Ruan Qiaoqiao swallowed hard.
She didn’t dare leave. Absolutely not.
Her life was precious—she had to cherish it.
She obediently shook her head and smiled. “I’m not going. We can go another day.”
Fu Wenzhou’s brows lifted slightly in satisfaction. Before he could make another move, hurried footsteps came from outside. He calmly released her.
The next second, An An and Kang Kang pushed the door open and ran in.
“Dad, you’re back!”
Fu Wenzhou glanced at them and calmly responded, “Mm.”
Ruan Qiaoqiao, on the other hand, was secretly delighted.
At times like this, children were truly useful—they could rescue her from this two-faced man’s harassment.
After dinner, Fu Wenzhou, as usual, took An An into the courtyard to practice writing.
Ruan Qiaoqiao cleaned up the room, then brought out the cloth she had bought and called Kang Kang over to measure his size, planning to make him new clothes first.
Around eight o’clock, Fu Wenzhou took the two children to the river to bathe.
Ruan Qiaoqiao also took the chance to quickly wash herself while they were out.
The place was still too simple; even bathing was inconvenient, so she could only do it when no one was around.
By the time the father and sons returned, she had already gone back to the room to lie down.
She had been wandering around all day, and her body was still sore from the past couple of days. She was truly exhausted.
Just as she drifted into a hazy sleep, she felt a cold sensation on her body.
A large hand turned her side-lying body over and pinned her down precisely.
She let out a muffled sound and opened her eyes.
Under the moonlight spilling through the window, she met Fu Wenzhou’s gaze.
She was about to complain about being disturbed when he gently pinched her chin.
His voice was low. “Time to settle today’s account from the county.”
Ruan Qiaoqiao was confused. “Account? What—”
Before she could finish, her lips were sealed.
Every unfinished word was swallowed whole.
He was aggressive, teasing every sensitive point on her body inch by inch.
Honestly, before she knew he was an unmarried man, she had thought his skills were too good—so good that although exhausting, the experience itself was surprisingly enjoyable.
For a “living arrangement,” she even felt she had struck a good deal.
But now that she knew the truth, she started to wonder—
Was this guy lying? Could he really be inexperienced?
Because he was far too skilled.
Everywhere he went, he stirred up heat like wildfire.
After the second round ended, Ruan Qiaoqiao lay there completely drained, breathing heavily and trying to recover.
Before she could even catch her breath, Fu Wenzhou’s hoarse voice came again.
“Tell me. Does Su Mai’s money smell better, or mine?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao almost laughed out of anger.
Was he done yet?
“Ruan Qiaoqiao, speak!”
“Fine, fine—yours smells better!”
“Who am I?”
“You’re Fu Wenzhou.”
Fu Wenzhou gave a low chuckle. “And who am I to you?”
“My man. Happy now?”
Only then did he seem satisfied. He got up from the bed.
“I’ll go get you water and help you clean up. Sleep.”
After he left the room, Ruan Qiaoqiao sat up holding her waist, staring at the door speechlessly.
What was this?
Was he… jealous?
But they had only known each other for a few days.
Jealous of what exactly?
Crazy.
The next morning, when she woke up, her legs felt even heavier.
She slowly walked into the courtyard.
Fu Wenzhou was reading, a faint smile on his face.
“Morning.”
He really looked like a peacock showing off.
“Morning,” she muttered, barely glancing at him as she struggled to wash her face.
Seeing this, Fu Wenzhou kindly brought over the basin and poured water for her.
“You still sore?”
“Or what do you think?”
He leaned against the wall lazily. “I think it’s still lack of exercise.”
“So what, you think we should go in a few more rounds?”
He tapped her forehead lightly—no force at all, even a hint of indulgence.
“Tsk. Which newly married wife spends all day thinking about that? Aren’t you afraid of draining your husband dry?”
“Who—”
She nearly exploded.
This man had two completely different faces day and night. Truly a two-faced bastard no gold mine could ever dig up.
She ignored him, washed up, and said casually, “I’m going to Qianliuhang Village to bring my luggage back.”
Of course, she had another purpose as well.
Fu Wenzhou didn’t stop her. “I’ll go with you.”
“No need. You’re injured. Stay home and recover.”
He paused, then nodded. “One hour. If you’re not back, I’ll come get you.”
“Mm.”
After breakfast, she returned alone to the Lu family home.
At the gate, she saw her mother, Lin Meiyu, washing a huge pile of clothes in the yard.
“Mom.”
Lin Meiyu’s hands froze. She quickly stood up. “Jiaojiao, you’re back. I’m sorry… when your stepfather forced you to remarry, I was working and wasn’t home. You suffered.”
Ruan Qiaoqiao looked at her red eyes and asked calmly, “If you were home then, would you have stopped it and let Lu Juxiang marry instead?”
Lin Meiyu froze.
She didn’t answer.
Ruan Qiaoqiao already knew the answer, but it still hurt.
From the main room, Lu Laosi stormed out when he heard the voice.
Seeing she came back empty-handed, he immediately exploded.
“You married off and came back empty-handed? Didn’t your parents teach you manners?”
Ruan Qiaoqiao replied lightly, “My parents did teach me well. I just got corrupted later after living with a bunch of uncivilized people.”
“You’re insulting me? I’m your stepfather—half your father!”
Before things escalated, Lin Meiyu quickly grabbed her arm.
“Jiaojiao, stop arguing. Your second brother was beaten badly, his head swollen. Your father is already upset.”
Ruan Qiaoqiao’s eyes sharpened.
“Beaten?”
“Who did it?”
“No one saw. It was at night on the mountain. He was ambushed.”
Night… head injury…
Something clicked in her mind.
“When did this happen?”
“Three nights ago.”
It matched.
It was Fu Wenzhou.
Lu Ercheng had stolen his money.
And the Lu family forced him into marriage.
On the surface, he accepted everything quietly—
But in reality, he was keeping score.
He really did take revenge.
And he did it properly.