If Su Tang hadn't reacted quickly and ducked her head, that rotten egg would have splattered all over her.
She whipped her head around and met the eyes of two little boys.
Their eyes were filled with rage; they clearly had a problem with Su Tang.
Before Su Tang could say anything, Zhang Cui flew into a rage.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Zhang Cui already had a fiery temper, and she had no patience for misbehaving brats.
She thrust the child she was holding into Su Tang's arms, then strode forward and grabbed each of the boys by an ear.
"How dare you throw rotten eggs at people? Whose kids are you?"
As she spoke, Zhang Cui gave their ears a sharp twist, making the two brats grimace in pain.
"Let go! You're gonna twist our ears off!"
Just as Zhang Cui was about to drag the two boys off to find their parents, a woman rushed over and shoved her away.
Hu Lili pulled the two boys into a protective embrace. As if they'd found their champion, they immediately burst into loud wails.
"They were throwing rotten eggs at someone."
Hearing Zhang Cui's explanation, Hu Lili paid her no mind, her gaze fixed on the person behind her.
"The kids weren't wrong. We don't want any pampered city girls here."
Su Tang's clothes were quite ordinary: a cotton top, work pants, and a cream-colored scarf wrapped around her neck.
Her hair was down, her face was clean and fresh, and she wore no accessories.
She looked more or less like one of them.
After all, her parents knew how hostile the people in the family compound were toward them.
That was why the clothes they had prepared for Su Tang were all so simple and plain.
However, compared to Hu Lili, who stood before her with a somewhat dark complexion, two braided pigtails, and a set of work clothes...
...Su Tang was as beautiful as an exquisite doll you'd only find in a city department store.
It was no wonder they disliked Su Tang so much and wanted to drive her away.
"I'm here to join my husband as a military dependent. My application was approved by the higher-ups. The procedure is all in order, so why can't I enter?"
Su Tang, still holding the child, offered a faint smile. The sight of her red lips and pearly teeth only fueled Hu Lili's disgust.
She had chased after Brother Xiao for so many years, but he never once looked back at her.
Who would have thought he was already married, and to a pampered young lady from Shanghai, of all people?
When Hu Lili heard she was coming to live here, she was, of course, unhappy. 'City people are good-looking and cultured.'
'Once she arrives, Lu Xiao won't even spare me a glance.'
That was why she was so determined to keep Su Tang out of the family compound. 'Besides, Brother Xiao is on a mission for the next couple of days and isn't even here.'
'If I can drive her away, I'll just say she left on her own because she thought the compound wasn't good enough for her.'
But as Hu Lili was plotting, Su Tang had already seen right through her.
'A love rival on my first day,' Su Tang thought. 'Looks like Lu Xiao is quite popular around here.'
"Nobody here welcomes you. Don't you get it?"
The disgust in Hu Lili's eyes was completely undisguised. She was determined to put Su Tang in her place.
Watching this scene unfold, two men in the distance stopped in their tracks.
Chang Jia nudged the man in the Zhongshan suit beside him with his elbow.
"Aren't you going to go play the hero and save the damsel in distress?"
"Not necessary."
Lu Xiao's reply was cold. Chang Jia could tell he was fuming.
'It makes sense, though,' Chang Jia thought. 'Our last mission was to cooperate with the Public Security Bureau to take down a cargo theft ring.'
'But their leader managed to escape, and we both just got a dressing-down from our superior.'
'On top of that, Lu Xiao made a wasted trip to the train station and failed to pick up his wife, so he's in an even fouler mood.'
"I just asked around," Chang Jia said, trying to placate him. "They said our sister-in-law came with Wang's wife. You know her, she's a good person."
Hearing Chang Jia's words, Lu Xiao glanced up at the confrontation in the distance.
"Naive and gullible."
After uttering those three words, Lu Xiao finally started walking forward.
Chang Jia sighed and reluctantly followed him.
He knew that Lu Xiao and Su Tang's marriage had been arranged by Lu Xiao's father.
