The Tender Beauty is Sweetly Doted in the 20th Century Novel!-Chapter 153 - 152: Just Give Up on That Idea

Xiaotong held a basket of vegetables, her face filled with fatigue.

Her clothes were very old, and she was wearing the jacket that Ye Manman had seen her wear during the New Year. Back then, it was quite clean, but now it was so dirty that it had an oily sheen, clearly not washed in a long time.

Her complexion was also poor, with acne erupting severely on her face, large and small red pimples, fresh and mixed with dark brown acne marks. Upon seeing Ye Manman, Xiaotong’s expression turned ugly.

"What are you looking at? Are you happy to see me not doing well? This is what you wanted to see, right?"

Ye Manman’s eyes merely showed a bit of surprise, but to Xiaotong, that look appeared to be schadenfreude.

Xiaotong knew Ye Manman liked to sleep in the morning, and she had never seen Ye Manman on this street before, so she didn’t expect to see her while buying vegetables.

Seeing Ye Manman dressed so cleanly and beautifully, her face spotless, looking dignified like a city person, while she herself wore old, dirty clothes with a face full of acne, Xiaotong felt embarrassed and awkward.

She felt both jealous and hateful in her heart.

Clearly, she was the one who had been reborn, following exactly what she had seen in her previous life. Whatever Ye Manman did, she did too, yet she still couldn’t manage a decent life.

Even though she married Xie Fengmian, life was still just like in the previous life.

Poor, pregnant and had to work day and night, frequently beaten and scolded.

And Ye Manman, married a rural guy, and life only got better. The two of them lived just like in the past life, only marrying different people.

But why was Xie Fengmian, whom she saw in the last life, so excellent, so caring to his wife, and now completely different?

Xiaotong thought about it every day but couldn’t figure it out.

Facing Xiaotong’s malice, Ye Manman, for the first time, didn’t feel angry.

She felt Xiaotong seemed somewhat different now. Before, Xiaotong was inexplicably confident, full of self-satisfaction, but now she clearly didn’t have that aura.

The words, though harsh, sounded more like impotent rage after compromise.

Something must have happened at the Xie Family.

As a woman too, Ye Manman could understand Xiaotong’s feelings about becoming ugly due to pregnancy and facing her husband’s betrayal. Though she hadn’t experienced it, just thinking about it felt terrible, so she decided not to argue with Xiaotong.

Let Xiaotong say a few words if she wanted to.

"I wasn’t looking for anything, just ran into each other by chance. No need for such hostility towards me."

Ye Manman didn’t plan to say much to her. Firstly, because Xiaotong wouldn’t want to listen and would misinterpret her meaning; secondly, there really was nothing much to say between them.

She had never targeted Xiaotong.

But when she wanted to leave, Xiaotong was relentless, unwilling to let it go.

"You’re feeling guilty, aren’t you?"

"I know Xie Fengmian still likes you. Even though you’re married, he still wants to marry you, so he treats me so badly, just to force me to divorce him so he can marry you."

"But I will never agree. Just give up on that thought."

Ye Manman was stunned, about to ask where that conclusion came from, when Xiaotong stormed off in anger.

Watching her walk away briskly with her basket of vegetables, her already showing belly, Ye Manman felt genuinely worried for her.

Xie Fengmian indeed had said those things, but she couldn’t understand why the couple always believed they could marry and divorce just because they wanted to, completely ignoring her opinion.

Clearly, she had made her point so many times...

"Oh dear, Manman, who is that? Her words were so unpleasant."

The aunt obviously didn’t recognize Xiaotong and didn’t think she had any relationship with her, asking purely out of curiosity.

Ye Manman smiled apologetically at the aunt.

"Sorry, Auntie, she’s my stepsister. She’s always had something against me. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. Sorry for the scene you had to witness."

The aunt was shocked.

"Ah? That’s your stepsister?"

No wonder she thought they looked nothing alike.

"She looks like someone who’s hard to deal with, so harsh-looking. Even while pregnant, she doesn’t know to hold her tongue. Make sure to be careful and not get bullied, okay?"

"Yes, yes, I will be careful. Thank you, Auntie. I’ll head back now."

Ye Manman waved her hand obediently at the aunt, who found her fair, adorable, and polite, growing more fond of her. Remembering He Chen’s kindness, she noted Xiaotong’s appearance, keeping it in her mind discreetly.

After all, the aunt had been through hardships, and she understood well the intrigues among women. Ye Manman seemed to have a straightforward nature, so she decided to help keep an eye out.

Ye Manman was completely unaware of the aunt’s thoughts. She busied herself with translation when she got home.

There was no computer for translation work; everything had to be handwritten. So even after reading the entire book, completing the entire translation was very slow.

Additionally, she had a few small injuries on her right hand, making it uncomfortable to hold a pen, slowing down her translation progress even more, forcing her to spend as much time on it as possible.

...

Xiaotong walked quickly and urgently, but in reality, she felt very uneasy inside.

Now, she was shamelessly clinging to the Xie Family, without any right to stop Xie Fengmian from divorcing her. But since Xie Fengmian hadn’t won over Ye Manman yet, at her plea, he reluctantly hadn’t divorced her.

If Ye Manman really decided to find Xie Fengmian, she’d be finished.

Fortunately, Ye Manman hadn’t said the words she feared, so Xiaotong could maintain her remaining dignity. She was still the daughter-in-law of the Xie Family, still a city dweller with a township household registration.

At the market, Xiaotong held a few meager coins in her pocket, planning to pick a few cheap vegetables to buy.

At that moment, she overheard some nearby gossip.

"That family really is cursed, turning a good daughter-in-law into that state, losing their grandson, and their own lives, ruining the whole family."

"Was it a girl born? I know their family, that old woman hated girls. She always said if the daughter-in-law had a girl, she’d be furious, drown her in a vat. Unexpectedly, she did give birth to a girl."

"How unfortunate. She herself is a woman, but just because her daughter-in-law had a girl, she disliked her. The baby got sick and died shortly after birth, right? Their family was wealthy, probably delayed treatment on purpose, wanting the daughter-in-law to have a new child."

"And now, the granddaughter’s dead, the daughter-in-law went insane, and she got poisoned. A good family just fell apart. I heard the daughter-in-law used to have a good personality. How did she suddenly go crazy..."

"Surely she found out they intentionally didn’t take the baby for treatment. Watching her own baby die in her arms, wouldn’t that drive anyone mad..."

"What a pity..."

The passersby walked farther away, and their voices faded away, but Xiaotong heard the entire story clearly.

She instinctively touched her belly, recalling Mr. and Mrs. Xie’s mentions of having a son or daughter. Suddenly, an unshakeable thought arose in her mind.

What if she also gave birth to a daughter?

Would the Xie Family do the same thing to her daughter?

Xiaotong’s hand trembled as she held the vegetables, suddenly feeling very panicked inside.

Because she knew very well, the Xie Family only kept her because they wanted her to give birth to a son.