Ye Jin backed into a corner and covered herself with dry grass, doing her best not to make a single sound.
“Yan’er, why haven’t you come to see me these past few days? I’ve missed you to death!”
A man’s rough voice rang out, followed by the rustling of clothes being removed.
“It’s early in the morning. Isn’t this a bit inappropriate? We’re out of firewood at home. I still have to go up the mountain later to gather some.”
Aunt Wang let out a soft snort. Usually sharp tongued and quick witted, she was stumbling over her words now.
“You’re such a delicate woman. How can you handle heavy work like collecting firewood? Just stay with me. However much firewood you need, I’ll chop it for you.”
The man of the house was always away working at construction sites, often gone for months at a time. She had to manage everything inside and outside the home by herself, and she was often exhausted beyond words.
If it had only been physical exhaustion, she never would have come this far. In the dead of night, however, her heart felt as though it were being bitten by fleas, leaving her restless and unable to find peace.
The two embraced.
The indecent sounds of heavy breathing and Aunt Wang’s suppressed cries drifted through the grass and into Ye Jin’s ears. She was still young and had never experienced anything between a man and a woman before. Listening to it made her face burn bright red.
Half an hour later, the sounds finally died down.
The two cuddled together and exchanged a few intimate words. The man put his clothes back on and gently kissed Aunt Wang on the forehead.
“I’m heading up the mountain to chop firewood. Rest here for a while. I’ll leave my clothes here for now and come back to get them after I’m done.”
“Mhm.”
Aunt Wang lay on the ground with a seductive look in her eyes. Her upper body was half bare and her face was flushed red.
Come to think of it, they had not seen each other for half a month. Her whole body had felt uncomfortable lately. Every night she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
After their vigorous encounter just now, she finally felt much better. Everything felt comfortable now, though the intensity of it had left her body too weak to recover immediately.
The man had already gone far away. After resting long enough, Aunt Wang was about to get up and put her clothes back on when Ye Jin silently appeared before her.
Aunt Wang was lying half reclined on the ground, struggling to pull up her trousers. She had only gotten halfway when she noticed a shadow falling over her head.
Startled, she sucked in a sharp breath. Looking up and seeing that it was Ye Jin, she felt her heart nearly leap out of her chest.
“Y you… when did you get here?”
Having done something shameful, even her speech became awkward. The flush from their earlier passion instantly vanished, leaving her face deathly pale.
“Oh? Aunt Wang, why aren’t you wearing any trousers?”
Ye Jin stared curiously at her legs.
Her thin legs were surprisingly fair, though the wrinkles along the sides clearly showed her age.
Ye Jin had never imagined that a woman of Aunt Wang’s age could sound so wanton. It had certainly opened her eyes.
“I… I… I needed to take a dump, so I took my trousers off. Do you have a problem with that? You can manage the heavens and the earth, but you can’t manage how other people take a dump!”
Aunt Wang was so guilty that she could only raise her voice to bolster her courage.
“Taking a dump? This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone lie down while doing it. And taking off all your clothes to do it too.”
Ye Jin chuckled softly.
Aunt Wang’s face immediately turned crimson from the teasing.
“How I take a dump is none of your business!”
“And you need a man’s clothes under your back while you’re at it? Are those my Uncle Ye’s clothes, or another man’s?”
Ye Jin had already noticed the clothes beneath her.
All the nonsense she had been talking was simply to toy with her.
“The grass is hard. Of course I need something underneath me when I lie down. Those are your Uncle Ye’s clothes. I just brought them from home.”
Aunt Wang intended to remain stubborn to the very end.
As long as she had not been caught in the act, she would never admit to having an affair.
“Oh, I see. It’s just that people who make that much noise while taking a dump are pretty rare.”
Pinching her throat, Ye Jin mimicked the sounds Aunt Wang had made earlier.
Aunt Wang had felt nothing while making those noises herself, but hearing them imitated so openly now made her face turn as red as a cooked shrimp.
“Such a young girl, yet you’re already so badly behaved. Spying on people while they’re taking a dump. No wonder your mother doesn’t like you!”
“I’ve already made it this obvious. Aunt Wang, are you still refusing to admit that you’ve been fooling around with another man behind my Uncle Ye’s back?”
“Rubbish! You’re talking nonsense! Which eye of yours saw it? Show me the evidence if you’ve got any! If you dare ruin my reputation, I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Aunt Wang hurriedly pulled on her trousers and jumped to her feet.
Pointing at Ye Jin’s nose, she cursed furiously, hoping she could bluster her way through the situation.
“So Aunt Wang has no intention of admitting it? Fine then. I’ll go have a chat with the villagers later and see whether they think what you were doing was taking a dump or meeting a lover.”
Ye Jin could not be bothered to argue with her.
She turned and walked away without hesitation.
Watching Ye Jin leave, Aunt Wang’s small vicious eyes seemed ready to spit poison.
She wished she could tear Ye Jin to pieces right then and there so that her filthy secret would remain hidden forever.
She did not dare gamble.
If Ye Jin left, she had no idea how badly her reputation would be ruined in the village or whether she would become a target of everyone’s scorn.
“Good niece, Auntie was wrong. I was confused for a moment and let myself be tempted. I won’t dare do it again. Please don’t tell the village!”
Aunt Wang rushed forward and grabbed Ye Jin’s arm.
Ye Jin said nothing.
Gritting her teeth, Aunt Wang dropped to her knees.
“Please, just this once. I’ll even kowtow to you if I have to. For the sake of how well I’ve treated you before, spare me this time!”
Ye Jin let out a cold laugh.
Aunt Wang was a distant relative of Wang Fengqin. The two of them were as thick as thieves and always spoke with one voice.
When it came to ruining Ye Jin’s reputation, neither of them ever held back.
That was also the real reason why Wang Fengqin had dared to openly harvest her corneas later without fearing retaliation.
Now that Aunt Wang had done something shameful herself, she wanted to play the family card and beg for forgiveness.
Did she really think Ye Jin was a fool?
“Aunt Wang, everyone makes mistakes. I saw what happened just now. That man forced himself on you, and you resisted, didn’t you?”
“Yes, yes, exactly!”
Aunt Wang immediately followed Ye Jin’s lead and nodded furiously.
“If that’s the case, I’ll testify for you. We’ll report this to the village, catch that man, and have him prosecuted for rape. What do you think?”
“No! Absolutely not! If you do that, everyone will find out! How am I supposed to hold my head up and live in the village after that?”
Aunt Wang was terrified.
This had been entirely consensual. If she accused him of rape and pushed him too far, he might expose everything.
How could she continue living in the village then?
“This won’t do, and that won’t do. Then there’s only one option left. Auntie, tell me who sold my little sister back then. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to keep my mouth shut.”