I used rebirth to bury his captivating gaze.

Chapter 76 Liu Shulan enters Yu Mei's rented apartment (Yu Mei does not speak in this chapter)

Yu Han wasn't angry at Yu Mei's disregard. She knew that Yu Mei must have encountered some unspeakable trouble to come here for a blind date!

Yu Mei, who is usually full of fighting spirit and aloofness, could never be someone who would live with a man and get pregnant without a wedding.

She is a woman who has received nine years of compulsory education, and her small village is full of evil spirits. If she presents herself in front of the villagers in this way, she will definitely not be able to bear their ridicule and sarcasm, which will hurt her dignity as a human being!

Yu Mei's disregard for Yu Han stemmed from several factors: her unwillingness to admit defeat and her reluctance to reveal her own shortcomings. The person she wanted to compare herself to was her cousin, Yu Han.

But the more they compare themselves to others, the more unwilling they are to admit defeat, and the more they want to stand out from the crowd, the more things don't go as planned!

A girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old ran out of Old Liu's room, smiling and greeting Yu Mei and Chen Lixin. Then the girl turned around, took Yu Mei's hand, and...

The three entered a rented room, and then, with a loud bang, Yu Mei slapped the little girl's hand away, turned around and glared fiercely at Yu Han, then pushed the man's body aside and slammed the wooden door shut with both hands.

Liu Shulan had been on a long-distance bus all morning and was so tired that she fell asleep after lunch.

When Yu Han saw that she had woken up, she told Liu Shulan what she had seen about Yu Mei. Liu Shulan was bewildered and, in surprise, hurriedly got out of bed, dressed, and went to Yu Mei's rented room in the courtyard.

Yu Han didn't go. She knew Yu Mei wouldn't want her to know her embarrassing side; she had her own dignity! How could a person's dignity be violated by others, especially by a woman more capable than her who knew her darker side?

Yu Han looked into Yu Mei's room through the two open, vertically folding wooden windows.

Yu Han did not stop Liu Shulan. Things had to be faced and resolved. Her third aunt had already entrusted such a big matter to the mother and daughter.

Before the mother and daughter came, Diao Yan almost came with them to look for Yu Mei. Yu Han could also give her aunt the money for the round-trip bus tickets. She was just afraid that if her aunt came, she might not be able to find Yu Mei, and then she would be even more heartbroken. She gave her a white lie to comfort her wounded heart, so that it would be better than her restless heart, unable to sleep all night, thinking about Yu Mei.

On the contrary, Yang Zhi and Liu Yue had two more daughters. The eldest was a son, and the second and third were daughters. Before they had children, the couple had never cared about Yu Mei. Now that they had three children of their own, they cared even less about Yu Mei's life or death. They thought it would be better if she got married as soon as possible, leaving her as a freeloader.

Liu Shulan entered Yu Mei's house, where Yu Mei's boyfriend Chen Lixin and her sister-in-law Chen Lixia were present.

Several people were sitting on the large heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) in the east room of the three-room house, with Lixin sitting on the edge of the kang.

Chen Lixin knew Liu Shulan. He had seen the people in the south wing when he, his mother, and Yu Mei first went to the Yang family's courtyard. So when she was caught off guard and entered the room, she was only stunned for a moment before she warmly welcomed Liu Shulan.

He then asked her how she got here and why she rented a place here, and the two started chatting.

In fact, his family had nothing to offer to entertain the first family members of his wife's family. They were so poor that they didn't even have a cup of tea to offer the guests, so they could only use this half bowl of boiled water as tea.

Liu Shulan smiled gently at Chen Lixin in return.

Yang Yumei felt somewhat embarrassed upon seeing her second aunt's arrival. Her appearance, figure, and family background made someone as ambitious as her feel ashamed. At that moment, she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground to preserve her appearance.

Yu Mei turned her face toward the wall and did not speak to her second aunt.

Liu Shulan noticed Yu Mei's expression and knew what she was thinking. But what Liu Shulan couldn't understand was how this girl, who was usually very smart and clever, could have ended up with a poor city person without any formal relationship or status.

Perhaps this girl made a mistake and was bewitched. After all, she is still young. But what role was that matchmaker, Zou Laqian, playing?

She looked around the room and its furnishings. The mud-brick walls, painted white with lime, were no longer pristine white and were now covered in black dust!

The house was practically bare, with a simple wooden cabinet placed against the wall on the cement floor. There wasn't a single household appliance, not even a sewing machine that women used for weddings at the time. The red and green quilts were half-new and half-old, and the two pairs of pink and green silk pillows looked about 80% new.

A thin layer of floral plastic sheeting was laid on the kang (heated brick bed). At that time, in rural areas, kangs were generally covered with mats woven from sorghum stalks, with straw underneath. Then fleas and lice appeared.

Things are different in the countryside now. They lay down kang leather, paint it green or white, let it dry outside, and then lay it on the kang.

In the city, most of the heated brick beds in the single-story houses are covered with kang leather of various colors. Almost no one uses a thin layer of plastic.

It seems that the city family that Yu Mei married is really poor.

Chen Lixin noticed that Yu Mei's face was turned inward and she didn't say a word to Liu Shulan. He knew what she was thinking. Her grievances stemmed from his selfish desire to get her in the past.

Then he took his younger sister Lixia and walked out, turning back to Liu Shulan and saying, "Second Aunt, please sit down first, he'll go sit in Uncle Liu's room."

He wanted to give them time to talk. He figured if he went out, Yu Mei would talk to Liu Shulan, and she could finally say what was on her mind, which would be good for the baby in the mother's womb.

Liu Shulan watched Chen Lixin lead her younger sister out. Judging from the city boy's appearance, he seemed like a good person with a good temper and was quite understanding. However, his family's financial situation was rather poor, and Yu Mei had secretly become pregnant with his child. How was she going to explain this to her family in the countryside? She would be laughed at by the village gossips.

She saw that there was no one else in the house, only her and Yu Mei.

Yu Mei remained facing the wall, ignoring her.

Liu Shulan spoke first, "Yumei, come and let your second aunt see you. You haven't been home for a long time. Your mother is going crazy missing you. She always asks me to call Yuhan so we can see you. Your mother wanted to come with us this time, but we didn't bring her. We were afraid that seeing you would make her even sadder."

Seeing that Yu Mei still didn't speak, she continued, "Yu Mei, if you have any troubles, tell your second aunt. I will keep it a secret and not tell anyone. I won't tell Yu Han either. I swear, Yu Mei, as long as you tell your second aunt, I will be at ease. I will tell your mother that you are doing well here! So that your mother's worries about you can be put to rest."

Yu Mei remained silent.