She steadied her mind and brushed it off, thinking it was only because she hadn’t eaten anything greasy in a long while.
Shen Chengdong noticed she hadn’t touched the pancake in her hand and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Rou shook her head, then held the pancake up to his lips, gazing at him tenderly. “Here, eat—it’s the one I wrapped for you.”
The man looked at her intently, a smile flickering between his brows, and under her watchful eyes, he ate the pancake. The rich aroma of duck mingled with the freshness of the vegetables, filling his mouth. To his surprise, he tasted a faint sweetness that went straight to his heart.
“Don’t just keep wrapping them for me—you should eat too.” Jiang Rou shook her head again, suddenly losing interest in the duck pancake. She rose, saying she was going to the restroom, though in truth she only wanted to breathe some fresh air outside.
“I’ll go with you.”
“No need, I’ll be fine on my own.” She pressed him back into his seat and walked out of the private room.
In the restaurant’s back courtyard was a large fish pond, full of carp. Jiang Rou sat by the pond, idly passing the time, her mind replaying the news she had read aloud that morning. Word by word, she analyzed whether her tone and pronunciation had been correct. Just then, a figure appeared beside her.
Jiang Rou turned her head and saw it was Old Madam Zhong.
Old Madam Zhong smiled kindly at her and said, “You must be Jiang Qiuyu’s younger sister, aren’t you? Why are you sitting out here alone? Was the food not to your taste?”
Jiang Rou didn’t have a particularly good or bad impression of her, so she replied politely, “The food here is quite good, but it feels a bit stuffy inside. I just wanted some fresh air. And you?”
“I felt the same—so I came out to sit for a while.”
The elder and the younger sat side by side by the fish pond, exchanging a smile.
With people she wasn’t close to, Jiang Rou usually had little to say—especially since this woman was from Jiang Qiuyu’s husband’s family. That made her even less sure of what to talk about.
Fortunately, the old lady was skilled in conversation, so the atmosphere didn’t turn awkward.
“I can see you and Jiang Qiuyu aren’t very close. Why is that?”
“Maybe our personalities just don’t match,” Jiang Rou answered lightly. Though she disliked Jiang Qiuyu, she wasn’t in the habit of speaking ill of others behind their backs.
Seeing her unwilling to elaborate, the old lady raised her brows in surprise, then let a look of approval cross her face. With nothing more to discuss, the two soon ended their chat and started back toward the private room.
As they passed through the corridor outside, a puddle of water had spilled across the floor. Old Madam Zhong didn’t notice and stumbled, nearly falling—luckily, Jiang Rou reacted quickly and caught her.
Once steady, the old woman murmured a “thank you.”
Just then, Jiang Qiuyu, who had come out looking for someone, saw the scene. Her heart jolted, and she hurried forward. “Grandma, why are you with my sister? What were you two doing out here?”
Old Madam Zhong said nothing, walking straight back into the room as if Jiang Qiuyu were invisible.
Jiang Qiuyu’s face flushed red with anger. She turned and glared at Jiang Rou. “What’s wrong with my grandma? What did you say to her?”
Unfairly accused, Jiang Rou was exasperated. “If something’s wrong with her, go ask her. Why are you asking me?” With that, she walked back into the room, leaving Jiang Qiuyu stamping her foot in frustration.
At that moment, Jiang Qiuyu’s heart was filled with dread. She feared Jiang Rou might, just like in her past life, win over the old lady’s favor and gain her support to rise in fortune. The mere thought of such a scene was enough to make her spit blood!
And as for Jiang Rou’s connection with Ye Cheng, Jiang Qiuyu resolved that she must find a way to break them apart.
Meanwhile, Jiang Rou returned to the private room and sat down beside Shen Chengdong. The fresh air she had just breathed in had eased her stomach considerably.
The man placed a bowl of soup before her and added some vegetables to her dish—almost all of them the ones she usually liked best.
“Eat up quickly—once Jiang Qiuyu comes back in, you’ll lose your appetite again.”
Jiang Rou was amused, taking a sip of soup that warmed her stomach.
When the meal ended, neither side’s relatives bothered with even the pretense of polite farewells; they went their separate ways. Jiang Deshan walked at the front, face dark and heavy, while Jiang Qiuyu, needing to collect the rest of her luggage, followed along with the Jiang family’s group.
The whole way, everyone remained silent—it hardly looked like they had just celebrated a wedding.
Back at the courtyard compound, someone spotted Jiang Qiuyu and greeted her warmly: “Oh, Xiao Yu, you look so beautiful—did you get married today?”
Facing the neighbors, Jiang Qiuyu smiled gently. “Mm, I’ll bring everyone wedding candy another day.”
The people in the compound didn’t know the truth of the situation, and one after another praised her for finding such a good match, saying she was blessed for life.
Ever since returning to the city, Jiang Qiuyu had felt stifled and resentful. Now, finally showered with compliments, she beamed, eager to flaunt her husband’s family’s influence. Hearing about that background, the neighbors praised her all the more, leaving her positively glowing.
