I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 19: Jealousy can change a person beyond recognition.

Yuan Xiu met Yuan Juan at the watch counter.

She was holding Zhou Lei's hand and whispering sweetly, pointing to a Plum Blossom brand watch in the counter, wanting to buy it.

"How can I buy a ticket if I don't have one? Besides, if my mom comes back and sees this, she'll definitely be angry again."

"You're not buying me anything. What kind of wedding is this? People will laugh at us if they find out," Yuan Juan pouted pitifully.

Zhou Lei replied dismissively, "Okay, I'll buy it for you, but I'll have to wait until I get the tickets."

Yuan Juan had just smiled when her eyes swept across the room and spotted Yuan Xiu walking towards them with Jiang Zhou.

Both of them were carrying a lot of things. With her sharp eyes, she immediately spotted the bright red peony four-piece bedding set in Yuan Xiu's hand, which was wrapped in waxed paper and had some corners showing.

And that coat with such a beautiful color, and those leather shoes...

Yuan Juan was incredibly jealous. She wanted it so badly, but Zhou Lei hadn't bought it for her. Why should Yuan Xiu get it?

What made her even more jealous was what followed.

She watched helplessly as the two men walked past her, and Jiang Zhou pointed to the Plum Blossom brand women's watch on the counter and said to the saleswoman, "Hello, I'd like to buy this watch."

Yuan Juan almost lost control of her expression. She reached out and nudged Zhou Lei next to her, saying, "Look at him!"

Zhou Lei coughed and greeted Jiang Zhou, "Battalion Commander Jiang, are you also here to buy things for your wedding?"

Jiang Zhou nodded and picked up the watch for Yuan Xiu to try on.

A delicate women's watch looks beautiful on a slender wrist.

Jiang Zhou nodded in satisfaction. "How about this one?"

Yuan Xiu smiled and nodded, "I'll listen to you."

If Yuan Juan's gaze could blaze, it would probably burn her to death.

The angrier Yuan Juan got, the happier she became.

It's even more refreshing than drinking an ice-cold soda on a sweltering summer day!

Jiang Zhou raised his eyelids and glanced at her. "Then wear it. Don't take it off."

The sales clerk issued a receipt, and Jiang Zhou took it to the side to pay.

"Sis, why did you buy so much stuff? It must have cost a lot of money. You used to be so stingy even when buying a hair tie, that's so unlike you."

Yuan Xiu glanced at Yuan Juan, her gaze sweeping over the things she and Zhou Lei were carrying. "I didn't want to buy so much, but my husband wouldn't allow it. Take this coat for example, it cost eighty-six yuan. I said buying one that cost twenty or thirty yuan would be enough, it doesn't matter what I wear, but my husband insisted on buying me the most expensive one, saying that marriage is a big deal and he can't let me suffer."

"And these bed sheets and duvet covers, I told him to just buy the fabric and have them custom-made at a tailor shop. With this money, we could have bought several sheets and had them made at the tailor shop. But he wouldn't listen to me and insisted on buying them. And these leather shoes, I've never worn leather shoes before. I'm afraid they'll hurt my feet. It would be so much better to buy cloth shoes, which are economical, affordable, and durable. But he bought them for me, and he even bought cowhide ones, which cost thirty-five yuan a pair. I felt the pinch when he spent the money."

"This watch is too expensive. I said I didn't want to buy it, but he insisted on dragging me here, and he wanted to buy something so expensive. Look, he put it on me before I even paid for it."

Yuan Xiu pulled up her sleeves, flashed her watch in front of Yuan Juan, and sighed, "I really can't go against him, so I have to listen to him. After all, he's the head of the household."

Yuan Juan: "..."

I wanted to grab a handful of dirt and stuff it into Yuan Xiu's mouth!

Give me back my husband! How shameless! Aren't you ashamed?!

"That's how you should live!" Zhou's mother returned from the restroom and said to Yuan Juan, "You should learn from your cousin; don't waste money on things you shouldn't buy!"

Yuan Juan even suspected that the old woman was blind. "She bought so many things, and they were all expensive. When I bought a pair of leather shoes, you took the cheapest ones."

"So what? You can't wear it anymore?"

Zhou's mother rolled her eyes at her, "If I hadn't come along, you probably would have emptied my family's savings! Look at your cousin, when Battalion Commander Jiang buys something expensive, she even tries to persuade him to stop, but you, your eyes are always on the expensive stuff! With your attitude, you're not the type to manage a household."

Yuan Juan was furious. It wasn't her who should be learning from Yuan Xiu; it was clearly Zhou Lei who should be learning from Jiang Zhou!

"How come I don't seem like a decent person? When other people get married, they buy three watches and a radio as a bride price, but you didn't buy me any of those things for my wedding."

"But other people don't come up to you like you're doing."

Yuan Juan was so angry that her eyes turned red. One day, she would send this old hag back to the countryside!

When Jiang Zhou returned after paying, Zhou's mother praised Yuan Xiu in front of him, saying, "You have to be as thrifty as your wife to live a good life. You, as a man, certainly don't understand these things. You should listen to your wife more often. I envy your mother for finding such a virtuous daughter-in-law. I don't have to worry about anything, unlike me, who is destined to worry."

Yuan Xiu almost burst out laughing. This old lady was really shrewd. She wasn't trying to persuade Jiang Zhou at all; she was just trying to annoy Yuan Juan.

Yuan Juan used every means to stay here, just to see how her life would turn out.

On the way back, Yuan Juan kept her head down and didn't say a word.

Seeing her like this, Zhou Lei felt a little sorry for her. She was young, and he could teach her slowly what she didn't understand. His mother shouldn't have scolded her in front of Battalion Commander Jiang and her cousin.

Seeing his mother sleeping with her eyes closed because of motion sickness, Zhou Lei whispered to Yuan Juan, "Next time we go to the city, I'll buy you a watch, a radio, a sewing machine, and a bicycle. I'll buy you those too. That's just how my mom talks; you'll get used to it after a while. She doesn't mean any harm. She just doesn't want me to spend money recklessly because she cares about us."

Yuan Juan gave him a pitiful look. "Really?"

"Of course it's true, I don't need to lie to you."

Yuan Juan: "I also want to wear a wool coat. Everyone else, like Yuan Xiu, has one, but I don't..."

Wool coats are so expensive!

Zhou Lei felt a little heartbroken. The sewing machine and bicycle could be used by the whole family, and the woolen coat wasn't a necessity.

"You can't buy it now. If my mother sees it, she'll definitely make things difficult for you. Let's wait until she leaves."

Yuan Juan's eyes lit up: "When is she leaving?"

Seeing Zhou Lei frown, she quickly added, "I'm not kicking her out, I'm just asking."

"She'll definitely have to go back home for the New Year."

With several months to go before the New Year, Yuan Juan was somewhat disappointed, but the thought that the old hag would only stay until the New Year made her happy again.

Once that old hag is gone, she can buy whatever she wants, and no one will be able to tell her what to do anymore.

After her mood improved a bit, Yuan Juan's stomach started growling.

Are you hungry?

Yuan Juan nodded.

Zhou Lei glanced ahead again, opened a bag of cookies he had bought to serve guests, and handed it to Yuan Juan. "Eat up."