Zhao Yaoyao was just about to get up when a black figure moved a step faster, kicking away Zhao Youwang, who was attempting to harm her, with a single blow.
With a loud thud, Zhao Youwang crashed heavily against the water vat nearby.
Shen Xingshu bent down, scooped Zhao Yaoyao up from the ground, and wrapped his warm palms tightly around her shoulders. He lowered his gaze to look at the person in his arms. Her pale little face was completely drained of color, and her lips, stained with blood, carried an alluring, haunting look. Her dark eyelashes were thick and curled, and lingering teardrops still clung to the corners of her eyes, making her look as fragile as shattering glass—so delicate that no one dared to touch her lightly.
The person in his arms was terribly light, carrying almost no weight at all. Like an injured kitten, she curled up against his chest, and an involuntary trace of heartache welled up in his eyes.
Being stared at so intently by him, Zhao Yaoyao felt a bit shy and buried her face in his chest.
“Oh dear, oh dear! That’s the only water vat we have in the house!”
Zhang Ying wailed in distress as she looked at the shattered vat, before hurrying over to check on her son. “Youwang, are you alright? Tell Mom, where does it hurt?”
Zhao Youwang couldn’t speak for a long time. He felt a piercing pain right in his chest, and with his mother’s support, he staggered to his feet. He clenched his fists, wanting to rush forward and fight to the death, but the moment he caught sight of Shen Xingshu, those thoughts vanished instantly into thin air.
Shen Xingshu didn’t make any other moves; he just stood there, gazing down at him. The sheer oppression felt like an invisible, giant hand tightly squeezing Zhao Youwang’s throat, making it difficult for him to breathe and sending shivers down his spine.
Usually, they only dared to act tough with Zhao Yaoyao because she would always be utterly submissive—a soft persimmon easy to bully. But Shen Xingshu wouldn’t indulge them at all.
“This is our family business; you have no business meddling in it,” Zhang Ying said, trying to use her status as an elder to pressure Shen Xingshu. As for this son-in-law, she had no idea where she stood with him, nor did she know his temper or disposition. They had only met three times in total, and this was the third.
Shen Xingshu raised his eyes, his voice ice-cold. “She is my wife. Anyone who wants to bully her will have to walk over my dead body.”
Carrying her, he turned and walked away, his aura so chillingly oppressive that the onlookers instinctively stepped back to both sides, clearing a path for them. Even the beaten Zhao Youwang family didn’t dare to chase after them, and could only vent their anger on the onlookers.
“Scram, scram, scram! What are you looking at? Keep staring and this old lady will dig your eyeballs out!”
Zhang Ying shooed the crowd away with sweeping gestures and turned to help her son, only to be violently brushed off by Zhao Youwang. He fumed angrily, “Don’t ever expect Zhao Yaoyao to step foot into the Zhao family home again. Unless she comes over and kneels to apologize to me, none of us are going to have an easy time!”
Wang Yan was still gazing longingly at the receding back of Shen Xingshu. Hearing her man’s words, she shot him a look of utter disgust. “Alright, stop making a fuss. When it really matters, you’re utterly useless.”
Look at someone else’s husband, and then look at her own—she was so exasperated she almost choked to death. She touched her face and glanced down at her proud, curvaceous chest; compared to Zhao Yaoyao, she wasn’t lacking anywhere, so why did that woman get to have such a fine man?!
“We need to tell the eldest sister in the city. The second girl is most afraid of the eldest sister. As long as the eldest sister comes back, she’ll definitely turn back into that obedient second girl.”
Zhang Ying slapped her thigh, grinning from ear to ear as she said, “How could I have forgotten about this? I’m going right now to call your eldest sister. When she comes back, she’ll fiercely teach this ungrateful wretch a lesson!”
Turning her head, she caught sight of the smashed water vat, and a look of deep worry washed over her face once more. “By then, she won’t just have to give us monthly living expenses; she’ll also have to pay compensation for all these broken things. In short, the Zhao family has to recover every single loss from her.”
