Chapter 21: Synonymous With Filth

Li Yuhuan was bored.

When she saw Lei Hanping was still chatting with the elders in the front hall, she decided to head over to the backyard first. On her way, she met her aunt, Li Qiao. 

The halls were void of people, and it was probably because of this reason Li Qiao no longer had to pretend to be friendly. She looked at Li Yuhuan with a sneer, "I heard Lei Hanping is leaving for his mission tonight? You two just got married, and he's already going to leave you for half a year. Aren't you afraid that he'll find another woman? I heard those men in the army are like hungry wolves. Their eyes will light up when they see any available women. They will sleep with them, even with the ugliest one,"

Li Yuhuan's lips curved up, "Really? But when Lei Hanping first came to Grandfather's birthday banquet, I didn't see his eyes light up for you. Could it be that you're too ugly for him to like?"

"You're the ugly one!" Li Qiao's voice was trembling with anger, "Li Yuhuan, don't you bully me just because you're older than me. Don't forget. I'm still your aunt!"

"Aunt?" Li Yuhuan said slowly, "Isn't that the title you gave yourself? Who in the Li family acknowledges your status?"

Li Yuhuan had a gentle personality and rarely fell out with anyone unless the other person was someone she didn't like. Although they shared the same surname, Li Qiao technically wasn't part of her family. She was brought into the family by her Third Uncle's wife. Li Yuhuan didn't hate Li Qiao at first. But when she kept boasting about her status and used the Li family's name to bully others, Li Yuhuan became very disgusted with the younger woman.

"Li Qiao, you're too weak to put on an act. All your schemes are very obvious on your face, so how can you ever fight me?" Li Yuhuan patted Li Qiao's shoulder and whispered, "Although I'm married, I still have the final say in this family,"

Li Qiao's face turned pale.

 …

At one in the morning, Li Yuhuan woke up, covered in a cold sweat. 

She couldn't believe she had that same nightmare again... She looked at the space beside her. Judging from how cold the sheets were, Lei Hanping had probably left for the airport quite some time ago. Earlier that day, she told him he didn't have to say goodbye when he left. 

She didn't expect him to listen to her and leave without saying anything.

Feeling icky due to the sweat, Li Yuhuan decided to take a hot bath. Once her body was warm and clean, she lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, but she couldn't fall back to sleep.

The following day, the Li family was at the dinner table discussing how rushed Lei Hanping had left for the mission this time. They were complaining that he shouldn't have left right after getting married. Li Chen tried his best to explain Fourth Brother's side of things. After all, he used to be a soldier too. Even though he had retired from the army, he could still remember the weight of those military orders. From a soldier's point of view, Lei Hanping hadn't done anything wrong. However, seeing Li Yuhuan sitting all alone made him feel bad for his sister.

Fortunately, Li Yuhuan doesn't seem to be upset about it. 

After staying at her parents' house for a few days, she told them she wanted to return to Xiang City. After all, she was now the Lei family's daughter-in-law. If she stayed at her childhood home for too long, people might assume that her relationship with her in-laws wasn't good. Although Li Guowei and Liu Xi were reluctant to part with their only daughter, they still let her go.

After she returned to Xiang City, Li Yuhuan asked Song Ran to drive her to see some apartments. 

While waiting for the red light to turn green, Song Ran finally asked the question that had been brewing in her mind since her friend's call, "Why aren't you living with the Lei family and chose to rent an apartment instead? Do you not get along well with your in-laws?"

"Don't you know me? I like to live alone," Li Yuhuan leaned against the front passenger seat and frowned slightly, "And Fourth Brother already told his family that I won't be living with them,"

"That's good. At least your in-laws are not that strict. They might even suspect that their daughter-in-law has a lover on the side if it were anybody else. After all, Lei Hanping has just left for a mission, and you're already moving out…." Her friend sighed, "I'm curious as to what he told his parents to get them to agree," Song Ran shook her head.

Li Yuhuan didn't reply because she didn't know the answer to that either.

After looking around, Li Yuhuan chose an apartment close to the film studio. It had two floors, and the monthly rent was thirty thousand yuan. She had decided to come to Xiang City to prepare for her job. She still wanted to do what she had always been doing. Unfortunately, the standards for domestic erotic films were strict, and most of them could not pass the review.

Li Yuhuan refused to believe it and wanted to give it a try. When Song Ran found out about her plans, she laughed at her. 

Who could've thought that the daughter of the Li family abandoned her family and their business to film erotic films overseas? She did not know what would happen if the Lei family learned about this. Domestic erotic film was still not openly well received. They were still at the stage of just talking about it. Imagine openly admitting to actually being in that kind of movie, let alone being the person behind the idea.

When her friend told her about her opinion, Li Yuhuan didn't react. She didn't think there was anything wrong with sex films. Sex was a necessity in life, a beautiful art. But because of some dirty-minded people, they redefine sex as a synonym for filth.