Chapter 99 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 99

Regarding the storms and rumors outside, Ji Xiu had heard a little about them.

However, he did not take them too seriously.

Given Tian Chunfang’s personality, she would show up sooner or later. He only needed to calmly wait for developments, see what tricks she would use, respond to all changes by staying the same, and then deal with it. There was no rush.

What he did not expect was that Tian Chunfang would come so quickly.

Almost on the third day after the news spread, Ji Xiu came down from the mountain and saw a crowd of villagers gathered in front of his house. Looking past them into the yard, Tian Chunfang was sitting right in the middle of the house.

Ji Xiu walked in calmly.

When they saw him appear, the onlookers parted like the Red Sea, quietly reporting to him as they did so.

“Be careful, she’s here with bad intentions. She doesn’t look easy to deal with.”

“Remember to stay calm, don’t let her anger you.”

“She’s been here since early morning and even scolded Jingyu. People stopped her.”

If outsiders from other villages did not hold much respect for Ji Xiu and mostly came to watch the excitement, then these villagers were different. They had watched Ji Xiu grow up, watched Ji Jingyu transform, and now worked under the Ji father and daughter.

They absolutely did not want Tian Chunfang to come back.

Just in that short while, Tian Chunfang had already stirred up trouble, complaining that everyone had made the courtyard a mess and angrily scolding Ji Jingyu for not taking the initiative to greet her, turning the once peaceful Ji household into chaos.

If she really reconciled with Ji Xiu, the Ji family would be finished.

If the Ji family had problems, the villagers who depended on Jingfeng Mountain for their livelihood would not fare well either.

Everyone looked at Ji Xiu with eager eyes, hoping he would speak up and drive Tian Chunfang away.

Bearing everyone’s expectations, Ji Xiu frowned slightly and walked up to Tian Chunfang. “What are you here for?”

“You you’re back?”

The smug look on Tian Chunfang’s face instantly changed. She forced an awkward smile, stood up, rubbed her neck, and spoke hesitantly. “I’ve been waiting for you at home for half the day.”

“Waiting for me for what?” Ji Xiu responded coldly, like a straight man immune to feminine charm.

Tian Chunfang frowned, feeling displeased.

After being married for over ten years, although her life was not wealthy, no matter what she said, Ji Xiu would obey unconditionally. Over time, this had spoiled her temper.

Especially toward Ji Xiu, she always had the final say.

Otherwise, back then, when Ji Xiu said he wanted to change Ji Jingyu’s name, she would not have reacted so strongly, nor would she have stormed back to her parents’ home in anger when Ji Xiu announced he would contract the barren mountain.

Even now, even though she knew Ji Xiu was no longer the poor migrant worker he once was, she still could not change her attitude toward him.

“What do you think I came back for?” Tian Chunfang did not want to spell it out. She glanced at him. “You know very well yourself.”

In the countryside, men cannot do without women to manage the household. If a relationship breaks down and they divorce, most men will find another woman within a month or two. Of course, if they cannot find one within that time, it only means the man’s conditions are too poor.

Ji Xiu’s conditions were definitely not poor.

If he wanted to find a woman, whether divorced or unmarried, women from ten villages around would swarm over.

Yet he had not remarried.

What did that mean? It meant he could not forget her.

Tian Chunfang had not been the village beauty for twenty years for nothing. Even after being schemed against by her first love once, she was still very confident in her own charm.

Since neither her family nor outsiders were reliable, she would abandon them all. Having Ji Xiu, this old man who had obeyed her for over ten years, was enough.

On her face, worn with fatigue and age after months of upheaval, Tian Chunfang revealed undisguised smugness. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry. From now on, I won’t stop you from contracting mountains. I’ll listen to you on all major matters.”

Ji Xiu was stunned.

He thought Tian Chunfang had come back to grab property. What was she doing instead?

“What dream are you having?” Ji Jingyu suddenly appeared from nowhere, anger blazing on her face as she glared at Tian Chunfang. “Dad will never let you come back.”

