Outside the door, Tang Xue stood there, her face pale, her whole body trembling slightly!
She had imagined all the possible scenarios she might face upon returning home—her mother’s scolding, her father’s angry outbursts, and the various expressions of disgust from her brother and sister.
She had also considered the possibility that they might not accept Li Yi.
But she never imagined that, before she even stepped inside, she would hear words so unbearable to her.
She truly didn’t know for whom she had endured all this suffering over the years.
After all, her older brother, Tang Lei, was the one who best fit the criteria for being sent to work in the countryside in North Sai Province back then. The neighborhood committee had specifically named him for the assignment—after all, she was not yet sixteen at the time, and she was so thin and small.
Yet her father had forcibly replaced her older brother’s name with hers, telling her that as the only son in the family, he had to wait to take over the family business from their grandparents.
If he had gone, the opportunity would have been snatched up by the children of her second and third uncles.
It was under these circumstances that Tang Xue’s name appeared on the list of those sent to the countryside.
You could say that all the hardships she’s endured these past few years were suffered in her brother Tang Lei’s place!
But not only did they show not the slightest gratitude, they were actually scheming here to sell her for a good price—how could she possibly accept that!
Tang Xue now seriously considered turning around and leaving, never to see these heartless people again.
Seeing Tang Xue on the verge of breaking down, Li Yi gripped her hand tightly and patted her on the back.
“Don’t be afraid—I’m here!”
Those words seemed to give Tang Xue boundless courage, slowly easing her despairing heart!
That’s right—she wasn’t alone anymore!
She had Li Yi, and she had the baby!
With that thought, Tang Xue looked at Li Yi and said, “I’m going in!”
“Okay, I’ll go with you!”
Tang Xue nodded, then took a deep breath. Without knocking, she pushed the door open.
“Clatter!”
The moment the door swung open, everyone in the Tang household turned around, their eyes fixed on the doorway.
When they saw a man and a woman standing in the doorway, the family members were taken aback.
We don’t know them!
“Excuse me, who are you looking for?” Li Hongmei asked immediately.
No wonder they didn’t recognize her. When Tang Xue left three and a half years ago, she was skinny, petite, and a bit dark-skinned—like a stunted bean sprout.
But the Tang Xue standing before them was not only tall and beautiful, but also dressed in high-end clothes Li Yi had bought from the city. Who would dare to associate her with that scrawny girl from back then?
As for Li Yi, standing at 1.8 meters tall, he was handsome and sharp. Though his clothes looked ordinary, they fit him quite well.
With such a well-matched pair standing there, the Tang family naturally didn’t think anything of it.
Tang Xue said nothing; she simply walked inside.
Li Yi followed closely behind and casually closed the door.
Their actions left the Tang family completely dumbfounded.
“Comrade… you… who exactly are you, and why are you here at our house?” Li Hongmei asked again.
At that moment, Tang Xue said coldly, “Weren’t you the ones who asked me to come back?”
“Us?”
Just then, Tang Bing, standing nearby, suddenly covered her mouth and exclaimed in horror, “You… you’re Tang Xue?”
Hearing Tang Bing’s words, everyone was stunned, and the room fell instantly silent!
“I am Tang Xue!”
Seeing that Tang Xue had confirmed her identity, Li Hongmei instantly sat up straight, her voice rising three notches: “You little brat, you finally decided to come back? It’s been months!”
Tang Xue still felt a bit afraid of her mother—a habit ingrained since childhood.
But remembering what she had said earlier, Tang Xue forced herself not to back down.
“You were the ones who sent me to the commune, and you’re the ones calling me back now. Do you think the leaders of the commune and the village are just clay figurines in a temple? Do you think I can come and go as I please?”
“Smack!”
Suddenly, Tang’s father slammed his fist on the table and roared, “How dare you talk to your mother like that? Think you’re too big for your britches?”
Seeing her father lose his temper, Tang Xue fell silent.
Just then, Tang Bing suddenly pointed at Li Yi and said, “Tang Xue, who is he? Why did you bring a stranger home?”
Just as Tang Xue was about to speak, Li Yi stepped forward and said, “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Li Yi, and I am Tang Xue’s husband!”
“Husband?”
The moment those words were spoken, the entire Tang family was thrown into an uproar.
They hadn’t called Tang Xue back because they missed her, but because they wanted to marry her off—to collect a dowry to fund Tang Lei’s wedding while also resolving Tang Bing’s employment issues.
Tang Xue had come back, but she’d brought a husband with her. Was she playing games?
“You little brat! You got married? Who gave you permission to do that?”
Tang Jizhong continued to shout angrily, “And you—we’ve never acknowledged you. What gives you the right to call yourself Xue’s husband?”
Tang Xue retorted immediately, “Whether or not I get married is my own business—I don’t need anyone’s permission!”
Tang Jizhong met Tang Xue’s defiant gaze, and his anger flared instantly. He immediately slapped her across the face!
“Smack!”
But it wasn’t the sound of a slap against a face—it was the sound of a palm colliding with an arm, as Li Yi blocked Tang Jizhong’s blow with his forearm.
“Talk it out—you can’t just resort to violence!” Li Yi said calmly.
“I’m disciplining my own daughter—what business is it of yours?” Tang Jizhong shouted angrily.
“Hmph. Whether Xiao Xue is your daughter or not is beside the point. But she is now my wife, Li Yi’s wife—carried into the Li family home on a palanquin, with a proper wedding ceremony and vows.”
Then, Li Yi spoke almost syllable by syllable: “As long as I, Li Yi, am still here, no one will lay a finger on her—not even you!”
“You…”
Seeing his father at a disadvantage, Tang Lei, standing nearby, couldn’t take it anymore. He suddenly jumped to his feet and snatched the stool from under his buttocks.
“Who the hell do you think you are, running wild in our Tang family’s home!”
With that, the solid-wood stool came crashing down toward Li Yi’s head.
Tang Xue let out a scream in terror and moved to shield Li Yi.
However, Li Yi held out his left arm to stop her.
At the same time, he clenched his right fist and swung it out with all his might.
Li Yi’s punch, though thrown later, arrived first, slamming hard into the surface of the stool Tang Lei had raised.
“Boom!”
The wooden stool shattered into pieces in an instant, sending splinters flying everywhere.
This scene completely stunned everyone in the Tang family, including Tang Xue.
She had always known Li Yi was a tough opponent. Ever since she arrived in Nianzishan Village as a sent-down youth, she’d heard that the Li family’s ne’er-do-well was a ruthless fighter who’d never lost a fight.
But she had no idea just how formidable he really was.
Seeing Li Yi reduce such a sturdy stool to a pile of splinters with a single punch, Tang Xue was both shocked and relieved—now she didn’t have to worry about him getting the short end of the stick.
On the other side, the rest of the Tang family felt a different mix of emotions—fear, dread, and relief, all at once!
Tang Lei, in particular, swallowed hard several times, unable to shake the lingering fear.
Thank goodness he’d just hit the chair—if he’d landed that punch on his own head, he’d likely be finished for good.
For a moment, the entire Tang household fell deathly silent.