I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 275: Sleepwalking

Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Sleepwalking

They treated her well, they didn’t hide her origins from her; she only realized when she grew up that no matter how well they treated her, it was still different from having one’s own children.

She also hated; hated why her own parents had died so early. If they were still around, would those people still look at her with pity and sympathy?

She disliked such gazes.

According to her parents’ achievements, she was also the descendant of a military family.

Watching those progeny who were arrogant and proud under the shelter of their parents, she gritted her teeth in anger.

The bright path paved with the blood of martyrs was walked by those who had nothing to do with the martyrs.

This was what people meant by "the ancestors plant the trees, and their descendants enjoy the shade."

And she had to rely on herself for everything.

Yu Jing lurked in the darkness, her face twisted as she watched her daughter, still looking anxious as she slept, and silently made up her mind.

...

Because the school was close, there was no rush in packing up.

Over the past few days, Li Mingguang and Rongrong had been keeping Xiao Xiao company.

He Xiuyu took on two more days of work before returning.

Wang Feng’s funeral had already been handled.

Speaking of which, He Xiuyu felt rather wistful; after all, Wang Feng was strong and in his prime, the perfect time to pursue a career.

Qiao Qingyu didn’t tell He Xiuyu about Su Yunyao’s visit; it was all unimportant chatter, and there was no point in telling him.

However, Qiao Qingyu did grumble a few words about Old Lady Zhao, and He Xiuyu was helpless to react.

He consoled his wife, "Old Lady Zhao is old, and although her behavior is very annoying, you really mustn’t take her seriously."

"If I really took her seriously, would she dare to come?"

Qiao Qingyu glared, and He Xiuyu chuckled lightly, pulled her into his arms, turned off the light with a sweep of his hand, and pressed his thin lips down. It was a beautiful time, and rare was the day he wasn’t busy; he didn’t want to waste it on useless people.

...

Qiao Qingyu gave this month’s wages to Wang Laogen, and as she drove the tractor back to the base, she didn’t expect to see Dashun’s mother waiting for her at the door.

Nowadays, her relationship with Zhu Guizhi was quite good.

Her complexion was poor, and Qiao Qingyu didn’t know what was wrong, but she let her into the house and asked her what was the matter. But to her surprise, Zhu Guizhi got up to close the open door before sitting down on the edge of the kang bed, her face filled with worry as she spoke to Qiao Qingyu, "I’ve been pondering this for over half a month now, and the more I think about it, the more it seems wrong, the more frightened I become, but I don’t know who to talk to about it."

Qiao Qingyu’s smile also faded, "Sister Zhu, if there’s something troubling you, feel free to talk to me if you think you can. If you can’t, don’t obsess over it."

"Yun Yao, if Old Lady Zhao tries to take advantage of you again, don’t let her in."

Qiao Qingyu replied with a pained expression, "You say that, but I can’t keep my door locked all day. Even if I did lock it, I’d have to open it as soon as she knocked. That old lady has such thick skin, not even a machine gun could pierce through it."

"Ah, that’s true. No one knows what to do with her; she’s always taking advantage of her age, plucking onions from one house and snatching vegetable leaves from another. Can you believe she’s still causing such trouble at her age? It’s incredibly annoying."

At this point, Zhu Guizhi’s expression seemed much better, but she lowered her voice and continued, "Yun Yao, still try to avoid her if you can. There’s something I want to tell you..."

"What is it, Sister Zhu?"

"Well, I have this sleepwalking issue. It doesn’t happen often, but I did sleepwalk during this year’s New Year. Somehow, I ended up at the very back of our base’s family housing area - yes, right at Old Wei’s place..."

Qiao Qingyu knew that was the house Old Wei had been allocated. However, Old Wei’s family lived elsewhere, so the house was empty for the time being, with Old Wei mostly staying in the dormitory.

As Zhu Guizhi spoke, her expression became somewhat strange.

"You know how sleepwalkers don’t really feel the outside world, but I tripped over the threshold and suddenly woke up. It scared me to death, wondering how I got there when I was clearly in my own warm bed. Thankfully, I was wearing cotton shoes and clothing. Just no hat, and it was terribly cold."

As Zhu Guizhi reached this point, she paused again. Qiao Qingyu poured her a glass of water, "Take your time, Sister Zhu, no need to rush."

Qiao Qingyu, however, was also thinking that Zhu Guizhi must have witnessed something shocking; otherwise, she would not wear such an expression.

Sure enough, Zhu Guizhi continued, "I was just about to head home when I heard a man and a woman... you know, the sounds they make when they’re having ’that kind of activity.’ It scared the life out of me; I thought there were ghosts. I couldn’t catch my breath for a moment. Then I felt something was off. Guess whose voices they were?"

Qiao Qingyu widened her eyes at Zhu Guizhi, thinking how would I know, yet she played along and asked, "Who were they?"

"It was Sister Yu’s husband, Wang Feng, and Mr. Zhao’s daughter-in-law, Tian Li."

Qiao Qingyu’s eyes widened in shock, "Really? Are you sure you didn’t mishear?"

"How could I mishear that? It was for real, I wasn’t dreaming. Those two were talking dirty while at it... I won’t repeat what they said to you..."

"Later, I thought maybe it was just a dream, but such stuff weighs on your mind, especially seeing Tian Li and Wang Feng during the day. We all live in such close quarters in the same compound. Eventually, I caught them in the act again. Those two went to Old Wei’s house in the middle of the night."

"They don’t even fear freezing to death; it’s just vile."

As she said this, Zhu Guizhi grabbed her teacup and downed a big gulp of water, then breathed out a long sigh of relief.

Then she leaned in closer to Qiao Qingyu, "You see, Huang Ling and Old Zhao have been together for half a lifetime, and they still don’t have any children. And now Tian Li gets pregnant not long after marrying into their family. I suspect that the child in Tian Li’s womb could very well be Wang Feng’s. But now that Wang Feng is gone, Tian Li hasn’t shown any reaction. I’ve been thinking it over these past few days and felt I should come warn you. Since you’re living so close to Old Lady Zhao and Tian Li, it’s best to keep your distance from that family. They’re no good."

After sharing this, Zhu Guizhi felt much better. She also told Qiao Qingyu to keep this to herself – with Wang Feng gone and Old Zhao willing to play the role of the real father, they might as well let him. It’s just too bad for Yu Jing and Xiao Xiao; they’ve really had bad luck.

She finished with, "Yun Yao, have you noticed how few good men there are in this world? I heard you’re planning to go to school soon. You also need to be careful."

Qiao Qingyu smiled, "Thank you for the heads up, Sister Zhu, but we can’t generalize based on a few instances. There are still plenty of good men out there. Look at how good your husband is to you and the kids."

Zhu Guizhi actually laughed. She had been the one to start the trouble, but reconciling with He XiuYu’s house was all thanks to her husband’s efforts.

He was good to her and the children on regular days.

But still...