“Mm.”
Meng Yuanzheng answered with a hum while holding the bucket of water. He stood there without moving, his eyes fixed on the table.
“I don’t want it. You can wash yourself.”
Lin Miaoyin said this coldly and turned her back on him, unwilling to say another word.
She had already prepared herself. If Meng Yuanzheng lost his patience and started insulting her, she wouldn’t be like the original owner, who could only cry and make a scene.
She would show him what it meant to use her family’s influence against him.
Didn’t he hate working?
Her father was the brigade captain. If she wanted him to work, he would have to work.
But there was no sound behind her.
She turned around while holding the quilt and found that Meng Yuanzheng had disappeared again.
He wasn’t going to argue with her?
He wasn’t even talking back?
The original novel had clearly said that Meng Yuanzheng had never lost an argument.
Had he fallen into the pond and gotten water in his brain?
Or was he deliberately trying to gain her sympathy and win her over?
Either way, something was definitely wrong with the script!
Lin Miaoyin couldn’t figure it out.
By the time she realized it, Meng Yuanzheng had already finished making a bed on the floor. He went to the kitchen, brought some hot water to the back of the house, and took a bath.
Lin Miaoyin stopped thinking about it and went to the kitchen to heat some water for herself.
But when she lifted the lid of the pot, she found that half the pot was still filled with hot water.
This…
Had Meng Yuanzheng left it for her?
Well, it would be wasteful not to use it.
She comforted herself with that thought, poured the hot water into a wooden basin, and washed her face and feet before wiping down her body.
The wind outside was strong, making a low howling sound.
The countryside had no electricity, and the night was dark and eerie.
The kerosene lamp was especially dim. Whenever someone moved, their shadow stretched across the wall like a monster with long claws.
For some reason, she felt a little nervous.
She changed her clothes and lay down to sleep, anxiously staring at the window and the doorway without moving.
It wasn’t even very late.
It was probably only around eight o’clock, so she couldn’t fall asleep at all.
She thought about her previous life and then about her current situation. Her mind was a complete mess.
She turned her head and suddenly smelled something strange.
How long had this pillow gone without being washed?!
She almost threw up.
She could only endure it and move her head farther away.
After a while, Meng Yuanzheng finally returned.
With another person in the room, the eerie feeling finally disappeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Not far away, Meng Yuanzheng silently lay on the floor.
Compared with Lin Miaoyin, he had it much worse.
Lin Miaoyin had originally planned to put two quilts over the dry grass when she slept on the floor.
But for him, there was only the dry straw.
He knew Lin Miaoyin wouldn’t give him a quilt or bedsheet. Those were part of her dowry.
So he searched through his suitcase and took out a wool coat he had brought from the city.
He spread it over the straw and lay down on top of it.
In the middle of the night, a sudden chill on his face woke him up.
He opened his eyes and wiped his face.
It was wet.
Listening carefully, he realized that it was raining outside.
Lin Miaoyin was also a light sleeper.
She opened her eyes and suddenly remembered something.
The house leaked when it rained.
Although the house had been renovated, the roof was still made of straw. For some reason, there was a place where rainwater leaked through.
The original couple had both been lazy, so they had never bothered fixing it. They simply put a bucket underneath the leak whenever it rained.
And unfortunately, Meng Yuanzheng’s bed was directly underneath it.
Was this man really foolish, or was he pretending?
Lin Miaoyin’s mouth twitched.
She had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
Although this man was a disgusting villain, she couldn’t bring herself to watch him sleep while being soaked by the rain.
It was because she was kind enough to warn him.
She wasn’t feeling sorry for him.
At least, that’s what she told herself.
She got up and looked toward his bed.
Meng Yuanzheng was lying flat on his back with his eyes closed. His knees were bent, and one hand rested on his stomach.
He was sleeping peacefully.
Lin Miaoyin walked over and touched the straw.
Most of it was already wet.
There was even rainwater on Meng Yuanzheng’s face.
And he still hadn’t woken up?
