My Taoist nun girlfriend is from the Republic of China era, 1942.

Chapter 146 The Past I Don't Want to Remember
One autumn rain brings a chill, and the weather turns colder than turning the pages of a book. Chen Xiaomiao's studies have also entered a new stage.

Functions and geometric figures were no longer hideous scribbles in her eyes; she could even occasionally find some enjoyment in solving a difficult problem.

Zhao Moli, who is almost six months old, has grown quite a bit and can now clumsily arch her body forward on the crawling mat, like a chubby little caterpillar.

Every time Qi Lili brought her daughter over, Lu Yuan and Chen Xiaomiao would adore her and fight over who could hold her.

The little girl seemed to know from birth that these were her godparents. As soon as she was in their arms, she would grin with her toothless little mouth and giggle, drooling everywhere.

It was Qi Lili's birthday, and Zhao Qiang called several days in advance to invite Lu Yuan and Chen Xiaomiao to his home for dinner.

Around 5 p.m., Lu Yuan drove Chen Xiaomiao to Zhao Qiang's building.

Chen Xiaomiao was carrying an exquisite paper bag containing a scroll of the "Peace Sutra" that she had spent several days copying in small regular script, and she had even found a place to frame it.

When Lu Yuan got out of the car, he took out two bottles of Moutai from the trunk.

Chen Xiaomiao glanced at the packaging and muttered to herself, "Why did you buy alcohol again? My sister-in-law won't let Zhao Qiang drink."

"Zhao Qiang likes this kind of thing, but he only does it occasionally."

Lu Yuan smiled and locked the car door.

The two went upstairs and rang Zhao Qiang's doorbell.

"Yuanzi! Sister-in-law! Come in quickly!" Zhao Qiang shouted loudly from the kitchen, and the aroma of food wafted over.

"May you enjoy good health and longevity, sister-in-law!"

Chen Xiaomiao handed over the peace scroll, her eyes already glued to the little one in Qi Lili's arms.

She skillfully took Zhao Moli from Qi Lili's hands and held her steadily in her arms.

"Sweetie... Jasmine, do you miss your godmother?"

She gently rubbed her cheek against the little one's soft face, and the little one immediately waved his chubby fists, making "woof woof" sounds, and snuggled affectionately into her arms.

Lu Yuan placed the wine on the dining table. Zhao Qiang's eyes widened when he saw the red and white bottle, and he immediately put his arm around Lu Yuan's shoulder.

"Hehe... Yuanzi, you really understand your brother."

While waiting for dinner, the men in the living room sat around the table, chatting and joking. Chen Xiaomiao, holding her child, sat on the sofa, chatting with Qi Lili about parenting. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

Just then, the doorbell rang urgently.

The people in the room were all taken aback.

"Who is it?" Zhao Qiang scratched his head in confusion, then got up to open the door. "I didn't call anyone else."

As soon as the door opened, two women dressed in flamboyant attire stood outside, completely out of place with the homey atmosphere inside.

The one on the left has short purple hair that looks like it's on an eggplant, jingling metal rings on her ears, chewing gum, and wearing extremely thick black eyeliner.

The one on the right has dyed yellow hair, is wearing a cropped tight-fitting T-shirt, and even though it's cold, she's only wearing a thin motorcycle jacket over it. Her arms are covered in tattoos.

The two men were stunned when they saw Zhao Qiang open the door, and then peeked inside.

Purple Hair asked, "Is Sister Lily here?"

Upon hearing the sound, Qi Lili's smile instantly froze.

Before Zhao Qiang could react, he turned around and shouted, "Wife, it's looking for you!"

The two women had already squeezed into the room as if they were old friends. When they saw Qi Lili, they immediately started shouting and yelling.

"Happy birthday, Lily!"

"Wow, Lily, your husband is tall and handsome!"

Qi Lili looked embarrassed and forced a smile: "Xiao Juan, A Mei, what brings you here?"

"It's your birthday, how could we not come?" The purple-haired girl named Xiaojuan held up a palm-sized cake box: "Here, happy birthday!"

Qi Lili forced a smile as she took the cake and placed it on the coffee table.

She subconsciously glanced at Lu Yuan, who had a calm expression, and then at Chen Xiaomiao, who was holding the child and looking at her with great curiosity. She felt extremely awkward.

Just as he was pondering how to get rid of the guest, the honest and hospitable Zhao Qiang greeted him warmly before he could even speak.

"Oh, it's Lily's friend! Since you're here, please have a seat! Dinner's about to start, come and eat with us! I'll go cook a couple more dishes!"

