She had just returned yesterday, yet today she was expected to hand over her work.
Zhou Jianfeng was not giving her even a moment to breathe; he was determined to push her to the limit.
So, his purpose in buying breakfast was to placate her and make her obediently go with him to the work unit for the handover—he was not actually concerned about whether she had eaten yet.
What a scumbag!
Sutan lazily climbed out of bed, without washing her face or brushing her teeth, and stepped with her fair, tender feet onto a stool.
She began stuffing herself with the meat buns Zhou Jianfeng had brought back, taking huge bites.
To keep her compliant, the man had bought pure meat-filled buns along with a portion of soy milk.
Pigs in this era were entirely natural, free from the additives and artificial techniques of later generations, making the meat buns exceptionally flavorful.
Sutan had only eaten a roasted sweet potato yesterday before falling asleep, and by now she was so hungry her back was practically touching her chest.
She could not stop eating, and soon polished off all four meat buns and the soy milk Zhou Jianfeng had brought.
Zhou Jianfeng sat on the orange sofa, crossing his legs, his black leather shoes polished to a high sheen.
He watched Sutan wolfing down her food, her bare feet planted on the stool as she ate and drank soy milk, completely lacking any semblance of womanly grace.
Zhou Jianfeng’s thick brows nearly met in a frown, and unmasked disgust filled his eyes.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sutan caught his expression and curved the corner of her mouth in a sneer.
He loathed her?
It was good that he loathed her.
That would only accelerate the pace of their divorce.
Sutan withdrew her gaze and picked up the sky-blue handkerchief Zhou Jianfeng had left on the table.
She wiped her mouth.
"Let's go!"
"Sutan, I am a deputy director of the meat processing plant, after all! Can't you have a little regard for your image?"
Zhou Jianfeng could bear it no longer; curving his well-shaped fingers, he hammered hard on the table. "Am I so poor I can't afford to support you, that you have to go out in patched clothes and humiliate me?"
"You don't wash your face or brush your teeth first thing in the morning, your hair is a bird's nest and you won't even comb it, and you use my handkerchief to wipe your mouth—look at yourself! Is there a single thing about you that looks like a woman?"
Sutan looked down at her clothes. This was the very best outfit she had carefully picked and chosen from her wardrobe yesterday.
Although it had patches, it was made of pure cotton and felt very comfortable against her skin.
She had deliberately gone without washing her face or brushing her teeth before eating precisely to disgust Zhou Jianfeng.
Only by acting as unrefined as possible could she highlight how wonderful his white moonlight was.
That way, Zhou Jianfeng would seek a divorce from her without the slightest hesitation.
The more readily Zhou Jianfeng divorced her, the more compensation she would be able to get.
Sutan lowered her slender eyelashes, her eyes filled with mockery. "You think I want to be like this? I only have a few outfits in my wardrobe, and when we got married, you promised to buy me new clothes afterward!"
"After we got married, you threw me in there. If I have nothing to wear, that's your problem!"
Sutan looked at Zhou Jianfeng with her clear, pretty eyes.
The moment their gazes met, two crystal tears rolled from the corners of Sutan's eyes, finally dropping onto her dry lips.
Zhou Jianfeng’s hardened heart seemed to be pricked by something; he awkwardly looked away, a trace of guilt rising in his chest.
When they married, the Su family had asked for two hundred yuan in bride price, a sewing machine, a bicycle, and a refrigerator.
As a deputy director of the meat processing plant, he could afford these things, but the Su family had only provided a few quilts, a thermos, and two porcelain basins as a dowry.
He had held a grudge against the Su family ever since, which was why he hadn't bought Sutan any clothes when they married.
Zhou Jianfeng stood up and walked toward the door. "Go wash your face and brush your teeth, I'll take you to buy clothes first!"
A flash of triumph crossed Sutan's eyes.
Life is a stage, and it all depends on acting skills.
Zhou Jianfeng's heart had softened; it seemed her acting just now had been quite good.