Impressive.
“Get up!”
She raised her voice.
Meng Yuanzheng frowned and opened his eyes.
His expression was confused.
“What happened?”
“Are you sleeping comfortably?”
She crouched in front of him with a half-smile.
“It’s raining?”
Meng Yuanzheng looked up.
Only then did he realize what was happening. He quickly got up and tried to pull away the straw, but it was already too wet to sleep on.
Looking at his foolish expression, Lin Miaoyin became increasingly irritated.
“Meng Yuanzheng, what exactly are you trying to do? Can you act normal for once?”
You’re the one acting abnormal. You’re making me feel like there’s a time bomb beside me.
Meng Yuanzheng said nothing.
He simply looked at her with an innocent, obedient expression.
Lin Miaoyin said, “Can you stop pretending? Don’t try to play games with me. I’ll be honest with you. If divorce were possible, I would divorce you immediately. I don’t care which wild woman you go looking for afterward!”
“And no matter how much you try to please me, don’t even think about going back to school to work as a teacher. From now on, earn your own work points, cook your own meals, and wash your own clothes. We’ll live separately!”
She might as well make everything clear.
She was tired of playing this game with him.
“Why?”
Meng Yuanzheng frowned deeply, clearly disagreeing with her.
“You have the nerve to ask why?”
She was shocked.
Meng Yuanzheng lowered his head slightly as if thinking about something.
Then, with a pained expression, he said,
“My head hurts. I think I’ve forgotten some things.”
He raised his head and patted it.
“Are you my wife?”
Lin Miaoyin nodded.
“You want to divorce me?”
She nodded again.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Obviously. Don’t you have any idea what you’ve done?
Lin Miaoyin looked at him suspiciously.
Could he really have become stupid after getting water in his head?
“Yes. I can’t live with you anymore. I want a divorce.”
His eyes moved as he looked at her.
“But divorce is very difficult right now.”
“Then we’ll live separately for now. You can divorce me after you return to the city,” Lin Miaoyin said.
“I made mistakes. Can I change?”
Meng Yuanzheng stared directly at her.
“No. And you won’t stay here forever anyway. We’re not the same kind of people.”
“No.”
He paused before speaking firmly.
“We won’t divorce. I won’t divorce you. If I return to the city, I’ll take you with me.”
Listen to that!
Did that sound like something the scumbag from the original novel would say?
Anyone who heard him would probably think he was some devoted husband.
“You really can’t remember what happened before?”
Meng Yuanzheng thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“I only remember some basic things. I don’t remember most of it.”
Lin Miaoyin looked him up and down.
She couldn’t see even the slightest sign that he was lying.
What was going on?
Could it really be such a coincidence?
Meng Yuanzheng let her stare at him without the slightest embarrassment.
He looked completely open and honest.
“You’d better not lie to me. If I find out you’re pretending, then just wait and see. You won’t be able to handle the consequences.”
Lin Miaoyin threatened him.
“I’m not lying to you.”
He frowned and held his head, looking as if he were in great pain.
Outside, the rain was still falling.
The steady patter of raindrops filled the night.
Cold wind slipped in through the gaps above the window and door, making the room feel chilly.
Lin Miaoyin hunched her shoulders.
Meng Yuanzheng was also wearing very little and looked rather miserable.
Reluctantly, she said,
“Fine. Let’s sleep. You take one end, I’ll take the other. We’ll each use our own quilt.”
Meng Yuanzheng nodded.
He fetched a bucket to catch the rainwater leaking from the roof. Then he hung his wet coat on a clothes hanger.
Lin Miaoyin took a new quilt for herself and threw the old one to him.
The two of them slept at opposite ends of the bed, each wrapped in their own quilt.
The bed was small and pushed against the wall.
Newspapers had been pasted over the wall as wallpaper.
The two of them were forced to squeeze together.
“Move farther away from me!” she scolded.
When she noticed that he obediently moved farther away, she finally closed her eyes in satisfaction.