When Su Li heard Qin Shanshan’s voice, all she wanted to do was hang up.
And that’s exactly what she did.
After saying "hello," Su Li hung up the instant she heard Qin Shanshan’s voice.
She had just hung up and was walking to the door when the phone rang again.
"Ignore it. Let’s go."
She didn’t need to answer to know it was Qin Shanshan, and she didn’t care.
She left with Little Tang Mo. On the other end of the line, however, Qin Shanshan was practically seething.
Qin Shanshan had lost count of how many times she’d sworn to teach the embarrassing Su Li a lesson, how many times she’d vowed to snatch Tang Yuanxiao away.
In the end, she hadn’t managed to get anything. She had thought that if she took the high road and called her "sister-in-law," Su Li would at least be polite for Miao Fenghua and Su Dan’s sake—or for the simple fact that she *was* her sister-in-law. But instead...
She’d barely gotten a word out before Su Li abruptly hung up.
Qin Shanshan was so furious she could have coughed up blood. Indignantly, she called back, but this time, no one answered.
She called three times, but no one picked up.
"No answer?" Su Dan asked, looking over.
Qin Shanshan shot Su Dan a vicious glare. "What is wrong with her? Why is Su Li so cold to you all?"
She had seen how ruthless Su Li was toward her own mother and brother before, but after actually marrying into the Su Family, Qin Shanshan’s understanding of it became much deeper.
’This isn’t just ruthlessness on Su Li’s part; she’s planning to disown them completely!’
Qin Shanshan was not happy about this at all.
Right now, Su Li’s factory was the top enterprise in Fengcheng County. It was raking in money and basking in glory. The factory employed over a hundred—nearly two hundred—workers, and its clothes were selling like hotcakes.
Li Hongqin and Yin Cuihua still came back occasionally, but the factory’s management had been completely handed over to some stranger.
After returning to her hometown to marry, Qin Shanshan had spent her days battling wits with Miao Fenghua. Coupled with her morning sickness, she’d had a difficult time.
Now that the nausea had finally subsided, she started looking for a path forward. Unsurprisingly, her sights landed on Su Li’s factory.
In Qin Shanshan’s mind, now that she had married into the Su Family, they were all one family, regardless of any previous animosity. And it was only natural for family to help each other out.
Miao Fenghua and Su Dan were useless, so it made sense not to rely on them. But she was different.
’After all, I’m an educated woman with a high school diploma. I’d be far better at management than some outsider.’
’I don’t even want to take over the factory. Just a management role would be fine—to help her out, share the burden, and make sure that person is doing their best. That would be acceptable.’
Although she was tightly holding onto that huge sum of four thousand yuan, she still needed a regular income. She couldn’t just live off those four thousand.
Qin Shanshan had it all planned out. She’d get Su Li’s home number, call her, and discuss the matter. But as it turned out, Su Li hung up the moment she heard her voice.
Qin Shanshan was furious, but Su Dan was even more so.
"I told you it was useless to call her. She’s a damn ungrateful wolf. And you still wouldn’t give up."
Su Dan’s tone was nasty.
"What’s with that tone? How dare you speak to me like that?" Qin Shanshan shot back, jutting out her still-small belly.
Pregnant women are naturally sensitive. To begin with, everything about Su Dan already irritated Qin Shanshan, so when he spoke to her that way, her displeasure only grew.
Su Dan glanced at Qin Shanshan’s stomach and swallowed his anger.
"I didn’t mean anything by it. Don’t get the wrong idea."
Qin Shanshan huffed, letting him off the hook for the moment. "With Su Li’s attitude... this is hopeless. We should just go back to the Imperial City."
Qin Shanshan had spent her school years only returning home on weekends, usually staying in the county town. Then she went to the Imperial City. After seeing the exciting world out there, she found it impossible to stay cooped up in the village.
She was already sick and tired of being there.
