Li Chunhua realized for the first time how easy it was to deceive her daughter-in-law. Thinking of how serious Xiao Zhu had been, trying to bear the discomfort for the sake of the family, her heart softened a bit. She mimicked her son by gently tapping He Xuezhuz’s forehead.
“You’ve married into our family now. Come on, let’s go inside. Mom has made chicken soup for you.”
Her son was back home, and having successfully sent the troublesome mother and son duo away, Li Chunhua felt relieved and happy as she busied herself in the kitchen. He Xuezhuz helped her, but when the food was ready, there was still no sign of Lin Shiheng in the house.
Li Chunhua instructed her daughter-in-law to set the table and lifted the door curtain to call for him. Before entering, she peeked through the crack in the door, just in case the child had fallen asleep. She saw the handsome young man sitting by the window, staring blankly at a piece of paper. Feeling relieved, she pushed the door open and walked in.
“Shiheng, it’s time to eat…”
Lin Shiheng, who had his back to her, flinched and quickly shoved the paper into the drawer, turning around with a stiff expression that betrayed a hint of panic. “Okay, okay, I’ll be right there.”
Li Chunhua’s brows immediately furrowed.
Suspicion arose in her heart, but she maintained a cheerful facade. “Hurry up, your wife is waiting for you.”
“Alright, I’ll be there now.”
Lin Shiheng stood up to pull Li Chunhua along. “Mom, let’s go out together.”
Clearly, he didn’t want her to remain in the room and see that paper.
Her curiosity intensified. Had her son acted that way just now? If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have thought much of it. But remembering how panicked he looked while hiding the paper…
Once they arrived in the yard, Li Chunhua smiled, “I’ll go back inside to grab something. You head over first.”
Lin Shiheng stood still, watching her hurry into the house. He thought about the diagnosis stating he could no longer have children and subtly raised an eyebrow.
As He Xuezhuz just finished setting the table, she looked up and saw her husband standing in the yard. Seeing him lift his brows slightly, with a half-smile on his face, she inexplicably felt flustered, even though they had been married for three years.
Just then, Lin Shiheng flashed her a smile. “Xuezhuz, what’s on the menu today?”
His voice was gentle, with a slight magnetic tone, causing He Xuezhuz to tremble slightly as she placed her chopsticks down. Her face turned red as she instinctively lowered her head and replied softly, “There’s stewed old hen soup, smashed cucumber, and cabbage…”
For the Lin family, this was quite a lavish spread. Lin Shiheng smiled and sat down, glancing at the perfectly stewed chicken soup on the table, expressing mild surprise, “Did Mom know I was coming back today? It takes quite a while to stew this soup.”
Hearing this, He Xuezhuz lowered her head even more, reflecting on her husband’s distant demeanor in the past and his usual questions about whether she was taking good care of his mother whenever he returned, her voice quivering slightly, “The soup… was made by Mom for me.”
Once she finished speaking, her face was flushed with tension, fearing her husband would think she hadn’t properly honored her mother-in-law. Yet she could find no words to explain, standing there awkwardly as if awaiting judgment.
Lin Shiheng looked at He Xuezhuz. Despite facing the person he shared his bed with, she stood rigidly, her hands twisted together—a clear sign of guilt and fear.
He could easily guess the reason behind her demeanor. Growing up belittled had made He Xuezhuz very insecure; if anyone placed blame on her, whether she was at fault or not, she would spiral into self-doubt and guilt.
He Xuezhuz was indeed feeling guilty. As a daughter-in-law, she had her mother-in-law cook chicken soup for her, and she had consumed it for several days. Although Li Chunhua had also had some, the nature of “Mom specially making chicken soup for her” felt vastly different.
Would Shiheng misunderstand? Would he think she bullied Mom?
She wanted to explain that she had initially refused, but Mom insisted she drink it to nourish herself, so she could get ready for Shiheng’s return, but how could she articulate such matters?
He Xuezhuz felt her face growing hot, her fingers gripping each other until they turned white. Just as she was in a fluster, Lin Shiheng suddenly reached out and grasped her hands.
“Xuezhuz, it seems you really care for Mom. If not, given her personality, she wouldn’t be willing to make you soup. Thank you for helping take care of her at home. It must be hard, right?”
He Xuezhuz, hearing his gentle words, looked up in disbelief, staring blankly at Lin Shiheng. She had not expected him to say such a thing to her.
She was stunned for several seconds before recalling to respond, “N-no, it’s not hard. I didn’t do much…”
The handsome man before her looked at her with kindness, slightly bowing to gaze at her hands, gently rubbing the calluses on her fingers.
He Xuezhuz felt a twinge of insecurity and wanted to retract her hands instinctively. “Don’t look, they’re ugly…”
“Where are they ugly? To me, they are a testament to your hard work. Xuezhuz, if Mom can make you chicken soup, it means you’re really wonderful. You don’t need to feel that way.”
“Come, sit down and drink the soup.”
He Xuezhuz was pulled to sit down, watching Lin Shiheng smilingly ladle soup for her. The joy and happiness she felt earlier morphed into bitterness.
So, his kindness toward her was merely because of his mother?
Shiheng had always been filial to his mother, as she had always known.
His kindness now stemmed from the belief that his mother liked her, but as far as He Xuezhuz was concerned, she was fully aware of whether Li Chunhua genuinely cared for her or not.
Clearly, it was something that needed to be said, but looking at her husband being so tender and considerate, even personally serving her soup—with warmth in his gaze—He Xuezhuz found herself unable to speak.
Under Lin Shiheng’s gentle persuasion, she picked up the bowl and took a small sip of the chicken soup, feeling a mix of bitterness and sadness. Even though she was feeling unwell, she mustered a smile to look at her husband, who was treating her so gently as if it were a dream. “It’s very delicious.”