The veins on the side of his neck throbbed visibly, agitated and fierce.
He let out a rough, scornful laugh. “Dumb as shit.”
“First come, first served? Your name written on it?”
Hearing such crude, familiar curses so reminiscent of those before her death, Ji Chunhua felt an inexplicable warmth in her chest and couldn’t hold back.
A soft “pfft” escaped her lips.
Her voice was naturally gentle, like cotton.
Unlike Ji Qin’s crisp tone—no matter how hard Ji Qin tried, she could never mimic it.
But that very laugh clearly annoyed Duan Hu.
Narrowing his cold, menacing eyes, he raised his brows like sharp blades.
With a few heavy strides of his thick, powerful legs, he closed the distance.
“You laughing at me, fatty?”
He’d always been like this—no one, man or woman, dared provoke him.
Duan Hu glared down at Ji Chunhua through half-lowered eyelids, his voice rough and hoarse, like a menacing beast in the predawn mountains.
Yet Ji Chunhua lifted her round, moon-like face, blinking her wide, bright eyes, and said with utmost sincerity, “I just think the way you swear sounds nice.”
“Not mocking you at all.”
Really nice.
The kind of nice that made her realize once again that she was truly alive.
“……”
In all his twenty-six years, Duan Hu had never heard anything like it. He was momentarily speechless.
This actually left him at a loss.
He stared at that plump face. Though her disheveled hair and the dim light obscured her features, there was an undercurrent of calm serenity about her. His throat felt oddly tight for a long moment.
Then, with an awkward snort, he muttered, “You got shit for brains? Enjoy being cursed at?”
Ji Qin’s upturned eyes widened. Sensing the subtle tension between the two, unease washed over her again.
Why wasn’t Ji Chunhua afraid of Duan Hu either?
And how could she lie through her teeth, saying his cursing sounded nice?
Was she out of her mind?
Ji Qin quickly rushed over, stepping between them. “Don’t you dare bully my sister!”
“Or I’ll report you!”
“Ha,” Duan Hu turned and scratched his ear. “Go ahead.”
“I’ve done time in the big prison. You think I’m scared of being reported?”
He couldn’t be bothered wasting time with these sisters. Too damn noisy.
Though only the skinny one was really loud.
But the fat one was plenty weird too.
Saying his swearing sounded nice.
Probably one’s crazy, the other’s stupid.
Watching the man walk away, Ji Qin fell silent.
Why? Why had things turned out like this?
She’d thought she was the only woman unafraid of Duan Hu, that he’d surely notice her and take an interest. But now, why was Ji Chunhua suddenly unafraid too?
How was that possible? This coward was even scared of that good-for-nothing Ji Yang—how could she not fear a violent brute like Duan Hu?
Ji Qin immediately turned to glare at Ji Chunhua, her gaze sharp as a dagger.
But Ji Chunhua had already given up on that patch of wild greens and moved on to search elsewhere.
Frowning suspiciously, Ji Qin couldn’t be sure.
Since she didn’t dare touch that patch again, she must still be… afraid, right?
After a moment’s thought, Ji Qin deliberately trembled her voice and patted her chest as she walked over to Ji Chunhua. “Scared me to death! Good grief, he’s as terrifying as a blind bear!”
“In the pitch black, I almost didn’t recognize him.”
Ji Chunhua spotted another dandelion and crouched to start picking. “He is pretty scary,” she replied.
From the looks of it, he really was.
The scolding voice was also fierce.
But he was a good man.
Ji Chunhua silently added this in her heart.
“Not just him, his mother is scary too.”
Ji Qin also crouched down, continuing in a low voice: “You don’t know, his mother is purely an old society woman, she even bound her feet! Can hardly walk when going out… I heard she smokes a pipe every day, their home is always filled with smoke and fumes!”
“His mother is an old widow! Ah… what a strange person she must be!”
Anyway, she wanted to make Ji Chunhua dislike and fear Duan Hu.