"Don't do that, brother-in-law, it's too much trouble!"

Huang Mao Amei was polite in words, but her eyes were already fixed on the big fish and meat on the table.

Qi Lili was so angry with her husband that she gritted her teeth, but Zhao Qiang, this rough and uncultured man, didn't realize it at all and went to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks with a cheerful smile.

"Sit down, please sit down."

Qi Lili had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet them.

Xiao Juan and A Mei didn't stand on ceremony. After sitting down, their eyes quickly lit up when they looked at Zhao Moli in Chen Xiaomiao's arms.

"Wow, Lily, this is your daughter? She's so pretty! Let me hug her!"

As she spoke, she stretched out her hands, which were painted with black nail polish and smelled of cigarettes. Qi Lili's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stepped forward to stop her: "The baby just finished nursing and is sleepy right now. If we move her, she will start to fuss. Let's wait until she wakes up."

Xiao Juan's hand froze in mid-air, her expression embarrassed.

The atmosphere was a little stagnant for a while.

Suddenly, Amei spotted two bottles of Moutai on the table and exclaimed "Wow!" in an exaggerated manner.

"Really? Sister Lily, does your family drink this now?!"

Is this thing expensive?

"Nonsense, that's equivalent to three months' salary for you and me!"

Zhao Qiang happened to be carrying dishes out of the kitchen when he heard this and waved his hand enthusiastically.

"Open a bottle and have a taste, don't be shy!"

"That won't work."

Xiao Juan waved her hand: "We rode our motorcycles from the suburbs, more than 50 kilometers away. We have to take turns driving back later, so we can't drink."

Lu Yuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly chuckled.

Wow, they're quite traffic safety conscious.

Amei then took out a red envelope from the inside pocket of her jacket and pushed it in front of Qi Lili.

“Sister Lily, you took care of us sisters in the past... We heard you had a daughter, so we all chipped in to help. Don’t think it’s too little.”

Qi Lili stared blankly at the red envelope on the table.

"Alright, we just came to take a look at you."

Xiao Juan stood up, dusted herself off, and left without hesitation.

"Hey, this..."

Zhao Qiang wanted to keep the guests, but the two had already left like a gust of wind.

Soon, the roar of a motorcycle starting up came from downstairs, growing louder as it receded into the distance.

The room returned to quiet.

Qi Lili opened the red envelope and poured the money inside onto the coffee table.

None of them are in order.

One hundred-yuan note, interspersed with several twenty-yuan notes, ten-yuan notes, and even a few five-yuan and one-yuan notes.

She counted the bills one by one, and when she got to the last one, it turned out to be a lucky number—288.

……

It was already late at night when we left Zhao Qiang's house.

The car drove smoothly on the empty road, and the city's neon lights flashed by outside the window.

As Chen Xiaomiao was driving, she suddenly spoke up: "Lu Yuan, I think... your sister-in-law is a bit pitiful."

"Pitiful?" Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised. "She has a house, a car, a loving husband, and an adorable daughter. How can she be pitiful?"

"Not that pitiful one."

Chen Xiaomiao organized her thoughts: "I feel like she's split herself in two. One half is the current Qi Lili, Qiang Ge's wife, and Jasmine's mother."

The other half is the 'Sister Lily' that the two girls were talking about.

She wanted to hide that "Sister Lily" away, preferably so that no one would ever see her again.

But as soon as the two girls arrived, they pulled out the half she had hidden, leaving her no way to escape.

Lu Yuan looked at his simple-minded and somewhat naive wife; she always seemed to have a clear understanding of things.

"There's nothing we can do about it, because that's just how the world is."

Lu Yuan's voice was deep: "People strive to rise higher, while water flows downhill."

Qi Lili's current social circle is no longer on the same level as her past friends.

She wasn't afraid of losing face herself, but of Zhao Qiang; she was afraid we would look down on her; and she was even more afraid that when her daughter grew up, she would look down on her for being a "delinquent."

“But we wouldn’t,” Chen Xiaomiao quickly denied. “On the contrary, I think she used to be quite powerful, able to protect a group of younger girls, and very impressive.”

“But others don’t see it that way…that’s why Qi Lili lives so hard, afraid of making a wrong step and falling back into the mud.”

"What about me? You're a big boss now, won't you also think I'm unsophisticated, stupid, or an embarrassment to you?"

Lu Yuan raised his hand and gently tapped Chen Xiaomiao's forehead, chuckling as he scolded her.

"Silly girl, you're saying stupid things again."

(End of this chapter)