Chapter 366
It was so hot that she couldn't stay outside for even two seconds.
Si Nian started tinkering with making mung bean slush again.
It was one of her favorite summer desserts.
Seeing the person leave, Grandpa Jiang lost his interest in playing chess.
It was rare to have someone keep him company while playing chess, asking a couple of questions from time to time—that was what made it interesting.
What was the fun in playing chess alone?
Just then, someone dropped by to visit. "Lao Jiang, playing chess? Oh, who are you playing with to lose so miserably?"
Grandpa Jiang rolled his eyes at the man. "What nonsense are you spouting? I'm playing against myself..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his gaze fell on the chessboard, and he was instantly stunned.
On the previously evenly matched board, a move had been made at some unknown point, poising to take his general.
And his general had absolutely no way to retreat, unable to escape.
This situation was a "checkmate."
Grandpa Jiang was greatly shocked.
When was his chess setup broken?
He had never made this move, and the only person who had just touched the chess pieces was Yaoyao.
Could that little girl have made the move?
Impossible, impossible!
Yaoyao didn't even understand these things. Could she have bumped it by accident?
Even though he thought so, wasn't this too much of a coincidence?
Grandpa Jiang looked at the chessboard thoughtfully.
//
Si Nian stewed a large pot of mung bean soup and put it in the refrigerator to chill.
It would be ready to drink in a little while.
Turning around, she saw Yaoyao standing on her tiptoes playing with the radio, from which the voices of foreigners occasionally sounded.
Si Nian didn't think much of it. She withdrew her gaze, went back to her room, and brought out all the bedding to sun at the door. With such a bright sun, it was the perfect time to air out the quilts.
She even brought out Rhubarb's doghouse, scraped out a pile of dog hair, and placed it under the sun to kill the mites.
When about enough time had passed, the chilled mung bean soup was ready to drink.
Si Nian took a sip. The sweet taste flooded her mouth, and the icy coolness rushed straight to her head.
It was so delicious!
She scooped a bowl for Yaoyao to drink and delivered a large bowl next door to the Jiang family.
Grandpa Jiang was still sitting at the door, still staring at the chessboard.
Seeing Si Nian coming, he waved his hand and said, "Teacher Xiao Si, come and take a look at my chess game."
Si Nian brought the mung bean soup over, glanced at it, and well... couldn't understand it.
She said honestly, "Uncle Jiang, I don't know how to play Chinese chess."
Uncle Jiang paused for a moment and then asked, "Then who in your family knows how?"
Si Nian thought carefully and said, "Probably no one in my family knows how. I'm not too sure either."
Grandpa Jiang sighed. "I see. I was going to say that if someone in your family knew how to play, they could take some time to play a game with this old man."
It seemed he really was overthinking it. Yaoyao must have accidentally bumped it.
Otherwise, at such a young age, how could she possibly break his chess setup?
Si Nian smiled and poured him some mung bean soup. Grandpa Jiang took a sip, his eyes lighting up, and repeatedly praised how good it tasted.
Si Nian had cooked quite a lot, planning to have Zhou Yueshen pack some up and take it to share with everyone when he returned.
By the time she finished her chores, Yaoyao had already fallen asleep on the sofa.
The radio broadcast was still playing.
Si Nian turned off the radio, carried her daughter upstairs to sleep, and went back to her own room to read the essay collection her teacher had given her.
The college entrance examination was coming up soon, and she couldn't afford to be idle.
Recently, the director at the school had also been urging her, asking if she had any preferred teachers to recommend.
Because if Si Nian took the college entrance examination, she would have to resign.
Although the director said she could go back after she graduated in the future, that was all in the future, and nothing was certain.
Now that she was leaving, her position naturally needed to be filled.
Several teachers were interested and had dropped hints to her.
However, there was also Li Fengxian, who was staring fixedly at this position. Si Nian felt a massive headache coming on; no matter who she gave it to, she would end up offending someone.
//
When Lin Sisi returned home, Si's Father and Si's Mother were both at home.
Zhang Cuimei had already finished her surgery and returned home to recover. Although she had mostly recovered, her complexion looked even worse than before.
The reason was that early this morning, she had heard people gossiping about her family.
She didn't know how long it had been spreading, but the way these people looked at her was strange. She wasn't deaf, so naturally, she heard it all.
Although she had guessed that her husband might have someone else on the outside, she never expected it to be right under her nose.
Today, she heard about this matter.
And it was an opportunity she had handed over with her own hands.
Zhang Cuimei's face was indescribably ugly.
The news spread quickly, not to mention that it was among the military wives.
Naturally, it quickly reached the ears of Si's Father's superiors.
Si's Father had been warned and didn't dare to go out during this time, afraid of being caught with more evidence against him.
Facing his wife now, he also felt exceptionally guilty, and his attitude toward her had improved significantly.
Although Zhang Cuimei hated it to death, for the sake of her daughter, she had to pretend she knew nothing.
Lin Sisi keenly sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly sought out Zhang Cuimei to ask what had happened again.
She was studying from dawn to dusk every day now, so naturally, she didn't know what had happened.
She only felt that the atmosphere at home was very strange.
Zhang Cuimei gritted her teeth, pulled her into the room, and told her about Si's Father having an affair with Liu Dongdong's older sister.
Lin Sisi was dumbfounded and didn't believe it at all. "Her sister has already been married to two men, and I heard she couldn't have children and was chased back home. She's a famous jinx in our village. How could my dad..."
She hadn't heard about Liu Dongdong's sister coming to their house, because she was still in prison at that time.
Liu Dongdong had never mentioned it.
Although she had also guessed that her father definitely had someone, she never expected it to be Liu Dongdong's sister.
"Who else could it be? When I went to the Northwest to visit Fu Yang, she came to our house every day to wash clothes and cook for your father. What a shameless vixen!"
Zhang Cuimei was so angry that her insides hurt.
Because at the time, she was the one who insisted on taking Liu Dongdong with her, which led Liu Dongdong to ask her sister to come over and help.
Lin Sisi's face looked terrible. How could it turn out like this? In her past life, when Si Nian married Fu Yang, she had never mentioned anything about Si's Father having an affair.
She suddenly remembered the last time Liu Dongdong went to visit her, the marks she had seen on her body. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, and she asked anxiously, "Mom, has Liu Dongdong found a boyfriend?"
How would Zhang Cuimei know about such things? Her heart was full of resentment over her husband's affair, and she wished she could slaughter that adulterous pair.
Naturally, she hadn't paid any attention to Liu Dongdong.
Hearing this now, she said in confusion, "I don't know. Who told you that? When she was here at our house, she stayed in the family compound all day long. Aside from buying groceries and cooking, she never went out. How could she have found a boyfriend? However, yesterday she did tell me that there was an emergency at home and she had to go back for a bit, so she asked for leave."
Lin Sisi's expression suddenly turned ugly.
An unbelievable thought flooded into her mind, but she was unwilling to believe it.
B-but, was it really such a coincidence? Liu Dongdong just happened to take a leave of absence, and then the news of her sister and her father having an affair spread out.
Could it be that Liu Dongdong had heard about this long ago, so she ran away in advance to avoid the storm?
Then who left those marks on her body?
The more Lin Sisi thought about it, the worse her expression became...
//
On Monday, Si Nian went to the hospital to pick up the children's health checkup reports.
Just as she stepped outside, she collided with a hurried figure.
The person had their head lowered and wore a face mask, tightly clutching a piece of paper in their hand.
Si Nian caught a glimpse and was taken aback. Wasn't that Liu Dongdong?