The First Crack in the Wall
After that morning, something changed—small, almost unnoticeable, but real.
Little Zhao An did not get sick.
That alone was enough to unsettle Zhao Jun.
The boy kept watching his younger brother all day like he expected him to suddenly collapse from poison.
But Zhao An only became more energetic as the day went on, even helping Zhao Mei carry water without complaint.
At one point, he even asked quietly, “Can we have that soup again tomorrow?”
Zhao Jun nearly choked.
“No,” he said sharply.
“We are not eating anything from him again.”
Lin Shu heard it but didn’t argue.
He had already learned something important: forcing trust was useless.
Worse, it made them retreat further.
So he just quietly helped around the house.
He swept the yard.
He washed clothes carefully.
He even repaired a broken stool using crude nails he found in a drawer.
No one thanked him.
But no one stopped him either.
Zhao Cheng watched everything.
He said nothing, but his gaze followed Lin Shu more often than before.
That alone made Lin Shu nervous.
Because silence didn’t mean acceptance.
It meant observation.
And Zhao Cheng was clearly watching to see when he would “break character” again.
Later that afternoon, Zhao Mei went out to fetch tofu from the market.
Zhao Cheng left early for the fields.
That left Lin Shu alone in the house with the two younger children.
The air felt heavy.
Zhao Jun immediately grabbed Zhao An’s hand and pulled him aside.
“Stay away from him,” he whispered.
“Don’t talk to him. Don’t take anything from him.”
Zhao An hesitated.
“But… he didn’t do anything bad today.”
“That’s how it starts,” Zhao Jun said firmly.
“He tricks people first.”
Lin Shu heard everything.
He kept his head down while cutting vegetables.
His hands paused slightly.
Then continued.
He didn’t defend himself.
Because he knew this wasn’t something words could fix.
But fate didn’t care about patience.
A loud knock suddenly came from the front gate.
BANG—BANG—BANG!
“Open up! Zhao family!”
Zhao Jun immediately stiffened.
Lin Shu looked up.
The knocking grew harsher.
“Open the door! We know you’re inside!”
Zhao Jun’s face changed slightly.
“It’s them…”
Lin Shu frowned.
“Who?”
But Zhao Jun didn’t answer.
Instead, he grabbed Zhao An and backed away toward the corner of the room.
The knock turned into pounding.
Then—
CRASH!
The wooden gate was kicked open.
Three men entered.
Rough-looking villagers, dressed like local enforcers.
One of them held a stick.
The leader sneered as he looked around the poor house.
“Zhao Cheng owes grain tax again.”
Zhao Jun clenched his fists instantly.
“We already paid last month!”
The man laughed.
“That was interest. This is arrears.”
Lin Shu slowly stood up.
He immediately understood.
Debt collectors.
In a poor rural household like this, they were basically predators.
The man’s eyes shifted to Lin Shu.
“Oh? The stepmother is home.”
His grin widened unpleasantly.
“I heard you used to be quite generous… to men outside your house.”
Zhao Jun snapped.
“Don’t talk about him!”
But Lin Shu didn’t react to the insult.
Instead, he quietly stepped forward.
“Zhao Cheng is not home right now,” he said calmly.
“If there’s a debt issue, we can discuss it when he returns.”
The man raised a brow.
“Oh? You can talk properly now?”
One of the others chuckled.
“Didn’t he used to scream and throw things?”
Lin Shu ignored them.
“What is the exact amount owed?”
The leader narrowed his eyes.
Then he smirked.
“Ten bags of grain.”
Silence.
Even Zhao Jun froze.
That was impossible.
The household didn’t even have that much stored.
The man stepped closer, looking Lin Shu up and down.
“But…” he added slowly, “we can be flexible.”
His gaze became sharp and disgusting.
“You come with us for a night, and we’ll reduce the debt.”
The room went dead silent.
Zhao Jun exploded instantly.
“You filthy—!”
But before he could rush forward—
Lin Shu spoke.
Cold.
Clear.
“No.”
Just one word.
The debt collector blinked.
Then laughed.
“You’re still acting high and mighty?”
He reached out suddenly, grabbing Lin Shu’s wrist.
“Don’t forget what kind of person you used to be
THUD!
A heavy sound cut him off.
The man froze.
Slowly, he looked down.
A hand had grabbed his wrist from behind.
Strong.
Steady.
Dangerously firm.
Zhao Cheng had returned.
His voice was low.
“So.”
“You touch my wife in my house…”
A pause.
The air turned heavy.
“…and you still want to leave standing?”
Please vote and comments on my novels i really appreciate it
Zhao Cheng is protecting the MC and did you just call him wife if you were the MC how would you react to your hubby calling you wife