2.6 Dynamics of a Breakup: Eviction (Part 1)

It was a fine morning. The weather was warm and pleasant. No dogs were barking, all the children in the building were quiet, and even the usually noisy Tianjing City traffic was much subdued. Best of all, Li Jing had achieved total dominance in her brother's house and was now enjoying the well-earned fruits of a week of labor (An Mei's cooking) as Li Wei ate his omelette while looking... surprisingly upbeat.

"Why are you smiling?" Li Jing asked suspiciously.

Li Wei looked up at his sister like a toddler whose mother had just caught him eating dirt. "Smiling? I am not smiling, jie. I was just... thinking about a problem."

"No, you were definitely smiling. What are you up to? You know that..."

"Jie, do you want to come with me later?" An Mei asked, interrupting the interrogation. "I am meeting some of my friends. They would love to see you again. The last time they met you was during the wedding."

"Of course, Meimei. I would love it," Li Jing said happily, completely forgetting her brother's odd behavior. "Will that cute one with the glasses be there? What was her name again? Yunyun, yeah, that's it. From what I remember, she needs a major wardrobe change. What is she up to these days?"

"She will be there. She is a kindergarten teacher now."

"That's so sweet. I can see her being good with kids."

While his sister and wife were talking, Li Wei discreetly kept checking the messages and time on his phone, waiting for the moment of his salvation to arrive.

"Meimei, how come you made all this extra food today?" Li Jing asked after noticing the extra portion An Mei had prepared for Li Yue.

"Umm...jie...ah yes, Weiwei hasn't been eating well these days. So I made a little extra for him."

"That's good thinking, sweetie. Here, Weiwei, have one more bun. You are looking very thin. You need to bulk up a little."

Li Wei looked up from his phone and reluctantly accepted the bun that was meant for Li Yue.

"And here is one for you, Meimei. You need some muscles on you too. If you two don't eat well, how am I going to get little nieces and nephews?"

Both An Mei and Li Wei turned beet red at the mention of children. They quickly developed a keen interest in their breakfast and started eating without looking up from their plates.

But Li Jing continued, pretending to be oblivious to their embarrassment. "Xiao-Yue and her boyfriend don't seem to have plans for marriage or kids anytime soon. So you two are my only hope. I was thinking that..."

Li Wei quickly tried to change the subject. "Jie, in the drama you were watching yesterday, did the male lead finally get over his amnesia?"

Li Jing, who manipulated people for a living, wasn't going to be undone by her brother's clumsy attempts at redirecting the conversation. "It's so nice of you to take an interest in it, Weiwei," she cooed. "He did in fact get over his amnesia. The moment he saw his child, he remembered everything about the female lead and their life together. Isn't that wonderful?" She gave Li Wei a wide grin that seemed to say, Your attacks are insignificant; now allow me to demonstrate my power.

"Children can be like that. They can really change your life." Li Jing kept going. "Speaking of children, I am not being pushy or anything. But you two have been married for almost a year now. So I was wondering if you guys had talked about this. You know that I am not conservative or controlling like Hua-jie, so I am not going to interfere. But I was wondering if you guys had made any..."

Ding-dong.

Suddenly, as if the universe had decided to save the couple from further embarrassment, the doorbell rang.

Li Wei immediately jumped up from his seat. "It's my delivery. I will get it," he blurted out, and ran to the door.

Both Li Jing and An Mei chuckled as the man of the house bolted out of the dining room.

"He is so easy to fluster," Li Jing said while still laughing.

"He is," An Mei agreed.

"Don't talk like you are immune, sweetie. I saw how red your cheeks were. It was really cute."

"But...jie," An Mei whined helplessly.

"You were like a cute little tomato. See, you are turning red again. My god, I just want to pinch those cheeks. It's too much cuteness."

"Jie...don't..."

An Mei's pleas were ignored. Li Jing's fingers were already at An Mei's cheeks, squeezing them like a professional grandmother. An Mei offered no resistance and let herself become the victim of her sister-in-law's cute aggression.

Just as An Mei had lost all hope for herself, a steely voice echoed through the house.

"Let go of her, Li Jing."

The stern voice was followed by the imposing and statuesque Li Hua, flanked by her two younger siblings. Li Hua was wearing her casual clothes, which somehow made her look even more intimidating. Even in jeans and a t-shirt, it was impossible to ignore how stunning she looked, like a superheroine who stepped right out of a comic book. To her right was Li Na wearing a flowery sundress. She was the very image of a lovely girl-next-door who was going to meet her friends for coffee later in the day (which is exactly what Li Na was going to do after this). To Li Hua's left was Li Yue in her custom Leizu sweatpants and Dragon Gate t-shirt, which had a phrase that none of the other women in the room understood. The cavalry had arrived, and An Mei let out a sigh of relief.

