Chapter 159: An Irritating High School Classmate

Old Mrs. Tang held An Ruosu's hand and introduced her to the rest of the Tang family. She was eager to let her senior sister see that she had been living a very good life all these years and had not suffered any hardships. Before the members of the Tang family, she was the most kind and gentle elder, but in front of her senior sister, she was still that pampered and cheerful little junior sister from back in the day.

An Ruosu had prepared a gift for everyone. Being a doctor, the gifts were naturally nothing more than health-restoring medicinal pills. After the Tang family members accepted the gifts and offered polite thanks, Elder Tang smiled and said, "It is getting late. Shall we invite Senior Sister to take her seat?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Old Mrs. Tang nodded hurriedly. "Look at me, time just flew by while we were chatting, and I completely forgot that Senior Sister was still hungry."

She led An Ruosu by the hand to her seat and picked up some vegetarian mixed stir-fry for her senior sister. "Senior Sister, have a taste of this."

At the sight of the plate of vegetarian stir-fry, An Ruosu fell into a brief daze. She picked up a piece with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. "It is still the exact same taste."

In their youth, when they were studying medicine under their master, Eldest Senior Brother's specialty was this vegetarian stir-fry. She and her junior sister would pester Eldest Senior Brother day in and day out to make it for them.

All these years had passed in the blink of an eye, and her junior sister had also learned to make the vegetarian stir-fry, but where were the old friends now?

This meal was eaten with deep emotion yet filled with warmth and joy. After the meal, Old Mrs. Tang pulled An Ruosu back into the room to discuss matters regarding the Bai family.

"Zai Zai, your eldest brother and I are heading out first. We still have to go to work this afternoon." Eldest Brother Tang helped clear away the bowls and chopsticks, and instructed Tang Banxia, "If anything comes up, just write to your eldest brother."

As the eldest brother, he had the responsibility of looking after his younger siblings, especially this youngest sister, who worried him more than anyone else.

"I know, Eldest Brother, you can rest assured." Tang Banxia nodded and handed a scarf to Eldest Sister-in-law. "Sister-in-law, let me know when the pearl cream runs out, and I'll mail you some more."

Eldest Sister-in-law stroked her cheek. "Alright." A young girl was always the most thoughtful; none of these rough-around-the-edges men in the family knew what she wanted. "Zai Zai, take good care of yourself, and just tell your eldest sister-in-law if you lack anything."

"Deal," Tang Banxia agreed readily. Giving and taking among family members was entirely normal.

After seeing the eldest brother and sister-in-law off, the old master also strolled off to work. He needed to secure those two quotas as soon as possible; delays could lead to complications.

Only the idle Tang Banxia and Wen Mubai were left at home. "How about we go out and play again?"

"Sounds great!" Wen Mubai nodded his head frantically. Time for a date with his wife!

The Tang family owned bicycles, so the two of them didn't waste money on rentals and rode directly from home.

The first stop of their date was the department store.

"Tang Banxia?"

Tang Banxia turned around and saw a familiar face. "You are... You Mengdi?"

"Long time no see." You Mengdi was dressed in a Lenin suit with ear-length short hair, looking both capable and charming. "How have you been lately?"

Before Tang Banxia could answer, You Mengdi immediately wore an apologetic expression. "Oh, I forgot, you went down to the countryside."

"Banxia, how is life in the countryside? I heard you got married? You found a man from the countryside?"

With that, she glanced sideways at Wen Mubai. "Banxia, who is this? Aren't you going to introduce us?" She flicked her hair and smiled at Wen Mubai.

"My husband from the countryside," Tang Banxia replied coldly.

You Mengdi's smile froze on her face, and she stared wide-eyed at Wen Mubai.

Wen Mubai had dressed up carefully today: military-green trousers, a gray sweater, and a black long overcoat draped over the outside. His brows and eyes were delicate, his phoenix eyes curved, looking both well-behaved and adorable. Standing in a crowd, he was dazzling.

T-this was a countryman?

Tang Banxia didn't miss the astonishment in You Mengdi's eyes, nor did she have the patience to wait for her to snap out of it. She grabbed Wen Mubai and walked away.