On the other side, Zhao Yaoyao clutched her stomach and took the initiative to strike up a conversation. “I’m starving. I haven’t eaten all day.”
With Shen Xingshu’s expression remaining dark and gloomy, she felt a little guilty and didn’t dare to look at him.
He carried her to a noodle shop and ordered two bowls of plain noodles. Throughout the meal, he remained entirely silent, though his gaze happened to catch sight of her ankles. Leaving behind a single sentence, he stood up and left.
“Wait for me!”
Zhao Yaoyao didn’t care either. Her stomach had been empty all day—she was so hungry she felt weak in all four limbs and saw stars before her eyes.
After finishing the noodles, feeling the glare of the sun growing harsh, she paid for the meal and found a shady spot to wait for Shen Xingshu’s return. That guy was stubborn as a mule; he never bothered to explain where he was going.
“So ugly!” Zhao Yaoyao muttered, rubbing the ring on her hand. It was pitch-black and didn’t look like anything special. She had tried to take it off a few days ago, but no matter what she did, it wouldn’t budge—it wasn’t stuck tight, it simply refused to come off.
Having nothing better to do, she tried pulling on it again. Her finger turned red, but the ring remained utterly unmoving. When she gave it a hard yank, she even scraped her finger raw.
“Damn it! What kind of thing is this?!”
The originally pitch-black ring instantly burst into a brilliant luster, turning much prettier. Faint patterns could even be seen etched across its surface—what in the world was this?
The very next instant, her entire body found herself standing amidst a peach orchard. Peach blossoms drifted down onto her hands, accompanied by the sound of babbling stream water. Right beside a peach tree stood an inconspicuous bamboo hut, but as she tried to walk toward it, an invisible force blocked her way.
A portable space?
Shouldn’t this item have appeared a year later at an obscure little roadside stall, bought by the female protagonist for just five cents as her golden finger?
Could it be that the ring bought by the protagonist originally belonged to the original owner, Zhao Yaoyao?
It was just that after the original owner was beaten to death, the ring ended up being lost and circulated elsewhere.
She liked to skim when reading novels, so she couldn’t remember all the intermediate details, but she knew that as long as this spatial ring was continually fed with all kinds of gemstones, it could keep expanding until it eventually formed its own micro-world.
With a single thought, she flashed out of the space and spotted Shen Xingshu searching for her from a distance.
“I’m right here!”
Zhao Yaoyao waved at him. She could research the spatial ring later; she certainly couldn’t afford to lose the man she had just managed to hook.
Seeing her, Shen Xingshu strode over and squatted down beside her.
“Hey!”
Zhao Yaoyao swayed slightly and instinctively reached out to hold onto him.
Semi-supporting her, Shen Xingshu took off her shoes, glanced at her washed-out socks, tossed them aside, and put a brand-new pair of socks he had just bought on her feet.
“The weather is turning cold. Pay attention and keep warm.”
Even when words of concern came out of his mouth, they sounded stiff and blunt; he was probably still nursing some lingering anger inside.
“When the harvest comes in a little while, we’ll hire a couple of people. You don’t need to go down to the fields anymore. Keeping your health up is more important than anything else.”
The autumn harvest was just around the corner, and their household was short-handed. Ever since the production team dissolved, everyone had been sweeping the snow from their own doorstep, though the Zhao family had still managed to plant a bit of wheat, no matter how poorly they managed things.
His hands were large, cradling her feet as a steady stream of warmth flowed from the soles of her feet straight into her heart. She looked up at the man’s profile and asked with a teasing smile, “Are you feeling sorry for me?”
Shen Xingshu raised his head and explained earnestly, “Your health isn’t good; you can’t take the tossing. If you overwork yourself and leave behind chronic ailments, it won’t be good.”
With a mischievous grin, Zhao Yaoyao asked, “If I can’t take the tossing, why did you toss me around so much last night?”