Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

Yan Xiaowu kept his eyes fixed on the two boxes of pastries, secretly pleased with himself.

See? I told you this woman was easy to fool.

Yesterday I got two meat pies, and today I'm getting this expensive dessert in return.

At this rate...

It won't be long before they can enter the inner sanctum.

"Is this for me to eat?" Yan Xiaowu asked, pointing to the snack box.

"For you."

Mao Qiaozhen handed the box over.

Yan Xiaowu couldn't wait to open a box of mung bean cakes.

He took a piece and put it in his mouth.

"It's delicious." Yan Xiaowu chewed on the pastry and said indistinctly, "Qiaozhen, you must be a virtuous wife and loving mother."

He swallowed the snack.

Looking at Mao Qiaozhen's face.

He looked very affectionate.

"Don't worry, I will definitely treat you well from now on."

Yan Xiaowu solemnly promised, "If you don't want to go back to my hometown with me and live a hard life, I will work my ass off to stay in Beijing and make a living. I will definitely earn a stable home for you here with my own hands."

If this were said yesterday...

Mao Qiaozhen would surely be moved to tears upon hearing this.

"sorry."

Mao Qiaozhen looked directly into his eyes and said, "I think we're not a good match."

Yan Xiaowu almost spat out the crumbs of pastry in his mouth.

He didn't react at all.

One second she was buying herself some time-honored snacks.

The next second they said it wasn't appropriate?

"You...what did you say?" Yan Xiaowu's eyes widened. "Inappropriate? What's inappropriate about it?"

He quickly stepped forward.

"Did my aunt talk badly about me to you?"

Yan Xiaowu became anxious, "Don't listen to that old woman's nonsense. She just doesn't like me and deliberately threw dirty water on me."

"It has nothing to do with your aunt."

Mao Qiaozhen explained, "I thought about it carefully myself. I feel that you are not the kind of person I like."

Yan Xiaowu's face stiffened.

A hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

But he managed to suppress his temper.

"Why don't you like me anymore?" Yan Xiaowu looked hurt. "Wasn't I good enough to you? It was so cold yesterday, and I even went out of my way to bring you meat pies. You were clearly very happy then."

"At first, because someone was pursuing me, I might have thought that meant they liked me. But when I think about spending my life with you, I realize that you're not the one I'm looking for at all."

Yan Xiaowu stood there, stunned.

"Consider these two boxes of pastries as repayment for the meat pie you gave me yesterday. Let's not contact each other privately anymore."

After Mao Qiaozhen finished speaking, she turned around and walked towards the alley.

"Stop right there." Yan Xiaowu grabbed Mao Qiaozhen's arm.

Extremely strong.

It pulled her so hard she stumbled.

Mao Qiaozhen struggled to break free, "What are you doing? Let me go."

"Explain yourself clearly. Why should we break up like this? Did you hear someone gossiping? Did that gossipy roommate in your building instigate you?"

Mao Qiaozhen frowned.

"Who? Don't talk nonsense. Our business has nothing to do with others."

Yan Xiaowu didn't believe it at all.

"It really wasn't something someone else said?"

"No," Mao Qiaozhen looked at him. "My eyes aren't blind; I can see for myself."

"What did I do wrong? What are you unhappy about? I'll change it, okay?"

Mao Qiaozhen shook off his hand.

"Whatever you like about me, I can change."

These words completely ignited Yan Xiaowu's anger.

The deep emotion on his face was torn apart.

His facial features contorted.

"What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for, you lowlife?"

Yan Xiaowu pointed at Mao Qiaozhen's nose and started cursing, "Do you think I'm poor? Do you think I can't give you anything? You're jealous that other women have found men who drive Jeeps, and you want to climb the social ladder too?"

Mao Qiaozhen was terrified by his cannibalistic appearance.

His face turned pale instantly.

"Watch your mouth."

"What did I say wrong?"

"You're a jinx who's lost both your parents, and you dare to be picky? I don't mind that you're a jinx to my parents, but you look down on me?"

Mao Qiaozhen was trembling all over.

Yan Xiaowu's insults became increasingly offensive.

"Someone like you, if you don't want to talk, get lost. What's the point of stringing me along? If it weren't for your Beijing residency, I wouldn't even give you a second glance. You're just a stinking clothes-selling girl, thinking you're the boss?"

Unpleasant and offensive language came crashing down on me.

Mao Qiaozhen was so scolded that she couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

Just then.

A figure emerged from the street corner.

"Xiao Wu, what are you doing?"

Yan Xiaowu's uncle, Yan Dagui, rushed over and pulled Yan Xiaowu away. "We all do business on this street, we see each other all the time, what kind of noise are you making?"

"Xiao Mao, I'm sorry."

Yan Xiaowu was still stubbornly cursing:

"Uncle, don't interfere. I'll give this gold-digging woman a good talking-to today. She's got a lot of bad habits, yet she still wants to climb the social ladder."