Distance makes the heart grow fonder. If Tian Chunfang had never come back, Ji Jingyu might still have retained a tiny bit of nostalgia for her.

But she had come back.

Not only that, she had pointed at her nose and scolded her mercilessly, trying to use suppression to quickly establish her own authority.

Sure enough, after scolding her, the surrounding villagers no longer dared to stop her from entering, and she had brazenly entered the Ji house to wait for Ji Xiu.

Some people comforted Ji Jingyu, but she could not let it go.

After living under Ji Xiu’s fatherly protection for so long, she was no longer the little girl who, due to lack of love, was unwilling to completely break with her biological mother.

Seeing Tian Chunfang speak so arrogantly, she directly stepped out to respond.

Ji Jingyu had not eaten pork but had seen pigs run, and she knew very well how to anger someone.

She sized Tian Chunfang up and down and revealed a strange expression. “Besides, don’t you look in the mirror before saying something like that? You really have courage.”

Tian Chunfang’s face flushed red as she glared angrily. “You little bitch, you’re asking for death.” She raised her hand and swung a slap toward Ji Jingyu.

The villagers who had felt Ji Jingyu’s words were too harsh were startled and immediately changed their minds.

This mother was no good either. What kind of mother curses her own daughter like this? Thinking back, she had always cursed her like that before.

Sigh. The entanglement between mother and daughter was not something outsiders should interfere with.

Ji Jingyu sneered, watching the slap come toward her, completely unafraid.

She even hoped it would land on her face.

As long as this woman dared to touch even a single hair on her head, Dad would definitely not let her off lightly.

A girl raised with love has this kind of confidence.

However, to her relief and slight disappointment, before Tian Chunfang could hit her, Ji Xiu intercepted the blow.

“You bully my daughter in my house. Do you think I’m just decoration?”

Ji Xiu grabbed Tian Chunfang’s wrist and flung it aside hard, his brows tightly furrowed. “I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but my daughter’s attitude is my attitude.”

Tian Chunfang froze, staring at Ji Xiu in disbelief.

Ji Xiu frowned and repeated more forcefully, “Don’t look at me. We’ve long had no relationship. The divorce certificate is right there in the house. I hope you have some self respect.”

“But but back then you…”

Back when they divorced, he clearly did not want to. She forced him to go, so he went.

Wasn’t it because he liked her and could not bear to part with her?

Hearing her murmuring, Ji Xiu was speechless for a moment. “That day, I needed to go buy seeds.” He added lightly, “You see, you already have no place in my heart. Divorcing you was not even as important as buying seeds.”

This sentence was probably the most lethal blow to Tian Chunfang.

Her demands were not even as important as buying seeds.

Tian Chunfang looked up at Ji Xiu with resentment. “What a cold blooded bastard. I suffered beside you for over ten years. Now that you have money, you’ve changed your heart and don’t want me anymore. Fine. Very fine.”

Her eyes were red as she kept repeating this, then suddenly went mad and lunged forward to scratch Ji Xiu.

Her long, nail polish coated nails were frightening to look at.

The villagers hurried to help, grabbing and restraining her to keep her from hurting anyone.

“This this isn’t she gone crazy?”

Someone muttered quietly when they saw Tian Chunfang rambling and trying to attack people.

Hearing that, Tian Chunfang snapped her gaze toward him. “I’m not crazy!”

The man jumped in fright and quickly hid back in the crowd, avoiding that terrifying look.

Tian Chunfang sneered, suddenly calming down, and shouted, “Let go of me.”

The villagers were startled and loosened their grip.

Tian Chunfang stared at Ji Xiu with hatred. “This matter won’t end like this. Ji Xiu, if you won’t let me come back, I won’t let you have it easy either.”

During her half year outside, she had not learned nothing. A few days after leaving the Ji house, she actually returned with a lawyer.

“When Mr. Ji contracted Jingfeng Mountain, my client and Mr. Ji were still in a legally valid marriage, so…”

The lawyer looked professional, wearing a confident smile as he spoke endlessly.

