TEMBILHIHAWMWAWT CH 11

Chapter 11: In the End, Fu Nanzhou Still Broke His Rule

Li Qian was as domineering and unreasonable as ever.

Lu Yao immediately raised her voice. “Mom! You can’t ignore Xixi just because Li Gang is your nephew!”

“You have the nerve to say that?! You married into our Li family, so you’re one of us now. Stop siding with outsiders! If Lu Xi marries Li Gang, then she’ll still be part of our family. Otherwise, she’s an outsider. Why should I care what happens to her?! If you keep arguing, you can get out of our house too!”

There was a commotion on the other end of the phone. Lu Xi immediately became anxious and gripped her phone tightly.

“Don’t bully my sister!”

Li Qian snatched the phone from Lu Yao.

“Lu Xi, let me tell you something. You’ve eaten and lived in our house for ten years without paying anything. Don’t be so ungrateful!

“Think carefully. If I make A-Nan divorce your sister, she’ll be a divorced woman with a child. She’s already in her thirties, and her education is so low. Do you really think anyone will want her?!”

Lu Xi’s eyes turned red.

Her sister’s mother-in-law’s words were simply too cruel, belittling her sister as though she were worthless. If it hadn’t been for her back then, her sister could have gotten into a good university!

“I’m not talking to you. I want to talk to my sister.” Lu Xi’s voice trembled with tears, her heart aching for her sister.

Lu Yao took the phone back.

“Xixi, I’ll call you again later.”

The call ended.

Lu Xi immediately stood up and rushed outside. She was afraid that her sister would be all alone and helpless at her husband’s house.

“Where are you going?”

Fu Nanzhou happened to be downstairs. Seeing Lu Xi rushing around in a panic, he couldn’t help frowning.

Lu Xi blinked her watery eyes and pleaded, “Uncle Fu, can you take me to my sister’s house?”

“What happened?” Fu Nanzhou put down his thermos.

Lu Xi lowered her head.

“My sister had an argument with her mother-in-law. I’m worried about leaving her alone.”

Fu Nanzhou reached out with his slender hand and gently lifted her small chin with his fingers. His calm, almost cold gaze met hers.

“If you go, can you win the argument?”

Lu Xi froze and shook her head.

“But what if she hits my sister? Li Qian has already hit her before.

“That day, my brother-in-law happened to be away. Li Qian slapped my sister because she said something in my defense.

“When my brother-in-law came back, Li Qian accused my sister first and insisted that my sister had pushed her, causing her to injure her tailbone.

“Fortunately, I explained everything clearly, and my brother-in-law didn’t believe his mother. But he still scolded my sister a little.

“After that, Li Qian pretended to be sick and stayed in bed for three months. Every day, she ordered my sister to bring her food and water and take care of all her needs.”

Fu Nanzhou frowned as he listened.

He had no interest in hearing about all these chaotic family matters. But Lu Xi was speaking so pitifully, tears falling like pearls, that he couldn’t bring himself to interrupt her.

After she finished, he asked coldly, “Can you help her if you go there? Are you good at fighting? Can you fight like Yiyi?”

Lu Xi lowered her head, her voice noticeably weaker.

“No.”

“Then what value would you have there? Originally, it’s just a conflict between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Your brother-in-law can mediate between them, and it can be settled with a few words. But if you go, it will become a conflict between your family and your sister’s in-laws. You’d only be adding fuel to the fire.”

Fu Nanzhou hit the nail on the head.

After saying that, he went back into the kitchen, picked up his thermos, and headed upstairs.

He still had work to do. He couldn’t waste time on such trivial matters.

Lu Xi remained silent.

It seemed Fu Nanzhou was right, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch her sister get bullied by her mother-in-law.

Fu Nanzhou walked up the stairs with his long legs, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the young girl standing there alone, looking rather pitiful.

“Lu Xi, come here.”

Fu Nanzhou beckoned her over.

Lu Xi walked toward him and raised her fair little face, looking at him as though waiting for his instructions.

