After collecting the pork, they prepared to head back.
As soon as they stepped out, they saw Sun Xiaowan rushing over anxiously.
"Cheng You, someone... someone is looking for you!"
Cheng You found it amusing, "If someone's looking for me, so be it. I'm not someone who can't be seen."
"Oh, it's not like that, you don't know who's looking for you!"
Cheng You asked, "Who is it?"
Sun Xiaowan glanced at Qi Yang.
Qi Yang quickly reacted, "Could it be my parents?"
Sun Xiaowan looked exasperated, "More precisely, it's your mother, and Zhou Qi."
Her father was too busy with official duties and would never come to the countryside just to see Cheng You.
Qi Yang's expression darkened. With the Lunar New Year approaching, their arrival now could only mean trouble.
She worried Cheng You might be taken advantage of.
"Why don't you hide? If my mother can't find you, she'll naturally leave."
Cheng You found it funny. She was in her own home, why should she hide?
Even if someone had to hide, it wasn't her.
"Sister, no need to hide. On my territory, how can anyone bully me?"
Just then, someone behind her overheard this.
Everyone had been eager to please Cheng You lately. Hearing that someone was bullying her, they immediately stepped forward.
"Cheng You, who bullied you? Tell us, and we'll back you up!"
With his loud call, those who had come to collect pork hurried over.
"In our village, does anyone dare bully Cheng You? Tell us, and we'll stand up for you."
More and more people swarmed in.
Cheng You thought about it. After all, they were willing to follow, she hadn't forced them.
After a moment's thought, she put on a wronged expression.
"It's actually nothing big, and no one is bullying me. It's just that person who spoke ill of my man last time, you know who I'm talking about?"
"Yes, yes, that young man named Zhou Qi, right?"
"Oh, that young fellow? He looks decent, but his words are unpleasant."
"Exactly, his mouth is as if he rinsed it with sewage."
In truth, a few people in the village had spoken behind Qi Chengyan's back.
But now that they needed something from Cheng You, of course they had to side with her.
However, people have their own relationships. Even if they didn't need Cheng You's help, there was no reason to help outsiders bully her.
Cheng You deliberately didn't mention Qi Chengyan's mother, only Zhou Qi.
They assumed that the person named Zhou Qi had come to cause trouble again.
Everyone followed her in a flurry.
Sun Xiaowan swallowed and secretly asked, holding Cheng You's arm, "Are you really bringing them along? That's your mother-in-law. Aren't you afraid she'll be angry?"
Cheng You scoffed, "She's only my mother-in-law if Qi Chengyan acknowledges her."
From Cheng You's tone, Qi Yang could tell that she didn't have a good impression of her parents.
Although they hadn't met, there was already a sense of imminent conflict between them.
It seemed Cheng You understood that most of the harm Qi Chengyan had suffered came from his family.
In reality, if a family was sufficiently loving and supportive, a child would not fear any storm outside.
The fear was when the family members were the ones stabbing you in the back.
Qi Yang sighed silently, her face etched with worry.
...
Zhou Qi only knew where Cheng You's apothecary was, so he led Madam Qi to the True Good Hall.
Madam Qi looked down on such a simple, small apothecary.
The people working there disliked her, and not a single chair was offered.
This only made Madam Qi angrier.
"A Qi, did we find the wrong place? Why hasn't anyone come yet?"
Zhou Qi sneered, "Mom, I told you long ago that that brat is extremely ill-bred. See, she doesn't even come to greet you, knowing you're here."
Zhou Yunru looked on coldly and was amused by his words.
"Insulting someone in their own territory, who is ill-bred? You know perfectly well."
Zhou Qi's expression changed slightly, but he wasn't afraid. This time, he was with Madam Qi.
Even if Cheng You herself came, she would have to show some respect.
"I'm talking to my mother, what business is it of yours?"
Zhou Yunru snorted, "If you're talking to your mother, why are you here? Go out, who cares about you?"
Uncle Li washed his hands and said slowly, "Cheng You is a child of our Wujing Village. If you call her ill-bred, you're slapping the face of Wujing Village. Anyone would be unhappy to hear that. Young man, a strong dragon doesn't pressure a local snake; you understand that, don't you?"
Madam Qi frowned, her expression very impatient, completely disdainful of arguing with them.
Soon, Cheng You entered from outside.
Just as Zhou Qi was about to stand up and speak, he saw so many people following behind her.
Their menacing demeanor made it seem as if they were here for a brawl.
Even Madam Qi was startled.
Cheng You crossed her arms. Despite her short stature, her presence was enough to overshadow Zhou Qi.
"I heard you were looking for me?"
Arrogant as could be.
Zhou Qi quickly invoked Madam Qi behind him, "Do you know who this is?"
Cheng You glanced over, "It looks like your mother, right? Truly a three-year-old child, losing an argument and having to go home to call for Mom."
At her words, Zhou Qi seemed to feel others' contempt.
"I didn't call for Mom!" he denied loudly.
Cheng You raised an eyebrow, "Oh, she's not your mom?"
"No... of course she's my mom!"
Cheng You pouted, so it was still going home to call for Mom.
Zhou Qi was about to retort when he heard Madam Qi say, "A Qi."
Her gaze swept over Cheng You, then fixed directly on Qi Yang.
This elegant-looking woman's face was very serious.
"Qi Yang, you're not home for the Lunar New Year, and I thought you were in the lab. Turns out you're here?"
Qi Yang said calmly, "My father and mother want to spend the Lunar New Year with someone else's son, so I have to come and spend it with my younger siblings, is that not allowed?"
Zhou Qi's eyes flashed with anger, and he glared at Qi Yang.
"If Sister dislikes me, I can choose not to spend the New Year at home. As long as you stay home with Dad and Mom."
Qi Yang scoffed, "If you truly mean that, then you should have left long ago, as it's not the first day I've disliked you."
Madam Qi's face darkened, but she held back, unwilling to lose composure in front of outsiders.
After keeping Cheng You waiting for a while, she finally looked up.
"I came here to find you."
She didn't even say her name.
Cheng You met her gaze boldly, deliberately feigning ignorance, "I don't know who you are?"
Zhou Qi was amused, "You married Qi Chengyan, but you don't even know who his mother is?"
He couldn't wait to see Cheng You's shocked expression.
If she knew the woman in front of her was his mother, Cheng You would surely rush to fawn over her.
Cheng You clasped her hands behind her back, "They didn't attend my wedding banquet with Qi Chengyan, so it's normal I haven't met her? You're not going to say this lady is Qi Chengyan's mother, are you? That's not right, isn't she your mom? You don't have the surname Qi."
Every word struck Zhou Qi to the core.