"Wife, who was that person?" Wen Mubai asked with curiosity.

"An irrelevant person," Tang Banxia answered indifferently.

She was indeed irrelevant, merely a high school classmate with whom she hadn't even exchanged a handful of words. In Tang Banxia's heart, she was no different from a stranger, but that was certainly not the case in You Mengdi's mind.

You Mengdi somehow managed to find out Tang Banxia's home address and came to visit the very next day.

Tang Banxia: ......

Guests coming to the door could not simply be chased away, so Tang Banxia could only put on a perfunctory performance.

"Banxia, you've changed so much. Life in the countryside must have been hard, right?" You Mengdi asked.

Tang Banxia: "Mmm."

You Mengdi continued, "If you ask me, Banxia, you are so pretty. Finding a partner in Beijing would have been effortless; why linger in the countryside?"

Tang Banxia: "Heh~"

You Mengdi said, "Look at me now." She extended her right hand, revealing a large, glittering gold ring on it. "This was given to me by Zian's mother, who said it is the ring passed down to the eldest daughter-in-law."

"You remember Feng Zian, right? He was also in our class, and his father is the deputy director of the cotton textile factory?" You Mengdi deliberately emphasized the last sentence, staring intently at Tang Banxia's reaction.

Tang Banxia: "Oh."

This Feng Zian—she actually did remember him. He was short, covered in pimples, and most importantly, extremely conceited. Back then, the original owner had handed in homework notebooks to him twice, and the guy assumed the original owner liked him. He had boldly come to confess his feelings, utterly disgusting the original owner.

"Old classmates as we are, Banxia, if you want to find a partner, I can help you. Young male comrades at the cotton textile factory are yours to pick from." You Mengdi spoke with a grand tone, and anyone unaware would have thought the cotton textile factory was her family's private property.

Wen Mubai, listening inside the house, was grinding his teeth so hard he almost shattered them, wishing he could kick the woman outside—who was instigating his wife—straight up into the sky. Yet, remembering his wife's previous instructions, he managed to restrain his restless footsteps. He had to trust his wife!

Tang Banxia slammed her tea mug down with a loud *clunk*. "Classmate You, it is getting late. What do you think?"

This was a blatant chasing away of the guest. She didn't have that much time to waste on a fool, and besides, she could already sense that someone inside the house was getting restless.

The smug expression on You Mengdi's face froze. At that moment, Wen Mubai walked out from the inner room, and You Mengdi's face turned pale. She had assumed that Tang Banxia's countryman husband wasn't home, which was why she had spoken with such uninhibited audacity. Although she harbored the intention to show off, inciting someone to abandon their husband right in front of that husband still made her feel slightly uneasy.

Disregarding You Mengdi's changing complexion, Wen Mubai walked straight to Tang Banxia's side. "Wife, we still need to go to Little Aunt's house later."

As he spoke, he nodded gracefully toward You Mengdi while casually toying with a small piece of iron in his hand.

You Mengdi could no longer sit still. She grabbed her bag, turned around, and bolted.

"Comrade You, wait a moment," Wen Mubai suddenly called out.

You Mengdi stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked at Wen Mubai expectantly, while Tang Banxia also looked on with a half-smile.

Faced with the two women's vastly different gazes, Wen Mubai's smile remained unchanged. He strolled smoothly toward You Mengdi and extended his hand...

You Mengdi cast a defiant glance at Tang Banxia, the smile on her face widening...

*Clink—*

???

The next second, Tang Banxia smiled, looking at the spot of black revealed on You Mengdi's gold ring with a playful expression.

The smile on You Mengdi's face cracked instead. She stared in exasperation at the magnet clinging tightly to the ring, her face turning livid.

The culprit, Wen Mubai, offered an apologetic smile. "Pardon me, my hand slipped."

With that, he calmly retracted his hand. "Comrade You, I just wanted to remind you that my wife and I hold a marriage certificate, so everything you just suggested is entirely out of the question."

You Mengdi suffered a complete mental breakdown, turned around, and fled in panic.