing the full story did she come here to confront them.
"Fine." Zhou Yueshen nodded, then turned to someone watching from the doorway. "Aunt Wang, could you tell us how much produce Aunt Liu bought from your stall?"
A plump woman named Aunt Wang stepped forward and scoffed. "She only ever bought a yuan’s worth of vegetables—and always the wilted leftovers. I remember it clearly."
Hearing this, Aunt Liu froze.
Her smile stiffened on her face. When she snapped back to reality, she immediately protested, "Y-You’re lying!"
"Who’s lying? You always went for the cheapest stuff. I even scolded you once, and you told me to mind my own business!" Aunt Wang sneered.
After listening, Zhou Yueshen’s eyes darkened with an unreadable emotion. His voice remained calm, but those who knew him could tell he was seething. "I gave you thirty yuan a month in wages and twenty for groceries. And this is how you took care of the children?"
After Si Nian arrived, he had sensed something was off and had someone investigate.
Turns out, Aunt Liu wasn’t just a little greedy—she was outright stealing!
"Aunt Zhang, your turn," Zhou Yueshen said evenly.
Aunt Zhang quickly spoke up. "That day, I came out to fetch water and saw Aunt Liu trip. A big chunk of meat and rice fell out of her basket. I even took a second look."
The Liu family had many mouths to feed and was quite poor. There was no way they could afford such luxuries.
Even if Zhou Yueshen gave them something, he’d never give that much.
He wasn’t a fool.
At this point, everyone understood.
Even Zhou Tingting was stunned. So, Aunt Liu had been mistreating her nephews and secretly stealing from the Zhou family?
If someone had seen it, it meant this wasn’t the first time.
Twenty yuan a month could buy a lot of good food for three children.
"This is slander! All lies!" Aunt Liu desperately denied it.
Zhou Yueshen’s expression turned icy. "I didn’t want to make a scene, but since you refuse to admit your mistakes and only grow bolder, it seems I’ve been too lenient with you."
Not long after he spoke, the police arrived.
Before Aunt Liu could beg for mercy, she was hauled away again.
"Zhou Tingting, this is my family matter. Stay out of it. I’m not stupid enough to be manipulated. Get out!"
Zhou Tingting shuddered. Her brother had never been this furious with her before. It must be because of that wretched woman, right?
Even if Aunt Liu had skimmed a little food, it couldn’t have been as bad as they claimed.
Maybe that woman had bribed people to gang up on her!
How vile.
Si Nian had no idea what Zhou Tingting’s problem was. Zhou Yueshen was the one who told her to leave, so why was she glaring at her?
Zhou Tingting stormed home, so angry she nearly smashed everything in sight!
But the next second, she noticed her jewelry box wasn’t fully closed. Frowning, she pulled it open—and her face instantly paled.
With a dark expression, she marched out and sharply confronted her mother-in-law, who was cooking in the kitchen.
"Mom! Did you take my jade pendant?"
(Author’s note: Everyone said gifts would mean extra updates, so I wrote an extra thousand words today. If we reach 500 gifts, I’ll add even more!)
