“Apologize to my mother.”
Xiao Jinye’s voice was icy. Tilting his head slightly, his sharp gaze sliced toward Yang Chunfeng like a blade, the sheer pressure making it hard to breathe.
Yang Chunfeng pursed her lips. Reluctantly, she stepped forward and muttered to Zeng Yumei,
“I’m sorry.”
Qiao Qingyan gently held her mother-in-law’s hand and looked at Yang Chunfeng.
“That apology only covers falsely accusing my mother-in-law of destroying your field. But earlier, you insulted and humiliated the Xiao family, mocked an innocent child with developmental delays, and called her names. You still owe us a proper bow and a sincere apology.”
“Don’t push your luck!” Yang Chunfeng snapped.
Qingyan glanced around at the gathered villagers.
“Everyone here heard what happened. This woman insulted my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law, mocked our Xiao family, and kept calling an innocent child an idiot and a fool. Doesn’t she owe us another apology with a bow?”
Yang Chunfeng clenched her teeth in fury, regret churning inside her.
In the past, whenever Xiao Jinye wasn’t home, she would openly or secretly mock Zeng Yumei. The woman had never dared utter a word in response.
Who would’ve thought the Xiao family would suddenly gain such a sharp-tongued daughter-in-law who fiercely defended her family?
Kindhearted as always, Zeng Yumei gently tugged Qingyan’s hand, signaling her to let it go. She didn’t want to make an enemy in the village.
Qingyan quietly patted the back of her hand and whispered,
“It’s alright, Mom. We didn’t do anything wrong, and we don’t owe her anything. She deliberately bullied us, so we have every right to demand justice.”
The single word “Mom” melted Zeng Yumei’s heart.
Seeing this, Xiao Jinye completely lost his patience.
He strode forward, grabbed Yang Chunfeng by the collar with one powerful hand, and pressed the tip of his hunting knife lightly against her neck.
“Bow to my mother and apologize. Right now.”
The arrogant Yang Chunfeng turned pale with fright.
“I will! I will…”
She hurriedly bent at the waist toward Zeng Yumei.
“Yumei, we’re from the same village. I’m just bad with words. Please don’t hold it against me.”
Qingyan turned to her mother-in-law.
“Mom, do you forgive her?”
Zeng Yumei nodded.
Things had already gone this far, and Yang Chunfeng had learned her lesson.
Besides, with both her son and daughter-in-law standing up for her so firmly today, no one would dare bully her or Duoduo so casually again.
Qingyan said firmly,
“Today’s matter ends here because my mother-in-law is generous enough to forgive you. But if there’s a next time, don’t expect it to be settled so easily.”
Then she carefully supported Zeng Yumei by the arm and turned to Xiao Jinye.
“Let’s go home.”
Xiao Jinye shot Yang Chunfeng one final icy glare before smoothly sheathing his knife at his waist.
Then he bent down, picked Duoduo up with one arm, and followed behind Qingyan as the family headed home.
Once home, Qingyan first helped Zeng Yumei sit on the edge of the heated brick bed to rest.
After the humiliation she’d suffered today, the elderly woman’s chest had felt heavy the entire walk home, and her complexion remained poor.
Xiao Jinye went into the kitchen to cook rice porridge and boil eggs. He served a bowl to his mother by the bedside.
Zeng Yumei managed to eat half a bowl of porridge and half an egg before taking her medicine and going to bed early.
At the dinner table, Xiao Jinye mashed one boiled egg into a bowl of porridge for Duoduo, handed her a small spoon, and let her feed herself.
Then he placed another egg beside Qingyan.
“This one’s for you.”
Qingyan accepted it without refusing.
There were four eggs altogether—exactly one for each person. Since they were living together now, there was no need for pointless politeness.
As she lowered her head to peel the shell, Xiao Jinye suddenly said in a deep voice,
“Thank you.”
She immediately understood he was referring to what had happened that afternoon.
“No need to thank me.”
After thinking for a moment, she added,
“In the future… don’t be so impulsive. Don’t pull your knife so easily. What if one day you accidentally nick someone? If they decide to make trouble over it, you’ll be the one who suffers.”
“I understand, Wife,” Xiao Jinye answered quietly.
The moment she heard him call her “Wife,” Qingyan’s ears instantly turned red.
