After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 36

Liu Yi dared not delay. He called a car and rushed to the hospital. Just as he arrived at his wife’s ward, he heard the sound of conversation coming from inside. It was Lili’s distant cousin, and her voice was so loud it could be heard clearly even from the doorway.

“Lili, listen to your big sister. I’ve been through this,” the woman said. “A woman’s place is at home, raising her husband and children. Think about it—it’s been this way since ancient times. Men rule the outside, women rule the home. A woman who is too strong-willed isn’t well-liked. I used to be just like you, trying to grab hold of everything myself, and what happened? I’m not afraid to let you laugh at me, but your cousin-in-law even had an affair…” As she spoke, the woman began to wail piteously.

“What?” Jiao Lili was shocked. “Cousin-in-law looks like such an honest man, how could he… Cousin, why don’t you divorce him?”

“I can’t divorce him! What would happen to the children if I did? Growing up in a single-parent home at such a young age makes people look down on you. Children these days are quite wicked. There’s a motherless child in my residential area, oh, so pitiful.” The cousin clicked her tongue several times.

“Lili, you’re young now, you shouldn’t just think about your career. You need to have a child quickly to tie Liu Yi down. There’s no shortage of young girls at Liu Yi’s workplace. If you don’t have a child and he runs off with someone later, you’ll have nowhere to go and cry.”

Lili’s voice sounded skeptical. “Cousin, you had children with him and he still had an affair. That just shows a man’s cheating has nothing to do with whether he has kids; it’s just that he can’t control the two ounces of meat between his legs. If Liu Yi cheats, I can divorce him. I have my own legs and I can walk away; I wasn’t sold into his family.”

The cousin was visibly choked up, but she quickly changed her tune. “Which man doesn’t make mistakes? Your cousin-in-law was muddled for a while when he was young, but it was precisely because we already had children that he returned to the right path. If Liu Yi cheats and you don’t have children, what will you do? Just watch with wide eyes as he brings a mistress through the door?

“Look at your current job. You work yourself to death for only a few thousand yuan a month. Serving people at work is still serving; you might as well quit and go back to serve your own man so you don’t let others benefit. You can even raise a child while you’re at it what a great deal! I’m a seasoned veteran and I’m only saying this for your own good. I wouldn’t open my heart like this to anyone else…”

Lili gave a cold laugh. “Cousin, you really are looking out for me…”

Hearing this, Liu Yi knew his wife was about to strike back. Thinking about what this cousin had done, he worried that if Lili provoked her, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t do something even more out of line. After all, “it’s easy to guard against a thief, but hard to guard against a petty person.”

Liu Yi pushed the door open and rushed in.

Seeing Liu Yi, the cousin looked a bit awkward. “Xiaoyi, you’re here?”

“Cousin, when did you arrive?” Liu Yi took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to slap this dead woman a few times, and spoke with forced politeness.

“I haven’t been here long. Your cousin-in-law and I heard Lili broke her leg, so we bought some fruit to come and see her. Xiaoyi, you’ve come at just the right time; I was just chatting with Lili. Let me tell you something from the heart…” The woman started talking to herself again.

“Lili’s job only pays a few thousand yuan a month—it’s not very useful and it’s tiring. She should take this opportunity while her leg is injured to just quit. You guys are young, have a few more kids. Lili will have the energy to raise them, and she can help you wash your clothes and bring you lunch…”

“Eh? I say, you—”

“Cousin, you’re right…” Liu Yi calmly interrupted Lili’s impending retort. “We should have kids while we’re young. A woman’s place is raising her husband and children…”

Hearing this, the cousin looked ecstatic, her eyes full of satisfaction.

“Liu Yi, have you lost your mind?” Lili looked at him in disbelief.

“What are you shouting for? I’ve spoiled you too much!” Liu Yi spoke quickly, determined not to give Lili a chance to interrupt, all while frantically winking at his wife behind the cousin’s back.

“You go and quit your job later. We’ll have two kids in three years, and three in five. A man needs many children to have much fortune. Cousin is giving you advice and you’re still not satisfied!”

Although Lili was confused, seeing Liu Yi’s signals, she chose to remain silent.

In the cousin’s eyes, this was a total compromise. “Xiaoyi, you’re right. This is the mark of a man with vision.”

“We’re going home later! This crummy hospital costs so much money; she can recover just as well at home! You can even serve me a bit while you’re at it.”

Having gotten the answer she wanted, the cousin was content. “Xiaoyi, there’s no need for a husband and wife to make such a fuss. Just talk it out. I’ll head back first.”

“Cousin, watch your step. I really have to thank you today.”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome.”

Liu Yi personally saw the cousin off. Just as he returned to the ward and breathed a sigh of relief, Lili grabbed him by the ear.

“Liu Yi, you’ve got a lot of nerve, haven’t you? Making me quit?”

“I was wrong, I was wrong! Wifey, I was wrong!” Liu Yi pleaded for mercy repeatedly.

“Speak. I’ll give you one chance to defend yourself.” Lili turned her head away proudly. “If you can’t explain it, hmph hmph hmph…”

Liu Yi solemnly recounted everything that happened today.

“That old lunatic!” Lili was fuming.

“Wifey, stay calm! Your leg, your leg, your leg!” Liu Yi frantically tried to hold Lili down.

“That old bat.” Lili lay back on the bed, her expression complicated. “It’s a good thing those ‘few thousand yuan’ were from my old salary. If she knew my current pay, she’d probably commit murder.”

The “few thousand yuan” the cousin mentioned was Lili’s salary when she first started. Now, Lili was already a junior manager, and her monthly salary was higher than Liu Yi’s. If not for this fall, she could have been promoted even further.

“Some people,” Liu Yi shook his head and sighed, “aren’t satisfied with their own lives, yet they can’t stand to see others doing well. They have to find ways to make others as miserable as they are.”

Lili was gritting her teeth in anger. She spoke indignantly, “That dead woman actually dared to block my path to wealth—it’s too much! Just thinking about it makes me see red. I wish I could rush over and give her a good beating to vent my anger!”

“The main thing is that her actions didn’t cause us any direct physical harm; your leg was just an accidental fall, so we can only count ourselves unlucky. However, I asked Mr. Xie—money obtained through improper means has to be paid back later, and at double the rate.”

“Then she brought it on herself! But from now on, we can’t easily show our wealth. Let’s think of a script first.” Lili grew more excited as she spoke, and eventually her anger vanished, replaced by an enthusiastic discussion with Liu Yi. “Like that ‘alpha male’ husband and his pathetic wife. We should fight often from now on and live a miserable life, or she’ll target us again!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely cooperate with you.”

“But if you ever end up like that cousin-in-law, I won’t be like her and suffer in silence. I’ll divorce you directly.” Lili shook her fist at Liu Yi.

“Rest assured, the cousin-in-law cheated because he couldn’t control himself. I won’t,” Liu Yi promised with a serious face.

“Then I’ll grudgingly believe you!”