Seeing the thoughtful look in Ruan Qiaoqiao’s eyes as she stared at him, Fu Wenzhou’s brows lifted almost imperceptibly. He leaned forward slightly, his peach blossom eyes looking innocent, yet his words carried deliberate teasing.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Did my face remind you of something?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao felt a chill run through her heart.
Here it comes again. He was testing her again.
She cleared her throat. “I just think you’re handsome. Can’t I admire you a little?”
After speaking, she swung her legs off the bed and stood up in one smooth motion.
Then…
Disaster struck.
With a thud, she dropped straight to her knees on the floor.
Fu Wenzhou instinctively stepped forward to catch her, but she had fallen too quickly.
At the same moment one was kneeling and the other standing, Ruan Qiaoqiao’s face pitched forward and, by unfortunate coincidence, crashed directly into the most untouchable place beneath his abdomen.
Warm breath rushed against him, and Fu Wenzhou let out a muffled groan.
Realizing what had happened, Ruan Qiaoqiao jerked backward, shifting from kneeling to sitting on her heels. Her entire face turned crimson as she looked up, only to meet his scrutinizing gaze.
“Um… I…”
“I know you covet my good looks, but we just got out of bed. You’re already this impatient?”
Now even her ears turned red.
“Who’s impatient? I just lost my balance!”
“Oh? Why do you lose your balance whenever you see me? Feeling uncomfortable?”
“You… stop asking questions you already know the answer to.”
Fu Wenzhou looked completely calm. “I really don’t know. Why don’t you explain it to me in detail?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao had always considered herself pretty thick-skinned, but she never expected to lose so badly to him.
How could he say such shameless things with that refined gentlemanly face?
Grinding her teeth, she supported herself against the bed and stood up.
“I’m hungry. I’m going out to eat.”
She awkwardly shuffled toward the door.
Watching her retreating figure, Fu Wenzhou’s lips curved slightly upward. He stepped forward to support her.
“How are you this delicate? One little touch and you end up like this.”
One little touch?
Bullshit!
Did he seriously not know how many times he had touched her?
Once they reached the outer room, Fu Wenzhou placed a bowl of noodles in front of her.
Ruan Qiaoqiao took a bite.
Completely bland.
Such a waste of good noodles.
Still, even if his cooking was terrible, she couldn’t waste food. These were noodles—not something every family could afford to eat.
Thinking about how they clearly had food but still had to sneak around pretending to be poor every day, she put down her empty bowl and chopsticks.
“I’m heading out for a bit.”
Fu Wenzhou immediately reached out and grabbed her wrist, looking up at her with suspicion in his eyes.
“Where are you going? When will you be back?”
That look…
Was he afraid she was going to run away?
She certainly had the desire, but not the courage. Without an introduction letter, no matter where she ran, she’d just be caught as a vagrant and sent back.
Rather than ending up in such an embarrassing situation, she might as well stabilize things first and wait to see what happened.
After all, he himself had said he treated his own people well.
“You didn’t get beaten up yesterday for nothing. I’m going to settle accounts with those people. I’ll be back in at most half an hour.”
Fu Wenzhou cleared his throat. “I’ll seek justice myself. You don’t need to interfere.”
“How are you going to seek justice?” Unless last night, what he had been doing was…
Fu Wenzhou raised an eyebrow slightly. “What? Curious?”
Not curious. Absolutely not curious.
“No, I just think… your background status is bad. No matter what you do, you’ll end up at a disadvantage. It’s better if I go.”
“What are you planning to do?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao leaned closer and revealed her entire plan. At the end, she added one final instruction:
“You just stay home, lie down, and pretend to be sick while waiting for my good news.”
After speaking, she arranged a few things around the house and left.
Watching Ruan Qiaoqiao limp awkwardly away, Fu Wenzhou chuckled softly.
He really hadn’t expected her to be capable of this kind of thing.
He walked behind the house and called over An’an, who was digging wild vegetables with his younger brother.
“Go follow your stepmother from a distance. If anyone bullies her, come back immediately and get me.”
An’an curled his lips. He didn’t want to bother with that stepmother’s business at all, but seeing his father’s serious expression, he could only obediently sneak after her.
After walking a short distance, Ruan Qiaoqiao finally loosened up enough to move more naturally. It still hurt, but at least she could walk properly now.
She headed straight for the village production office in Houliaohang Village and found the village chief busy at work.
“Hello, Village Chief. I’m Fu Wenzhou’s wife, Ruan Qiaoqiao.”
The village chief, a man in his fifties sitting behind an old-fashioned desk, glanced at her.
“What do you want?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao’s eyes instantly reddened.
“I came to ask you to uphold justice.”
The village chief frowned.
He already knew about Fu Wenzhou’s marriage application. The Liu family had come to him for help processing it. Although the bride had later been switched, he didn’t like involving himself in the affairs of sent-down people.
Who would’ve thought trouble would still arise?
“Wasn’t your marriage agreed upon by both families? Why are you now—”
“It’s not about the marriage. It’s about Liu Tong, Liu Daqian, Liu Guohua, and Liu Guoqiao from your village. Yesterday on the mountain, they beat my husband for no reason.”
The village chief’s expression darkened.
As village chief, he naturally sided with the villagers.
“I heard a little about it yesterday. It was just a fight. There’s no need to exaggerate things.”
“A fight?” Ruan Qiaoqiao’s voice rose. “My husband coughed up blood! How is that a fight? That’s attempted murder! And those four men even mocked him, asking if he needed help sleeping with me because they said he couldn’t perform as a man. Is that something human beings should say? Or do you think just because my husband’s background is bad, he deserves to be bullied?”
“What kind of attitude is that?”
“My attitude is already very polite.”
She pulled a certificate from the shabby cloth bag she carried and slapped it onto the desk.
“Fu Wenzhou may have a bad class status, but my background is perfectly clean. My father and grandfather were both barefoot doctors in neighboring Xiadian Town. My father even died saving people. The Ruan family was awarded an official Hero Family plaque by the government.
“And now, the descendant of a hero has suffered such humiliation in Houliaohang Village, yet no one is standing up for me. If that’s the case, I’ll take this certificate to the town authorities and demand justice. Once the higher-ups investigate and learn that your villagers insulted the children of heroes and foster such filthy village customs…”
She looked directly at him.
“Village Chief, you won’t escape responsibility.”
The village chief slammed the table and stood up.
“Are you threatening me?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao showed no fear at his anger. Instead, she stuffed the certificate back into her bag.
“Fine then. Since that’s how you see it, I’ll head to town and let the town leaders decide whether I’m threatening people or simply seeking justice.”
Seeing her actually turning to leave, the village chief panicked.
He truly hadn’t expected such a delicate-looking girl to have this much courage.
If she really caused a scene in town, things would become serious.
He quickly stepped forward and blocked her path.
“Alright, alright! I’ll handle it. Tell me—what do you want?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao stopped and smiled calmly.
“Simple. Please call those four violent criminals to the production office.”
“I want to settle accounts with them face to face.”