Transmigration: On the Gossip Front
Chapter 205 True or False First Love 5_1

Chapter 205: Chapter 205 True or False First Love 5_1

Exhausted from a day’s work, Zhou Lina truly felt weary, "Forget it, I’ll rest for a bit."

After work, Zhou Dajiang hurried home, as today he had found the opportunity to let Zhou Lina know where the household registration book was.

If there were no surprises, she should have taken the household registration book to go and register at the neighborhood office.

Thinking about Zhou Lina heading to the Great Northwest in the future lifted his spirits; by the time Zhou Yong got married, they would have an independent wedding house.

The house they were living in could be left for Xiao Xuan once he grew up, and they would rely on Zhou Xuan in their old age.

Overjoyed, Zhou Dajiang stopped Zhou Juan and, after telling her about today’s unexpected events, was utterly shocked.

"You’re saying Zhou Lina didn’t go and register at the neighborhood office?"

"And she gave the household registration book to your aunt." Zhou Dajiang really wanted to curse.

He had said he would definitely handle this matter well and that absolutely, absolutely nothing would go wrong.

But the worst possible mishap had occurred, leaving Zhou Dajiang pale as death.

"How could this happen."

"Didn’t you promise that nothing would go wrong?"

"So why did it happen?"

"How could this happen."

Zhou Dajiang was genuinely panicking. Although Zhang Shifen gave the impression that she was suppressed by him, that was merely how he misled others.

But he knew that Zhang Shifen’s weakness was her two children. If she found out that they were scheming against Zhou Lina and her job at the same time, would she let him off the hook?

Zhou Dajiang truly regretted it; he should have never conspired with Zhou Dahai’s family to calculate against Zhou Lina over a house.

Watching Zhou Dajiang mutter to himself, trying to shift the blame and refusing to believe it had anything to do with him, Zhou Juan scoffed internally.

The men of the Zhou family, whether old, middle-aged, young, or little, were all invariably the kind to shirk responsibility at the first opportunity.

No matter how resentful she felt, Zhou Juan couldn’t object, for if things escalated, she would be the one to suffer.

Zhou Dajiang kept pacing in circles, endlessly prattling on about how this could have happened, what could be done, and saying things like Zhou Juan had led him into a trap.

When Zhou Dajiang wasn’t looking, Zhou Juan rolled her eyes disrespectfully. It was clearly his own greed that made him want to acquire the house.

Zhang Shifen, in a good mood, cycled home and from a distance saw Zhou Dajiang muttering displeasedly to himself, with Zhou Juan standing beside him.

She realized Zhou Juan must have known that the situation was dire and brought it up with Zhou Dajiang.

As for the useless Zhou Dajiang, Zhang Shifen knew that he was quicker than anyone when there was a benefit to be had, but once a problem arose, he was all complaints.

Zhang Shifen looked at him with contempt and continued on her way home.

On arriving home, Zhang Shifen found a kettle on the stove in the hallway and wondered if the young girl had gotten upset and gone on strike.

If that were the case, then it wasn’t too bad.

She opened the door and saw Zhou Xuan at the dining table in the living room, doing his homework, "Xiao Xuan, is your sister not at home?"

With final exams just a couple of days away, and although Zhou Xuan’s grades were good, he needed to review seriously.

Hearing the noise at the door, he thought it was Zhou Dajiang returning, as he usually got home first.

But to his slight surprise, it was Zhang Shifen. Pointing towards their bedroom, he said, "Sis is in the room. I wanted to cook, but she said no need."

"Said we’d have noodles for dinner." Zhou Xuan looked worriedly at Zhang Shifen, "Big brother doesn’t like noodles; what if he gets angry?"

If that happened, they would face his cold stares, and Zhou Dajiang would be unhappy too, likely ending up arguing with Zhang Shifen in their bedroom.

"If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to eat. No one’s spoiling him." Zhang Shifen had gone to chat with a good friend before finishing work.

After all, Zhou Lina had suddenly become so sensible, how could she not brag to her close friend about it?

As a result, she ended up being scolded by her friend, who told her she was even less mature than a child.

Although she wanted to defend herself, she had to admit there was nothing wrong with her friend’s words.

If she hadn’t always been so accustomed to yielding, would Zhou Dajiang and his family have been so presumptuous?

It was her fault that the two children had to make compromises; Zhou Lina was a bit better—she often fought for her and Xiao Xuan.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Zhou Dajiang and his son were particularly displeased with her, the other being the matter of the house.

Since she was backed into a corner with no way out, Zhang Shifen didn’t want to yield anymore. If Zhou Dajiang wasn’t worried about her being upset, then why should she be concerned about so-called face?

Zhang Shifen didn’t care how shocked Zhou Xuan was inside; she now wanted to know how Zhou Lina was doing.

She knocked softly on the door and then entered the room. She thought her daughter was resting, but instead found her leaning by the window.

"Mom, Uncle Zhou and Zhou Juan are together." Zhou Lina was standing by the window, trying to do some stretching exercises, when she unexpectedly saw Zhou Juan and Zhou Dajiang’s figures.

Although she didn’t know exactly what they had said, she was sure it wasn’t good news for Zhou Dajiang, "Uncle Zhou’s expression was particularly interesting, constantly changing."

"Looks like he’s in a bad mood." It didn’t matter to Zhou Lina that Zhou Dajiang was in a bad mood—she said she felt quite good.

Zhang Shifen glanced out the window and could indeed see the two of them, "Noodles for dinner tonight?"

"Sure, keep it simple." Cooking in the heat of the summer was exhausting, "We could also make porridge in the future. Otherwise, it’s too hot."

Especially in the Tube-shaped Building, with houses on both sides and the corridor also serving as a kitchen—it was an already poorly ventilated passageway that became even more suffocating in the summer.

"Okay."

"Whatever is convenient." Zhang Shifen agreed without hesitation.

Zhou Yong came home with a spring in his step, the matter he had asked a colleague to help out with had been promisingly addressed; he was simply waiting to pay.

Zhou Yong had decided to discuss it with Zhou Dajiang that evening and insisted on footing the bill himself.

Indeed, he was busying himself with the important matters of continuing the Zhou Family’s lineage and naturally expected Zhou Dajiang to pay for it.

He never considered what would happen if Zhou Dajiang ran out of money; after all, there was still Zhang Shifen.

He even imagined how happy Luo Lili would be once she saw what he prepared, not knowing how she would reward him.

But all his good moods disappeared when he learned that dinner tonight was noodles.

Zhou Yong raised his voice, "I’ve worked hard all day, and you’re letting me eat noodles?"

"This is outrageous." Zhou Yong furiously accused, knowing that Zhang Shifen cared about her reputation and would certainly meet his demands.

Zhang Shifen might have been concerned about saving face in the past, but now, seeing Zhou Yong’s tantrum, she was unimpressed.

She turned to Zhou Dajiang, who had just gone upstairs, "Old Zhou, you haven’t given me money for the household for over half a year, and I’ve been bearing it all."

"When we got married, we agreed to share the household expenses and each of us would handle our own children’s costs."

"This puts me in a difficult position. I really don’t have any more money to contribute."

"Your son knows we’re having noodles tonight, and he indirectly accuses me of bullying him."

"I don’t know where he gets the gall to say I’m bullying him."

"How does eating noodles equate to bullying him?"

"Forget it, you and your son can sort out your own dinner plans."

Zhang Shifen knew why Zhou Dajiang hadn’t contributed to the household in recent months—it was because he knew Zhou Yong was courting a girlfriend and would need money for a wedding later.

She scoffed at the thought of indulging them; receiving no money and yet facing so much criticism, they were really good at scheming.