Lu Xiao's father was in poor health. Back when he was doing odd jobs at the university, it was Su Tang's father who had been secretly helping him.
It was safe to say the Lu Family owed the Su Family a great debt of gratitude.
But Chang Jia felt that Lu Xiao's father must have also known that the Su Family were good people, and that was why he had arranged the marriage.
Lu Xiao, however, didn't see it that way.
He had never met Su Tang. All he knew was that she had studied abroad and was an intellectual.
Furthermore, after they filed the marriage paperwork, Su Tang had been unwilling to move to his post, creating a deep rift between them.
One believed the other was just a country bumpkin, crude and uninteresting.
The other believed her unwillingness to join him meant she looked down on him from the bottom of her heart.
So, even though the husband and wife had never met, they already mutually despised each other.
Chang Jia shrugged, watching his friend's back with a sense of helplessness.
Meanwhile, upon hearing Hu Lili's words, Su Tang reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Oh? And so what? My papers are all legal and in order. If you're not satisfied, go file a complaint with the leadership."
'She wasn't money; she couldn't make everyone love her.'
'Plenty of people hated her. Was she supposed to care about every single one of them?'
With that, she held the child tighter, picked up her suitcase, and started to walk past.
Hu Lili had never heard such twisted reasoning before. 'This woman is just shameless, isn't she?' she thought.
"Move."
Seeing Hu Lili blocking her way, Su Tang shot her a cold look.
'She'd been on a train for so long that her whole body was stiff. She hadn't rested well, and she was getting very annoyed.'
"Brother Xiao?"
Hu Lili refused to step aside. Just as Su Tang was about to push past her, she heard Hu Lili call out, "Brother Xiao."
Su Tang turned and saw a man with an imposing, ramrod-straight posture, dressed in a Zhongshan suit.
He had a healthy, wheat-colored complexion. The fringe of hair on his forehead swayed in the wind, and his dark eyes looked as if they were holding back a storm cloud.
His thin, tightly pressed lips gave him a frosty air. He looked a bit fierce and not at all easy to get along with.
Lu Xiao said nothing, simply stepping forward to take the suitcase from Su Tang's hand.
But Su Tang didn't let go. Lu Xiao looked up at her. "Let go."
Two utterly cold words. Su Tang tightened her grip on the suitcase handle before finally releasing it after a long moment.
Seeing this, Zhang Cui hurried over to take the child back from her.
"You're finally here, Lu Xiao! You need to deal with this Hu Lili."
Zhang Cui was eager to report what had happened. Lu Xiao, holding Su Tang's suitcase, glanced at Hu Lili.
Hu Lili hugged the two boys tighter and bit her lip. "Brother Xiao, she comes from a bad background. Nobody likes her."
"She hasn't even set foot in the family compound and everyone already hates her. If she moves in, I'm afraid you won't have a single day of peace."
At this, Su Tang shot Hu Lili a glare, then turned her head to look at Lu Xiao.
'He's not going to think I'll disturb his peace and try to pack me up and send me back to Shanghai, is he?'
Lu Xiao felt her scorching gaze on him, a gaze that also carried a hint of anticipation.
He parted his lips and stated coolly, "She is my wife. She is a family dependent, just like the rest of you, and has every right to be here."
His protective words made the corners of Su Tang's lips lift slightly. 'At least he acts like a man,' she thought.
"Brother Xiao..."
Su Tang ignored Hu Lili, turning instead to Lu Xiao and unwrapping the scarf from her neck.
Lu Xiao watched as his young wife stood on her tiptoes to tie the scarf around his neck. In a soft, melodic voice, she said, "I heard the wind in the Northwest cuts like a knife, so I made sure this one was lined with cashmere."
"Thank you, Lu Xiao."
The man's Adam's apple bobbed, and the tips of his ears turned bright red as he picked up all her belongings.
'City people are experts at using sugar-coated bullets,' he thought. 'But I'm not falling for it.'
But as Su Tang leaned in close, the scent of jasmine balm from her skin wafted straight into his nostrils.
It suddenly left him feeling flustered.