Startled by her sisters' sudden appearance, Li Jing released her sister-in-law. As she looked at the newcomers, the reason for Li Wei's earlier smile dawned upon her. It was three against one; the odds were not in her favor, but it was not completely hopeless.

Li Jing put on a sickly sweet smile and greeted her sisters. "Hua-jie, Na-jie, Xiao-Yue. What a surprise! I did not know that we were going to have guests in our apartment today. To what do we owe this pleasure? Would you guys like some breakfast?"

Li Yue needed no further encouragement. She plopped down on the seat next to An Mei and started filling her plate with every available item.

"We are not here for breakfast," Li Hua thundered, her voice full of both disgust and triumph. "We are here to kick you out of the apartment."

"Hua-jie is right. It's time for you to leave, Xiao-Jing." Li Na added. "One week is more than enough time for you to recover. It isn't appropriate for you to stay at our brother and sister-in-law's place for too long, especially with that new acquisition right around the corner."

Li Jing's smile did not vanish. Instead, she picked up the bun from Li Wei's plate and gave it to Li Yue. "Here you go, dear. Have one more bun."

"Thanks, jie. You are the best," Li Yue said, before getting back to her food and forgetting all the drama.

With Li Yue neutralized, Li Jing ignored her second sister and turned her attention to Li Na. The sweet smile effortlessly transformed into a melancholic one. "Na-jie, I understand what you are saying. I am really sorry," she said, her voice full of sorrow. "You are always looking after me, but I bring you nothing but shame. I should know by now that I am not someone who deserves love. I am sorry for being such a burden on you, Na-jie." Li Jing's eyes grew misty as she threatened to tear up, but the waterworks were held back for now. Such a potent weapon could only be deployed at the perfect moment for maximum impact.

Li Na's analytical mind told her that this was a trick. She knew Li Jing better than anyone. But at that moment, when she looked upon her sister, she did not see the celebrity or the cunning businesswoman; she only saw the little sister who had followed her around since she could barely walk. And that little sister was now in pain. Li Na's logic failed her, and her resolve crumbled.

"Xiao-Jing," Li Na said, her voice a little shaky. "I...I just wanted to talk to you. To see how you were doing." Li Na closed the distance and placed her hand on Li Jing's shoulders. "I am sorry that Gao Feng turned out to be such a despicable man. Don't cry over him, dear; you will one day find a guy who will love you for who you are. You are not a burden to us, and you deserve to be loved just as much as anyone else."

The moment was just right, and Li Jing released the tears. Seeing her cry, Li Na started crying. Seeing her sisters-in-law crying, An Mei started crying. And Li Yue continued eating.

Two down, one more to go.

"What the hell is going on?" Li Hua screamed. "Li Yue, stop eating. Xiao-Na, why are you comforting her? You know she is manipulating you." Li Hua did not fully understand how she had lost both of her sisters and her sister-in-law in a matter of seconds. "Xiao-Mei, why are you crying with her? She is occupying your house."

Li Jing cried even harder, prompting Li Na and An Mei to comfort her with hugs.

"Hua-jie, can you please not be so hard on Xiao-Jing?" Li Na pleaded.

"Yeah, Hua-jie, it's so sad," An Mei added between sobs.

Li Yue stopped eating for a second, and then went back to it when she realized that no one was paying attention to her.

"What?!... I am being hard on her?! Did you all forget why we are here? We came here to evict her, and now you are all taking her side?" Li Hua knew how to scream at people and how to use logic and her fists to destroy her enemies. But she did not know how to deal with her family members who thought of reason and logic as mere suggestions. "And can you all please stop crying? It's making me uncomfortable."

At that moment Li Wei came walking back to the dining room, hoping to find that his problem had been solved. Instead, he found his wife and two of his sisters crying, and Li Yue eating his bun.

Li Hua noticed him and asked, "Xiao-Wei. Where is Da-jie?"

It took Li Wei a moment to fully grasp what he was seeing. "Jie?!...ahh... Da-jie is still talking to Mrs. Zhang. But, jie, what happened here? Why are they all crying?"

"I don't know," Li Hua said, sounding unsure. "Li Jing did something to them, and now they are all on her side."

Li Wei, still in a daze, went to his wife and sisters. "Meimei, don't cry, please. Na-jie, Jing-jie, why are you crying? Please don't cry." He gently wiped An Mei's tears and hugged her. "Can we all please have breakfast and stop crying? If you guys keep crying, I am going to cry too."

Hearing that Li Wei might cry, the three women started crying even louder. Li Yue scanned the entire table and decided that the best piece of bacon was on An Mei's plate, which she then took for herself.