Yan Dagui, holding his nephew, turned and shouted at Mao Qiaozhen:

"Little girl, you should go now."

Mao Qiaozhen's tears fell in large drops.

"Uncle, I'm leaving."

She turned and ran wildly towards the direction of the tenement.

A cold wind blew into my throat.

Some pain.

Pushing open the door of the tenement, Mao Qiaozhen immediately saw Aunt Wu.

Mao Qiaozhen ran over.

He hugged Aunt Wu tightly and burst into tears.

"Oh dear, what's wrong?" Aunt Wu was startled and reached out to pat Mao Qiaozhen's back.

Hearing the commotion, Chang Ping also ran out of the house.

"Qiaozhen? What happened? Did that Yan Xiaowu bully you?" Chang Ping asked anxiously.

Mao Qiaozhen was sobbing uncontrollably, and looked up at Aunt Wu.

"Grandma Wu, do I look so mean? Am I really destined to bring bad luck to my parents?"

Aunt Wu's face immediately fell.

"Which feudal old codger crawled out of the graveyard, spewing filth with a dead man's mouth?"

Aunt Wu launched into a tirade, "How dare he spew filth in front of an old woman like me! I'll teach him a lesson about the power of a thousand-year-old foot odor!"

Aunt Wu rolled up her sleeve to wipe Mao Qiaozhen's tears.

"You have regular features and a round face, which is a sign of good fortune. Your parents' fate is their own karma, what does it have to do with a young girl like you?"

If you really have a knack for bringing bad luck to others, you should stick to your enemies every day and kill those sons of bitches.

Chang Ping: "Grandma is right."

Aunt Wu continued to comfort her:

"You've lived in our compound for so long, how come I haven't seen anyone suffer misfortune?"

If you ask me, I'd say you young ladies are full of energy and have good luck. This old codger of mine, after living with you for so long, has even made my legs feel much more agile.

Mao Qiaozhen listened to these crude words.

The grievances in my heart gradually dissipated, and the tears stopped.

"Grandma, it must have been Yan Xiaowu who scolded Qiaozhen," Chang Ping complained angrily.

Aunt Wu frowned and asked:

"Who's this guy? What does he do?"

Grandpa Zhao, who lives next door, heard the noise and came over.

"Yan Xiaowu, he's the nephew of the owner of that Northeastern restaurant at the alley entrance." Grandpa Zhao took a sip of tea. "His uncle and aunt are nice people, hardworking and enthusiastic."

I don't know how I ended up with such a nephew; he's so rude. I always have to go when his aunt and uncle are home for dumplings, otherwise I'm guaranteed to get a lot of rudeness from that kid.

Aunt Wu sneered:

"He dares to bully the girls in our compound? Does he think there's no one left in this tenement? Tomorrow I'll get a few of my old ladies to go and teach him a lesson. When it comes to cursing, that cowardly little brat is still too green."

Aunt Wu patted Mao Qiaozhen on the shoulder.

"Alright, stop crying. Go back to your room and get some sleep. Tomorrow, just go about your business. I'll stand up for you."

Mao Qiaozhen nodded.

He followed Chang Ping into the house.

……

Song Tingting had just turned into the alley.

A person darted out of the shadows and blocked her way.

By the dim light of the streetlamp, she recognized the other person as Yan Xiaowu.

The smell of alcohol mixed with the smell of cigarettes wafted straight to my nose.

"How can you be so heartless, woman?" Yan Xiaowu gritted her teeth. "You can't stand seeing others do well, can you?"

Song Tingting looked at him coldly.

"Who are you? What do you mean?"

Yan Xiaowu snorted coldly:

"What are you pretending for? Isn't it because you spoke ill of me in front of Qiaozhen that she refuses to date me?"

"You shameless woman, you can't find a good man yourself, so you wish all the women in the world were single like you."

Song Tingting is not as easy to control as Mao Qiaozhen.

"So it was you, that gigolo who just wanted to live off his wife and have no children."

Yan Xiaowu's expression changed:

"What did you say?"

Song Tingting's gaze was icy.

"Did I say something wrong? You think you can exchange a five-cent meat pie for a Beijing residency permit and someone's entire fortune? You've got a pretty good plan, haven't you? I could hear you from three miles away."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Yan Xiaowu was furious and raised his hand as if to hit someone.

Song Tingting didn't even blink.

"You dare touch me?"

Yan Xiaowu's raised hand froze in mid-air.

He's a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong.

He dared to hurl insults at Mao Qiaozhen because he knew she was weak.

But facing a tough opponent like Song Tingting who wouldn't back down.

Instead, he chickened out.

"Afraid to fight?"

Song Tingting looked at him and said, "Then move aside."

Yan Xiaowu gritted his teeth, "You just wait, I'll make you pay sooner or later."

"I'll wait." Song Tingting took a step forward.

"But I'm warning you. Stay away from Mao Qiaozhen from now on. If I see you bothering her again, I won't just scold you, I'll beat you every time I see you."