Xu Zifan gave his parents a heads-up, warning them to be wary of the father and daughter. He then had a warm dinner with them before returning home. His parents felt sorry for their son sleeping on the sofa and wanted him to stay, but it was a bit far from his workplace, and his pregnant wife was home, so they ultimately let him go.
The elderly couple had a group chat with their relatives of the same generation, and there were quite a few people in it, chatting every day. Before, when Xu Zifan and his wife were occasionally mentioned, Xu's mother would always try to say something nice, since it was a whirlwind marriage and she was pregnant; she had to embellish the story to avoid gossip. But after her son was wronged, her attitude changed. She already harbored resentment towards Wu Xuefei, and naturally, this was reflected in her words, gradually solidifying the relatives' impression of Wu Xuefei as a spoiled and lazy girl, making them even more disdainful of Wu Lidong.
Aren't they all older than Wu Lidong? They're all still trying to save and earn money to ease the burden on their children. But Wu Lidong is living in his son-in-law's house, relying on his son-in-law for support, and he's enjoying it without a care in the world. Who could like such in-laws?
A slight butterfly effect has created a negative image of the Wu family among Xu's relatives and friends, which is quite remarkable.
When Xu Zifan returned home, the house felt like a three-way interrogation, but since it was only Wu Xuefei and Wu Lidong, the atmosphere wasn't quite right.
They sat on the sofa, their faces cold. When Wu Xuefei saw Xu Zifan, she threw her phone onto the coffee table, making a loud, clear sound that echoed throughout the room. Wu Xuefei demanded, "Why can't you get through on your phone again? Are you on airplane mode again? What are you doing with that phone? Don't you ever check the signal?"
Xu Zifan asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
"You have the nerve to ask me? Look what you did to my dad!" Wu Xuefei lifted Wu Lidong's clothes, revealing his bruised lower back, and said angrily, "How old is my dad? You actually threw him over your shoulder and made him hit the bedside table. Are you trying to kill him?"
Xu Zifan quickly pressed on Wu Lidong's injured spot, causing Wu Lidong to scream in pain and break out in a cold sweat. Xu Zifan put on an innocent expression, "W-is this for real? I thought you were joking. When did I throw Dad? Besides, I don't know how to do an over-the-shoulder throw. Xuefei, I know you're upset, but you can't wrong me. I went to work early this morning and just got back. I haven't even seen Dad yet. How could I have thrown him?"
"Not today, it was last night! Don't you know you have sleepwalking? Go look at the mess you've made of both beds!" Wu Xuefei pulled Xu Zifan into the bedroom. "Look, look! You sleepwalked once the day before yesterday, almost choking me to death. I forgot to tell you yesterday, and last night you soaked the mattresses again. My dad tried to wake you up, but you threw him over your shoulder, and we ended up spending the whole night at the hospital!"
Xu Zifan opened his eyes wide and said with amusement, "Xuefei, are you trying to prank me because you think life is too boring? I know pranks are popular abroad, did you learn them there? I've lived for thirty years and I never knew I sleepwalked. Besides, I couldn't have only been sleepwalking for the last couple of days, could I? Why didn't you say so before?"
"You've only been sleepwalking these past couple of days, you weren't like that before. What do you mean? You don't believe me?"
"This is too fake, it's impossible." Xu Zifan stopped smiling and frowned. "Okay, stop playing around. I'm tired from work and still have to write code. I'm going to rest for a while."
Wu Xuefei said incredulously, "You actually said I lied to you? Why would I lie to you? My dad has hospital records, look, there's even a date on the receipt."
Wu Xuefei took out the medical records from her bag and handed them to Xu Zifan. Xu Zifan frowned and looked at them, but said somewhat angrily, "It's not like I can't read. It clearly says here that no abnormalities were found."
"That's because no bone was broken. That's all that can be written on it. Didn't you see my dad's lower back is all bruised?"
"What does that have to do with me? I don't have sleepwalking. You can ask my parents if you don't believe me." Xu Zifan threw the list on the table and said angrily, "Fine, pregnant women have bad tempers, I won't argue with you, but I don't like this kind of unfounded accusation, I don't like this kind of game. If you want to play pranks, go play with your dad. Xuefei, I think you've changed. You used to be understanding and wouldn't be so unreasonable. It seems that after we've been apart for several years, you're no longer the Wu Xuefei I know."
Wu Xuefei was completely taken aback by his reaction and asked in astonishment, "What did you say? What do you mean?"
Seeing the situation turning sour, Wu Lidong quickly said, "Zifan, Feifei, don't argue. Zifan, how can you say such hurtful things? Feifei isn't lying to you; you really have been sleepwalking these past two days. The day before yesterday, you broke a vase and pinched Feifei, then went to the kitchen to clean the knives—it was quite frightening. Last night, you cleaned the mattress, which terrified Feifei. I tried to wake you up, but you threw me. Feifei hasn't had a good rest for two days, so her tone was bad, but it wasn't meant to be blaming. What we mean is, let's go see a doctor this weekend. If there's a problem, we need to get it treated quickly. If this continues, we won't be able to live a proper life."
Xu Zifan listened to him coldly and said, "This isn't a movie. I don't know why you're saying this. You just said you wanted to find a job yesterday, and now this is happening. I don't want to suspect anything, but people who know our family situation tell me something's wrong. They say you just want to enslave and exploit me. I didn't believe them at first, but now it seems I really don't understand you. Xuefei, you always say you wouldn't have married me if it weren't for this child, so that's what you think now, and you don't want to live a good life with me, right? You made a scene today just to avoid going out to work, right? Then why did you say you wanted to go out to work yesterday?"
