Bang—
Zhao Chengyan slammed his palm heavily on the table, causing the chopsticks to rattle onto the floor.
"You're a woman—what gives you the right to go around borrowing money everywhere?"
His eyes burned with indignation, yet deep within his narrow pupils lurked a trace of heartache. If only he had fought harder back then and married Yuerou, would she have been spared all this suffering?
"A-Yan, I really don't know what to do anymore…"
Gu Yuerou sobbed so hard she could barely catch her breath, sounding as if she might choke at any moment.
Zhao Chengyan rose and walked around to sit beside her, gently coaxing, "Stop crying. When you cry like this, my heart… it aches."
Mindful of the dazzling little brat sitting nearby, he hastily changed his words to "aches" instead of what he truly meant to say—"hurts for you."
No matter how Zhao Chengyan tried to soothe her, Gu Yuerou kept her face buried in her handkerchief, whimpering without pause, looking utterly helpless and pitiful.
Finally, he had no choice but to ask, "Then how much money do you need? Let me see if I can scrape something together for you."
Only then did Gu Yuerou lower the handkerchief from her face.
By now, her already small eyes had swollen to mere slits.
"How could I? A-Yan, you still have a wife and child to support. I can't possibly take money from you."
With that, she lifted her gaze to the man beside her, her eyes churning with unspoken emotion—as if the mere mention of his wife brought her great sorrow.
That look instantly pleased Zhao Chengyan.
He did have a sum of money saved up—money he'd planned to use for a trip to Suicheng with his buddies. But if Yuerou needed it urgently, he'd give it to her first.
He'd been hesitant at first, but sensing that Yuerou still held him in her heart, his resolve to give her the money solidified.
The little boy beside them looked from Zhao Chengyan to his mother, who had been crying since dinner began. His small eyes darted around rapidly. Sure enough, his mother was right—if he found this Uncle Zhao, all he had to do was cry, and there'd be money to buy him candy.
At five or six years old, the little one had already planted a conclusion in his heart: cry, and you get candy.
Gu Yuerou would soon taste the bitter fruit of what she'd told her son.
But that's a story for later.
Under Zhao Chengyan's persistent questioning, Gu Yuerou "reluctantly" revealed a number.
"Ten thousand."
"Tsk… that bastard! Did he ever stop to think whether your family could come up with that much money? How could a farming household possibly have ten thousand? He's an animal—living in a fantasy!"
Zhao Chengyan's face burned with righteous indignation.
Yes, what she'd told him was that her husband had forced her to come home and borrow money, claiming he wanted to buy a house—otherwise he'd beat her, and then go after her younger brother too.
The lie was of her own making, so naturally it wasn't airtight.
She'd overlooked the fact that rural folks could never have that kind of money.
A barely perceptible flicker of irritation hid beneath Gu Yuerou's lowered lashes. Her throat was sore from crying, and she wondered why he was still dawdling.
She absolutely had to get this money. There were so many people in the city doing business these days, and she wanted in on it too. Her husband wouldn't give her money, so she had to find her own way.
If she kept doing nothing at all, that mother-in-law of hers would skin her alive.
Gu Yuerou had always prided herself on marrying into the city, but her actual life was far from satisfactory. Still, it was a bitter fruit of her own making—she had to swallow it while walking the path she'd chosen. That's why she was scheming every possible way to get money.
Seeing that Zhao Chengyan remained silent, she resorted to provocation.
"A-Yan, if you don't have it, then forget it. I'll go home and see if my dad and my brother can figure something out. If worst comes to worst, I'll just let him beat me. It's not like I haven't been beaten before—one more time won't make a difference."
"Mom, who's hitting you?"
Little Qian Xudong, just over five years old, had no idea his mother was lying. She'd emphasized it over and over, so of course he'd taken it to heart.
And so, when you don't understand something, you ask.
A flicker of panic crossed Gu Yuerou's face as she quickly scolded, "No one, sweetie. Mommy was just joking with Uncle Zhao."
"Oh, okay. Then hurry up—I want Uncle to take me up the mountain to hunt wild rabbits."
What the little one didn't say was that he actually wanted to go see whether that kid he'd pushed into the water had died or not.
