A sudden tightness gripped Su Zhi’s chest, her nose tingling with sourness. An indescribable sense of grievance and misery filled her entire being. She bit her lower lip hard, feeling tears welling in her eyes.
Lin Yu was completely oblivious. Su Zhi lowered her head, fists clenched, but he thought she was just shy. He stepped forward, ready to flirt further. “Su Zhi, Yue Chunhan is such a coward, probably recognized who I am and got scared. Why stay with someone so timid and afraid of trouble… Come be with me instead.”
As he spoke, he moved to embrace Su Zhi.
Furious and distressed, Su Zhi lifted her tear-filled eyes and glared at him fiercely. “Get away!”
At this moment, Su Zhi no longer cared about exposing her identity. She slapped away Lin Yu’s reaching hand, then stomped hard on his foot, venting all her pent-up frustration. She strode quickly toward home, leaving Lin Yu stunned and bewildered, only later clutching his foot in agonized pain.
“Damn—! That b*tch!”
Su Zhi’s pretty face was tense, her full, rosy lips pressed tightly together. Her eyes held unshed tears, yet her whole body seemed filled with energy as she walked swiftly.
She wanted to go back and ask Yue Chunhan why he had treated her that way. Even without an emotional foundation, they were at least husband and wife. How could he do such a thing!
Su Zhi walked fast. She and Yue Chunhan had left separately, one after the other. Under the large tree at the village entrance, even more people had gathered in the evening to enjoy the cool breeze. They watched Su Zhi from afar, their expressions filled with the expected mockery and scorn.
Many watched the drama unfold with amusement. “I told you, those two wouldn’t last two days. See? They left fine in the morning, but now they’re splitting up by evening.”
“Who bet on two days? You were spot on, hahaha!”
“When Yue Chunhan passed by earlier, his face was icy. Su Zhi looks just as upset. Wonder what happened in just one day.”
“Hey, if they really divorce, our village will have lost its best entertainment, hahaha…”
“…”
Su Zhi’s emotions were near bursting. She completely ignored the villagers’ scorching gazes at the village entrance.
Yue Chunhan lived in the most remote part of the village, next to the cornfields, with only a few neighboring households. Next door was the home of a widow whose husband had passed away years ago due to illness. Before Su Zhi married over, the rumors had swirled around Yue Chunhan and this Widow Liu.
Widow Liu was quite charming, possessing the unique allure of a mature woman. Her figure was curvaceous and alluring. Leaning against her doorway, she looked Su Zhi up and down, her gaze lingering on Su Zhi’s face for a long time before she slowly spoke, smiling with a coquettish charm. “I heard long ago that Yue Chunhan married a great beauty. Today, I finally see for myself. Su Zhi… that’s your name, right?”
This was Su Zhi’s first time meeting Yue Chunhan’s neighbor. She hadn’t finished reading the entire novel, but it was said that Widow Liu was also a mature beauty many readers strongly advocated for Yue Chunhan to end up with after his divorce from the original host. Seeing her now, her reputation was indeed well-deserved—she was truly beautiful.
The anger still trapped in Su Zhi’s chest had no outlet. She politely adjusted her emotions, preparing to greet Widow Liu, but then heard Widow Liu’s next words. “Sometimes men like pretty faces, but beauty isn’t everything. Just having a pretty shell isn’t enough. You need to think carefully about what he really likes, or it won’t be easy to capture a man’s heart.”
Widow Liu glanced meaningfully at Su Zhi’s stunningly exquisite features, which seemed to glow.
Su Zhi sensed a vague hostility from her and was momentarily stunned.
She didn’t think she had ever offended this neighbor. In fact, they had never even met before. This hostility was completely inexplicable.
Su Zhi frowned slightly, her mind focused only on confronting Yue Chunhan. So, she gave Widow Liu a perfunctory smile, said nothing, and stepped into the yard.
What did she care about what Yue Chunhan liked?
…
In the yard, Yue Tiantian still sported the pretty hairstyle Su Zhi had done for her that morning. Seeing Su Zhi return, her eyes lit up, but she held back from speaking.
Su Zhi mustered her courage, scanned the yard, and saw Yue Chunhan casually sitting in the courtyard, preparing chicken feed.
In rural areas, chickens usually weren’t fed commercial feed. They foraged for wild grass thrown into the pen, or occasionally, like Yue Chunhan, people would pull a cabbage from the yard, chop it up, mix it with cornmeal, and feed it to the laying hens.
Su Zhi was about to step forward when she saw Yue Chunhan chopping vegetables with a knife.
Yue Chunhan held a knife. The chopping board for the chickens was placed flat on the ground. The cabbage on the board was being swiftly chopped into fine pieces. The blade gleamed brightly, extremely sharp. Many cabbage scraps splattered around the board.
Yue Chunhan was calm and composed, but his movements were rapid. The shiny blade nearly dazzled Su Zhi’s eyes. Looking at the cabbage Yue Chunhan had minced into pieces, Su Zhi, who had been filled with grievances and ready to confront him, took a step back, leaning against the nearby wall in panic.
Was Yue Chunhan warning her, “killing the chicken to scare the monkey”? How terrifying!
Su Zhi’s gaze was too intense. Under her stare, Yue Chunhan turned his cold face toward her, his eyes so icy they seemed to freeze Su Zhi to death. He asked in a low voice, “What is it?”
Su Zhi looked at the cabbage reduced to shreds on the ground. All the arguments she had rehearsed on the way home turned to confusion. The fear of Yue Chunhan she had momentarily forgotten due to her grievances and anger now resurfaced in full force.
In the original story, were the people who angered Yue Chunhan beaten until they were as scattered and broken as the cabbage on the ground?
Su Zhi’s pretty face quickly paled, remembering that this expressionless face belonged to the violent, feared second male lead from the novel. Out of fear, mist gathered in her eyes, and her voice trembled slightly.
Su Zhi didn’t want to appear so timid, but she truly feared Yue Chunhan, especially seeing him with a knife. She was terrified Yue Chunhan might get angry and chase her with the knife. Although that possibility wasn’t very high.
But she couldn’t let her earlier grievances go unanswered. Su Zhi bit her lip hard, her eyes moist like a startled fawn. Mustering all her strength, she bravely lifted her gaze to look at him.
“…Could you come inside with me? I have something to say.”
Yue Chunhan’s dark eyes were cold and penetrating as he glanced at Su Zhi.
Since he was young, he had hardly ever heard anyone dare speak to him like this. But surprisingly, Yue Chunhan wasn’t angry. Instead, he calmly set down the knife in his hand, casually tidied up, and followed Su Zhi inside.
Outside the neighboring wall, Widow Liu pressed her ear against the wall, trying to catch any sounds. Unfortunately, the house seemed quiet, with none of the expected crashing, fighting, or wailing. Disappointed, she straightened up.
Inside the house, Su Zhi and Yue Chunhan stood face to face.
Su Zhi had called Yue Chunhan inside to avoid Widow Liu overhearing their argument—family shame shouldn’t be aired publicly. But now, with just the two of them in the small space, their breaths faintly audible, Su Zhi suddenly panicked, realizing this enclosed space was disadvantageous for negotiation.
If Yue Chunhan became angry and wanted to hit her, she wouldn’t even have time to run.