Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”This baby should never have existed!” Lin Yaru shouted.

Jie Jingwei sneered, grabbing her by the chin. ”You’re carrying my child, and you’re this unwilling to have it? Lin Yaru, don’t you forget, you’re the one who drugged me. You’re the one who clung to me. You’re the one...”

”Shut up! Just shut up!” Lin Yaru covered her ears, shaking her head frantically.

Jie Jingwei grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands from her ears. ”What? Can’t stand to hear it? I haven’t even gotten to the worst parts. You know damn well how passionate you were that time, how much you enjoyed it. You can deny it all you want, but your body was very honest.”

”Stop talking. I’m begging you, please stop,” Lin Yaru pleaded. She felt utterly humiliated. The images replayed in her mind, tormenting her to the brink of collapse.

”We don’t even have to go that far back. Just last night, you were...” Jie Jingwei leaned in and whispered suggestively in her ear.

The more Lin Yaru listened, the more humiliated she felt—a mix of shame and rage. ’If we weren’t married, I’d report him. But we are. What he does to me is legal, and there’s nothing I can do.’

Regret washed over Lin Yaru. ’I never should have listened to my parents and married Jie Jingwei. I should have stood my ground. Even if it meant aborting the baby and never being able to conceive again, I shouldn’t have given in.’

’Jie Jingwei is a devil, and this marriage has become my prison.’

”Yaru, Jing Er,” Li Axiu’s voice called out.

”Mom!” Lin Yaru cried out as if she’d been saved, pushing Jie Jingwei away and running to Li Axiu.

Li Axiu saw Yaru’s reaction and her heart ached, but she was helpless. They were a married couple now; marital relations were normal. The problem was that Yaru was unwilling, while Jie Jingwei was far too eager.

’Last night, the two of them had been struggling in their room. Yaru didn’t want to, so Jing Er forced himself on her. I wanted to intervene, but it didn’t feel right. One is my daughter, the other my son-in-law. I figured Jing Er would have some restraint, that he’d be mindful of Yaru’s pregnancy. But who could have known...’

”Mom,” Jie Jingwei said, looking a bit awkward at the sight of his mother-in-law.

Li Axiu was just as embarrassed and felt awkward bringing up the previous night. ”Did you two take the bus back?”

Yaru’s pregnancy had been affected, so to be safe, they had stayed at the hospital for observation while she and Old Lin went home.

The wedding banquet was tomorrow, yet they had spent today in the hospital. It was a terrible omen.

”No, my dad’s driver drove us back,” Jie Jingwei said.

Li Axiu was satisfied with that answer. ’To make the young couple take the bus home in this heat, especially with Yaru pregnant... her father-in-law would have been far too inconsiderate.’

After what had happened last night, they hadn’t gone to the Jie Family’s home to cause a scene. Li Axiu had tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep until almost dawn. When she finally woke up, it was nearly noon. Unable to stomach the injustice, she had gone straight to the machinery factory to find her son-in-law’s father and told him about Jie Jingwei’s outrageous behavior.

She hadn’t been accusatory, merely suggesting he have a serious talk with Jie Jingwei and tell him not to be as impatient as some twenty-something hothead.

They had been lucky last night; Yaru only had some complications with the pregnancy. If she had lost the baby because of it, what would they have done?

”And that driver of your father-in-law’s... if he was going to drive you, why didn’t he bring you all the way to the door?” Li Axiu said, feigning a bit of anger.

Seeing that Lin Yaru said nothing, Jie Jingwei didn’t bother to explain.

”All right, let’s not just stand here. Let’s get you home,” Li Axiu said, helping Lin Yaru walk toward their house. Jie Jingwei followed behind them.

As they passed a grocery store, Jie Jingwei said to Li Axiu, ”Mom, could you and Yaru wait for me a moment? I’m going in to buy some malted milk and milk powder. The doctor said Yaru needs more nutrients.”

”Okay, go on,” Li Axiu said with a smile. She would never stop him from buying things for her daughter. The moment Jie Jingwei entered the store, Li Axiu’s smile vanished. She turned to Lin Yaru with a stern expression. ”What happened in the car?”

Lin Yaru didn’t mention running into Xu Chunyan and Jie You. She and Xu Chunyan were colleagues and best friends. Xu Chunyan had put her heart and soul into helping her get together with Jie Jingchen. Now that she’d ended up married to Jie Jingwei instead, she was too ashamed to face her.

’It was Xu Chunyan’s idea, and Xu Chunyan gave her the drug. But I’m the one who messed it all up.’

”Mom, I want a divorce,” Lin Yaru said, gripping Li Axiu’s hand, her expression completely serious.

”What did you just say?” Li Axiu jumped, thinking she must have misheard.

People passing by shot them curious looks. They were all neighbors from the street. After the huge scene Liu Guihua had caused last time when she brought Xu Chunyan to the Lin Family’s home, everyone knew the inside story of what had happened between the Lin and Jie families.