Xiao Jinye remained silent, his handsome face dark and unreadable.
Remembering how strongly he had resisted this marriage before, Qingyan worried he would refuse her request.
She hurriedly added, “I can teach Duoduo how to read.”
“You know I’m a teacher. And after watching her these past two days, I’ve realized she isn’t really stupid. She’s just a little slow. If someone teaches her properly, your sister might even be able to attend school one day.”
Qiao Qingyan knew she was making a bold promise.
But if she didn’t paint him a hopeful picture, she was afraid he’d refuse—and if he threw her out, where could she go?
Sunlight streamed through the doorway, falling diagonally across the old wooden table. The line between light and shadow stretched between them like an invisible barrier.
Xiao Jinye’s hawk-like black eyes fixed sharply on her.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“I don’t agree.”
Don’t agree?
Qiao Qingyan frowned.
She hadn’t expected him to be so heartless. She had laid everything bare and told him about her situation, yet he still refused?
The thought of having nowhere to go, of being driven out by her husband’s family, made her eyes redden instantly.
Tears shimmered on her lashes, ready to fall at any moment. She looked heartbreakingly pitiful.
The moment Xiao Jinye saw her on the verge of tears, panic seized him.
It was the first time a girl had ever cried in front of him, and he had no idea what to do.
He immediately moved from across the table to her side, his broad frame unintentionally blocking the dividing line of light and shadow.
His hands lifted awkwardly before dropping again.
“Y-You… don’t cry.”
Large teardrops rolled down from the corners of Qiao Qingyan’s reddened eyes as she sniffled softly.
“I already told you… I’m only staying at your house temporarily. I can help teach your sister, and I won’t cause you any trouble.”
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt.
“If you won’t agree, then forget it. I’ll pack my things and leave right now. I was even planning to help you get the bride price back from my stepmother so neither of us would owe the other anything. But since you’re treating me like this, I’ll just leave. Then your family will lose both your money and your bride.”
Even while crying, her words were surprisingly fierce.
Hearing them made Xiao Jinye’s heart soften completely.
The moment he heard that his wife was leaving, he truly panicked.
“I agree! I agree, okay?”
Qiao Qingyan sniffed lightly before looking up at his cold, handsome face through tear-filled eyes.
“You really agree?”
“Mm.”
Xiao Jinye nodded firmly.
Her sobbing gradually subsided.
“This mustn’t let your mother know. No one can know.”
“Alright.”
After thinking for a moment, she added another condition.
“If anyone bullies me, you have to protect me.”
“No problem.”
“I won’t freeload at your house. I’ll give you fifteen yuan every month for living expenses. Fifteen yuan should be enough, right? I don’t eat much. Sometimes I’ll even buy grain, vegetables, or meat for the family.”
“You don’t have to.”
Qiao Qingyan became anxious.
“I do. I don’t like taking advantage of people.”
Xiao Jinye compromised once more.
“…Alright.”
He understood.
She wanted to keep their accounts perfectly clear so that when the time came, she could leave without owing him anything.
Satisfied, the girl smiled.
Shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks, so sweet they seemed capable of melting anyone’s heart.
Xiao Jinye stared at her in a daze for several seconds.
Lowering his eyes, he pushed the bowl of honey water toward her.
“I gathered this wild honey in the mountains. Try it.”
“Mm. Thank you.”
Qiao Qingyan picked up the bowl, her cherry-red lips lightly touching its rim as she took a gentle sip.
The sweet honey water slid smoothly down her throat, instantly lifting her mood.
She smiled warmly at her new partner.
“It’s delicious.”
Xiao Jinye swallowed.
A faint flush suddenly spread across his wheat-colored cheeks.
“Then… it’s settled. You’re not allowed to go back on your word,” Qiao Qingyan said.
“Alright.”
He answered without hesitation.
It didn’t matter.
He had never been known for keeping his word anyway.
Only after hearing his promise did Qiao Qingyan finally relax completely.
The way she looked at Xiao Jinye now carried a trace of gratitude—and warmth.
Just then, hurried shouting came from outside the courtyard.
“Jinye! Jinye!”
Xiao Jinye looked up.
It was Qingmei, Chunya’s mother.
“Auntie, what’s wrong?”
Qingmei came running over, bent over with her hands on her knees as she gasped for breath. Her face was full of panic.