The words "something's not right" made Wu Lidong and Wu Xuefei uneasy.
Suddenly, they realized they had agreed to get married and register their marriage, then announce it to the public after the baby's one-month celebration. They hadn't expected Xu Zifan to talk about his family with others, and that someone would notice something was amiss. This shock extinguished their anger, and Wu Xuefei said nervously, "Who said I didn't want to go to work? It was Dad who got hurt, not me. I was planning to look for a job online tomorrow anyway."
Xu Zifan softened his tone, "Oh, okay then. Go to bed early tonight and look for a job tomorrow. I have things to do, you get some rest."
Wu Xuefei was furious all day, waiting for Xu Zifan to come home and give him a good scolding, make him apologize, and hopefully even return to their previous life. But now he's become the very thing she hates most. All she can do is bluster and rebuke him, "From now on, stop listening to outsiders' nonsense. You don't even believe me? How can you face all these years of our relationship?"
"They care about me too, they're all very nice people." Xu Zifan didn't say much more, took his clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
Wu Xuefei and Wu Lidong were left looking at each other, feeling as if they had punched cotton and been hit back at them, filled with anger. The beds in both bedrooms hadn't been made yet, and it was obvious that Xu Zifan couldn't be asked to make them now, especially since it was so late and there was no cleaning service. Wu Xuefei had to do it herself.
She had been enjoying herself and being waited on by Xu Zifan all this time, so doing this all of a sudden was incredibly frustrating. After tidying up for ages, she found that the mattress was still damp and she couldn't sleep at all, so she ended up sleeping on the floor. That sleep was both uncomfortable and suffocating.
They had planned to record Xu Zifan sleepwalking on their phones today, intending to embarrass him tomorrow. However, Xu Zifan didn't sleepwalk today; he went to sleep at 10 PM and slept soundly. The two of them stayed up until 2 AM but Xu Zifan didn't wake up. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, they reluctantly fell asleep.
When Xu Zifan went to work this morning, they were still asleep. Xu Zifan posted another Weibo post, saying: "I'm in so much debt. The day before yesterday, I told my wife and father-in-law that they would find easy jobs to earn some living expenses, and my salary would go towards paying off the debts. But yesterday, my wife said that my father-in-law was injured, and that I hit him while I was sleepwalking... My friend said they just don't want to go out to work, and they want to exploit me because I'm an honest person, but I don't want to believe it. I'm feeling very down today. I suddenly remembered that my goddess initially married me only because she got pregnant unexpectedly, not because she loved me."
This Weibo post quickly attracted the attention of fans, who had come from a dating forum and were used to seeing all sorts of bizarre family disputes. Previously, when Xu Zifan showed off his affection for his wife, some had commented that he was too doting on his wife, even to his father-in-law, and that things might go wrong. Then this Weibo post took a sudden turn, becoming melancholic, seemingly confirming some netizens' earlier predictions. It also made his story seem more real, and even his detractors stopped questioning whether he was self-promoting and instead began mocking him for being delusional.
The issue of debt is a sensitive topic for many, with numerous comments questioning why Xu Zifan is in debt. Some speculate it's due to gambling, others that he borrowed money to buy a house, and still others that he gave an exorbitant dowry—netizens' imaginations ran wild. Then, the focus shifted to his father-in-law, who was reportedly injured and beaten while looking for a job, with claims that Xu Zifan was sleepwalking. Netizens laughed, agreeing that Xu Zifan's friend was right and that it was definitely a lie.
Furthermore, Xu Zifan's Weibo post mentioning "an honest man" made the pairing of an honest man and a beautiful woman even more sensitive, leading many to immediately conclude about their relationship, saying his wife definitely didn't love him. Then, considering their marriage was due to an unplanned pregnancy, many speculated that the baby wasn't actually his, as honest men are often associated with "falling for someone else," and that Xu Zifan must have been deceived in that unplanned pregnancy!
A perfectly normal display of affection suddenly took a turn, leading to this somewhat suspenseful situation. Netizens expressed their opinions, some even arguing due to differing views, which boosted Xu Zifan's Weibo popularity and even got reposted on dating forums for analysis.
Seeing that things were developing in the direction he wanted, Xu Zifan stopped paying attention and instead asked his colleagues about work. Honest people being bullied easily evokes sympathy, especially since they were colleagues who had worked together for many years. They knew best how easy it was for this honest person to bully, and they helped very quickly, finding Wu Xuefei a job as a customer service operator.
This job is perfect. All I have to do is sit there and talk all day. Plus, there are lots of colleagues in the department, mostly in their twenties, the perfect age for being lively and cheerful. Wu Xuefei won't be bored with them, and she might even make some friends. This job is a 9-to-5, no overtime, and there are no urgent matters, so pregnant women won't have to worry about anything, and of course, there won't be any accidents.
The only downside is the low salary, only 1800 a month. If you do well, you might get a bonus, but the bonus is only given to two or three people, so it's quite difficult to get one.
Xu Zifan laughed as soon as he heard this, "That's great. Xuefei is so capable, she'll definitely get the bonus. Besides, this job isn't strenuous and it's safe, which is perfect for her. I'll tell her the good news after get off work today, she'll be overjoyed. Once she starts the job, I'll treat everyone to hot pot and introduce my wife and father-in-law to everyone."
"Great! We've been wanting to meet him for a long time." They looked at each other; they really wanted to meet him, to see what this oddball looked like, especially that lazy "father-in-law"—they had to meet him.
Xu Zifan smiled slightly, thanked them again, and gave them the "good guy" card once more. Thinking about the all sorts of bizarre calls customer service would receive, he thought this job was fantastic; Wu Xuefei would definitely be furious.