Qiao Qingyan nearly choked on her own saliva and coughed lightly, her cheeks warming.
“You heard that?”
She pursed her lips and explained softly, “I only said those things on purpose for Jiang Runsheng to hear. Don’t take them to heart.”
Xiao Jinye said nothing. He simply looked at her quietly.
After a long pause, he finally spoke three words.
“I know.”
Qiao Qingyan fiddled with the wrapper of the milk candy in her hand. Seeing his calm expression, she took the initiative to ease the awkwardness.
“I left the money you gave me this morning on your bedside table. At noon, we cooked noodles at home. Mom even steamed some cured pork, so we didn’t eat out.”
“Mhm.”
“How did selling the mountain goods go today? Everything went smoothly?”
“It did.”
“Where in town did you sell them?”
“Erlijing.”
“Erlijing?” Qiao Qingyan’s eyes lit up. “My high school was near Erlijing.”
“Mhm. I pass by there all the time.”
“Then how come I’ve never seen you before?”
“Even if you had, you wouldn’t have recognized me.”
Qiao Qingyan nodded.
“That’s true…”
That evening, after everyone had washed up, Zeng Yumei led Duoduo into her own room and said to her son and daughter-in-law,
“You two should get some rest early too.”
As she spoke, she secretly shot Xiao Jinye a meaningful look.
Pretending not to notice, Qiao Qingyan lightly rubbed the tip of her nose.
“Good night, Mom.”
By the time Xiao Jinye had locked the courtyard gate and bolted the front door before returning inside, Qiao Qingyan was already lying in bed.
A thick homespun curtain had been hung between them, completely blocking his view.
He froze for a moment before raising an eyebrow.
Who exactly is she guarding against?
Night settled over the small courtyard.
Lying in bed, Xiao Jinye found himself unable to sleep once again.
In the past, after a day of working or hunting, he would fall asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.
Now that he finally had a wife, he spent every night tossing and turning instead.
His thoughts drifted back to one summer many years ago.
Back then, Qiao Qingyan had only been seven or eight years old, while Xiao Jinye was already a lanky thirteen-year-old boy.
That day, he had gotten into a fight with several boys near the school. His nose had been bloodied, and his clothes were left torn and disheveled.
As if that wasn’t enough, a torrential downpour suddenly began.
The boys he’d fought with all ran home.
His own home, however, was far away at the foot of the mountain on the edge of the village. Too embarrassed to return to the classroom, he could only stand alone beside the school wall, covering his bleeding nose as he waited for the rain to stop.
The bare wall offered no shelter.
Cold rain poured relentlessly over him.
Students gradually left the school gate in groups.
Then, out of nowhere, a tiny figure appeared.
Holding up an enormous lotus leaf, she gently raised it above his head, shielding him from the pouring rain.
The little girl wore a floral dress, her hair braided into two neat pigtails.
She was so short that she had to stand on tiptoe just to look up at him.
“Big Brother… why are you bleeding?”
Her tiny mouth and soft, sweet voice were like melted candy, gentle enough to melt into one’s heart.
Xiao Jinye remained silent, merely looking at her with his usual indifferent gaze.
Her bright almond-shaped eyes blinked innocently.
She reached into her pocket, took out a clean handkerchief, and carefully wiped the blood from his nose while standing on tiptoe.
“Here… you can keep this. In case your nose starts bleeding again.”
She stuffed the handkerchief into his hand before offering him the lotus leaf as well.
“You can have this too. Use it as an umbrella on your way home, and you won’t get soaked.”
Xiao Jinye accepted the lotus leaf almost numbly.
Just then, someone called out,
“Qingyan! I brought an umbrella. Let’s go home together!”
“Okay, Brother Runsheng! I’m coming!”
She answered before turning back to Xiao Jinye.
“Big Brother, you should hurry home too. If you’re out in the rain too long, you’ll get sick with a fever.”
With that, she turned and ran into the curtain of rain, disappearing from sight within moments.
From that day onward…
Without realizing it, Xiao Jinye had carved the little girl’s name deep into his heart.
Moonlight spilled softly into the room.
The man on the bed turned over, suppressing the restless desire surging through him.
He didn’t dare tell Qiao Qingyan his secret.
He was afraid he would frighten her.
Besides, he knew she had only recently gotten over a broken engagement.
She needed time.
He had enough patience to wait.
To wait until she completely forgot Jiang Runsheng.
To wait until she willingly became his wife…
…and willingly shared his bed.
Chen Xiaomeng had been having a miserable few days.
She had swallowed grievance after grievance.
For an entire week, she’d gotten up before dawn every single day, taking responsibility for all three meals while handling nearly every chore in the kitchen.
