Ma Xiaolian weighed the earrings in her hand. This particular style and craftsmanship were her absolute favorite; she had gone to the department store a couple of days ago to look at them, and they were already selling for fifty-five yuan a pair. If she wore these to attend her younger brother’s wedding, she would save an immense amount of face.
Thinking of this, she immediately nodded in agreement: “Good, just as you said. The earrings are mine, and the stuff is yours.”
In the end, she returned home carrying her spoils.
The moment Shen Shuyu caught sight of the food, her eyes widened into perfect circles and she couldn’t even speak smoothly: “Whose old hen did you steal this from? Hurry up and return it before the owners come knocking on our door!”
Heavens, and to steal so many at once—if she got caught red-handed by the owners, she’d probably have her entire lineage dug up and denounced.
Zhao Yaoyao furrowed her brows slightly and explained, “I didn’t steal these things. I traded for them.”
Shen Shuyu clearly didn’t believe her, staring at her with the look one would give a thief before running off to her parents’ room to whisper hurriedly.
Zhao Yaoyao didn’t bother eavesdropping; she wasn’t one to go looking for unnecessary trouble for herself. With a swift flick of the knife, she butchered one of the chickens to make the stewed chicken with mushrooms she had been longing for.
The seasonings were scarce, consisting only of chili peppers, salt, and garlic grown right in their own yard.
She chopped the cleaned chicken into small pieces, blanched them through water, and placed them into the clay pot. Then she cleaned the mushrooms and placed them gently into clean water before tossing them in together.
Being a free-range chicken raised for two or three years, a thick layer of golden oil floated on top once it finished simmering. The fragrance drifted from the small kitchen until the entire courtyard was saturated with the mouth-watering scent of chicken meat.
She ladled herself a bowl of chicken soup and took a couple of blissful sips—because only by doing this would the people inside the room believe the chicken soup was safe from poison and dare to come out and eat.
“Time to eat!”
Zhao Yaoyao called out toward the inner room. The first to emerge was Shen Shuyu. She cast a quick glance at the chicken on the table, then placed an item down beside it, pouting as she said, “I’m not eating your food for free; this is for you.”
On the table sat an exquisite butterfly hair clip. This was a birthday gift Shen Shuxing had given her previously, and she usually treasured it so much she couldn’t bear to wear it.
She must have been driven to desperate cravings this time to be willing to part with it in exchange for a bite to eat.
“I took your things, so my mom and dad can eat your chicken meat too.”
Afraid that Zhao Yaoyao wouldn’t give food to Father Shen and the others, Shen Shuyu couldn’t help chiming in with a reminder.
The exact moment Zhao Yaoyao reached out to pick up her hair clip, it felt as though something in the air lightly shattered.
Her heart felt bitterly cold.
Still, seeing how her mom and dad were as skinny as bamboo poles, barely hanging on by a single breath of immortal air, as long as it meant letting her parents eat a proper meal, she was willing to throw caution to the wind.
The next second, Zhao Yaoyao stood up and walked behind her, personally pinning the hair clip into her hair with her own hands, and said softly, “Little sister, this hair clip really suits you. You look very pretty wearing it.”
Zhao Yaoyao’s fingertips carried a trace of coolness. As they brushed past the back of her neck, an inexplicable tickle caused her to shiver slightly.
Maybe she wasn’t all that hateful after all.
She was so frail and weak, yet she even cooked meals for them, and here she had misunderstood her so thoroughly—she really shouldn’t have been like that.
Shen Shuyu brainwashed herself with a round of mental gymnastics, and her complexion didn’t look quite as ugly anymore.
With awkward reluctance, she said, “Then I’ll go take the food in to Dad first. Make sure you leave some dishes for Mom.”
Just as she stepped into the room, Shen Shuxing appeared at the doorway carrying two plump, wild rabbits along with some fresh wild fruits.
Seeing the white rice and chicken meat on the table, his gaze swept horizontally across the room, landing upon her bare, empty earlobes as he asked in a deep voice, “Where are your earrings?”
Subconsciously touching her ears, Zhao Yaoyao replied, “Sold them. Traded them for food, which should be enough for us to eat for half a month.”
He didn’t speak another word, simply bending down to place the rabbits into the chicken coop. Then he walked into the kitchen, washed the wild fruits, peeled them, and handed them into her hands.
“Thank you!”
The fruit was crisp and sweet, excellent for quenching thirst.
This man was both handsome and gentle; missing the chance to reel him into her net would be a huge loss.
After finishing the meal, she propped her chin in her hands and stared unblinkingly at him until his face slowly began to turn red.
This man really was terrible at taking teasing, acting just like a youngster experiencing his first awakening of love.
She had never dated a boyfriend before, but she had watched countless idol dramas, and flirting pick-up lines came as naturally to her as breathing.
“Husband, plenty of people say my mouth is sweet—want to taste it?”
“Huh?”
Before Shen Shuxing could react, a soft, warm texture covered his lips.
A fair arm draped around his neck, and she hooked him inward with a gentle pull, a smile hanging at the corners of her lips like an enchantress who had just tasted human blood. A pair of eyes brimmed with bewitching charm and rippling smiles, her voice ethereal and pleasant: “Silly, is my mouth sweet?”
Her words were like a spark of fire landing against his chest; with a gentle breeze, it seemed as though it would burn his last remaining shred of reason into ashes.
His breathing grew heavier, and strange emotions churned within his eyes. Sensibly, Zhao Yaoyao pulled back, knowing that if she kept playing around, something serious was going to happen.
“I’ve cooked the meal; you can wash the dishes.”
Like a triumphant general, she retreated happily to her room for a nap.
Out in the courtyard, Shen Shuyu finished cleaning up her parents’ bowls and chopsticks, walked over to her older brother’s side, and whispered, “Brother, the money you gave Zhao Yaoyao before was all used to subsidize her natal family. Next time you get paid, can you keep a portion for Mom and Dad’s living expenses? Dad’s leg condition requires medicine to suppress and ease the flare-ups whenever it acts up. There was no money to buy medicine this period, so Dad had to just tough it out through the middle of the night when his illness acted up, sweating all over from the pain.
“We grow a few little vegetables around the house, but before we can even start eating them, she pulls them all up and sends them to the city for her sister to eat. As soon as the grain is harvested, she sells it off, and the moment we say a word of complaint, she goes and lies down at the health clinic. We simply can’t afford to provoke a constitution like that.”
Back then, she used to think Zhao Yaoyao was just faking it, right up until she heard the doctor say her heart rate kept dropping and the Lord of Hell himself had come personally to fetch her—and it was only thanks to being sent over in the nick of time that she was miraculously resuscitated.
The doctor had given repeated, earnest warnings that she must never be angered or she would literally be pissed to death, nor could she suffer any shocks or she would die just the same. All in all, she was just like a fragile paper cutout that had to be guarded with absolute care.
Shen Shuxing nodded, his mind—just moments ago restless and stirred up—slowly calming down: “I know.”
When the time came, he would split his salary into two portions. How Zhao Yaoyao chose to use her share wasn’t something he would interfere with. In any case, there was only a month left; barring any accidents, their ties as husband and wife would only last another month.
At night, countless twinkling stars dotted the cosmos.
Shen Shuxing finished washing up, pushed open the door, and saw Zhao Yaoyao lying casually on the bed in light, cool attire, large areas of fair skin exposed to the air.
A charming, intoxicating smile played on her face. Her pristine, white hand gently patted the edge of the mattress as she said, “Husband, my lower back aches terribly. Could you come over and give me a massage?”