Chapter 1

When I was on a business trip, my cousin barged into my room to catch an adulterer.

Without a second thought, she pushed me aside and stormed into my room.

Seeing my bed in a mess, she walked over and grabbed my hair: "Where did you hide my husband?"

"Husband?"

I had just returned from abroad and had no idea she was married.

She yanked my hair again: "Don't pretend! You and he were both in the United States. Tell the truth, you're that woman he was flirting with, right?"

The phone suddenly rang.

After a few seconds of awkwardness, she impatiently picked it up and accidentally hit the speaker button.

The front desk attendant's voice came through: "Ma'am, sorry, your husband's room is 6006, not 6009, didn't you go to the wrong one?"

Instantly, my scalp eased, and she had already rushed next door to pound on the door.

By the time I followed over, the door of 6009 opened.

The moment the man's eyes met mine, we were both stunned.

Only my cousin was shouting obscenities, and seeing the man unresponsive, she pushed him aside and stormed in to fight with the woman inside.

Hearing the commotion inside, her husband turned to close the door, and I quickly blocked it, speaking through the gap: "It's you, Cao Jun, right?"

He didn't deny it.

He was the foreign student I met in the United States.

Though he had cosmetic surgery, those eyes hadn't changed, easily recognizable for their unevenness.

After being caught by my cousin, I don't know how he explained it to her.

Surprisingly, my cousin didn't bother him in the end but came to ask me not to speak out.

I told her it's none of my business, I wouldn't meddle in others' family affairs.

Yet at the Dragon Boat Festival family gathering, my aunt's family was meddling in my affairs.

Every meeting inevitably included questions about whether I had a boyfriend; this time, with my cousin married, I became the target of their attacks.

Relatives kept praising my cousin to the skies, while I was used as a comparison.

I used the excuse of not having a boyfriend to refuse the topic.

But my aunt's family wouldn't let it go: "Xiaoli, didn't you have a boyfriend in the United States? I thought you'd marry before Qingqing? Didn't expect Qingqing in my family to marry first."

She smiled stiffly, voice resonating throughout the living room.

Seeing this, I suddenly thought of what my mother once complained to me about.

Even though she knew I was dating a boyfriend, she secretly hinted to my mother that I shouldn't marry too early, saying it was improper for the younger sister to marry before the elder one unwed.

My father covered for me, saying my career was important now and to hold off on feelings.

But my aunt wouldn't let the topic drop and kept saying that past thirty, there's no choice left.

"Am I some cabbage on the market?"

My aunt covered her mouth, laughing cunningly, while saying it wasn't true, she added: "Past thirty, no one cares about your womb."

Although my aunt's family is always sharp-tongued and harsh, I never imagined they'd speak so inappropriately.

Present there were not only women but men, too.

Some men had their heads lowered, and some coughed dryly.

I awkwardly bit my teeth: "I don't want to get married. What's the benefit of marriage?"

"How can there not be any?"

I asked my aunt to list the benefits, but after a few seconds of silence, the noise in the living room suddenly stopped, leaving only my mother's dishwashing sounds in the kitchen.

My aunt threw the burden to my cousin.

My cousin smiled politely: "The joys of family bliss."

I couldn't help but smirk: "Enjoying the family bliss of a widow-style household?"

My aunt instantly got angry, saying I spoke disrespectfully.

My father attempted to mediate.

But I couldn't hold back my temper: "In today's society, marriage is so tough on women. Why marry? Women aren't suckers or fools."

"Oh, not all married women are unhappy; it depends on the person."

Supporting them, Uncle and my father drowned out the other voices in the room, discussing this and that grandly.

But my aunt-in-law, who shouldered all the housework, merely bit her lip, scrolling her phone.

Indeed, it proved true that married women keep their mouths shut tight.

A few minutes later, the topic shifted back to my cousin.

When asked about her plans for children, her face showed obvious displeasure, but the few men present didn't notice at all.

I could see she was annoyed; when her eyes met mine, I knew she was planning to shift the blame.

"I'm already married, ask my little sister first."

Everyone's eyes turned to me, and I took a deep breath, presenting my trump card: "How to have kids? You guys teach me; the textbooks didn't teach anything."

Not sure if my aunt was clueless, but she replied, wasn't that natural?