Chen Xiaorong sighed as he looked at the roast chicken in his hands.
They often invited Pei Mu over for meals because they truly treated him like family and didn’t mind such things. But Pei Mu was someone who valued relationships deeply. With no one managing his household and a rather generous hand, whenever he brought something over, it was always good meat or tasty food from town. He never bothered with polite refusals—he would just stuff it into their hands and leave. It sometimes made them unsure whether they should even keep inviting him, which troubled them.
When Chen Xiaorong suddenly heard Pei Mu bring up something he had discussed earlier with Tao Ge’er, he was a bit surprised. Pei Mu usually didn’t care much about village affairs—this was the first time he had heard him ask about them on his own.
But when the topic came up, Chen Xiaorong’s anger flared again. He had just been passionately discussing it with Tao Ge’er before being interrupted, and now his emotions surged back.
Pei Mu wasn’t an outsider, and Chen Xiaorong knew he wouldn’t go around gossiping, so he spoke without restraint.
“It’s those gossiping villagers again. Today, Zhang Tieniu’s mother, Zhang Guihua, invited a matchmaker to propose marriage to the Zhong family. The Zhong family refused, so Zhang Guihua started spreading rumors everywhere, saying the Zhong family had already agreed to the match but went back on their word because they thought the betrothal gifts were too small. Now the whole village is saying Madam Zhong is untrustworthy and that the Zhong family’s young master is greedy and dissatisfied.”
“But the Zhong family never agreed to any marriage at all. Zhang Guihua clearly saw that the Zhong family bought a lot of things yesterday and was afraid someone else would beat her to it, so she rushed to send a matchmaker. When she got rejected, she started making up lies to ruin their reputation. Some villagers doubt her, but she tells the story so convincingly that many people believe it. The rumors have spread terribly.”
Chen Xiaorong and his husband were often targets of gossip themselves, since they weren’t close to many relatives in the village and were frequently seen with Pei Mu.
He was fed up with those people who spent all day spreading rumors. Although he didn’t know the Zhong family’s young master, he couldn’t help but sympathize after hearing Tao Ge’er talk about it.
Tao Ge’er wanted to help, but baseless rumors were always the hardest to clear. The Zhong family had no powerful relatives to defend them, so the situation had become completely one-sided. He had asked his parents for help, but they had no good solution either, so he came to vent to his friend instead.
Thinking about how Zhang Guihua had once spread rumors that he hadn’t gotten pregnant after a year of marriage because he was “cursed” by Pei Mu, Chen Xiaorong grew angry again. After a while, he remembered to ask Pei Mu why he had inquired about the Zhong family—but Pei Mu had already nodded, said he understood, and turned to walk toward the house at the foot of the mountain.
Chen Xiaorong didn’t get the chance to ask more. He called out, “Come eat later!”
Pei Mu waved to show he heard him and soon disappeared into the distance.
…
Zhong Yizhu had been staying at home for several days. One reason was to guard against Lai Lao’er coming to cause trouble; the other was the rumors spreading through the village.
That day, Pei Mu had asked who injured him, but there had been no further news. Zhong Yizhu felt Pei Mu wouldn’t ask such a question without reason, yet he couldn’t imagine why Pei Mu would help him solve his problems. So he remained anxious every day, fearing the nightmare would repeat—or return in an even more terrifying way.
Zhong Yizhu didn’t care much about Zhang Guihua’s slander toward him. What angered him was her malicious lies about his mother, accusing her of being dishonest and greedy. Since Sun Yunniang forbade him from going out, he obediently stayed home, doing embroidery, chopping wood, and cooking in silence.
Sun Yunniang was both angry and anxious, spending days trying to find a way out of their situation. Only after some time did she notice something was wrong with Zhong Yizhu.
One day, under clear skies, she decided to make clothes from the fabric she had bought in town earlier. She called Zhong Yizhu over to measure him, but the moment she did, she realized something was wrong.
He had been staying indoors and wearing loose, plain robes, which hid his figure. But in just a few days, he had grown so thin that his ribs could clearly be felt.
He had already been slender, but now he looked almost like a skeleton.
Holding his arm, Sun Yunniang wanted to speak but choked up first. Zhong Yizhu asked in confusion, “Mother, what’s wrong?”
She closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face.
“You’re going to break your mother’s heart…”
Zhong Yizhu froze, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
He tried to act like nothing was wrong, forcing a smile, but he couldn’t say a word.
Over these past days, guilt and self-loathing had crushed him. He grew more depressed each day, his will slowly eroding. He wanted to save himself, but overwhelming emotions suffocated him.
