Chapter 17: , both offensive and defensive

Regarding her mother sitting motionless across from her on the sofa.

At first, Xiao Han didn't care at all; she took the Chinese study guide from the coffee table, lowered her head, and flipped through it on her own, looking very serious.

Just like that, the mother glared at her daughter, and the daughter kept her head down reading her book. The living room was quiet for a time, with only the occasional sound of pages turning.

Thus, I don't know how much time passed...

Wei Shiman, whose eyes were tired from watching, couldn't hold on anymore. She changed her posture to relax her body and asked:

"Don't you intend to say something to Mom?"

Hearing this, Xiao Han raised her head with a face full of sorrow, glanced at her, and said crisply: "Being your daughter is truly exhausting."

Wei Shiman remained unmoved: "What is his real name?"

"Don't you already know?"

"I know my daughter; perhaps that was a fake one too."

Xiao Han pouted, smiled helplessly, and said bluntly: "His name doesn't matter. If you insist on having a convenient way to address him, just call him 'Cat or Dog'."

Wei Shiman stared into her daughter's eyes, paused for two seconds, and asked again: "Where is Li Heng from?"

Facing such a deliberately difficult question, Xiao Han chose to ignore it. After finishing one page, she flipped to the next.

Five minutes passed in silence. Wei Shiman, tortured, finally lost her patience and reached out to snatch the book from her daughter.

She deliberately used a goading tactic to ask: "Tell Mom, why did you lie? Do you like this boy?"

Just at this moment, the family's pet cat jumped from the other end of the sofa to Xiao Han's side. She grabbed the cat by the neck, lifted it up to tease it, and asked:

"If I said I liked him, what would be the consequences?"

Her gaze slowly swept past the cat and landed on her daughter. The playful look on Wei Shiman's face gradually vanished, replaced by a serious expression.

Seeing this, the young girl's face twisted into a knot. She pinched the cat's face with both hands and stretched it, saying miserably: "I was only testing the waters. If it were real, wouldn't my legs be broken?"

Wei Shiman spoke sternly: "If it were real, I would be polite before using force; I would first notify you to leave him."

Xiao Han used her thumb and index finger to pry open the cat's eyelids, making the cat roll its eyes at her mother three times. She sighed self-pityingly:

"Little cat, when a person is too pretty, they are easily targeted. Being a human is so hard. Someone once said the exact same thing to me before."

Wei Shiman asked: "Who?"

Xiao Han replied: "Chen Zijin."

Hearing this, Wei Shiman was somewhat stunned. She finally reacted, saying that the name Li Heng sounded familiar; it turned out to be connected to Chen Zijin.

It turned out to be related to that rumor in Shangwan Village.

Throughout middle school and high school, her daughter got along best with Yang Yingwen and Chen Zijin, and she would invite the two classmates over to the house for meals from time to time.

Therefore, Wei Shiman was not only not a stranger to Chen Zijin, but was actually extremely familiar with her.

Imagining Chen Zijin's delicate beauty in her mind, Wei Shiman asked in surprise: "Isn't Chen Zijin's family background very good? How could she take a fancy to this Li Heng just now?"

"Mom, do you think he isn't good enough for Chen Zijin?"

"I won't comment on what he's like, but in this small place of ours, few people are good enough for her."

Xiao Han echoed: "I was also puzzled, and I once asked Chen Zijin about this question."

Wei Shiman was invisibly drawn into the question and asked curiously: "What did she say?"

Xiao Han patted the cat's head and said mischievously: "What could she say? Naturally, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

She said that anyone who doesn't know how to appreciate Li Heng has a problem with their vision."

Hearing this, Wei Shiman felt very awkward.

She stared fixedly at this mischievous girl in front of her, always feeling that her daughter was pointing at the mulberry to curse the locust tree, but she couldn't find any evidence for a moment.

Seeing that her mother's eyes were about to grow thorns, Xiao Han narrowed her smiling eyes and hurriedly cleared herself of suspicion: "These are Chen Zijin's original words; you can't frame your own daughter. If you don't believe me, ask Yingwen later."

Wei Shiman suddenly developed a sense of gossip: "Is that rumor true? Are Li Heng and Zijin...?"

Xiao Han turned her head, her eyes appearing incredibly clear: "What rumor?"

Wei Shiman raised her hand and patted her daughter's arm: "You mischievous girl, what are you pretending for? I don't believe you haven't heard it. When people were rushing to the fairs before the New Year, those people were spreading it like crazy.

There are all kinds of versions, but the meaning is roughly the same; they are all talking about the poor boy and the noble daughter of the Chen family sleeping together."

Xiao Han continued to tease the cat: "I have heard this rumor. It is said that Chen Zijin's aunt caught them in the act, but you also understand the principle that family shame should not be spread. If her aunt really caught them, how could it have spread out? It's probably someone making up rumors."

Wei Shiman shook her head: "The version I heard is different. It's true that Zijin's aunt caught them, but someone passing by in the courtyard happened to overhear it under the window. This is what others spread."

In fact, she believed this version of the rumor more. In this era, many rural houses are courtyard-style, and each household is close to the other. It is common for people to be accidentally caught stealing or having affairs.

Otherwise, according to the saying that family shame should not be spread, the world would be peaceful, and there would be no gossip.

She actually guessed right; the matter of Li Heng and Chen Zijin was overheard by Fatty Aunt when she passed by the Chen family's window, and she was also the one who poked it out.

After finishing, Wei Shiman stared tightly at her daughter, observing her daughter's expression.

Growing up, this was the first time she had been strictly interrogated like a criminal by her own mother. Xiao Han was somewhat tearful and asked back righteously:

"If you were as young and pretty as I am, would you take a fancy to a twice-married man?"

The three words "twice-married man" made Wei Shiman feel like a spring breeze, and she smiled and said:

"For that rice today, if I had bargained, I might have been able to buy it for seventeen cents. Mom spent three yuan and seven cents more for my daughter's face; this will be deducted from your living expenses."

Hearing that her money was going to be deducted, Xiao Han grabbed the cat forcefully in frustration. The cat crawled on the ground, not daring to resist, with a face full of resentment.

Seeing this scene, Wei Shiman's smile grew even wider, and she got up and left.

She couldn't help but sigh in her heart: Ever since her daughter grew up, this was the first time she had managed to handle her. This feeling was very refreshing.

As for the relationship between her daughter and Li Heng, she didn't ask further, nor did she ask why her daughter helped the other party today.

Because of Chen Zijin's existence, everything could be explained.

Of course, what made her, as a mother, even more relieved was: over the past 6 years, her daughter had never mentioned a single word about Li Heng at home.

Therefore, she chose to believe her daughter.

At dinner time, before Wei Shiman could ask how the rice tasted, her husband Xiao Hai took a bite of rice and already spoke: "Did you change to new rice?"

Wei Shiman picked up a piece of chicken breast for him: "New rice bought today, how is the taste?"

Xiao Hai supported his gold-rimmed glasses with his right hand and praised: "Soft, sticky, and fragrant, with an aftertaste. It's better than all the rice you bought the previous few times."

Hearing her husband's high praise, Wei Shiman lowered her head to taste two bites, and said happily a moment later:

"It's indeed not bad. Tomorrow I will take two bags of rice to your eldest sister; she should like to eat it."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====