Free Web NovelChapter 427: Chapter 153: A Big, Round Pie
With guilty consciences, they were intimidated by Xu Chunyan’s words.
Seeing them waver, Xu Chunyan struck while the iron was hot. She had just used a hard approach, and now she switched to a soft one. Her voice became gentle and polite. "Aunt Axiu, Uncle Lin, what’s done is done. The one Yaru loves is Jing Si, and she doesn’t even like Jing Er. Why must you force her to marry him? What happened between her and Jing Er was just an accident. They were both drugged. It’s only natural that they used each other as an antidote. Let’s just keep this quiet. Blowing it up won’t do anyone any good, especially not Yaru’s reputation." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Xu Chunyan paused, then looked at the second auntie and Granny Ning. "Second Auntie and Granny Ning, you have daughters too. You can empathize. And you’re tight-lipped; you’d never breathe a word of this to anyone. Right, Second Auntie, Granny Ning?"
"Yes, yes, of course," the two women, having been called out by name, replied in unison.
Lin Yaru just kept crying in Liu Axiu’s arms, lost in a grief from which she couldn’t escape. She couldn’t hear a single word they were saying.
’My innocence was taken by Jing Er. I’m sullied now. I’m not good enough for Jing Si anymore.’
Liu Axiu and Uncle Lin fell silent. In a situation like this, their daughter was the one who suffered. But they weren’t willing to just swallow this injustice.
They were in the right, but they didn’t dare ask anyone to judge the matter.
Gossip could drown a person.
Feeling she had the upper hand, Xu Chunyan thought for a moment before making a tempting offer. "How about this? As long as you don’t pursue this matter, I’ll give Yaru half of my salary from now on as compensation. Also, our school has an opening for a transfer to the middle school. Every teacher has their eye on that spot. With so many vying for it, the competition is fierce. I’ll withdraw my name and give Yaru the chance to compete for it."
After Xu Chunyan finished speaking, the room fell silent. Even Lin Yaru stopped crying, though she still let out an occasional sob.
Half a salary was a powerful temptation. And the opportunity to transfer to the middle school—even just a chance to compete for it—was an offer that was hard to refuse.
A primary school teacher and a middle school teacher were on completely different levels.
"Heh." Qin Mei’s laugh rang out from the courtyard, sounding particularly jarring in the silent main room.
Hearing Qin Mei’s laugh felt like a demonic sound piercing her skull. Xu Chunyan had never gotten along with Qin Mei, and she had lost every one of their previous confrontations. The Xu Family’s tragedy was all Qin Mei’s doing.
"Xiao Mei." Mrs. Xie had her own selfish thoughts; she didn’t want Qin Mei to get involved.
"Fourth Wife of Jing, what are you laughing at?" the second auntie asked with a smile, beckoning to Qin Mei. "Fourth Wife of Jing, if you have something to say, come into the main room and say it."
Qin Mei stood up and walked toward the main room. Jie Jingchen followed right behind her, ready to support her in whatever she did.
Before Qin Mei even crossed the threshold, the lingering scent in the main room made her frown slightly. Her sense of smell was too sharp.
Qin Mei pulled back the foot she was about to lift over the threshold. Instead, she stood outside, leaning lazily against the doorframe. With Mrs. Xie leaning against the left side of the frame, she leaned against the right. The two of them, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, stood on either side like a pair of door gods. Jie Jingchen stood behind Qin Mei.
Except for Lin Yaru, who was still hiding and crying in Liu Axiu’s arms, everyone’s gaze fell upon Qin Mei, waiting to hear what grand speech she was about to make.
Qin Mei didn’t speak. She just raised her hands and clapped a few times.
Everyone was speechless. ’Is she... clapping?’
Clapping at a time like this, in this atmosphere, was truly going too far.
Liu Axiu was already resentful that Jing Si had married Qin Mei. Today’s incident had been caused by those two, after all. If Jing Si hadn’t married Qin Mei, Yaru would never have taken such a desperate risk. Just as Liu Axiu was about to erupt in anger, Qin Mei spoke.
"Brilliant, just brilliant," Qin Mei said, her strange, unsettling gaze fixed on Xu Chunyan, making her skin crawl. "Sister-in-law, you sure know how to paint a big, round pie in the sky."
"Fourth Sister-in-law, what do you mean by that?" Xu Chunyan glared at Qin Mei, her eyes glinting with a sinister light.