He felt he had already burdened his mother enough—and now she had to endure slander because of him. He could do nothing. He was even too afraid to go near the bed in the house, curling up in a corner to sleep for many nights. He felt useless, a burden to his mother.
Sun Yunniang pulled him tightly into her arms, tears blurring her vision as she looked up at the clear sky, silently asking if heaven truly intended to leave them no way out.
Later that day, she left the house with some grain, saying she would trade it for meat.
After she left, Zhong Yizhu sat quietly at the doorway for a while. When birds landed on the vegetables drying in the yard, he got up to shoo them away—only to suddenly hear knocking.
He hesitated, unsure if he had imagined it. After a moment, the knocking came again.
Like a startled bird, he hurried inside and grabbed a wood-chopping knife.
He had already placed his hand on the door to lock it—but then paused.
Somewhere inside him, a wild thought emerged: if he killed that bastard, the nightmare would end. He would pay with his own life, and his mother would no longer have him as a burden.
Gripping the knife, he walked toward the back door step by step. His teeth trembled, but he forced himself steady. The moment he opened the door, he swung—
But the person outside wasn’t the one who haunted his nightmares.
Pei Mu hadn’t expected such a “welcome” after doing a good deed. He quickly stepped back, his expression sharp—only to freeze when he saw Zhong Yizhu clearly.
Compared to the last time, Zhong Yizhu looked like a completely different person. The lively beauty he once had seemed hollowed out, leaving behind a withered shell.
It had only been half a month…
Pei Mu frowned. “What happened to you?”
Zhong Yizhu froze, his body stiff. Even lowering the knife felt difficult.
Avoiding Pei Mu’s gaze, he shook his head. “Nothing.”
He slowly set the knife down and simply asked, “What do you need?”
Pei Mu paused, then took out a paper-wrapped bundle and handed it to him.
Seeing Zhong Yizhu hesitate, he explained patiently, “It’s the teeth of the thug who bullied you. He won’t come bother you again.”
Zhong Yizhu immediately pulled his hands behind his back, clearly rejecting it.
After a while, he finally reacted. “You… you were the one who injured him?”
So that was why the man hadn’t appeared these past days.
Pei Mu nodded. Seeing he didn’t want it, he casually tossed the bundle into a corner. “Even if he recovers, he won’t come back. Don’t worry.”
Zhong Yizhu stared at the bundle, then back at him, murmuring thanks as if in a dream.
“Why are you helping me?” he asked.
Pei Mu didn’t answer.
After a moment of silence, he put the booklet he had just gotten from the matchmaker back into his clothes and said, “Tomorrow at 9 a.m., wait for me at your house.”
…
When Pei Mu arrived at Wang Ping’an’s home, the man was repairing farm tools in the yard.
The early rice harvest was approaching, and with only two people in the household, broken tools could cause serious delays.
Seeing Pei Mu, Wang Ping’an casually told him to sit.
“What’s up?” he asked.
Pei Mu replied in his usual indifferent tone, “Tomorrow I’m going to the Zhong family to deliver betrothal gifts. Do you and your husband have time to come with me?”
Clang—
Wang Ping’an dropped his hammer.
He stared at Pei Mu in disbelief. “What did you just say?!”
Pei Mu repeated himself calmly.
Wang Ping’an was stunned. “You’re… you’re going to propose marriage?! When did you even take a liking to the Zhong family’s young master? Did you even propose yet?!”
Pei Mu frowned. “Too troublesome. It’s settled. I’ve already bought the betrothal gifts. The matchmaker will come tomorrow. You just need to come with me.”
Wang Ping’an: “…”
He was both touched and worried.
That night, he kept muttering to Chen Xiaorong, hoping everything would go smoothly.
Meanwhile, Pei Mu stood under the bright moonlight in his yard, working on curing animal hides.
After tending the fire, he took out the matchmaking booklet he had received that morning—and threw it into the flames.
The list of eligible marriage candidates painstakingly compiled by the matchmaker burned to ashes.
Leaning against the doorway, Pei Mu looked up at the moon.
Zhong Yizhu’s appearance that day reminded him of his late mother.
It was easy for a life to wither away.
Not everyone was as tough as him.
If he left Zhong Yizhu to fate, what if he ended up with another man like Pei Song?
Since Zhong Yizhu had chosen him, he would help him one last time.
That childhood memory of a packet of osmanthus cakes might seem trivial—but he couldn’t just watch someone be driven to death.
When the moon reached its peak, Pei Mu finished his work, lay down, then got up again to place the new clothes he had repeatedly reminded Wang Ping’an to wear by the bedside before finally going to sleep.