She had never imagined herself as a farmer. Forcing her to spend her life toiling in the fields—face to the dirt, back to the sky—was a fate worse than death.
She still had that four thousand yuan clutched tightly in her hand. No matter how much Miao Fenghua pressured her or threw tantrums, or how Su Dan tried to coax her, she hadn’t given up a single cent.
’I have to save it for the future. I have to get back to the Imperial City, back to the city, so I can live like a person of status.’
It was a fine idea in Qin Shanshan’s mind, but Su Dan’s expression darkened when he heard it.
"Back to the Imperial City? What for? So you can go find that Tang Yuanxiao again?"
"I’m married to you now, why would I go looking for him? I want to go back to the Imperial City to live a real life! It’s the best place there is, a hundred times better than this Su Family Village. Don’t tell me you actually want to stay in Su Family Village for the rest of your life?"
Frustrated, Qin Shanshan immediately shot back.
What she didn’t know was that Su Dan really did plan to stay in Su Family Village for the rest of his life.
Life here was so comfortable, so free and easy. He didn’t have to put up with those snobs from the Imperial City looking down on him. Here, *he* was the one who got to look down on others.
"What’s wrong with Su Family Village? It’s great here! Shanshan, I may spoil you and let you have your way, but don’t even think about running off to the Imperial City. I won’t let you go," Su Dan said in a half-threatening tone.
"I’m not talking about *me* running off to the Imperial City, I’m talking about *us* going together! What’s so great about Su Family Village? Don’t you have any ambition? Don’t you want to better yourself?"
Qin Shanshan shot back her own threat. "Let me tell you something, Su Dan. I am not spending the rest of my life in Su Family Village. If you’re willing, we’ll go to the Imperial City together. If not, I’ll go by myself!"
With a final huff, she turned and walked away, leaving Su Dan simmering with rage.
He clenched his fists, his face a mask of fury.
Su Dan had cherished Qin Shanshan. He had gone through hell and high water to marry her, hoping to build a good life together. At first, he doted on her and stood by her, but gradually, he realized things weren’t what they seemed.
Even though they were under the same roof, Qin Shanshan wouldn’t let him touch her. She said she was pregnant and they couldn’t have sex.
Fine, he could understand that. But she wouldn’t even let him kiss, hug, or caress her. Su Dan grew increasingly frustrated.
He and his good-for-nothing friends in Su Family Village had peeked at girls bathing more than once, and they’d also snuck off to watch dirty movies.
Miao Fenghua kept a tight leash on Su Dan, so he never got the chance to go with them to the county town to find prostitutes. But most of the others had gone, and they talked about it all the time.
After Su Dan got married, the talk became even more enthusiastic, and they’d egg him on to share details about his own experiences.
Too bad Su Dan was all talk. In reality, Qin Shanshan wouldn’t let him lay a finger on her.
Su Dan had little hands-on experience, but he’d heard plenty. He knew there were still a lot of things you could do, even with a pregnant woman.
Qin Shanshan wouldn’t let him look or touch her, and on two separate occasions, she had even called out "Brother Tang Yuan" in her sleep. One can only imagine the rage burning in Su Dan’s heart.
Before he’d married her, he could tolerate anything. But now she was his wife. What man could stand his wife still having another man in her heart?
In his mind, the reason she wouldn’t let him touch her was because her heart still belonged to Tang Yuanxiao.
Su Dan had put up with it for days, and he had finally had enough. He ignored the fact that Qin Shanshan had walked out and went straight to find his friends for a drink.
He was half-drunk when he started for home, but he kept drinking along the way. By the time he arrived, he was completely wasted.
He staggered into the room with a drunken giggle and tried to hug Qin Shanshan. The stench of alcohol on him made her stomach turn, and she hastily shoved him away.
Su Dan stumbled and fell. When he looked up and saw the look of disgust on Qin Shanshan’s face, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes. He scrambled to his feet and swung his hand at her face.
"You stinking bitch! You dare push me?!"