"That spot is something you have to compete for. It’s based on real skill and ability. Teacher Lin is already qualified to compete. Does she need you to ’give’ her the chance?" Qin Mei paused, then her expression shifted as if in sudden realization. "Oh, I get it. Sister-in-law, you’re just self-aware, aren’t you? You know you can’t win the competition and you’re afraid of the embarrassment of losing, so you’re withdrawing and using it as an opportunity to look generous, right? To make Teacher Lin’s family feel indebted to you?"
After Qin Mei’s explanation, everyone thought she had a point, and the way they looked at Xu Chunyan changed again.
’The pressure is immense!’ Xu Chunyan could barely take it. ’This Qin Mei must have been sent by the heavens just to torment me.’
Xu Chunyan stiffened her neck and stubbornly retorted, "If I withdraw, there’s one less person competing. That gives Yaru a better chance of winning."
The reasoning was flimsy, but it was reasoning nonetheless.
"This is a matter of personal ability, so I won’t argue with you about it. Let’s talk about half your salary. How much do you make in a month? What does half of that amount to? Is it more than what Jing Er makes?" Qin Mei fired off a series of questions.
"Of course not," Xu Chunyan said in a small voice.
Qin Mei looked at Liu Axiu. "If Teacher Lin marries Jing Er, she’ll have every right to manage his salary."
Xu Chunyan glared at Qin Mei, her eyes blazing with undisguised hatred. "Qin Mei."
Liu Axiu didn’t say anything, but she continued to glare at Qin Mei.
Qin Mei faltered for a second. Liu Axiu and Mr. Lin didn’t even seem to be weighing the options. Clearly, her words hadn’t hit the mark.
"Teacher Lin and Jing Er have already done the deed of husband and wife. Let me ask you, besides marrying him, do you have any better options?" This time, Qin Mei’s words struck them right in the heart.
Liu Axiu looked at Mr. Lin. Their gazes met, but they remained silent. Anyone could see that they weren’t just being quiet; they were deep in thought.
Qin Mei struck while the iron was hot, continuing, "In her current situation, Teacher Lin can only marry Jing Er. Only then will she not be scorned after marriage. If she just marries some ordinary man, and on their wedding night there’s no proof of her virginity, she can forget about having a peaceful life. Her husband will use this against her from time to time, and his verbal attacks will escalate to domestic violence. She’ll be worn out, body and soul, and end up dying of depression."
Liu Axiu and Mr. Lin were completely panicked. Even Granny Ning and the second auntie were moved.
A reputation is important, of course, but compared to a life, it’s not so significant after all.
"Fourth Wife of Jing, what should we do?" Liu Axiu asked. She had never imagined that there would come a day when she would ask Qin Mei for advice.
Lin Yaru had stopped crying. Hiding in Liu Axiu’s arms, she was too ashamed to face anyone.
"Qin Mei," Xu Chunyan snarled, grinding her teeth. She desperately wanted to rush over and rip Qin Mei’s mouth to shreds.
Qin Mei didn’t answer directly, only offered a reminder: "If you don’t force him to take responsibility now, it won’t be so easy to get a handle on him later. Use your power, or it will expire."
"But..." Liu Axiu and Mr. Lin understood, but they were still hesitant.
Their daughter’s reputation and their daughter’s future—two opposing forces were tearing them apart.
Her anger instantly vanished. Xu Chunyan sneered at Qin Mei, as if mocking her for overestimating her own influence. For some people, reputation was far more important than life itself.
"A fight to the death where the fish dies and the net breaks. Mutually assured destruction. Unless one side compromises and backs down." Qin Mei looked up at the night sky, then slowly lowered her gaze to Liu Axiu and asked coolly, "But why should the side that backs down be you?"
Her words were a sudden awakening. A wave of desolation washed over Liu Axiu and Mr. Lin’s hearts, followed by a sudden realization. "That’s right. Why should we be the ones to back down?"
Looking at the indignant Liu Axiu and Mr. Lin, Xu Chunyan felt like digging up the graves of Qin Mei’s ancestors. The situation she had worked so hard to stabilize had been effortlessly shattered by Qin Mei.
Jie Jingwei remained silent. He and Xu Chunyan had fallen in love and married when their feelings were deep. But after the wedding, he discovered that Xu Chunyan had changed. The beauty who had once captivated him at a glance, who had fascinated him so deeply, had become petty and obsessed with trivial gains after their marriage.
She was a poor mother to their son, who acted respectfully to his father’s face but defied him behind his back, and was arrogant and domineering in front of Aunt Qiao. She couldn’t even manage her relationships with her sisters-in-law. And worst of all were her mother and younger brother, who were a constant headache for him.
