Northeast: My Absurd Woman

Just as Yang Wuni was enjoying her meal, a woman's voice came from the corridor of the health center.

"Oh no, it's Lin Qiu." Zhang Changyao craned his neck to listen, inwardly exclaiming.

"This room," Nurse Zhang's voice answered Lin Qiu from the corridor.

Zhang Changyao's heart was in his throat; he was genuinely terrified.

The door was pushed open, and Lin Qiu walked in. She had changed her clothes.

The red floral-patterned jacket and light blue trousers accentuated her slender figure.

The hair was shiny, and a faint scent of hair oil wafted over.

Her face, brushed with rouge, was fair with a rosy glow, and her lips parted slightly, revealing a set of small, white teeth.

"Zhang Changyao, is this your wife? She's really beautiful." Lin Qiu sat down next to Yang Wuni without any ceremony.

"Wu Ni, this is my high school classmate, Lin Qiu." Zhang Changyao introduced Lin Qiu to Yang Wu Ni with a helpless expression.

"Sister Lin Qiu, you are even prettier. You really know how to dress."

Yang Wuni looked at Lin Qiu's clothes, then at her own.

She, who had never thought of comparing herself to anyone, couldn't help but clutch the hem of her clothes and lower her head at this moment.

I had just taken a bite of the sorghum flour bun in my hand and was holding it in my mouth, forgetting to chew it.

"Zhang Changyao, didn't you say your wife was sick?"

She looks fine; is she about to give birth?

You even told me your family was poor; you're just lying to me.

I heard that women from impoverished rural families all stay at home to give birth.

You've brought your wife to the health center to give birth.

Your family must be one of the wealthiest in the village, otherwise where would you get the money for hospitalization?

Lin Qiu looked at Zhang Changyao with a cold face, her aggressive tone full of questioning.

"Lin Qiu, it's not what you think. I can't explain it to you in just a few words."

I'll tell you what happened slowly when I have time later.

Zhang Changyao scratched his head, looking at Lin Qiu with a troubled expression.

"Sister Lin Qiu, what do you mean by that? What's wrong with Zhang Changyao bringing me to the hospital?"

Whether our family is poor or rich is none of your business.

Did Zhang Changyao ask you for a loan? Or did he ask you for a favor?

I think your relationship with Zhang Changyao is more than just that of classmates, isn't it?

Yang Wuni chewed the steamed bun in her mouth a few times, swallowed it, and shifted her body to stand between Zhang Changyao and Lin Qiu.

He asked Lin Qiu in an even sharper tone than before.

"Wu Ni, right? Your Zhang Changyao and I are definitely more than just classmates."

He was my girlfriend back then, and he said his family was poor and couldn't afford to support me.

Because of this, he left a letter and then disappeared without saying goodbye.

I see that he and you are both dressed quite well, and you can afford to stay in a health center to give birth, so how can you be poor?

Zhang Changyao, tell me, what exactly was the reason back then?

"Did you get together with someone else and dump me?"

Lin Qiu's aggrieved look left Zhang Changyao helpless.

He couldn't say that someone else bought his clothes for him.

It is even more inappropriate to say that Yang Wuni's clothes were old clothes that others had worn out.

In this situation, what's the point of explaining or not?

It was just that Lin Qiu needed an outlet for her grievances.

"Sister Lin Qiu, you can't blame Zhang Changyao for not wanting you."

Their family was indeed poor, but our family was even poorer than theirs.

I am his wife, whom he acquired for free without spending a penny.

The government didn't charge us for our hospital stays, even though my belly was full of worms.

These clothes are all hand-me-downs from others; look at this whole bag of them.

You're a pampered young lady; you can't bear the hardships of us poor people.

Look at this sorghum flour bun I'm eating; it's the first time I've ever seen one like it in my life.

"I could eat ten of these steamed buns in one go without drinking any water, and I wouldn't even say I'm full."

After Yang Wuni finished speaking, she took bites of the steamed bun in her hand.

The three steamed buns were gone in the blink of an eye.

"Zhang Changyao, your wife... your wife is really good."

I have something to take care of first, I'll be right back.

Lin Qiu walked out, tears streaming down her face.

She lived in a working-class family and had also seen rural people come to town to buy things.

I only knew that life was hard for people in the countryside, but I never imagined that Yang Wuni was a thin, pregnant woman weighing only a hundred pounds.

They can actually eat every last crumb of that awful sorghum flour bun in no time.

"Zhang Changyao, Lin Qiu likes you, why don't you run away with her?"

"You're so clever and quick-witted, but you're not quite as cunning as you seem."

Yang Wuni pursed her lips, feeling quite upset despite hearing Zhang Changyao's sarcastic words.

She could tell that Lin Qiu treated Zhang Changyao better than she did.

Regardless of the reason in the past, she is now certain that her man still loves Lin Qiu.

"Wu Ni, you can eat these two steamed buns too, I'm not hungry."

Zhang Changyao did not answer Yang Wuni's question. Once a woman's jealousy is stirred up, it's not so easy to appease her.

"What? You don't even want to eat anymore after seeing Lin Qiu? Looks like good looks can really fill you up."

Yang Wuni unceremoniously grabbed two steamed buns from Zhang Changyao.

Without any hesitation, he stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth, and it was gone in just a few bites.

"Wu Ni, eat slowly. I'll go buy you more if you're not full."

Didn't you tell Lin Qiu that you could eat ten in one meal?

Zhang Changyao stared in disbelief. He hadn't expected that Yang Wuni could eat five throat-scratching sorghum flour buns so effortlessly.

"What? You're not going to live like this anymore! I have plenty of other things to eat, can you afford them all?"

You're so heartless, you don't even have the heart to turn down such a good woman.

What an idiot who had to marry a pregnant woman like me.

Don't think that just because you're nice to me, I'll do you a favor.

I'm the kind of person who only cares about food, not people; nobody can fool me.

Yang Wuni smacked her fingers, lying on the bundle of old clothes, squinting her eyes.

He acted like he didn't care about anyone else after he was full, and that no one cared what he did.

"Wu Ni, don't be angry. Lin Qiu and I will never be together."

I didn't leave her because of what her mother and teacher said.

Back then, I could barely eat cornbread, while others ate white flour steamed buns every day.

I wear tattered clothes every day, patched and patched again, and my toes don't even stay in my shoes.

My stomach is rumbling all the time, I have no time for romance.

She pounced on me, but I didn't have the energy to do *that*.

Even if I were to marry her, do you think she could cook porridge?

My little storage room, with its tattered straw mat and small aluminum pot—can she live there comfortably, sleep soundly, and use it?

They're in the sky, I'll just look up and admire them.

How could she be like you, suffering with me, not minding the hardships of eating coarse food and living a bitter life?

"If you hadn't been so pregnant and refused to give me money, I might have remained a bachelor my whole life."

Zhang Changyao pulled Yang Wuni up and made her listen to him.

This stubborn woman is different from Lin Qiu.

She doesn't understand the feelings between men and women, and even after the meeting, she was constantly misunderstood.

"Wu Ni, here, I bought all of this for you, you can eat it!"