Ji Xiu frowned and went into the house.

The lawyer stopped abruptly, his expression ugly and awkward.

What did this mean?

After a while, Ji Xiu came out holding a stack of documents and threw them to the lawyer. “Take a look. The property notarization from when we divorced.”

The lawyer widened his eyes, shocked as he read through them. His confident composure vanished instantly.

In contrast, Ji Xiu remained calm. He was very glad he had prepared early during the divorce, clearly dividing property and having it notarized. The notarization roughly stated that after divorce, the bank loan, regardless of purpose or profit or loss, had nothing to do with Tian Chunfang and would be borne solely by Ji Xiu. Household savings were split equally, and there would be no future alimony obligations.

Tian Chunfang had been afraid of taking on huge debt. Seeing this notarization, she even thought Ji Xiu was doing it for her good and eagerly signed it.

Now, it had become something she hated to the core.

The lawyer put down the notarization and glared at Tian Chunfang. “Ms. Tian, why didn’t you inform me of the existence of this beforehand?”

If he had known about this, he would never have taken this case.

Tian Chunfang was still confused, not understanding what was happening. “Why are you yelling at me, lawyer? What is this? I don’t understand.”

The lawyer nearly spat blood and kept slapping the notarization. “Look at it. Back at the divorce, you already gave up these incomes.”

“No, I don’t accept this!” After hearing the contents of the notarization and recalling how the notary had repeatedly asked for confirmation, Tian Chunfang’s face twisted in rage. “Why didn’t they ask me a few more times? Why didn’t they tell me signing my name would lead to this…”

Tian Chunfang left in disgrace with the lawyer, threatening to return again.

Ji Xiu remained calm and composed.

Let her come. The truth was in his hands, the law was on his side. No matter how Tian Chunfang tore her face off and tried to stir trouble, he would accompany her to the end.

If she wanted to take money from him, impossible.

If she wanted alimony from Ji Jingyu, she would have to wait many years. And even the court mandated amount would only be the local average income, which was nothing to the Ji family.

It depended on how long Tian Chunfang could persist.

Reality proved that a dodder vine like Tian Chunfang, who depended on men to live, had even weaker perseverance than Ji Xiu imagined.

Ji Xiu thought she would entangle him for at least a year or two. In the end, after only three months, Tian Chunfang quickly remarried.

When Ji Xiu heard this news, he was slightly stunned, then shook his head and quickly put her out of his mind.

A few years later, the two Ji elders passed away one after another.

Hetian Town truly became a famous tourist town far and wide, no longer needing Ji Jingyu’s fame to lead the way.

Ji Xiu handed Jingfeng Mountain over to Ji Qin to manage and took Ji Jingyu away from Hetian Town to the provincial capital to study.

There, Ji Jingyu reunited with the male lead Zhao Xiangnan.

…

Reborn once more, Ji Jingyu became cheerful and outgoing. She was no longer the sharp and aloof queen like businesswoman she had once been, yet she still attracted Zhao Xiangnan’s gaze.

After watching over Ji Jingyu until she turned eighteen and entered university, Zhao Xiangnan began pursuing her.

Ji Jingyu did not know what she was thinking, but she actually agreed, and the two properly began dating.

Zhao Xiangnan was overjoyed, and every time he looked at Ji Jingyu, he could not help but show a foolish smile that did not match his temperament.

At such times, Ji Jingyu would helplessly glare at him and tell him to restrain himself.

On campus, who did not say they were a perfect match, a golden boy and jade girl?

But watching from the sidelines, Ji Xiu knew it was not exactly so.

At least at the beginning, Ji Jingyu did not have feelings for Zhao Xiangnan. She stepped into a relationship identical to her previous life with a mindset of compensation and curiosity.

She also wanted to know what love tasted like.

Fortunately, reborn again, her mentality was different.