Jiang Rou, feeling drowsy, couldn’t be bothered to watch her sister bask in self-satisfaction. She went into the inner room and told Chen Aihe she was going to take a nap.
Chen Aihe glanced outside, curled her lip, and said to Jiang Rou, “I’ve noticed she’s really changed. When she was young, she was humble and well-mannered. How did she turn out like this after just a few years in the countryside?”
Lying on the kang, Jiang Rou was already half-asleep. “Maybe she was always like this—you just didn’t notice,” she murmured.
Chen Aihe sighed, about to say more, but saw that Jiang Rou had already drifted off.
Outside, Jiang Qiuyu bid farewell to the neighbors one by one, in high spirits. Spotting Shen Chengdong heading out with a basket of groceries, her mind shifted—and she followed after him. Once she stepped out of the alley, she called out, “Shen Chengdong, wait a moment! I have something to say.”
The man turned at the sound, saw it was her, and his brows knit tightly. “What is it?”
She caught his reaction, and her good mood instantly vanished. “There are some things I want to tell you.”
Guessing she meant no good, Shen Chengdong resumed walking, unwilling to listen. Jiang Qiuyu hurried two steps after him, dropping her air of mystery. “Do you know that before marrying you, Jiang Rou had a sweetheart? They grew up together, childhood sweethearts, deeply in love.”
Shen Chengdong’s stride faltered for a moment, then he pressed forward again.
Jiang Qiuyu ground her teeth in frustration. “That man is Tang Ce—you must have seen him, right? Everyone in the compound knows, except you.”
At her words, Shen Chengdong suddenly wheeled around, menace radiating from him. “If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll make sure you never get into university.”
He was like a wolf, dangerous and fierce. The force of it startled Jiang Qiuyu into stillness; she dared not chase him further. She kept consoling herself: just one reminder was enough. Few men could tolerate their wife living in the same courtyard as an old flame—especially someone like Ye Cheng, whose possessiveness was extreme.
By the time Shen Chengdong returned from the market with groceries, Jiang Qiuyu had already left with all her luggage.
Jiang Rou was still asleep. He sat on the edge of the kang, gazing at her serene face, and those words echoed in his mind. Tang Ce…
He murmured the name, and in his thoughts flashed that green figure, those hostile eyes.
Meanwhile, because Han Yuanzhi had taken leave, the canteen had grown lax. His apprentices idled away the days, and the food no longer tasted as good as before.
Jiang Rou found the meals increasingly unpalatable, and she had grown a little thinner. During evening exercise, Shen Chengdong noticed the subtle change. His voice was low and rough: “You’ve lost weight lately. Is something troubling you?”
Her breathing rose and fell sharply, a fine sheen of sweat on her skin. “No, nothing’s wrong—why do you ask?”
The man bit into the tip of a peach, lifted his gaze, and fixed her with a deep stare. In a muffled voice, he said, “It’s nothing.”
For some reason, Jiang Rou felt he looked pitiful in that moment—like a big wolfhound afraid of being abandoned. In the days that followed, she began to sense something unusual about him. For instance, at meals, they used to sit facing each other, but lately he insisted on sitting side by side. Whenever she wanted to visit her parents, he always found some excuse to keep her from going. And then, in that other aspect, he was especially clingy, leaving her exhausted.
Thinking that husband and wife should be honest with each other, Jiang Rou decided not to go straight home after work. Instead, she went to the transport team to meet him.
Recently, Shen Chengdong hadn’t been too busy. Whenever he had free time, he studied car repair with the mechanics. He learned quickly—able to fix minor problems and even help when a truck broke down. Like now: a truck from Team Three had a bulging tire, and he fetched tools to replace it. The men all got along well, often joking without restraint.
The driver noticed a small red mark on Shen Chengdong’s neck and teased, “Dongzi, that red spot on your neck—did your wife kiss you there?”
Shen Chengdong instinctively touched his neck and explained, “A mosquito bit me.”
Seeing how earnest he was, the driver clicked his tongue. “They say women don’t love men unless they’re a little bad. You’re too honest—this won’t do.”
“What won’t do?”
Realizing he understood nothing, the driver bent close and whispered in his ear for a long while. Shen Chengdong’s ears flamed red; even though he didn’t want to hear it, he listened to the end.
Just then, the gatekeeper called his name. He quickly stripped off his gloves and jogged toward the entrance.
There stood Jiang Rou, graceful and poised, waving to him.
Surprised that she had come to pick him up after work, the gloom in Shen Chengdong’s heart lifted considerably.
“Why didn’t you go home?”
“I came especially to pick you up. Let’s talk.” Her voice was soft and sweet, yet it made the man falter for a moment. His hands curled loosely into fists as he tried to steady himself.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Seeing this wasn’t the right place, Jiang Rou asked, “How much longer until you’re off work?”
Thinking of the nearly finished tire, he paused before answering, “It might take a while. Why don’t you head home first?”
As if fate refused to help him, the moment his words fell, the truck driver nearby shouted, “The tire’s done—go on home with your wife!”
Jiang Rou and Shen Chengdong: “…”