Once Chen Jingsheng started doing push-ups, he couldn’t stop.
It was as if he’d suddenly found an outlet for all his pent-up feelings. He kept going until sweat dripped down his forehead, pattering onto the bedding, and only then did he pause, still restless.
As for You Sanmei…
She’d actually fallen asleep this time.
Simply because he’d gone on for so long.
Drenched in sweat, Chen Jingsheng pulled off his vest and shorts. By the faint moonlight streaming through the window, he wrung out a towel in the leftover water in the basin to wipe his face and body.
Only then did he lie back down on his makeshift mat on the floor.
The restlessness in his body had finally faded a little, but his mind grew clearer instead.
He couldn’t help but think of how he’d lost control twice already today.
The first time was when he heard Chen Haobei and Chen Haonan say You Sanmei had been possessed by a ghost.
His very first thought was: If a ghost takes over your body… doesn’t that mean you’re going to die?
That’s how it always went in ghost stories.
Ghosts are made of heavy yin energy—so they always seek out people in poor health, those with weak yang energy, to possess.
Once the ghost leaves, the person doesn’t survive.
He’d been terrified.
Realizing this, he suddenly understood why he’d snapped and started fighting with Ma Zi out of nowhere.
Chen Jingsheng feared death.
But what scared him far more was watching someone he cared for waste away—turning into nothing but skin and bone, then fading away breath by breath.
That was exactly how his father, Chen Yandong, had died.
Right around the time Chen Jingsheng was born, Chen Yandong—known far and wide as a lazy, good-for-nothing coward—was diagnosed with cancer at the city hospital.
Back then, the illness was something most country folk had never even heard of.
Once they understood what it meant, the whole family’s hope was all but gone.
It was a sickness that no amount of selling blood, organs, or working the fields until they turned to dust could likely cure…
Unconsciously, Chen Jingsheng rolled onto his side, staring at You Sanmei’s slender form curled up asleep in the dark.
Slowly, the light in his dark eyes dimmed, clouded over with a hazy gloom.
He didn’t want his father to die. And he didn’t want You Sanmei to die either.
They were… both such good people…
Was his father really just a little lazy, a little useless?
He never hurt anyone, and he’d loved Chen Jingsheng so deeply.
Even when the boy was naughty and threw things all over the ground, his father would give him a thumbs-up and say, “Look at my Jingsheng—even the way you throw things is different from everyone else’s…”
“See how neat that is? You can even throw things into shapes just like that!”
“Jingsheng, you know there’s a word in the city for this—art?”
“Mark my words, you might just grow up to be an artist! Hahaha!”
And then there was You Sanmei.
She’d changed—she laughed and talked more now, and even took the initiative to get close to him.
But if all this came from being possessed by a ghost… he’d rather she never changed at all. He’d rather she stayed exactly as she was before.
After all, she was still his wife.
As long as she stayed alive, healthy—even if they never grew close, even if they barely spoke—they could still spend their whole lives together.
That would be enough.
Chen Jingsheng pressed his lips together, slowly got to his feet, and crouched to drag his floor mat closer to the edge of the heated kang bed.
Satisfied, he lay back down.
Closing his eyes, he told himself: I’m an eighteen-year-old lad—married, sure, but still untouched!
My yang energy must be incredibly strong!
I’ll protect my little sickly wife—so no ghost dares come near her!
The next morning, before breakfast was even finished, Ma Zi and Gan Zi came to fetch Chen Jingsheng.
This time, You Sanmei didn’t stop him. Instead, she told him gently to stay out of the harsh sun so he wouldn’t get heatstroke.
She had a rough idea of how much money he had left.
The apples he’d bought yesterday must have cost a pretty penny—he couldn’t have much left.
The reason she’d forbidden him from going out at night was partly that it was too late, and partly because he couldn’t hold his liquor well. She remembered how in her past life, Li Heng had tricked him into going out drinking late at night, then took advantage of his drunkenness to deceive him.
She’d made up her mind: it was fine for him to wander around during the day.
But going out drinking at night? Absolutely not.
Besides, Ma Zi and Gan Zi weren’t as foolish as she’d first thought—they knew exactly how to push Chen Jingsheng’s buttons.
If they made a few snide remarks about him being “whipped” or “afraid of his wife,” it would strike a nerve he couldn’t ignore.
All her hard work today would be for nothing.
After breakfast, Chen Haobei and Chen Haonan set off for school.
The eldest and second sister-in-law were in the kitchen—one working, the other cracking sunflower seeds and gossiping.
“Ugh, I thought our brother-in-law staying in last night meant he’d finally turned over a new leaf! But look—first thing this morning, he’s off gallivanting again!”
No sooner had she spoken than Chen Laoda and Chen Laoer stepped out carrying wicker baskets and tools, with Xu Linghua following behind, a kerchief tied around her head.
Seeing this, Ge Zhaodi’s face darkened. She scoffed at her husband: “See? This is exactly what I mean! On a sweltering day like this, some people have to toil in the fields… while others get to stay home tending to invalids~”
“And then there are those who get to carry pocket money and run wild—easier lives than Haobei and Haonan!”
“At least our boys have to use their brains at school!”
The three men heard every word, but remained expressionless—stone-faced, as if nothing had gotten through to them.
When they heard something unpleasant, they always acted this way: no arguing, no shouting.
No explanation.
But this was exactly what made hot-tempered women like Yang Cuilian and Ge Zhaodi seethe with rage.
Far from calming down, they only grew more upset and resentful!
Before heading out, Xu Linghua reminded them: “Don’t forget to boil your sister-in-law’s medicine. She seemed better yesterday—make sure she drinks it all today.”
Ge Zhaodi spat out a sunflower seed shell, pointedly ignoring her, and stomped back into the kitchen.
She muttered curses as she set down the seeds, then crouched down to check the medicine pot.
“Honestly—this is enough to drive anyone up the wall!”
“We agreed whoever was on duty would boil it—but you’ve got the memory of a sieve! You do one thing and forget the next!”
“Every time you’ve made it, you’ve burned it… I bet that’s why she’s been secretly pouring it out these past few days!”
“Medicine’s bitter enough as it is—burning it only makes it worse!”
Yang Cuilian was scrubbing a pot. She threw down her loofah and snapped back: “Oh, so you think you’re so clever? Then you can be in charge of boiling it from now on!”
“Why keep nagging at me like some old witch casting spells?”
“Sanmei!”
“Excuse me—is Sanmei home?”
A voice called out from outside.
Both women froze.
Yang Cuilian recognized it right away. She poked her head out: “Lin Mei! Sanmei’s still resting—go right in!”
“Thanks, big sister-in-law! Don’t mind me—carry on with what you’re doing!” Lin Mei replied cheerfully.
“Will do!” Yang Cuilian turned back, clicking her tongue.
“They grew up together—how can their personalities be so different?”
“Second sister-in-law… why do you think our mother never took a liking to Lin Mei? Why did she have to bring home someone so sickly?”
Ge Zhaodi unfolded the parchment-wrapped herbs and picked out any debris. “It worked out fine, didn’t it? No need for a wedding—have you any idea how much the Lis spent on theirs?”
Yang Cuilian winced. “That’s true enough, I suppose…”
Then she suddenly slapped her thigh. “Are you out of your mind?!”
“We saved on a wedding—but how much has this medicine cost us so far?!”
“Bet it’s not far off what a wedding would’ve set us back!”
Ge Zhaodi: “……”