thefictionvixens Chapter 106: I've finally been defeated by my aunt.
Chapter 106: I've finally been defeated by my aunt.
The speaker was Li Youtian's eldest daughter, Li Xiaoyue.
She married someone from the outskirts of the county town, and came back today specifically to sound her out.
She was eating sunflower seeds, looking at him with disbelief. "That stingy Li Jianshe, who would search for a lost coin with a flashlight for half the night, is actually willing to pluck it this time?"
"Is it alright not to pull it out?"
Li Youtian snorted, took a sip of tea, and said with a hint of smugness, "His son is such a good-for-nothing, no one would even want him except as a son-in-law. Now that he wants to climb up to our family's big tree, he'll have to bleed a little, otherwise where will Li Jianshe's old face be? Besides, this is also a way to make Xiao Tao look good."
Mentioning Xiao Tao, Li Xiaoyue's gaze drifted towards the west room. She lowered her voice and said with a gloating expression, "That's right. With Xiao Tao's reputation... the only one in the surrounding area who would be willing to marry her is that soft persimmon, Li Weimin."
At this moment, a faint scent of face cream wafted through the air in the west room.
The legendary "she-devil" Li Xiaotao, who was said to be able to stop children from crying at night and kill a cow with a single punch, was sitting in front of that somewhat blurry large round mirror.
The person reflected in the mirror did not resemble the "blue-faced, fanged" ghost the villagers described.
On the contrary, it was an extremely vivid and beautiful face.
His eyebrows were thick and arched, exuding a heroic and wild air; his eyes were large and bright, as if they held two deep pools of water; his nose was high and straight; and his lips were naturally red.
Her appearance wasn't the currently popular gentle and demure type; rather, she was a thorny red rose—prickly, yet stunningly beautiful.
She was wearing a floral print polyester shirt, the collar buttons undone, revealing her slender neck and delicate collarbone.
But his sleeves were rolled up high, revealing half of his strong and powerful forearm, and he was holding a wooden comb in his hand, struggling with his thick, black hair.
"You brat, comb it gently! That's hair, not weeds!"
Li Xiaoyue lifted the curtain and walked in, just in time to see her younger sister's rude actions. She quickly stepped forward and snatched the comb from her, saying, "The betrothal is tomorrow, can't you act like a woman?"
Li Xiaotao wasn't annoyed that her comb had been snatched away. She just pouted, stretched out her long legs, and leaned back in her chair with a nonchalant air: "Sis, why are you back? Didn't you say your husband was busy at work?"
"No matter how busy I am, I have to take care of this important matter for you."
As Li Xiaoyue combed her sister's hair, she glanced at her sister's expression in the mirror. "Dad just said that the accountant's family has agreed to a dowry of two hundred yuan, plus two bottles of Moutai, nothing less. Li Jianshe will bring people over tomorrow to exchange gifts."
Li Xiaotao, who had been shaking her leg, suddenly froze.
A fleeting look of panic flashed across her large, usually fierce eyes, followed by a faint blush that spread across her cheeks like ink in water.
If the thugs in the village who had been beaten up by her saw this, their eyes would probably pop out of their sockets.
Li Xiaotao, who used to chase people all over the village with a kitchen knife and even dared to steal food from wild dogs, actually blushed?
"Oh... fine, I'll agree then."
Li Xiaotao forced a smile, turning her head to the side, her fingers unconsciously picking at the red paint on the corner of the table. "That coward, that's all he's good for. The betrothal is tomorrow, can't you act like a woman?"
"Oh, you're still pretty stubborn."
Li Xiaoyue, being an experienced woman, could easily see through her younger sister's little scheme.
She slammed the comb on the table, crossed her arms, and leaned close to Li Xiaotao with a mocking look. "Tell me the truth, aren't you secretly thrilled?"
"Who...who's laughing!"
Li Xiaotao jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice rising eight octaves, "I only did it because I felt sorry for him! With his pathetic appearance, if he married another woman, who knows how badly he would be bullied. It's only because I... it's only because I was kind enough to take in this troublemaker."
"Give me a break!"
Li Xiaoyue laughed so hard she almost fell over, then poked Li Xiaotao's burning forehead with her finger. "We're practically family! Who can you possibly hide your old, trivial secrets from?"