Fu Nanzhou noticed that this girl had an exceptionally pure and innocent appearance. Her skin was clear and smooth, her dark eyes bright and innocent like a young deer. With her nervously pressed lips, she naturally stirred a man’s protective instincts.

She looked so much like her.

Fu Nanzhou sighed softly and finally gave in.

“Do you really want to go back?”

Lu Xi nodded firmly.

“I do.”

Fu Nanzhou said nothing, simply looking deeply at the girl in front of him.

He didn’t like getting involved in other people’s affairs, especially messy family conflicts. Just thinking about them gave him more of a headache than looking at tedious financial reports.

But he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.

The young girl in front of him was already twenty-two, no longer a child. Yet with tears glistening in her eyes, she looked so vulnerable that he couldn’t bear to turn her down.

In the end, Fu Nanzhou still broke his rule.

He gave a helpless laugh.

“Wait outside. I’ll change my clothes.”

Jixiang Ruyi Residential Complex, Building 18, Unit 1, Room 603.

Lu Xi could hear Li Qian’s sharp voice even before she reached the door.

“Lu Yao, I’m telling you, make Lu Xi withdraw the case immediately! Otherwise, you and A-Nan get divorced! Don’t come home and upset me!”

Lu Yao patiently replied, “Mom, you can’t be so unreasonable. Xixi only called the police because she was being bullied.”

“Nonsense! He’s my own nephew. Wouldn’t I know what kind of person he is?! He’s not someone who would bully others!”

“Lu Yao, when you married A-Nan, you met Li Gang. Back then, how could his family compare to ours?

“But now he runs his own business. He has two cars, three houses, and more than a million yuan in savings. How could he not have connections?

“Let me tell you, Li Gang is a retired serviceman. He has quite a few former comrades. If Xixi takes the civil service exam in the future, wouldn’t the benefits be better than working for a company? It’s a stable government job, and the retirement benefits are good too.”

Lu Yao fell silent.

“You two only care about Lu Xi suffering and never think about my good intentions. You won’t find conditions like this again! Hurry up and get Xixi to have him released. After that, help bring the two of them together. Wouldn’t Xixi have nothing to worry about for the rest of her life?”

Li Qian continued trying to persuade her.

Lu Yao fell silent once again.

After a long while, she said quietly, “I understand. I’ll talk to Xixi and ask her to withdraw the case.”

“That’s more like it! Lu Xi listens to you the most, and you listen to Mom the most. You really are a good daughter-in-law.”

Li Qian was delighted.

Lu Xi didn’t knock on the door. She simply stood outside and listened to everything.

The hallway light went out, but she didn’t move or make a sound. She just stood there in the darkness.

Fu Nanzhou gently patted the back of her head, silently telling her: Let’s go.

Lu Xi followed Fu Nanzhou’s tall figure, her heart filled with complicated emotions.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Lu Yao called.

“Xixi, withdraw the case against Li Gang. Nothing really happened to you anyway. We’re all family, and we’ll have to see each other all the time. It’s not good to make things so hostile.”

Lu Xi replied without any emotion, “I know.”

“Okay, then I won’t keep you. Stay properly at Yiyi’s uncle’s house. You have to start work tomorrow, so don’t cause trouble for your brother-in-law.”

Lu Xi didn’t respond. She simply hung up.

Fu Nanzhou looked at her.

“Are you going to withdraw the case?”

“Mm.” Lu Xi nodded.

Fu Nanzhou didn’t really care either way. He simply made a call and had Li Gang released.

After getting into the car, he noticed that Lu Xi was sitting there without moving.

Fu Nanzhou turned toward her, and his strong presence immediately made Lu Xi tense.

She was startled and stammered, “Un-Uncle Fu!”

Fu Nanzhou pulled the seat belt over and fastened it for her, calmly reminding her, “Remember to wear your seat belt when you sit in the front passenger seat. If you’re caught on camera without it, you’ll get penalty points.”

“Oh, okay, okay. I’m sorry.”

Lu Xi’s face flushed. She still felt nervous.

Fu Nanzhou started the car and spoke casually.

“From what your sister said, it seems she still plans to have you go on a blind date with Li Gang. What do you think? Should we invite them over to our house for a meal?”