Reborn in the 80s, Get Rich by Eating Melons
Chapter 97: Big Brother Has Changed???

Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Big Brother Has Changed???

"I ..." Si Xiaohui choked, teeth gritted, spilling all the beans. "Brother, there’s something Mom didn’t want me to tell you. We’ve been keeping it from you, afraid you and your wife would quarrel. When I called you last time to tell you Tong Yao ran away with Jia Qing, didn’t you wonder why I said that in the first place? Actually, Jia Qing has always been Tong Yao’s object of affection. She’s been seeing him, spending a lot of time together shopping. She even stole money from home to elope with him, but I caught them before they succeeded. Angry and humiliated, Tong Yao tried to kill herself by crashing into a tree. We had no other choice but to send her to the city."

Seeing Si Chen’s face darken, Si Xiaohui recoiled slightly, but mustered the courage to say everything. "If Tong Yao is really pregnant, I strongly suspect the father is Jia Qing. Brother, you have to find out the truth, we can’t be suckers and support someone else’s child."

If you truly love Tong Yao and she promises not to do this anymore, it would be acceptable to secretly abort the child and conceive another later. No one here knows about Tong Yao’s affairs with Jia Qing, so you won’t lose face at the hospital."

This is not uncommon in the countryside. Many men have persistently stuck with their wives, even after knowing they had an affair without leaving them. There are people like that in Shanghe Village."

Si Xiaohui believed her idea was good, but she overlooked the increasingly cold expression on Si Chen’s face.

"Do you think Tong Yao will still want you to stay in the city if she knew what you said about her in front of me?"

Si Chen looked as if a storm was about to break, though he didn’t lose his temper, he looked more intimidating than if he had.

"Brother, don’t you think that Tong Yao is the one who should be blamed here?" Si Xiaohui felt wronged and couldn’t understand why her brother was directing his anger at her. "I told you this because I’m afraid you were being used to raise someone else’s child. How can you blame the informant now?"

By the end, Si Xiaohui’s voice was barely audible.

"Rumors stop with the wise, do you need me to teach you this most basic truth?" Si Chen’s deep gaze was as if it was dyed in ink, peering at Si Xiaohui. He continued sternly, "I know Tong Yao’s true character. Be careful with your words, especially rumors that are broad exaggerations. If you want to stay and work here in the city, control your mouth. Don’t let the people who are kind to you feel disheartened."

Trust is a basic respect in a marriage. Si Chen had never interacted with Jia Qing and knew him only through stories. It wasn’t hard for him to guess the actualities of the matter. Although Tong Yao could be childish at times, she was clever. If she truly wanted to elope with Jia Qing, she would have had plenty of opportunities and wouldn’t have been caught in the act.

Jia Qing, an idle man, was attracted by Tong Yao’s beauty. He constantly tried to establish his presence in front of Tong Yao. The villagers loved gossip, making mountains out of molehills. Since ancient times, rumors had ruined countless people.

What outsiders say, Si Chen could ignore, but Si Xiaohui could not.

"Brother, I know I was wrong. I won’t talk nonsense in the future." Si Xiaohui’s face turned red in shame and tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes. She sniffed, did her best to wipe her tears, and barely held back from sobbing out loud.

There was truth in what her brother said. She didn’t have actual evidence to prove that anything happened between Tong Yao and Jia Qing. On top of that, if Tong Yao knew she had been gossiping behind her back, she would definitely be furious.

Yes, she was guilty for speaking ill of Tong Yao, but she was doing it for her brother’s good. She didn’t want him to be the sucker, and yet, he didn’t appreciate her efforts.

Thinking of this, Si Xiaohui felt wronged and the tears poured out.

Si Chen turned around, showing no emotion and continued cooking, ignoring Si Xiaohui who was sobbing on the side.

...

"Are you two fighting in the kitchen?" At dinner, Tong Yao could tell at a glance that Si Xiaohui’s eyes were red, rolling her eyes suspiciously between the siblings. She was quite puzzled.

"I got cayenne pepper in my eyes." Si Xiaohui stubbornly denied, not daring to admit she had been crying.

If Tong Yao knew she’d been talking behind her back, she would definitely kick her out.

Her good days had just begun, asking her to go back to the countryside now would be akin to taking her life.

"Is it really that spicy?"

Tong Yao’s eyes sparkled instantly. She quickly picked up a spoonful of pepper and put it in her mouth. The spicy taste was there but it wasn’t as overwhelming as she had imagined.

She loved spicy food, but Si Chen said that eating too much spicy food could cause inflammation. He was always cautious about putting chili in the dishes, She had hoped that he had finally changed and relented, but it was just a short-lived joy.

"Eating too spicy can hurt your stomach." Si Chen picked up a spoonful of scrambled eggs and put it into Tong Yao’s bowl, "Eat something bland first."

"..." Si Xiaohui watched this scene with surprise in her eyes.

What did she just see?

Her brother actually served Tong Yao?

Since childhood, her brother had always been taciturn, barely uttering a few words to her, their younger brother, or their mother. He only spoke when there was a topic of importance, hardly ever uttering any warm words, much less doing something as affectionate as serving food.

Yesterday, when he waited for her at the police station, she was very happy, believing that her brother cared about her.

But just now, her brother actually served food to Tong Yao. Looking at Tong Yao’s calm expression, this must not have been the first time.

Did her brother transform?

Si Xiaohui felt as if her whole world was turned upside down; she took a bite of the scrambled egg, her appetite returning. She didn’t bother about anything else. For Si Xiaohui, this meal was a feast.

She had to admit, though she despised Tong Yao initially. She couldn’t deny that during the time Tong Yao was at their home, the quality of their meals improved significantly. Thus, her feelings towards Tong Yao were quite complex; it was love and hatred combined.

"Alright then!" Tong Yao, oblivious to Si Xiaohui’s astonished expression, casually ate the scrambled eggs that Si Chen had served her.

Just as she took a bite, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen, it was even worse than before. Eating less spicy food was probably a good idea.

As her belly was upset, Tong Yao couldn’t finish her bowl of rice. "I can’t eat anymore, you all continue!"

"You still have rice in your bowl, it’s a waste not to finish it!" Looking at the half bowl of rice in Tong Yao’s bowl, Si Xiaohui couldn’t help but feel pained. That was simply wasting food.

Such delicious white rice, she could eat three bowls of it even without any dishes. Tong Yao, however, was selective with her food. She had clearly been living the good life for too long and didn’t appreciate the hard work behind every grain.