But glancing at the empty braised pork plate he'd already devoured, he instantly forgot about this morning's pushing incident—he just wanted more meat.
Hearing this, Gu Yuerou looked at Zhao Chengyan with an awkward expression. "A-Yan, please don't laugh at me. Sigh, I've always guided my child to believe that a father is a towering, upright figure, so I've never let him know about any of this. I'm a bit out of sorts today."
As she spoke, tears silently streamed down her face.
"It's only because I saw you that I lost my composure like this. In front of anyone else, I'd never behave this way." Gu Yuerou sniffled, deliberately turning to show what she believed to be her best side profile.
A demure, bashful look.
Zhao Chengyan's face flushed slightly, his heart feeling as though a little kitten were clawing at it.
Yuerou was a woman of great magnanimity. She'd endured so much injustice without ever letting her child know his father was a scoundrel. Who else could rise to such heights?
At that thought, the image of Gu Wanxing involuntarily flashed through his mind.
Realizing what he was thinking, he quickly patted his chest in a reassuring manner and promised, "Don't worry, I'll go gather the money for you. When do you need it?"
Gu Yuerou rolled her eyes inwardly at his words. Of course, the sooner the better—what a fool.
"Whenever it's convenient for you, A-Yan. You must talk to Wanxing properly. If she doesn't agree, then let it be. Don't let the two of you end up on bad terms."
When Zhao Chengyan heard Gu Wanxing's name, he couldn't quite articulate what he felt. She didn't know he had that much money.
Moreover, she was very independent and never asked him for money.
"Wanxing will understand. She has a salary and doesn't need my money."
"Then let's go. I'm afraid if we wait too long, people might start spreading rumors."
Having achieved her goal, Gu Yuerou didn't want to stay a moment longer and stood up to leave.
…
Meanwhile, Gu Wanxing, who had just come out of the bank, was on her way home.
She took the secluded path near the back mountain.
She thought that if she could get home before they did, then even if Zhao Chengyan came looking for money, he wouldn't find her.
She just had to firmly deny knowing anything—whoever it was, if they had the ability, they could find it; if not, they couldn't accuse her of taking it.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the mountain ahead.
It sounded like something was walking through there, the sound of stepping on dry branches.
She was afraid of running into someone she knew, and as if her thoughts had summoned it, a tall figure indeed emerged from the mountain path.
Gu Wanxing looked closely—she didn't seem to recognize him, yet he seemed somewhat familiar.
The man stood tall and straight, appearing quite imposing, roughly over 1.8 meters. His profile was truly handsome, with sharp, defined features—she imagined his front view would be much better looking than Zhao Chengyan's.
Clearly, the man hadn't expected to encounter anyone here either, and he visibly froze for a moment when he saw Gu Wanxing.
This narrow path could only accommodate one person at a time, with a wall of earth over a meter high on one side and a field sunken about fifty centimeters on the other.
Though it was late March and still a bit chilly, the ground had thawed, and there was water—these were all paddy fields.
So when the man saw Gu Wanxing stop, he turned sideways and stepped back, revealing the sloping path behind him that came down from the mountain.
Gu Wanxing nodded at the man as a gesture of thanks for giving way.
Just as she was about to pass him, the man spoke: "It's you?"
His voice was pleasant, like the gurgling of a clear spring in a mountain stream in early spring, flowing through one's heart.
Hearing this, Gu Wanxing paused and looked toward the man.
Fu Zheng hadn't expected to run into the person he'd saved that morning. The reason he recognized her at a glance was because of the lemon scent on her.
Lemons weren't commonly seen around here, but he saw them often in the south.
A flicker of surprise passed through Gu Wanxing's sparkling almond-shaped eyes.
She didn't speak but pointed at herself, her gaze asking if he was talking to her.
Fu Zheng found it somewhat amusing—he'd saved her, and yet she didn't recognize him.
"I saved you this morning. You forgot that quickly?"
Only then did Gu Wanxing realize—no wonder he seemed somewhat familiar. So he was the one who had saved her.
She quickly pulled the scarf down from her head, revealing her delicate, ethereal face, and gave an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you. You changed your clothes."
Fu Zheng nodded slightly: "Yes, I was wearing a military uniform this morning, but it got wet. Are you alright? Is the child okay?"