Sutan quickly washed up, tidied her hair, and headed out.
Zhou Jianfeng was waiting by the front gate, straddling a bicycle. Sutan swiftly locked the front gate, tucked the key into her jacket pocket, and gave it a pat.
The key was all alone without even a piece of string attached to it; if she lost it, she wouldn't even be able to find it. When she got back, she would have to find a cord to tie to the key.
Looking at the back seat of Zhou Jianfeng's bicycle, Sutan touched her own backside.
There was not an ounce of flesh on her rear; being bumped all the way there, her backside was going to suffer.
"Sorry to trouble you!"
Sutan patted her rear end and, holding onto the back of the bicycle seat, prepared to leap on.
Hearing Sutan speak to him so politely, Zhou Jianfeng furrowed his brow.
"Jianfeng!"
A sweet, delicate voice rang out.
Sutan poked her head out from behind Zhou Jianfeng and saw a painted butterfly fluttering toward them from afar.
It was late autumn, and she was cold enough for her upper and lower teeth to be chattering.
Qin Hongmei was wearing a goose-yellow knitted two-piece skirt, paired with a bright red doll-collared woolen overcoat over it.
On her feet were a pair of black short boots with chunky heels.
Her jet-black hair was braided into two pigtails that rested in front of her chest.
The bright smile on her face was just like the sun in the sky at that moment.
Sutan clicked her tongue twice, tilted her head at an angle, and blinked her big eyes at Zhou Jianfeng.
The chill in Zhou Jianfeng's eyes was replaced by a faint smile.
The corners of his mouth, previously turned down, curved upward.
Qin Hongmei greeted Zhou Jianfeng with a sweet smile and said apologetically, "Sutan, I'm so sorry. During the time you were locked away, Jianfeng was worried that it would be inconvenient for me to take Taotao out every day, so he lent your bicycle to me!"
"Now that you're back, I'm returning it to its rightful owner!"
Sutan was currently appraising the bicycle Qin Hongmei had been riding—a Pigeon-brand women's bicycle, the most popular style of the 1980s, compact and cute.
Sutan had been thinking of buying one herself once she had some money, when she heard these words.
"Thank you!"
Without a second word, Sutan took the bicycle.
Qin Hongmei was caught completely off guard, her mouth slightly agape.
She stared in disbelief at her empty hands.
Sutan skillfully mounted the bicycle and called out without looking back, "I'll wait for you at the department store, otherwise we'll be late getting to the unit!"
"Jianfeng, Sutan really rode the bicycle away! Look at how crookedly she's riding—what if she hits someone later?"
Recovering her wits, Qin Hongmei nearly punctured her own palms with her fingernails.
"Jianfeng, I was just afraid that Sutan would find out I rode her bicycle and start a fight with you. You won't blame me, will you?"
"That was her bicycle to begin with!"
"Hurry up and get on!"
Zhou Jianfeng pressed his long legs against the pedals, and the bicycle shot forward.
Gritting her teeth in anger, Qin Hongmei hurriedly grabbed the sides of Zhou Jianfeng's jacket and leaped onto the back seat.
She had been certain that Sutan would disdain things she had used and definitely wouldn't take the bicycle back, and would instead pick a fight with Zhou Jianfeng, which was why she had deliberately said that.
She never expected that this bitch Sutan would actually take the bicycle away.
She had wanted a bicycle for a very long time; she hadn't had one before or after her wedding, and it was only after Sutan was locked away that she begged Jianfeng repeatedly until Zhou Jianfeng finally gave Sutan's bicycle to her.
Ever since she got the bicycle, she rode it everywhere she went, and everyone in the family quarters where she lived looked at her differently.
If she made one trip out and the bicycle was gone, then the loss would outweigh the gain.
No.
Since Zhou Jianfeng had given her the bicycle, it was hers. Once they finished their errands later, she would find a way to ride that bicycle back no matter what!