Li Xiaoyue suppressed her smile and began to do the math on her fingers:
"When Li Weimin was ten, some older kids stole his sweet potatoes. Who was it that smashed their heads open with half a brick? When Li Weimin was twelve, he fell into the river. Who jumped in without a word and pulled him out? And the year before last..."
At this point, Li Xiaoyue paused, her eyes becoming even more meaningful: "The year before last, Li Weimin secretly gave Li Xianglian two eggs, and the next day you cornered him at the threshing ground and almost forced him into the pig trough to feed the pigs. Everyone in the village said you'd gone mad, but only I knew you were just incredibly jealous!"
When her older sister so bluntly exposed her secrets, Li Xiaotao's pretty face turned as red as if it were about to bleed, and even the base of her neck turned pink.
Her usual fiery temper had vanished, and she could only angrily cover Li Xiaoyue's mouth.
"Sis! If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute! Get out of here, go back to your hometown!"
"What? You dare to do it but not admit it?"
Li Xiaoyue laughed and dodged, grabbing her younger sister's wrist with a hint of heartache in her eyes. "Actually, I know you've fallen for that silly boy. You think he's weak, you're disappointed in him, but you just can't let him go. You tease him and scare him all the time, isn't it just so you can make him only have eyes for you?"
Li Xiaotao stopped struggling, lowered her head, and her two thick eyelashes trembled, concealing the complex emotions in her eyes.
Yes, everyone in the village calls her a shrew and they're all afraid of her.
Even that coward Li Weimin was like a mouse seeing a cat when he saw her.
Only she knew that her fierce and aggressive demeanor was merely a way to conceal the little bit of concern she felt inside.
That idiot Li Weimin has been following Li Xianglian around since he was a child, and he's never paid attention to anyone else.
The better he treated Li Xianglian, the more intense the fire in Li Xiaotao's heart burned.
She was angry at his lack of ambition, angry at his blindness, and even more angry at herself for actually liking such a spineless man.
So she hit him, scolded him, and embarrassed him in front of everyone.
She wanted to make him fear her, to make him never forget her name, Li Xiaotao, for the rest of his life, even if it was just as a nightmare.
But now, she's really going to marry him.
The dazed feeling of finally getting her long-cherished wish fulfilled, mixed with the panic of facing a man whose heart was set on someone else, threw this thorny red rose into disarray.
"sister……"
Li Xiaotao's voice was muffled, carrying a vulnerability she would never normally show, "Do you think... if he knew how I felt, would he think I was crazy? Would he be even more afraid of me?"
"It's better if I'm afraid of you!"
Li Xiaoyue patted her sister's shoulder with exasperation, "Men are just like that, they'll climb on the roof if you don't discipline them for three days. Li Weimin's soft-hearted personality needs your fiery temper to tame him."
Don't worry, once we're married and living together behind closed doors, you'll have your ways of dealing with him. And then you'll give him a big, healthy son; what can he possibly do then?
At this point, Li Xiaoyue changed the subject, her tone carrying a hint of warning: "But there's something I have to remind you. That Li Xianglian is now married to Qin Rushan, and she's not someone to be trifled with. Now that Li Weimin has entered our family, you have to clean up his old mess. If he still dares to covet that slut, don't hold back. Deal with him however you see fit. As long as you don't kill him, Dad and Mom will back you up."
Li Xiaotao suddenly raised her head, the vulnerability in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by her usual chilling ruthlessness.
She clenched her fist, her knuckles cracking. "He wouldn't dare?"
These two simple words carry an absolute air of dominance and possessiveness.
Li Xiaotao stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.
The cicadas outside were chirping loudly, and the heat wave hit her in the face, but she couldn't suppress the burning sensation in her heart.
"Once he enters my room and climbs onto my kang (heated brick bed), even if he has one leg in his grave, he'll have to keep the other leg crossed obediently."
Li Xiaotao squinted at the distant, rolling mountains. "If he dares to look at that woman even once more, I'll gouge his eyes out and stomp on them."
Although she said those words and uttered a whole bunch of harsh words, when her gaze fell on the bright red wedding dress fabric in the mirror, the hint of spring in her eyes was impossible to hide.
She reached out and gently stroked the smooth silk fabric with her fingertips, her lips unconsciously curving upwards to reveal a small canine tooth that she rarely showed to others.
Li Weimin, Li Weimin, you've really fallen for your aunt's tricks in this lifetime.
……