Shen Yuchu didn't bother to say another word to him. Instead, she went to fetch a sheet of paper, picked up a pen, and grabbed a yellowed, dog-eared old book to use as a makeshift writing pad beneath the paper.
The next second, stroke by stroke, she wrote out the characters for [Divorce Application].
Shen Chunfen’s eyes widened in disbelief. Was her daughter-in-law actually literate?
Lin Xuan was equally stunned when he saw her handwriting. Back then, the Shen family had only sent her to kindergarten for two years before pulling her out to pick up fallen wheat ears.
To put it bluntly, the only characters she knew on a bathroom door were [Men] and [Women].
Lü Chunhuan used to say that girls just needed to do chores and that schooling was useless. As long as a girl was pretty and married well later on, it was like being reborn into a better life.
Consequently, she had barely any education. Even the numbers and values of money were things Lü Chunhuan had taught her. Not only had she never been to school and barely knew any characters, but in the past, she also had a bad habit of cursing and spitting.
Everything she knew and had seen came from television, local opera troupes, or straight out of Lü Chunhuan’s mouth.
Yet now, looking at what she had written—neat, elegant, and perfectly formed regular script—not only was Lin Xuan dumbfounded, but even Shen Chunfen was shocked.
Shen Chunfen was literate, and she had always believed this daughter-in-law was unworthy of her son. Her son was a college student—even if it was just a vocational college, the fact that he could stay in the military and become an officer made him a rare and prized catch.
She had to admit that Lü Chunhuan’s eye for choosing a husband for Shen Yuchu was remarkably [ruthless].
Yet Shen Yuchu knew the Lin family despised her. Let alone the fact that Lü Chunhuan had shamelessly held onto the Lin family's generous betrothal gifts and dowry, the two principals simply weren't a match in the first place. As for the original Shen Yuchu, she had possessed all of Lü Chunhuan's foolishness. Back then, upon hearing that Lin Xuan was a college student and seeing how handsome and striking he looked in his military uniform, she had convinced herself that all she had to do was strip off her clothes near a haystack to force him into marriage. She had simply gone ahead and ripped her clothes off, even though Lin Xuan hadn't actually touched her at all.
Yet she had insisted on crying—that aggrieved, pathetic kind of crying—and practically forced him to take responsibility.
Truth be told, Lin Xuan was quite good-looking—exceptionally good-looking, in fact, the most handsome young man within a radius of ten miles!
After marrying into the family, the original Shen Yuchu had obeyed his every word. At night, she prepared his foot-washing water; whenever there was chicken or meat, she would pick the best pieces and put them in his bowl, refusing to eat any herself just so Lin Xuan could have it.
No matter how Shen Chunfen tormented her, as long as she reminded herself that she was the wife of a college student, she would beam with simpleminded devotion, believing that this was simply what married life was like.
When Lin Xuan didn't come home for three years, she figured it must be because his duties in the military were heavy. She forced herself to learn how to be gentle and virtuous, just like the women on television. Although Lü Chunhuan had never taught her such things, she had picked them up from watching TV.
After all, the women on television always used this trick to keep their husbands.
And yet, what had the original Shen Yuchu gotten in return?
She had earned even greater hatred and contempt from her mother-in-law, and the disgust of a family that felt she had latched onto their son like an incurable disease, impossible to shake off.
Because of this, she hadn't seen a single cent of Lin Xuan’s three years of military allowance. In truth, all she got in the Lin family was food to eat, water to drink, and a bed to sleep in. But the reality?
The Lin family had never given her any money. The clothes on her back were simply hand-me-downs discarded by Lin Hui.
As for so-called new clothes, Shen Chunfen only bought them out of fear that outsiders would gossip about the Lin family taking in a daughter-in-law and mistreating her. Therefore, every Chinese New Year, Shen Chunfen, acting the part of the good mother-in-law, would take her to the department store to buy a single new outfit.
For three years, Shen Chunfen had bought her three new outfits, but they always consisted solely of an outer jacket and a new pair of shoes.
However, the undergarments and undershirts she wore through the dead of winter were all Lin Hui's discarded leftovers, torn and worn out.
Shen Chunfen would simply tell her to patch them up herself. After all, since she didn't make any money, did she really expect to spend the Lin family's wealth?
Besides, whenever they bought her new clothes, they were exclusively outer garments meant to be seen.
During the New Year, when numerous relatives and friends came to visit, everyone could see at a glance the new clothes she was wearing.
On the very last market day before the New Year—the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month—Shen Chunfen would practically beat drums and gongs to broadcast all over the village that she was taking her freeloading daughter-in-law to town to buy clothes.
That had been the happiest time for the original Shen Yuchu. The villagers would even tease her, saying that as long as she dressed prettily enough, Lin Xuan would surely come home for the New Year, bound to be utterly bewitched the moment he laid eyes on her [ravishing] beauty.
At the time, the original Shen Yuchu had secretly rejoiced. Looking back now, it was nothing but a joke...
When Shen Yuchu finished writing the [Divorce Application], she neatly signed her full name at the bottom: Shen Yuchu.
Then, she handed the paper to Lin Xuan.
"Here. Sign your name, and we'll go to the village Party branch secretary to get his signature. Then we'll take it to town to get it stamped, and you can take it back to the military base. That will put an end to our relationship."
Lin Xuan took the paper, his eyes widening. Those rows of black characters were delicate, graceful, and remarkably uniform in size. The horizontal and vertical strokes were straight, and the lines were aligned both vertically and horizontally. Had he not witnessed her writing it with his own eyes, he would have suspected it came from a print shop. Even the file clerks at their headquarters probably couldn't write characters this neat.
Shen Chunfen was stunned as well. This was the first time she had ever seen Shen Yuchu write; previously, the girl had been completely illiterate.
Holding the paper, Lin Xuan looked at Shen Yuchu, who was sitting on the small wooden stool.
Her appearance remained the same, her features unchanged.
Only... only her gaze no longer flickered away from him, nor did it hold that girlish blush and shyness she used to have whenever she saw him.
And she... she actually dared to look him straight in the eye?
When he glared at her, she actually glared right back?
"You, you..." After uttering those two words, Lin Xuan’s well-formed lips suddenly clamped shut. For a moment, a stifled feeling caught in his throat, leaving him in a state of uncomfortable limbo.
It was an indescribable discomfort, and he didn't even know how to begin speaking.
Finally, he folded the divorce application and shoved it into his pocket.
"As it happens, I was planning to visit the village secretary anyway. I'll hand this to him in a moment."
"Fine!" Shen Yuchu stood up, raised her eyes, and spotted the abacus resting on the Lin family's cabinet. She walked over, but realized she couldn't reach it.
So she dragged a chair over from nearby and stepped up onto it.
Shen Yuchu took down the abacus, its surface coated with a layer of dust.
Seeing her touch the abacus beads, Shen Chunfen walked over and said, "What are you doing with the abacus? I—"
"Hoo—" Shen Yuchu pursed her lips and blew a puff of air directly at the abacus in her hands, sending the dust flying off the beads.
"Cough, cough, cough!" The cloud of dust blew straight into Shen Chunfen's face, choking her into a fit of coughing. Even Lin Xuan, standing nearby, became collateral damage, a fine layer of abacus dust settling into his neatly trimmed hair.