In her previous life, no matter how devotedly Zhao Xiangnan cared for her, he could not move her heart or catch her eye, and the two became a resentful couple who had to break up.

In this life, she learned to observe the good in people around her and experienced Zhao Xiangnan’s warmth.

A result different from the original world line.

Ji Jingyu and Zhao Xiangnan, from school uniforms to wedding dresses, from youth to old age, from first meeting to lifelong companionship.

They were a couple who stayed together for a hundred years.

…

Irresponsible Short Extra

In Xu Siye’s heart, there was once a hazy silhouette.

But at that time, he was too young to see his heart clearly or know how to properly make friends.

To attract her attention, he deliberately called her ugly names and deliberately poked her wounds, angering her and her father, causing that hazy and immature youthful love to end without result.

A twelve year old boy is just that childish.

Later, he grew up, became sensible, learned to gentlemanly consider a girl’s face and feelings, yet the person who made his heart move had already gone elsewhere.

Xu Siye felt momentarily lost, smiled bitterly, and told himself it was time to let go.

He let go and forgot that figure, following the normal path of school, exams, studying, and work.

At twenty five, he was on the phone with his parents and learned from them that Ji Jingyu was getting married.

The other party was a wealthy family in the provincial capital and respected Ji Jingyu greatly as their daughter in law. After holding a wedding in the provincial capital, they also held one back in Liu Village.

“The bride was very beautiful, generous and gentle. The groom was handsome too. During the banquet, the two of them even hid away to whisper to each other.”

Xu Siye thought of someone and could not help asking, “Was Uncle Ji there? How did he react?”

Ji Xiu did not like him. He had noticed it since childhood.

Though it was not until he grew up that he understood that men simply do not like other men who want to take away their precious daughters.

So the Uncle Ji who had always disliked outsiders approaching his daughter actually accepted this son in law so easily?

His parents’ voices came through the phone. “Ji Xiu looked smiling, still the same as before, but he seemed quite satisfied with this son in law and showed him much more friendliness.”

“Oh right, the bride’s biological mother came to make trouble again. It was the groom who stopped her and sent her away, warning that if she came again, he would send her to a psychiatric hospital. Judging by that, she probably won’t come again. Liu Village can finally be peaceful.”

“If you ask me, this groom is really quite good…”

Xu Siye could not hear the rest clearly. Knowing that even Ji Xiu appreciated that man, his last bit of hope disappeared.

In fact, he had long since given up on Ji Jingyu.

The beautiful dream of youth was only a dream. Over the years, he had also had girlfriends.

But upon hearing that Ji Jingyu was getting married, he still felt unwilling, always feeling he had missed something important.

What exactly had he missed?

For many years afterward, this confusion remained in his heart.

The truth, perhaps only heaven knew.

In fact, in the timeline reversed by the Time Space Bureau, the story was not like this.

In that world, Ji Xiu did not exist. Ji Jingyu was reborn alone, isolated and helpless, feeling estranged from this familiar yet unfamiliar world. The only thing that made her happy was that her father was still alive.

But in the end, after realizing that both parents favored sons over daughters, she chose to leave her original family in disappointment.

Her father was, at heart, just an ordinary man.

Between his wife and daughter, he ultimately chose Tian Chunfang, who could bear him a son.

As for Xu Siye, because he provided some help when Ji Jingyu ran away, she regarded him as a benefactor.

Years later, the two met again outside and, by a twist of fate, became lovers.

But in that world, even with Xu Siye’s help, Ji Jingyu lived too painfully. To protect the secret of the spiritual spring, she hid and dodged, always on edge, living even more painfully than in her previous life of struggling entrepreneurship.

Likewise, because her childhood knot was never untied, she and Xu Siye were together only out of gratitude, without love.

After several years together, they separated.

Xu Siye married another woman, and Ji Jingyu lived alone for her entire life.

In contrast, with Ji Xiu present, all the hardships that should have been suffered became floating clouds and bubbles.

She did not need to do anything. She only needed to enjoy her father’s love and be a beautiful little princess.