Although Duan Hu definitely wouldn’t be blind enough to fancy this fat thing, she had to guard against any possibility!
She wouldn’t allow any accidents to happen.
Ji Chunhua didn’t even lift her head, saying calmly: “Foot binding wasn’t something she wanted herself, and a pipe isn’t much different from cigarettes.”
“What’s wrong with being a widow? She managed to raise Duan Hu to this age, it’s very difficult and admirable.”
Ji Qin’s alarm bells rang loudly, her voice suddenly rising a few notches, “Sis, what’s wrong with you? Why are you speaking up for that scoundrel?”
“Shh—”
Ji Chunhua raised her chubby finger, pressed it to her lips, lowered her voice and leaned down: “He… seems not to have gone far yet—”
“!” Ji Qin instantly shut her mouth and fell silent.
And, out of guilt, quickly turned her head to look behind her.
“Qin Qin,” Ji Chunhua plucked the dandelions one by one.
Her movements were more forceful than usual.
Neither happy nor sad, she seemed to be chatting casually: “I heard that at today’s daytime matchmaking fair, that famous pig farm owner from our village will be there.”
“The one named Yu Guang!”
“Mom was just talking about him the other day, saying he’d definitely fancy you, since you’re so pretty.”
“What did you say?!?!” Ji Qin’s mind suddenly flashed with Yu Guang’s face, smeared with blood, twisted and terrifying, and she nearly shrieked.
“?” Ji Chunhua laughed.
Like an older sister teasing her younger sister, she gave her a strong push!
“Thump—” Ji Qin fell right on her butt.
Ji Chunhua: “Hehe, Qin Qin, why are you so excited?”
“I know, you like Yu Guang too!”
“Don’t worry, Qin Qin, as soon as we get to the matchmaking fair, I’ll go find Yu Guang right away. For your happiness, I’m willing to throw away my thick-skinned pride as an older sister~ and tell him that you and he are actually in love~”
“No, that’s not it.” Ji Qin stammered, trying her best to stay calm.
She forced an awkward smile: “No, sis, I don’t have any feelings for that Yu Guang.”
“Actually,” a thought struck her, and she instantly put on a smiling face, pushing herself up from the muddy ground, “actually, I think you and him would be a good match, sis.”
“……” Ji Chunhua paused in her vegetable plucking.
“Really, sis!” Ji Qin’s eyes grew even more fervent as she leaned down: “He’s quite old, so he must have trouble finding a wife.”
“I think if it’s him, he’d definitely fancy you.”
Ji Chunhua kept her head down for a long time without speaking.
Overwhelming hatred consumed and tore at her entire being. Looking at the sickle in the basket, she remembered the kitchen knife that had been plunged into her body!
Ji Chunhua instinctively covered her stomach, inexplicably feeling pain in her internal organs.
Ji Qin was taken aback, crouching down to ask: “Sis, sis, what’s wrong?”
“I… my stomach hurts…” Ji Chunhua hissed, sucking in cold air, quickly shouldering her basket, clutching her stomach, and running down the hill, “I can’t hold it, Qin Qin, I need to go to the outhouse first.”
“Go back by yourself!”
“Hey, sis!”
Ji Qin stamped her feet, calling after her: “You, oh dear!”
“Hurry back and drink plenty of hot water, don’t waste any time!”
“I’ll go straight to the activity compound and wait for you!”
“Sis! Clean yourself up a bit—Yu Guang will definitely take a liking to you! Listen to your little sister, I’d never steer you wrong, I wouldn’t harm you!”
Listen to your nonsense! You poisonous-hearted wretch!
Ji Chunhua trembled all over as she ran down the mountain, gritting her teeth and cursing silently.
Faintly, the orange-red morning light pierced through the heavy mountain fog, and the snow had stopped.
The man, fierce as a wild beast, trudged down the mountain with heavy steps, squinting his ruthless eyes as he watched the shrinking, plump figure at the foot of the mountain.
Quite interesting.
Unconsciously, Duan Hu cracked a grin and let out a rough laugh.