Yet from beginning to end, not a single person in the Jiang family showed her any appreciation.
Her parents-in-law treated her with cold faces every day.
Even her sister-in-law barely acknowledged her whenever she came home.
At night, when she lay beside Jiang Runsheng, he remained distant and indifferent, always leaving her nothing but his stiff, cold back.
She had schemed to marry Jiang Runsheng because she wanted a comfortable life.
She hadn’t married into the Jiang family to work herself like an ox and suffer endless grievances.
Finally reaching the end of her patience, she decided to go on strike that morning.
At six o’clock sharp, Jiang Decheng got out of bed as usual.
After making a round of the courtyard, he found the kitchen door tightly shut.
There wasn’t the slightest sign that breakfast was being prepared.
He returned to the room and called to his wife, Wei Yongqiu.
Unexpectedly, she sneered.
“What? Your precious daughter-in-law couldn’t keep pretending anymore?”
Furious, Jiang Decheng slammed the bowl of his tobacco pipe against the edge of the kang.
“Hurry up and make breakfast! Runsheng has work later. He can’t leave on an empty stomach!”
Wei Yongqiu refused to budge.
If she got up to cook now, wouldn’t that just mean serving Chen Xiaomeng instead?
She wasn’t about to do that.
“Runsheng’s probably sick of plain home cooking anyway. There are breakfast stalls all over town. He can buy something himself.”
Jiang Decheng frowned.
“Then what am I supposed to eat?”
“Eat whatever you want! Missing one meal won’t kill you!”
She rolled over, pulled the quilt over her head, and ignored him.
“You lazy woman…”
Jiang Decheng grumbled under his breath.
Meanwhile, Jiang Runsheng had spent the previous day traveling to the countryside for a publicity campaign.
That morning, he also had to attend an early meeting at the broadcasting station.
He got up on time and began getting dressed.
Chen Xiaomeng sat up as well.
“I’m going out with you today.”
His movements paused.
“What for?”
She climbed out of bed and walked straight to the wardrobe to pick out clothes.
“I’m going into town to buy a few things. Since we’re headed the same way, let’s have breakfast together first. You’ll go to work, I’ll shop around, and when you’re done, we’ll come home together.”
Jiang Runsheng looked troubled.
Deep down, he didn’t want to be seen out with her.
Thinking quickly, he came up with an excuse.
“The fields need watering right now. Mom was saying yesterday that the soybean and corn fields are drying out. Stay home and help with the farm work.”
Chen Xiaomeng immediately pouted pitifully.
“I’ve been cooking for your whole family every day lately, cleaning the pigsty, sweeping the cowshed, feeding the livestock… I’ve been busy from morning till night. My arms are so sore I can barely lift them…”
She stepped forward and gently wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his back.
Her voice became deliberately soft and sweet.
“Brother Runsheng… I worry about you because I love you. That’s why I’m willing to do all these things.”
“Can’t you care about me a little too?”
Jiang Runsheng sighed helplessly and removed her hands from around his waist.
“Then hurry up. My unit has a meeting today.”
Delighted, Chen Xiaomeng immediately pulled out the red dress she’d worn on her wedding day.
She carefully examined herself in the bronze mirror before tying a bright purple silk scarf around her neck, making herself look especially eye-catching.
Only after admiring her reflection for quite some time did she smile in satisfaction.
Jiang Runsheng glanced at her outfit.
His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.
The two walked out of the room together and happened to run into Jiang Runsheng’s eldest sister, Jiang Lanhua, who was brushing her teeth by the courtyard wall.
Jiang Lanhua was ten years older than Runsheng.
She had married long ago and lived with her husband’s family in town.
She had returned the previous night to visit her parents and stayed overnight.
The night before, she had chatted with her mother until after one in the morning, listening to Wei Yongqiu complain endlessly about Chen Xiaomeng.
Although Jiang Lanhua hadn’t spent much time with her new sister-in-law, she had already figured out her character.
In her eyes, Chen Xiaomeng looked young, but she was calculating, rigid, and unbearably provincial.
If she hadn’t deliberately sabotaged Qingyan and Runsheng’s engagement, she would never have become a member of the Jiang family.
After spitting out the foam from her mouth, Jiang Lanhua looked at them.
“Where are you two off to?”
Runsheng answered,
“I’m going to work at the broadcasting station. Xiaomeng’s coming with me to buy a few things in town.”
Jiang Lanhua slowly looked Chen Xiaomeng up and down before giving a faintly mocking smile.
“Oh…”
“I thought you were dressed up to perform on stage somewhere.”