My Wife, So Fierce! - Chapter 8

But what was even more frustrating was that her clothes still hadn’t dried.

Although it hadn’t rained today, the sky had remained overcast all day. She had just checked, and the clothes still felt damp to the touch completely unwearable.

She couldn’t just not change her clothes.

And here, even if she had money, she wouldn’t be able to buy suitable spare clothes.

The village was tiny, with no shops selling clothes at all. Wang Yong couldn’t help her either, the villagers here weren’t well-off, mostly consisting of elderly and children, so there were hardly any clothes for young people.

Even if there were, they’d be old hand-me-downs. To be honest, wearing those would feel worse than death to her.

Who knew what kind of people had worn them before?

Bai Yuanzhu’s room still had plenty of clothes left behind, but Zheng Yao had been agonizing over whether to take them and still hadn’t made up her mind.

The window had been closed for too long, making the room stuffy.

Zheng Yao got up and walked to the window. Just as she pulled back the curtains, she saw a figure standing outside in the pitch dark, not even turning on a light, startling her.

It was Shen Baiyi.

She looked just as startled, her beautiful eyes widening like a frightened fawn. Zheng Yao’s gaze dropped, noticing the clothes in her hands, and she immediately understood.

This Shen Baiyi was like a mind reader, always knowing exactly what she needed.

Even the most favored eunuch serving an ancient emperor probably wasn’t as attentive as Shen Baiyi.

Zheng Yao felt a little defeated.

“These are clothes Aunt Bai bought for me before, but they’re a bit too big, I haven’t worn them yet,” Shen Baiyi said, holding the clothes out toward the window. “Miss Zheng, you can take them.”

No matter how much Zheng Yao tried to signal her dislike, the other girl remained the same as always.

Timid, with a hint of ingratiation.

As if she were the one who had wronged Zheng Yao, when in reality, it was Bai Yuanzhu and Shen Sanguang who were at fault.

If Bai Yuanzhu had divorced properly and then gotten together with Shen Sanguang, Zheng Yao wouldn’t have said a word. That would’ve been Bai Yuanzhu’s freedom she wouldn’t have let herself become a burden to her mother’s pursuit of happiness. She might’ve even sincerely wished her well.

But Bai Yuanzhu had to go and have an affair. No, not just an affair Bai Yuanzhu would never lower herself to sneaking around. She had openly used Zheng Yao’s father’s money to travel the world with Shen Sanguang, even brazenly posting about it on social media, flaunting her happiness with another man for everyone to see.

She had humiliated Zheng Yao’s father, turning him into a notorious laughingstock and cuckold.

Bai Yuanzhu had always been utterly selfish.

When posting those photos with Shen Sanguang, she hadn’t even bothered to block Zheng Yao’s father.

So Zheng Yao didn’t believe Bai Yuanzhu, who barely cared about her own daughter, would treat someone else’s daughter with any real affection.

People said that with a stepmother came a stepfather, who knew if Shen Baiyi’s life had gotten even worse after Bai Yuanzhu came into the picture?

So…

She stared fixedly at Shen Baiyi outside the window, lost in thought.

Was Shen Baiyi like this because she had been emotionally manipulated for so long, molding her into someone who constantly sought to please others? Or was she two-faced, putting on one act while hiding another beneath the surface?

“Miss Zheng?”

Shen Baiyi’s voice pulled her back to reality. Zheng Yao averted her gaze, expressionlessly opening the window to take the clothes.

Without even looking at Shen Baiyi’s reaction, she shut the window the moment the clothes were in her hands.

She yanked the curtains closed out of sight, out of mind.

When the footsteps outside faded away, she finally lowered her head to examine the clothes. The outfit was brand new and indeed looked oversized Shen Baiyi was so petite that she couldn’t possibly fill it out.

It was clearly bought by Bai Yuanzhu.

After all, many years ago, whenever Bai Yuanzhu occasionally remembered she had a daughter like her, she would attempt to buy clothes for her. Unfortunately, they always ended up either too big or too small never the right fit.

Yet, the irony was that the clothes Bai Yuanzhu bought for Shen Baiyi, which were too large for her, fit Zheng Yao perfectly.

The moment she put on the clothes, a storm of emotions surged within her, she couldn’t quite name the feeling.

After all these twists and turns, she had still ended up wearing clothes bought by Bai Yuanzhu. How bitterly ironic.

–

The next day, the sun made a rare appearance.

Zheng Yao was once again jolted awake by a familiar loud voice, this time coming from the courtyard. She had a notorious temper upon waking, especially when roused in such an environment.

It grated on her nerves to the extreme. Though the voices outside were deliberately hushed, the intermittent murmurs were unbearably irritating.

After enduring it for a while with no sign of the noise stopping, Zheng Yao got out of bed. Instead of rushing outside immediately, she first lifted the curtain to peek out.

A small crowd had gathered in the courtyard.

It was the same detestable Tan family members, encircling Shen Baiyi and bombarding her with overt and covert pressure, all urging her to hand over her money for them to “safeguard.”

Their ulterior motives were as plain as day.

Zheng Yao glanced at the mirror, ensuring she still looked flawless even fresh out of bed, before finally stepping outside.

The moment the crowd saw her, they fell silent.

Zheng Yao scowled. “Go on, why stop talking the second you see me? Suddenly everyone’s lost their tongues? Ganging up to isolate me now?”

Her gaze swept over the group, and only then did she notice an additional young man among them short, pudgy, his face pockmarked with acne scars.

His expression practically screamed ill intent, his eyes shamelessly glued to her chest. He looked both dim-witted and lecherous.

Zheng Yao scoffed. “Oh, so you must be Baosheng, the one who wants to marry his cousin to get his hands on the family fortune, right?”

Tan Baosheng was so mesmerized by Zheng Yao that his mind went blank. He nodded instinctively. “Y-yes, that’s me! Pretty lady, I’m Baosheng.”

No sooner had he spoken than his mother smacked him upside the head.

“Young lady, you can’t go around saying such things,” Zhang Cui said, far calmer than her outburst the other day. “Sanguang was raised by our family, and we’ve always treated Baiyi as our own granddaughter. Don’t go ruining the bond between our families with baseless accusations.”

Tan Bin nodded sternly. “Exactly. Do you really think we’d ever harm Baiyi?”

“Your mother, Bai Yuanzhu, was clearly a swindler living off the Shen family, draining Sanguang’s life savings. Now you’re here trying to con Baiyi out of her money? Baiyi might be naive, but we’re not fools. We won’t let you sweet-talk her into leaving with you.”

Zhang Cui grew angrier the more she spoke. Shen Sanguang used to send them money every month, but ever since Bai Yuanzhu came into the picture, not a single penny had reached them!

That vixen had clearly bewitched him, leaving him penniless spending everything to pamper her like some noblewoman while coming up empty-handed in front of them.

Fearing Shen Baiyi’s money might be swindled away by this mad girl, Zhang Cui grew frantic. “Baiyi, don’t you dare let her trick you!”

“Exactly, we’re family. Would we ever harm you?” Tan Baosheng belatedly realized that this fairy-like woman before him had come to snatch money from his family. Instantly tense, he quickly turned to Shen Baiyi, “We grew up together. Don’t you trust me?”

Listening to their back-and-forth attempts to persuade Shen Baiyi, which ultimately placed the decision in her hands, Zheng Yao watched her closely. If Shen Baiyi chose to believe this family’s words, then she had nothing more to say.

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