“Hurry to Wang Slope on the east side of the village! Your mother and Duoduo are being bullied over there!”
The moment she finished speaking, Qiao Qingyan sprang to her feet.
Xiao Jinye turned to look at her.
Before he could say anything, she had already hurried to his side.
“Come on. Let’s get there now.”
By the ridge at Wang Slope, a crowd of villagers had already gathered.
The sun was sinking toward the west, and the day’s heat was fading. The villagers had come out to weed and water their fields in the cooler evening air.
In the center of the crowd stood Zeng Yumei, carrying a bamboo basket, her eyes red.
Duoduo clung tightly to her mother’s leg, her little face deathly pale as she trembled uncontrollably, fear filling her eyes.
Standing opposite them was a large, stout woman.
Yang Chunfeng.
With her hands on her hips, she shouted loudly,
“Bah! Zeng Yumei, you’ve got some nerve! You actually dare mess with me! I’ve worked so hard taking care of this watermelon field, and you nearly ruined the whole thing!”
Everyone looked toward the nearby field.
Watermelons lay smashed all over the ground, and the vines had been pulled apart and trampled into a complete mess.
Zeng Yumei gripped her basket so tightly her knuckles turned white.
One hand rested protectively on her daughter’s shoulder as she replied, her voice filled with grievance but unwavering.
“I didn’t do it. I’ve never damaged your field.”
Yang Chunfeng rolled up her sleeves, growing even more aggressive.
“Oh? Still denying it? I’ve seen you sneaking around here more than once! The vines were trampled and ripped up—all your doing! Today I finally caught you red-handed!”
At that moment, a clear female voice cut through the crowd.
“What makes you so certain my mother-in-law destroyed your field?”
Qiao Qingyan had rushed over so quickly that her chest was still rising and falling from exertion.
“Mom.”
Xiao Jinye strode forward, positioning himself protectively in front of his mother and younger sister as his cold eyes locked onto Yang Chunfeng.
The moment Yang Chunfeng met Xiao Jinye’s furious gaze—one that seemed ready to devour her—her heart skipped a beat.
She instinctively took a step back.
But with so many villagers watching, she was certain he wouldn’t dare hit her in public, so her confidence quickly returned.
“What makes me so certain? Because she’s always held a grudge against me!”
“Everyone in the village knows it! Back when I gave birth to my third child, she was due around the same time. There was only one midwife, and my husband hired her first. Later, she had a difficult labor and ended up giving birth to an idiot!”
“She’s hated me ever since! Back when her husband went hunting and shared the game with the village, my family always got the smallest share! Don’t think I didn’t know—she’s been holding that grudge all these years. Now that my watermelon crop is doing well, she’s jealous. She keeps sneaking over here to destroy my field!”
Yang Chunfeng looked around at the gathered villagers before slapping her thigh dramatically and bursting into loud sobs.
“There were still plenty of melons that hadn’t ripened yet! I was planning to sell them to pay my children’s school tuition! But now my entire acre of watermelon field has been destroyed! How are we supposed to live from now on?”
The surrounding villagers immediately began whispering among themselves.
“Everyone remembers what happened back then. Anyone would’ve held a grudge…”
“But no matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t destroy someone else’s livelihood.”
“Yumei usually seems like an honest person. This wasn’t right.”
Zeng Yumei’s face turned pale with anger as her voice trembled.
“I really didn’t do it! I was only taking Duoduo along the ridge to gather wild vegetables.”
Yang Chunfeng sneered even more viciously.
“Zeng Yumei, have you no shame? Bringing your daughter along while you do dirty deeds! Aren’t you afraid Heaven will strike you with lightning?”
“And don’t blame anyone for that idiot daughter of yours!”
“Your husband died young because your family spent years hunting in the mountains and killing living creatures. You piled up too much bad karma! That’s why Heaven punished you—taking your husband early and making you give birth to a fool!”
“You…”
Zeng Yumei trembled with rage after hearing such venomous words.
The veins bulged along Xiao Jinye’s neck as both fists clenched tightly.
He normally never argued with women.
But insulting his mother and mocking his sister had crossed his bottom line.
He took a powerful step forward, murderous fury surging in his eyes, ready to beat the foul-mouthed woman senseless.
Just then—
A slender, snow-white arm reached out in time and stopped him.