She glanced at Duoduo, then at the closed bedroom door where her mother-in-law was sleeping, and lowered her voice
“No one else is around. You don’t have to call me that.”
There was no audience now. There was no need to keep acting.
Xiao Jinye merely gave a quiet “Mm.”
While eating, he secretly stole glances at Qingyan from the corner of his eye.
The more he looked, the more fascinated he became.
How is my wife’s mouth so small?
She eats like a little squirrel… tiny bite after tiny bite, chewing slowly and delicately. She’s so refined… and so beautiful.
Beautiful enough to be filmed for a movie and shown on the big screen.
After dinner, Xiao Jinye stood and gathered the bowls.
“Wife, I’ll wash the dishes.”
“I told you not to call me that!”
Qingyan shot him a helpless glare, her ears burning all over again.
“Got it… Wife.”
With that, Xiao Jinye carried the dishes into the kitchen.
Qingyan could only sigh in resignation.
Still, perhaps it wasn’t a bad idea for him to practice now. Otherwise, he might accidentally slip up in front of other people later.
Night gradually fell.
The dim yellow light bulb in the courtyard cast a faint glow over the tiny yard.
Holding Duoduo’s hand, Qingyan took her to bathe.
The bathing area was a simple lean-to in one corner of the courtyard, separated only by an old curtain. Crude as it was, it was still fairly clean.
Before every bath, they had to carry two buckets of well water into a basin. Afterward, they simply splashed the used water beside the wall, where it flowed through a drainage ditch and out of the yard.
Qingyan took out a bar of soap and carefully lathered Duoduo from head to toe.
Without the slightest trace of disgust, she wiped the little girl’s runny nose and gently washed her fair, tender face with warm water.
Duoduo was playful by nature.
She blew soap bubbles off her arms, sending them floating everywhere and splashing Qingyan until her clothes were soaked.
Qingyan patiently poured warm water over the little girl while trying to keep her from squirming around.
Without getting angry, she lightly pinched Duoduo’s nose and pretended to scold her.
“If you’re naughty again, Sister-in-law won’t bathe you anymore.”
Duoduo seemed to understand.
She quickly wrapped her arms around Qingyan’s arm and sweetly babbled,
“Sis…ter-in-law… Sis…ter-in-law…”
Qingyan smiled helplessly and dried the water from her soft little body with a towel.
“Duoduo, you have to behave. Your mother is getting older, and her legs aren’t very strong. If she has to bathe you in the future, you can’t be this mischievous anymore, alright?”
There was no reply.
With her limited understanding, Duoduo couldn’t fully comprehend what she’d said.
After dressing her, Qingyan took her hand and lifted the curtain to leave the bathing area.
The moment she stepped outside, she ran into Xiao Jinye, who had just come out of the kitchen.
The man froze for two full seconds.
Then a deep blush suddenly spread across his handsome face, as if it had caught fire.
Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Qingyan instinctively looked down at herself.
Only then did she realize that while bathing Duoduo, her blouse had been completely soaked by the splashing water. The wet fabric clung tightly to her body, outlining her slender waist.
Even more embarrassing, one of the buttons across her chest had somehow come undone. The damp fabric had slipped aside, revealing a large expanse of smooth, fair skin…
And Xiao Jinye had seen all of it.
It was the first time she’d ever experienced something so humiliating.
Flushed with embarrassment and anger, she blurted out,
“You shameless hooligan!”
The scolding instantly snapped Xiao Jinye back to his senses.
He hurriedly spun around and rushed toward the kitchen. In his panic, he forgot to duck.
Bang!
His head slammed hard against the kitchen doorway with a loud thud.
Qingyan paid him no mind.
After shooting him an annoyed glare, she hurriedly pulled her clothes back into place, grabbed Duoduo’s hand, and fled into her room.
Inside the kitchen, Xiao Jinye rubbed the aching spot on his head and stood there in a daze for a long while.
Then, the corners of his lips slowly curled upward.
Even his dark eyes deepened with amusement.
“Shameless… hooligan…?”
He rolled the words over in his mind again and again.
My wife’s voice is so sweet…
And those soft, full curves he’d accidentally glimpsed…
They looked like freshly steamed white buns, so fair and plump that they left him completely dazzled.